One text divided into sections, ten prompts. The examiners are testing whether you can scan for one specific detail across several sections that all touch the same broad theme.
Part 8 gives you one longer text — or several short ones — divided into labeled sections that all address the same broad theme, then ten prompts asking exactly where a specific piece of information appears. A section can be the correct answer more than once, and two sections often cover related ground on purpose, to see whether you can find the exact detail rather than just the right general area.
Section P: "Public libraries in many cities have expanded well beyond lending books, now offering free public computer access, job-search assistance, and community meeting spaces."
Section Q: "The specific technology available at a library branch, such as the number of public computers, varies enormously between branches and is usually listed on each library's individual website rather than a citywide one."
Question: In which section does the writer mention a specific example of a modern service some libraries provide beyond lending books?
Read the three short sections below, then match each prompt to the right one.
The salary quoted in a job offer is almost always the gross figure — the total amount earned before any deductions are subtracted. Net pay, sometimes called take-home pay, is what actually arrives in a bank account after taxes and other required deductions have been removed. The gap between the two figures can be substantial, which is why comparing job offers by gross salary alone can be misleading if the deductions differ between them.
Most pay slips list several deductions separately rather than as one lump sum. Income tax is typically calculated on a sliding scale, meaning a higher portion of income is taxed at a higher rate only above certain thresholds, not on the entire salary at once. Pension contributions, often a fixed percentage of gross pay, fund benefits that are usually only accessible later in life, such as a state pension.
A pay slip is also a useful place to catch mistakes, such as an incorrect tax code or missing overtime hours. Comparing the year-to-date totals on a recent slip against a simple running total kept independently can reveal a discrepancy well before it becomes a larger problem at tax time. Correcting an error early is generally far simpler than resolving it months later.
A new five-section article, official Part 8 format: ten prompts, some sections used more than once. Aim to finish before the timer runs out.
15:00In many countries, lenders rely on a three-digit number, often called a credit score, to judge how risky it would be to lend someone money. The number is calculated from a person's financial history and is meant to predict, in simplified form, how likely someone is to repay a loan on time. Landlords, some employers, and insurance companies in certain markets also request access to this number, though its most direct use remains helping banks decide whether to approve a loan or credit card, and at what interest rate.
Several factors typically feed into a credit score calculation, though the exact formula is usually kept private by the organizations that calculate it. Payment history — whether bills and loan repayments have been made on time — tends to carry the most weight. Credit utilization, meaning how much of an available credit limit is actually being used at any given time, is usually the second most influential factor. The length of a person's credit history, the mix of different credit types they hold, and how recently they've applied for new credit typically play smaller, supporting roles.
For someone with little or no credit history, a secured credit card — one backed by a deposit the cardholder provides upfront — can be a reasonably low-risk way to begin. Using such a card for small, planned purchases and paying the full balance every single month, rather than carrying debt forward, builds a positive payment history without the cardholder taking on real financial risk. Becoming an authorized user on a trusted family member's older account is another common starting point, since it can add that account's longer history to the newer user's own record.
A persistent myth holds that checking your own credit score will lower it; in most systems, this kind of check is treated differently from a lender's inquiry and typically has no negative effect at all. Another widespread misconception is that carrying a balance and paying interest somehow helps a score, when in fact paying a balance in full each month is generally viewed at least as favorably, without the added cost of interest. A third myth suggests that closing an old, unused account is always a harmless way to simplify one's finances, when it can actually shorten the average length of one's credit history and raise the utilization percentage on remaining accounts, sometimes lowering the score rather than protecting it.
The practical impact of a credit score becomes most visible at major financial milestones, particularly when applying for a large loan such as a mortgage. A difference of even a fraction of a percentage point in the interest rate offered can translate into a substantial sum over the full term of a decades-long loan, simply because interest compounds on a larger amount for longer. Because of this, the habits built years before such a loan is ever needed can end up being worth far more than they appeared at the time.
This is a practice estimate for one exam part only. Your official Cambridge result is calculated across the whole exam on the Cambridge English Scale.