Free CELPIP Practice Questions: What a Real Reading and Listening Question Looks Like

Reading about the CELPIP format only gets you so far. At some point you need to actually see what a question looks like on the page. Here are two original, CELPIP-style sample questions, one from Reading Correspondence and one from Listening for Information, written in the same style and difficulty as the real test.

These are original examples written to match CELPIP's format. They aren't taken from an actual CELPIP test, since real test content is confidential, but the structure and difficulty are representative of what you'll actually see.

A Reading Correspondence sample

In this part, you read a short email or letter, then answer questions about it. Here's an example:

From: Marcus Bellwood Subject: Change to Saturday's schedule

Hi Priya,

I hope you're doing well. I wanted to let you know that the volunteer shift we planned for this Saturday morning has been moved to Sunday afternoon instead, since the community centre had a booking conflict. If Sunday doesn't work for you, let me know by Thursday and I'll see if someone else can cover your spot. Otherwise, I'll see you there at 1pm.

Thanks for your flexibility, Marcus

Question: Why is Marcus writing to Priya?

• A) To ask her to volunteer for the first time
• B) To let her know the shift day and time have changed
• C) To cancel the volunteer shift entirely
• D) To ask her to find a replacement immediately

The correct answer is B. The email states the shift "has been moved to Sunday afternoon," which is a rescheduling, not a cancellation (ruling out C), and Priya is only asked to find a replacement if Sunday doesn't work for her, not immediately (ruling out D).

A Listening for Information sample

In this part, you hear a short passage once, then answer questions based only on what you heard, no rereading, no replay. Imagine you heard this passage read aloud:

"The city's new recycling program begins next month and will accept glass, paper, and most plastics, but not styrofoam or electronics. Residents will receive a new blue bin, and collection will happen every second Tuesday instead of weekly, to reduce truck traffic in the neighborhood."

Question: How often will the new recycling collection happen?

• A) Every week
• B) Every second Tuesday
• C) Once a month
• D) Only on request

The correct answer is B, stated directly in the passage. In a real test, you'd have heard this only once, with no text in front of you, which is exactly what makes Listening feel harder than Reading even when the vocabulary itself is simple.

Why two sample questions aren't enough to know your real level

These two questions can show you the format, but they can't tell you your actual band, and they definitely can't tell you anything about your Writing or Speaking, which need a human to assess properly. A handful of free questions is a starting point, not a diagnosis.

If you want to know where you actually stand across all four skills, under real timing, with your Writing and Speaking reviewed by certified, professionally trained CELPIP correctors, that's what a full mock test is for. Apex Proficiency gives you exactly that, the same format you just saw above, at full length, with real feedback at the end.