DTZ Lesen B1 (Reading): Teil 1–5 with Strategy and Examples

How is reading in the DTZ structured?

In the written exam, reading comes after listening and before writing. You have 45 minutes for five parts. As in listening, you work only on the tasks of this part, and time you miss is not given back later. You mark your answers on the shared answer sheet (Antwortbogen) for listening and reading.

Listening and reading form one shared partial result: 45 tasks, one point each. With 33–45 points the partial result is B1, with 20–32 points A2. Reading, with 25 points, gives more than half of them. Our guide DTZ B1 exam explains how the partial results lead to the A2 or B1 certificate.

How do I divide up the 45 minutes?

The practice set (Übungssatz) gives only 45 minutes for the whole reading section, no time for the individual parts. Our tip is a plan based on how much text there is. Teil 2 and Teil 3 take the most time; Teil 1 and Teil 5 go faster once you know the format.

If you are stuck on a task for more than two minutes, make a mark in the task booklet (Aufgabenheft) and move on. Transfer your answer carefully to the answer sheet – you write there with a ballpoint pen, so corrections are difficult. An empty line will certainly get no point.

DTZ Lesen Teil 1: How do I find the right place in the directory?

In Teil 1 you read a directory, for example a signpost in a public office or a table of contents, and solve five tasks with a, b or c. Each task describes a situation: what does the person want to do? You look for the place that is responsible for it. That sounds easy, but the entries are short and look similar.

• Matching topic, but not responsible: „Geld verloren“ (lost money) does not belong to the cash desk (Kasse) but to the lost property office (Fundbüro).
• Same word, different service: a word from the situation appears in the directory, but next to a different service.
• Only part of it fits: the place is right, but for a different group of people or at a different time.
• Your own knowledge instead of the text: decide only by what the directory says – not by how things work in your town.

Example (our own exercise), signpost (Wegweiser) in the Bürgerhaus: Erdgeschoss – Bürgerbüro (An- und Ummeldung, Ausweise), Information. 1. Stock – Standesamt, Fundbüro. 2. Stock – Wohngeldstelle, Sozialamt. 3. Stock – Ausländerbehörde, Einbürgerung. Situation: you have moved and want to register your new address. a) Erdgeschoss b) 3. Stock c) anderes Stockwerk. (Ground floor: citizens’ office for registering and changing address, ID cards; 3rd floor: immigration office, naturalisation.)

Answer: a. Changing your address (Ummeldung) is done by the Bürgerbüro (citizens’ office) – that is in the directory. Anyone who thinks of the Ausländerbehörde (immigration office) might choose b. That is their own knowledge, not the text. If the format is new to you, start with Lesen Teil 1 – easy and then move on to Lesen Teil 1.

DTZ Lesen Teil 2: How do I match adverts correctly?

Teil 2 has five situations and eight adverts a–h. For each situation you look for the advert that fits. For one situation there is no answer – then you write X. So four adverts are left over, and exactly these adverts are the traps: they fit the topic, but not all the conditions.

1. First read the situations and underline all the conditions in each one: Who? What? When? How much?
2. Then skim the adverts and write a key word next to each one (swimming course, repair shop, flat).
3. For each possible advert, check all the conditions. One condition wrong – advert wrong.
4. Cross out the adverts you have used. If no advert really fits a situation, that is your X.

Example (our own exercise): Situation 1: your son is eight and should learn to swim on Saturdays. Situation 2: you want to sell your old bike. Advert a: „Schwimmschule Delfin – Kurse für Kinder von 6 bis 10, montags bis freitags 16–18 Uhr.“ Advert b: „Hallenbad Nord – Anfängerkurse für Kinder ab 5, jeden Samstagvormittag.“ Advert c: „Radwerkstatt Kette – wir reparieren Ihr Fahrrad schnell und günstig.“ (a: swimming school, children 6–10, Monday to Friday 4–6 pm. b: indoor pool, beginners’ courses for children from 5, every Saturday morning. c: bike repair shop.)

Answer: 1 = b, 2 = X. Advert a fits the age, but not Saturday. Advert c is about bikes, but it only offers repairs, it does not buy bikes. It is often the advert with the right topic that is the trap. You can practise this in Lesen Teil 2.

DTZ Lesen Teil 3: How do I read press texts and notices?

In Teil 3 you read three short texts: reports from the newspaper or formal notices, for example from a property management company, a school or a public office. For each text there is a statement that is true or false and a question with a, b or c. With six points each, Teil 3 and Teil 5 are the most valuable reading parts.

• Read the two tasks before the text. Then you know what information you are looking for.
• The answers usually appear in the text in the same order as the tasks.
• In notices, the sentence with the request or duty is especially important: „Bitte …“ (Please …), „Sie müssen …“ (You must …), „Es ist nicht nötig …“ (It is not necessary …).
• A statement is only true if the text really says it. There is only “richtig” or “falsch” (true or false) – so what the text does not say is false.

Example (our own exercise): „Liebe Mieterinnen und Mieter, am Dienstag, 14. Mai, wird von 8 bis 12 Uhr die Heizungsanlage gewartet. In dieser Zeit gibt es kein warmes Wasser. Die Techniker müssen nicht in die Wohnungen. Bitte stellen Sie aber Ihre Fahrräder im Keller nicht vor den Heizungsraum. Ihre Hausverwaltung Berger“ (Notice to tenants: heating maintenance on Tuesday 14 May, 8–12, no hot water; the technicians do not need to enter the flats; please do not put bikes in the cellar in front of the boiler room.)

Statement: „Die Techniker kommen in jede Wohnung.“ (The technicians come into every flat.) – false („müssen nicht in die Wohnungen“ – do not need to enter the flats). Question: Was sollen die Mieter tun? a) Am Dienstag zu Hause bleiben. b) Die Fahrräder im Keller nicht vor den Heizungsraum stellen. c) Warmes Wasser sparen. Answer: b – the sentence with „Bitte“. Answer a sounds logical but is not in the text. Answer c uses the words „warmes Wasser“ (hot water), but the text asks for nothing about it. Exercises: Lesen Teil 3.

DTZ Lesen Teil 4: What should I look out for in the information brochure?

Teil 4 is a longer information text, for example about a service offered by the town, the rules of an institution or the terms of a contract. With it come three statements that are true or false. The text is long, but you do not have to understand everything: for each statement there is one place that you read very carefully.

• Words without exceptions: if the statement says „jeder“, „nie“, „immer“ or „alle“ (every, never, always, all), check the text carefully – it often says „meistens“, „in der Regel“ (mostly, as a rule) or gives an exception.
• „Nur“ (only) and conditions: „wenn“, „solange“, „bis zu“ (if, as long as, up to) limit a rule.
• Numbers in context: the number is right, but it belongs to a different group or service.
• A specific case: the text says „bis 18 Jahre“ (up to 18), the statement „eine 16-Jährige“ (a 16-year-old girl) – the rule applies to her too, so the statement is true.

Example (our own exercise): „Die Bibliothekskarte ist für Kinder und Jugendliche bis 18 Jahre kostenlos. Erwachsene zahlen 15 Euro im Jahr. Bücher und Filme können Sie drei Wochen ausleihen und zweimal verlängern, wenn niemand sie vorbestellt hat.“ (The library card is free up to 18; adults pay 15 euros a year; you can borrow for three weeks and renew twice if nobody has reserved the item.) Statement 1: „Alle Leser bekommen die Karte kostenlos.“ – false, only up to 18. Statement 2: „Man kann Bücher immer verlängern.“ – false, only if they are not reserved. Statement 3: „Eine 16-jährige Schülerin zahlt nichts für die Karte.“ – true. Exercises: Lesen Teil 4.

DTZ Lesen Teil 5: What grammar do I need for the letter with gaps?

In Teil 5 you fill six gaps in a letter, each with a, b or c. Usually small words are missing that hold the sentence together. You do not need all of B1 grammar for this, but you need to be sure of a few rules. The most important one: always read to the end of the sentence, because only the position of the verb shows which word fits.

Example (our own exercise): „Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, ich schreibe Ihnen, (1) ___ ich mit der Reparatur meiner Waschmaschine nicht zufrieden bin. Der Techniker war am Montag da, (2) ___ die Maschine verliert immer noch Wasser. Ich bitte Sie (3) ___, den Schaden bis Freitag zu beheben.“ (1) a) weil b) denn c) deshalb (2) a) obwohl b) aber c) trotzdem (3) a) darum b) darauf c) dafür (A complaint: the washing machine repair was not satisfactory, the machine is still losing water, please fix it by Friday.)

Answers: (1) a – the verb „bin“ is at the end, so it is a subordinate clause. (2) b – after the gap come subject and verb; „trotzdem“ would need the verb straight after it („trotzdem verliert die Maschine“), „obwohl“ would need the verb at the end. (3) a – „bitten um“ becomes „darum“. You will find fixed letter formulas and complete example letters in our guide Writing a letter at B1, and exercises in Lesen Teil 5 and the Grammar Quiz B1.

How do I practise DTZ Lesen with LexDeutsch?

For all five parts, LexDeutsch has its own exercises in the DTZ format, 271 tasks in total, plus an easy level for Teil 1. After “Prüfen” (check), the trainer shows which answers are correct; many texts have a translation that you can switch on if you need it. The first three versions of each part are free and need no sign-up; further versions are part of VIP access.

1. In every part, do the three free versions against the clock, using the time plan above.
2. For every mistake, find the reason: a half-met condition, an absolute word, a negative or grammar?
3. After that, practise one task a day in the part where you make the most mistakes.
4. In Teil 5, read the letter out loud again after checking the answers. This helps you remember fixed formulas that you also need for writing.
5. Once a week, do all five parts one after the other in 45 minutes.

For listening, there is our guide DTZ Hören B1 with a strategy for Teil 1–4. Which B1 exam fits your goal is shown in the comparison Which B1 exam is right for me?. The exercises on LexDeutsch are our own tasks, not tasks from the exam. The official Übungssatz 1 (practice set) is a free PDF from g.a.s.t.