Step 65: Checkpoint B1 — Boss Level
Level review — Review: perfect tenses, conditionals, passive
📖 Read — Ethan in the Big City
Ethan stands in the heart of the Big City, looking back at his B1 journey. “When I arrived here, I could only tell simple stories. Since then, I have been learning every week. I have compared, debated, reported, and dreamed in English. I used to be afraid of movies — now I understand gonna, wanna, and real conversations!”
“What did my teachers say? They said that practice makes champions. They told me I could do it. And they were right! Next stop: the High Mountains of B2 — deeper stories, stronger opinions, real fluency. If you've come this far, don't stop. Reach for the stars — I'll see you at the summit!”
🧩 Grammar — Review — Your B1 Toolbox
Your B1 toolbox is powerful: present perfect vs past simple with for/since and the perfect continuous · zero, first, and second conditionals · the passive · reported speech · relative clauses · used to · past continuous, interruption, and past perfect story cameras · may/might for possibility and must/can't for deduction · phrasal verbs, opinions, news English, and real American reductions. This boss test checks the whole city — good luck, champion!
- I've been learning since January, and I've already passed two tests.
- If I had more time, I would travel — but if it rains, we'll stay home.
- The bridge was built in 1937, and the man who built it became famous.
- She said she had finished, so it must be true!
🏗️ Key structures
- I've been ___-ing since / for ___ — I've been studying since March.
- If I ___ (past), I would ___ · If it ___ (present), I'll ___ — If I had a car, I would drive. If it rains, I'll stay home.
- ___ was ___ by ___ , and he said that ___ — The song was sung by a student, and he said that he was nervous.
⭐ Idiom & natural phrases
You finished B1 — now reach for the stars!
🔤 New words
a very tall building in a city
New York is famous for its skyscrapers.
the center of a city, where the offices and shops are
She works downtown.
a wide street in a city
Fifth Avenue is famous for shopping.
one area of a town or city where people live
Our neighborhood is quiet and friendly.
a good chance to do something
English gives you many opportunities.
the job journey of your life; your work path
She has a great career in medicine.
doing well at what you try to do
Hard work brings success.
the top of a mountain
See you at the summit of B2!
🎧 Say it with me
I’ve been learning all year, and I’ve finished B1! If I keep going, I’ll reach the summit. Reach for the stars!
🎤 Your turn to speak
Your B1 graduation speech: say how long you've been learning (perfect continuous), one reported sentence (my teacher said that…), one dream (If I…), and your B2 goal.
Say it out loud three times. Even better: record it on your phone and listen — your ear is your best teacher.
✍️ Your turn to write
Write your B1 report in 5–6 sentences: use the present perfect, a conditional, a passive, reported speech, and used to.
See a model answer
I have been learning English since last winter, and I have finished the whole Big City. If I had more free time, I would study two hours a day. My favorite story, The Lantern of Cedar Creek, was written for learners like me. My teacher said that I could reach B2 by spring. I used to fear long texts — now I read them with a smile!
Self-check: capital letters? Full stops? Did you use the grammar of this step?
📝 Quick check
🎉 Saved in your progress!