Practice English Reading Exercises for A1 – Family, Home & Daily Life
Reading 1
Read the story. Write words to complete the sentences about the story.
You can use 1, 2 or 3 words.
Lily’s hot soup
It was a very cold morning in winter. Lily woke up and she felt terrible. She didn’t want to get up. She had a bad cough and her head was hot. “You cannot go to school today,” her mother said. “You must stay in bed.” Lily was sad because she missed her friends.
Examples
The weather was very cold that morning in ………winter……… .
Lily didn’t want to ………get up……… because she felt terrible.
Questions
1 Lily had a hot head and a …………………… .
2 Lily’s mother told her to stay in …………………… .
3 Lily was unhappy because she couldn’t see her …………………… .
Lily’s mother went downstairs to the kitchen. She wanted to make something nice for her daughter. She cooked some hot chicken soup with carrots and noodles. It smelled very good. Then, she poured some orange juice into a tall glass. She carried the food and the drink carefully upstairs to Lily’s bedroom.
4 Lily’s mother went to the …………………… to make food.
5 Mum cooked some …………………… for Lily.
6 Mum put some orange juice in a …………………… .
7 Mum took the food and drink to Lily’s …………………… .
Lily sat up and ate the hot soup. She liked it a lot. “This is delicious, Mum,” she smiled. After that, she drank the juice and watched a funny DVD on her laptop. In the afternoon, Lily went to sleep. When she woke up, her cough was better.
8 Lily thought the soup was …………………… .
9 Lily watched a …………………… on her laptop.
10 When Lily woke up in the afternoon, her …………………… was better.
ANSWER KEY
1 bad cough 2 bed 3 friends
4 kitchen 5 hot chicken soup/chicken soup 6 tall glass 7 bedroom
8 delicious 9 funny DVD 10 cough
Reading 2
Read the story. Write words to complete the sentences about the story.
You can use 1, 2 or 3 words.
A boat trip on the lake
Last Saturday afternoon, Lily and her younger brother, Fred, went to the big lake with their mother. It was a warm and sunny day. Their mother carried a brown bag. Inside the bag, there was some old bread. The children wanted to give it to the ducks.
Examples
Lily and Fred went to the big lake last ………Saturday afternoon……… .
The children went to the lake with ………their mother……… .
Questions
1 The weather was …………………… that day.
2 Lily’s mother carried a …………………… with her.
3 Inside the bag there was some …………………… for the ducks.
At the lake, Lily’s mother found a small green boat. They all got in and mother rowed the boat to the middle of the lake. Suddenly, Fred saw a mother duck and four little ducks. ‘Look!’ he shouted. The ducks swam quickly to their boat because they were hungry. Fred and Lily threw the bread into the water.
4 Lily’s mother found a …………………… for the family at the lake.
5 Fred saw a mother duck and …………………… .
6 The ducks were …………………… , so they swam to the boat.
7 The children threw …………………… into the water for the ducks.
The happy ducks ate the bread very quickly. Then, the mother duck made a loud noise to say thank you. ‘Now it is time to go home,’ Lily’s mother said. They walked to the car and drove home. Lily and Fred were very happy.
8 The ducks ate their food …………………… .
9 The mother duck made a …………………… to say thank you.
10 The family went home in their …………………… .
ANSWER KEY
1 warm and sunny 2 brown bag 3 old bread
4 small green boat 5 four little ducks 6 hungry 7 the bread
8 very quickly 9 loud noise 10 car
Reading 3
Read the story. Write words to complete the sentences about the story.
You can use 1, 2 or 3 words.
The plastic block castle
Last Sunday afternoon, Ben went to his friend Nick’s house. It was a cold day, so they played inside. They went to the living room and sat on the rug. Nick brought out a big box of plastic blocks. He wanted to build something exciting.
Examples
Ben visited his friend Nick last ………Sunday afternoon……… .
The weather was ………cold……… so the boys played inside.
Questions
1 The boys sat on the ………………………… in the living room.
2 Nick had a big box full of ………………………… .
3 Nick wanted to build ………………………… with the blocks.
“Let’s make a huge castle!” said Ben. The two friends worked for a long time. Ben made very tall walls with the blue blocks. Nick made a beautiful door and put two red flags on top. It looked fantastic. Suddenly, Nick’s baby sister, Lily, walked into the room. She saw the castle and wanted to play. She touched the wall, and the castle fell down on the rug!
4 Ben used the blue blocks to make ………………………… .
5 Nick put ………………………… on top of the beautiful door.
6 Nick’s ………………………… came into the living room and wanted to play.
7 The castle ………………………… when Lily touched the wall.
At first, the boys were sad. But Lily looked at them and laughed loudly. “It’s okay,” Ben smiled. “We can build something new!” This time, they didn’t make a castle. They built three small houses. Lily loved the new houses and played carefully with them all afternoon.
8 The boys were ………………………… before the baby laughed.
9 Ben smiled and said they could build something ………………………… .
10 The boys made ………………………… and Lily played carefully with them.
ANSWER KEY
1 rug 2 plastic blocks 3 something exciting
4 very tall walls 5 two red flags 6 baby sister 7 fell down
8 sad 9 new 10 three small houses