Practice English Reading Exercises for A1 – Shopping, Clothes & Presents
Reading 1
Read the story. Write words to complete the sentences about the story.
You can use 1, 2 or 3 words.
The shiny pink dress
It was raining on Saturday, so Lily played inside the house. She walked into her parents’ bedroom and opened a big cupboard. She wanted to find some fun clothes. Inside, she saw a lot of old things. Then, she found a very beautiful, shiny pink dress.
Examples
Lily played inside because it was raining on ………Saturday……… .
Lily looked inside a ………big cupboard……… in her parents’ room.
Questions
1 Lily wanted to find some ………………………… to wear.
2 Lily saw a lot of ………………………… inside the cupboard.
3 The dress that Lily found was a beautiful, shiny ………………………… colour.
The dress was her mother’s old party dress. Lily took off her sweater and jeans, and put the pink dress on. It was too long and very big, but Lily loved it. She looked in the tall mirror and smiled. Then, she went downstairs to the living room. She started to dance and sing to her favorite music.
4 The pink dress was an old ………………………… that belonged to Lily’s mother.
5 Lily took off her ………………………… before she put the dress on.
6 Lily smiled when she looked at herself in the ………………………… .
7 Lily went to the ………………………… and started singing and dancing.
Suddenly, Lily’s mother walked into the room. She looked at Lily and started to laugh. ‘That is my favorite dress!’ her mother said. ‘You look great in it.’ Then, her mother took a photo of Lily with her phone. They danced together in the living room all afternoon.
8 When Lily’s mother saw her in the dress, she started ………………………… .
9 Lily’s mother used her ………………………… to take a photo.
10 Lily and her mother ………………………… in the living room all afternoon.
ANSWER KEY
1 fun clothes 2 old things 3 pink
4 party dress 5 sweater and jeans 6 tall mirror 7 living room
8 to laugh 9 phone 10 danced together
Reading 2
Read the story. Write words to complete the sentences about the story.
You can use 1, 2 or 3 words.
The Birthday Cake
Yesterday was Sam’s tenth birthday. His best friend, Alex, wanted to give him a very special present. Alex and his mother went to a famous cake shop in their town. Alex looked at all the food and chose a huge, round cake. It had chocolate on the top.
Examples
Yesterday was ………Sam’s tenth birthday……… .
Alex wanted to give a special present to his ………best friend……… .
Questions
1 Alex and his mother visited a …………………… in their town.
2 Alex chose a …………………… for Sam.
3 The cake had …………………… on the top.
In the afternoon, Alex walked to Sam’s house with the big box. He walked very carefully because the cake was heavy. When Alex arrived, he saw lots of friends in the garden. They were playing fun games and listening to music. Alex went into the kitchen and put ten bright candles on the cake.
4 Alex carried the cake in a …………………… to his friend’s house.
5 Alex walked carefully because the cake was …………………… .
6 Sam’s friends played games and listened to music in the …………………… .
7 Alex put …………………… on the birthday cake.
Alex carried the beautiful cake out to the garden. Everyone stopped playing and sang a happy song for Sam. Sam was very surprised and smiled. He blew out the candles quickly. “Thank you, Alex!” he said. “This is the best present!” Then, they all ate the delicious cake together.
8 When Alex carried the cake outside, everyone sang a …………………… .
9 Sam was …………………… when he saw the cake.
10 Sam thought the cake was the …………………… !
ANSWER KEY
1 famous cake shop 2 huge, round cake 3 chocolate
4 big box 5 heavy 6 garden 7 ten bright candles
8 happy song 9 very surprised 10 best present
Reading 3
Read the story. Write words to complete the sentences about the story.
You can use 1, 2 or 3 words.
The Heavy Shopping Bags
Last Saturday, Sally and her dad went to the new market in the town. They walked there because it was a sunny morning. They wanted to buy lots of food for a family picnic. Sally carried a small green bag, and her dad carried two big bags.
Examples
Sally and her dad went to the ………new market……… on Saturday.
The weather was very nice because it was a ………sunny morning……… .
Questions
1 They needed to get a lot of food for a ………………………… .
2 Sally had a ………………………… to carry things in.
3 Her father had ………………………… with him.
First, they bought some cheese, bread, and a big watermelon. Then, Dad bought six bottles of orange juice and some sweet cakes. He put everything inside his big bags. After an hour, they finished shopping. “Can we walk home now?” asked Sally. “No,” said her dad. “These bags are too heavy. I cannot carry them.”
4 The first things they bought were cheese, bread, and a ………………………… .
5 Dad also got some sweet cakes and ………………………… of orange juice.
6 They shopped for ………………………… before they finished.
7 Dad couldn’t walk home because the bags were ………………………… .
Sally and her dad stood outside the market and waited. Soon, they saw a yellow taxi. Dad stopped the taxi and they climbed inside with their shopping. The driver was very friendly and drove them quickly to their house. “That was a good ride!” laughed Sally.
8 Sally and her dad waited ………………………… for a ride.
9 They went home in a ………………………… with all their bags.
10 The friendly driver took them to their ………………………… quickly.
ANSWER KEY
1 family picnic
2 small green bag
3 two big bags
4 big watermelon
5 six bottles
6 an hour
7 too heavy
8 outside the market
9 yellow taxi
10 house