Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Software, Coding & AI

Exercises:   1234

Reading 1

For each question, choose the correct answer.

1   Who made an app that can speak in different languages?

     (A) Hugo   (B) Clara   (C) Liam

2   Who says their app was very cheap to make?

     (A) Hugo   (B) Clara   (C) Liam

3   Who designed the app to help people who cannot see well?

     (A) Hugo   (B) Clara   (C) Liam

4   Who spent a lot of time changing the speed of the voices?

     (A) Hugo   (B) Clara   (C) Liam

5   Who used their own voice to make the computer sound?

     (A) Hugo   (B) Clara   (C) Liam

6   Who was surprised that many young children used the app?

     (A) Hugo   (B) Clara   (C) Liam

7   Who plans to add more realistic computer sounds in the future?

     (A) Hugo   (B) Clara   (C) Liam

Making Computer Voices Talk

Hugo

I love coding, so I decided to build a simple text-to-speech application. It didn’t cost much money to build because I found free tools online. To create the robot voice, I recorded myself speaking into a microphone for hours. The application only works in English at the moment, and the voices speak fast. Next year, I want to make the talking sound more real because right now it sounds like a machine. I also hope children will try it one day to make dialogues for school plays.

Clara

Building my computer dialogue app was an amazing project. I wanted it to be international, so it can talk in French, Spanish and English. I used voices from my favorite actors to make the sound clear. My voices already sound like real humans, but I worked for weeks on making the words faster or slower so users can create perfect stories. The application looks beautiful, with bright green and blue buttons, so people love watching it on their screens. It was quite expensive to sell online, but many students buy it.

Liam

My app lets users type dialogues and hear them instantly. I spent a lot of money buying sounds, but it was worth it. I made this software because I think it is very useful for blind people who need to hear text from their computer screens. After I put it on the internet, I didn’t expect young kids to love it so much, but many teachers use it for reading stories to children now! It can change word speed easily with one click, and it can read text in English and German.

Reading 2

For each question, choose the correct answer.

1   Which person used an app that was recommended by a teacher?

     (A) Tuan   (B) Linh   (C) Minh

2   Which person says their app works well on an old smartphone?

     (A) Tuan   (B) Linh   (C) Minh

3   Which person spent a long time learning how to add music?

     (A) Tuan   (B) Linh   (C) Minh

4   Which person says they can finish their video very quickly?

     (A) Tuan   (B) Linh   (C) Minh

5   Which person likes using special stickers in their presentation?

     (A) Tuan   (B) Linh   (C) Minh

6   Which person shares their videos directly with classmates online?

     (A) Tuan   (B) Linh   (C) Minh

7   Which person had to delete other apps to make space for the video editor?

     (A) Tuan   (B) Linh   (C) Minh

Making School Videos

Tuan

I love making science videos for my class. I told my teacher about this program, and she was very happy with my work. My mobile phone is quite ancient, but this software doesn’t cause any problems or slow down. Adding popular songs to the background is fast. My favorite part is putting funny digital labels and pictures on the screen to show different ideas. It is completely free, so I didn’t have to pay anything.

Linh

My history instructor suggested I download this app for our group project on old cities. It is wonderful because it takes me almost no time to complete a presentation before class starts. However, I had to remove some favorite games from my phone storage because the program needs a lot of room. It doesn’t have many cute stickers to choose from, but the text tools are excellent. It is a fantastic free tool for every student.

Minh

I use this simple video tool for my English geography presentations. It is a very small file, so it fits easily on any device without taking up space. I needed many hours to practice putting beautiful sounds and audio tracks into my project, but now it sounds great. When the video is ready, I can send it straight to my friends on the internet with one button. I never pay for apps, so this zero-cost option is perfect for me.

Reading 3

For each question, choose the correct answer.

1   Which person found an app that does not cost anything to use?

     (A) Leo   (B) Zoe   (C) Sam

2   Which person uses the app to read menus in restaurants?

     (A) Leo   (B) Zoe   (C) Sam

3   Which person says the app struggles to read text when it is dark?

     (A) Leo   (B) Zoe   (C) Sam

4   Which person likes that the app can speak the translated words out loud?

     (A) Leo   (B) Zoe   (C) Sam

5   Which person deleted the app because it used too much phone memory?

     (A) Leo   (B) Zoe   (C) Sam

6   Which person used the app while travelling on public transport?

     (A) Leo   (B) Zoe   (C) Sam

7   Which person was surprised by how quickly the app worked?

     (A) Leo   (B) Zoe   (C) Sam

Camera Translation Apps

Leo

I needed help during my school trip to Spain last month. I downloaded a popular translation app. I was amazed because it translated street signs in less than a second—I didn’t think it would be that fast! The best part was that I didn’t have to pay a single penny for it. It worked perfectly under the bright sun. However, it took up a huge amount of space on my mobile phone. Because my device became so slow, I had to remove the app completely as soon as I returned home.

Zoe

I use my translation app almost every weekend. I love trying food from different countries, so I often go to new places to eat. I just point my phone camera at the list of meals, and it changes the foreign words into English instantly. It also has a great button that plays the audio of the words, so I can listen to how they sound before I talk to the waiter. My friend paid quite a lot of money for this app, but for me, it is excellent. It doesn’t take much memory on my phone at all.

Sam

Last summer, I used a smart translation tool while I was riding a train across Germany. It was really helpful for understanding the information on my travel tickets. It didn’t cost anything to download, which was fantastic, and it has a feature to play the sound of words. But the app isn’t perfect. When the sun went down and it became dark inside the carriage, the camera could not see the letters clearly, and it stopped working well. I needed to wait until we arrived at a bright station to use it again.

Exercises:   1234