Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Arts, Music & Literature
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A World of Comics Online
Seventeen-year-old Tom has an interesting hobby. When he was younger, he only read British comic books. But two years ago, his uncle gave him some comics from Japan and France. Tom thought they were amazing! He wanted to discuss these foreign stories with other people, so he decided to start a blog online.
Writing a good review takes a lot of time. Tom always reads a new comic twice. Because many of the books are in different languages, he often has to use a dictionary to understand the difficult words. After that, he sits at his laptop and types his opinion about the drawings and the story.
In the beginning, his blog wasn’t very popular. Only his parents and his best friend visited his website. But Tom didn’t stop writing. Now, more than five thousand teenagers read his reviews every week! Sometimes, artists from other countries send him free books because they want him to write about their work.
Tom feels very proud of his website. Because he reads so many international comics, his language grades at high school are much better now. Next year, he is going to study foreign languages at university. He also hopes to start making short videos about comic books for his fans next month.
1 Why did Tom start a blog online?
(A) Because he only read British comic books.
(B) To give his uncle some comics from Japan and France.
(C) To chat with others about books from different countries.
2 What does Tom do when he works on a review?
(A) He checks what hard vocabulary means.
(B) He reads a new comic one time.
(C) He types his opinion about the dictionary.
3 What happens now that his blog is famous?
(A) Only his parents and his best friend visit his website.
(B) He receives comics without paying for them.
(C) Artists from other countries ask him to stop writing.
4 What is Tom going to do next year?
(A) Get much better language grades at high school.
(B) Do a degree in languages at university.
(C) Start making short videos about comic books.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) A teenager’s popular comic book website
(B) How to get better language grades at school
(C) The best Japanese and French comic books
ANSWER KEY
1 C 2 A 3 B 4 B 5 A
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The Teenager Drawing Pictures for Musicians
Sixteen-year-old Clara has always loved drawing. She also spends most of her free time listening to music. Last year, a local band called The Rockets needed a picture for their new song on the internet. Clara is good friends with the singer, so she offered to paint something for them.
Clara wanted her art to match the feeling of the music. She listened to the song for hours before she picked up her pencils. It was quite difficult, and she threw away a lot of her early drawings. Finally, after two weeks of hard work, she finished a beautiful picture using bright colours. The band thought it was amazing.
Soon, other independent musicians saw Clara’s picture online and contacted her. They asked her to design their album covers, too. Clara usually doesn’t ask for much money. Sometimes, the bands just give her free concert tickets to say thank you. Clara doesn’t mind, because she simply enjoys helping other young artists.
At the moment, Clara has to focus on her high school exams, so she only designs one cover a month. However, she is already planning her future. When she finishes school, she hopes to study art at university. Her biggest dream is to create an album cover for a really famous pop star one day!
1 Why did Clara paint a picture for The Rockets?
(A) She knew the person who sang in the group.
(B) She spent most of her free time listening to music.
(C) She needed a picture for their new song on the internet.
2 What does the writer say about Clara’s first cover?
(A) It was a hard job to complete.
(B) She threw away a beautiful picture.
(C) She listened to the song after she picked up her pencils.
3 What does Clara say about working for other musicians?
(A) She likes supporting people who create music.
(B) She usually asks for much money.
(C) She gives them free concert tickets to say thank you.
4 What do we learn about Clara in the final paragraph?
(A) She designs one cover a month for her high school exams.
(B) She hopes to become a really famous pop star one day.
(C) She would like to work for a very well-known singer.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) The teenager creating art for music groups
(B) How to study art at university
(C) The band that paints beautiful pictures
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 A 3 A 4 C 5 A
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The Teenager Using Poetry to Help Animals
Fifteen-year-old Lily loves writing. While her classmates spend their free time playing volleyball or watching films, Lily prefers sitting in the park and writing poems. She usually writes about nature and animals. Last month, she decided to use her hobby to help a local animal hospital.
Lily wanted to make money for the sick dogs and cats. She had a brilliant idea: she decided to print her best poems on beautiful postcards. Lily drew small pictures next to the words, but she didn’t know how to print them. Luckily, her aunt works in a printing shop, and she made two hundred postcards for free.
Selling the postcards wasn’t an easy job at first. Lily went to the town market on a Saturday morning. Unfortunately, the weather was terrible, and it rained all day. She only sold five postcards and felt quite sad. However, her dad told her not to stop trying, so she returned the next weekend.
The second weekend was very different. The sun was shining, and the market was full of people. Everyone loved her beautiful work, and she sold all her postcards in just three hours! Lily earned a lot of cash for the animal hospital. She feels incredibly proud. Next year, she hopes to publish a small book of her poems to help even more animals.
1 What does Lily enjoy doing in her free time?
(A) She likes playing volleyball or watching films.
(B) She prefers creating short texts about nature.
(C) She spends her free time helping a local animal hospital.
2 How did Lily get her postcards printed?
(A) She worked in a printing shop to make two hundred postcards.
(B) She drew small pictures next to the words on the cards.
(C) A family member produced them for her without charging money.
3 What happened on Lily’s first day at the market?
(A) She was disappointed with the number of items she sold.
(B) She felt quite sad because her dad told her to stop trying.
(C) She bought five postcards because it rained all day.
4 What is Lily planning to do in the future?
(A) She wants to create a printed collection of her writing for charity.
(B) She hopes to help even more animals in just three hours.
(C) She is going to sell all her postcards at the market next year.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) Selling postcards at the town market on Saturday
(B) How to publish a small book of poems
(C) The schoolgirl who turned her writing into a good cause
ANSWER KEY
1 B 2 C 3 A 4 A 5 C