Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Water Conservation & Clean Oceans
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Working Together to Clean Our Coast
Fifteen-year-old Charlie lives in a lovely town by the sea. He usually spends his weekends surfing or walking on the sand. However, last month, his town had a big music festival. The next day, Charlie went to the beach and saw plastic cups and empty food boxes everywhere. He felt extremely sad about the mess.
He wanted to change this, so he decided to start a beach clean-up group. Charlie didn’t ask his parents to help him. Instead, he spoke to his head teacher, Mr Davis. Mr Davis thought it was a brilliant idea. He told all the students about Charlie’s plan during the morning assembly and asked them to join.
On Saturday morning, Charlie waited next to the sea. He felt quite nervous, but soon thirty classmates arrived to help! They brought thick gloves and large bags. It was a very hot day, but they worked hard for three hours. They carefully picked up all the plastic cups and food boxes from the sand.
By lunch time, the beach looked absolutely beautiful again. The teenagers felt tired but very happy. Now, Charlie’s friends want to clean a different part of the coast every month. Charlie is incredibly proud of his team. When he finishes school, he hopes to study marine biology at university to continue protecting the oceans.
1 Why was Charlie sad when he visited the beach?
(A) There was a lot of rubbish left on the sand.
(B) He couldn’t go surfing or walking on the sand.
(C) He missed the big music festival in his lovely town.
2 What did Charlie do to get people for his group?
(A) He asked his parents to help him.
(B) He discussed his idea with someone who works at his school.
(C) He asked all the students to join during the morning assembly.
3 What happened on Saturday morning?
(A) Charlie felt quite nervous because it was a very hot day.
(B) The classmates carefully picked up thick gloves and large bags.
(C) A large group of teenagers came to do the job together.
4 What is Charlie planning to do later in his life?
(A) Clean a different part of the coast every month.
(B) Learn about sea life when he completes his education.
(C) Finish school and go home by lunch time.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) A successful weekend helping the local environment
(B) How to organize a big music festival by the sea
(C) The best ways to study marine biology at university
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 B 3 C 4 B 5 A
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The Boy Saving His School’s Water
Fourteen-year-old Lucas is a very unusual student. Last term, his geography teacher talked about the environment and how people waste important things like water. That afternoon, Lucas went to the boys’ bathroom and saw three leaking taps. The water was dripping onto the floor all day, and nobody cared. Lucas decided he had to stop this problem immediately.
The next day, Lucas spoke to the school cleaner, Mr Davies, to get some useful advice. Mr Davies carefully explained how the taps worked. Then, Lucas watched some short videos on the internet to learn more about the job. Finally, he asked his dad if he could borrow some small tools and put them in his school bag.
Now, Lucas stays after school every Wednesday to check all the bathrooms in the building. When he finds a broken tap, he works hard to fix it. Sometimes his classmates ask him to play basketball in the sports hall, but he always says no to them. He prefers spending his free time helping the school and the environment.
Because of Lucas, the school is using much less water this year. Last Friday, the head teacher called Lucas into her office and gave him a special book as a thank-you present. Lucas feels very happy about his successful work. Next term, he is going to teach other students how to repair simple things around the school.
1 Why did Lucas decide to fix the taps?
(A) He wanted to stop the school from losing water.
(B) His geography teacher asked him to stop the problem.
(C) He wanted to clean the water dripping onto the floor.
2 What did Lucas do before he started the work?
(A) He got information from a worker and the internet.
(B) He carefully explained how the taps worked to his dad.
(C) He borrowed some small tools from the school cleaner.
3 What happens on Wednesday afternoons?
(A) Lucas chooses to do his repairs instead of doing sports.
(B) His classmates help him to check all the bathrooms.
(C) Lucas spends his free time playing basketball in the sports hall.
4 What did the head teacher do last Friday?
(A) She gave Lucas a gift for his helpful actions.
(B) She asked Lucas to use much less water this year.
(C) She told Lucas to teach other students how to repair things.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) A student’s brilliant idea to save water
(B) How to use small tools in your bathroom
(C) The most popular geography class at school
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 A 3 A 4 A 5 A
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Tom’s River Net
Tom is a fifteen-year-old boy who lives next to a beautiful river. He enjoys walking there with his dog every afternoon. However, last summer, Tom started feeling very unhappy. He noticed that the water was full of empty plastic bottles. People often threw their rubbish into the water, and nobody cleaned it up.
Tom wanted to do something to stop the pollution. One Saturday, he looked inside his family’s garage and found some old rope and pieces of wood. He decided to use these things to build a special net. He spent the whole weekend cutting the wood and tying the rope together to make it big enough to catch the rubbish.
The next day, Tom put his new net into the river. At first, there was a problem. The river was moving too fast and it broke the wood. Tom didn’t stop trying. He took the net home, found some stronger wood, and fixed it. When he put it back in the water, it worked perfectly!
Now, Tom’s net catches dozens of bottles every day. He takes the plastic out of the water, and his classmates come to his house to help him recycle it. Tom feels extremely proud of his invention. Next month, he is going to teach other teenagers how to build these nets for their own towns.
1 Why was Tom unhappy last summer?
(A) He saw that the river was very dirty.
(B) He had to walk his dog every afternoon.
(C) Nobody cleaned up his plastic bottles.
2 What did Tom do with the items from his garage?
(A) He spent the whole weekend cleaning his family’s garage.
(B) He created something to collect the rubbish.
(C) He tied the plastic bottles to pieces of wood.
3 What happened when Tom first used his net?
(A) He broke the wood because he moved too fast.
(B) He found some stronger wood in the river.
(C) The fast water damaged his invention.
4 What do Tom’s friends do now?
(A) They take the plastic out of the water for him.
(B) They assist him with the rubbish he catches.
(C) They teach other teenagers how to build nets.
5 What is the best title for this article?
(A) How to tie rope and wood together
(B) The fastest river in the town
(C) A teenager’s clever idea to help nature
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 B 3 C 4 B 5 C