Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Planting Trees & Gardening
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A Colourful Change on Grey Street
Lily is a twelve-year-old girl who lives on Grey Street. The street has tall buildings, but it does not have any parks or gardens. Last spring, Lily looked out of her bedroom window and felt sad. “Everything is just grey and boring,” she thought. After she read an interesting magazine about beautiful gardens, she decided to change her street.
The next day, Lily went to the supermarket and bought lots of flower seeds with her pocket money. When she got home, she put a few seeds into fifty small envelopes. On each envelope, she wrote a friendly message: “Please plant these in a pot near your window. Let’s make our street beautiful!”
On Saturday morning, Lily knocked on her neighbors’ doors and gave them the free seeds. Some people were surprised. An old man called Mr. Davies said, “I have never grown anything in my life, but I will try for you, Lily!” A few people were busy and just took the envelopes quickly, but most neighbors smiled and thanked her.
Now it is summer, and Grey Street looks completely different. There are red, yellow, and blue flowers in the windows of almost every flat. In the evenings, people often come outside to water their plants. They stop and talk to each other much more than before. Lily is very happy because her street is beautiful, and she is already planning to give everyone vegetable seeds next year!
1 Why did Lily decide to change her street?
(A) She thought it looked ugly and dull.
(B) She saw some beautiful gardens from her bedroom window.
(C) She wanted to read an interesting magazine about it.
2 What did Lily do with the seeds?
(A) She placed them in little bags with a note for her neighbors.
(B) She bought them with fifty small envelopes at the supermarket.
(C) She planted them in a pot near her window.
3 When Mr. Davies got his seeds, he
(A) agreed to plant them even though he was a beginner.
(B) said he was busy and just took the envelopes quickly.
(C) knocked on his neighbors’ doors to show them the seeds.
4 What is true about Grey Street now?
(A) The neighbors chat with each other more often.
(B) People often come outside to plant vegetable seeds.
(C) There are red, yellow, and blue windows in every flat.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) How to save money on vegetables
(B) How a young girl brought colour to her street
(C) The old man who loves growing flowers
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 A 3 A 4 A 5 B
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The Park’s Best Friends
Fifteen-year-old Maya loves spending time in the large city park near her house. However, last summer, she noticed a problem. The oldest trees in the park looked very sick. Their leaves were brown, and the ground around them was completely dry. Maya felt sad and decided she had to do something.
She went to her science teacher, Mr. Davies, for advice. He explained that the old trees needed more water and better dirt to grow well. Maya thought about this and had an idea. She decided to start a group called “Tree Friends” to look after them. She put posters around her school to ask other students to join.
At the first meeting on Saturday morning, only three classmates arrived. Maya felt a little disappointed because she wanted a big group. But the four teenagers worked very hard anyway. They carried heavy buckets of water to the park and cleaned the area around the trees.
Now, six months later, the park has changed. The old trees have beautiful green leaves again, and they look strong. Also, “Tree Friends” has twenty members! People in the town are very happy with the teenagers’ work. Next month, Maya and her club are going to plant some young trees in the park, too.
1 Why was Maya sad last summer?
(A) She had to spend time in the large city park.
(B) Some of the plants in her town were not healthy.
(C) The ground around her house was completely dry.
2 How did Maya try to get members for her club?
(A) She asked her science teacher, Mr. Davies.
(B) She started a group called “Tree Friends”.
(C) She left some information on the walls at school.
3 How did Maya feel at the first meeting?
(A) unhappy about the number of teenagers there.
(B) worried because they had to work very hard.
(C) tired because she carried heavy buckets of water.
4 What is the club going to do next month?
(A) find twenty members for their group.
(B) put some new trees in the ground.
(C) make the people in the town very happy.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) A teenager’s successful park project
(B) How to carry heavy buckets of water
(C) The best science teacher at school
ANSWER KEY
1 B 2 C 3 A 4 B 5 A
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Maya’s Cool City Movie
Maya is fourteen years old and lives in a very large city. Last summer, the weather was extremely hot. Maya felt uncomfortable, but then she noticed something interesting. When she stood under the tall trees in her local park, the air was much cooler than in the busy streets. She wanted to share this information, so she decided to make a short documentary film about it.
She didn’t have an expensive camera, so she used her mobile phone to record the video. Maya spent two weekends filming different parts of the city. She also interviewed her science teacher, Mr Davis. He explained exactly how leaves help to bring the temperature down.
Making the movie wasn’t easy. The most difficult thing was cutting the video together. Maya’s computer was quite old, so it was very slow. It took her three weeks to finish the project. There were days when she wanted to give up, but her older brother helped her with the computer problems.
Finally, Maya showed her documentary to all the students at her school. They were amazed to see how much trees can change the temperature. Because of the film, the head teacher is planning to plant ten new trees in the school playground. Maya is incredibly proud and hopes to become a famous filmmaker one day.
1 Why did Maya decide to make her documentary?
(A) She wanted to show others how plants lower the temperature.
(B) She wanted to learn about the extremely hot weather.
(C) She enjoyed walking in the busy streets.
2 How did Maya get the information and pictures for her film?
(A) She bought an expensive camera to record the video.
(B) She asked a teacher to explain things on video.
(C) She spent two weeks filming the city.
3 What was Maya’s biggest problem while making the film?
(A) Taking three weeks to finish the project.
(B) Asking her older brother to help her.
(C) Organising the video clips on a slow machine.
4 What is going to happen because of Maya’s film?
(A) There will be more green spaces at her school.
(B) All the students will plant ten new trees.
(C) Maya will become a famous filmmaker.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) The hottest summer in the large city
(B) A young girl’s project to cool the city
(C) How to fix an old computer
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 B 3 C 4 A 5 B