Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Weather, Climate & Environmental Awareness

Exercises:   12345

Reading 1

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Tom’s Hot Summer

Fourteen-year-old Tom loves spending his summer holidays outside. But this year, July felt very uncomfortable. His grandfather often told him that the summers were much cooler in the past. Tom wanted to know if this was true, so he decided to start a science project.

He planned to check how hot it was every single day. At two o’clock every afternoon, Tom walked into his garden. He didn’t look for the weather on his computer. Instead, he carefully looked at an old thermometer that his aunt gave him for his birthday, and wrote the numbers in a small red notebook.

When August finished, Tom had a lot of useful information. He went to the local library and found a book about the weather in his town twenty years ago. When he looked at the old temperatures, he was very surprised. The days in his notebook were usually three degrees hotter than the days in the old book.

Tom showed his little notebook to his science teacher, Mr. Clark. Mr. Clark thought it was excellent work. He asked Tom to talk about his summer project in front of the whole school. Tom feels a bit nervous about speaking, but he hopes his numbers will make other teenagers care more about our changing planet.

1   Why did Tom start his science project?

     (A) He loves spending his summer holidays outside.

     (B) He wanted to check if the weather was different before.

     (C) His grandfather often told him to do a science project.

2   How did Tom find out the daily temperature?

     (A) By checking for the weather on his computer.

     (B) By reading an instrument he got as a gift.

     (C) By writing the numbers in a small red notebook.

3   What did Tom learn at the end of August?

     (A) He went to the local library to find a book.

     (B) The days in the old book were usually three degrees hotter.

     (C) His area is warmer now than it was in the past.

4   What is Tom going to do next?

     (A) Give a short talk to the other students.

     (B) Show his little notebook to his science teacher.

     (C) Feel a bit nervous about speaking.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) How to use an old thermometer

     (B) A teenager’s climate change project

     (C) The science teacher’s little notebook

Reading 2

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Mark’s Picture of Two Worlds

Thirteen-year-old Mark loves art. Last month, his teacher asked the class to create a special project about the environment. Mark wanted to do something different. He decided to make a large picture showing two halves of the Earth. One half was healthy, and the other half was sick.

For the healthy side, Mark used bright paints. He painted beautiful green forests and deep blue oceans. He also drew lots of happy animals and birds everywhere. He spent a whole weekend just mixing the perfect colours. He wanted anyone who looked at it to feel relaxed and happy.

Making the sick side was much harder. Instead of using paint, Mark went to the local park and collected rubbish. He found old plastic bags, sweet wrappers, and dirty paper. He glued all these things to his picture. This side of the Earth looked grey, ugly, and empty.

When Mark brought his project to school, his classmates were amazed. They loved the healthy side, but the sick side made them feel worried. His art teacher was extremely pleased and hung the picture in the school hall. Mark hopes his art will make people think carefully before they throw their rubbish away.

1   Why did Mark make the picture of the Earth?

     (A) It was a piece of school work about nature.

     (B) He asked the class to create a special project.

     (C) He wanted to do something different.

2   What did Mark do to show a healthy Earth?

     (A) He spent a whole weekend looking at happy animals.

     (B) He took a long time to make the right colours.

     (C) He felt relaxed and happy looking at it.

3   How did Mark create the sick side of the Earth?

     (A) He used dirty things that he found outside.

     (B) He went to the local park to use paint.

     (C) He drew a grey, ugly, and empty picture.

4   When people saw the project at school, they

     (A) hung the picture in the school hall.

     (B) felt quite afraid because of the bad half.

     (C) threw their rubbish away carefully.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) How to clean up your local park

     (B) An art project to help our planet

     (C) The best way to paint beautiful animals

Reading 3

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Toby’s Dry Future

Toby is a 15-year-old boy who worries about the environment. Every day, he sees his friends and family wasting water. His brother takes very long showers, and his classmates always leave the tap on when they wash their hands. Toby wanted to stop this, so he decided to enter a school writing competition.

Toby wrote a story about the year 2080. In his story, the world is completely dry because it never rains. The weather is always incredibly hot. Because there are no rivers or lakes, people must buy tiny bottles of dirty water for a lot of money. It is a very difficult life.

When he finished, Toby gave the story to his family to read. His younger sister felt really afraid. Toby was actually happy about this. He didn’t want to make her cry, but his plan was to scare people. He believed that if people felt frightened, they would start saving water immediately.

A week later, Toby won first prize in the school competition. However, something else made him even happier. His brother finally started taking shorter showers, and his parents bought a special machine to save rainwater. Next month, Toby is going to put his story on the internet to help save the planet.

1   Why did Toby enter the writing competition?

     (A) He wanted to stop people from using too much water.

     (B) He wanted to take very long showers.

     (C) He saw his brother leave the tap on.

2   What do we learn about the year 2080 in Toby’s story?

     (A) It is impossible to find cheap, clean water.

     (B) People have a very difficult life on rivers or lakes.

     (C) People pay a lot of money for tiny bottles of clean water.

3   How did Toby feel when his sister read the story?

     (A) glad that his plan to frighten people worked

     (B) sad because he wanted to make her cry

     (C) really afraid of his younger sister

4  What made Toby the happiest at the end?

     (A) His family changed their daily water habits.

     (B) He won first prize in the school competition.

     (C) He put his story on the internet to help the planet.

5   What is the best title for this article?

     (A) A scary story to help the Earth

     (B) How to win a school writing competition

     (C) The boy who travels to the year 2080

Exercises:   12345