Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Daily Pet Care & Responsibilities
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Life in the Saddle
Fifteen-year-old Lily loves sharing her life on the internet. While her classmates spend their weekends playing video games or sleeping late, Lily is busy writing her popular blog. She writes about her beautiful brown horse, Bella. Lily wanted a horse for years, and last spring, her parents finally bought Bella for her.
In her blog, Lily explains that keeping a horse is not easy. Every morning, she has to wake up at six o’clock to feed Bella and give her fresh water. After school, Lily must clean the dirty stable. She has to do this heavy work every day, even when it is raining or very cold outside. Sometimes, her arms and legs ache.
However, Lily also writes about the fantastic times she has. At the weekends, she rides Bella through the tall trees in the local forest. Lily feels completely free when she goes riding. She says that Bella is her best friend and always listens to her problems. This special relationship makes all the difficult jobs feel unimportant.
Many teenagers read Lily’s blog because they want to buy a horse, too. Lily hopes her stories give them a true picture of the daily routine. Next month, she is going to post some videos to show how to brush a horse correctly. She knows having an animal takes a lot of time, but she wouldn’t change a thing.
1 What do we learn about Lily in the first paragraph?
(A) She spends her weekends playing video games.
(B) She enjoys doing an activity that her friends do not do.
(C) She loves sleeping late before writing her popular blog.
2 What does Lily have to do after school?
(A) Make sure her animal’s home is tidy.
(B) Wake up at six o’clock to do heavy work.
(C) Feed Bella and give her fresh water.
3 Why does Lily find the difficult jobs unimportant?
(A) Because she usually talks about the tall trees in the local forest.
(B) Because she loves doing the difficult jobs at the weekends.
(C) Because she has a very close friendship with Bella.
4 What is Lily going to do next month?
(A) Help the teenagers who read her blog to buy a horse.
(B) Upload some films to teach people about animal care.
(C) Finally change a thing about her daily routine.
5 What is the best title for this article?
(A) How to ride through the local forest
(B) The good and bad points of having a horse
(C) The best way to make a popular blog
ANSWER KEY
1 B 2 A 3 C 4 B 5 B
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Toby’s Cool Rabbits
Fifteen-year-old Toby loves animals more than anything. While his friends enjoy playing video games in their bedrooms, Toby prefers spending his free time in his garden. He has two large rabbits called Bugs and Lola. They live outside in a beautiful wooden house.
Last week, the summer holidays started and the weather became extremely hot. Toby was worried about his pets. Rabbits have thick fur, and high temperatures can be dangerous for them. Toby wanted to find a way to keep them comfortable, so he searched for information on the internet. He learned that they need a lot of shade and fresh water.
Toby quickly went to work. First, he moved the rabbits’ wooden house under a large tree so the sun could not reach it. Next, he put some ice in their water bowls to make the drinks very cold. Finally, he gave Bugs and Lola some cold carrots from the family fridge.
The new ideas worked perfectly. The rabbits felt much better and slept comfortably in the shade all afternoon. Next weekend, Toby is going to buy a small plastic bath for his pets to play in. He hopes to become a vet when he finishes school so he can look after all kinds of animals.
1 What does Toby like doing when he is not at school?
(A) playing video games in his bedroom
(B) being outside at his home
(C) building beautiful wooden houses
2 Why did Toby look on the internet?
(A) to find out how to protect his pets from the heat
(B) to buy some thick fur for his rabbits
(C) to discover how dangerous the summer holidays are
3 What did Toby give his rabbits to eat?
(A) some ice from their water bowls
(B) a large tree from the garden
(C) a meal of chilled vegetables
4 What is Toby planning to do next weekend?
(A) sleep comfortably in the shade
(B) get a little pool for the rabbits
(C) finish school and become a vet
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) A teenager’s plan to help his pets in the summer
(B) How to build a wooden house for rabbits
(C) The most dangerous animals in the garden
ANSWER KEY
1 B 2 A 3 C 4 B 5 A
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The Secret in the Drawer
Fifteen-year-old Lucas loves his pet cat, Bella. She is usually a very good cat who enjoys playing in the garden with Lucas. However, Lucas noticed something strange last week. Every afternoon, Bella completely disappeared. Lucas looked under the beds and behind the sofa, but he couldn’t find her anywhere.
On Saturday morning, Lucas was getting ready to go to a friend’s birthday party. He went to his bedroom and opened his bottom drawer because he wanted to wear his favourite clean sweater. Suddenly, he saw thick orange hair all over his dark clothes. He was very surprised and didn’t understand how it got there.
Then, Lucas looked closer and laughed. Deep inside the drawer, Bella was sleeping quietly. She looked extremely comfortable on top of his winter clothes. Suddenly, Lucas understood everything. For weeks, his mother complained that his clean T-shirts smelled like a pet. Now he knew the secret!
Lucas couldn’t be angry with Bella because she looked so sweet. Instead of shouting, he carefully picked her up and closed the drawer. The next day, he went to the pet shop with his pocket money. He bought Bella a lovely soft bed. Now, Bella sleeps in her own bed, and Lucas always remembers to close his clothes drawers!
1 What did Lucas think was unusual last week?
(A) Bella started playing in the garden with him.
(B) His pet was impossible to find during the day.
(C) He looked under the beds and behind the sofa.
2 Why did Lucas open his drawer on Saturday?
(A) to go to a friend’s birthday party
(B) to clean up some thick orange hair
(C) to get a particular piece of clothing
3 What did Lucas finally understand?
(A) the reason why his shirts had an animal smell
(B) that Bella was sleeping quietly in his room
(C) why his mother complained about doing the washing
4 What did Lucas do about the situation?
(A) He shouted at Bella.
(B) He spent his cash on a new item for his cat.
(C) He went to the pet shop to get pocket money.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) How to clean thick orange hair from clothes
(B) The best pet shops in the town centre
(C) The truth about a cat’s hidden resting place
ANSWER KEY
1 B 2 C 3 A 4 B 5 C