Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Lost Pets & Unexpected Events

Exercises:   12345

Reading 1

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The Animals That Stole Our Lunch

My name is Sam and I am fourteen years old. Last week, I travelled to Thailand for a beach holiday with my parents. The weather was fantastic, and the sea was very warm. On our third day, my dad wanted to have a picnic in a beautiful national park.

When we arrived at the park, we walked for half an hour and found a quiet place near some tall trees. My mum put a large blue blanket on the soft grass. Then, we took out our delicious food. We had chicken sandwiches, sweet biscuits, and a lot of fresh fruit. I was very hungry and couldn’t wait to eat.

Suddenly, I heard a strange noise above my head. Before I could look up, a family of monkeys jumped down from the branches. They moved very fast! A large monkey ran across our blanket and took the whole box of sandwiches. Then, a smaller monkey grabbed all our yellow bananas.

My dad shouted, but the monkeys weren’t afraid. They just climbed back up the trees with our lunch. We watched them eat our food, so we had nothing for our picnic. In the end, we walked to a small café near the park entrance to buy some burgers. I was a bit sad about the picnic, but now I think it is a very funny story to tell my school friends.

1   What did Sam’s family decide to do on the third day of their holiday?

     (A) eat a meal outdoors in nature

     (B) travel to Thailand for a beach holiday

     (C) swim in the sea because it was very warm

2   What did Sam’s mum do when they found a place for their picnic?

     (A) She prepared a comfortable space to sit on the ground.

     (B) She walked for half an hour near some tall trees.

     (C) She took out the chicken sandwiches and sweet biscuits.

3   Which food did the biggest animal take?

     (A) a meal made with bread and meat

     (B) all our yellow bananas

     (C) a lot of fresh fruit

4   How did Sam’s family finally get something to eat?

     (A) They purchased hot food from a restaurant.

     (B) They climbed back up the trees.

     (C) They watched them eat our food.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) An unexpected problem at a picnic

     (B) A beautiful holiday in a national park

     (C) How to buy burgers in a small café

Reading 2

For each question, choose the correct answer.

An Unusual Visitor in Math Class

Last Tuesday, Leo was sitting in his math class. It was a very warm afternoon, so the teacher, Mr. Harris, opened the big window. Everyone was quietly doing their work. Suddenly, a large bird flew into the room. It was a beautiful red and green parrot.

The parrot didn’t stay quiet. It flew around the classroom and made terrible loud noises. The students stopped working and started laughing. Mr. Harris wasn’t happy. He wanted the students to finish their work because they had an important test the next day. The bird finally sat on the highest bookshelf and shouted words like “Hello!” and “Apple!”. Nobody knew what to do.

Then, Leo had a clever idea. He remembered the sweet biscuit in his school bag. He stood up, took the biscuit, and walked very slowly towards the bookshelf. He held out his hand with the food. The parrot looked at the biscuit, stopped shouting, and carefully flew down to Leo’s arm to eat it.

While the parrot was busy eating, Mr. Harris quickly closed the window. He phoned an animal rescue center. Half an hour later, a woman arrived and took the bird back to its worried owner. Leo felt proud because he saved the day. However, he couldn’t relax for long. He still had to study for his math test that evening!

1   Why was the window in the classroom open?

     (A) Because it was a hot day.

     (B) Because Mr. Harris was quietly doing his work.

     (C) Because a beautiful red and green parrot flew in.

2   How did Mr. Harris feel about the parrot?

     (A) He was happy because the students started laughing.

     (B) He didn’t like it because the class stopped working.

     (C) He wanted it to sit on the highest bookshelf.

3   What did Leo do to catch the parrot?

     (A) He shouted words like “Hello!” and “Apple!”.

     (B) He walked very quickly towards the bookshelf.

     (C) He offered the bird something to eat.

4   What happened after the bird flew down to Leo?

     (A) Mr. Harris closed the animal rescue center.

     (B) A woman arrived and took the bird away.

     (C) Leo finally finished his math test.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) Leo’s difficult math test

     (B) An unusual visitor in the classroom

     (C) How to look after a pet parrot

Reading 3

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Leo’s Tree Rescue

Fourteen-year-old Leo loves his cat, Bella. While his friends spend their Saturday afternoons playing football or relaxing at home, Leo recently had a very different kind of afternoon. He had a big problem to solve. Bella was stuck at the top of a very tall tree in the local park. She was too frightened to come down, and Leo was extremely worried about her.

To help his pet, Leo didn’t climb the tree because his parents always taught him that climbing so high is dangerous. Instead, he stood at the bottom and tried to speak to her in a soft, calm voice. He also opened a small tin of her favourite fish food and held it up, hoping the delicious smell would encourage her to climb down the branches.

After twenty minutes, Bella still didn’t move. She just looked down and made sad noises. Leo realized he couldn’t do it alone, so he used his phone to call his older brother. His brother quickly arrived with a long wooden ladder from their garage. He climbed up carefully and gently carried the shaking cat back to the safe ground.

Now, Bella is safe at home and sleeping comfortably on Leo’s bed. Leo knows that cats naturally love to explore, but he is going to watch her much more carefully when they go to the park. Most importantly, he learned that asking for help is always the smartest idea when a situation is too difficult to fix by yourself.

1   What was Leo’s problem on Saturday afternoon?

     (A) His friends didn’t want to play football with him.

     (B) His pet was too scared to climb down from a tree.

     (C) He was worried about climbing a tall tree in the park.

2   What did Leo use to try and get his cat down?

     (A) a long wooden ladder from the garage

     (B) a calm voice and some tasty food

     (C) a phone to make sad noises

3   What did Leo do when the cat refused to move?

     (A) He asked a family member to assist him.

     (B) He climbed up the tree very carefully.

     (C) He went home to get a wooden ladder.

4   What did Leo learn from this experience?

     (A) Cats should never go to the local park.

     (B) It is a good idea to get assistance from others.

     (C) He needs to learn how to climb trees safely.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) A teenager’s rescue mission in the park

     (B) How to feed a frightened cat outside

     (C) The tallest trees in the local area

Exercises:   12345