Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – School Trips & Excursions
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A Surprising Art Trip
Fourteen-year-old Toby usually enjoys his school art lessons. He loves drawing detailed pictures of animals and birds. Last Thursday, his teacher, Mrs. Clark, took the class to a new modern art gallery in the city centre. Toby felt quite excited to go on a trip, but he didn’t know much about modern art.
Inside the gallery, Toby looked at a huge painting on the wall. It only had a few black and red lines. His best friend, Leo, said it looked like a fast car. However, Toby didn’t agree. He thought someone made a mistake with their paint. He looked at the information card next to it, but he still didn’t understand it.
Later, the class saw a tall sculpture. It was made of old bicycle wheels and plastic bottles. Toby laughed and told Leo it looked like a pile of rubbish. Mrs. Clark heard him and explained that the artist wanted people to think about recycling and protecting the planet. After that, Toby looked at the strange objects more carefully.
Before they went back to school, Toby visited the gallery shop. He bought a small postcard of the painting with the lines. He still prefers his animal drawings, but he learned that modern art doesn’t have to look like real things. He is going to try making a modern sculpture with old toys this weekend!
1 How did Toby feel about the school excursion?
(A) He was looking forward to leaving the school for a while.
(B) He wanted to draw detailed pictures of animals and birds there.
(C) He was unhappy because he didn’t know much about modern art.
2 What was Toby’s opinion of the painting with lines?
(A) He agreed with his best friend that it looked like a fast car.
(B) He believed that it was an error by the artist.
(C) He understood it after he looked at the information card.
3 According to the teacher, why did the artist use old wheels and bottles?
(A) Because he wanted to build a large pile of rubbish.
(B) To send a message about looking after the environment.
(C) Because Toby laughed and told Leo to look at them.
4 What did Toby decide to do after his visit?
(A) Buy a huge painting before they went back to school.
(B) Stop doing his animal drawings in art lessons.
(C) Create his own unusual artwork at his house.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) The boy who learned to understand strange art
(B) How to paint a fast car with black and red lines
(C) Mrs. Clark’s detailed pictures of animals
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 B 3 B 4 C 5 A
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Learning to Save the Planet
Fourteen-year-old Lily loves nature, but she didn’t know much about what happens to our rubbish. Last week, her science teacher, Mr. Davies, organized a class trip to the local recycling plant. Lily felt a bit excited about going, but she also thought the place might be very dirty and smelly.
When the students arrived, a friendly guide named Sarah gave everyone a yellow hard hat for safety. She took them inside to see the huge machines. Lily was very surprised by what she saw. The building wasn’t like a rubbish dump at all. It was actually very clean, bright, and organized, although it was quite loud.
Next, the class watched how the fast machines and the workers separated paper, plastic, and glass into different boxes. Sarah explained something very interesting to the students. She said that old plastic water bottles can become new clothes, like warm winter jackets! Lily couldn’t believe it. She didn’t know that throwing away a plastic bottle could help make something we wear.
At the end of the trip, Mr. Davies gave every student a special notebook. It was made completely from old recycled paper. The trip really changed Lily’s mind about rubbish. She is now the president of the new recycling club at her school, and she spends her free time teaching her friends how to protect the environment.
1 How did Lily feel before the school trip?
(A) She believed the recycling plant would smell bad.
(B) She knew a lot about what happens to our rubbish.
(C) She was too excited to listen to Mr. Davies.
2 When Lily went inside the building, she was surprised because
(A) Sarah gave everyone a yellow hard hat for safety.
(B) the place was completely different from a rubbish dump.
(C) it was very quiet and she could hear the huge machines.
3 What did Lily learn about old plastic water bottles?
(A) Workers separate them to make fast machines.
(B) People must put them into many different boxes.
(C) They can be changed into items of clothing.
4 What do we learn about Lily in the last paragraph?
(A) She made a special notebook from recycled paper.
(B) She leads a group to help the planet at her school.
(C) Mr. Davies asked her to teach her friends in her free time.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) How to clean up a rubbish dump
(B) A useful visit to a recycling plant
(C) Making new notebooks for students
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 B 3 C 4 B 5 B
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A Quiet Day on the Water
Mia is fourteen years old and lives in a very big, noisy city. Last Friday, her geography teacher took the class on a school excursion to a beautiful national park. Usually, Mia loves visiting busy places like museums or exciting theme parks with her friends. However, this quiet trip into nature was a wonderful surprise for her.
When they arrived at the large campsite, the teacher said they had two hours of free time before lunch. Most of Mia’s classmates stayed on the green grass to play volleyball or listen to loud music. But Mia noticed some small wooden boats near the water. She asked her teacher if she could take one out on the lake, and he quickly said yes.
Mia rowed the boat to the middle of the deep lake and stopped. It was incredibly quiet out there. There was no traffic and no shouting. She could only hear the wind and the birds in the trees. She watched some silver fish swimming under the boat and took some beautiful photos with her mobile phone. For the first time all week, she felt completely relaxed and calm.
When it was time to go back, Mia slowly rowed to the shore. She was a bit sad to leave the peaceful lake, but she felt very happy about her day. She is already planning to return to exactly the same place next summer with her parents.
1 What was unusual about Mia’s school trip?
(A) She enjoyed being somewhere that was not busy.
(B) Her teacher took the class to a big, noisy city.
(C) She visited some museums and exciting theme parks.
2 What did the other students do before lunch?
(A) They did some noisy activities together.
(B) They noticed some small wooden boats.
(C) They asked the teacher for two hours of free time.
3 What did Mia do while she was on the lake?
(A) She used her phone to get pictures of animals.
(B) She listened to the traffic and shouting.
(C) She watched some birds swimming under the boat.
4 What does Mia want to do next summer?
(A) She hopes to visit the national park again with her family.
(B) She plans to slowly row to the shore.
(C) She is going to leave the peaceful lake.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) A relaxing experience in nature
(B) How to catch silver fish in a lake
(C) The geography teacher’s favourite city
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 A 3 A 4 A 5 A