Practice English Reading Exercises for B1 – Animations & Family Entertainment 5

Exercises:   123456

Reading 1

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to find a mystery-solving family film to watch.

There are descriptions of eight family movies.

Decide which movie would be the most suitable for the people below.

1   The Green family wants a film about young people trying to solve a crime. They love tracking down hidden hints. Because their children are small, they need a short movie that finishes in under ninety minutes.

2   Elena and her teenage brother want an adventure featuring school pupils working as investigators. They prefer a slightly scary, tense atmosphere with plenty of mild suspense. It is also important that the movie has lots of fun music.

3   Tom and his ten-year-old son want a mystery set in a mysterious historic building. They enjoy characters searching for objects using secret codes, but they prefer a comedy with plenty of jokes to make them laugh throughout.

4   Lucas and his cousins want to watch an adventure about a team of young relatives cracking a case. They want a story that takes place outside in the countryside and only watch highly praised films that won prizes recently.

5   The Taylor family wants a thrilling mystery with a surprise twist at the end. They enjoy characters gathering footprints and evidence to catch a robber, but the movie must be a cartoon rather than featuring real actors.

Mystery-Solving Family Films

A The Backpack Detectives

Follow three school friends as they try to uncover who stole the school trophy. Younger viewers will love watching them discover secret messages and old footprints around the town. This delightful story avoids terrifying scenes and has a short running time of exactly eighty minutes, making it ideal for families.

B Midnight Clues

Two teenagers open a private detective agency to investigate strange noises in their neighborhood. The creepy shadows and spooky moments will keep you on the edge of your seat with mild excitement. To make the adventure even better, the film features a fantastic soundtrack filled with catchy pop songs.

C The Castle Puzzle

When a family visits an ancient castle, the kids find a map leading to a hidden room. They spend the afternoon solving puzzles and ancient letters to track down a lost crown. This brilliant comedy is full of hilarious lines that will ensure everyone is laughing from start to finish.

D Forest Secrets

This film follows a group of cousins acting as town detectives during their summer holidays. Most of the action takes place in beautiful green forests and wild fields as they follow a trail of clues. This beautiful production was awarded the Best Family Film trophy last month for its excellent acting.

E The Cartoon Inspector

This beautifully animated project is about a brilliant puppy and his owner collecting photographs and strange notes to find a thief. It builds great suspense as they chase the villain through the city, leading to an unexpected conclusion that nobody will guess. It is a perfect treat for animation fans.

F The River Mystery

Join a team of young friends investigating a mysterious boat that appeared near their village. They spend their days exploring the local rivers and countryside looking for signs. It is an interesting story, but at three hours long, it requires a lot of patience from the audience.

G Whispering Walls

A brother and sister visit their grandfather’s old mansion and discover a secret diary filled with mysterious codes. The film creates a dark, serious, and creepy environment with plenty of suspense as they search the dark hallways. There is no background music or humor, keeping the tone strictly dramatic.

H The Great Cookie Robbery

This hilarious cartoon follows a group of farm animals trying to stop a greedy raccoon from stealing their biscuits. It is a very simple and predictable story full of silly chases and physical comedy. While children will find it amusing, do not expect any clever clues or unexpected endings.

Reading 2

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to find a holiday-themed family movie.

There are descriptions of eight movies.

Decide which movie would be the most suitable for the people below.

1   The Smith family wants a Halloween movie to watch with their young children, so it must not be very scary. They want a story about a brother and sister learning to work together to solve a spooky mystery.

2   Marco is looking for a festive movie about the 25th of December. He loves seeing deep snow and beautiful winter weather on screen. He also wants a film where the characters perform lots of fun songs.

3   Chloe wants a funny comedy about celebrating the New Year. She is looking for a story that follows a family going on a long journey or trip together. It must have plenty of jokes to make her laugh.

4   Sarah wants to see a cartoon about the 31st of October. She loves stories that include magic or friendly witches. She is looking for a movie that focuses on the special relationship between a mother and her daughter.

5   David wants a winter holiday film where the main actors are cute animals. He enjoys scenes showing characters cooking or baking delicious meals. He hopes the movie teaches an important lesson about sharing gifts with poor people.

Holiday Family Movies

A The Pumpkin Secret

This exciting autumn tale follows two young relatives who must join forces to find a missing friendly ghost. It is full of October atmosphere, with dark nights and fun costumes, but it remains completely safe and gentle for little ones to enjoy without causing any bad dreams at bedtime.

B The Winter Melody

Celebrate the festive season with this beautiful adventure. The action takes place in a frozen village completely covered in thick ice and freezing weather. Viewers will definitely enjoy watching the cheerful townspeople dance and use their voices to share wonderful, catchy tunes throughout the traditional December celebration. It is truly magical.

C Midnight Road

Join the hilarious Jones relatives as they travel across the country to reach their grandparents’ house before the clock strikes twelve on December 31st. Their transport breaks down, leading to brilliant, humorous situations. You will certainly not stop giggling during this entertaining, light-hearted road trip adventure. It’s perfect for everyone.

D The Spellbook

This beautiful, hand-drawn adventure takes place during the spookiest night of the year. A female parent and her female child discover they have special powers and can cast exciting spells. It is a wonderful, colorful exploration of family connections, featuring flying brooms, potions, and brilliant artistic animation. You will love it!

E The Forest Feast

A group of clever dogs and cats decide to prepare a massive dinner for the winter holidays. You will love watching these furry friends mix ingredients and make sweet treats. The heart-warming conclusion reminds us why it is so important to provide food and presents for those who have nothing.

F The Frozen Ghost

This spooky October mystery happens in a town that experiences a sudden, freezing winter storm. The local children spend their time singing incredible melodies while wearing their scary costumes in the thick ice. However, the dark and terrifying moments might be too much for smaller kids to handle. Adults will love it.

G A December Wish

This colourful, painted movie focuses on a woman and her little girl as they prepare for the 25th of December. They travel around their snowy town to buy gifts for poor families. There is no magic involved, just a realistic, sweet story about love and helping others during the winter.

H The Party Planners

Get ready to laugh out loud as a group of friends tries to organize the biggest celebration to welcome the new year. Everything goes wrong at their local community hall, resulting in hilarious accidents. The entire story happens in one room, providing plenty of excellent jokes and silly physical comedy.

Reading 3

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to find a classic hand-drawn animation to watch.

There are descriptions of eight animated films.

Decide which animated film would be the most suitable for the people below.

1   Tom wants to watch a funny movie from the 1990s that will make him laugh out loud. He only has a short break, so the film must be less than an hour long.

2   Maria is looking for a hand-drawn film with beautiful natural environments. She wants something educational that teaches her about history. It is also important that the movie gives her a warm, nostalgic feeling from her childhood.

3   Alex loves traditional animation with non-stop action and exciting adventures. He wants to watch a movie created before the 1990s. He is also looking for a film that features extremely well-known, memorable songs.

4   Sarah wants to stream a science fiction movie set in outer space without paying any money. She prefers traditional animation, but she wants the artwork to look extremely realistic rather than like a basic cartoon.

5   David enjoys serious, sad stories rather than happy ones. He wants to watch an emotional hand-drawn film released near the end of the 1990s. He specifically prefers movies where the main characters are talking animals.

Classic Hand-Drawn Animations

A Silly Friends

This brilliant piece of traditional art was released in 1996 and is packed with hilarious jokes. It follows two clumsy friends making silly mistakes around their town. Running at just forty-five minutes, it perfectly fits into a quick daily schedule while guaranteeing plenty of smiles and loud giggles from start to finish.

B The Great Journey

Released in 1998, this hand-drawn adventure features talking dogs and cats trying to find a new home. It is a wonderfully funny tale that will constantly make you smile. However, you should prepare for a very long evening, as this beautifully detailed story lasts for well over two and a half hours.

C Rivers of Time

If you want to remember the good old days of your youth, this charming film is perfect. Sketched completely by hand, it teaches viewers factual events about ancient European kings. You will be amazed by the gorgeously painted forests, mountains, and rivers that fill the background of every single scene.

D Desert Heroes

Created in 1985, this classic sketched movie is full of thrilling sword fights and fast horse chases across the desert. It is an incredibly exciting ride for fans of intense stories. There is absolutely no singing or background music, focusing only on the sounds of the intense, fast-paced desert battles.

E The Pirate’s Map

This 1982 masterpiece offers a thrilling journey across the dangerous oceans. Sketched with pencils and paint, the intense battles and sword fights are incredibly exciting. It is also globally recognized for its incredible pop and rock tunes, which topped the music charts for months after the movie was finally shown.

F Beyond the Sun

Explore the galaxy in this incredible journey through the solar system. The traditional artists worked hard to make the spaceships and planets look exactly like real life. Best of all, this stunning cosmic tale is available on open platforms at zero cost, so anyone can enjoy it immediately online.

G Star Jumpers

This open-access video costs nothing to stream and takes viewers on a wild trip to distant planets. The traditional hand-drawn style is extremely basic and cartoon-like, featuring silly shapes rather than true-to-life details. It is highly educational, teaching actual science facts about how the solar system was originally formed.

H Fading Shadows

Arriving in cinemas in 1999, this beautiful paper-and-pencil animation centers on a group of wild wolves. Unlike many cheerful cartoons, this serious drama explores themes of loss and loneliness. You will definitely need tissues for the deeply heartbreaking conclusion that leaves the woodland creatures facing a very difficult, emotional future.

Exercises:   123456