Practice English Reading Exercises for B1 – Buying Books, Non-Fiction & Gifts

Exercises:   12345

Reading 1

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to find an art or photography coffee-table book.

There are descriptions of eight books.

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

1   Anna is looking for a book of black-and-white photography showing famous city buildings. She doesn’t have much money to spend, so it must be quite cheap. She prefers reading details about the artists who took the pictures.

2   David wants a very large book full of bright, colourful pictures of wild animals. He plans to put it on a big desk. He also wants to read interesting facts about where each creature lives in the world.

3   Maria needs a really special, expensive gift for her boss. She wants a book showing historical paintings from famous museums. It must have a thick, hard cover so that it lasts a long time without getting damaged.

4   Samuel enjoys modern street art and wants to learn how to take better photos of it. He is looking for a small, light book he can easily carry in his bag, which includes advice on improving his camera skills.

5   Lily loves the sea and wants a heavy book filled with underwater photography. She prefers looking at beautiful pictures, so it should have almost no text. She only buys things made from recycled materials to protect the environment.

Art and Photography Books

A Urban Shadows

This inexpensive paperback is an excellent choice for anyone on a tight budget. It features stunning colourless images of famous capital cities and their tallest skyscrapers. Alongside these breathtaking views, you will discover fascinating biographies explaining the lives, backgrounds, and personal stories of the talented people behind the camera lens.

B Into the Wild

Measuring half a metre wide, this huge volume will look amazing on your furniture. Every page is filled with bright, vibrant photographs of rare creatures like tigers and bears. Furthermore, the chapters include deep descriptions of the specific jungles and mountains where these beautiful species naturally make their homes.

C Museum Masterpieces

Protected by a strong, solid binding, this book presents classical art from the last five centuries. You can admire beautiful portraits and landscapes originally hung in national galleries. Surprisingly, it is incredibly affordable, making it a wonderful present for friends without requiring you to spend very much cash at all.

D The Golden Canvas

If you want to spend a lot of money to impress someone, this luxury item is the perfect choice. Wrapped in a tough, solid binding, this premium edition showcases classical art from history’s greatest centuries. The brilliant reproductions of European gallery masterpieces look absolutely incredible inside this high-quality, long-lasting publication.

E Deep Blue Secrets

Produced entirely on green, environmentally friendly paper, this heavy volume explores the deepest oceans. The images of fish and coral reefs are truly wonderful. However, it is mostly an educational encyclopedia, with very long, detailed paragraphs on marine biology that will take you many hours to completely read through.

F Painted Alleys

Discover the vibrant world of painted city walls and urban graffiti. This tiny, pocket-sized guide is extremely lightweight, making it ideal to take out walking. Inside, professional artists share excellent tips and clear instructions to help you capture your own amazing images of urban culture using your personal camera equipment.

G Ocean Silence

Dive into the amazing world of sharks and dolphins with this massive, heavy visual collection. To care for nature, the publisher printed everything on completely reused, sustainable materials. Because the focus is purely on the breathtaking ocean imagery, there are no long paragraphs or distracting words to read inside.

H City Colours

This massive, heavy volume is packed with beautiful photographs of urban graffiti from around the globe. It serves as a fantastic manual, providing excellent instructions to improve your own camera skills. Because it weighs three kilograms and is very wide, it is definitely designed to stay at home on a desk.

Reading 2

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to find a popular language learning textbook.

There are descriptions of eight language textbooks.

Decide which language textbook would be the most suitable for the people below.

1   Leo is a complete beginner who wants to learn a new language from zero. He needs a textbook that contains plenty of grammar exercises to practice rules, and it must include an audio app to help him check pronunciation.

2   Sara already knows the basics but wants a low-priced book because she has a small budget. She needs a textbook that comes with a smartphone app for listening practice on the bus, and focuses heavily on vocabulary.

3   David is learning a language for his new business job. He prefers a book filled with colorful pictures and visual charts to help him learn, and it must have a lot of grammar exercises to practice with.

4   Emily wants a fun textbook she can use to study with her young child. She needs a book designed for beginners that includes an audio CD so they can listen to stories together, but she doesn’t want complex grammar.

5   Alex wants to learn useful phrases for his upcoming summer holiday abroad. He needs a textbook that is very cheap to buy, and he wants plenty of written grammar exercises to test his knowledge before he leaves.

Language Learning Textbooks

A First Steps

Perfect for anyone starting from the very beginning with a new language. This textbook guides you through basic communication and includes lots of written tasks to practice sentence structure and grammar rules. It also comes with a fantastic downloadable phone application filled with voice recordings to help you perfect your accent.

B Word Power

This book is currently on sale at a very low cost, making it excellent for students on a budget. It focuses completely on teaching you thousands of essential words and useful phrases rather than basic grammar. Buyers also get access to an online listening tool for your mobile, perfect for studying during your daily journey.

C Talk Business

Designed specifically for professional situations and workplace communication, this textbook is incredibly helpful. The pages are full of bright photographs, diagrams, and clear tables to make learning easier. It also features dozens of pages of grammar practice to ensure your writing is always correct. Note that there are no audio elements included.

D Family Language

This wonderful book is made for parents and children to enjoy together. It is perfect for first-time learners with no prior knowledge of the language. The book avoids difficult grammar tests and instead includes a shiny disc containing songs and spoken stories, allowing you to hear the native speakers clearly at home.

E The Holiday Traveller

An excellent choice for tourists visiting foreign countries this summer. This textbook is highly inexpensive, helping you save money for your trip. It covers everyday situations like ordering food and asking for directions, and all chapters end with grammar activities and language quizzes to check your progress. It does not include any apps or CDs.

F Easy Learning

A brilliant guide for absolute beginners who want to learn a language quickly. It comes with a modern phone app so you can listen to natural conversations anywhere. The book focuses entirely on speaking and listening skills, so there are no written grammar exercises or sentence building tasks included in the chapters.

G Global Travel

Get ready for your next vacation with this detailed guide to foreign languages. It features helpful tips for packing and navigating airports, alongside deep grammar worksheets to improve your reading. However, this luxury book comes with a very high price tag, so it is not suitable for shoppers looking for a bargain.

H Office Talk

Improve your career opportunities with this smart language guide created for modern business workers. The book uses colorful pictures and charts to explain difficult concepts instantly. It also includes a free CD for pronunciation practice, though you will need to look elsewhere if you want written grammar exercises.

Reading 3

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to find a business or money management book to read.

There are descriptions of eight books.

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

1   Lucas wants to build his own company from nothing. He hopes to learn directly from the true stories of highly successful millionaires. He spends hours driving every day, so he needs a recorded audio version to listen to.

2   Maya is a university student who needs to save money and stop spending too much. She wants a guide that provides a daily schedule to follow. She dislikes screens, so she strictly needs a printed paper book.

3   Sam and Alex want to understand how to buy shares in large companies to grow their cash. They prefer reading highly amusing, comedy writers. They are busy, so they need a brief book under a hundred pages.

4   Chloe hopes to turn her baking hobby into a profitable way to earn cash. She understands things better visually, so the book must contain colourful charts. She has absolutely no money to spend on buying a guide.

5   Ben has borrowed too much cash and needs to clear his credit card debt. He wants serious, sensible instructions from a professional bank manager. He always reads on his digital tablet while travelling to his office.

Business and Money Management Books

A Building an Empire

Discover exactly how to launch your own profitable brand today. This fantastic spoken recording features completely factual interviews with the world’s richest global leaders, explaining their personal journeys to the top. Just play the voice files through your car speakers to learn brilliant corporate secrets while travelling to work!

B Zero Balances

If you owe thousands and want to fix your finances, this digital download is perfect for your electronic device. Written by a highly experienced former bank director, it provides strict, sensible rules to help you completely pay off what you owe. There are absolutely no jokes or silly stories here.

C The Wealthy Student

This helpful guide teaches young adults how to buy shares and grow their savings. The author uses brilliant, funny jokes to explain difficult financial rules. You can order this thick, heavy printed edition completely without charge from our website, making it an amazing gift for anyone wanting to get rich.

D Laughing at Wall Street

Getting involved in the stock market doesn’t have to be boring! The hilarious author will definitely make you smile as he explains exactly how to purchase valuable pieces of global businesses. At just eighty pages long, it is an incredibly quick and highly entertaining read for anyone short on time.

E My Financial Mistakes

Listen to the incredible, factual history of a man who lost everything and then slowly rebuilt his life. Available exclusively as an audio file for your headphones, he explains how he finally cleared all his unpaid bills. Unfortunately, he doesn’t offer any advice on creating your own brand or selling.

F The Careful Spender

Stop wasting your cash with this incredibly useful heavy paperback. It provides an excellent timetable, telling you exactly what to do with your cash from Monday to Sunday to build your savings safely. To protect your eyes from screens, it is only published as a physical object with thick pages.

G Passion to Profit

Do you want to make an income from the activities you love doing at the weekend? This fantastic online guide is completely free to access and will not cost you a penny. Every chapter is filled with bright, beautiful diagrams and painted graphics explaining exactly how to sell your creations.

H The Colorful Coin

This hilarious, laugh-out-loud guide explains how to turn your weekend painting skills into a massive global company. Every single page features beautiful, bright visual graphics to help you understand the market. However, because it contains over six hundred pages, you will definitely need several weeks to finish studying everything inside.

Exercises:   12345