Practice English Reading Exercises for B1 – Volunteering & Community Work

Exercises:   12345

Reading 1

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to find an animal shelter volunteer position.

There are descriptions of eight animal shelters.

Decide which animal shelter would be the most suitable for the people below.

1   Tom loves dogs and wants to spend his time giving them their meals. He is physically fit for heavy work like washing out their living spaces. He is only free to volunteer on Saturday mornings.

2   Elena wants to care for very sick cats. She possesses the mental toughness required to handle upsetting and sad situations. She relies on public transport, so the shelter must be located near a bus stop.

3   Marcus loves active rescue dogs and wants to take them for long runs outside. He is looking for an evening role after his college classes. He also wants to learn how to prepare healthy animal meals.

4   Anna wants to wash indoor feline areas to keep them completely comfortable. She works very well alone without much supervision. She needs a shelter that provides all the necessary protective clothing for the dirty tasks.

5   David wants a quiet role giving food to older, calm rescue dogs. He is free on weekday afternoons. He hopes to receive an official document at the end of his volunteering to help him get a job.

Animal Shelters

A Happy Hounds Home

We need enthusiastic helpers at the start of the weekend to begin early at 8 a.m. Your main duties will involve serving breakfast to our hungry puppies and scrubbing their sleeping enclosures until they are completely spotless. It is tough physical work, but extremely rewarding for anyone who adores canines!

B Feline Rescue Centre

We focus on treating street kitties that have been badly hurt or face serious illnesses. Helping these fragile creatures requires volunteers with real psychological resilience, as the daily reality can be heartbreaking. Our modern clinic is situated directly opposite the central public transport station, making your journey here incredibly convenient.

C The Canine Club

Join our dedicated after-dark crew from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. during the week! We need energetic people to jog with our larger rescue hounds in the park, ensuring they burn off energy. Furthermore, our professional staff will teach you exactly how to cook and mix nutritious dinners for the animals.

D Purr-fect Friends

We are seeking independent people who prefer to complete tasks by themselves. Your job will be sanitizing the indoor rooms where our rescue kitties live and play. Do not worry about getting messy, as we will hand you boots, gloves, and overalls before you begin your important daily duties.

E Golden Years Animal Home

This peaceful sanctuary cares for senior hounds. We need gentle assistants to hand out lunches and fresh water between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Everyone who completes a month of service receives a signed, printed qualification to show future employers your amazing dedication to animal welfare.

F City Dog Walkers

Do you want to spend your Saturday and Sunday mornings taking lively rescue dogs for walks around the local park? This role involves giving the hounds lots of exercise and teaching them basic commands. However, you won’t be expected to do any heavy cleaning or food preparation during your shift.

G The Cat Cabin

We need confident individuals to wash out the enclosures where our healthy adult cats sleep. You will need to bring your own old clothes and strong shoes for this messy task. We require strong psychological resilience, as you will occasionally need to comfort animals that are frightened of new people.

H Senior Paws Shelter

We are a lovely, quiet shelter dedicated to elderly rescue dogs. We need volunteers on Saturday and Sunday afternoons to sit with the animals and offer them their daily meals. While we provide a wonderful experience, we currently do not offer any formal paperwork or documentation for your time here.

Reading 2

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to find a volunteer role as a charity shop assistant.

There are descriptions of eight charity shops.

Decide which charity shop would be the most suitable for the people below.

1   Leo wants to work out of sight, organizing boxes of secondhand garments. He gets nervous handling money, so he doesn’t want to serve buyers. Because of school, he can only volunteer on Saturdays and Sundays.

2   Maya loves taking payments and operating the cash machine to get retail experience. She enjoys keeping elderly visitors company and having long conversations with them. She doesn’t have a car, so the shop must be near a bus stop.

3   Samir wants to spend his summer holidays helping a charity full-time. He prefers dealing with donated books instead of fashion. He also wants to learn how to create attractive displays in the front windows of the store.

4   Chloe is looking for an afternoon position. She loves talking to senior citizens who visit the store. She is also very good with her hands and wants to spend her time fixing broken toys or small furniture.

5   Dan hopes to improve his money-handling skills by taking customer payments at the desk. He loves fashion and wants a role preparing donated outfits. He specifically wants to work as part of a team with other young people.

Charity Shops

A Second Chances

Are you free on Saturday or Sunday? We urgently need helpers in our stockroom to open bags, check, and fold boxes of donated fashion pieces. You will stay comfortably behind the scenes the entire time, meaning you never have to operate the cash register or speak directly to our shoppers.

B The Silver Heart

Located right next to the central bus station, this friendly boutique is popular with local pensioners who love a good talk. We need an outgoing assistant to chat with our senior shoppers while processing their purchases at the main counter. Come gain valuable retail skills in a highly sociable environment!

C The Reading Tree

We are looking for a dedicated helper who can commit to a five-day week throughout July and August. Our charity shop only sells novels and encyclopedias, so there are absolutely no garments here! Your main daily task will be designing and arranging exciting visual layouts behind the main street glass.

D Care & Share

Many elderly locals visit us daily just to share their stories, so we need friendly volunteers who love listening to them! We are looking for practical people to mend damaged wooden goods and playthings before they go on sale. We specifically need extra help after 1 p.m. every day.

E Youth For Good

Join our lively crew made entirely of local high school students! We are looking for fashion-focused volunteers to hang up and price bags of secondhand trousers and shirts. You will also get the excellent chance to practice giving change and managing the card machine when buyers are ready to leave.

F Style Rescue

We run a quiet, professional boutique run mostly by retired adults. We need someone to manage the front desk, taking cash and wrapping up purchases. When it gets quiet, you will help organize our huge collection of donated dresses. Please note we only accept volunteers who can work weekday mornings.

G Community Corner

Situated just a minute from the train platform, this shop sees lots of senior citizens looking for a friendly conversation. We need morning volunteers to chat with them and serve tea. You will not handle any payments or fix items, as we only need hosts to make guests feel welcome.

H Summer Sparkle

We are searching for creative individuals to join us every day during the school summer holidays! You will be responsible for creating beautiful outfits to display in our front windows. You will handle hundreds of donated skirts and jackets, making sure our shop looks absolutely fantastic for the passing crowds.

Reading 3

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to find a volunteer role at a local food bank.

There are descriptions of eight food bank roles.

Decide which food bank role would be the most suitable for the people below.

1   Mark wants to build his physical fitness by lifting heavy boxes. He loves making sure items are tidy and specifically wants to organize donated tins of food. He is only free to help on Saturday mornings.

2   Sarah wants to personally hand food parcels to poor families and talk with them. She has a bad back, so she must avoid lifting heavy items. She needs a location right in the city center.

3   David wants to gain a formal certificate for his volunteer work to help him get a paid job. He enjoys sorting mixed donations, especially organizing tins. He can only volunteer on Thursday evenings.

4   Emma wants to volunteer together with her 14-year-old son. They want a role driving around town to deliver meals directly to poor families’ homes. They are only free on Sunday afternoons.

5   John prefers working alone in a quiet warehouse. He is very strong and happy to lift heavy boxes of vegetables. He needs a location with free parking because he drives from a village far away.

Food Bank Roles

A Sunday Wheels

Every Sunday after lunch, we pack our vans and deliver fresh food parcels straight to the doors of poor families. We need volunteer drivers, and you are actively encouraged to bring teenagers aged 12 and over to assist you with carrying the lighter bags.

B The Weekend Sort

We need energetic people early on Saturdays to handle incoming deliveries. You will get a great workout lifting heavy boxes from our trucks. After that, your main task is to organize thousands of donated soup and vegetable tins neatly on our storage shelves.

C Community Tins

We need friendly helpers every Wednesday morning to organize our massive collection of fruit and bean tins. You will also hand these directly to poor families who visit our center. We offer a printed certificate to all our dedicated helpers to say thank you.

D Heavy Duties

This role involves lots of physical exercise! We need strong volunteers every Sunday afternoon to lift heavy boxes of supplies. It is a very noisy, busy environment, located right in the city center. Unfortunately, all volunteers here must be over 18 years old.

E Central Care

Located right in the middle of town, our center serves the local community. We need friendly faces to sit and chat with poor families while giving them their daily food bags. There is absolutely no heavy lifting required here, as our machines move all the deliveries.

F The Outskirts Depot

Our large warehouse has a massive free car park for all our volunteers. It is a very peaceful, quiet environment where you will work completely independently doing highly physical tasks. Your main duty will be lifting heavy boxes of farm vegetables and stacking them securely.

G Evening Helpers

Every Thursday night, we receive large mixed donations that need immediate sorting. Your main job is to organize the various tins into correct categories before the morning. We provide an official printed certificate of volunteering after your first month to add to your CV!

H Family Food Hub

We distribute daily meals to poor families across the region. We need volunteers on Thursday evenings to sit at our front desk, answer the telephone, and welcome guests. We have a small car park, but please note that you cannot bring any children to help.

Exercises:   12345