Practice English Reading Exercises for B1 – Collections & Niche Hobbies
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A History in My Hands
My name is Toby, and I have a hobby that most people my age find quite unusual. While my friends spend their pocket money on the newest video games or clothes, I collect old mobile phones. My collection started two years ago when I found my dad’s very first mobile phone in the garage. It was huge, heavy, and had a tiny black-and-white screen. I was completely fascinated by it and immediately wanted to find more.
However, my friends didn’t understand my interest at all. When I showed them my growing collection, they thought it was weird and completely useless. They laughed and asked why I wanted to keep broken devices that couldn’t even connect to the internet, play games, or take high-quality photos. Although I felt a bit embarrassed by their negative comments, I refused to throw my collection away. I knew that these heavy plastic objects were an important part of history.
A few months later, we had to create a presentation for the school science fair. I decided this was the perfect opportunity to show everyone why my hobby was actually interesting. I set up a large display on a table in the school hall. I arranged my collection in chronological order, starting from the oldest, heaviest ‘brick’ phones from the 1990s, all the way to the first touchscreen models. At the very end of the table, I placed my own modern smartphone so people could easily compare them.
On the day of the fair, the reaction was incredible. When my classmates actually picked up the old phones and felt how heavy they were, they were amazed. Seeing the devices next to a modern smartphone made everyone realise how rapidly technology had evolved in just a few decades. Suddenly, my friends were asking me questions about how people used to text and call without keyboards or touchscreens.
I didn’t win the first prize at the science fair, but I achieved something much better. My friends finally appreciated my collection, and some of them even started helping me look for old phones at local markets. I learned that sometimes you just need to show people things from a different perspective for them to understand your passion.
1 How did Toby’s hobby begin?
(A) He wanted to buy something different from his friends.
(B) He discovered an old device belonging to his father.
(C) He read a fascinating book about the history of technology.
(D) His dad bought him a collection of old mobile phones.
2 What was Toby’s friends’ attitude towards his collection at first?
(A) They were jealous that he had so many phones.
(B) They were annoyed because he spent too much money on it.
(C) They couldn’t understand why he kept things that didn’t work.
(D) They felt embarrassed to be seen with him.
3 For his school science fair project, Toby decided to
(A) repair some of his broken mobile phones.
(B) buy a new smartphone to show the class.
(C) show how mobile phone technology had developed over time.
(D) build a modern touchscreen phone from old parts.
4 What happened on the day of the science fair?
(A) Toby’s classmates changed their opinion about his hobby.
(B) Toby won the first prize for his historical presentation.
(C) Toby’s friends gave him some old phones for his collection.
(D) Toby realised his modern smartphone was better than old phones.
5 What would Toby write in a blog post about his hobby?
(A) I was really upset that I didn’t win the science fair, so I am going to stop collecting old phones.
(B) My friends still think my hobby is weird, but I don’t care because I know my collection is valuable.
(C) Collecting old phones was a waste of time, but at least it helped me get a good grade in my science class.
(D) It took some time for my friends to understand, but sharing the history of technology made my unusual hobby a success.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 B – In paragraph 1, Toby explains that his collection started “when I found my dad’s very first mobile phone in the garage,” which matches discovering an old device belonging to his father.
2 C – In paragraph 2, Toby’s friends thought his hobby was weird and useless, asking “why I wanted to keep broken devices that couldn’t even connect to the internet,” showing they didn’t understand why he kept things that didn’t work.
3 C – In paragraph 3, Toby arranged his collection “in chronological order… all the way to the first touchscreen models” and placed a modern smartphone at the end so people could compare them, which demonstrates showing how the technology developed over time.
4 A – In paragraph 4, his classmates were amazed, and in paragraph 5, Toby notes that “My friends finally appreciated my collection,” indicating that they changed their opinion about his hobby.
5 D – This option captures the global meaning and Toby’s positive reflection. It acknowledges the initial misunderstanding by his friends, but concludes that displaying the evolution of technology at the science fair helped them appreciate his passion.
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
My First Vegetable Garden
My name is Leo, and I am thirteen years old. Like many families, my parents frequently complain about the rising cost of groceries, especially fresh fruit and vegetables. One day, I decided to do something about it. I announced that I was going to start my own vegetable garden in the empty space behind our house. My main goal was to help my parents save money on our weekly shopping trips. I had grand visions of carrying huge baskets of free, delicious food into our kitchen.
Because tomatoes are my favourite vegetable, I decided to grow them first. I went to a garden centre and spent some of my pocket money on a healthy-looking little plant. I was so anxious for it to grow big and strong that I gave it a large bucket of water twice a day. To my surprise, the green leaves quickly turned yellow and dropped off. Within a week, my beautiful plant was completely dead. I felt incredibly disappointed and realised that gardening was much more complicated than simply putting something in the ground.
However, I refused to give up. I realised I needed to educate myself, so I visited the local library and borrowed several books on growing vegetables. I also spent hours watching helpful tutorials on the internet. I quickly discovered my mistake: I had actually killed my tomato plant by giving it too much water! Armed with my new knowledge, I went back to the shop, bought a packet of seeds, and started the whole process again.
This time, I followed the instructions perfectly. I checked the soil every morning, making sure to water the seeds only when they really needed it. I also spent time pulling out the annoying weeds that grew nearby. Finally, after a few months of hard work, tiny green tomatoes appeared. When they eventually turned a bright red, I carefully picked them. Eating that first sweet tomato in a salad with my family was the proudest moment of my life. It tasted much better than anything from a supermarket, and I am already planning what to plant next spring.
1 Why did Leo decide to start a vegetable garden?
(A) He wanted to find a use for the empty space behind his house.
(B) He hoped to reduce the amount his family spent on food.
(C) He needed to carry heavy baskets for physical exercise.
(D) He wanted to earn extra pocket money by selling groceries.
2 What happened to Leo’s first tomato plant?
(A) He caused its death by caring for it incorrectly.
(B) He bought a plant that was already sick and dying.
(C) He forgot to give it any water for an entire week.
(D) He was too anxious to put it into the ground.
3 After his first attempt failed, Leo decided to
(A) ask the local librarian to help him plant new seeds.
(B) use different resources to learn more about gardening.
(C) buy the exact same plant again to see what would happen.
(D) watch online videos about how to cook fresh vegetables.
4 How did Leo feel about his final harvest?
(A) Annoyed that he had to pull out so many weeds.
(B) Frustrated that the tomatoes took months to grow.
(C) Disappointed because he preferred supermarket vegetables.
(D) A great sense of achievement about what he had grown.
5 What would Leo write in his diary today?
(A) I’ve saved my parents so much money that I’m going to start selling my tomatoes to the local supermarket next spring!
(B) I’m so glad I bought that healthy plant. It grew so fast because I watered it twice a day, and the tomatoes were delicious.
(C) I never knew gardening required so much knowledge! Losing my first plant was hard, but eating my own delicious tomatoes made all the research worth it.
(D) The library books were helpful, but pulling weeds is just too exhausting. I think I will let my parents buy the vegetables from now on.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 B – In the first paragraph, Leo states that his “main goal was to help my parents save money on our weekly shopping trips,” which matches reducing the amount they spent on food.
2 A – The second paragraph explains that Leo watered the plant twice a day because he was anxious for it to grow, but this excessive care caused the leaves to turn yellow and the plant to die.
3 B – The third paragraph describes how Leo “visited the local library and borrowed several books” and “spent hours watching helpful tutorials on the internet,” showing he used different resources to learn.
4 D – In the fourth paragraph, Leo says that eating the tomato with his family was “the proudest moment of my life,” demonstrating a great sense of achievement.
5 C – This option captures the global narrative of the text: it reflects his initial failure due to lack of knowledge, the effort he put into researching, and the ultimate pride he felt in his successful harvest.
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Creative Redesign
My name is Leo. I’ve had the exact same bedroom design since I was about ten years old, and recently, I decided I desperately needed a change. I wanted a modern, cool space where I could relax with friends and study comfortably. There was just one big problem: I had absolutely no money to spend on expensive decorations or brand-new furniture. However, I didn’t let that stop me. I believed I could somehow transform my room using just my imagination and things we already had at home.
For my very first project, I found some old, leftover paint in our garage. I thought it would be a brilliant idea to paint a huge mountain mural on my main bedroom wall. I spent a whole Saturday afternoon working on it, but the reality didn’t match the beautiful picture in my head at all. The colours mixed together badly, the lines weren’t straight, and the mountains just looked like messy, dark clouds. I felt extremely disappointed and wished I had never touched the wall. I even thought about asking my parents to pay for a professional painter to fix my terrible mistake.
Despite my frustration, instead of giving up, I decided to look for cheaper solutions online. I bought a cheap roll of LED strip lights using a little bit of my pocket money and carefully attached them around the edges of the messy wall. When I turned them on, something amazing happened. The soft blue light actually hid the painting mistakes and made the dark wall look like a cool, glowing night sky! Next, I found an old, broken wooden chair lying in the street. I cleaned it up, painted it bright yellow, and put it in the corner of my room.
Suddenly, my room started to look like a trendy, modern cafe rather than a child’s bedroom. When my friends came over the following weekend, they couldn’t believe the amazing transformation. They actually asked me which expensive designer store I had bought everything from! I proudly told them that the whole room cost almost nothing. I learned a very valuable lesson from this entire experience. If you want to improve your living space, you really don’t need a massive budget. A little bit of creativity and problem-solving is much more important than having a lot of money.
1 Why did Leo want to change his bedroom?
(A) He wanted a space that felt more modern and comfortable.
(B) His parents told him his room looked too childish.
(C) He wanted to practice his interior design skills.
(D) He had saved up enough money to buy new furniture.
2 How did Leo feel after painting the wall?
(A) Proud that he had finished the project in one afternoon.
(B) Upset because the painting turned out very badly.
(C) Annoyed because his parents refused to pay for a painter.
(D) Surprised that the colours looked exactly like dark clouds.
3 What effect did the LED lights have?
(A) They helped Leo see better while he was painting.
(B) They made the yellow chair look much brighter.
(C) They made the errors on the wall less noticeable.
(D) They cost more than Leo had expected to pay.
4 What did Leo’s friends think of his room?
(A) They thought it looked like a messy cafe.
(B) They assumed he had spent a lot of money on it.
(C) They offered to help him finish the decorations.
(D) They didn’t believe that he had painted the wall himself.
5 What would Leo write in his diary about his bedroom project?
(A) I’m so glad my parents gave me the money to fix my terrible mountain painting. Now my room looks amazing!
(B) Painting the wall was a disaster, but I fixed it! It proves that using your imagination is better than having a big budget.
(C) My friends loved my new room, but I still wish I had bought that expensive yellow chair from the designer store.
(D) The LED lights look great, but if I had more money, I would definitely hire a professional to decorate my room.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 A – In paragraph 1, Leo states he wanted “a modern, cool space where I could relax with friends and study comfortably,” which paraphrases as wanting a space that felt more modern and comfortable.
2 B – In paragraph 2, Leo describes the painting as a failure (it looked like “messy, dark clouds”) and says, “I felt extremely disappointed and wished I had never touched the wall,” which means he was upset because it turned out badly.
3 C – In paragraph 3, Leo explains that the blue light “actually hid the painting mistakes,” meaning it made the errors on the wall less noticeable.
4 B – In paragraph 4, Leo notes that his friends “actually asked me which expensive designer store I had bought everything from,” demonstrating that they assumed he had spent a lot of money on the room.
5 B – This option captures the global meaning and Leo’s emotional journey. It highlights his initial failure (the mural disaster), his creative problem-solving, and the ultimate lesson he learned: that “creativity and problem-solving is much more important than having a lot of money.”