Practice English Reading Exercises for B1 – Visual Arts, Crafts & Making Things
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Seeing Things Clearly
My name is Lily, and I have always enjoyed sketching in my notebooks. Last month, my best friend Emma was celebrating her birthday, and I wanted to give her something truly personal. I decided to draw a realistic pencil portrait of her. Because I sit next to Emma every day at school and know exactly what she looks like, I confidently assumed that drawing her face would be a very simple and quick task.
However, when I actually finished the drawing, I realised something had gone terribly wrong. The portrait looked completely distorted. The eyes were much too high up on the head, and the nose was incredibly long. When I presented the gift to Emma, she tried to be polite, but she couldn’t stop herself from laughing out loud at the strange image. Even though I knew she wasn’t being mean, I felt quite embarrassed and frustrated with my lack of skill.
Instead of throwing my pencils away, I decided to find out where I had gone wrong. I borrowed a book from the school library about artistic techniques. Reading it, I discovered a fascinating concept called ‘facial proportions’. I learned that artists don’t just guess where features go; they use specific mathematical measurements. For example, the eyes are actually located right in the middle of the human head, not near the top. I realised my massive mistake: I had been drawing what my brain thought a face looked like, rather than looking at the actual reality.
Armed with this new knowledge, I drew a light grid on a fresh piece of paper and tried again. I carefully measured the distances between the eyes, nose, and mouth before adding any details. The difference was absolutely astonishing. The second portrait looked exactly like Emma. When I showed her the new drawing, she was amazed and immediately framed it. I learned that taking the time to understand the foundational rules of an art form is just as important as having natural talent.
1 Why did Lily think drawing the portrait would be easy?
(A) She had taken many professional art classes.
(B) She spent every day looking at her best friend’s face.
(C) She had already drawn several realistic portraits of herself.
(D) She copied the drawing from a very clear photograph.
2 How did Emma react when she saw the first drawing?
(A) She was angry that Lily had made her look so ugly.
(B) She refused to accept the gift because it was distorted.
(C) She found the strange drawing funny and laughed at it.
(D) She cried because she was touched by the personal effort.
3 What did Lily learn from the library book?
(A) That you need expensive pencils to draw realistic features.
(B) That the human nose is the hardest part of the face to draw.
(C) That artists should always guess where the eyes belong.
(D) That faces follow specific measurements and rules of proportion.
4 Why was Lily’s first drawing so distorted?
(A) She was drawing what she assumed a face looked like.
(B) She forgot to draw the grid on the first piece of paper.
(C) She rushed to finish it before Emma’s birthday party.
(D) She didn’t have a ruler to measure the paper properly.
5 What would Lily write in a text message to a friend?
(A) I gave up on drawing faces today. My portrait was terrible, and Emma laughed at me so much that I feel completely humiliated!
(B) Drawing a face is actually very easy once you know the person well. Emma absolutely loved my first attempt at her portrait.
(C) Emma laughed at my first drawing, but learning the real rules of facial proportion completely transformed my art. The new portrait looks amazing!
(D) I found a great art book in the library, but using mathematical measurements to draw just makes the faces look strange and distorted.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 B – In paragraph 1, Lily says, “Because I sit next to Emma every day at school and know exactly what she looks like, I confidently assumed that drawing her face would be a very simple and quick task.”
2 C – In paragraph 2, Lily explains that when she presented the gift, Emma “tried to be polite, but she couldn’t stop herself from laughing out loud at the strange image.”
3 D – In paragraph 3, Lily discovers the concept of ‘facial proportions’ and learns that “artists don’t just guess where features go; they use specific mathematical measurements.”
4 A – In paragraph 3, Lily realizes her huge mistake: “I had been drawing what my brain thought a face looked like, rather than looking at the actual reality.”
5 C – This option best captures the global meaning and Lily’s emotional arc. It summarizes her initial embarrassment (Emma laughing), the specific solution she found (learning the rules of proportion), and her ultimate success (the new portrait looks amazing).
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
My First Pottery Class
I’ve always admired people who can create beautiful things with their hands. A few weeks ago, I decided I needed a break from staring at my computer screen all evening, so I signed up for a beginner’s pottery class at a local studio. When I arrived for my first lesson, the room smelled strongly of damp earth. I watched the advanced students effortlessly shaping elegant vases on their spinning wheels, and I felt completely confident that I would be taking home a perfect set of plates by the end of the night.
However, my confidence quickly vanished as soon as I sat down at my own wheel. Our teacher, Sarah, explained that the most important step was ‘centering’ the clay, which means making sure it sits perfectly in the middle of the spinning metal disc. It looked incredibly easy when she demonstrated it. But when it was my turn, I pressed the pedal too hard. The wheel spun much too fast, and a huge lump of wet, muddy clay flew right off the machine, splashing all over my jeans and even hitting my nose! I felt my face turn bright red, wondering if I should just leave.
Fortunately, Sarah came over with a warm smile and handed me a towel. She gently explained that I was fighting the clay instead of working with it. She told me to slow the wheel down, breathe deeply, and use my body weight rather than just my arm strength to control the mud. As I pressed my wet hands around the spinning earth again, it suddenly stopped wobbling. The clay felt incredibly smooth and calm beneath my palms. Finally, I had found the center.
With the clay spinning perfectly, I carefully pushed my thumbs down into the middle to open it up, and slowly pulled the sides upward. By the end of the lesson, I had made my very first bowl. It was quite heavy, and the top edge was completely lopsided, but I didn’t care at all. Creating something out of a simple lump of earth was an absolutely magical experience. My clothes were ruined, and my fingernails were full of dirt, but I couldn’t wait to return next week to try making a coffee mug.
1 Why did the writer take the pottery class?
(A) She wanted to make some new plates for her family.
(B) She needed to spend less time on her electronic devices.
(C) She was invited to the studio by some advanced students.
(D) She wanted to learn how to make elegant vases.
2 What happened when the writer first used the pottery wheel?
(A) She forgot to turn the machine on.
(B) She realised she had been given the wrong type of clay.
(C) She successfully copied the teacher’s demonstration.
(D) She made the metal disc spin too fast.
3 How did Sarah help the writer in the third paragraph?
(A) By advising her to use her physical strength differently.
(B) By spinning the wheel for her.
(C) By giving her a completely new piece of clay.
(D) By telling her to hold her breath while working.
4 How did the writer feel about her first bowl?
(A) Disappointed that it was so heavy and uneven.
(B) Proud of it despite its obvious physical faults.
(C) Annoyed that it had ruined her favourite clothes.
(D) Surprised that it looked exactly like a coffee mug.
5 What would the writer write in her diary that evening?
(A) Pottery is much easier than it looks! As long as you listen to the teacher, you can make perfect bowls on your very first try without getting dirty.
(B) Today was a complete disaster. I got wet mud all over myself, and my bowl was a terrible shape. I don’t think this hobby is for me.
(C) Although it was a very messy challenge at first, transforming a simple piece of earth into my own bowl was a wonderful and rewarding feeling.
(D) I’m so glad I watched those advanced students. Copying their techniques allowed me to center my clay perfectly on the first attempt!
Answer Key & Explanations
1 B – The text states in the first paragraph that the writer “needed a break from staring at my computer screen all evening,” which paraphrases needing to spend less time on electronic devices.
2 D – The second paragraph explains that she “pressed the pedal too hard” and “the wheel spun much too fast,” causing the wet clay to fly off the machine.
3 A – In the third paragraph, Sarah tells the writer to “use my body weight rather than just my arm strength,” which means she advised her to use her physical strength differently.
4 B – The fourth paragraph notes that the bowl was “quite heavy, and the top edge was completely lopsided, but I didn’t care at all” and calls it a “magical experience,” showing she was proud despite its faults.
5 C – This option accurately captures the global meaning and emotional arc of the passage: acknowledging the initial messy failure (getting covered in mud), overcoming the challenge, and concluding that making the bowl was a magical and rewarding experience.
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Going with the Flow
My name is Alex, and I have been painting for three years. I usually work with acrylic paints, which are thick and easy to control. Last month, I decided I wanted to try something new, so I bought a set of watercolor paints. I planned to paint a beautiful landscape of a sunset over a mountain. Because I was already a confident painter, I assumed that using watercolors would be exactly the same as using acrylics, just a little bit wetter.
However, as soon as my brush touched the paper, I realised I was completely wrong. With acrylics, the paint stays exactly where you put it. But with watercolors, the paint seemed to have a mind of its own. When I tried to paint a bright orange sun next to a blue sky, the extra water on the paper caused the two colours to bleed together. Within seconds, my beautiful bright sky turned into a messy, muddy puddle of grey. I felt extremely frustrated and thought I had ruined the painting completely.
I stared at the ruined landscape, ready to throw it in the bin. Instead, I decided to watch a video tutorial by a professional watercolor artist to see what I was doing wrong. The artist explained that transitioning from thick paints to watercolors requires a complete change of mindset. You cannot force watercolor to do exactly what you want. Instead, you have to let the water guide the paint. The artist called these unpredictable bleeds and mixing colours “happy accidents” and said they were the true magic of the medium.
Armed with this new perspective, I took out a fresh piece of paper and started again. This time, I didn’t try to control every single brushstroke. I put down some water, added drops of blue and pink, and simply watched how they mixed together on their own. The colours blended naturally to create a soft, dreamy sunset that I could never have painted on purpose. I finally understood that embracing the unexpected is the secret to watercolor. The finished painting is now hanging on my bedroom wall, reminding me that sometimes it is best to just go with the flow.
1 Why did Alex think painting with watercolors would be easy?
(A) He had already watched professional video tutorials online.
(B) He was already experienced with another type of paint.
(C) His art teacher had told him it was just like using acrylics.
(D) He only wanted to paint a very simple mountain landscape.
2 What happened when Alex tried to paint the sunset on his first attempt?
(A) The thick paint dried too quickly on the paper.
(B) The orange paint he bought was actually grey.
(C) He used the wrong type of paper for the wet paint.
(D) The colours mixed uncontrollably and created a dull colour.
3 What did the professional artist say about using watercolors?
(A) You should use less water if you want to paint a realistic sky.
(B) You should accept and enjoy the unpredictable ways the paint moves.
(C) You need to force the paint to stay exactly where you put it.
(D) You cannot paint landscapes unless you use thick acrylic paints.
4 How was Alex’s second painting different from his first attempt?
(A) He let the colours blend naturally to create a beautiful result.
(B) He painted a completely different subject to avoid making mistakes.
(C) He decided to mix his new watercolors with his old acrylics.
(D) He successfully forced the colours to stay completely separated.
5 What would Alex write in a text message to a friend?
(A) Watercolors are far too messy. I ruined my landscape painting and I’m definitely going back to acrylics forever.
(B) My first watercolor painting was perfect because I managed to control every single brushstroke carefully.
(C) I thought watercolors would act like acrylics, but learning to let the wet paint flow naturally made my art so much better.
(D) I watched a great art tutorial today, but unfortunately my painted sky still turned into a muddy grey puddle.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 B – In paragraph 1, Alex states, “Because I was already a confident painter, I assumed that using watercolors would be exactly the same as using acrylics,” mapping to being experienced with another type of paint.
2 D – In paragraph 2, Alex explains that the extra water “caused the two colours to bleed together” and turned the sky “into a messy, muddy puddle of grey,” which matches the colours mixing uncontrollably to create a dull colour.
3 B – In paragraph 3, the professional artist explains that you cannot force the paint, but instead must “let the water guide the paint” and calls the unpredictable mixing “happy accidents,” meaning you should accept and enjoy the unpredictable movements.
4 A – In paragraph 4, Alex changes his approach: “I put down some water, added drops of blue and pink, and simply watched how they mixed together on their own,” creating a “soft, dreamy sunset.”
5 C – This option captures the global meaning and Alex’s emotional arc. It summarizes his initial false assumption (that watercolors equal acrylics) and the crucial lesson he learned about letting the paint flow naturally to create beautiful “happy accidents.”