Practice English Reading Exercises for B1 – Impact of Tech & Social Media
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Taking Control of My Screen
Like most teenagers, I used to spend hours every day scrolling through my social media feed. Over the years, I had followed hundreds of famous influencers. At first, I enjoyed looking at their perfect photos and watching videos of their amazing adventures. However, eventually, my attitude started to change. Every time I opened the app, I saw people my age driving expensive cars, wearing designer clothes, and staying in luxury hotels. Instead of feeling entertained, I just felt poor and inadequate. My own normal life suddenly seemed completely boring compared to theirs.
The situation got worse last month during my school exams. I was sitting at my small desk, feeling stressed about a difficult science project, when my phone buzzed. It was a notification from a popular influencer showing off his brand-new private swimming pool. I looked around my messy bedroom and felt a heavy weight of disappointment. I realised that looking at these posts was completely destroying my confidence. These internet celebrities didn’t know me, yet they were making me feel terrible about myself. I knew I had to do something to protect my mental health.
That evening, I made a strict decision to clean up my social media. I sat down on my bed and started a massive “unfollow” purge. For two hours, I carefully went through my long list of subscriptions. If an account made me feel jealous, stressed, or unhappy, I immediately unfollowed it. It was actually quite difficult to remove some of the most famous people, but I forced myself to be brave. To replace them, I started following accounts that matched my real hobbies, like local photography groups, book clubs, and artists.
The transformation has been absolutely incredible. Now, when I open my social media app, my screen is filled with beautiful artwork, interesting book reviews, and pictures of my actual friends. The toxic feeling of jealousy has completely disappeared, and my feed has become a safe, positive space. Furthermore, without the pressure to watch endless influencer videos, I actually spend much less time on my phone. I have finally learned that we have the power to choose what information we consume, and taking control of my digital environment was the best decision I ever made.
1 How did the writer feel after following influencers for a while?
(A) He was inspired to buy designer clothes and luxury cars.
(B) He was confused about how they took such perfect photos.
(C) He felt jealous because his own life seemed uninteresting.
(D) He felt entertained by watching their amazing daily adventures.
2 What happened while the writer was studying for his exams?
(A) He failed his science project because he was looking at his phone.
(B) He noticed that his online habits were negatively affecting his mood.
(C) He received a personal message from a famous internet celebrity.
(D) He realised he needed to buy a new desk for his messy bedroom.
3 How did the writer feel during his “unfollow” purge?
(A) He found it hard to stop following some well-known accounts.
(B) He was worried that his real friends would be angry with him.
(C) He was surprised by how long it took to completely delete the app.
(D) He felt brave enough to go out and join a local photography club.
4 What is the writer’s opinion of his social media now?
(A) He wishes he had started following artists and book clubs earlier.
(B) He feels annoyed that he doesn’t spend as much time on his phone.
(C) He thinks his app is the best place to watch endless entertainment videos.
(D) He is pleased that his feed only contains things that make him feel good.
5 What would the writer write in his diary today?
(A) I still love looking at luxury cars online, but I promise I will only do it when I have finished all my school exams.
(B) My social media feed is finally completely empty! It’s so nice to never use my smartphone anymore.
(C) I asked my friends to help me clean up my account today. I’m glad we all unfollowed the same influencers together.
(D) Unfollowing all those famous people was scary, but getting rid of that negative energy has made me feel so much better.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 C – The text states in paragraph 1 that “Instead of feeling entertained, I just felt poor and inadequate. My own normal life suddenly seemed completely boring compared to theirs,” which matches feeling jealous because his life seemed uninteresting.
2 B – In paragraph 2, the writer explains that after seeing a post about a swimming pool while stressed, he “realised that looking at these posts was completely destroying my confidence,” showing he noticed the negative impact on his mood.
3 A – Paragraph 3 mentions that during the purge, “It was actually quite difficult to remove some of the most famous people, but I forced myself to be brave.”
4 D – In paragraph 4, the writer notes that the “toxic feeling of jealousy has completely disappeared, and my feed has become a safe, positive space,” meaning he is pleased it only contains positive things.
5 D – This option captures the global meaning and emotional arc of the text: acknowledging the difficulty of the “unfollow purge,” the removal of toxic/negative feelings, and the resulting positive impact on his mental health.
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The Internet Never Forgets
Last month, I decided it was finally time to get my first part-time job. I had always loved reading and spending time in bookshops, so when a weekend position opened up at a popular local bookstore, I applied immediately. I spent a whole weekend carefully writing my CV, making sure my school grades and hobbies looked absolutely perfect. I felt incredibly confident when I handed it to the shop manager. I was so proud of my application that I was sure they would call me for an interview within a few days.
However, that evening, my older sister asked me a question that made me freeze: “Have you checked your digital footprint?” I didn’t really understand what she meant at first. She explained that nowadays, employers often look at your social media pages before they decide to hire you. I immediately logged into my oldest accounts, which I hadn’t used much since I was twelve. To my horror, my public profile was full of silly, immature jokes and embarrassing videos of me doing ridiculous dances with my friends. Suddenly, my confidence completely disappeared.
I spent the next four hours in a complete panic, doing the biggest online clean-up of my life. I went through years of internet history, deleting inappropriate comments and untagging myself from terrible photos. It was exhausting work, and I couldn’t believe how much information I had shared with the whole world without thinking about the consequences. Even after changing all my privacy settings so only close friends could see my posts, I still felt extremely anxious. I kept wondering if the bookshop manager had already seen those old posts before I deleted them.
Fortunately, it turned out that my worries were unnecessary. A few days later, I was invited for an interview, and the manager was lovely. She actually mentioned that she had seen a recent post of mine about a school reading project, which showed I was a great fit for the shop. I got the job! But this scary experience taught me a very valuable lesson. The internet never truly forgets anything. From now on, if I wouldn’t say something in front of my teachers or a future boss, I definitely won’t post it online either.
1 How did the writer feel after handing in his CV?
(A) He was worried he didn’t have enough work experience.
(B) He felt sure that he would get a chance to be interviewed.
(C) He realized he had forgotten to include his hobbies.
(D) He thought the manager was very impressed by his grades.
2 When checking his old social media accounts, the writer
(A) realized he had forgotten his old passwords.
(B) discovered his sister had shared some funny videos of him.
(C) felt embarrassed by the things he had posted in the past.
(D) was surprised by how many people followed his profile.
3 What did the writer do during his online clean-up?
(A) He deleted all of his social media accounts completely.
(B) He asked his friends to remove photos they had taken of him.
(C) He contacted the manager to explain his past behaviour.
(D) He altered his account settings to hide his posts from the public.
4 What happened at the job interview?
(A) The manager asked him about the silly videos on his profile.
(B) He was told he got the job because of his excellent school grades.
(C) The manager appreciated something positive she had found online.
(D) He had to promise the manager he would be careful on the internet.
5 What would the writer write in his diary now?
(A) I’m glad I got the job, but I’m never using the internet again. It’s too dangerous to share anything online.
(B) Getting this job was easy, but it made me realize that bookshops are actually very strict about who they hire.
(C) I was lucky this time, but I’ll be much more careful about what I share on the internet in the future.
(D) It’s annoying that employers look at our private lives. My social media has nothing to do with how well I can work!
Answer Key & Explanations
1 B – The text states in the first paragraph, “I was so proud of my application that I was sure they would call me for an interview within a few days.” This matches the feeling of being sure he would get a chance to be interviewed.
2 C – In paragraph 2, the writer says, “To my horror, my public profile was full of silly, immature jokes and embarrassing videos.” This shows his feeling of embarrassment regarding his past posts.
3 D – Paragraph 3 explains that the writer changed his privacy settings: “changing all my privacy settings so only close friends could see my posts.” This matches altering his account settings to hide posts from the public.
4 C – In paragraph 4, the writer explains that the manager “mentioned that she had seen a recent post of mine about a school reading project, which showed I was a great fit.” This means the manager appreciated a positive post she found online.
5 C – This option captures the global meaning and the main lesson learned. The writer got the job (was lucky) but learned that “the internet never truly forgets anything,” leading to his decision to be much more careful about what he posts from now on.
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The Group Chat Drama
My name is Leo, and until last week, I thought group chats were the best way to organise school projects. My friends and I had to prepare a science presentation together, so I created a chat on my phone. At first, everyone was sharing good ideas. Then, I sent a quick message suggesting that Mia should do the research because she was “always on her phone anyway”. I was only joking, but without seeing my smile, it didn’t look very funny on the screen.
Almost immediately, the situation got worse. Mia replied with an angry message, asking why I thought she was lazy. I quickly typed back to explain, but my messages were short because I was walking home. Unfortunately, the others in the group thought I was being rude. They started defending Mia and complaining about my attitude. The more I tried to defend myself in messages, the more upset everyone became. Nobody was actually reading what I meant. Tone completely disappears when you only use text.
For two long hours, my phone didn’t stop ringing with notifications. I sat on my bed, feeling totally stressed and frustrated. The group project was going to be a disaster if we didn’t fix this. I realised that if I typed another message, they would probably misunderstand that too. I had to do something that teenagers almost never do these days. I took a deep breath and pressed the ‘call’ button next to Mia’s name.
When Mia answered, she sounded annoyed, but I immediately apologised and explained my silly joke. As soon as she heard the friendly tone of my voice, her attitude changed. She actually laughed and said she had completely misunderstood me. In just two minutes of talking, we solved an argument that had lasted for hours on the screen. We quickly agreed on who was doing which part of the project.
Since that day, my opinion on communication has completely changed. Group chats are absolutely fine for sharing homework details or arranging where to meet. However, if there is ever a problem or a complex decision to make, I won’t rely on text messages. Sometimes, actually hearing someone’s voice is the only way to understand exactly how they feel.
1 How did the problem in the group chat begin?
(A) Leo gave Mia too much work to do.
(B) Mia made a joke that Leo didn’t understand.
(C) Leo wrote something that was taken the wrong way.
(D) Mia refused to use her phone for the project.
2 Why did Leo’s replies make the situation worse?
(A) He was too busy walking to reply at all.
(B) His friends thought his short messages were impolite.
(C) He told the other group members to stop defending Mia.
(D) He sent too many confusing emojis in his texts.
3 How did Leo feel after two hours of texting?
(A) worried that their science presentation would fail
(B) annoyed that his phone kept making loud noises
(C) surprised that teenagers still make phone calls
(D) angry that nobody was doing the project research
4 When Leo finally spoke to Mia on the phone,
(A) it took a long time to make her understand.
(B) she was annoyed that he had interrupted her.
(C) they decided to change their project topic.
(D) her mood improved as soon as she heard him speak.
5 What might Leo text his friends after this experience?
(A) I think we should delete the group chat and never use our phones for school projects again.
(B) Guys, I’m sorry about the confusion earlier. Let’s promise to just talk if we ever argue like that again!
(C) I’m glad we finally finished the project, but I still think Mia should do all the research next time.
(D) Next time I make a joke, you all need to read my messages more carefully before getting angry!
Answer Key & Explanations
1 C – The text states that Leo sent a message he meant as a joke, but without seeing his smile, it didn’t look funny on screen, leading to a misunderstanding.
2 B – The text mentions that Leo’s messages were short because he was walking, and unfortunately, the others in the group thought he was being rude.
3 A – In paragraph three, Leo feels totally stressed and frustrated, realising that “The group project was going to be a disaster if we didn’t fix this.”
4 D – The text says that “As soon as she heard the friendly tone of my voice, her attitude changed. She actually laughed…” showing an immediate improvement in her mood.
5 B – This option captures the global meaning and the lesson Leo learned. He still uses text to communicate, but realizes that speaking is the best way to handle arguments and confusion.