Practice English Reading Exercises for B2 – Everyday Habits & Behavioral Patterns
Reading 1
You are going to read a magazine article about a professional who tries to change their natural sleep habits.
For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
The Night Owl in an Early Bird World
Ever since I was a teenager, my brain has refused to switch on before 10 a.m. While my family members cheerfully bounded out of bed at sunrise, I was the classic night owl, doing my best studying long after everyone else had gone to sleep. However, as I entered the corporate world, I couldn’t escape the endless articles and podcasts claiming that getting up at 5 a.m. was the ultimate secret to success. Business leaders and wellness gurus constantly preached that claiming the morning meant conquering the day. Driven by a desire to boost my productivity and fit in with my highly successful peers, I decided to undergo a radical lifestyle overhaul. I was going to transform myself into an early bird.
The first morning of my grand experiment was surprisingly exhilarating. When the alarm abruptly shattered the silence at 5 a.m., I forced myself out of my warm covers and stumbled into the kitchen to brew some incredibly strong coffee. By 7 a.m., I had managed to go for a brisk run, reply to several emails, and prepare a healthy breakfast. Arriving at the office, I felt a slight sense of superiority as my colleagues dragged themselves to their desks, clutching their coffees. I had been awake for three hours and already accomplished a considerable amount. If I had known how fleeting that energy would be, I wouldn’t have been quite so smug.
By the time Thursday rolled around, the harsh reality of fighting my natural circadian rhythm had well and truly caught up with me. The initial adrenaline had completely evaporated, replaced by a dense fog of exhaustion that refused to lift. I found myself staring blankly at my computer screen during important afternoon meetings, struggling to comprehend basic instructions. My body felt heavy, and my mood had soured considerably. Despite sticking rigidly to a 9 p.m. bedtime, I simply couldn’t fall asleep early. I tried drinking herbal teas and reading boring books, but my brain was stubbornly wide awake at night, just as it had been for years, meaning I was surviving on a maximum of five hours’ rest. It was becoming increasingly clear that this was a recipe for disaster.
The breaking point occurred the following Tuesday. I had a crucial presentation to deliver to our department head, a project I had been working on for weeks. I had intended to use my new 5 a.m. slot to put the finishing touches on my slides. Instead, I accidentally slept right through my alarm, waking up in a panic at 8:30 a.m. I arrived at the office dishevelled and entirely unprepared, fumbling my way through the presentation. The embarrassment was profound, and as my manager gave me a sympathetic but disappointed look, it also forced me to confront a difficult truth. I hadn’t become a highly efficient executive; I had become a sleep-deprived zombie who was actually performing worse than before.
That evening, I made the liberating decision to abandon the early bird experiment altogether. I reset my alarm to my old, familiar 7:30 a.m. slot, taking the pressure off my mornings, and allowed myself to stay up later, writing and planning when my house was peaceful and quiet. The transformation was almost instantaneous. Within a few days, my energy levels rebounded, and my mental sharpness returned. I realised that society’s obsession with early rising ignores the scientific reality of individual chronotypes. We are not all wired the same way, and trying to force a night owl into a morning routine is ultimately counterproductive. Now, I fully embrace my late-night bursts of creativity, accepting that true productivity is about working with your natural rhythm, not against it.
1 Why did the writer decide to start waking up at 5 a.m.?
(A) They wanted to conquer the day just like their family members.
(B) They were forced to change their routine upon entering the corporate world.
(C) They listened to an inspiring podcast about how teenagers should study.
(D) They wanted to improve their output and match the habits of top professionals.
2 How did the writer feel upon arriving at work on the first day?
(A) Slightly arrogant because they had already achieved so much before their coworkers.
(B) Disappointed because they realised their early morning energy was fleeting.
(C) Exhilarated that they had finally managed to brew incredibly strong coffee.
(D) Relieved that they didn’t have to drag themselves to their desk like the others.
3 What does the word ‘this’ refer to in the third paragraph?
(A) drinking herbal teas and reading boring books
(B) staring blankly at a computer screen during meetings
(C) trying to function on an inadequate amount of sleep
(D) sticking rigidly to an unnatural 9 p.m. bedtime
4 What caused the writer’s presentation to go poorly?
(A) Their manager gave them a sympathetic but disappointed look.
(B) They missed the time they had allocated to complete their preparation.
(C) They were too exhausted to remember the department head’s basic instructions.
(D) They had been working on the visual slides late into the previous night.
5 After returning to their original schedule, the writer discovered that
(A) their cognitive abilities and physical vitality quickly recovered.
(B) they were finally able to wake up at 7:30 a.m. without an alarm.
(C) society’s obsession with early rising is supported by scientific reality.
(D) their house was much more peaceful and quiet than they had remembered.
6 What is the writer’s main message in the article?
(A) The corporate world is overly demanding of young professionals.
(B) Night owls are generally much more creative than early birds.
(C) People should acknowledge and accommodate their personal biological clocks.
(D) Waking up early is a guaranteed way to ruin your productivity and health.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 D: The text states the writer was “Driven by a desire to boost my productivity and fit in with my highly successful peers”, which perfectly paraphrases option D. Option A is a false match; while the text mentions their family members bounding out of bed, the writer’s motivation was business leaders and peers. Option B is incorrect as the writer wasn’t “forced”; they “decided to undergo a radical lifestyle overhaul.” Option C misuses words from the text (podcasts, teenagers) to create a false statement.
2 A: The writer states they felt “a slight sense of superiority” because they “had been awake for three hours and already accomplished a considerable amount” while their colleagues dragged themselves in. This matches option A. Option B is a chronological trap; the realisation that the energy was fleeting happened in hindsight, not upon arriving that morning. Option C is a detail from earlier in the morning but not how they felt arriving at work. Option D is an unstated inference.
3 C: The pronoun “this” in “It was becoming increasingly clear that this was a recipe for disaster” directly refers back to the preceding clause: “meaning I was surviving on a maximum of five hours’ rest.” This makes option C correct. Options A and D represent things the writer tried to do (drink tea, go to bed at 9 p.m.) but the disaster was the lack of sleep resulting from these failed attempts. Option B is merely a symptom of the exhaustion.
4 B: The writer explains they had “intended to use my new 5 a.m. slot to put the finishing touches on my slides. Instead, I accidentally slept right through my alarm… entirely unprepared.” This matches option B. Option A happened during/after the bad presentation, not as the cause of it. Option C uses information from paragraph 3 (struggling to comprehend basic instructions) in the wrong context. Option D contradicts the text, as the writer intended to work on the slides in the morning, not late at night.
5 A: The text states that after reverting to their old routine, “my energy levels rebounded, and my mental sharpness returned.” This aligns perfectly with option A. Option B is a false match; they reset their alarm to 7:30 a.m., but it doesn’t say they woke up without it. Option C is the opposite of the text, which says society’s obsession ignores scientific reality. Option D is a partial truth; the house was peaceful at night, but this wasn’t a new discovery they made after the change.
6 C: In the final paragraph, the writer concludes that “true productivity is about working with your natural rhythm, not against it,” which matches option C. Option A is too broad and misses the core theme of individual sleep patterns. Option B is an over-inference; the writer embraces their own late-night creativity but does not claim night owls are more creative than early birds generally. Option D uses extreme language (“guaranteed way to ruin”); early waking ruined the writer’s productivity, but they acknowledge we are simply “not all wired the same way.”
Reading 2
You are going to read a blog post about a blogger who tried to build a daily jogging habit.
For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
The Myth of the Perfect Streak
We’ve all heard the famous claim: it takes exactly twenty-one days to form a new habit. For years, this number has been heavily promoted by self-help gurus. As someone who has always struggled with sticking to fitness routines, I found this concept incredibly appealing. If I just pushed myself for three short weeks, my brain would automatically wire itself to continue the behaviour effortlessly. Determined to put this popular theory to the test, I decided to take up daily jogging. I bought expensive running shoes, downloaded a tracking app, and set my alarm for 6:00 a.m. My motivation was at an all-time high, and I was absolutely certain that I was on the brink of a permanent lifestyle transformation.
The reality of the first week, however, was a rude awakening. Getting out of a warm bed into the freezing morning air felt like a cruel punishment. Every muscle in my legs ached, and I spent most of my runs mentally calculating how soon I could legitimately stop. But by the second week, something shifted. My breathing became steadier, and the route around the local park started to feel familiar rather than intimidating. When I finally crossed the finish line on day twenty-one, I experienced a profound sense of triumph. I had done it. According to the experts, the hard work was officially behind me. I went to sleep that night convinced that from then on, jogging would be as natural and effortless as brushing my teeth.
Then came day twenty-two. I woke up to the sound of torrential rain battering against my bedroom window. I had a slight headache, and my bed had never felt more comfortable. Rather than jumping up with the automatic enthusiasm I expected, I simply hit the snooze button. When I finally woke up two hours later, the realization of what I had done hit me hard. I had broken the streak. An intense wave of frustration and self-criticism washed over me. I felt as though the previous three weeks of grueling effort had been completely wasted. If I had truly built a habit, I reasoned, I wouldn’t have surrendered so easily. I spent the rest of the day in a miserable mood, convinced I was simply incapable of lasting change.
Desperate to understand where I had gone wrong, I started digging into the actual science of habit formation. To my surprise, I discovered that the twenty-one-day rule is based on a misinterpretation of a plastic surgeon’s observations from the 1960s, rather than solid psychological research. Modern studies reveal that it actually takes an average of sixty-six days for a new behaviour to become automatic, and for some people, it can take up to eight months. Furthermore, the researchers noted that missing a single opportunity does not materially affect the habit-building process, provided you don’t let it turn into a permanent excuse to quit. The rigid expectation of a perfect streak was actually setting me up for unnecessary failure.
Armed with this new perspective, my entire approach shifted. The following morning, day twenty-three, I didn’t feel the overwhelming pressure of maintaining a flawless record. The rain had stopped, but even if it hadn’t, I knew what I had to do. I laced up my running shoes and headed back out into the park. I finally understood that habit formation is not a straight, predictable line; it is a messy, non-linear journey that requires a great deal of patience and self-compassion. Slipping up occasionally doesn’t mean you have to start from zero again. As I jogged at a comfortable pace, I realized that true consistency isn’t about never failing. It is simply about having the courage to try again the next day.
1 Why did the writer initially decide to start a daily jogging routine?
(A) She was advised by lifestyle bloggers that she needed a permanent lifestyle transformation.
(B) She felt that three weeks of exercise would effortlessly cure her poor fitness levels.
(C) She wanted to see if a widely accepted idea about behaviour was actually true.
(D) She had already bought expensive running shoes and downloaded a tracking app.
2 How did the writer feel upon reaching day twenty-one?
(A) Relieved that she could finally stop running around the local park.
(B) Certain that she had permanently overcome the most difficult part of the process.
(C) Proud that her breathing had become so steady during her morning runs.
(D) Apprehensive about having to continue waking up to freezing morning air.
3 When the writer broke her streak on day twenty-two, she concluded that
(A) her headache was a legitimate reason to spend the day in a miserable mood.
(B) she should have jumped up with automatic enthusiasm despite the rain.
(C) the previous three weeks had successfully prepared her for a day of rest.
(D) her inability to run meant she had failed to form a real habit.
4 What does the word ‘it‘ refer to in paragraph 4?
(A) the habit-building process
(B) missing a single opportunity
(C) a permanent excuse
(D) solid psychological research
5 What did the writer discover about the twenty-one-day rule?
(A) It requires exactly sixty-six days for most people to successfully achieve it.
(B) It was created by researchers who were studying the dangers of rigid expectations.
(C) It originated from a misunderstanding of medical observations rather than science.
(D) It was a psychological theory that only applied to people living during the 1960s.
6 What is the writer’s main message in the article?
(A) True consistency can only be achieved if you completely ignore your past failures.
(B) Building a new routine is a flexible process that requires forgiving yourself for mistakes.
(C) Jogging is a difficult activity to master if you stop exercising on rainy days.
(D) You must start from zero again whenever you fail to maintain a daily habit.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 C: The text states she was “Determined to put this popular theory to the test”, meaning she wanted to see if the 21-day rule was true. Distractor A is a false match; self-help gurus promoted the number, but the writer wasn’t advised by them specifically to transform her life. Distractor B is a partial truth/opposite; she thought continuing the habit would be effortless, not that it would cure her fitness levels. Distractor D presents a sequence error; she bought the shoes after deciding to start.
2 B: The writer says, “According to the experts, the hard work was officially behind me. I went to sleep that night convinced that from then on, jogging would be as natural and effortless as brushing my teeth.” Distractor A is the opposite; she planned to continue, not stop. Distractor C is a partial truth; her breathing became steadier in the second week, but her feeling on day 21 was about triumph over the habit itself. Distractor D is the opposite; she felt triumphant, not apprehensive.
3 D: The text states, “If I had truly built a habit, I reasoned, I wouldn’t have surrendered so easily. I spent the rest of the day in a miserable mood, convinced I was simply incapable of lasting change.” This matches option D. Distractor A uses text words but misassigns cause and effect; the headache was an excuse not to run, not the reason she was in a miserable mood. Distractor B is what she expected to do, not her conclusion after she failed. Distractor C is the direct opposite; she felt the previous weeks were “completely wasted,” not a successful preparation for rest.
4 B: In the sentence “missing a single opportunity does not materially affect the habit-building process, provided you don’t let it turn into a permanent excuse to quit,” the pronoun ‘it’ refers to the act of “missing a single opportunity.”
5 C: The text explains that the rule “is based on a misinterpretation of a plastic surgeon’s observations from the 1960s, rather than solid psychological research.” This perfectly matches option C. Distractor A mixes facts; 66 days is the time needed for a real habit, not the 21-day rule. Distractor B is incorrect because researchers debunked the rule; they didn’t create it. Distractor D is an over-inference; the observations were from the 1960s, but the text doesn’t say the theory only applied to people back then.
6 B: The writer concludes that “habit formation is not a straight, predictable line; it is a messy, non-linear journey that requires a great deal of patience and self-compassion.” Distractor A uses extreme language (“only be achieved”) not supported by the text. Distractor C is far too specific; the text uses jogging as an example to talk about all habits. Distractor D is the exact opposite of what the text says (“Slipping up occasionally doesn’t mean you have to start from zero again”).
Reading 3
You are going to read a magazine article about a shopper who decides to stop buying non-essential items.
For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
The Price of an Impulse
There is a distinct, almost electric thrill that surges through my veins when I spot a bright red ‘Sale’ sign in a shop window. For years, I considered myself a savvy shopper, a master of hunting down the best bargains. Whenever I saw a price tag slashed by seventy per cent, my rational brain would completely shut down. I would convince myself that purchasing a designer coat I didn’t actually need was a sensible investment, simply because it was heavily discounted. The rush of dopamine as I handed over my credit card was genuinely addictive. At that precise moment, I felt like a winner who had successfully outsmarted the retail system, completely oblivious to the reality of my actions.
However, this fleeting euphoria was inevitably followed by a crushing wave of buyer’s remorse. The reality check usually hit the moment I unpacked my shopping bags on the living room floor. I would stare at my so-called prizes—a complicated pasta-making machine I would never use, or a pair of neon green trainers that matched absolutely nothing in my wardrobe—and wonder what on earth had possessed me. Instead of feeling victorious, I felt foolish and guilty. My apartment was becoming cluttered with these impulsive mistakes, and my bank account was steadily draining. It became undeniably clear that my bargain-hunting was less about saving money and more about satisfying a compulsion.
Determined to break this destructive cycle, I decided to set myself a daunting challenge: a strict ‘No-Spend Month’. The rules were straightforward but rigid. For thirty days, I was only permitted to purchase absolute essentials, such as groceries, household bills, and transport costs. Anything that fell into the category of a ‘want’ rather than a ‘need’ was completely forbidden. To ensure I didn’t fall at the first hurdle, I spent an entire evening unsubscribing from dozens of promotional email newsletters and deleting various shopping apps from my smartphone. I knew that if I removed the constant digital temptations, I would stand a much better chance of succeeding.
The first week was surprisingly difficult. Whenever I felt stressed after a long day at the office, my automatic response was to browse online stores for a quick mood boost. It was during these moments of temptation that I experienced a crucial breakthrough. I realised that my impulsive buying habits were rarely triggered by a genuine desire for the products themselves. Rather, shopping had become a coping mechanism for boredom or anxiety. By forcing myself to pause and identify these triggers, the urge to spend gradually began to subside. I started replacing the habit with healthier alternatives, like going for a run or reading a book, which proved to be far more rewarding.
By the time the final day of the month arrived, my perspective on consumerism had shifted dramatically. I hadn’t just survived the challenge; I had actually thrived. Not only had I saved a significant amount of money, but I had also regained a sense of control over my financial well-being. Now, when I see a tempting discount, I no longer feel the uncontrollable urge to rush to the checkout. Instead, I ask myself if the item will genuinely add value to my life or if it will just end up gathering dust in a cupboard. This newfound mindfulness has transformed my relationship with money, proving that the most satisfying purchase is often the one you choose not to make.
1 What does the writer say about her reaction to sales in the first paragraph?
(A) She falsely believed she was acting logically by buying discounted items.
(B) She enjoyed outsmarting the retail system by finding hidden bargains.
(C) She was proud of her ability to afford expensive designer clothing.
(D) She felt overwhelmed by the bright promotional signs in shop windows.
2 How did the writer feel upon arriving home with her purchases?
(A) Frustrated that she had spent too much money on a pasta maker.
(B) Disappointed that the neon trainers did not match her wardrobe.
(C) Ashamed of having acquired things she had no practical use for.
(D) Relieved that she had finally unpacked her cluttered shopping bags.
3 What does the phrase ‘fall at the first hurdle’ in the third paragraph mean?
(A) trip over the clutter scattered around her apartment
(B) fail near the beginning of her new challenge
(C) give in to the digital temptations on her smartphone
(D) forget the rigid rules she had set for herself
4 What important realisation did the writer have during the first week of her challenge?
(A) Going for a run was a more rewarding hobby than shopping online.
(B) She was unable to stop browsing online stores when she felt stressed.
(C) She needed to buy things online to boost her mood after work.
(D) Her shopping was an emotional reaction rather than a practical necessity.
5 What approach does the writer now take towards shopping?
(A) She strictly limits her spending to groceries and household bills.
(B) She completely avoids shops that offer tempting discounts.
(C) She carefully evaluates the long-term usefulness of a potential purchase.
(D) She prefers to leave her old items in her cupboard to gather dust.
6 What is the writer’s main purpose in the article?
(A) To explain the financial benefits of completing a ‘No-Spend Month’.
(B) To demonstrate how changing one’s mindset can overcome negative spending habits.
(C) To warn shoppers about the deceptive nature of promotional emails.
(D) To advise readers on how to successfully outsmart the retail system.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 A: The text states, “I would convince myself that purchasing a designer coat I didn’t actually need was a sensible investment, simply because it was heavily discounted.” This shows she tricked herself into thinking her actions were logical. Distractor B uses exact phrases (“outsmarted the retail system”) but misrepresents the text; she only felt like she was outsmarting it, while remaining “oblivious to the reality” of her bad habits.
2 C: The writer says she would “wonder what on earth had possessed me” upon seeing the useless items and felt “foolish and guilty.” This equates to being ashamed of buying things she had no use for. Distractor B is a partial truth—she notes the shoes don’t match, but her overarching emotion is guilt over the compulsion, not just fashion disappointment.
3 B: The idiom “fall at the first hurdle” means to fail at the very beginning of an attempt or challenge. She deleted apps so she wouldn’t fail immediately. Distractor C refers to what she was trying to avoid by deleting the apps, but it doesn’t define the idiom itself.
4 D: The writer experienced a “crucial breakthrough” when she realised that shopping had become a “coping mechanism for boredom or anxiety” rather than a genuine desire for products. Distractor A is true, but it was the result of her realisation, not the realisation itself. Distractor C was her old belief, which she overcame.
5 C: In the final paragraph, she explains her new mindset: “I ask myself if the item will genuinely add value to my life or if it will just end up gathering dust in a cupboard.” Distractor A was the rule during her specific 30-day challenge, not necessarily her permanent approach to all future shopping.
6 B: The overarching theme of the article is her emotional journey from an impulsive buyer to someone who uses mindfulness to control her habits and finances. Distractor A is a partial truth; she mentions saving money, but the article focuses far more heavily on the psychological and emotional transformation than just the financial gains.