Practice English Reading Exercises for B2 – Modern Domesticity, Lifestyle & Household Challenges 9
Reading 1
You are going to read a magazine article about a teenager who spends the weekend cleaning out a messy garage with his parents.
For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
Treasures in the Dust
When my parents announced at breakfast that we would be spending our entire Saturday clearing out the garage, I was absolutely appalled. It was the middle of November, and a bitter wind was howling outside. I had been looking forward to a weekend of uninterrupted video games, but my father made it abundantly clear that this chore was non-negotiable. The garage had become a mythical dumping ground over the past decade, a place where broken appliances and outgrown toys went to gather dust. As I stood shivering at the threshold, staring at the towering mountains of cardboard boxes and discarded furniture, I felt a profound sense of injustice. If they had simply organised their belongings over the years, we wouldn’t be facing this monumental mess now.
The first two hours were every bit as miserable as I had anticipated. The concrete floor was freezing, and the air was thick with the smell of damp and motor oil. My parents assigned me the punishing task of dragging heavy, unlabelled crates out onto the driveway for sorting. Every time I shifted a box, a cloud of grey dust erupted, making me sneeze uncontrollably. I grumbled constantly, convinced that my parents were deliberately ruining my weekend to teach me some outdated lesson about hard work. My mother, noticing my sulky expression, told me that if I stopped complaining and focused, the job would be finished much sooner. I highly doubted that.
However, the atmosphere shifted around midday when my dad accidentally dropped a taped-up plastic tub. It split open, spilling its contents across the cold floor. I braced myself for an outburst of anger, but instead, my dad started laughing out loud. I wandered over and saw a pile of incredibly tight, brightly coloured trousers and sequinned jackets. My father explained that he used to be the lead singer in an amateur disco band in the late eighties. He held up a particularly hideous silver jacket, claiming he must have thought he looked incredibly fashionable at the time. My mother and I dissolved into fits of laughter at the sheer absurdity of the outfit.
After that, the tedious chore gradually evolved into an impromptu archaeological dig. As we delved deeper into the forgotten corners of the garage, we unearthed a treasure trove of ridiculous family history. We discovered my mother’s disastrous early attempts at knitting, which looked like lumpy woollen monsters, and my own terrifying primary school artwork. Whenever someone opened a new box, we would gather round to inspect these items, eager to see what embarrassing relic from the past would be revealed next. The biting cold and the layer of grime covering my hands were completely forgotten, replaced by a warm sense of shared history.
The highlight of the afternoon came when I stumbled upon a dusty, oversized trophy hidden behind a broken lawnmower. The golden figure on top was missing an arm, and the engraved plate read ‘Second Place, Regional Turnip Growing Contest 1995’. I held it up questioningly. My mother blushed deeply and admitted that she had once gone through a brief, intense gardening phase before I was born. The idea of my sophisticated, city-loving mother obsessing over giant root vegetables was so hilariously out of character that my dad and I literally cried with laughter. She joined in, playfully threatening to make turnips for dinner every night if we didn’t stop teasing her.
By the time the sun began to set, the garage was only about half clear, but the driveway was neatly organised into piles for the charity shop and the recycling centre. Walking back into the warm house, I realised my perspective on the day had entirely transformed. What had begun as an unfair, physically draining punishment had actually provided a rare opportunity to connect with my parents as individuals, rather than just authority figures. The garage might still be quite cluttered, but uncovering those forgotten stories made it a weekend I wouldn’t have traded for anything.
1 How did the writer initially feel about the task of cleaning the garage?
(A) Annoyed because the mess was a direct result of his parents’ long-term carelessness.
(B) Frustrated because he was expected to repair the broken appliances left there over the last decade.
(C) Relieved that his father had finally decided to clear out the mythical dumping ground.
(D) Disappointed because he had planned to spend the weekend studying for a test.
2 During the first few hours of work, the writer believed that his parents
(A) had completely underestimated how long the tedious job would take to finish.
(B) were angry with him for complaining and moving the unlabelled crates too slowly.
(C) were intentionally punishing him in order to demonstrate the value of physical labour.
(D) had assigned him the easiest tasks to prevent him from sneezing uncontrollably.
3 What does ‘these items‘ refer to in the fourth paragraph?
(A) the forgotten corners of the freezing garage
(B) the lumpy woollen monsters knitted by his mother
(C) the terrifying pieces of primary school artwork
(D) the ridiculous, forgotten objects found inside the storage boxes
4 What does the writer imply about the atmosphere in the fourth paragraph?
(A) He realised that archaeological digging could actually be a fascinating career choice.
(B) The shared amusement helped him completely ignore the physical discomfort of the chore.
(C) He became increasingly embarrassed by the personal relics his parents kept finding.
(D) The family nearly decided to abandon the cleaning because the biting cold was too intense.
5 Why did the writer and his father find the broken trophy so amusing?
(A) It revealed a past hobby that completely contradicted the mother’s current personality.
(B) The golden figure on top of it was missing an arm and looked incredibly ridiculous.
(C) The mother threatened to cook turnips for dinner if they didn’t stop laughing at her.
(D) The mother had secretly won a prestigious gardening competition in the 1990s.
6 What is the writer’s main message in the article?
(A) Teenagers rarely appreciate their parents until they start sharing stories about the past.
(B) Parents should avoid forcing their teenage children to do physically demanding chores.
(C) Working together on a difficult task can reveal a more human side to family members.
(D) Sorting through old belongings is the most effective way to clean a cluttered garage.
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 A: The writer states, “I felt a profound sense of injustice. If they had simply organised their belongings over the years, we wouldn’t be facing this monumental mess now.” This perfectly matches being annoyed due to his parents’ carelessness. Option B uses exact words from the text (“broken appliances”, “last decade”) but creates a false match; he wasn’t asked to fix them. Option C is the opposite of his feelings. Option D contains an unstated, incorrect detail (he planned to play video games, not study).
2 C: The writer says, “I grumbled constantly, convinced that my parents were deliberately ruining my weekend to teach me some outdated lesson about hard work.” Option A is a plausible real-world thought, but it is unstated in the text. Option B is a partial truth; he was complaining, but his mother wasn’t angry about his speed, she just wanted him to focus. Option D is the direct opposite; his tasks were “punishing,” not easy, and caused the sneezing.
3 D: In the context of the paragraph, “these items” refers broadly to the contents of the newly opened boxes, encompassing all the “embarrassing relics from the past” or “ridiculous family history.” Options B and C are too specific; they are merely two examples of the items found, not the definition of the items in the new boxes being opened. Option A refers to a location, not the objects being inspected.
4 B: The text explicitly states, “The biting cold and the layer of grime covering my hands were completely forgotten, replaced by a warm sense of shared history.” Option A is a false match that relies on a literal interpretation of a metaphorical phrase (“impromptu archaeological dig”). Option C is the opposite; he wasn’t embarrassed, they were all eagerly amused. Option D is contradicted by the text; they forgot about the cold rather than abandoning the job because of it.
5 A: The writer explains that “The idea of my sophisticated, city-loving mother obsessing over giant root vegetables was so hilariously out of character that my dad and I literally cried with laughter.” Option B is a partial truth trap; the statue was missing an arm, but that wasn’t the main reason they found it so funny. Option C is a false cause-effect trap; she made the threat because they were laughing, it wasn’t the cause of the laughter. Option D is incorrect; it was “Second Place”, not a win, and the prestige isn’t the focal point of the humour.
6 C: In the conclusion, the writer notes that the punishment “had actually provided a rare opportunity to connect with my parents as individuals, rather than just authority figures.” Option A is an over-generalization that goes beyond the scope of this specific story. Option B is the direct opposite of his conclusion, as he says he “wouldn’t have traded [the weekend] for anything.” Option D is too literal and misses the entire emotional arc and message of the text.
Reading 2
You are going to read a magazine article about a teenager trying to cook a meal for her family’s specific dietary needs.
For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
The Friday Night Feast
For years, Friday night dinner in my household meant one thing: ordering the largest, cheesiest pizza from our local takeaway. It was a beloved end-of-week ritual that required zero thought and resulted in zero complaints. Recently, however, our dining table has transformed into a complex nutritional minefield. My younger sister, Maya, was diagnosed with a severe gluten intolerance, meaning wheat was strictly off the menu. Shortly after, my father’s doctor advised him to adopt a heart-healthy diet, which translates to drastically reducing his intake of salt and saturated fats. As for me, a permanently hungry seventeen-year-old, I just desperately craved our traditional slice of greasy pepperoni pizza.
The situation reached a crisis point when my parents announced that we would all take turns cooking the Friday meal. When my designated evening arrived, I found myself staring blankly into the fridge, consumed by culinary frustration. Finding a single recipe that accommodated everyone’s conflicting requirements felt like attempting to solve an impossible puzzle. If I made a hearty pasta bake, Maya wouldn’t be able to touch it. If I prepared steamed fish with fresh vegetables, my dad would be incredibly pleased, but my sister and I would be utterly miserable. I angrily slammed the fridge door shut, wondering why my simple desire for a normal, unified family meal had become so overwhelmingly complicated.
Determined not to be defeated, I ambitiously decided to create a bespoke pizza we could all share. I spent a frantic hour scouring the internet for a crust recipe that was both gluten-free and heart-healthy. Armed with unfamiliar ingredients like almond flour and flaxseed, I set to work. The kitchen quickly descended into absolute chaos. Flour dusted every surface, and the dough itself was a sticky, unmanageable disaster. When I finally managed to bake it, the resulting crust resembled a piece of dry cardboard and tasted arguably worse. The intense stress of the ruined kitchen and the inedible food almost reduced me to tears.
Sitting amidst the wreckage of my failed experiment, I realised I had approached the problem from entirely the wrong angle. Trying to force everyone’s unique dietary needs into one unified dish was a terrible strategy. What I actually needed was a meal that could be heavily customised at the point of serving. Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed into my mind. I didn’t need to cook one perfect dish; I needed to provide a variety of safe components and let my family construct their own dinner. The solution was blindingly obvious: a ‘build-your-own’ taco bar.
Re-energised, I swiftly cleared the ruined pizza dough and started again. I warmed up a stack of soft corn tortillas, which are naturally free of gluten, making them perfectly safe for Maya. For my dad’s heart-healthy requirements, I grilled some lean chicken breast with a squeeze of lime and sliced up an abundance of fresh avocados. To satisfy my own Friday night cravings, I generously grated a mountain of cheddar cheese and warmed up some spicy beans. Arranging everything in colourful bowls along the counter, I called my family down to eat, holding my breath in nervous anticipation.
The reaction was overwhelmingly positive. As everyone excitedly moved along the counter, loading up their tortillas with their preferred ingredients, the usual dietary anxieties were noticeably absent. Maya was thrilled to be eating the exact same base meal as the rest of us, and my dad happily filled his plate with fresh, healthy vegetables. As I bit into my own cheese-heavy taco, a wave of triumphant satisfaction washed over me. Not only had I managed to navigate the tricky maze of my family’s dietary restrictions, but I had also invented a stress-free Friday tradition we could all finally enjoy.
1 How did the writer feel about the recent changes to family dinners?
(A) Annoyed because she was forced to stop eating her favourite foods.
(B) Frustrated that a previously simple and enjoyable routine had been ruined.
(C) Worried about how her father would cope with his new medical diagnosis.
(D) Jealous of the special dietary attention her younger sister was receiving.
2 How did the writer view the task of cooking for her family in the second paragraph?
(A) She thought it was an unfair responsibility to give to a teenager.
(B) She was determined to cook her favourite dish regardless of the diets.
(C) She felt it was practically impossible to find a meal everyone would enjoy.
(D) She was confident she could persuade her dad to eat a hearty pasta bake.
3 What does the word ‘it‘ refer to in the third paragraph?
(A) the internet recipe
(B) the almond flour
(C) the ruined kitchen
(D) the sticky dough
4 What realisation led the writer to her new meal idea?
(A) She understood that making a pizza was too complex for her cooking skills.
(B) She recognised that family members needed to assemble their own food.
(C) She accepted that she would have to cook completely separate meals for everyone.
(D) She concluded that Mexican food was generally healthier than Italian food.
5 How did the writer ensure the new meal was suitable for her father?
(A) She provided soft corn tortillas instead of traditional wheat ones.
(B) She prepared low-fat meat and plenty of fresh produce.
(C) She avoided using any cheese or spicy beans in the overall meal.
(D) She made sure all his ingredients were placed in a separate colourful bowl.
6 What is the main message of the text?
(A) Cooking for people with food allergies is much harder than people realise.
(B) Traditional family meals should never be replaced by new culinary ideas.
(C) Teenagers should take on more responsibilities in the family kitchen.
(D) A flexible approach can successfully resolve seemingly difficult problems.
ANSWER KEY & EXPLANATIONS
1 B: The text contrasts the “beloved end-of-week ritual that required zero thought” with the current “complex nutritional minefield,” showing her frustration over the loss of a simple routine. Distractor A is a partial truth; she craved her favourite food, but she wasn’t forced to stop eating it entirely, just frustrated by the Friday night changes. Distractor C is plausible but unstated.
2 C: The writer states that finding a single recipe for everyone “felt like attempting to solve an impossible puzzle.” Distractor A is an unstated assumption; she is frustrated by the food puzzle, not the fact that she has to cook. Distractor D is the opposite; she knows she can’t make the pasta bake because her sister “wouldn’t be able to touch it.”
3 D: In the previous sentence, the writer says “the dough itself was a sticky, unmanageable disaster.” The pronoun “it” substitutes for the dough when she says “When I finally managed to bake it…”. Distractors A, B, and C are all nouns in the paragraph, but none of them logically fit the action of being baked into a crust.
4 B: The writer notes, “I didn’t need to cook one perfect dish; I needed to provide a variety of safe components and let my family construct their own dinner.” This perfectly paraphrases the idea of them assembling their own food. Distractor A is a false match; the pizza failed because of the restrictive dietary ingredients, not her general cooking skills. Distractor C is the opposite; she specifically avoided cooking completely separate meals.
5 B: The text specifies that “For my dad’s heart-healthy requirements, I grilled some lean chicken breast… and sliced up an abundance of fresh avocados.” This matches preparing low-fat meat and fresh produce. Distractor A is a false match; the corn tortillas were specifically prepared for her sister Maya’s gluten intolerance, not her father. Distractor C is false; she did use cheese and beans, but for herself.
6 D: The narrative arc resolves with the writer abandoning her rigid plan (one unified pizza) in favour of a flexible solution (a build-your-own taco bar), culminating in a “triumphant satisfaction” over navigating the tricky maze. Distractor A is too specific; it only addresses the conflict, not the positive resolution. Distractor C is an over-inference not central to the theme. Distractor B is the opposite of the conclusion.