Practice English Reading Exercises for A1 – School, Learning & Friends
Reading 1
Read the story. Write words to complete the sentences about the story.
You can use 1, 2 or 3 words.
The Wrong Bus
Last Thursday afternoon, school finished at three o’clock. Tom and his best friend, Alex, walked outside. They usually catch the number 5 bus to go home. The weather was sunny and the boys talked a lot about football. They didn’t look carefully at the buses.
Examples
School finished at ………three o’clock……… last Thursday afternoon.
Tom walked outside with his ………best friend……… , Alex.
Questions
1 The boys usually take the ………………………… to go home.
2 The weather that afternoon was ………………………… .
3 The friends talked about ………………………… and didn’t look carefully at the buses.
The boys jumped on a big blue bus and sat down at the back. After ten minutes, Tom looked out of the window. He didn’t see his street. “Oh no!” he said. “We are on the wrong bus!” The boys were afraid. The bus stopped next to a small park, and they quickly got off.
4 The two boys sat ………………………… of the big blue bus.
5 When Tom looked out of the window, he couldn’t see ………………………… .
6 The boys felt ………………………… because they were on the wrong bus.
7 They quickly got off the bus next to a ………………………… .
They sat on a green seat in the park. Tom took out his phone and called his dad. “Please help us, Dad,” Tom said. “We are at the park.” Ten minutes later, Tom’s dad arrived in his red car. He drove the boys safely home.
8 The boys sat on a ………………………… inside the park.
9 Tom used ………………………… to call his dad for help.
10 Tom’s dad came in his ………………………… to drive them home.
ANSWER KEY
1 number 5 bus 2 sunny 3 football
4 at the back 5 his street 6 afraid 7 small park
8 green seat 9 his phone 10 red car
Reading 2
Read the story. Write words to complete the sentences about the story.
You can use 1, 2 or 3 words.
The outdoor reading lesson
Last Friday morning, the weather was beautiful and very sunny. Miss White looked out of the classroom window and smiled at her class. “Let’s have our reading lesson outside today,” she said. The children were very happy. They took their new books and walked to the big field behind the school.
Examples
The weather was beautiful and ………very sunny……… last Friday morning.
The children’s teacher is called ………Miss White……… .
Questions
1 The teacher wanted to have the ………………………… outside.
2 The children carried their ………………………… outside with them.
3 The class went to a ………………………… which was behind the school.
The children sat down on the soft green grass under a large tree. Miss White opened her book and read an exciting story about a clever pirate. Everyone listened carefully. Suddenly, a little brown rabbit hopped out of some bushes. It stopped near the children’s feet. The class was very quiet because they didn’t want the animal to run away.
4 The children sat under a large tree on the ………………………… .
5 Miss White read a story about a ………………………… to the class.
6 A ………………………… came out of the bushes and stopped near the children.
7 The children were ………………………… because they wanted the rabbit to stay.
The little rabbit sat and listened to the pirate story for a short time. Then, it quickly hopped back into the safe bushes. The children laughed loudly. “The rabbit likes reading too!” said a boy called Paul. Everyone was happy. They thought it was the best lesson of the week.
8 The rabbit stayed and listened to the ………………………… for a short time.
9 After the rabbit hopped away, the children ………………………… .
10 The children thought it was the ………………………… of the week.
ANSWER KEY
1 reading lesson 2 new books 3 big field
4 soft green grass 5 clever pirate 6 little brown rabbit 7 very quiet
8 pirate story 9 laughed loudly 10 best lesson
Reading 3
Read the story. Write words to complete the sentences about the story.
You can use 1, 2 or 3 words.
Alex makes a kite
Last Thursday, Alex had an art lesson at school. His teacher, Miss White, showed the class how to make a kite. Alex chose some big yellow paper because yellow was his favourite colour. He worked very carefully with his scissors and glue.
Examples
Alex was in an ………art lesson……… last Thursday.
The name of Alex’s teacher was ………Miss White……… .
Questions
1 The children learned how to make a …………………… in their class.
2 Alex used …………………… for his kite because it was his favourite.
3 Alex used scissors and …………………… to make his kite carefully.
Then, Alex drew a funny face on his new kite. He gave it big blue eyes and a happy red mouth. When school finished, Alex carried his kite home. He showed it to his dad. “That is a great kite,” his dad said. “We can fly it at the weekend because it is always windy then.”
4 Alex put a …………………… on his new toy.
5 The kite had a happy mouth and …………………… .
6 Alex took his kite …………………… after his classes finished.
7 Alex’s dad wanted to fly the kite at the weekend because the weather is …………………… .
On Saturday morning, Alex and his dad walked to the park behind their house. The weather was very windy. Alex held the string and ran fast across the grass. The yellow kite went up into the sky. It flew higher than the tall trees. Alex was very happy with his beautiful toy.
8 The boy and his dad went to the park on …………………… .
9 Alex ran across the grass and his toy went up into the …………………… .
10 The yellow kite flew higher than the …………………… in the park.
ANSWER KEY
1 kite 2 big yellow paper / yellow paper 3 glue
4 funny face 5 big blue eyes / blue eyes 6 home 7 always windy / windy
8 Saturday morning 9 sky 10 tall trees