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 English test
Last Saturday afternoon, Charlie was very quiet. He had a big English test on Monday morning. He sat at the square table in the dining room with all his school books. His dad walked into the room and saw him. “I can help you, Charlie,” his dad said kindly.
Examples
Charlie was ………very quiet……… last Saturday afternoon.
Charlie had an English test on ………Monday morning……… .
Questions
1 Charlie sat at the ………………………… with all his school books.
2 Charlie’s dad walked into the ………………………… and saw him.
3 Charlie’s dad spoke ………………………… and wanted to help him.
Dad sat on a chair next to Charlie. He took some small cards and wrote new English words on them. He drew funny pictures of animals and clothes on the cards, too. Charlie looked at the pictures and said the English words loudly. They worked for a long time. Then, Dad gave Charlie some chocolate cake because he worked hard.
4 Dad sat down on a ………………………… next to his son.
5 Dad wrote some ………………………… on small cards for Charlie.
6 Dad also drew some ………………………… of clothes and animals on the cards.
7 Because Charlie worked hard, Dad gave him some ………………………… .
On Monday, Charlie went to school and did his English test. It was very easy! He remembered all the funny pictures on the cards. When he went home, he showed his test to his dad. He did very well. Charlie gave his dad a big smile and said, “Thank you for your help!”
8 Charlie thought the English test was ………………………… .
9 After school, Charlie showed ………………………… to his dad.
10 Charlie gave his dad a ………………………… to say thank you for the help.
ANSWER KEY
1 square table 2 room 3 kindly
4 chair 5 new English words 6 funny pictures 7 chocolate cake
8 very easy 9 his test 10 big smile
Reading 2
Read the story. Write words to complete the sentences about the story.
You can use 1, 2 or 3 words.
A rainy walk to the library
It was Thursday morning and the children in Mr Gray’s class were very happy. They wanted to go to the town library to read some new books. But when they looked out of the window, the weather was bad. It started to rain a lot.
Examples
The children in Mr Gray’s class were very happy on ………Thursday morning……… .
The class wanted to visit the ………town library……… .
Questions
1 The children wanted to read some …………………… there.
2 When they looked out of the window, the …………………… was bad.
3 It started to …………………… a lot that morning.
“We can’t walk in the rain,” said a girl called Anna. “Yes, we can!” Mr Gray smiled. He opened a big cupboard and took out lots of yellow raincoats and green boots. Every child put on a raincoat and boots. Then, they walked outside. The rain was very loud, but the children were warm and dry. They liked jumping in the water on the street.
4 A girl called …………………… thought they couldn’t walk in the rain.
5 Mr Gray got the clothes out of a …………………… .
6 The children wore green boots and …………………… .
7 The children were warm and dry, and they enjoyed …………………… in the water.
When the class arrived at the library, they took off their wet clothes and left them next to the door. A nice woman gave them some hot milk to drink. Then, Anna found a great book about dolphins and sat on a soft rug to read it. It was a wonderful morning.
8 The children left their …………………… next to the library door.
9 A nice woman gave the children some …………………… to drink.
10 Anna read a book about dolphins while sitting on a …………………… .
ANSWER KEY
1 new books 2 weather 3 rain
4 Anna 5 big cupboard 6 yellow raincoats 7 jumping
8 wet clothes 9 hot milk 10 soft rug
Reading 3
Read the story. Write words to complete the sentences about the story.
You can use 1, 2 or 3 words.
Emma’s skipping competition
Emma was a happy girl who loved sports. Her favourite hobby was jumping with her new purple skipping rope. Every afternoon, she went to the park with her best friend, Sarah. They skipped on the grass together. One day, their teacher talked about a big skipping competition at school.
Examples
Emma’s favourite hobby was jumping with her ………purple skipping rope……… .
Emma went to the park every afternoon with her ………best friend……… .
Questions
1 Emma and Sarah jumped together on the …………………… in the park.
2 The girls’ …………………… told them about a skipping competition.
3 The big skipping competition was at …………………… .
Emma wanted to win, so she practiced every day after school. Sometimes she was very tired, but she didn’t stop. On Friday morning, all the children went to the school yard. The weather was sunny and hot. Lots of friends stood in a big circle. The music started and Emma began to jump very quickly.
4 Emma …………………… every day because she wanted to win.
5 The skipping competition was in the …………………… on Friday morning.
6 The children stood in a …………………… to watch the competition.
7 Emma jumped very quickly when the …………………… started.
Emma skipped for five minutes and she didn’t drop her rope. She was the best jumper in the school! Her teacher smiled and gave Emma a beautiful yellow book. Sarah hugged her friend. Emma was very happy and tired. “Let’s eat some ice cream now!” Emma said.
8 Emma didn’t drop her rope for …………………… .
9 Emma’s teacher gave her a …………………… because she was the best jumper.
10 After the competition, Emma wanted to eat …………………… .
ANSWER KEY
1 grass 2 teacher 3 school
4 practiced 5 school yard 6 big circle 7 music
8 five minutes/5 minutes 9 beautiful yellow book/yellow book 10 some ice cream/ice cream