Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Business, Retail & Entrepreneurship

Exercises:   12345

Reading 1

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Jamie’s Big Business Dream

Fifteen-year-old Jamie has a very big dream. While his friends spend their free time playing video games or watching football matches, Jamie thinks about business. His favourite hobby is looking at sports equipment. His biggest ambition is to open a large sports shop right in the centre of his city one day.

To learn about business, Jamie helps his uncle every Saturday. His uncle owns a small shoe shop near Jamie’s house. Jamie doesn’t just clean the windows or put boxes on the shelves. His favourite thing to do is talking to the customers. He always asks them what kind of trainers they prefer, so he can understand what people like buying.

Last month, Jamie had a chance to learn more. A huge new gym opened in town, and Jamie’s teacher asked the class to write a project about a local business. Jamie visited the gym and asked the manager a lot of questions. He discovered that running a large business is often very tiring, but he still thought it sounded amazing.

Next year, Jamie is going to study business and maths at college. He knows that nobody can open a huge shop in the city centre immediately. It will cost a lot of money and take years of hard work. However, he is excited to begin his journey.

1   What does Jamie want to do in the future?

     (A) spend all his time playing video games

     (B) start a business selling sports equipment

     (C) watch football matches in the city centre

2   What does Jamie enjoy doing most at his uncle’s shop?

     (A) cleaning the windows

     (B) putting boxes on the shelves

     (C) having conversations with the people who come in

3   What did Jamie learn from the gym manager?

     (A) Being the boss of a big business makes you tired.

     (B) A huge new gym is opening in town soon.

     (C) He needs to ask his teacher a lot of questions.

4   What does Jamie understand about his dream?

     (A) He can open his huge shop immediately.

     (B) It will take a long time to achieve it.

     (C) He will have a shop in the city centre next year.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) A teenager’s dream to open a shop

     (B) How to get a job at a local gym

     (C) The best sports equipment to buy

Reading 2

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Learning from the Customers

Seventeen-year-old Ben loves clothes and always wears the newest fashions. He dreams of designing his own clothes and having his own brand one day. However, he knows that creating nice clothes is not enough. He needs to understand what people actually want to buy. To learn this, Ben decided to get a weekend job as a shop assistant in a busy clothes store.

During his first month, the work was quite boring. Ben had to clean the floors and fold hundreds of T-shirts. He didn’t speak to many customers. But last week, his manager asked him to work near the fitting rooms. This was exactly what Ben wanted to do.

While he helped people find different sizes, Ben listened to their opinions carefully. He noticed something very interesting. Many customers tried on beautiful and expensive jackets, but they often didn’t buy them because they were uncomfortable. Instead, people bought soft, simple sweaters and trousers. Ben quickly wrote this important information in his notebook.

Next year, Ben is going to study business and fashion at college. Some of his friends think his weekend job is tiring, but Ben loves it. He is learning what real people prefer to wear. He is sure that this knowledge will help him start a very successful company in the future.

1   Why did Ben decide to get a weekend job?

     (A) To find out what things shoppers like.

     (B) Because he always wears the newest fashions.

     (C) To design his own clothes for the store.

2   What happened during Ben’s first month at the shop?

     (A) He worked near the fitting rooms.

     (B) He spoke to many customers.

     (C) He completed jobs that were not very exciting.

3   What did Ben learn about the people in the shop?

     (A) They bought beautiful and expensive jackets.

     (B) They preferred to buy comfortable clothes.

     (C) They wrote important information in a notebook.

4   How does Ben feel about his work?

     (A) He thinks his weekend job is tiring.

     (B) He is unhappy that he has to study business at college.

     (C) He enjoys discovering what people choose to wear.

5   What is the best title for this article?

     (A) A young assistant’s difficult manager

     (B) How to make expensive jackets for teenagers

     (C) Working in a shop to build a future brand

Reading 3

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Charlie’s Brilliant Idea

Fifteen-year-old Charlie loves making new things. While his classmates spend their weekends playing computer games or watching funny videos, Charlie prefers being in his family’s garage. He enjoys looking at everyday objects and thinking about how to improve them. He wants to create a useful product that everyone can use in their daily lives.

Last winter, Charlie had a brilliant idea. He noticed that people waiting for the school bus in the rain always looked very cold. So, he decided to invent a special umbrella. His umbrella not only keeps you dry, but it also has a small, safe heater inside the handle to keep your hands warm.

Making the first umbrella was quite difficult. Charlie needed to buy some special electronic parts online, and they were expensive. He did not ask his parents to pay for them. Instead, he washed cars in his neighbourhood every weekend until he had enough cash. After two months of hard work, his amazing invention was finally ready.

Next month, Charlie is going to take his umbrella to a large inventors’ fair in the city. He wants to show it to important business people. He hopes someone will like his clever idea and help him produce thousands of them. His biggest dream is to sell his special umbrella to shoppers all over the world.

1   What does Charlie like doing at the weekend?

     (A) thinking of ways to make normal objects better

     (B) playing computer games or watching funny videos

     (C) spending time in the garage with his classmates

2   Why did Charlie decide to invent his special umbrella?

     (A) to help people feel comfortable in bad weather

     (B) to stand and wait for the school bus in the rain

     (C) to hide a small, safe heater inside the handle

3   How did Charlie get the money for the electronic parts?

     (A) He earned it by doing jobs for people living near him.

     (B) He asked his parents to pay for them online.

     (C) He sold cars in his neighbourhood for two months.

4   What does Charlie hope will happen at the inventors’ fair?

     (A) A business will agree to manufacture his product.

     (B) He will show important business people around the city.

     (C) He will sell thousands of them to shoppers himself.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) A smart teenager’s plan to sell a useful new product

     (B) How to make an umbrella from everyday objects

     (C) The best ways to wash cars in your neighbourhood

Exercises:   12345