Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Clubs & Extracurricular Activities
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A Sweet Thank You
Fourteen-year-old Toby loves spending his free time in the school cooking club. It was the last week of the school year, and Toby wanted to do something special to say thank you to his teachers. He decided to bake a huge surprise chocolate cake for them.
On Wednesday afternoon, Toby went to the local supermarket. He had a long list of things he needed, like flour, sugar, and chocolate. He really wanted to put fresh strawberries on top of the cake. However, the shop didn’t have any, so he decided to buy some sweet bananas instead.
During the cooking club on Thursday, Toby started making his cake. He carefully mixed all the ingredients in a large bowl. While the cake was in the cooker, Toby started talking to his friend, Leo. Suddenly, he smelled something bad. The cake was too brown and completely burnt! Toby quickly threw it away and had to start again. Luckily, his second cake looked perfect.
On Friday morning, Toby carried the beautiful cake into the teachers’ room. They were drinking their coffee and were very surprised to see him. His maths teacher, Mr. Clark, ate two pieces and said it was the most delicious dessert in the world. Toby felt extremely proud of his hard work. He enjoyed the experience so much that he wants to bake another cake for his family this weekend.
1 Why did Toby decide to bake a cake?
(A) To show his teachers that he was grateful.
(B) Because it was the last week of the school year.
(C) To spend his free time in the cooking club.
2 What happened when Toby went to the supermarket?
(A) He bought some fresh strawberries to put on the cake.
(B) He had to choose a different fruit for his dessert.
(C) He lost his long list of things that he needed.
3 Why did Toby need to make a second cake?
(A) He carefully mixed all the ingredients in the wrong bowl.
(B) He suddenly smelled something bad coming from Leo’s cake.
(C) He forgot about his cooking because he was having a conversation.
4 What did Mr. Clark think of Toby’s cake?
(A) He was drinking his coffee and didn’t want to try it.
(B) He really loved the way that it tasted.
(C) He wants to bake another cake for his family this weekend.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) The best student in the cooking club
(B) How to bake a sweet banana cake
(C) A delicious surprise for the teachers
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 B 3 C 4 B 5 C
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Doing Too Much
Leo is a fifteen-year-old student who is always very active. At the beginning of the school year, he wanted to try everything. He saw lots of posters for after-school clubs and wrote his name on five different lists. He joined the football team, the chess club, the school band, the art group, and the science club.
At first, Leo thought his plan was a great idea. However, after a month, he started to have a big problem. He didn’t have any free time. Every day after school, he had a different activity. When he finally got home at 6 p.m., he still had to do all his homework. He was going to bed very late every night.
Soon, Leo felt extremely tired all the time. One afternoon, during a chess match, he almost fell asleep! His friend, Mark, saw this and gave him some excellent advice. “You can’t do everything, Leo,” he said. “You should choose the two things you love the most and stop doing the others.”
Leo thought about Mark’s words carefully. He decided to stay in the school band because he loves playing the guitar, and the football team because he enjoys playing sports. He left the other three clubs. Now, Leo has enough time to rest, his homework is much easier to finish, and he feels really happy again.
1 What did Leo do at the beginning of the school year?
(A) He put up posters for after-school clubs.
(B) He decided to take part in many activities.
(C) He wrote his name on the art group’s pictures.
2 Why did Leo start to have a problem?
(A) He got home at 6 p.m. without his homework.
(B) He was going to bed very early every night.
(C) He had no time for himself after school.
3 What did Mark tell Leo to do?
(A) only keep his favorite hobbies
(B) sleep more in the afternoon
(C) play a chess match with him
4 What is true about Leo now?
(A) He has more time to relax.
(B) He wants to leave the football team.
(C) He finds his homework much more difficult.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) The best clubs at school
(B) Learning to do less
(C) How to get better at chess
ANSWER KEY
1 B 2 C 3 A 4 A 5 B
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A School Reporter
Emma is fourteen years old and her biggest dream is to become a famous journalist. She spends all her free time reading magazines and writing short stories. Last month, she saw a poster in the library. The weekly school newspaper needed students to help write articles. Emma decided to volunteer immediately.
For her first job, the newspaper editor asked her to write about the school sports day. Emma thought it would be a very easy topic. However, she had to ask the sports teacher, Mr. Jones, some questions. Mr. Jones is usually very busy and speaks quickly. Emma felt quite nervous, but she managed to get a great interview with him.
On Saturday, Emma sat in her bedroom to write the article. It took a much longer time than she expected. Her younger brother was watching loud cartoons in the living room, which made it difficult to focus. She finally finished the text on Sunday evening and emailed it to the school newspaper team.
On Wednesday morning, everyone at school got a copy of the newspaper. Emma’s friends read her article and said it was fantastic. Even Mr. Jones smiled and thanked her. Emma was extremely proud of her hard work. She now knows that writing news is not simple, but she loves it. She is already thinking of ideas for next week’s paper!
1 What do we learn about Emma in the first paragraph?
(A) She hopes to work as a news writer one day.
(B) She put a poster in the school library.
(C) She needed students to help write articles.
2 What was Emma’s experience with her first task?
(A) She had a successful conversation with a teacher.
(B) She found it to be a very easy topic to do.
(C) She was very busy and spoke quickly.
3 Why was writing the article difficult for Emma?
(A) Her sibling’s television made it hard to concentrate.
(B) She was watching loud cartoons in the living room.
(C) She decided to email it to the school newspaper team.
4 What happened after the newspaper was printed?
(A) Emma received positive comments about her work.
(B) Emma smiled and thanked Mr. Jones.
(C) Emma’s friends said that writing news is not simple.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) Emma’s first school newspaper story
(B) How to interview a busy sports teacher
(C) Reading magazines in your free time
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 A 3 A 4 A 5 A