Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Culinary Arts & Food Business 4

Exercises:   123456

Reading 1

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Learning to Cook at Sakura

Fifteen-year-old Leo wanted to buy a new mountain bike, so he decided to look for a weekend job. He found work at Sakura, a popular Japanese restaurant in his town. At first, Leo’s job was not very exciting. He only washed the dirty dishes and cleaned the tables after customers finished their meals.

However, the head chef, Mr. Tanaka, saw that Leo was a very hard worker. One Saturday evening, the restaurant was incredibly busy. Mr. Tanaka asked Leo to help him in the kitchen. He wanted Leo to cut some vegetables. Leo was very careful with the sharp knife and did a fantastic job.

After that busy night, Mr. Tanaka decided to teach Leo the art of making sushi. But Leo couldn’t touch the fish immediately. First, he had to learn how to cook the rice perfectly. It was quite difficult, and it took him three weeks to get it right. Leo practiced in his own kitchen, and his family had to eat a lot of rice!

Now, Leo can make beautiful sushi rolls for the restaurant’s guests. He really loves his job and is not saving his money for the mountain bike anymore. Instead, he hopes to travel to Japan one day to study food and become a professional chef.

1   What did Leo do when he first started working at Sakura?

     (A) He cleaned the plates and the dining area.

     (B) He bought a new mountain bike.

     (C) He finished his meals with the customers.

2   Why did Mr. Tanaka ask Leo to work in the kitchen?

     (A) Because Leo was very careful with a sharp knife.

     (B) Because they had a huge number of customers that night.

     (C) Because Mr. Tanaka was a very hard worker.

3   What happened when Leo started learning to make sushi?

     (A) He touched the fish immediately.

     (B) He had to master preparing the rice first.

     (C) His family cooked a lot of rice in their kitchen.

4   What do we learn about Leo in the last paragraph?

     (A) He is saving his money for the mountain bike.

     (B) He no longer wants to purchase a bicycle.

     (C) He is travelling to Japan to become a professional chef.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) How to make beautiful sushi rolls at home

     (B) The most popular Japanese restaurant in town

     (C) From washing dishes to preparing sushi

Reading 2

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The Teenager Who Brought Her School Together

Fifteen-year-old Sofia goes to a large high school in London. Her classmates come from many different countries, but she noticed that they rarely spoke to each other after classes. Sofia wanted to change this. Because she loves cooking, she decided to organise a special food festival to bring everyone together and celebrate their different cultures.

First, Sofia asked her teachers for permission. When they said yes, she started planning. It was not an easy job. She did not have enough time to design posters, so her best friend did that. Sofia spent her evenings looking for a large room because the school cafeteria was too small for the event. Finally, she booked the sports hall.

On the day of the festival, the room looked fantastic. More than fifty students brought traditional meals from their home countries. Sofia usually hates hot food, but she tried a spicy Indian curry and actually loved it! She also had some sweet Japanese cakes. The best part was seeing students from different classes laughing and sharing stories.

The head teacher was so pleased with the festival that he gave Sofia a small prize. Sofia feels very proud of what she achieved. She is already making plans for another event. Next year, she wants to invite the students’ parents to come and cook, too!

1   Why did Sofia decide to organize the food festival?

     (A) Because she rarely spoke to her classmates after classes.

     (B) To help students from different backgrounds become friends.

     (C) Because she wanted to go to a large high school in London.

2   What did Sofia do to prepare for the event?

     (A) She used her time to design posters.

     (B) She booked the school cafeteria for the event.

     (C) She looked for a big enough space for everyone.

3   What surprised Sofia at the festival?

     (A) She enjoyed eating a meal that was quite hot.

     (B) She hated the hot food that the students made.

     (C) She brought traditional meals from her home country.

4   What does Sofia want to happen next year?

     (A) She wants to give the head teacher a small prize.

     (B) She hopes adults from the students’ families will participate.

     (C) She feels very proud of what she achieved.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) How to cook traditional international meals

     (B) A tasty way to unite a school community

     (C) The best sports hall in London

Reading 3

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Fast and Spicy: A Teenager’s Tasty Idea

Sixteen-year-old Carlos has a passion for cooking. While his classmates spend their money on burgers and pizzas, Carlos prefers making his own meals at home. His favourite dishes are always spicy. When he asked his friends why they never cooked, they said that preparing food took too much time.

Carlos wanted to show them that cooking can be fast. He decided to create a mobile app with his favourite quick recipes. He only chose meals that people could make in exactly fifteen minutes. Before putting them on the app, he cooked all the dishes for his family to make sure they tasted great.

Building the software was a big challenge. Carlos didn’t know how to code, so he watched lessons on the internet. He spent many evenings sitting at his computer. Sometimes the program stopped working, and Carlos felt very angry. But he didn’t give up and finally finished his project, calling it ‘Fast & Spicy’.

Now, Carlos’s app is very popular at his high school. Many teenagers use it to cook hot, delicious dinners instead of buying fast food. Carlos is incredibly happy that he changed his friends’ eating habits. Next month, he is going to update the app with some new vegetarian recipes.

1   Why don’t Carlos’s friends cook their own meals?

     (A) They believe that getting food ready is a slow process.

     (B) They want to spend their money on their own meals.

     (C) They want to learn how to make burgers and pizzas.

2   What did Carlos do before adding the recipes to his app?

     (A) He gave the dishes to his relatives to try.

     (B) He showed people how to cook in exactly fifteen minutes.

     (C) He decided to create his favourite quick recipes.

3   How did Carlos learn to build the software?

     (A) He used videos online to understand how to do it.

     (B) He spent many evenings taking computer lessons.

     (C) He watched a program that stopped working.

4   What is Carlos planning to do next month?

     (A) Include some instructions for meals without meat.

     (B) Make hot, delicious dinners for teenagers.

     (C) Become very popular at his high school.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) A young chef’s app for quick and hot meals

     (B) How to stop buying burgers and pizzas

     (C) The teenager who only eats vegetarian food

Exercises:   123456