Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – E-commerce, Finance & Smart Business

Exercises:   12345

Reading 1

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The Teenager Painting Phone Cases for Profit

Fifteen-year-old Emma loves using her smartphone, but she always thought that normal phone cases were quite boring. Last year, she bought some paints and started decorating her own phone cover with bright flowers and stars. When she went to school, her classmates saw it and completely loved the design.

Because everyone wanted one, Emma decided to start a small business. She asked her parents to help her make a website. In the first month, the online shop was very quiet, and she only had two customers. However, after she posted a short video of her painting process on the internet, everything changed. Suddenly, she got over fifty orders in a single week!

Now, Emma is very busy. Every weekend, she buys cheap, plain phone accessories from a local market. Then, she spends her Saturday and Sunday afternoons carefully painting them in her bedroom. She charges a fair price for her work, so teenagers can easily afford them.

Emma is extremely happy with her successful shop. She doesn’t spend the cash she makes on clothes or games. Instead, she is keeping it in the bank to buy a new laptop. When she finishes high school, Emma hopes to go to university and study business so she can learn how to grow her company even more.

1   Why did Emma paint her first phone case?

     (A) Her classmates completely loved the design.

     (B) She felt that ordinary covers were not very interesting.

     (C) She wanted to buy bright flowers and stars.

2   What happened during the first month of Emma’s business?

     (A) She received over fifty orders in a single week.

     (B) She posted a short video on the internet.

     (C) Very few shoppers bought things from her store.

3   Where does Emma get the items she decorates?

     (A) She purchases them at a market near her home.

     (B) She carefully paints them in her bedroom.

     (C) Teenagers give them to her for a fair price.

4   What is Emma doing with the money she earns?

     (A) She spends the cash she makes on clothes or games.

     (B) She is saving it up to get a different computer.

     (C) She pays to go to university and study business.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) How to buy cheap plain phone accessories

     (B) The best short videos on the internet

     (C) A schoolgirl’s popular online design business

Reading 2

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Old Cameras, New Money

Sixteen-year-old Toby has a very unusual hobby. Most teenagers love taking photos with their modern smartphones, but Toby prefers old things. Last year, he visited a market and saw a broken vintage camera. It was cheap, so he bought it. He wanted to see if he could make it work again.

Repairing the camera was not an easy job for Toby. He didn’t know anything about fixing things. So, he spent hours watching videos on the internet to learn what to do. He also had to spend his pocket money on some special small tools. It took him three weeks to completely finish his first project.

When the camera was finally ready, Toby took some fantastic black and white photos with it. One of his friends loved the camera so much that he asked to buy it. Toby agreed and actually made a nice profit! Because of this, he decided to buy more broken cameras online, repair them, and sell them to other people.

Today, Toby’s small business is doing very well. He repairs about four cameras every month. He doesn’t spend the cash he makes on clothes or video games. Instead, he keeps it in the bank because he wants to pay for his university studies in the future. He hopes to open a real photography shop one day.

1   What did Toby do at the market last year?

     (A) He purchased an item that didn’t work.

     (B) He used his modern smartphone to take photos.

     (C) He sold a cheap vintage camera.

2   How did Toby learn to repair the camera?

     (A) By viewing helpful clips on the web.

     (B) By spending his pocket money on special small tools.

     (C) By asking people who knew about fixing things.

3   What happened after Toby finished his first camera?

     (A) A guy he knew paid him for it.

     (B) He took some fantastic black and white photos of his friends.

     (C) He decided to buy more broken cameras online immediately.

4   What does Toby do with the money from his business?

     (A) He is saving it for his time at college.

     (B) He spends the cash he makes on clothes or video games.

     (C) He uses it to open a real photography shop.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) A teenager’s unusual and profitable hobby

     (B) How to take fantastic black and white photos

     (C) The best places to buy modern smartphones

Reading 3

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The Teenager’s Perfect Summer Job

Sixteen-year-old Lucas loves the long summer holidays. This year, he wanted to buy a new mountain bike, but it was very expensive. In July, he heard his neighbours talking. They were going to the beach for two weeks and needed someone to look after their cat. Lucas immediately offered to help, and then he had a brilliant idea. He decided to start a pet-sitting business!

He made some colourful posters and put them up around his town. At first, Lucas thought the job would be quite easy. He thought he just needed to give food to some cats and take a few dogs for a short walk. However, he soon had ten different customers. He had to wake up at six o’clock every morning to visit all the animals.

One afternoon, Lucas had a scary experience. He was walking a very large dog called Buster. Suddenly, Buster saw a bird and ran across the park very fast. Lucas dropped his mobile phone on the grass and ran after him. Luckily, Lucas caught the dog quickly, but he learned that he always had to be careful!

By the end of August, Lucas had enough money for his dream bike. Although the work was sometimes tiring, he really enjoyed spending time with the animals. In fact, his business is so successful that he plans to continue doing it at the weekends when school starts again!

1   Why did Lucas decide to start his business?

     (A) He wished to get money for an item he really wanted.

     (B) He was going to the beach for two weeks in July.

     (C) He needed someone to look after his cat.

2   What did Lucas find out about his new job?

     (A) It was much harder work than he imagined.

     (B) He just needed to give food to some cats.

     (C) He had to make some colourful posters every morning.

3   What happened to Lucas in the park?

     (A) The pet he was watching tried to chase something.

     (B) A very large dog called Buster caught a bird.

     (C) Lucas dropped his mobile phone on the dog.

4   What is Lucas going to do in the autumn?

     (A) Take care of people’s pets on Saturdays and Sundays.

     (B) Keep saving his money to buy his dream bike.

     (C) Visit all the animals at six o’clock every morning.

5  What is the best title for the article?

     (A) Why you should buy a very expensive mountain bike

     (B) The schoolboy who created a successful summer business

     (C) How to make colourful posters for your town

Exercises:   12345