Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Home Cooking & Ingredients
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
1 Which person says that the chicken sandwiches help them save money on lunch?
(A) Ben (B) Sarah (C) Tom
2 Who makes their sandwiches taste different by adding a spicy sauce?
(A) Ben (B) Sarah (C) Tom
3 Which person mentions they put the leftovers in the fridge immediately after dinner?
(A) Ben (B) Sarah (C) Tom
4 Who likes to take their chicken sandwich to eat in the park?
(A) Ben (B) Sarah (C) Tom
5 Which person says they always use fresh bread for their sandwiches?
(A) Ben (B) Sarah (C) Tom
6 Who shares their leftover chicken with a pet?
(A) Ben (B) Sarah (C) Tom
7 Which person says they have improved at making sandwiches over time?
(A) Ben (B) Sarah (C) Tom
Using Leftover Chicken
Ben
I hate throwing away good food, so I always use the chicken from our Sunday roast for lunch the next day. As soon as we finish our evening meal, I put any extra meat into a container and keep it cold. I used to be quite bad at making sandwiches, but I’ve been practicing and now I think I make the best ones in my family! I usually buy a fresh loaf of bread from the bakery every single morning because I don’t like eating bread that is more than a day old.
Sarah
I’m a student, so I have to be very careful with my budget. Making sandwiches with leftover chicken means I don’t have to buy expensive meals at the university canteen. I love adding a special chili sauce to the chicken; it gives the sandwich such a strong, hot flavour! I really enjoy sitting outside on a nice day, so I often pack my lunch and take it to the green space near the library to eat while I study. It’s so much better than eating inside.
Tom
My favourite way to reduce food waste is making sandwiches with chicken from the night before. I don’t actually eat all of the leftovers myself, though. If there is a small piece of chicken that I don’t want, I give it to my cat, who loves it! I am not very picky about the bread, so I just use whatever we have in the cupboard. I never add spicy sauces because I don’t like hot food, but I do like to add some crisp lettuce to make the sandwich feel more exciting.
ANSWER KEY
1 B 2 B 3 A 4 B 5 A 6 C 7 A
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
1 Which person says the book is too heavy to carry around?
(A) Lucas (B) Emma (C) Noah
2 Which person received the cookbook as a present?
(A) Lucas (B) Emma (C) Noah
3 Which person cooked soup for a large group of people?
(A) Lucas (B) Emma (C) Noah
4 Which person feels the photographs in the book are not very useful?
(A) Lucas (B) Emma (C) Noah
5 Which person says the food you need to buy costs a lot of money?
(A) Lucas (B) Emma (C) Noah
6 Which person spent longer making the food than the book promised?
(A) Lucas (B) Emma (C) Noah
7 Which person prepared a soup that you don’t eat hot?
(A) Lucas (B) Emma (C) Noah
Learning to Make Soup
Lucas
My aunt gave me this recipe book for my birthday last month. I am a beginner, so I really liked the simple instructions. The writer says each soup takes exactly an hour to make, and for me, that was completely right! However, I didn’t like the images showing the finished dishes. They are very dark, so it is hard to see what your meal should look like at the end. Also, the book itself is quite cheap to buy online.
Emma
I bought this popular cookbook for myself because I wanted to eat healthier food. Last weekend, I invited eight of my friends over for dinner. I made the tomato and garlic soup for everyone, and there was plenty for us all! The book says you can finish making this recipe in thirty minutes. But I was in the kitchen for almost an hour just cutting the vegetables! The meal was delicious, and we ate it very hot with some bread.
Noah
I borrowed this soup book from the local library. It is a really thick, large book, so I couldn’t put it in my bag to read on the bus. I think the pictures inside are actually very beautiful. I made a summer soup from chapter four. You put it in the fridge and serve it with ice! I only cooked for myself, but the fresh ingredients I had to get at the supermarket took all my pocket money.
ANSWER KEY
1 C 2 A 3 B 4 A 5 C 6 B 7 C
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
1 Which person says their sauce takes a long time to prepare?
(A) Felix (B) Elena (C) Marcus
2 Which person uses fruit to make their sauce sweet?
(A) Felix (B) Elena (C) Marcus
3 Which person learned how to make their sauce from a relative?
(A) Felix (B) Elena (C) Marcus
4 Which person prefers their sauce to be extremely hot?
(A) Felix (B) Elena (C) Marcus
5 Which person eats their sauce with potato chips?
(A) Felix (B) Elena (C) Marcus
6 Which person makes their sauce cold before they eat it?
(A) Felix (B) Elena (C) Marcus
7 Which person says their friends ask them to make the sauce?
(A) Felix (B) Elena (C) Marcus
Spicy Dips for Fried Snacks
Felix
When I eat fried cheese balls, I always make my special chili dip. My grandmother showed me the steps to mix it, and it’s quite simple! It only takes five minutes, so I don’t need to stay in the kitchen for ages. I add a little sugar so it isn’t completely spicy. My classmates hate it, but I think it is delicious. The most important thing is that the mixture must be very cool. So, after I finish mixing everything, I leave it in the fridge for sixty minutes before I enjoy it.
Elena
I love eating fried snacks at the weekend. I usually make some long, thin fries and dip them into my homemade chili sauce. I didn’t get the recipe from anyone in my family; I just found a video online. I only add a tiny piece of hot pepper because I don’t want it to burn my mouth. To give the dip a lovely taste, I always cut up a fresh mango and put it in. It is so much better than adding lots of white sugar!
Marcus
I love frying chicken at home, and I always need a good dip to go with it. I am happy to spend over an hour cooking my sauce on the cooker. I never put it in the fridge because it tastes best when it is warm straight from the pan! I chop up five or six large chilies to put inside, as I love food that makes my tongue burn. It is an amazing recipe, and my classmates always text me to prepare it for our weekend parties.
ANSWER KEY
1 C 2 B 3 A 4 C 5 B 6 A 7 C