Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Homework, Exams & Study Habits
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A Better Way to Learn
Charlie is fifteen years old and he usually gets good marks at school. He enjoys English and geography, but physics is a very difficult subject for him. This week, his teacher gave the class a lot of homework about forces and movement. Charlie read his book for two hours, but he didn’t understand the information at all.
On Tuesday afternoon, Charlie decided to ask his friend Sarah for help. Sarah is the cleverest student in their science class and she always finishes her work quickly. Charlie sent her a message and they agreed to meet in the school library after their lessons.
When they sat down together, Sarah didn’t just give Charlie the correct answers. Instead, she brought some small toy cars from her little brother’s bedroom. She rolled the cars across the table to show Charlie exactly how forces change the way things move. Charlie watched her carefully and asked a few questions. Suddenly, the difficult physics problem seemed quite simple.
On Friday, the teacher gave the homework back to the students. Charlie was very nervous, but he got a fantastic mark! He felt really proud of his hard work. Now, he knows that science isn’t
impossible. He is going to ask Sarah to study with him every week.
1 What was Charlie’s problem this week?
(A) He could not make sense of his science reading.
(B) He spent two hours doing English and geography.
(C) He gave the class a lot of homework.
2 Why did Charlie contact Sarah?
(A) He wanted some assistance with his schoolwork.
(B) He needed to finish his work quickly.
(C) He had to meet her during their lessons.
3 What did Sarah do to help Charlie?
(A) She explained the ideas using some objects.
(B) She just gave Charlie the correct answers.
(C) She brought her little brother to the table.
4 How did Charlie feel at the end of the week?
(A) pleased with his own efforts
(B) very nervous about his fantastic mark
(C) sure that science is impossible
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) The cleverest student in the school library
(B) A friend makes difficult homework easier
(C) How to make little toy cars move fast
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 A 3 A 4 A 5 B
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A Smart Way to Study
Fourteen-year-old Jamie felt very worried. His final exams were next week, and he had to study for math, science, and history. He looked at his thick textbooks and felt completely lost. He didn’t know how to prepare for all these important tests at the same time.
His older sister, Anna, saw him looking sad at his desk. She gave him some excellent advice. “Don’t just read your textbooks,” she said. “The best way to study is to find all your old exams from this year. Look at what you did wrong.”
Jamie thought this was a great idea. He looked for his old papers everywhere. He found some under his bed and others at the bottom of his school bag. He put them all on the kitchen table. Then, he spent the weekend looking at his mistakes. If he didn’t understand an old math question, he practiced it again until he got the right answer.
When the final exams started on Monday, Jamie didn’t feel nervous anymore. He sat in the classroom and looked at the paper. He smiled because many of the questions were very similar to his old tests. He knew all the answers! After school, he bought Anna a big chocolate bar to thank her for her help.
1 How did Jamie feel about his exams at first?
(A) He wanted to read his thick textbooks.
(B) He didn’t know what to study first.
(C) He was worried about failing math.
2 What did Anna tell Jamie to do?
(A) read all his textbooks again
(B) ask his teachers about the exams
(C) check his past mistakes
3 Where did Jamie put his old school papers to study?
(A) under his bed
(B) at the bottom of his bag
(C) on the kitchen table
4 Why was Jamie happy during his exam on Monday?
(A) He sat in a good place in the classroom.
(B) The exam was like the ones he already studied.
(C) His sister gave him a big chocolate bar.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) A smart way to prepare for exams
(B) How to find your lost school bags
(C) The most difficult math questions
ANSWER KEY
1 B 2 C 3 C 4 B 5 A
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A Smart Way to Study
Lucas loves school, but he has a big problem with his smartphone. Every afternoon, he sits down to do his science homework. However, he always sees notifications from his favourite online games and starts playing them instead. Because of this, he finishes his homework very late and feels incredibly tired.
Last week, his older cousin, Maria, noticed the problem. She told Lucas about a clever new phone app called ‘FocusTree’. This app blocks all video games and social media for a few hours. While the app is working, a virtual tree grows on the screen. If you open a game, the tree dies.
Lucas decided to download the app on Wednesday. At first, it was very difficult for him not to check his phone. He wanted to play with his friends online, but he didn’t want his virtual tree to die. So, he turned off his notifications and focused entirely on his history project.
To his surprise, Lucas finished his schoolwork in only forty minutes. He felt very happy and proud. Now, his phone is not a distraction anymore, and his grades are already improving. He even has more free time in the evenings to play games without feeling stressed.
1 Why did Lucas find it hard to do his schoolwork?
(A) He didn’t enjoy studying science.
(B) He was too busy with digital gaming.
(C) He always felt incredibly tired in the afternoon.
2 What do we learn about the ‘FocusTree’ application?
(A) It stops users from opening certain programs.
(B) It helps you play with your older cousin.
(C) It automatically deletes a video game if a tree dies.
3 On Wednesday, Lucas succeeded in studying because
(A) it was not very difficult to check his phone.
(B) he wanted to play with his friends online.
(C) he wished to keep his digital plant alive.
4 How has Lucas’s life changed now?
(A) He only plays games in the evenings.
(B) He obtains better results at school.
(C) He is still surprised by his forty minutes of schoolwork.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) A smart solution for a student’s phone problem
(B) Why video games are bad for school grades
(C) Learning history with an older cousin
ANSWER KEY
1 B 2 A 3 C 4 B 5 A