Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Language Education & Assessment
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Mateo’s Language Club
Seventeen-year-old Mateo moved to the UK with his family five years ago. At first, life was difficult. He watched his parents struggle to learn English and understand people in shops. Because of this experience, Mateo wanted to do something to help other new families who arrive in the country.
Last year, Mateo noticed some new students at his secondary school. They were from different countries and often looked sad because they couldn’t speak to their classmates. Mateo decided to speak to his teacher, Mr. Davies, about starting a special language club after school. Mr. Davies thought it was a fantastic idea.
Mateo wanted his club to be different from normal lessons. He didn’t use boring grammar books or give the students long writing tests. Instead, they played fun vocabulary games. On Fridays, Mateo took the group to the local supermarket or café to practice speaking in real situations. This helped everyone learn much faster.
Today, Mateo’s language club is very popular, and twenty students attend every week. But Mateo doesn’t want to stop there. He is currently working with his brother to build a mobile phone app. He hopes this will help even more people learn the language quickly and easily when they move to a new country.
1 Why did Mateo want to help new families?
(A) He wanted to understand people in shops.
(B) He moved to the UK five years ago.
(C) He remembered how hard it was for his mother and father.
2 How did the new students at school feel?
(A) Unhappy because they were unable to talk to other children.
(B) Excited to speak to their teacher, Mr. Davies.
(C) Interested in starting a special language club.
3 What did the students do in Mateo’s club?
(A) They read a lot of boring grammar books.
(B) They improved their speaking skills in real places.
(C) They finished long writing tests on Fridays.
4 What is Mateo doing now?
(A) He is making some new software with a family member.
(B) He is teaching twenty students every day.
(C) He is getting ready to move to a new country.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) The best secondary school in the UK
(B) How to build a mobile phone app
(C) A teenager’s brilliant idea to teach languages
ANSWER KEY
1 C 2 A 3 B 4 A 5 C
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Lily’s Summer Classroom
Sixteen-year-old Lily loves children and is thinking about becoming a primary school teacher in the future. However, she isn’t completely sure if it is the right job for her. Because of this, she decided to spend her summer holiday helping out as a teaching assistant at a local school instead of going to the beach with her friends.
On her first day, Lily was very nervous. The class teacher, Mr. Brown, asked her to read a story to a group of five-year-olds. Some of the children didn’t want to listen and started playing with their toys. Lily had to speak louder and ask them interesting questions to stop them from playing. It was much harder than she thought!
After a few weeks, things got a lot better. Lily learned how to talk to the young students and help them with their math and art projects. One day, she felt absolutely amazing when a little boy finally understood a difficult math problem because of her help. She realized that teaching takes a lot of patience, but it makes her feel great.
Now, the summer is over, and Lily is back at her own high school. Her friends asked if she missed going to the beach, but she said no. She had a fantastic time volunteering. She is now certain that she wants to go to university and study education.
1 Why did Lily decide to work at the primary school?
(A) She wanted to know if teaching was a good career for her.
(B) She wanted to go to the beach with her friends.
(C) She had to spend her summer holiday doing homework.
2 What happened on Lily’s first day?
(A) She had to read a story about Mr. Brown.
(B) She found it difficult to keep the children’s attention.
(C) She started playing with their toys.
3 In the third paragraph, how did Lily feel?
(A) tired because teaching takes a lot of patience
(B) amazing because she understood a difficult math problem
(C) happy because she assisted a child with his schoolwork
4 What is Lily planning to do in the future?
(A) miss going to the beach with her friends
(B) go back to her own high school
(C) get a degree so she can become a teacher
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) A teenager’s useful summer experience
(B) How to solve difficult math problems
(C) A young student’s perfect beach holiday
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 B 3 C 4 C 5 A
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Designing the Future of Language Tests
Fifteen-year-old Sofia loves learning new languages. She can already speak English, Spanish and French perfectly. Last year, she read an interesting magazine article about a large international company that creates language exams for students all over the world. Immediately, Sofia knew that she wanted to work for an organisation like that one day.
To get ready for her future career, Sofia is already working very hard. While her classmates spend their free time playing sports or watching films, Sofia volunteers at a local primary school. Every Wednesday afternoon, she helps young children practice for their English reading and writing tests.
A few weeks ago, Sofia decided to write her own English exam for her friends. She thought it would be a fast and simple job. However, when her friends took the test, they couldn’t answer the questions because they were much too difficult. Sofia felt a little sad when everyone got bad marks, but she learned that making a fair test takes a lot of time and practice.
Next summer, Sofia is going to attend a special language camp in the UK. She hopes to meet other teenagers there who love languages too. After she finishes university, she wants to travel to different countries and design excellent exams that help people show their language skills.
1 How did Sofia find out about the international company?
(A) She saw some information about it in a magazine.
(B) She took one of their language exams for students.
(C) She met someone from all over the world.
2 What does Sofia do in her free time?
(A) She spends time playing sports with her classmates.
(B) She supports young learners with their studies.
(C) She watches films at a local primary school.
3 What happened when Sofia created her own exam?
(A) She found out it was a fast and simple job.
(B) Her friends got bad marks because they didn’t practice.
(C) The people taking it found the questions too hard.
4 What is Sofia planning to do next summer?
(A) go to a program for language lovers
(B) finish her studies at university
(C) travel to many different countries
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) The best language camp in the UK
(B) Preparing for a career in testing
(C) How to pass your English exams
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 B 3 C 4 A 5 B