Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Mechanical Engineering & Automotive

Exercises:   12345

Reading 1

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Building a Fast Future

Fifteen-year-old Sam doesn’t spend his weekends playing video games like many of his friends. He is usually in his garage, covered in oil. Sam loves everything about machines. His biggest dream is to become a mechanic and fix high-performance sports cars for a famous racing team. He knows it is a difficult job, but he is ready to work hard.

Sam’s interest started when he was only ten years old. His father bought an old, broken family car, and Sam spent hours helping him repair it. Today, Sam fixes broken bicycles and small motorbikes for people in his town. He never asks for any money for this work. He just wants to get more experience with different engines.

Last month, Sam’s uncle gave him a wonderful surprise for his birthday. He took Sam to a real sports car race. Before the race started, Sam actually walked inside the team’s garage and met a professional mechanic. The man showed Sam the special tools he used and explained how to make the cars drive much faster. Sam was completely amazed.

At the moment, Sam is studying very hard at school. He needs to get excellent marks in his maths and science exams. Next autumn, he is going to start a practical course at a college for car mechanics. It will take three years to finish, but Sam is sure he will finally achieve his goal.

1   What is Sam’s main ambition?

     (A) to repair very fast vehicles professionally

     (B) to play video games like many of his friends

     (C) to usually spend his weekends in his garage

2   How does Sam improve his skills today?

     (A) by working on an old, broken family car

     (B) by asking for money to fix engines in his town

     (C) by mending two-wheeled transport for free

3   What made the trip to the race special for Sam?

     (A) He gave his uncle a wonderful surprise.

     (B) An expert taught him how to increase a vehicle’s speed.

     (C) He used special tools to make the cars drive much faster.

4   What is Sam going to do next autumn?

     (A) try to get excellent marks in his maths and science exams

     (B) begin a training program to learn about cars

     (C) take three years to finish his studies at school

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) A teenager’s plan to work with racing cars

     (B) How to win a high-performance car race

     (C) The best college for car mechanics

Reading 2

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Building a Safer Future

Sixteen-year-old Tom has a very interesting hobby. While most teenagers enjoy driving fast cars in video games, Tom prefers learning about how real cars work. He spends almost every weekend at his uncle’s garage in the city. His uncle is a mechanic, and he often shows Tom the different parts of a car engine.

Tom’s big dream started last winter. He was watching television with his parents when he saw a news report about a terrible car accident. The car’s engine caught fire. At that moment, Tom decided he wanted to stop these dangerous things from happening. The next day, he went to the school library and borrowed several books about mechanical engineering.

To learn more, Tom joined a science club at his high school. The teacher asked the students to build a small machine that could move safely. It was a really difficult project, and they had to try many times. However, after three weeks of hard work, his group won a special prize for their design.

Next year, Tom is going to finish high school. He is planning to go to a famous university to study mechanical engineering. He doesn’t want to build the fastest cars in the world. Instead, he hopes that one day, his future job will help him design safer engines and save people’s lives.

1   What does Tom like doing in his free time?

     (A) driving fast cars in video games

     (B) finding out how vehicles operate

     (C) working as a mechanic in the city

2   Why did Tom start reading about mechanical engineering?

     (A) He was in a terrible car accident last winter.

     (B) A story on the news made him want to fix a problem.

     (C) He needed to borrow books for his school library.

3   What do we learn about the science club project?

     (A) The teacher built a small machine.

     (B) Completing the task was a hard thing to do.

     (C) Tom won a special prize all by himself.

4   What is Tom’s main goal for his future career?

     (A) to build the fastest cars in the world

     (B) to teach at a famous university

     (C) to create engines that protect people

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) The teenager who wants to make driving safer

     (B) How to study mechanical engineering at university

     (C) A terrible car accident in the city

Reading 3

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Leo’s Weekend Garage Job

Sixteen-year-old Leo has an unusual hobby for a teenager. While most of his friends spend their weekends playing football or going to the cinema, Leo prefers being covered in oil. Since he was a child, he has loved cars. Now, he really wants to understand how to repair them when they stop working.

Last month, Leo walked into a local garage and asked the owner, Mr. Clark, for a job. Mr. Clark was surprised but agreed to let Leo help on Saturdays. However, he told Leo that he couldn’t fix broken vehicles immediately. For the first few weeks, Leo only washed the dirty cars and swept the garage floor.

Even though the work was tiring, Leo didn’t complain. He watched carefully while Mr. Clark repaired different engines. Then, last weekend, Mr. Clark finally asked Leo to help him change the brakes on a sports car. Leo was a bit nervous, but he followed the instructions perfectly. He felt amazing when the car drove away smoothly.

Now, Leo is absolutely sure about his future. When he leaves school next year, he is going to study to become a mechanic at the city college. After that, he hopes to open his own garage, just like Mr. Clark.

1   What do we learn about Leo in the first paragraph?

     (A) He spends his weekends playing football.

     (B) He wants to know how to mend vehicles.

     (C) He often goes to the cinema with his friends.

2   When Leo started his job at the garage, he had to

     (A) fix broken vehicles immediately.

     (B) ask the owner to work on Saturdays.

     (C) clean the workplace and the cars.

3   How did Leo feel about working on the sports car?

     (A) He was tired and wanted to complain.

     (B) He felt a little worried about doing it.

     (C) He thought the instructions were perfect.

4   What is Leo planning to do after he finishes school next year?

     (A) Open his own garage like Mr. Clark.

     (B) Do a course to learn about repairing cars.

     (C) Get a job working for the city college.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) How to fix a sports car

     (B) A boy’s weekend job in a garage

     (C) The best mechanic at the city college

Exercises:   12345