Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Moving, Renovating & Types of Homes
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
1 Which person thinks the building was nicer in the past?
(A) Mark (B) Chloe (C) Dan
2 Which person says their family ordered the paint on the internet?
(A) Mark (B) Chloe (C) Dan
3 Which person explains that visitors find their home more quickly now?
(A) Mark (B) Chloe (C) Dan
4 Which person did not help to put the colour on the walls?
(A) Mark (B) Chloe (C) Dan
5 Which person has a neighbour who dislikes the new colour?
(A) Mark (B) Chloe (C) Dan
6 Which person changed the colour of the front door too?
(A) Mark (B) Chloe (C) Dan
7 Which person thinks their home looks like a house on holiday?
(A) Mark (B) Chloe (C) Dan
Painting the House Blue
Mark
Our house used to be white, but last month my parents decided to make it dark blue. We didn’t go to a shop; my mum found a great website and paid for the cans there. When the boxes arrived, my dad and sister spent the whole weekend with brushes in their hands. I had a terrible cold, so I just stayed in bed and watched them from my window! I think it looks great now. The man who lives next door loves it, too. He wants to paint his garage exactly the same way.
Chloe
I helped my parents colour our house light blue yesterday. I watched a video online to learn how to do it properly. We spent a long time working, and we even decided to put some blue on the main entrance to match! I really love it. It makes me feel like I am back in Greece, where we stayed near the beach last summer. Sadly, the old lady who lives next to us is really unhappy
about it. She says houses in our town should only be grey or brown!
Dan
Our street has twenty houses, and they were all yellow. But while I was away on a school trip, my parents painted ours bright blue! Everyone in my family loves the change, but honestly, I prefer the way it was before. It looks a bit silly now. My parents say it is a good thing because when friends come over, they never get lost. They can see our place from the end of the road! The only part my parents didn’t touch was the wooden door, which is still brown.
ANSWER KEY
1 C 2 A 3 C 4 A 5 B 6 B 7 B
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
1 Who bought the wood for the fence themselves?
(A) Toby (B) Mia (C) Leo
2 Which person built the fence with a brother or sister?
(A) Toby (B) Mia (C) Leo
3 Who says the project took a long time to finish?
(A) Toby (B) Mia (C) Leo
4 Which person hurt a part of their body while working?
(A) Toby (B) Mia (C) Leo
5 Who was angry about the weather while they were outside?
(A) Toby (B) Mia (C) Leo
6 Which person plans to put some flowers next to the fence?
(A) Toby (B) Mia (C) Leo
7 Who changed the colour of the wood?
(A) Toby (B) Mia (C) Leo
Building Our New Fence
Toby
Our garden looks amazing now! My dad helped me put the new wooden boards up last weekend. I used my own cash from my part-time job to get all the materials from the shop, so my parents were very happy. Luckily, the sun was shining the whole time we were outside, which made the job much easier. I usually love making things, but I wasn’t very careful with the hammer and I hit my foot! It was quite painful, but the finished project looks brilliant.
Mia
My older brother and I did all the heavy lifting for our new garden wall. My parents paid for everything, so we just did the work! We worked really fast and got everything done in just one afternoon. Nobody had any accidents or cuts, which was great. The wood was a boring brown colour at first, so we used a large brush to make it bright blue! It looks so cool now. Tomorrow, I am going to buy some red roses to grow right in front of it.
Leo
My uncle showed me how to make our new fence. I believed we could build it in just a couple of days, but we were still busy working on it on Wednesday! It was a very slow job. There was heavy rain and strong wind for most of the week, which made me feel really annoyed. We decided to keep the natural brown colour because it matches the house perfectly. We don’t have any green plants or grass near it yet, but maybe we will get some later.
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 B 3 C 4 A 5 C 6 B 7 B
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
1 Which person sometimes finds the weather frightening?
(A) Jack (B) Emma (C) Ryan
2 Who feels that their home is too far from their school?
(A) Jack (B) Emma (C) Ryan
3 Which person enjoys looking for unusual things on the sand?
(A) Jack (B) Emma (C) Ryan
4 Who says there are too many visitors where they live during the warmest months?
(A) Jack (B) Emma (C) Ryan
5 Which person likes taking part in a water sport with relatives?
(A) Jack (B) Emma (C) Ryan
6 Who believes living near the water makes them feel physically better?
(A) Jack (B) Emma (C) Ryan
7 Which person mentions that the ocean breeze breaks things outside their house?
(A) Jack (B) Emma (C) Ryan
Living by the Sea
Jack
My house is right on the beach. Every morning, I love walking along the shore, picking up strange shells and old pieces of wood. Breathing the clean ocean air is wonderful, and my doctor says it actually stops me from getting sick so often. However, living here isn’t always easy. The strong wind covers our bicycles and windows with salt, which ruins them very quickly! My school is just a short walk away, so I don’t have a long journey in the mornings. We have heavy rain sometimes, but I just put on a waterproof coat.
Emma
I have lived near the coast since I was born. The best thing is that my dad and brother often take me surfing on the big waves. We have so much fun in the water! My brother also loves searching for things in the sand, but I find that a bit boring. The only bad thing about my home is the location. Because it is in a quiet village by the sea, it takes over an hour on the bus to get to my classes in the city. The stormy weather doesn’t scare me at all.
Ryan
Having the ocean at the end of my street is normally brilliant. However, in July and August, our quiet area becomes completely full of tourists and it is impossible to find a quiet space on the beach! Also, when there are huge winter storms, the loud sounds and giant waves really make me feel afraid. We never go swimming or sailing because the water is too cold for my family. The sea air is very clean, but I still catch a cold every winter. Some people’s bikes get damaged by the sea salt, but we keep ours inside the garage.
ANSWER KEY
1 C 2 B 3 A 4 C 5 B 6 A 7 A