Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – School Subjects & Classroom Activities
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A Healthy Cooking Lesson
Thirteen-year-old Lily loves eating burgers and chips, but her school has a new home economics class. Every Tuesday, the students learn how to cook healthy food. Before her first lesson, Lily felt a bit worried because she usually only makes toast or cereal at home. She thought cooking was too difficult.
When the class started, the teacher, Mrs. Green, told them the plan. ‘Today, we are going to cook a healthy and simple meal: vegetable pasta,’ she said. First, Mrs. Green showed the students how to wash the vegetables carefully. Then, she taught them how to cut the tomatoes and onions safely with a sharp knife.
Lily worked with her classmate, Sam. Sam boiled the water for the pasta, and Lily cooked the vegetables in a hot pan. Suddenly, Lily made a mistake and put too much salt in the pan. She was upset, but Mrs. Green helped her fix it quickly by adding some extra tomatoes and a little water.
At the end of the lesson, all the students sat down to eat their meals together. Lily was surprised because her vegetable pasta tasted really delicious. It was much better than the fast food she usually ate! Now, Lily is not worried about cooking anymore. She is going to make the exact same meal for her parents this weekend.
1 Why was Lily worried before her first cooking lesson?
(A) She wanted to eat burgers and chips.
(B) She didn’t have much experience preparing food.
(C) She only likes to eat toast or cereal at home.
2 What did Mrs. Green do first?
(A) She demonstrated how to clean the food.
(B) She cut the tomatoes and onions.
(C) She told them to use a sharp knife.
3 How did Mrs. Green solve Lily’s problem?
(A) She boiled the water for the pasta.
(B) She took the salt out of the hot pan.
(C) She put more ingredients into the pan.
4 What is Lily planning to do?
(A) sit down to eat a meal with the students
(B) cook a healthy dish for her family
(C) buy some fast food she usually eats
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) A surprising success in cooking class
(B) How to make burgers and chips
(C) The best teacher at Lily’s school
ANSWER KEY
1 B 2 A 3 C 4 B 5 A
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The Robot Project
Tom is fifteen years old and he really loves making things. Last month, his science teacher told his class about a special competition at school. The students had to create something new. Tom decided to build a small robot that could move around the classroom. He was very excited about this project.
To build his robot, Tom needed a lot of different pieces. He didn’t want to buy expensive things from a shop. Instead, he found some old plastic toys in his bedroom and used parts from them. He spent three weeks working in the garage every evening after his homework. It was a very difficult job.
A few days before the competition, Tom had a big problem. He turned the robot on, but it didn’t move at all. He felt really sad. Then, his older sister, Anna, came to help him. She looked at the computer program on his laptop. She changed a few things, and suddenly, the robot started driving across the floor!
On the day of the competition, there were many amazing projects. Tom’s robot didn’t win the first prize, but the teachers gave him a special prize because his robot looked so unusual. Tom was completely happy. He is already planning to build a bigger and faster robot for next year’s competition.
1 What did Tom decide to do for the science competition?
(A) make a special competition at school
(B) build a new classroom
(C) create a machine that can travel
2 How did Tom get the pieces for his robot?
(A) He bought expensive things from a shop.
(B) He spent three weeks looking in the garage.
(C) He used items he already had at home.
3 How did Tom solve the problem with his robot?
(A) He turned the robot on so it could move at all.
(B) A family member fixed an issue on his laptop.
(C) Anna came to help him drive across the floor.
4 What happened on the day of the competition?
(A) He received an award for his interesting design.
(B) Tom’s robot won the first prize.
(C) He had to plan a bigger and faster competition.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) How to win first prize at school
(B) A teenager’s science project
(C) Why sisters are good at computers
ANSWER KEY
1 C 2 C 3 B 4 A 5 B
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A Better Way to Learn History
Mark is fifteen years old and he usually enjoys most of his classes at school. However, history is a really difficult subject for him. The problem is that his history teacher, Mr. Jones, speaks incredibly fast during his lessons. Mark always tries to write down every single word his teacher says, but his hand quickly gets tired and begins to hurt.
Last week, Mr. Jones gave a long and detailed explanation about life in ancient Rome. After twenty minutes, Mark looked down at his notebook. It was a complete mess. He couldn’t understand his own writing because he tried to write too fast. Mark felt very worried because the class had a big history test on Friday, and he didn’t have any good information to read at home.
After the class finished, his best friend Sarah saw his notebook. She immediately decided to help him. Sarah showed Mark her own history notes. She explained that she never wrote whole sentences. Instead, she only wrote the most important words and sometimes drew small pictures to remember facts. Mark looked at her page and thought this was a fantastic way to learn.
In the next history lesson, Mark tried his friend’s idea. He listened carefully to Mr. Jones and only wrote down short words, names, and dates. At the end of the class, Mark felt much more relaxed. He didn’t have a tired hand, and he finally had great notes to study for his test.
1 Why does Mark’s hand hurt during history lessons?
(A) He tries to copy exactly what the teacher tells them.
(B) He enjoys most of his classes at school.
(C) He speaks incredibly fast during his lessons.
2 What happened to Mark last week?
(A) He gave a long and detailed explanation about life in ancient Rome.
(B) He was unable to read the text he put on the paper.
(C) He had a big history test on Friday.
3 How does Sarah make her history notes?
(A) She wrote whole sentences.
(B) She looked at her page.
(C) She only records the most useful vocabulary.
4 How did Mark feel at the end of his next class?
(A) He was much calmer about his exam.
(B) He had a tired hand.
(C) He listened carefully to Mr. Jones.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) A big history test on Friday
(B) A clever idea for taking notes
(C) Life in ancient Rome
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 B 3 C 4 A 5 B