Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Software Development & App Design

Exercises:   12345

Reading 1

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Mark’s City Dream

Sixteen-year-old Mark lives with his family in a quiet village, but he does not want to stay there. While his friends want to work on local farms, Mark loves computers. His biggest dream is to live in a busy city and work for a famous technology company.

To help him achieve his goal, Mark joined an online coding club last year. He didn’t have a fast computer, so his parents bought him a new laptop for his birthday. Now, he spends two hours every evening building simple websites. He always makes sure he finishes his school homework first, though.

Last month, Mark’s club teacher told him about a national coding competition. Mark worked very hard on a special game for the event. He didn’t win the first prize, but something amazing happened. A manager from a big technology company in London saw his game online and loved it.

The manager invited Mark to visit their main office in the city. Mark is going to travel there next week with his dad. He feels a little nervous because he has never been to a big city before. However, he is very excited. He knows he still needs to study hard at school, but his dream suddenly feels much closer.

1   What does Mark want to do in the future?

     (A) Find a job on the local farms.

     (B) Have a career with a computer business in a large town.

     (C) Stay in a quiet village with his family.

2   How did Mark get his computer?

     (A) He received it as a gift from his mother and father.

     (B) He bought it with money from his online coding club.

     (C) He won it for doing his school homework.

3   What happened after the national coding competition?

     (A) Mark won the first prize for his special game.

     (B) His club teacher got a new job in London.

     (C) Someone from a large business liked his work.

4   How does Mark feel about his trip next week?

     (A) He is a bit afraid but also really happy.

     (B) He is sad that his dad cannot travel there.

     (C) He is worried because he has to study hard at school.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) How to win a coding competition

     (B) A teenager’s journey toward his perfect job

     (C) The best technology company in London

Reading 2

For each question, choose the correct answer.

David’s Code for the Future

Nineteen-year-old David loves everything about computers. He knows that in the future, many big companies will need more clever workers who understand technology. Because of this, David is spending a lot of his free time learning several different computer languages. He hopes this will give him much better job options when he finally leaves university.

Last year, David learned his first programming language. It was quite simple and fast for him to understand. Now, he is learning a second, much more difficult language. He practices writing code on his laptop every evening after his classes. Sometimes he makes big mistakes, but he never gets angry or stops trying. His dream is to help professional digital content creators do their everyday work much faster.

At the moment, David is building a special new app to practice his new skills. He is designing a useful tool that can easily make computer voices from text. He wants his app to read long dialogues out loud for videos. It is a really big project for a student, but his computer teacher is helping him with it.

Next summer, David plans to study a third computer language. He wants to learn how to build smart programs that can watch YouTube videos and get useful information from them automatically. With all these different computer languages, David feels very confident. He is sure he will find a fantastic job easily.

1   Why is David learning several computer languages?

     (A) to get good work opportunities after his studies

     (B) to help big companies understand technology

     (C) to have a lot of free time at university

2   What happens when David makes mistakes with his code?

     (A) He gets angry and stops trying.

     (B) He asks professional digital content creators for help.

     (C) He continues to work and does not give up.

3   What is David making for his new app?

     (A) a program that changes written words into speech

     (B) long dialogues out loud for computer videos

     (C) a big project to help his computer teacher

4   What does David want to do next summer?

     (A) spend time watching YouTube videos automatically

     (B) create software that collects details from videos

     (C) easily find a fantastic job with a third computer language

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) The easiest programming languages to learn

     (B) A young man’s hard work for a great career

     (C) How to make computer voices from text

Reading 3

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Breaking the Language Barrier

Fifteen-year-old Sofia loves travelling and meeting people from other countries. However, she thinks learning new languages is quite difficult. When she goes on holiday with her family, she often uses translation apps on her smartphone. But she noticed that these apps sometimes make funny or embarrassing mistakes.

Last year, Sofia decided to solve this problem. She wanted to create a new computer program. Her idea was a real-time translator: a program where you speak, and it translates your words perfectly into another language immediately. She asked her IT teacher, Mr. Clark, for advice. He told her it was a brilliant idea but it would be a lot of hard work.

Sofia started writing the code in her bedroom every evening. She quickly found out that building software is not fast. Her younger brother often wanted to play computer games on the family laptop, so Sofia had to wait until he finished. Because of this, she usually worked late at night or at the weekends.

Sofia’s program isn’t ready yet, but she isn’t going to stop. Next month, she is going to a special coding camp to learn more skills. She hopes that one day, tourists all over the world will use her software to talk to anyone, anywhere.

1   What problem does Sofia have with translation apps?

     (A) They are not always correct.

     (B) She uses them on her smartphone.

     (C) They make learning new languages quite difficult.

2   What did Mr. Clark say about Sofia’s idea?

     (A) It translates your words perfectly.

     (B) It will require a lot of effort.

     (C) It is a new computer program.

3   Why did Sofia often work on her project late at night?

     (A) She had to share the computer with someone else.

     (B) She started writing the code in her bedroom.

     (C) She quickly found out that building software is not fast.

4   What is Sofia planning to do soon?

     (A) talk to tourists all over the world

     (B) get some extra programming training

     (C) wait until her younger brother finishes

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) A teenager’s project to help people communicate

     (B) The most popular apps for your smartphone

     (C) How to learn a new language on holiday

Exercises:   12345