Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Technology & Online Learning
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Building a Website
Sam is a 15-year-old student at Hillside High School. In the past, he didn’t really like his Information Technology (IT) classes. They usually just practiced typing or learned how to use boring office programs. But this term, everything is different. Their teacher, Mr. Davis, told them they are going to learn how to write code and build their own websites.
In their first coding lesson on Tuesday, Mr. Davis showed the class a special computer language called HTML. At first, Sam thought it looked like a very strange secret message. There were lots of symbols and letters. Sam typed some code carefully, but his screen stayed blank. He quickly found a small mistake, changed one word, and then it worked perfectly.
For his project, Sam decided to make a website about his favorite hobby, skateboarding. He learned how to change the colors on the screen and how to make the words bigger. He even uploaded a great photo of himself doing a trick at the park. When he saw his finished webpage, he felt extremely proud.
When the school bell rang at the end of the day, Sam didn’t want to stop working. He asked Mr. Davis how to add videos to his site. Now, Sam spends his free time practicing coding at home. He hopes to become a professional web designer when he finishes school.
1 Why did Sam’s opinion about his IT classes change?
(A) He enjoys practicing his typing skills now.
(B) He likes learning how to use boring office programs.
(C) The students are studying a new, interesting topic.
2 What happened when Sam used HTML for the first time?
(A) He had a problem with his work but he repaired it fast.
(B) He wrote a very strange secret message to his teacher.
(C) His computer screen broke and stayed blank all day.
3 What did Sam do on his new webpage?
(A) He wrote some text about his favorite colors.
(B) He put a picture of himself on it.
(C) He learned how to do a new skateboarding trick.
4 At the end of the lesson, Sam
(A) stopped working because the school bell rang.
(B) wanted to learn more things about building websites.
(C) decided to become a professional video maker.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) How to be a professional skateboarder
(B) The hardest IT test at Hillside High
(C) Sam’s exciting new computer project
ANSWER KEY
1 C 2 A 3 B 4 B 5 C
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A new way to explore the past
Ben is a fourteen-year-old boy who loves history. However, his school is in a small village, so it is very far from any big museums. Last week, his history teacher, Mrs. Clark, told the students, “We are going to go on a special trip to Egypt, but we will not leave the classroom!” Ben felt very surprised and didn’t understand how this was possible.
On Friday morning, Mrs. Clark brought a big box into the classroom. Inside, there were twenty plastic headsets. “Put these over your eyes,” she said. As soon as Ben put the headset on, everything changed. He wasn’t in his school anymore. He was standing in front of a huge, ancient museum under a bright blue sky.
Ben walked slowly through the virtual museum. He looked at old statues and read about a famous king. Then, his friend David called his name. David was pointing at a tall, gold cup. It looked incredibly real. Ben wanted to feel the beautiful gold, but when he tried to touch the cup, his hand just went through the air.
After forty minutes, the headset turned off and the lesson finished. Ben’s eyes were a bit tired, but he thought the experience was amazing. He usually gets bored just reading thick history textbooks. Now, he wants to use the virtual reality headsets in all of his classes!
1 Why was Ben surprised by Mrs. Clark?
(A) She wanted to travel to a small village.
(B) She planned a journey that happened inside the school.
(C) She told the students to visit a big museum.
2 What happened when Ben put the headset on?
(A) He saw a building from the past.
(B) He brought a big box into the classroom.
(C) He looked at a bright blue sky in his school.
3 What does Ben say about the gold cup?
(A) He picked it up to read about a famous king.
(B) His friend David tried to touch the cup.
(C) It was impossible for him to actually grab it.
4 How did Ben feel at the end of the lesson?
(A) bored just reading thick history textbooks
(B) very positive about how they learned that day
(C) unhappy because his eyes were a bit tired
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) A brilliant history lesson with technology
(B) How to travel to Egypt for forty minutes
(C) The problem with thick history books
ANSWER KEY
1 B 2 A 3 C 4 B 5 A
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A Funny Mistake with Technology
Fourteen-year-old Oliver usually gets good marks at school, but he thinks French is a very difficult subject. Last Wednesday, his teacher, Madame Rossi, gave the class a long writing assignment about their favourite food. Oliver wanted to get a high score, so he spent two hours writing his text.
After finishing, Oliver felt a bit unsure about his grammar. He decided to use a smart translator app on his mobile phone to check his work. He typed his English ideas into the app and read the French words on the screen. Most of the sentences looked correct, so he quickly changed a few words on his paper.
However, when Oliver read his text again, he noticed something strange. He wanted to say he loved eating strawberry jam on bread for breakfast. But the app used the French word for a ‘traffic jam’ with cars! Oliver laughed out loud. He suddenly understood that computer programs can sometimes make silly mistakes.
Oliver opened his French dictionary and found the right word himself. On Friday, Madame Rossi returned the homework. She gave Oliver an excellent mark and said his vocabulary was fantastic. Oliver felt extremely proud. He still uses his phone for studying, but he always checks his dictionary too!
1 How did Oliver feel about his French classes?
(A) He usually gets good marks in the subject.
(B) He found the language quite hard to learn.
(C) He gave the class a long writing assignment.
2 Why did Oliver open the app on his mobile phone?
(A) Because he felt a bit unsure about his mobile phone.
(B) To quickly change a few words on the screen.
(C) To make sure there were no errors in his homework.
3 What did Oliver discover when he read his text again?
(A) The software chose an incorrect meaning for a word.
(B) The smart translator app wanted to say he loved eating strawberry jam.
(C) The computer program laughed out loud at his silly mistakes.
4 How did Oliver get the correct information in the end?
(A) He found the right word on his phone.
(B) He gave Oliver an excellent mark.
(C) He used a language book to look it up.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) The best smart translator app for students
(B) A useful lesson about relying on technology
(C) How to make silly mistakes in French
ANSWER KEY
1 B 2 C 3 A 4 C 5 B