Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Travel Mishaps & Surprises
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Lily’s Unlucky River Selfie
Sixteen-year-old Lily was very happy about her weekend trip to the countryside. On Saturday morning, she travelled to a famous historic village with her parents. It was a beautifully sunny day, so Lily wore her favourite pair of expensive sunglasses. She saved her pocket money for two months to be able to buy them.
After lunch, the family went to see an old stone bridge. The river under the bridge was lovely but moved very quickly. Lily wanted a perfect photo for her social media page. She stood near the edge, held up her smartphone, and smiled. Suddenly, her sunglasses slipped off her face and dropped into the water.
Lily felt extremely upset. Her father looked over the side of the bridge, but the river was too deep and fast. He explained that it was impossible to get the sunglasses back. They were gone forever. To make Lily feel better, her parents took her to a nice café for some sweet chocolate cake.
Later that afternoon, they visited a busy street market and bought some cheap plastic sunglasses. Lily felt okay again. She learned a valuable lesson that day. For the rest of the holiday, she left her phone in her bag and just enjoyed the amazing views with her own eyes.
1 Why were Lily’s sunglasses so special to her?
(A) She bought them on a weekend trip to the countryside.
(B) She used her own savings to purchase a costly pair.
(C) She found them in a famous historic village.
2 How did Lily lose her sunglasses?
(A) They fell while she was trying to capture an image of herself.
(B) She threw them into a river that moved very quickly.
(C) She left them on an old stone bridge after lunch.
3 What did Lily’s father do after the accident?
(A) He said they could not fetch the item from the water.
(B) He jumped in because the river was too deep and fast.
(C) He looked over the side of the bridge to get the sunglasses back.
4 How did Lily’s behaviour change for the rest of the trip?
(A) She visited a busy street market.
(B) She decided to put her mobile device away.
(C) She enjoyed the amazing views on her phone.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) How to take a perfect photo for a social media page
(B) The best cheap plastic sunglasses
(C) An unlucky moment brings a helpful lesson
ANSWER KEY
1 B 2 A 3 A 4 B 5 C
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The Missing Black Wallet
Sixteen-year-old Mark loves visiting new places. Last week, he travelled to Berlin for a short holiday with his older brother, David. When they arrived at the airport, they decided to take a yellow taxi to their hotel in the city centre. Mark paid the driver because he had all the cash in his bag.
After checking into their room, the brothers wanted to buy some lunch. Mark looked inside his bag to get some money, but his black leather wallet wasn’t there! He felt completely shocked. His wallet had his ID card and all his spending money for the trip.
David told him to stay calm and quickly phoned the taxi company. The manager on the phone said the driver was busy with another customer but would check the car later. Mark sat quietly in the hotel lobby. He felt too upset to eat his lunch and just looked at his phone.
Two hours later, the same friendly driver walked through the hotel doors. He smiled and held up the wallet. He explained that it was hiding under the back seat. Mark felt incredibly happy and thanked the honest man. He learned that there are very kind people in the world.
1 What happened when the brothers left the airport?
(A) They went to a hotel at the airport.
(B) David had all the cash in his bag.
(C) Mark gave the driver the money for the ride.
2 How did Mark feel when they went to get food?
(A) He was very surprised because his item was missing.
(B) He wanted to buy a black leather wallet.
(C) He looked inside his bag to get his ID card.
3 When David called the taxi company, he learned that
(A) the manager would check the car later.
(B) the person driving the taxi had a passenger.
(C) the driver was quietly sitting in the hotel lobby.
4 Where did the driver find the wallet?
(A) below a place to sit inside the vehicle
(B) through the hotel doors
(C) holding up the back seat
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) How to drive a yellow taxi in Berlin
(B) Finding a cheap hotel in the city centre
(C) An honest man helps a young tourist
ANSWER KEY
1 C 2 A 3 B 4 A 5 C
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The Unexpected Adventure
Fourteen-year-old Mia loves planning. For six months, she planned her family’s summer holiday to a beautiful beach in Spain. She bought new sunglasses, packed her bags, and wrote a schedule of activities for every day. But on the morning of their flight, there was a terrible storm. The airport was closed, and nobody could fly anywhere.
Mia’s parents quickly decided to change their holiday plans. “We will drive to the mountains and go camping instead,” her dad said. Mia felt very upset and angry. She didn’t want to sleep in a small tent in the cold. She was sad because she couldn’t use her new sunglasses or swim in the warm sea.
However, when they arrived at the campsite, Mia was surprised. The mountains were incredibly beautiful. The next day, the family rented mountain bikes and cycled fast through the dark forest. During their long ride, they stopped by a lake and saw some wild horses. Mia took lots of fantastic photos and completely forgot about the beach.
In the evening, they made a warm fire. Mia met some other teenagers at the campsite, and they played the guitar and sang songs together. On the way home, Mia smiled. Her perfect Spanish holiday never happened, but she decided that her unexpected mountain adventure was the best trip of her life.
1 What happened on the morning of the holiday?
(A) Bad weather stopped the family from travelling.
(B) Mia wrote a schedule of activities for every day.
(C) The family went to a beautiful beach in Spain.
2 How did Mia feel about the new holiday plan?
(A) She quickly decided to change their holiday plans.
(B) She disliked the idea of sleeping outdoors.
(C) She wanted to drive to the mountains.
3 During her time in the mountains, Mia
(A) rented some mountain bikes for her parents.
(B) completely forgot to bring her fantastic photos.
(C) used her camera to capture pictures of animals.
4 What did Mia do in the evening?
(A) She listened to her parents play the guitar.
(B) She enjoyed her time with some new friends.
(C) She tried to have a perfect Spanish holiday.
5 What is the best title for the article?
(A) How to plan the perfect holiday
(B) A terrible storm at the beach
(C) An unplanned but amazing trip
ANSWER KEY
1 A 2 B 3 C 4 B 5 C