Practice English Reading Exercises for A2 – Water Conservation & Clean Oceans

Exercises:   12345

Reading 1

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Mia’s Rainwater Project

Mia is a fourteen-year-old student who loves spending time in her school garden. She goes there every afternoon to look after the tomatoes and beautiful flowers. However, last summer, the weather was very hot and dry. The school had to pay a lot of money for water to keep the plants alive. Mia wanted to find a cheaper way to help.

She decided to collect rainwater. She talked to her science teacher, Mr Green, about her idea. He thought it was a brilliant plan. Mia searched online and found a local farmer who had some large, empty plastic barrels. Mia’s dad used his truck to bring the heavy barrels to the school.

On Saturday, Mia and her classmates started building the system. They wanted to use plastic pipes to move the water from the school roof into the barrels. At first, they had a problem. The pipes they had were too short, so the water just fell on the ground. They quickly found some longer pipes and fixed it.

Now, the new system works perfectly. Every time it rains, the big barrels fill up with water. The students use this water for the garden, so the school doesn’t have to spend so much money. Mia feels incredibly proud of her work. Next year, she hopes to make a similar system for the trees in the local park.

1   Why did Mia want to find a new way to get water?

     (A) Because she loves spending time in her school garden.

     (B) Because keeping the plants alive cost too much money.

     (C) Because the tomatoes and beautiful flowers died.

2   How did the heavy barrels get to the school?

     (A) A local farmer used his truck to bring them.

     (B) Her science teacher, Mr Green, carried them.

     (C) Her father transported them there in his vehicle.

3   What problem did the students have on Saturday?

     (A) The water just fell on the school roof.

     (B) They didn’t want to use plastic pipes.

     (C) The things they used to move the water were not long enough.

4   What do we learn about Mia in the last paragraph?

     (A) She plans to build another helpful project in a different place.

     (B) She has to spend so much money on the local park.

     (C) She hopes to make a similar system for the school garden.

5   What is the best title for this article?

     (A) The local farmer who helped a school

     (B) How to look after beautiful summer flowers

     (C) A student’s smart idea to save rainwater

Reading 2

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The Teenager Filming for the Ocean

Fifteen-year-old Mark loves the ocean and often goes surfing. Last month, he walked along the beach and found a poor sea bird. It had a clear plastic ring from a drink bottle around its neck. Mark carefully took the plastic off to help it, but the situation made him feel quite angry.

Mark wanted everyone to understand this terrible danger to sea animals and birds. He decided to create a short educational film. Because he didn’t own a professional camera, he just used his mobile phone. For two weeks, he walked around the coast after school. He spent his time recording the dirty rubbish on the sand and the beautiful local wildlife.

Next, Mark spent a few evenings at home editing his project. He used a free computer program to cut the video and added some sad guitar music. When it was finally finished, he showed the film to his science class. His teacher thought it was a brilliant idea and immediately put it on the school website for everyone to see.

Now, hundreds of students have watched the video online. Because of Mark’s message, they always remember to cut their plastic rings before throwing them in the rubbish bin. Mark feels incredibly proud of his hard work. Next summer, he hopes to make a new movie about keeping the water clean for sea turtles.

1   Why was Mark upset at the beach last month?

     (A) He discovered a creature that needed help.

     (B) He walked along the beach and found a drink bottle.

     (C) He carefully took the plastic off to go surfing.

2   What equipment did Mark use to get his images?

     (A) A professional camera.

     (B) His daily communication device.

     (C) The dirty rubbish on the sand.

3   What happened after Mark completed his film?

     (A) He shared his work with the teenagers he studies with.

     (B) He used a free computer program to cut the video.

     (C) His teacher added some sad guitar music to it.

4   How did the video change the other students’ habits?

     (A) They make a new movie about keeping the water clean.

     (B) They feel incredibly proud of his hard work.

     (C) They break the circular plastics before binning them.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) Using a free computer program to cut a video

     (B) Throwing plastic rings in the rubbish bin

     (C) The schoolboy who filmed a message to save nature

Reading 3

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The Five-Minute Shower Challenge

Fifteen-year-old Sam loves his geography lessons. Last month, his teacher explained that people use too much water at home. Sam thought about his own family. He realised that his parents and his younger sister usually spent about fifteen minutes in the shower. He knew this was a problem for the environment, so he decided to act.

Sam invented the “Five-Minute Shower Challenge” for his family. He went to the supermarket and bought a small waterproof clock for their bathroom. At dinner, he told everyone the rules. They had to finish washing before the clock showed five minutes. If someone stayed in the water longer, they had to clean the kitchen!

In the beginning, the new game was quite difficult. His sister, Chloe, really hated it because she couldn’t wash her long hair quickly. However, Sam found a clever answer. He played fast pop songs on his phone outside the door. This helped everyone hurry up, and soon it became a fun daily activity.

After a month, the family received their water bill. It was much cheaper than before! Sam’s parents were extremely happy with the extra money. Sam feels incredibly proud of his project. Next term, he hopes to introduce his great challenge to all his classmates at school.

1   Why did Sam decide to act?

     (A) He wanted to stop his relatives from wasting water.

     (B) His geography teacher used too much water at home.

     (C) He usually spent about fifteen minutes in the shower.

2   What was the rule of Sam’s challenge?

     (A) Everyone had to buy a waterproof clock for the bathroom.

     (B) Family members had to do a chore if they were slow.

     (C) They had to stay in the water longer than five minutes.

3   How did Sam help his sister with the game?

     (A) He washed her long hair quickly for her.

     (B) He gave his phone to her outside the door.

     (C) He used tunes to encourage her to hurry.

4   What happened at the end of the month?

     (A) The family was pleased because they spent less cash.

     (B) Sam’s parents felt incredibly proud of his project.

     (C) His parents introduced the challenge to his classmates.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) The best fast pop songs to play

     (B) A teenager’s clever idea to save water

     (C) How to clean the kitchen in five minutes

Exercises:   12345