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

Exercises:   12345

Reading 1

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Testing the Waters

Sixteen-year-old Chloe loves her town. Her favourite place is the beautiful lake near her house. Every summer, she goes swimming there with her friends. But last spring, the water looked very dirty, and the fish were sick. Chloe couldn’t swim in it. She felt very sad and wanted to find a way to help.

She looked on the internet and found a local group that protects nature. She wrote them an email, and they asked her to become a volunteer. An older volunteer gave Chloe some small glass bottles. He carefully showed her how to collect water from the lake without getting her hands dirty.

Now, Chloe goes to the lake every Sunday morning. She doesn’t stay in bed, even when it is cold and raining! She fills the bottles with water and takes them to the science room at her school. There, her teacher helps her test the water to see if it is safe for the animals.

Thanks to Chloe’s information, the town knows when the lake is dangerous. People have stopped throwing their rubbish near the water, and the lake is becoming much cleaner. Chloe feels incredibly proud of her hard work. Next year, she hopes to study science at university so she can protect more lakes in the future.

1   Why didn’t Chloe swim in the lake last spring?

     (A) She goes swimming there with her friends.

     (B) It wasn’t clean enough for her to go in.

     (C) She wanted to find a way to help.

2   How did Chloe learn what to do for her volunteer job?

     (A) She looked on the internet.

     (B) She wrote them an email.

     (C) A man from the group explained the task to her.

3   What does Chloe do on Sunday mornings?

     (A) She leaves her house early to complete her job.

     (B) She stays in bed when it is cold and raining.

     (C) She asks her teacher to go to the lake with her.

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

     (A) She tells people to stop throwing their rubbish.

     (B) She is very pleased with what she has achieved.

     (C) She currently studies science at university.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) How to study science at university

     (B) The best places to swim in the summer

     (C) A teenager’s work to save a local lake

Reading 2

For each question, choose the correct answer.

Jamie’s One-Bucket Car Wash

Jamie is a fourteen-year-old boy who always helps his parents with jobs around the house. Last weekend, his dad asked him to wash the family car. It was a very hot and dry summer, and it hadn’t rained for weeks. The town had strict rules to save water, so nobody could use a hose in their garden.

Jamie really wanted to make the car look shiny, but he knew he could only use one bucket of water. He thought this was impossible, so he looked on the internet for some advice. He found an interesting video about a special soap. This soap cleans cars perfectly without needing lots of water.

On Saturday morning, Jamie walked to the local supermarket and bought the soap with his own pocket money. He went back home, put a little bit of the soap into his single bucket of water, and started cleaning. He used soft cloths to take the dirt off the windows and doors. It was quite tiring, but the dirt came off easily.

When his parents came outside, they couldn’t believe their eyes. The car was completely clean, and Jamie still had some water left in his bucket! They were incredibly pleased that he followed the town’s rules. Now, Jamie is washing cars for his neighbours every weekend to earn some extra cash.

1   Why did Jamie have to use less water for the car?

     (A) The town had rules to stop people from wasting water.

     (B) He wanted to help his parents with jobs around the house.

     (C) It was a very hot and dry summer.

2   How did Jamie learn about the best way to clean the car?

     (A) By watching an interesting video online.

     (B) By asking his dad for some advice.

     (C) By trying to use one bucket of water.

3   What did Jamie do on Saturday morning?

     (A) He spent his own money to get the special soap.

     (B) He walked to the local supermarket with his dad.

     (C) He bought soft cloths to take the dirt off.

4   Why were Jamie’s parents so happy?

     (A) He obeyed the town’s instructions about water.

     (B) He still had some water left in his bucket.

     (C) He started washing cars for his neighbours.

5   What is the best title for this article?

     (A) How to earn extra cash in the summer

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

     (C) The town that never has enough rain

Reading 3

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The Teenager Painting for the Ocean

Fifteen-year-old Lily lives in a small town by the sea. She often walks along the beach and enjoys looking at the water. However, a few months ago, she noticed a big problem. People were throwing a lot of empty plastic cups and food wrappers onto the streets. When it rained, this rubbish went down the street drains and straight into the ocean.

Lily wanted to stop people from doing this, so she started an after-school art club. She invited her classmates to join. Together, they decided to paint beautiful sea creatures, like blue fish and green turtles, around the street drains. They wanted to remind everyone that the drains go to the sea.

Last Saturday, the students met in the town centre to begin their work. They brought their own brushes and bright paints. While they were working, many people stopped to watch. A few younger children even asked to paint a little fish. By the end of the afternoon, the dark streets looked wonderful.

A local newspaper took photos of the new art, and suddenly, the club became very popular. Because of the paintings, people are now more careful with their rubbish. Lily feels incredibly proud of her friends. Next spring, she plans to visit other towns to show them how to do the same thing.

1   Why was Lily worried a few months ago?

     (A) People were throwing empty plastic cups straight into the ocean.

     (B) Waste from the roads was travelling down into the sea.

     (C) She noticed a big problem while she was looking at the water.

2   What did Lily and her club decide to do?

     (A) Catch beautiful sea creatures like blue fish and green turtles.

     (B) Start an after-school art club around the street drains.

     (C) Draw ocean animals to teach people where the water travels.

3   What happened on Saturday afternoon?

     (A) The students met in the town centre to watch.

     (B) Many people stopped to paint a little fish.

     (C) Some little kids wanted to help with the drawings.

4   What is Lily planning to do next year?

     (A) Travel to different places to teach people about her activity.

     (B) Take photos of the new art for a local newspaper.

     (C) Become very popular and feel incredibly proud of her friends.

5   What is the best title for the article?

     (A) How to paint blue fish and green turtles

     (B) The schoolgirl who used art to keep the water clean

     (C) Throwing empty plastic cups onto the streets

Exercises:   12345