Practice English Reading Exercises for B1 – Buying Books, Non-Fiction & Gifts 1

Exercises:   123456

Reading 1

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to find a travel guide or map for their next trip.

There are descriptions of eight travel guides and maps.

Decide which guide or map would be the most suitable for the people below.

1   Lucas wants a small guidebook that fits easily into his jacket. He enjoys looking at lots of bright, beautiful photographs. He also needs useful tips on finding the cheapest cafes and restaurants during his trip.

2   Maya is organising a driving holiday with her young kids. She needs a guide with clear, safe car routes. She also wants entertaining activity suggestions for her children and a section teaching her basic local phrases.

3   Sam is planning a hiking adventure in the mountains. He needs detailed walking maps and recommendations for safe places to put up his tent. Because the weather is often wet, the guidebook must be completely waterproof.

4   Chloe loves exploring old castles and museums, so she wants deep historical information. She needs a massive paper map she can open out fully. She prefers reading, so she wants a guide without any heavy photographs.

5   Ben wants a modern, downloaded guide to use on his mobile phone. He is looking for reviews of five-star, luxury places to sleep. He also needs accurate, up-to-date timetables for the local underground trains and buses.

Travel Guides and Maps

A City Snaps

This tiny, lightweight edition is perfect for sliding into your coat while exploring. Inside, you will discover hundreds of stunning, brilliant images of the most famous sights. It also features a fantastic, useful section dedicated to finding brilliant, low-cost street food and affordable local dining spots to save your cash.

B Family Highway

Hit the road perfectly with this fantastic holiday planner! It features excellent, easy-to-read motorways and street plans for your vehicle. There are wonderful recommendations for exciting parks and games to keep your little ones smiling. Furthermore, it includes a helpful dictionary at the back to help you chat with the locals in their own tongue.

C Wild Trails

Get ready for nature! This brilliant planner provides incredibly accurate paths for walking high up in the hills. It offers excellent reviews of the best natural sites to sleep under the stars. Best of all, the pages are covered in special plastic, meaning they will never be destroyed by heavy rain!

D The Ancient Explorer

Discover the fascinating past of the world’s oldest capitals. It is packed with thousands of written words about old kings and famous battles, deliberately leaving out all images to keep it light. Tucked inside the back cover is a gigantic, massive sheet showing every single street, ready to spread across your table.

E Smart Travel

Leave the heavy books at home and install this brilliant software straight onto your mobile device! It gives you instant access to the exact departure times for all local railways and coaches. You will also find completely honest ratings for the most expensive, top-quality palaces and five-star resorts in the city.

F Pocket Palace

This beautifully designed, miniature publication fits right into your trousers. Every page is filled with spectacular, bright images of beautiful European destinations. However, it is designed exclusively for very wealthy travellers, offering advice purely on the most expensive, high-class dining experiences and top-tier restaurants available in the area.

G Rainproof Rambler

This fantastic guide is made from completely protected materials, so dropping it in a river won’t cause any damage. It includes incredibly detailed paths for climbers and mountain walkers. However, there is no information on outdoor sleeping, as it only recommends comfortable, indoor guesthouses and local bed-and-breakfasts for the night.

H City Steps with Kids

Travelling with your family has never been easier! This excellent guide includes a brilliant translation section so you can speak to everyone. It is packed with amazing zoo and playground suggestions for the little ones. However, it focuses entirely on exploring on foot, with absolutely no information provided for car drivers.

Reading 2

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to find a biography of a sports star to read or listen to.

There are descriptions of eight sports biographies.

Decide which biography would be the most suitable for the people below.

1   Leo loves football and wants to read about a player who successfully returned to the game after a terrible physical accident. He is a visual learner, so he expects the book to contain plenty of actual pictures of the athlete.

2   Maria is looking for a biography about a female tennis champion who took home the biggest international prize. She travels a lot for her job, so she needs a spoken-word digital format to listen to in her car.

3   Chen wants to read about a track runner who dealt with difficult feelings and sadness during their career. He doesn’t have much money to spend on reading material, so he needs a book that he can get for nothing.

4   Sarah wants to buy a present for her father about a basketball hero who led his club to a historic victory. Because it is a special gift, she is looking for a traditional printed copy with a thick, solid cover.

5   David wants a short biography under a hundred pages about a professional swimmer. He wants to read about how the athlete grew up without much money and see a collection of real images from their childhood at the back.

Biographies of Sports Stars

A The Beautiful Game

This incredible story follows a legendary striker’s difficult path back to the stadium after a severe leg break. Fans will adore the large visual section in the middle, displaying previously unseen snapshots from his matches and private life. It is an inspiring read about fighting intense physical pain to succeed again.

B Centre Court Queen

Discover the amazing journey of the woman who completely dominated the racket world. This inspiring biography covers her exciting path to winning the ultimate global cup. Available entirely as a downloadable voice recording, you can easily hear the professional narrator tell her story while commuting, making it ideal for busy individuals.

C Racing the Mind

This brave account describes an Olympic sprinter’s daily battles with deep anxiety and depression off the track. The author honestly discusses the psychological challenges of professional sports. Best of all, you can read this digital text completely free of charge on our website, making it highly accessible to everyone.

D Reaching the Net

Celebrate the legendary captain who guided his basketball squad to win the final championship tournament. This brilliant volume is only available to purchase as a high-quality physical edition with a tough, protective outside. It makes a beautiful, long-lasting present for any serious sports fan to put on their shelf.

E Making a Splash

At just eighty pages, this quick read focuses on a famous pool champion. It beautifully explains how she survived growing up in extreme poverty before discovering the water. Readers will especially enjoy the extra gallery pages filled with authentic childhood portraits showing her early days before she became rich.

F Boxing Shadows

This thick, four-hundred-page volume tells the true story of a famous fighter who grew up with very little cash. The book contains fantastic full-colour camera shots of his earliest matches. However, it is an extremely long and heavy text, so you will need many weeks to finally complete it.

G Serving History

This beautiful hardback edition looks at a male tennis star who collected numerous gold medals during the nineteen-nineties. It is a fantastic physical book to keep forever. Unfortunately, there are no spoken-word versions available, so you must sit down and read the printed pages yourself to enjoy his story.

H Golden Boots

You can download this complete electronic book to your smartphone for zero cost! It details the extremely happy and easy career of a famous goal-scorer who never lost a match or faced any serious medical issues. It is a wonderfully positive, cheerful tale without any dark or sad moments.

Reading 3

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to find a cookbook for beginners.

There are descriptions of eight cookbooks.

Decide which cookbook would be the most suitable for the people below.

1   Anna is a university student looking for very simple meals without meat. She doesn’t have much money, so the food must be inexpensive to buy. She wants a book that is perfect for complete beginners.

2   Ben and Sam want to learn how to make desserts, cakes, and bread. They are often busy, so the meals must take less than half an hour. They need a book that shows them exactly what to do using photographs.

3   Chloe wants to make popular foreign meals from around the world. She hates washing dishes, so she wants recipes that only use a single pan. She also needs advice on what basic tools to buy for her new kitchen.

4   David is planning to invite a lot of friends over for dinner and needs recipes for big crowds. He is trying to eat healthily and lose weight. He would love a book that includes links to online cooking videos.

5   Elena wants a cookbook that focuses entirely on early morning meals to start her day. She prefers using common items from her local shop rather than unusual things. She needs meals she can keep in the freezer for another day.

Cookbooks for Beginners

A The Student Chef

If you are new to cooking, this is the perfect guide. It offers basic, stress-free instructions for making tasty dishes using only vegetables. Best of all, the recipes focus on low-cost items, meaning you can eat very well without emptying your wallet. It makes learning to cook completely simple!

B Budget Bites

This fantastic guide shows you how to make wonderful dishes using very little cash. Every page has simple instructions for beginners who have never cooked before. However, most of the dishes rely on chicken and beef, so it is not a good choice for people who avoid eating animals.

C Sweet Success

Learn to create fantastic biscuits, loaves, and sweet treats with this brilliant guide. You will not spend all day in the kitchen, as every delicious recipe is ready in under thirty minutes. Furthermore, clear images accompany every single stage of the process, making it impossible to get anything wrong!

D Morning Magic

Start your day right with these brilliant sunrise dishes! You won’t need to visit special markets, as everything can be found on normal grocery store shelves. Even better, you can prepare these dishes in advance and put them straight into the icebox to enjoy on a different morning.

E The Master Baker

If you love sweet treats and bread, this beautifully illustrated book is for you. It includes helpful pictures for every single action you take. However, these are complicated weekend projects, and most of the delicious cakes require at least two or three hours in the oven to finish completely.

F The Fit Host

Invite all your mates over without worrying about their waistlines! This book provides fantastic, nutritious meals that are perfect for feeding lots of guests at once. Plus, every page features a special digital code you can scan to watch the author demonstrating the cooking techniques on the internet.

G Global Tastes

Travel the globe from your kitchen! This book offers famous international recipes from Asia and Europe. You will save time cleaning up because everything is cooked together in just one large pot. The introduction also perfectly explains which knives and spoons are absolutely necessary for a beginner’s kitchen.

H World Kitchen

Discover amazing traditional meals from South America to Japan! The writer starts by explaining exactly which essential pots, pans, and knives you need to purchase. However, be prepared to do lots of washing up, as these authentic recipes require you to use many different bowls and pans at once.

Exercises:   123456