Practice English Reading Exercises for B1 – Buying Books, Non-Fiction & Gifts 4

Exercises:   123456

Reading 1

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to find a true survival and adventure story to read or listen to.

There are descriptions of eight survival books.

Decide which survival book would be the most suitable for the people below.

1   Max wants to read a short book under 100 pages. He is fascinated by true stories of real people facing danger in freezing polar regions. It must be an inspiring account that finishes with a happy ending.

2   Sophie wants an audiobook to listen to while running. She enjoys inspiring, true adventures about individuals surviving alone in hot deserts. She is particularly keen to learn about the practical methods they used to find water and stay alive.

3   Toby wants to buy a physical hardback book for his collection. He wants to read an inspiring, true story about a sailor facing danger at sea. The book must include real photographs of the actual people involved in the adventure.

4   Mia is looking for an inspiring survival story that is completely free to download. She wants to read a true account of people climbing dangerous mountains, and prefers a book written by a well-known, famous explorer.

5   Oliver has a lot of free time and wants a long book over 400 pages. He likes inspiring, true stories about real people lost in deep tropical jungles. The book must include a detailed map tracking the survivor’s journey.

True Survival and Adventure Stories

A Ice Bound

This brief ninety-page book tells the authentic account of two explorers trapped in the freezing Antarctic. Readers will be amazed by how these real people stayed positive during the dark winter nights. It is an uplifting, inspiring read that finishes with a wonderful conclusion where both men safely return home.

B Desert Dust

Download this incredible spoken voice recording to enjoy on your move. The biography describes a traveler lost among hot sand dunes with no food. Listeners will find it highly inspiring to learn about the clever, practical tricks he used to collect morning dew and protect himself from the burning sun to stay alive.

C The Last Wave

This beautiful printed volume with a solid, tough cover is perfect for your library shelf. It features the inspiring, true story of a teenager whose boat was damaged by a huge storm at sea. The chapters are filled with authentic camera shots of the crew, making this dangerous adventure feel incredibly real.

D High Peaks

Get this amazing book at zero cost from our digital website today! The text takes a serious look at a group of travelers scaling steep, snowy peaks during a terrible storm. Composed by the legendary traveler Sir Arthur Evans, this inspiring true story will show you what humans can achieve when facing great danger.

E Green Maze

This massive five-hundred-page volume offers a detailed look into an incredible adventure from the past. The inspiring true story follows an expedition lost inside a thick green rainforest for months. It includes a beautiful printed diagram showing the exact path they walked through the trees, helping you follow their dangerous survival journey.

F Mountain Rescue

Composed by a world-famous traveler, this true story describes a terrifying accident on a steep rocky mountain. It is an inspiring book about real people working together to survive against the elements. However, please note that tickets to buy this premium book are quite expensive, and there are no free online copies available.

G The Golden Sand

Listen to this exciting audio book during your long journeys! This dramatic story takes place in the middle of a burning hot desert where a family loses their way. While the fictional characters face many scary situations, the story focuses entirely on magic and genies, rather than real water survival methods or actual historical facts.

H Jungle Escape

This long six-hundred-page novel takes you deep inside a dangerous tropical forest filled with wild animals. It is a true story about real people fighting to get home after a plane crash. While the inspiring writing is very detailed, the book completely lacks any maps, charts, or drawings of the route they took.

Reading 2

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to find a wildlife and nature encyclopedia.

There are descriptions of eight books.

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

1   Mark wants an encyclopedia organized alphabetically from A to Z. He is looking for a book specifically about ocean creatures. He wants to buy it as a present for his little brother, so it must be inexpensive.

2   Lily needs a book about bugs and spiders for her young daughter, so the language must be very easy. She hopes to find an encyclopedia that includes fun activities like stickers to keep her child entertained.

3   David is looking for a book about flying animals to give to his nephew. He wants an encyclopedia with high-quality real photographs, not drawings. He also wants it to include advice on how children can protect wildlife.

4   Sarah wants a gift for a child who loves dinosaurs and extinct beasts. She is looking for a book that focuses on amazing world records and extreme facts. She also hopes it comes with a large wall poster.

5   John wants to buy a rainforest encyclopedia for his niece. He is looking for a book that plays actual animal noises when you press buttons. He also prefers a book with 3D pop-up scenes that stand up.

Wildlife and Nature Encyclopedias

A Deep Blue Alphabet

This fantastic guide takes young readers on an underwater journey. Arranged by letter from the beginning to the end of the alphabet, kids can easily look up their favourite marine life. It is also available at a brilliant discount, making it a perfect, budget-friendly birthday surprise for younger family members.

B Tiny Creepy Crawlies

Designed for early readers, this guide uses very basic sentences to explain the lives of ants, butterflies, and spiders. It is a fantastic gift that guarantees hours of fun, because the pages are packed with interactive games and hundreds of colourful sticky labels for children to put in the book.

C Sky Explorers

If your favourite youngster loves creatures with feathers, this is the ultimate present. Instead of using illustrations, every page features stunning, professional camera shots of eagles, parrots, and owls in nature. Importantly, the final chapters provide excellent tips teaching youngsters how to care for the environment and save endangered species.

D Giants of the Past

Discover the biggest, fastest, and most dangerous prehistoric reptiles that ever lived! This fantastic present is packed with unbelievable statistics and extreme sizes that will amaze any young reader. Best of all, it includes a massive folded picture inside the back cover that looks absolutely brilliant on a bedroom wall.

E Tropical Wonders

Explore the incredible Amazon right from your living room! This amazing gift brings the rainforest to life with beautiful cardboard layers that rise up when you open the pages. It also features special interactive pads that play real, recorded roars and monkey calls to create a truly magical reading experience.

F Ocean Sticker Safari

This premium, luxury edition explores the depths of the sea and is packed with hundreds of sticky labels for young readers to enjoy. However, rather than an alphabetical layout, the chapters are arranged by ocean depth. It is quite a pricey gift, but the beautiful artwork makes it worth it.

G Feathered Friends

This wonderful encyclopedia about birds comes with a gigantic, colourful wall chart to decorate any child’s room. It includes lots of details about how to feed garden wildlife. However, instead of real camera shots, all the pictures inside are hand-painted watercolours, giving it a very traditional and classic feel.

H Jurassic Pop-ups

Children will love this exciting book about ancient reptiles! Every time you turn a page, an amazing 3D cardboard dinosaur jumps out at you. While it lacks extreme records or fold-out room decorations, the incredible paper engineering makes it a wonderful, silent visual experience for any young fan of prehistory.

Reading 3

For each question, choose the correct answer.

The people below all want to find a fashion and design history book to read.

There are descriptions of eight fashion books.

Decide which fashion book would be the most suitable for the people below.

1   Clara loves seeing how clothing styles changed from the 1920s to the 1990s. She wants to read about the lives of iconic creators. Crucially, she prefers books filled with colorful photographs and drawings rather than just long texts.

2   Tom wants to discover the history of styles through the decades. He is specifically interested in French and Italian designers. Because he is a student, the textbook must be inexpensive.

3   Lily prefers learning through visual charts and beautiful drawings instead of heavy reading. She wants to see how everyday clothing trends changed over different generations. She also needs a book that offers a downloadable digital edition for her tablet.

4   Ben is fascinated by world-famous dressmakers and their classic styles. He wants a guide with hundreds of bright illustrations. He also hopes to find a book that includes practice drawing pages to help him create his own designs.

5   Sophie wants to explore 1960s and 1970s fashion trends. She is keen to read detailed profiles of legendary creators like Coco Chanel. Since she has very little free time, the book must have short, quick-to-read sections.

Fashion and Design History Books

A A Century of Style

This beautiful volume explores how outfits changed every ten years across the twentieth century. It offers fascinating biographies of history’s greatest dressmakers, explaining their unique ideas. The pages are packed with vibrant imagery, historical photographs, and beautiful sketches, making it perfect for readers who prefer a highly visual experience.

B The Global Runway

Discover the brilliant evolution of outfits over different generations. This guide focuses on the legendary style masters from Paris and Rome who defined modern fashion. It contains excellent written descriptions of past eras. Best of all, it is currently on sale at a very low price, making it a great bargain for students.

C Street Looks

This exciting book tracks how casual street styles changed over the decades. Instead of long texts, it uses colorful timelines, photos, and graphics to explain the trends. Buyers also get a free password to download the electronic version, which is perfect for reading on screens while you are away from home.

D The Designer’s Studio

Learn all about legendary fashion creators and how they built their famous brands. The book features hundreds of colorful photos and historic runway illustrations. It also includes special blank sketchpad sections and step-by-step activities at the end of each chapter to help you practice drawing your own unique collection.

E Icons of the Seventies

Focusing on the colorful eras of the sixties and seventies, this book details the life stories of icons like Chanel and Dior. It explains how they shocked the world with new ideas. The book is organized into short, three-page chapters, making it ideal for busy readers who want a quick read.

F Fashion Masters

An expert guide looking at how clothing trends developed through the twentieth century, with a focus on world-famous designers. The book contains highly detailed, long text articles that explain the history of art. Please note that this is a traditional textbook and contains no illustrations, photographs, or drawing projects.

G Luxury Design

This premium coffee-table book details the lives of iconic French and Italian designers. Every page features massive, high-quality color prints and runway drawings. It is a fantastic luxury item for anyone interested in high fashion. However, due to its rare content, it has a very high price tag and is never discounted.

H Fabrics Through Time

This highly visual book shows how materials and clothing trends changed over the last hundred years. It is filled with thousands of beautiful pictures of wool, silk, and cotton factories. It is perfect for anyone wanting short, easy chapters about clothes manufacturing, though it does not mention any individual designers or their biographies.

Exercises:   123456