Practice English Reading Exercises for B1 – Charity Events, Fundraising & Activism
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Grace Under Pressure
I’ve always loved organizing events, so when my school announced they wanted to raise money for a local children’s hospital, I immediately offered to manage a charity talent show. Because I had previously helped plan a few school parties, I felt fairly confident. For weeks, my friends and I held auditions, designed colourful posters, and sold tickets to parents and teachers. By the day of the show, we had completely sold out, and I honestly believed that all the hard work was already behind us.
However, on the evening of the performance, disaster suddenly struck. The school hall was packed with an excited audience, but just ten minutes before the curtains were supposed to open, the entire sound system stopped working. There was no power reaching the microphones or the speakers. For a terrifying moment, my mind went completely blank. Some of the performers started to panic, and I seriously considered walking onto the stage to announce that we had to cancel the whole event.
Fortunately, I knew I had to stay calm and find a quick solution. I rushed over to the first performer, a girl named Maya who was planning to sing to a recorded pop track. I desperately asked her if she would mind performing acoustically, using only her guitar instead of the backing music. Surprisingly, she confidently agreed. While Maya was on stage giving a beautiful, quiet performance that the audience loved, I crawled under the sound desk with a torch to examine the complicated equipment.
After a stressful few minutes, I finally discovered that a heavy box had accidentally crushed the main power cable. I quickly replaced it with a spare wire, and the sound suddenly came back on, just in time for the second act’s dance routine! The rest of the evening went perfectly, and we managed to raise over £500 for the hospital. I learned a highly valuable lesson that night. Event management isn’t about ensuring nothing goes wrong; it is about keeping a clear head when problems happen. I’m incredibly proud of what we achieved, and I definitely want to organize more charity events in the future.
1 Why did the writer offer to manage the talent show?
(A) To raise money to pay for his future school parties.
(B) He wanted to use his previous experience to support a good cause.
(C) His teachers asked him to design posters and sell tickets.
(D) He wanted to audition for a part in the performance.
2 What happened just before the show was due to start?
(A) The audience started complaining about the lack of music.
(B) Some of the performers decided to cancel their acts.
(C) The writer forgot what he was supposed to say on stage.
(D) An unexpected equipment failure made the writer feel panicked.
3 How did the writer deal with the difficult situation?
(A) He asked the first singer to change how she performed her song.
(B) He used his torch to signal to the audience to be quiet.
(C) He told Maya to sing a completely different pop song.
(D) He fixed the equipment while the audience waited for the show to begin.
4 What does the writer say about the rest of the evening?
(A) The second act had to perform without any background music.
(B) The heavy box damaged the equipment again later on.
(C) He realized that staying calm under pressure is an essential skill.
(D) He was disappointed that they only raised £500 for the hospital.
5 What would the writer write in his blog today?
(A) Organizing the talent show was a nightmare. Everything went wrong, and I’ve decided never to manage a school event again!
(B) My experience planning school parties meant the talent show was easy. We had no problems at all and raised lots of money.
(C) The talent show was incredibly stressful, but fixing the sound system taught me that a good manager can handle unexpected challenges.
(D) I am so grateful to Maya for fixing the broken cables while I was busy calming down the other panicked performers!
Answer Key & Explanations
1 B – The text states the writer “immediately offered to manage a charity talent show” to “raise money for a local children’s hospital” (a good cause) and felt confident “Because I had previously helped plan a few school parties” (previous experience).
2 D – In the second paragraph, the writer explains that ten minutes before the start, “the entire sound system stopped working” (equipment failure) and that for a “terrifying moment, my mind went completely blank” (panicked).
3 A – The third paragraph describes how the writer asked the first performer, Maya, to perform “acoustically, using only her guitar instead of the backing music”, which changed how she delivered her song.
4 C – In the final paragraph, the writer reflects that event management is “about keeping a clear head when problems happen,” showing he learned the value of staying calm under pressure.
5 C – This option accurately captures the global meaning and emotional arc of the text. It acknowledges the high stress of the broken equipment but highlights the ultimate lesson learned about staying calm and managing unexpected problems.
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The Power of Pennies
Every year, our school encourages us to raise money for a charity of our choice. I decided to support a local animal shelter. Because most teenagers don’t have much money to give, I wanted to create a project that wouldn’t cost anyone too much. I came up with the idea of a coin drive. I decorated several empty glass jars and placed one in every classroom. I asked my classmates to drop in their small, unwanted coins, hoping the jars would fill up in no time.
However, my excitement quickly disappeared during the first two weeks. Whenever I checked the jars, they looked almost completely empty. There were only a few brown pennies and some other low-value coins at the bottom. I started to feel quite discouraged and wondered if my project was a complete failure. Several friends mentioned that people rarely carry cash these days, preferring to pay for things using their mobile phones. I thought I wouldn’t even raise enough to buy a single bag of dog food.
Despite my doubts, I left the jars in the classrooms until the end of the month. When the time finally came to collect them, I was genuinely surprised. Although they weren’t completely full, the jars were incredibly heavy. The coins inside were dirty and sticky, but there were thousands of them. I had to ask my best friend, Mark, to help me carry the heavy bags of coins to the local bank. By the time we arrived, our arms were aching and my hands were covered in dirt.
The bank had a special machine that automatically counts coins. Mark and I started pouring our dirty pennies into the machine. It made a loud, satisfying noise as it sorted them. We stood there watching the digital screen as the total amount slowly climbed higher and higher. To our absolute amazement, the machine finally stopped at exactly five hundred and twelve dollars! We couldn’t believe our eyes.
Walking out of the bank with a clean cheque for the animal shelter, I felt extremely proud. I had learned a very valuable lesson that day. Even though a single penny seems completely useless on its own, small contributions can become something huge when everyone works together. If I have the chance, I will definitely organise another coin drive next year.
1 Why did the writer start the coin drive?
(A) He wanted a way for students to donate without spending a lot.
(B) He needed empty jars for a school science project.
(C) He thought teenagers had a lot of spare money to give.
(D) He wanted to buy dog food for his own pets at home.
2 How did the writer feel after the first two weeks?
(A) Annoyed because students were using mobile phones to pay for things.
(B) Disappointed because the jars were filling up much slower than expected.
(C) Confused because people were taking pennies out of the glass jars.
(D) Relieved that he didn’t have to count too many coins by himself.
3 What surprised the writer when he collected the jars?
(A) His best friend Mark refused to help him carry them.
(B) The jars were completely full to the top with pennies.
(C) The physical weight of the containers was surprisingly high.
(D) The coins inside the jars were very clean and shiny.
4 What did the writer learn from his project?
(A) That banks charge too much money to count dirty coins.
(B) That animal shelters need more than five hundred dollars.
(C) That carrying heavy bags to the bank is great exercise.
(D) That achieving a big result is possible through tiny actions.
5 What would the writer write in his diary that evening?
(A) The bank machine was broken today, so Mark and I had to count all those dirty coins by hand. It took hours!
(B) I’m so happy! I thought my charity idea was a failure, but all those unwanted pennies added up to a fantastic amount.
(C) I took the jars to the bank, but I’m sad we only raised enough to buy a single bag of dog food for the shelter.
(D) People shouldn’t use mobile phones to pay for things. If they used cash, I could have raised over five hundred dollars.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 A – In paragraph 1, the writer explains that because teens don’t have much money, he wanted to “create a project that wouldn’t cost anyone too much.”
2 B – In paragraph 2, the writer says his excitement disappeared and he felt “quite discouraged” because the jars looked “almost completely empty,” meaning they were filling up very slowly.
3 C – In paragraph 3, the writer states he was genuinely surprised because “Although they weren’t completely full, the jars were incredibly heavy.”
4 D – In paragraph 5, the writer concludes that “Even though a single penny seems completely useless… small contributions can become something huge,” reflecting that big results come from tiny actions.
5 B – This option captures the global meaning and emotional arc of the text. It highlights the writer’s initial doubt about the slow progress and his eventual joy at discovering how much the small, unwanted coins were actually worth.
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A Taste of Justice
I have always been the type of person who reads the news, so I was shocked when I read an article about the company that makes our school’s favourite chocolate biscuits. The report revealed that they use child labour in their factories overseas. I felt furious that our pocket money was supporting such a terrible practice. The next morning, I stood up in the cafeteria and announced a school-wide boycott, asking everyone to stop buying those specific snacks from the vending machines.
At first, my campaign was a complete disaster. The biscuits were incredibly popular, and most of the students complained loudly about my idea. They told me that they didn’t want to give up their favourite treats, even if the news was true. For the first few days, I watched in frustration as people continued to put their coins into the machines. Arguing with them just made them defensive, and I seriously started to think that my boycott was going to fail completely.
I realised I needed a completely different strategy. That weekend, I went to a local health food store and bought several boxes of fair-trade cookies. They were made by a company that guaranteed fair wages and ethical working conditions. On Monday morning, I set up a small table near the vending machines and offered everyone a free sample of the new cookies as they walked past. I didn’t shout or lecture anyone; I just smiled and let the food speak for itself.
The reaction was amazing. The students were surprised by how delicious the fair-trade cookies were, and many admitted they actually tasted better than the original brand. Slowly, people stopped buying the unethical biscuits and started asking the school to stock the new ones instead. By the end of the month, the vending machines were completely updated. I learned that simply telling people what not to do rarely works, but providing a brilliant, positive alternative can truly change behaviour.
1 Why did the writer want to start a boycott?
(A) She read that the snacks were unhealthy for teenagers.
(B) She discovered the snack company used child workers.
(C) She wanted to sell her own biscuits in the cafeteria.
(D) The school vending machines were broken and needed fixing.
2 How did the students react to the writer’s initial announcement?
(A) They were unhappy and refused to stop eating their favourite treats.
(B) They immediately stopped using the school’s vending machines.
(C) They promised to read the news article about the company.
(D) They complained that the new fair-trade cookies were too expensive.
3 What did the writer do to change the students’ minds?
(A) She blocked the vending machines so nobody could use them.
(B) She argued with them every time they bought a snack.
(C) She gave them a chance to taste an ethical alternative.
(D) She reported the students to the headteacher.
4 What was the final result of the campaign?
(A) The school decided to remove all vending machines entirely.
(B) The students went back to eating their original favourite snacks.
(C) The health food store gave the school a discount on fair-trade cookies.
(D) The school successfully replaced the unethical snacks with the new ones.
5 What is the main lesson the writer learned from this experience?
(A) “It is impossible to change people’s habits if they really love a certain type of food.”
(B) “Arguing with people is the most effective way to make them listen to your campaign.”
(C) “Giving people a good alternative is much more successful than just telling them to stop doing something.”
(D) “I regret spending my pocket money on cookies because the students didn’t appreciate the effort.”
Answer Key & Explanations
1 B – The text states in the first paragraph, “The report revealed that they use child labour in their factories overseas. I felt furious… and announced a school-wide boycott”.
2 A – In the second paragraph, the writer explains that the campaign was a disaster because students “complained loudly” and “told me that they didn’t want to give up their favourite treats”.
3 C – The third paragraph mentions that the writer bought fair-trade cookies and “set up a small table near the vending machines and offered everyone a free sample of the new cookies”.
4 D – In the fourth paragraph, the text says that people “started asking the school to stock the new ones instead. By the end of the month, the vending machines were completely updated.”
5 C – This option perfectly captures the global meaning and the lesson learned in the final paragraph: the writer realizes that “simply telling people what not to do rarely works, but providing a brilliant, positive alternative can truly change behaviour.”