Practice English Reading Exercises for B1 – Digital Arts, Writing & Creative Media
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The Creative Battle
I have always loved making up incredible stories and creating interesting characters. However, writing a whole book completely by myself just seemed like too much hard work. Then, a few months ago, a classmate told me about a website for collaborative online fiction. It is a fantastic place where strangers write a story together. One person writes a single paragraph, and then someone else writes the next one to continue the adventure. I thought the idea sounded absolutely brilliant, so I immediately created an account. I found a popular science fiction story and started adding my own ideas to it.
At first, everything went quite smoothly and I was really enjoying the experience. I introduced a brave teenage explorer named Leo, who was searching for a lost city on an unknown planet. But suddenly, another writer, who used the name ‘DarkStar’, started changing my plans. Every time I wrote a scene where Leo was about to discover something amazing, DarkStar would write the next paragraph and make something terrible happen to him. Finally, DarkStar went too far. He wrote that a massive rock fell on Leo from a high cliff, completely removing him from the story!
When I read that, I was quite shocked. A few of my friends who were following the story told me I should be angry. They said I ought to send a message to the website to complain about DarkStar’s rude behaviour. Despite their advice, I decided that getting mad wouldn’t solve anything. Instead, I spent the whole evening thinking about what I could do to bring my favourite character back. The next day, I wrote a clever new paragraph explaining that Leo was actually a highly advanced robot. The heavy rock had only broken his artificial outer skin, and his computer brain was still working perfectly.
When DarkStar read my update, he was definitely surprised by my unexpected plot twist! After that, we started a funny kind of creative battle. He would constantly try to put my characters in the most dangerous situations he could think of, and I would use my imagination to help them escape. Although it was sometimes tiring, it actually made me a much better writer. If I ever write my own novel in the future, I know I will be able to write extremely exciting chapters, all thanks to my unpredictable online rival.
1 Why did the writer decide to join the collaborative fiction website?
(A) He wanted to make new friends with other writers online.
(B) He was looking for a way to write a story with less effort than a whole book.
(C) He wanted to share a science fiction story he had already finished.
(D) His classmate asked him for help with a school writing project.
2 What did DarkStar do in the story?
(A) He created a new planet for Leo to explore.
(B) He stopped Leo from achieving his goals.
(C) He introduced a new enemy for Leo to fight.
(D) He stole the writer’s ideas for his own character.
3 When Leo was removed from the story, the writer
(A) followed his friends’ advice to complain to the website.
(B) decided to create a completely new character instead.
(C) used a surprising idea to keep the character in the story.
(D) felt angry that his hard work had been ruined by a stranger.
4 What does the writer think about the experience now?
(A) He believes it has improved his writing skills.
(B) He wishes DarkStar had been more predictable.
(C) He is tired of fighting with other writers online.
(D) He hopes to write a novel together with DarkStar.
5 What would the writer say about his online writing experience?
(A) I love writing with my friends, but I get very upset when strangers on the internet try to change my stories without asking.
(B) Writing online can be difficult, but finding clever ways to save my characters from another writer’s traps has been really enjoyable.
(C) It’s impossible to write a good story when everyone is adding different ideas, so I’m going to start writing a book by myself.
(D) I was disappointed when my favourite character was destroyed, but it taught me that you shouldn’t argue with people online.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 B – The text states in Paragraph 1 that writing a whole book “seemed like too much hard work” and the collaborative site allowed strangers to write a story together paragraph by paragraph.
2 B – In Paragraph 2, the writer explains that every time Leo was about to discover something amazing, DarkStar would “make something terrible happen to him,” effectively stopping his progress.
3 C – Paragraph 3 explains that instead of getting mad or complaining, the writer wrote a “clever new paragraph explaining that Leo was actually a highly advanced robot” to bring him back.
4 A – In Paragraph 4, the writer reflects on the creative battle and concludes that the experience “actually made me a much better writer.”
5 B – This option captures the global meaning and positive, reflective attitude of the writer, who enjoyed the “creative battle” of using his imagination to rescue his characters from dangerous situations.
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Creating My Own Study Beats
Last year, I was preparing for my final school exams and feeling incredibly stressed. I found it impossible to concentrate in complete silence, but my usual energetic pop playlists were much too distracting. I needed something calm and repetitive to help me focus on my textbooks. I’ve always enjoyed playing the keyboard in my free time, so I decided to make my own relaxing background music. I spent a few evenings creating some simple, slow ‘lo-fi’ beats just for myself.
After using the tracks to study for a few weeks, my friend Sarah heard them and suggested I share them online. I didn’t think anyone else would be interested, but I created a basic video with a continuous animation of a cartoon character reading a book, and uploaded it to YouTube. I called it “Late Night Study Beats”. After that, I completely forgot about it and focused entirely on passing my own exams.
A few months later, after my exams were finally over, I logged into my YouTube account to upload a different video. I simply couldn’t believe my eyes. My lo-fi study video had reached over two million views! At first, I was sure there was a mistake with the website’s numbers. But then I scrolled down and saw thousands of comments. People were actively listening to my simple tracks every single day.
I spent hours reading through the messages. There were comments from high school students in Japan, university students in Brazil, and people working late nights in Germany. They were all saying the exact same thing: my music had helped them calm down, concentrate, and pass their difficult tests. It was an overwhelming feeling. I had originally made the beats just to solve my own problem, but they had somehow connected with stressed students all over the planet.
Since then, I have continued making and uploading new tracks every month, and my channel has grown a lot. I used to think that creating music was just a fun, personal hobby without any real purpose. However, this amazing experience has taught me that art can have a practical, global use. It feels absolutely fantastic to know that while I am sleeping, my music is helping someone on the other side of the world achieve their educational goals.
1 Why did the writer start making lo-fi beats?
(A) She wanted to practice her keyboard skills.
(B) She needed the right kind of music for studying.
(C) She was asked to compose music for a school project.
(D) She wanted to become a famous pop musician.
2 Why did she upload the music to YouTube?
(A) She wanted to show her friend Sarah how to make a video.
(B) A friend advised her to put the tracks on the internet.
(C) She needed a place to save her music while studying for exams.
(D) She thought her cartoon animation would be very popular.
3 How did the writer feel when she checked her YouTube account?
(A) Annoyed because there was a problem with the website.
(B) Disappointed that she hadn’t uploaded more videos.
(C) Shocked by how many people had watched her video.
(D) Worried by the large number of messages she had to read.
4 What did the writer learn from reading the comments?
(A) Her music was useful to people in many different countries.
(B) Students in Germany and Japan have the most difficult exams.
(C) She should write different types of music for different students.
(D) Her original problem with stress was unusual.
5 What would the writer say about her experience?
(A) “It’s nice that people like my music, but I’m too busy with my own exams to make any more videos.”
(B) “I always knew my music would be famous one day, and I am planning to sell my beats to university students.”
(C) “I’m glad my friend told me to share my music, because it helped me pass my own difficult school exams.”
(D) “I created this music for myself, but discovering that it actually helps students worldwide is incredibly rewarding.”
Answer Key & Explanations
1 B – The text states in the first paragraph that silence was impossible and pop music was distracting, so she “needed something calm and repetitive to help me focus on my textbooks.”
2 B – In the second paragraph, the writer says, “my friend Sarah heard them and suggested I share them online.”
3 C – The third paragraph describes her reaction to seeing two million views: “I simply couldn’t believe my eyes” and initially thought there was a mistake with the numbers.
4 A – The fourth paragraph details comments from Japan, Brazil, and Germany, making the writer realize the beats had “connected with stressed students all over the planet.”
5 D – This option best captures the global meaning and reflection in the final paragraph, where the writer states she made the beats to solve her own problem but learned her art has a “practical, global use” that helps people achieve their goals.
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
From Cardboard to Code
Ever since I was a child, I have absolutely loved playing board and card games with my friends. Last year, I invented a unique physical card game about space explorers. We played it every weekend, and my friends enjoyed it so much that they told me I should share it with a wider audience. Because printing thousands of physical cardboard boxes was far too expensive for a teenager, I decided to turn my invention into a mobile app instead. I confidently thought that programming it would be a simple and fun project for the summer holidays.
However, building a digital application was much more difficult than I had originally imagined. I had to learn a completely new programming language from scratch by watching online tutorials. Instead of taking just a few weeks, the coding process took an entire year of my free time. There were numerous occasions when I stared at the computer screen for hours, completely confused by complex technical errors. Despite feeling exhausted and sometimes frustrated, I refused to give up because I truly believed that my space game was something special.
Finally, the big day arrived when I uploaded the finished app to the online store. I felt incredibly proud when strangers actually started downloading and playing it. But a few days later, my massive excitement suddenly turned into a nightmare. A user sent me an email showing that if you tapped two buttons at the exact same time, you could easily cheat and win the game instantly! I felt absolutely devastated. I was terrified that everyone would leave angry reviews and immediately delete my app from their phones.
I knew I couldn’t just ignore the problem and let my hard work be ruined. I sat down at my laptop and worked continuously for twelve hours to rewrite the broken code. As soon as I found the correct solution, I sent out an automatic update to all users. Surprisingly, the players were really impressed by how quickly I fixed the issue, and many sent messages thanking me for listening. This experience taught me that making mistakes is normal, but showing true commitment to your craft is what makes you successful.
1 Why did the writer decide to create a mobile app?
(A) He wanted to save money on buying expensive computer games.
(B) He realised that making physical copies of his game would cost too much.
(C) His friends challenged him to learn how to programme during the holidays.
(D) He was asked to design a space exploration game for a school project.
2 How did the writer feel about the programming process?
(A) Surprised that it only took him a few weeks to learn the language.
(B) Annoyed that the online tutorials were too simple to help him.
(C) Determined to finish it despite it taking much longer than expected.
(D) Relieved that his friends were there to help him fix the errors.
3 What happened shortly after the app was released?
(A) Users complained about the high cost of downloading the game.
(B) He learned that players could use a system fault to win easily.
(C) People started deleting the app because the rules were too boring.
(D) He discovered that strangers were stealing his original card designs.
4 How did the players react to the writer’s solution?
(A) They were pleased that he resolved the problem so fast.
(B) They were angry that they had to download another automatic update.
(C) They asked him to add more ways to cheat in the future.
(D) They stopped playing the game because the new code was broken.
5 What would the writer write in his diary about developing his app?
(A) “Making an app is much simpler than creating a physical board game. I’m so glad I didn’t spend any time learning complex programming languages.”
(B) “I was devastated when players found out how to cheat. I wish I had just deleted the app instead of spending twelve hours trying to fix the code.”
(C) “My space game is finally on the online store! It’s a real shame that the players left so many bad reviews after I updated it.”
(D) “It took a year of hard work and dealing with a stressful mistake, but fixing the game quickly showed me what it takes to be a good developer.”
Answer Key & Explanations
1 B – In the first paragraph, the writer explains that “printing thousands of physical cardboard boxes was far too expensive,” which is why he turned it into a digital app instead.
2 C – In the second paragraph, the writer states that the process “took an entire year,” but despite being exhausted and frustrated, he “refused to give up” (showing determination).
3 B – In the third paragraph, the writer mentions a user showed him that “if you tapped two buttons at the exact same time, you could easily cheat and win the game instantly.”
4 A – In the fourth paragraph, the writer notes that the players “were really impressed by how quickly I fixed the issue” and sent messages thanking him.
5 D – This option accurately captures the global narrative: the writer put a year of hard work into the app, faced a devastating bug, but learned that quickly fixing mistakes and showing commitment leads to success.