Practice English Reading Exercises for B1 – Physical Health, Diet & Exercise
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A Simple Step for Healthy Skin
I have never been a fan of sunscreen. Ever since I was a child, I absolutely hated the feeling of thick, sticky cream on my skin. Whenever my parents told me to put some on before going to the beach, I would try to avoid it. I complained that it made my hands greasy and took forever to dry. Because my skin didn’t usually burn very quickly, I wrongly believed that I didn’t actually need to use it.
However, my attitude completely changed last summer during a school camping trip to the coast. On our first day, the weather was absolutely beautiful, with clear blue skies and bright sunshine. Our teachers reminded us to protect our skin, but I decided to ignore their advice, thinking a t-shirt and a hat would be enough. I spent the entire afternoon playing volleyball on the beach and swimming in the sea with my friends.
By the time we returned to the campsite that evening, my shoulders and face were bright red. The next morning, I woke up with severe sunburn. My skin was so painful that I could hardly put my clothes on. While my classmates were out exploring the local caves and enjoying a boat tour, I had to stay inside my dark tent. I felt incredibly disappointed that my silly decision had completely ruined my holiday.
When I finally got home, I knew I had to find a better way to protect my skin. I went to the local pharmacy and asked for advice. The assistant suggested a modern, lightweight sunscreen that comes as a clear spray. I tested a little bit on my arm and was amazed. It absorbed into my skin almost immediately and didn’t leave any greasy feeling at all. I was so pleased that I bought two bottles straight away.
Since then, applying sun protection has become an essential part of my morning routine. I put it on every day before I leave the house, even when it is slightly cloudy outside. I have realised that taking care of my health doesn’t have to be an uncomfortable experience. Now, I can spend hours outside playing sports without worrying about painful sunburn ruining my fun!
1 Why didn’t the writer use sunscreen when they were younger?
(A) They didn’t like the way it felt on their skin.
(B) Their parents forgot to buy it for the beach.
(C) They had a bad allergy to the thick cream.
(D) They usually burned very quickly in the sun.
2 What did the writer do on the first day of the school trip?
(A) They stayed in their tent to avoid the bright sun.
(B) They carefully followed the teachers’ advice about sunscreen.
(C) They played outside without using any sun protection.
(D) They only went swimming when the sky was cloudy.
3 How did the sunburn affect the writer’s trip?
(A) It forced them to buy new clothes to wear.
(B) It stopped them from joining in with the group’s activities.
(C) It meant they had to go home earlier than planned.
(D) It made them feel scared of going on boat tours.
4 What did the writer like about the new sunscreen?
(A) It was much cheaper than their old cream.
(B) It was recommended by one of their friends.
(C) It came in a very large plastic spray bottle.
(D) It dried very quickly and wasn’t sticky.
5 What would the writer write in their diary today?
(A) I still hate the feeling of sunscreen, but I wear it because my teachers make me. I can’t wait for winter!
(B) Missing out on the boat trip was terrible, but at least I never have to use sticky sun cream again.
(C) Getting sunburned was awful, but it helped me find a great product. Protecting my skin is now an easy daily habit!
(D) I spent all my pocket money on expensive sprays at the pharmacy, but my shoulders still get red when I play volleyball.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 A – The first paragraph states that the writer “absolutely hated the feeling of thick, sticky cream” on their skin and that it made their hands “greasy”.
2 C – The second paragraph explains that the writer decided to “ignore their advice” and spent the afternoon “playing volleyball on the beach and swimming” without protection.
3 B – The third paragraph describes how the writer “had to stay inside my dark tent” while their classmates “were out exploring the local caves and enjoying a boat tour”.
4 D – The fourth paragraph details that the new clear spray “absorbed into my skin almost immediately and didn’t leave any greasy feeling at all.”
5 C – This option accurately captures the global meaning and narrative of the text: the painful lesson learned on the school trip, the discovery of a non-greasy product, and the positive result of a healthy new daily routine.
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Discovering the Power of Breathing
I have always been an active person. I play football three times a week, go running at the weekend, and generally consider myself to be very fit. However, during our longer training sessions, I noticed a frustrating problem. While my teammates were still running around comfortably, I was often stopping to catch my breath. I couldn’t understand why I was getting so tired so quickly, especially because I trained just as hard as everyone else. I started to worry that something was wrong with my fitness.
One afternoon, my football coach pulled me aside after a practice match. He had been watching me run and noticed something interesting. He explained that I was breathing completely incorrectly. Whenever I got tired, I was taking short, quick breaths from the top of my chest. He told me that this shallow breathing meant my muscles weren’t getting enough oxygen. He suggested I try ‘belly breathing’, which involves taking deep breaths that push your stomach out, filling the bottom of your lungs.
At first, trying to change the way I breathed felt incredibly strange. My coach told me to practice at home by lying on the floor with a book on my stomach, watching it go up and down. When I tried doing it on the football pitch, it felt completely unnatural. I had to concentrate so hard on my stomach that I almost forgot to watch the ball! I actually thought about giving up, but I decided to trust my coach and keep practicing.
After about three weeks, I suddenly realised that I wasn’t thinking about it anymore. My body had learned to breathe deeply without any extra effort. The difference on the football pitch was amazing. I could suddenly run for the whole match without feeling exhausted, and my stamina had improved drastically.
There was another unexpected benefit, too. Whenever I felt nervous before an important school exam, taking a few deep belly breaths made me feel completely relaxed. I am amazed that something so simple could change my life. Learning to breathe properly hasn’t just made me a better athlete; it has also made me a much calmer person.
1 Why was the writer worried at the beginning of the text?
(A) He trained harder than his teammates but wasn’t chosen to play.
(B) He was losing his breath faster than other players despite being active.
(C) He had to stop playing football because of a serious health problem.
(D) He wasn’t able to attend the longer training sessions at the weekend.
2 What did the football coach tell the writer?
(A) He needed to run faster during the practice matches.
(B) He was letting his stomach get in the way of his running.
(C) His chest muscles were too weak to perform well.
(D) The way he was taking in air was limiting his oxygen.
3 How did the writer feel about practicing belly breathing?
(A) It was so weird that it made it hard to focus on playing football.
(B) It was relaxing to lie on the floor and read a book after training.
(C) It was annoying because his coach made him practice during matches.
(D) It was easy to learn because he just copied what his teammates did.
4 What was a surprising result of the new breathing technique?
(A) It made him become the fastest runner on his football team.
(B) It meant he no longer had to study hard for his school exams.
(C) It helped him control his anxiety in stressful situations.
(D) It allowed him to stop thinking about his football matches.
5 What would the writer text to a friend about his experience?
(A) My coach told me to change how I breathe, but it feels so weird that I’m just going to quit and run less.
(B) I can’t believe how much my fitness has improved! I’m finally breathing deeply, and I feel so much less stressed about everything.
(C) I went to the doctor because I couldn’t breathe properly during matches. Luckily, he taught me a trick to fix my chest.
(D) Belly breathing is great for relaxing before exams, but it hasn’t really helped me run any longer on the football pitch yet.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 B – In paragraph 1, the writer explains that although he considers himself “to be very fit” (being active), he “noticed a frustrating problem” because “my teammates were still running around comfortably, I was often stopping to catch my breath.”
2 D – Paragraph 2 states that his “shallow breathing meant my muscles weren’t getting enough oxygen,” which paraphrases the idea that the way he took in air limited his oxygen.
3 A – In paragraph 3, the writer says doing it on the pitch “felt completely unnatural” and he “had to concentrate so hard on my stomach that I almost forgot to watch the ball!”
4 C – Paragraph 5 mentions an “unexpected benefit”: when he felt “nervous before an important school exam,” taking deep breaths made him “feel completely relaxed,” showing it helped control anxiety in stressful situations.
5 B – This option successfully captures the global meaning and emotional arc of the passage: the physical improvement in stamina (fitness) through deep breathing, as well as the mental benefit of feeling calmer and less stressed.
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Finding My Hidden Strength
For as long as I can remember, I had always wanted to be able to do a proper push-up. During PE lessons at school, I watched my classmates dropping to the floor and doing ten or twenty push-ups without any trouble at all. Meanwhile, I couldn’t even manage to do one. My arms simply felt too weak to lift my own body weight. I was determined to change this, so I set myself a goal to finally achieve my first real push-up.
At first, my strategy was just to try as hard as I could every single day. Every evening before bed, I got down on the floor in my bedroom and pushed with all my strength. However, no matter how much effort I put in, my chest stayed glued to the carpet. After a week of total failure, my arms were incredibly sore, and I was feeling completely discouraged. I actually started to believe that I was just naturally weak and would never succeed.
Just as I was about to give up, my older brother saw me struggling and offered some useful advice. He explained that trying to do a full push-up before my muscles were ready was a bad idea. Instead, he showed me how to do a modified version by standing up and pushing against the bedroom wall. It felt much easier than being on the floor, but he promised me that it would slowly build the hidden strength I needed.
I decided to trust him and changed my routine. For the next month, I did three sets of wall push-ups every day. As the weeks passed, I moved my feet further away from the wall to make it slightly harder. Then, I progressed to doing them against the edge of my desk, and eventually on my knees on the floor. I could feel my arms and shoulders getting much stronger.
Finally, exactly five weeks after I started my new routine, I got down into the standard push-up position. I took a deep breath, lowered myself down, and successfully pushed myself back up again. I was absolutely thrilled! This experience taught me that achieving a difficult physical goal isn’t just about trying hard; it is about finding the right steps to get there.
1 Why did the writer set a goal to do a push-up?
(A) To get a better grade in his PE lessons at school.
(B) He wanted to prove to his classmates that he was strong.
(C) He was unable to do something that others found easy.
(D) His teacher told him his arms were too weak.
2 What happened during the writer’s first week of training?
(A) He managed to lift his body weight slightly.
(B) He lost his confidence because he made no progress.
(C) He injured his chest on his bedroom floor.
(D) He forgot to practice every evening.
3 What did the writer’s brother tell him to do?
(A) Practice doing full push-ups only when he wasn’t tired.
(B) Push against a wall until his arms felt completely sore.
(C) Use heavy weights to build up his hidden arm strength.
(D) Start with an easier exercise to slowly develop his muscles.
4 How did the writer make the exercises more difficult over time?
(A) By doing more than three sets a day.
(B) By asking his brother to push against him.
(C) By changing the position of his body.
(D) By doing them faster every single week.
5 What would the writer say about his experience?
(A) “If you want to get stronger, you just have to keep trying the hardest exercises until you succeed.”
(B) “I am proud of my achievement, but I wish I hadn’t wasted a month doing such easy exercises.”
(C) “Reaching a fitness goal takes time, and it is important to build your strength up gradually.”
(D) “Doing push-ups against a wall is actually much harder than doing them normally on the floor.”
Answer Key & Explanations
1 C – In the first paragraph, the writer states that his classmates could do push-ups “without any trouble at all” while he “couldn’t even manage to do one”, prompting him to set his goal. This matches being unable to do something others found easy.
2 B – Paragraph two explains that after a week of total failure, his arms were sore and he was “feeling completely discouraged” and started to believe he “would never succeed.” This paraphrases losing confidence due to a lack of progress.
3 D – Paragraph three mentions that the brother said trying a full push-up immediately was a bad idea and instead showed him a “modified version” (easier exercise) against the wall that would “slowly build the hidden strength” (develop his muscles).
4 C – In paragraph four, the writer describes making the exercise harder by moving his feet further away, doing them against the edge of a desk, and on his knees. This describes changing the position of his body.
5 C – This option captures the global meaning and the writer’s final reflection. He learns that achieving a physical goal isn’t just about trying hard initially, but about taking the “right steps” over five weeks, which means building strength up gradually.