Practice English Reading Exercises for B1 – Visual Arts, Crafts & Making Things
Reading 1
For each question, choose the correct answer.
My First Stop-Motion Movie
I have always loved watching animated films. Last month, our art teacher asked us to do a creative project at home. I decided to try stop-motion animation using clay, which is also known as claymation. I thought it would be a fun and fast way to tell a short story about a little green alien visiting Earth. I bought some colourful clay, set up my smartphone on a stand, and built a small stage on my bedroom desk.
The basic idea of stop-motion is quite simple. You take a photo of your clay figure, move it a tiny bit, and take another photo. When you play the pictures together quickly, it looks like the character is moving by itself. At first, I was really enthusiastic. Making my little alien wave his hand felt like magic. I took about fifty pictures in the first hour and felt totally confident that my movie would be finished by dinner time.
However, I soon realised that claymation requires incredible patience. In my excitement, I made a huge mistake. I wanted my alien to jump, so I moved his arms and legs quite a lot between two photos. When I played the sequence back to check my progress, the movement didn’t look smooth at all. Because I had moved the figure too far in one go, the jump looked completely unnatural and silly. The fluidity was ruined, so I had to delete the photos and start the jumping scene all over again.
I quickly learned to make only the smallest possible changes for each shot. I spent my entire weekend sitting in my bedroom, carefully bending the clay alien’s arms and legs millimeter by millimeter. After five long hours of hard work, I finally finished my project. When I put all the photos together, my film was exactly three seconds long! Even though the final video was incredibly short, I felt a huge sense of achievement.
Taking part in this project has completely changed how I watch my favourite animated movies. Before, I just enjoyed the funny characters, but now I have profound respect for the professional animators who make them. I now know how much effort goes into a full-length film. I definitely want to make another stop-motion video soon, but next time, I’ll ask a friend to help me!
1 Why did the writer start making a stop-motion animation?
(A) He wanted to win an animation competition in his art class.
(B) He needed to complete a specific task for his school.
(C) He wanted to show his friends a story about an alien.
(D) He bought a new smartphone and wanted to test the camera.
2 How did the writer feel when he began the project?
(A) Worried that his smartphone wouldn’t take good photos.
(B) Bored because taking fifty pictures was too repetitive.
(C) Sure that he would complete his film quite quickly.
(D) Surprised by how difficult it was to shape the clay.
3 What problem did the writer have with the jumping scene?
(A) The character’s action did not look realistic.
(B) He forgot to take enough photos of the alien’s legs.
(C) The clay figure broke when he tried to move it.
(D) He accidentally deleted the photos he had just taken.
4 After five hours of working on the animation, the writer
(A) was disappointed that the video was only three seconds long.
(B) realised he needed to buy more clay for his alien.
(C) decided that he hated spending his weekends indoors.
(D) felt proud of what he had managed to create.
5 What would the writer write in his blog about the experience?
(A) I really regret choosing to do claymation for my school project. It took too long and the final result looked completely silly.
(B) Making a three-second animation was surprisingly easy. I’m going to start making full-length movies by myself from now on!
(C) Although it takes a massive amount of time and patience, creating a smooth clay animation is a highly rewarding process.
(D) Stop-motion animation is a great hobby, but it’s much better to watch professional films than try to make your own.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 B – The text states in the first paragraph that “our art teacher asked us to do a creative project at home,” which means he needed to complete a task for school.
2 C – In the second paragraph, the writer says he “felt totally confident that my movie would be finished by dinner time,” meaning he was sure he would complete it quickly.
3 A – The third paragraph explains that because he moved the figure too far, “the jump looked completely unnatural and silly,” which means the action did not look realistic.
4 D – The fourth paragraph describes how, despite the film being only three seconds long after five hours of work, he “felt a huge sense of achievement,” which means he was proud of his creation.
5 C – This option accurately captures the global meaning and emotional arc of the passage: acknowledging the need for patience and the time-consuming nature of making small changes, but concluding that the final product gave him a huge sense of achievement and a newfound respect for the art.
Reading 2
For each question, choose the correct answer.
My Stained Glass Adventure
I have always loved making things, but until recently, my crafts mostly involved paper and glue. That changed when I visited a local art market and saw a stall selling beautiful stained glass suncatchers. The colours were incredible, and I knew immediately that I wanted to make one for my mum’s upcoming birthday. I went online, ordered a beginner’s kit, and couldn’t wait for my new creative adventure to begin.
However, my excitement faded when I actually started cutting the coloured glass. The instructions said I needed to score a line with a special tool and then snap the glass with my hands. It looked completely effortless in the tutorial videos, but doing it myself was a different story. The glass often broke in unpredictable shapes, ruining the piece I was working on. I wasted so much material and felt so frustrated that I nearly threw the whole kit in the bin.
Despite my annoyance, I decided not to give up. After a lot of practice, I finally managed to cut the pieces into the exact shapes I needed. The next step was wrapping the edges of each piece in thin copper tape. Then came the most dangerous part: soldering. I had to use a hot iron to melt metal along the copper tape, joining all the separate pieces of glass together. It required a huge amount of concentration, but seeing the suncatcher slowly take shape was extremely satisfying.
When I finally finished, I washed the suncatcher and held it up to my bedroom window. Suddenly, the afternoon sunlight poured through the coloured glass, filling the room with bright blues, greens, and yellows. It was visually stunning, and all the earlier stress disappeared completely. When I gave it to my mum, she was absolutely delighted and immediately hung it in the kitchen.
This project taught me that creating something beautiful requires a lot of patience. Making stained glass is definitely not the cheapest or easiest hobby, but the results are entirely worth the effort. I am already sketching a design for my next piece, which will be a large bluebird, and I feel much more confident about using my tools.
1 Why did the writer start making stained glass?
(A) She was bored of her traditional paper and glue crafts.
(B) She wanted to copy a suncatcher she had seen in an online video.
(C) She saw some glass items at a market and wanted to make a gift.
(D) Her mum bought her a beginner’s kit for her birthday.
2 How did the writer feel about cutting the glass?
(A) annoyed because the special tool she was using was broken
(B) upset because the glass did not break the way she wanted it to
(C) surprised that it was exactly as easy as the tutorial videos showed
(D) worried that she would hurt her hands while snapping the pieces
3 What does the writer say about the soldering process?
(A) It was the most satisfying part of cutting the glass.
(B) She found the copper tape too difficult to wrap around the edges.
(C) It required a lot of focus to melt the metal safely.
(D) She burned herself with the hot iron while joining the pieces.
4 How does the writer feel about her new hobby now?
(A) She thinks it is a cheap and easy way to make presents for people.
(B) She is excited to start working on her next glass design.
(C) She wishes she had enough patience to finish her bluebird project.
(D) She prefers making simple crafts that don’t cause so much stress.
5 What would the writer write in her diary?
(A) I almost quit today because the glass kept breaking, but I’m so glad I didn’t. The suncatcher looks absolutely amazing in the light!
(B) My mum loved the suncatcher I made her, even though some of the glass was broken. I think I’ll stick to paper crafts from now on.
(C) Soldering is definitely my favourite part! It’s so easy and safe to do. Next time, I’m going to make a huge window for my bedroom.
(D) The art market was great, but the beginner’s kit I bought was a complete waste of money. I couldn’t cut the glass properly at all.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 C – The first paragraph states she “saw a stall selling beautiful stained glass suncatchers” and “knew immediately that I wanted to make one for my mum’s upcoming birthday.”
2 B – In the second paragraph, the writer explains that “The glass often broke in unpredictable shapes… I wasted so much material and felt so frustrated”.
3 C – The third paragraph describes soldering as “the most dangerous part” involving a “hot iron to melt metal” and states that “It required a huge amount of concentration”.
4 B – In the final paragraph, she mentions that the hobby is not cheap or easy, but the results are worth it, adding, “I am already sketching a design for my next piece… and I feel much more confident”.
5 A – This option accurately captures the global narrative arc: the initial frustration of the glass breaking unpredictably (Paragraph 2), overcoming the challenge, and the ultimate reward of a visually stunning result in the sunlight (Paragraph 4).
Reading 3
For each question, choose the correct answer.
A Solid Foundation
My name is Elias, and last month I decided to participate in our town’s annual summer festival parade. I have always enjoyed crafts, so I volunteered to create a giant, wearable paper maché mask to wear during the event. I had made small paper bowls in primary school, so I assumed building a large mask out of wet newspaper and glue would be a fun and simple weekend project. I quickly mixed a large bucket of glue and started piling wet strips of paper together on my desk.
However, I soon discovered that making a large sculpture is completely different from making a small bowl. Because I wanted the mask to be huge, I kept adding more and more wet paper. The mixture became incredibly heavy and soggy. When I woke up the next morning, my excitement turned into dismay. Without anything inside to hold it up, the heavy, wet structure had completely collapsed overnight into a flat, ruined mess. I felt so frustrated that I almost called the festival organisers to tell them I couldn’t participate.
Instead of giving up, I decided to do some research online to find out where I had gone wrong. I learned that large paper maché sculptures require an internal skeleton, called an armature, for support. I went to the hardware store and bought a roll of cheap chicken wire. Wearing protective gloves, I carefully bent and shaped the metal wire into the outline of a giant face. Once I had a strong metal frame, I applied thin, careful layers of the wet newspaper over it and waited for it to dry properly.
The difference was unbelievable. A few days later, the mask was completely dry, incredibly lightweight, and completely durable. I painted it with bright, festival colours and wore it proudly in the parade. Dozens of people stopped to take photos with me, and I felt a massive sense of achievement. I learned that having a strong, hidden foundation is the secret to building anything impressive, whether in art or in life.
1 Why did Elias decide to make the mask?
(A) He wanted to win a prize at his school art competition.
(B) He needed to replace a paper bowl he made in primary school.
(C) He volunteered to make something to wear for a local parade.
(D) He was asked by the festival organisers to teach a craft class.
2 What caused Elias’s first attempt to fail?
(A) He used the wrong type of glue for the newspaper.
(B) The heavy, wet paper lacked internal support and fell apart.
(C) He left the mask outside in the rain overnight.
(D) The festival organisers told him it was too big to wear.
3 How did Elias solve his problem?
(A) He built a strong frame out of metal wire before adding the paper.
(B) He bought a pre-made mask from the local hardware store.
(C) He asked a professional artist to build the skeleton for him.
(D) He used much thicker layers of wet paper so it would dry faster.
4 How did Elias feel on the day of the festival?
(A) Worried that the wire frame would hurt his face.
(B) Annoyed because too many people were taking photos of him.
(C) Proud and accomplished because his durable artwork was a success.
(D) Disappointed that the bright paint colours had faded in the sun.
5 What would Elias write in a text message to a friend?
(A) Making big sculptures is impossible. My mask collapsed, so I am not going to the festival anymore.
(B) Building a wire frame was hard work, but adding a strong foundation turned my messy project into amazing wearable art!
(C) Paper maché is super easy! Just pile lots of wet newspaper and glue together, and you’ll have a great mask by morning.
(D) The festival was great, but I had to buy a plastic mask because the chicken wire I found was too expensive to use.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 C – In paragraph 1, Elias states, “I volunteered to create a giant, wearable paper maché mask to wear during the event” for the town’s “annual summer festival parade.”
2 B – In paragraph 2, Elias explains that he kept adding wet paper and “Without anything inside to hold it up, the heavy, wet structure had completely collapsed overnight.”
3 A – In paragraph 3, Elias solves the issue by buying cheap chicken wire and shaping “the metal wire into the outline of a giant face” to use as a “strong metal frame” before applying the newspaper.
4 C – In paragraph 4, Elias notes the mask was “completely durable,” he “wore it proudly in the parade,” and he “felt a massive sense of achievement.”
5 B – This option captures the global meaning and Elias’s emotional arc. It summarizes his realization that while it was hard work, adding the wire frame (strong foundation) saved his initially collapsed project and resulted in an impressive piece of wearable art.