Practice English Reading Exercises for B2 – Creative & Performing Arts 7
Reading 1
You are going to read a magazine article about a teenager who tried coding a simple video game.
For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
The Code to Success
When I first decided to design my own video game, I was driven by pure ambition. Having spent countless hours playing platformers, I felt confident I could create something equally entertaining. I envisioned a vibrant, fast-paced adventure where a tiny robot navigated through a futuristic city. My friends, whom I had enthusiastically shared my plans with, were highly supportive but warned me about the complexity of the task. However, I brushed off their concerns, convinced that my basic knowledge of computer programming would be entirely sufficient to get me through. After all, there were plenty of tutorials available online, and I thought I could simply piece them together without much trouble.
The initial stages of development were surprisingly smooth. Over the first few weeks, I dedicated every spare evening to constructing the digital world. I carefully designed the background scenery and programmed the main character’s basic movements. Seeing my little robot jump across the screen for the very first time was incredibly satisfying. If I hadn’t actually seen it working with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have believed how quickly I was progressing. I foolishly began to assume that the rest of the project would be a walk in the park. I even started drafting ideas for a sequel, which now seems rather ridiculous.
That illusion was shattered abruptly during the testing phase. I had just implemented a new feature that allowed the robot to collect energy coins. I confidently pressed the ‘run’ button, expecting to see a glittering reward system in action. Instead, the screen froze, flickered violently, and abruptly went black before displaying a cryptic error message. I restarted the program, but the exact same crash occurred. This was not merely a minor hiccup; it was a fundamental flaw that completely stopped the game from functioning. It must have been a conflict in the logic, but locating it felt like searching for a needle in a digital haystack.
What followed was a week of extreme mental fatigue. I spent hours staring blankly at the computer screen, scrolling through hundreds of lines of code. I consulted numerous online forums and watched endless tutorial videos, desperately searching for a solution. My initial enthusiasm was entirely replaced by a crushing sense of defeat. I started to doubt whether I had the necessary skills to finish the project. The frustration of knowing that a single, invisible mistake was ruining my hard work was almost unbearable. I was seriously considering abandoning the game entirely and accepting that I had bitten off more than I could chew. Every time I altered a command, hoping to resolve the bug, another part of the system would inevitably break.
Then, late one Friday night, the breakthrough finally happened. I was meticulously reviewing a specific section of the script for the fifth time when something suddenly caught my eye. Deep within the coin-collection sequence, a single semicolon was missing at the end of a line. It was such a minuscule typographical error that it had easily escaped my notice. With trembling fingers, I inserted the missing punctuation mark and cautiously launched the game. The robot jumped, collected the coin, and the score increased perfectly. I held my breath, waiting for the inevitable crash, but it never came. The game continued running smoothly without a single glitch.
The wave of euphoria that washed over me was indescribable. I literally jumped out of my chair, cheering at the screen. That moment of absolute triumph made all the stress and exhaustion completely worthwhile. Looking back on the experience, I realise that game development is not just about having a creative vision; it is largely a test of endurance and problem-solving. I learned that while the coding process can be incredibly punishing, the sheer satisfaction of bringing a digital world to life is unlike anything else.
1 How did the writer feel about creating the game at the very beginning?
(A) He was overly confident about his ability to manage the workload.
(B) He was anxious about the complexity of the task his friends warned him about.
(C) He was motivated by his friends’ requests to design a futuristic city.
(D) He planned to simply piece together games his friends had made.
2 What does the writer suggest about the initial stages of development?
(A) He struggled to believe how slowly he was progressing.
(B) He found programming the main character to be a walk in the park.
(C) They caused him to become overconfident about the rest of the project.
(D) They required him to dedicate more evenings to it than he had planned.
3 What does ‘This‘ refer to in paragraph 3?
(A) the introduction of a glittering reward system
(B) a cryptic error message appearing on a black screen
(C) the severe and repeated crashing of the game
(D) a minor hiccup in the robot’s movement
4 What can be inferred about the writer’s problem-solving process in the fourth paragraph?
(A) His efforts to resolve the issue often resulted in additional errors.
(B) He eventually decided to abandon the project due to a lack of skills.
(C) He found that online forums provided the exact solution he needed.
(D) He spent a week trying to avoid looking at his computer screen.
5 How did the writer finally manage to fix the game?
(A) by completely rewriting the entire coin-collection sequence
(B) by noticing a very small punctuation omission in the code
(C) by launching the game cautiously for the fifth consecutive time
(D) by discovering a massive typographical error he had overlooked
6 What is the writer’s main conclusion about game development?
(A) It requires far more creative vision than actual problem-solving skills.
(B) Beginners should avoid starting projects that are overly ambitious.
(C) The most important skill for a developer is knowing how to avoid stress.
(D) The incredible satisfaction of success makes up for the severe challenges.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 A: The text states that the writer “brushed off their concerns, convinced that my basic knowledge… would be entirely sufficient” and that he thought he could do it “without much trouble.” This paraphrases being overly confident. Option B is the opposite; he wasn’t anxious at all. Option C is a false match; he envisioned the city, his friends didn’t request it. Option D is a misinterpretation of “piece them together” (which referred to online tutorials, not his friends’ games).
2 C: The writer says that because early progress was fast, he “foolishly began to assume that the rest of the project would be a walk in the park” and even started planning a sequel. This matches becoming overconfident. Option A is the opposite; he progressed quickly. Option B is a false match; “walk in the park” referred to his assumption about the rest of the project, not the initial programming. Option D is unstated; he dedicated spare evenings, but doesn’t mention it being more than planned.
3 C: The word ‘This’ refers to the situation just described: the screen freezing, going black, and the “exact same crash” occurring upon restart. He realizes “This [the crashing] was not merely a minor hiccup.” Option A is what he expected to see, not what caused the flaw. Option B is only one part of the crash sequence. Option D is a false match using words from the text (he says it was not a minor hiccup).
4 A: The text explicitly states, “Every time I altered a command, hoping to resolve the bug, another part of the system would inevitably break.” This means his fixes caused additional errors. Option B is partially true (he considered abandoning it) but he did not actually decide to do it. Option C is the opposite; he consulted forums “desperately searching” but was left with a crushing sense of defeat. Option D is the opposite; he spent hours staring at the screen, not avoiding it.
5 B: The bug was fixed because he found a “minuscule typographical error”—specifically, a “single semicolon was missing.” This perfectly matches noticing a small punctuation omission. Option A is incorrect because he didn’t rewrite the sequence; he just added one mark. Option C is a trap based on a misreading; he was reviewing the code for the fifth time, not launching the game for the fifth time. Option D contradicts the text, which says the error was “minuscule”, not massive.
6 D: In the final paragraph, the writer states that “That moment of absolute triumph made all the stress and exhaustion completely worthwhile” and that “the sheer satisfaction… is unlike anything else.” This matches option D. Option A is the opposite of the text, which says development is “not just about having a creative vision; it is largely a test of endurance and problem-solving.” Options B and C are unstated and contradict the writer’s sense of triumph.
Reading 2
You are going to read a magazine article about a teenager who organised a dance event in a shopping centre.
For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
Dancing Against the Odds
Organising a flash mob initially seemed like the ultimate way to celebrate the end of our college exams. The plan was simple yet ambitious: fifty of us would converge on the central atrium of the Starview Mall on a busy Saturday afternoon, blending in with the shoppers until a specific track played over the speakers. Then, we would break into a meticulously choreographed dance routine. For three weeks, we rehearsed in secret at the local community centre. The energy in the room was always electric, and I was completely convinced that we were going to pull off an unforgettable spectacle that would be talked about for months.
Arriving at the mall at midday, the atmosphere was chaotic. The atrium was packed with families, teenagers, and weekend shoppers hunting for bargains. My job was to casually sip a coffee near the central fountain, acting as the starting point for the routine. According to our schedule, everyone was supposed to be in position by 12:45, casually browsing shop windows or sitting on benches. As I glanced around, pretending to be absorbed in my phone, I felt the familiar flutter of butterflies in my stomach. Everything was set, but I couldn’t spot as many familiar faces in the crowd as I had anticipated.
At 12:50, my phone buzzed. It was a message on our group chat from Sarah, one of our lead dancers, saying her bus had broken down. Then came another message, this time from Mark, admitting he had lost his nerve and wasn’t coming. Suddenly, a cascade of notifications flooded my screen. People were dropping out left, right, and centre, citing sudden illnesses, forgotten shifts at work, or sheer panic. A sinking feeling washed over me as I counted the participants still responding positively. Out of the fifty people who had enthusiastically committed to the project, a mere twelve were scattered around the atrium.
I felt utterly abandoned and foolish. The entire concept of a flash mob relies on the impact of a massive, synchronized crowd appearing out of nowhere. A dozen people dancing in a vast shopping centre wouldn’t look like a spectacular event; it would just look like a desperate cry for attention. I briefly considered sending a message to abort the mission. I could easily slip away, go home, and pretend the whole embarrassing scheme had never happened. However, looking across the fountain, I caught the eye of my friend Chloe, who gave me a determined nod. She had worked just as hard as I had, and I couldn’t let her down.
Just then, the opening chords of our chosen song began to echo through the mall’s sound system. The moment of truth had arrived. Pushing aside my crushing disappointment, I stepped into the open space and executed the first sharp movement of the routine. Chloe joined me immediately, followed by the remaining ten dancers emerging from the crowd. We were a fraction of the size I had envisioned, and I felt intensely exposed. Yet, as we hit the first chorus, the sheer joy of the music and the movement took over. We danced with twice as much energy to compensate for our missing teammates.
Initially, the shoppers looked utterly bewildered. A few stopped and pointed, while others quickly hurried past, clearly trying to avoid eye contact. But as our routine progressed, a sizeable crowd began to form a circle around us. People started clapping in time with the beat, and I even saw a security guard smiling approvingly. When we struck our final pose, the applause was genuine and loud. Walking away, I realised that while our numbers had been small, the experience was enormous. We had faced the terrifying prospect of public humiliation and gone ahead anyway, proving that true courage is simply stepping into the spotlight when others step back.
1 Why did the writer feel confident about the flash mob before the event?
(A) They had chosen a highly popular song for the routine.
(B) They had spent a considerable amount of time practising.
(C) They had managed to keep the performance a secret from mall staff.
(D) They had successfully gathered fifty professional dancers.
2 How did the writer feel while waiting by the fountain?
(A) Frustrated by the massive crowds of weekend shoppers.
(B) Relaxed because they were enjoying a quiet cup of coffee.
(C) Anxious because they could not see the other dancers.
(D) Worried that the mall’s sound system wouldn’t work properly.
3 What does the word ‘it‘ refer to in paragraph 4?
(A) the shopping centre
(B) a small group performing
(C) the original flash mob concept
(D) a message to abort the mission
4 What prompted the writer to go ahead with the routine despite the low numbers?
(A) A desire to embarrass the people who had dropped out.
(B) A sudden realisation that twelve people was still a large group.
(C) A fear that the mall security would intervene if they stopped.
(D) A sense of loyalty and shared effort with another participant.
5 During the actual performance, the writer
(A) felt completely confident from the very first movement.
(B) changed the choreography to suit the smaller group.
(C) put in extra effort to make up for the absent dancers.
(D) was distracted by the lack of space in the open area.
6 What is the writer’s main conclusion about the experience?
(A) Flash mobs are generally too stressful to organise effectively.
(B) The audience’s reaction is the only thing that matters in a performance.
(C) Overcoming the fear of failure was a highly rewarding achievement.
(D) A smaller group of dancers is actually more effective than a large crowd.
Answer Key & Explanations
1 B: The text states that “For three weeks, we rehearsed in secret… and I was completely convinced that we were going to pull off an unforgettable spectacle”. Distractor A is unstated. Distractor C is a partial truth; they rehearsed in secret, but this isn’t given as the reason for their confidence. Distractor D is a false match; there were fifty people, but they were college students, not “professional dancers”.
2 C: The writer notes having “butterflies in my stomach” because they “couldn’t spot as many familiar faces in the crowd as I had anticipated”. Distractor A is a false match; the crowds were what a flash mob needed. Distractor B is the opposite of the text; they were only “casually sipping” coffee to act a part, but felt anxious.
3 B: The pronoun refers back to the scenario described in the previous clause: “A dozen people dancing in a vast shopping centre wouldn’t look like a spectacular event; it would just look like a desperate cry for attention.”
4 D: The text explicitly states that the writer caught the eye of their friend Chloe, noting, “She had worked just as hard as I had, and I couldn’t let her down.” Distractor A and C are unstated. Distractor B is a false match; the writer still felt twelve people was a fraction of the size they envisioned.
5 C: The text states, “We danced with twice as much energy to compensate for our missing teammates.” Distractor A is the opposite of the text (“I felt intensely exposed”). Distractor B is unstated.
6 C: In the final paragraph, the writer concludes that “We had faced the terrifying prospect of public humiliation and gone ahead anyway, proving that true courage is simply stepping into the spotlight”. Distractor A is an overly negative generalization. Distractor B is unstated. Distractor D is a false match; the writer doesn’t claim small groups are better than large crowds, just that this specific experience was rewarding regardless of the size.