Practice English Reading Exercises for B2 – Sibling Relationships & Rivalries
Reading 1
You are going to read an extract from a short story about a teenager who defends his younger brother.
For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
The Breaking Point
For as long as I could remember, navigating the social hierarchy of secondary school had been my top priority. I was the captain of the debate team, always invited to the right parties, and surrounded by a loud, confident group of friends. My younger brother, Toby, on the other hand, existed on a completely different planet. At twelve years old, he was obsessed with entomology—the study of insects. While other boys his age were trading video games, Toby could usually be found crawling through the undergrowth with a magnifying glass, cataloguing beetles. If I were a better brother, I wouldn’t have cared, but I must admit that his eccentricities often filled me with a lingering sense of embarrassment.
The true test of my loyalty arrived on a remarkably warm Tuesday afternoon. My friends and I were lounging on the grassy banks of the local park, discussing our plans for the upcoming summer holidays. Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Toby. He was crouched by a large oak tree, completely absorbed in whatever tiny creature was crawling along the bark. I felt a familiar knot tighten in my stomach. I desperately hoped he would remain unnoticed, praying that my friends would be too absorbed in their own gossip to pay attention to the boy who was seemingly talking enthusiastically to a tree.
Unfortunately, my hopes were dashed when Mark, the self-appointed leader of our group, pointed in Toby’s direction. ‘Look at the bug boy,’ Mark sneered, nudging the girl next to him. Chloe giggled, pulling out her smartphone to record a video. ‘What is he even wearing? He looks ridiculous,’ she added. They began calling out to him, using fake, exaggerated voices. Toby glanced up, his expression morphing from deep concentration to mild confusion. Watching the scene unfold, I felt my face grow hot. It was an agonizing position to be in; I wanted the ground to swallow me whole, torn between protecting my hard-earned social status and stopping the cruel spectacle.
The situation escalated when Mark stood up and tossed a half-empty plastic water bottle towards Toby, narrowly missing his shoulder. The bottle clattered loudly against the tree, causing Toby to flinch and drop his notebook. The group erupted into raucous laughter. In that exact moment, the mortification that had been paralyzing me evaporated entirely. It was replaced by a sharp, blinding wave of protective fury. They weren’t just teasing some random kid; they were humiliating my brother. I realised with crystal clarity that these people, whose approval I had spent years desperately seeking, were actually incredibly shallow and mean-spirited.
Without thinking twice, I scrambled to my feet, my heart pounding in my chest. ‘Cut it out, Mark!’ I yelled, my voice ringing out across the park. The laughter died instantly, and six pairs of shocked eyes turned to stare at me. Mark smirked, clearly expecting me to join in with the joke. ‘Come on, Liam, lighten up. We’re only having a bit of fun with the weirdo.’ I marched over, stood directly between Mark and Toby, and glared at him. ‘He’s not a weirdo,’ I said firmly, my voice remarkably steady despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins. ‘He’s my brother. And if this is your idea of fun, I don’t want anything to do with it.’
Ignoring their stunned silence, I turned to Toby, picked up his fallen notebook, and handed it back to him. ‘Come on, Tobe. Let’s get out of here,’ I muttered gently. As we walked away from the park, leaving my former social circle behind, Toby looked up at me with a mixture of awe and gratitude. I knew that arriving at school the next day would be difficult and that I would inevitably face social isolation. However, as Toby eagerly began explaining the fascinating defence mechanisms of the stag beetle he had found, I felt a profound sense of relief. I had finally chosen what truly mattered.
1 What is revealed about the narrator in the first paragraph?
(A) He felt ashamed of his younger brother’s unusual interests.
(B) He was the captain of the school’s competitive video game team.
(C) He spent all his free time studying insects alongside his brother.
(D) He didn’t care about maintaining his position in the school hierarchy.
2 How did the narrator feel when he first saw Toby at the park?
(A) He wanted to talk to Toby about his upcoming summer holiday plans.
(B) He was worried that Toby would enthusiastically interrupt their conversation.
(C) He wished his brother would stay hidden from the rest of the group.
(D) He felt proud that Toby was paying so much attention to the natural world.
3 What does ‘It‘ refer to in the third paragraph?
(A) The smartphone video that Chloe was trying to record.
(B) The internal conflict the narrator was experiencing.
(C) The deep concentration Toby showed while looking at bugs.
(D) The fake, exaggerated voices the friends were using.
4 When Mark threw the water bottle, the narrator realised that
(A) his friends’ true characters were unkind and superficial.
(B) Mark was trying to hit Toby’s notebook on purpose.
(C) he needed to protect his social status more than ever before.
(D) Toby was completely unaware of the physical danger he was in.
5 How did Mark react when the narrator initially shouted at him?
(A) He apologised for throwing the plastic bottle at Toby.
(B) He immediately fell silent and looked completely shocked.
(C) He walked away and refused to speak to the narrator again.
(D) He assumed the narrator was going to play along with the bullying.
6 What is the main theme of the story?
(A) The difficulties of having a sibling with a strange hobby.
(B) Choosing family loyalty over the desire to be popular.
(C) How to survive being physically bullied at secondary school.
(D) The importance of keeping the friends you made in childhood.
Answer Key
1 A: The text states that Toby’s “eccentricities often filled me with a lingering sense of embarrassment,” which directly paraphrases feeling ashamed of his unusual interests. Distractor B uses exact words (“captain”, “video games”) but mixes the context; he was captain of the debate team, and other boys traded games. Distractor C is a false match; Toby studies insects, not the narrator. Distractor D is the opposite of the text, as navigating the hierarchy was his “top priority.”
2 C: The narrator says, “I desperately hoped he would remain unnoticed,” matching the idea of wishing him to stay hidden. Distractor A is a false match; the narrator was discussing holidays with his friends, not Toby. Distractor B is a partial truth; he was worried, but specifically about his friends noticing Toby, not Toby interrupting. Distractor D contradicts the text; he felt a “knot in his stomach,” not pride.
3 B: The sentence goes on to explain: “torn between protecting my hard-earned social status and stopping the cruel spectacle.” Therefore, “It” refers to this agonizing psychological dilemma. Distractors A, C, and D refer to other elements mentioned in the paragraph (the video, concentration, the voices) that do not fit the grammatical or logical reference of being in an “agonizing position”.
4 A: The narrator states he realized “these people, whose approval I had spent years desperately seeking, were actually incredibly shallow and mean-spirited.” This perfectly paraphrases them being unkind and superficial. Distractor B is a false match; Mark threw the bottle towards Toby and it hit the tree, causing the notebook to drop, but there’s no evidence he aimed for the notebook. Distractor C is the opposite; his mortification “evaporated entirely.” Distractor D is an unstated assumption.
5 D: The text notes that Mark “smirked, clearly expecting me to join in with the joke.” This matches the assumption that the narrator would play along. Distractor A is the opposite; he tells Liam to “lighten up” instead of apologizing. Distractor B applies to the other six friends whose eyes were “shocked,” but Mark smirked. Distractor C is unstated and incorrect, as Mark speaks to him immediately.
6 B: The entire narrative arc demonstrates the narrator giving up his “former social circle” and accepting “social isolation” to defend his brother, concluding with “I had finally chosen what truly mattered.” Distractor A is a partial truth regarding the beginning of the story, but not the global takeaway. Distractor C is incorrect; the narrator was not the one being bullied, and Toby wasn’t physically hurt. Distractor D contradicts the ending, where he walks away from his friends.
Reading 2
You are going to read an extract from a short story about a girl whose brother takes the blame for her mistake.
For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
The Broken Heirloom
For as long as I can remember, the antique porcelain vase had stood proudly on the mahogany side table in our hallway. It was an exquisite family heirloom, passed down from my great-grandmother, and my mother treasured it above all other possessions. Naturally, my older brother, Leo, and I had been strictly forbidden from playing anywhere near it. However, on one rainy Tuesday afternoon, boredom got the better of me. I was absent-mindedly tossing a heavy rubber ball against the wall, completely underestimating the unpredictability of its bounce. In a fraction of a second, the ball careened off the skirting board and struck the table. I watched in slow-motion horror as the delicate vase wobbled, tumbled, and shattered into a dozen jagged pieces across the hardwood floor.
The sound of breaking porcelain was deafening. Almost immediately, Leo sprinted out of the kitchen, his eyes widening at the disastrous scene. Before I could even formulate a coherent sentence through my panicked sobs, the heavy footsteps of our mother echoed from the staircase. When she saw the ruined heirloom, her face turned pale. “Who did this?” she demanded, her voice trembling with anger. I was paralysed by a terrifying cocktail of guilt and fear, unable to open my mouth. To my absolute astonishment, Leo stepped forward. “I’m so sorry, Mum,” he lied, keeping his gaze firmly on the floor. “I wasn’t looking where I was going.”
The punishment was swift and severe. Leo was grounded for a month, meaning he would miss the regional football tournament he had been training relentlessly for. As my mother escorted him upstairs, a wave of cowardly relief washed over me. I had miraculously escaped the storm. For the remainder of the evening, I convinced myself that Leo was tough and could handle the penalty far better than I could. It was a comforting illusion that allowed me to sleep that night, but the sense of safety was painfully short-lived.
Over the next few days, the reality of my deception began to poison my everyday life. While I was technically free to hang out with my friends or watch television, my freedom felt incredibly hollow. I found myself constantly observing Leo. Despite missing out on his crucial training sessions, he didn’t utter a single word of complaint or shoot me resentful glances. He simply spent his afternoons quietly reading in his room, occasionally glancing out the window toward the local sports field. His silent acceptance of a punishment he hadn’t earned felt far worse than if he had screamed at me.
The turning point arrived on Friday evening, just hours before the tournament was due to begin. I was walking past Leo’s bedroom when I noticed him slowly packing away his polished football boots into the back of his wardrobe. The profound disappointment etched on his face was unbearable to witness. My overwhelming conscience finally shattered the cowardly wall I had built around myself. I suddenly realised that allowing someone I loved to sacrifice their happiness to protect me from the consequences of my own careless actions was a far greater crime than breaking a piece of pottery.
My heart pounded against my ribs as I marched downstairs and knocked on the door of my mother’s study. Stepping inside, I burst into tears and confessed everything, explaining how the ball had bounced and how Leo had selflessly covered for me. My mother was understandably furious about the initial lie, but as she listened, her anger softened into a heavy sigh. She appreciated my eventual honesty and immediately lifted Leo’s grounding, though I was given extra household chores for a month. More importantly, as I watched Leo rush out the door the next morning with his football kit, the crushing weight in my chest vanished entirely, leaving me with a profound understanding of what genuine responsibility meant.
1 Why did the narrator end up breaking the vase?
(A) She was deliberately ignoring her mother’s strict rules about the hallway.
(B) She misjudged how the object she was playing with would react.
(C) She tripped over the skirting board while throwing a heavy rubber ball.
(D) She was feeling bored and wanted to see if the vase would wobble.
2 How did the narrator react when her mother asked what had happened?
(A) She tried to explain the accident but couldn’t stop crying.
(B) She expected her brother to step forward and take the blame.
(C) She was too overwhelmed by negative emotions to speak.
(D) She was surprised by her brother’s sudden appearance in the hallway.
3 What does the word ‘It’ refer to in paragraph 3?
(A) the punishment her brother received
(B) the relief she felt after escaping trouble
(C) the rest of the evening spent in her room
(D) the belief that her brother was stronger than her
4 What can be inferred about Leo’s behaviour during his punishment?
(A) He resigned himself to the situation without holding a grudge.
(B) He was angry but chose to hide his true feelings from his sister.
(C) He was secretly hoping his sister would eventually confess.
(D) He preferred staying in his room to attending his football training.
5 What finally motivated the narrator to tell her mother the truth?
(A) She wanted to stop feeling so restricted in her own home.
(B) She saw her brother putting away his sports equipment.
(C) She realised her mother was going to find out about the lie anyway.
(D) She felt that breaking the vase wasn’t actually a serious crime.
6 What is the main message the writer conveys in the story?
(A) Telling a lie is acceptable as long as you eventually confess the truth.
(B) Siblings should always protect each other from strict parents.
(C) Taking responsibility for your actions is ultimately a freeing experience.
(D) Parents should be more forgiving when accidents happen at home.
Answer Key
1 B: The text states that the narrator was “completely underestimating the unpredictability of its bounce,” meaning she misjudged how the ball would react. Distractor C is a False Match; the text mentions the “skirting board” and the “rubber ball,” but she didn’t trip over the board.
2 C: The narrator says she was “paralysed by a terrifying cocktail of guilt and fear, unable to open my mouth.” Distractor A is a chronological trap; she was crying before her mother spoke, not during her attempt to answer the question.
3 D: The pronoun “It” refers back to the previous sentence, where she “convinced [herself] that Leo was tough and could handle the penalty far better than I could.” This rationalisation was the “comforting illusion.”
4 A: The text describes his “silent acceptance” and notes that he didn’t utter a word of complaint or “shoot me resentful glances,” implying he accepted his fate without holding it against her. Distractor D is the Opposite; he is described as “glancing out the window toward the local sports field,” showing he still wanted to be there.
5 B: The narrator decides to confess after she notices Leo “slowly packing away his polished football boots into the back of his wardrobe” and seeing the “profound disappointment” on his face. Distractor A is a False Match; she was technically “free to hang out,” but her freedom felt hollow emotionally, not restricted physically.
6 C: In the final paragraph, the narrator describes the “crushing weight in my chest” vanishing after confessing, leaving her with a “profound understanding of what genuine responsibility meant,” highlighting the emotional relief of owning up to one’s mistakes. Distractor B is an Over-Inference and contradicts the text’s conclusion that protecting oneself at the expense of a sibling is wrong.
Reading 3
You are going to read an extract from a short story about twins dealing with a difficult change in their relationship.
For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
Separate Paths
For as long as I can remember, my sister Chloe and I had been an inseparable unit. Being identical twins meant we were essentially treated as a single entity by everyone around us. We were constantly referred to collectively as ‘the girls’ rather than by our actual names. If one of us was invited to a party, the other was automatically expected to attend. We shared the same circle of friends, played on the same volleyball team, and even had an unspoken agreement to never buy the same clothes so we could double our wardrobe. It was a comfortable, highly predictable existence. However, looking back, I realise that this intense closeness might have been preventing us from figuring out who we truly were as individuals.
The illusion of our perfectly synchronised life was shattered on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. I had been looking for a laptop charger in Chloe’s bedroom when my eyes landed on a thick envelope peeking out from beneath her pillow. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have snooped, but the formal crest printed on the paper immediately caught my attention. It was an official acceptance letter from a prestigious university in Edinburgh – over four hundred miles away from our home in London. I stared at the paper in absolute disbelief. We had spent months discussing our joint application to the local college, meticulously planning how we would commute together every morning. That she could have applied somewhere else entirely, let alone been accepted, without breathing a word to me felt completely incomprehensible.
When Chloe returned home, I immediately confronted her, waving the crumpled letter in the air. The fleeting look of guilt that flashed across her face confirmed what I already knew. I demanded to know why she had deceived me, my voice trembling with a potent mixture of anger and deep sorrow. I felt utterly betrayed and abandoned, as if she were deliberately discarding our entire shared history. Chloe, defensively backing away, explained that she had been terrified of my reaction. She argued that if she had told me her plans earlier, I would have relentlessly tried to talk her out of it, which, in hindsight, was probably a fair assessment. She insisted she desperately needed to find out who she was when she wasn’t simply ‘one of the twins’.
For the next few days, a frosty silence descended upon the house. We moved around each other like strangers, the unspoken tension practically radiating from the walls. During that agonising period of isolation, I was forced to confront some uncomfortable truths. Without Chloe constantly by my side to echo my opinions or finish my sentences, I felt entirely lost. It suddenly dawned on me that my anger wasn’t just about her keeping a secret; it was deeply rooted in my own profound fear of being left behind. I had relied so heavily on our partnership that I had used it to mask my own insecurities about stepping into the adult world.
Eventually, the unbearable atmosphere broke when Chloe tentatively knocked on my door, offering a peace treaty in the form of hot chocolate. We sat on my bed, finally having the honest conversation we had avoided for months. I confessed my fears about navigating the world solo, while she reassured me that physical distance wouldn’t inevitably diminish our bond. We agreed that stepping out of our shared shadow was a necessary, albeit painful, part of growing up. By the time our mugs were empty, the initial resentment had faded. It would take time to adapt to this new reality, but I finally understood that separating our paths didn’t mean tearing our relationship apart; it simply meant allowing each other the space to truly flourish.
1 What does the writer suggest about her relationship with her sister in the first paragraph?
(A) Their intense closeness may have restricted their personal development.
(B) They felt intensely frustrated when people treated them as a single entity.
(C) They had a strict rule about sharing the same clothes to confuse people.
(D) They were pressured by their circle of friends to play on the same sports team.
2 How did the writer feel upon discovering the letter in Chloe’s bedroom?
(A) Ashamed because she had deliberately snooped through her sister’s private belongings.
(B) Astonished that her sister had kept such a significant decision hidden from her.
(C) Relieved that they would no longer have to commute to the local college together.
(D) Annoyed that the thick envelope had been hidden underneath the laptop charger.
3 What is implied about Chloe’s decision to keep her application a secret in the third paragraph?
(A) She intended to deliberately destroy the shared history she had with her sister.
(B) She was struggling with sudden feelings of anger and deep sorrow.
(C) She doubted whether she would actually be accepted into the prestigious university.
(D) She anticipated that the writer would actively discourage her from going.
4 What does the word ‘it‘ refer to in the fourth paragraph?
(A) her profound fear of being left behind
(B) the unspoken tension radiating from the walls
(C) the close partnership she had with Chloe
(D) the daunting reality of the adult world
5 During the days of silence, the writer realised that
(A) her furious reaction was actually hiding her own deep-seated self-doubt.
(B) she desperately needed Chloe to continue finishing her sentences for her.
(C) she was finally ready to step out and face the adult world completely alone.
(D) the unspoken tension in the house was radiating from the walls.
6 What is the main theme of the text?
(A) The importance of absolute honesty when planning your future university career.
(B) Accepting that people in close relationships require space to grow as individuals.
(C) The impossibility of maintaining a strong family bond with someone who moves away.
(D) Discovering how to forgive a family member who has betrayed your trust.
Answer Key
1 A: The writer reflects that their “intense closeness might have been preventing us from figuring out who we truly were as individuals.” Option B is an Opposite trap; the text says their existence was “comfortable” and “predictable,” not frustrating. Option C is a False Match; they agreed never to buy the same clothes. Option D is Unstated; the text mentions they played on the same team, but not that they were pressured into it.
2 B: The writer was in “absolute disbelief” that Chloe could have applied and been accepted “without breathing a word to me.” Option A is an Opposite trap; she states “Ordinarily, I wouldn’t have snooped,” meaning it wasn’t a deliberate invasion of privacy until she saw the crest. Option C contradicts the text, as she was upset they wouldn’t be commuting together. Option D is a False Match using exact words from the text in the wrong context.
3 D: Chloe explained she was “terrified of my reaction” and argued that the writer “would have relentlessly tried to talk her out of it.” Option A is a False Match; this is how the writer felt, not Chloe’s intention. Option B is also a False Match, attributing the writer’s emotions to Chloe. Option C is plausible in the real world but Unstated in the text.
4 C: The pronoun “it” relates back to the noun phrase “our partnership” in the same sentence: “I had relied so heavily on our partnership that I had used it to mask my own insecurities…”. Options A, B, and D appear in the paragraph but do not grammatically or logically fit the reference.
5 A: The writer realises her anger was “deeply rooted in my own profound fear” and that she used their partnership to “mask my own insecurities.” Option B is a Partial Truth; she missed Chloe doing this, but it wasn’t the core realisation about her anger. Option C is the Opposite; she was terrified of the adult world. Option D uses exact words from the text (“radiating from the walls”) but does not answer the specific question about what she realised internally.
6 B: The emotional arc of the story ends with the realisation that “stepping out of our shared shadow was a necessary… part of growing up” and that separating allowed them “the space to truly flourish.” Option A is too specific and misses the emotional core of the text. Option C is the Opposite; the text concludes that distance wouldn’t inevitably diminish their bond. Option D is a Partial Truth, but the focus of the resolution is on mutual growth and independence, not just forgiveness.