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Reading Comprehension – Test 3

A2 Elementary ReadingEnglish

This A2 reading comprehension test has three original texts: a personal blog post, a group chat between friends and a short story. The 20 multiple-choice questions check gist, detail, simple inference and vocabulary in context. It suits elementary learners and teachers who need a ready-to-print reading test.

Questions
20
Time
30 min
PDF
4 pages
Answer key
Included
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Read each text carefully and choose the best answer (A, B, C or D) for each question. Choose your answers, then press “Check my answers”.

Part 1: A blog post

Read Hana's blog post and answer questions 1-7.

My First Weeks of Running

Hi everyone! Last month my doctor told me to do more exercise, so I decided to start running. I'm 34, and I haven't done any sport since school, so I was a bit nervous.

On Monday I went to the park near my house at 7 a.m. I wanted to run for twenty minutes, but after five minutes I was tired and my legs hurt. I walked home slowly and felt a little sad.

Then my neighbour Carlos gave me some good advice. "Don't run all the time," he said. "Run for one minute, then walk for two minutes. Do this again and again." I tried his idea on Wednesday and Friday, and it was much easier.

Now I go running three times a week. I'm not fast, but I feel healthier and I sleep better. Next month I want to run three kilometres without stopping. Wish me luck!

  1. What is the blog post mainly about?

  2. Why did Hana decide to start running?

  3. What happened when Hana went running on Monday?

  4. "I was a bit nervous." Here, "nervous" means:

  5. What was Carlos's advice?

  6. What does Hana want to do next month?

  7. How does Hana feel about running now?

Part 2: A group chat

Read the messages between three friends and answer questions 8-14.

Ben: Hi Sofia and Aisha! Are you free on Saturday? There's a new animated film at the cinema in town.

Sofia: Sounds great! What time does it start?

Ben: There are two shows: 2:30 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Tickets are 6 euros in the afternoon and 8 euros in the evening.

Aisha: I can't come in the afternoon because I have a piano lesson until 3. Is the evening OK for you two?

Sofia: Yes, fine. But I have to be home by 9, so I can't go for pizza after the film.

Ben: No problem. The film is about 100 minutes long. Shall we meet at the bus stop outside the school at 5:15?

Aisha: Perfect. Let's buy the tickets online so we get good seats. Ben, can you do it? We'll give you the money on Saturday.

Ben: OK, I'll book three seats tonight.

Sofia: Thanks, Ben! See you on Saturday!

  1. Why does Ben send the first message?

  2. Why can't Aisha go to the cinema in the afternoon?

  3. How much will each friend pay for a ticket?

  4. Where will the friends meet?

  5. At about what time will the film finish?

  6. Who is going to buy the tickets?

  7. "I'll book three seats tonight." Here, "book" means:

Part 3: A short story

Read the story and answer questions 15-20.

Lina's Tomatoes

When Lina was ten, her grandfather gave her a small part of his garden. "This is yours," he said. "You can grow anything you like."

Lina chose tomatoes because they were her favourite vegetable. She planted the seeds in April and watered them every evening after school. For weeks, nothing happened. Lina was disappointed. "Maybe I did something wrong," she told her grandfather.

"Be patient," he said with a smile. "Good things take time."

One morning in May, Lina saw tiny green leaves coming out of the ground. She ran inside to tell everyone. By July, the plants were taller than her, and they were full of red tomatoes.

Lina picked a big basket of them. Her grandfather made a delicious tomato soup, and they shared it with their neighbours. Lina felt very proud.

Now Lina is grown up, but every spring she still plants tomato seeds and remembers her grandfather's words.

  1. What is the story mainly about?

  2. When did Lina water her seeds?

  3. "Be patient," he said. Here, "be patient" means:

  4. What did Lina see one morning in May?

  5. What did they do with the tomatoes?

  6. What does the end of the story show?

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About this test

This A2 reading comprehension test has three original texts: a personal blog post, a group chat between friends and a short story. The 20 multiple-choice questions check gist, detail, simple inference and vocabulary in context. It suits elementary learners and teachers who need a ready-to-print reading test.

Topics covered

Reading comprehensionBlog postText messagesShort storyVocabulary in contextInferenceEveryday life

How to use this test

  1. Download the PDF and print it, or take the test online below.
  2. Answer every question without a dictionary or time pressure.
  3. Check your answers and note the topics you need to review.

Notes for teachers

Use this test as a practice or progress check after work on past simple and future plans at A2. Many distractors use words that appear in the text but answer a different question, so students must read the whole sentence. The time-calculation and 'what does the end show' questions train simple inference. As a follow-up, ask students to write their own short blog post or group chat planning a weekend activity.