Simply English B1 Reading

​Simply English B1 Reading

In this part you have to look at very short texts, such as signs and messages, postcards, notes, emails, labels etc.

There are 7 questions in this quiz. Look at the text in each question. What does it say? Choose the correct answer.

Multiple Choice

Students who do not sign up before Friday lunchtime...

• will not be able to do afternoon activities next week.

• won’t be able to choose their afternoon activities next week.

• will have to work in the afternoons next week.

Multiple Choice

What should people at the restaurant do first?

• Find a table

• Go to the bar

• Pay for their food

Multiple Choice

• The group leader cannot go on the trip of Saturday.  

• The trip to London will take place on a different day.  

• Miriam will not be able to visit London at the weekend.

Multiple Choice

• You need a special type of ticket if you travel regularly. 

•  The Super Weekly Saver ticket can help all travellers to save money.  

• Cheaper tickets are available for people who travel often.

Multiple Choice

•  Tom should go to the restaurant without Jess. 

• Jess will meet Tom at the bar.  

• Jess can’t go to the restaurant. She will meet Tom at the bar.

Multiple Choice

 

• The water fitness classes are free to people who swim ten times in a month.

• The swimming pool is free to people who go to the Water Fitness Classes.  

• This month, you can go to Water Fitness Classes and use the swimming pool ten times without paying.

Multiple Choice

•  You can get your membership cards from the Private Rooms between 10am and 2pm. 

• Anyone can visit the private rooms from 10am to 2pm.  

•  Only members can visit the Private Rooms from 10am to 2pm.

In this part, you have to match five people to eight texts.

The people all want to attend a course.

Read the descriptions of eight courses.

Decide which course would be the most suitable for each person.

A - Form and Colour
This is year-long course is perfect for people who want to learn about how to use a camera and who want to take it up as a profession.  Students will learn how to use light and shade, colour and different shapes.  The course will also teach students to change their work using computer technology.  Tips will be given on how best to get started in the profession.

B - Practice makes Perfect
Learn about how to use computer software to make your work life easier.  This course is designed for people who use computers regularly as part of their career, but who feel they are unable to make the most of the technology.  Learn about new software for storing documents and photographs and keeping records.  This evening class runs for ten weeks from September to December.

C - Armchair Explorer
This is a series of daytime lectures by people who have lived and worked in wild places.  Each of the six talks will focus on a different continent.  Lecturers will show photographs of the animals and plants, and explain why they are only found in one area.  Lecturers will include Leo Holland, a scientist from the Antarctic project, and Milly Oliphant, who researches birds in the Amazon rainforest.  Tea and Biscuits provided.

D - Art Starter
Are you interested in a career in art?  If so, this full-time, eight-week course will be perfect for you.  Learn about different methods used by artists, including painting, drawing, photography and computer design.  Artists will create work for an exhibition which will be displayed in the Town Hall for one month in September.  Top businessmen and women from the design industry will be invited to attend the exhibition, so this could be a great start to your career!

E - Wild Design
Whether you want a career in art, or you just want to enjoy your hobby, this holiday course is for you.  Wild Design is a two-week summer course situated on the wild coast of South Wales.  We teach all kinds of art, including photography and painting, and the wild sea, beautiful flowers and great wildlife will definitely give you lots of creative ideas.  Even if you already have a good understanding of art, you are sure to learn something new from our team of professional tutors. 

F - Explore your Imagination
Do you want to show your friends a photograph of you beside the Egyptian pyramids or in the jungles of Borneo?  Well now you can tell your friends that you have travelled the world without actually leaving the country!  Join this evening class and learn how to use the latest technology and software to change photographs to a professional standard.  You will also learn how to make your own computer designs using the computer programmes used by professionals.

G - Technology for You
Do you feel as if everyone is using a computer except you? Join in this five-day course and learn the basics.  You’ll learn how to store your personal files, send emails and use simple programmes to write and print letters.  In the afternoons you will have the choice of either learning how to make Birthday Cards and other designs on a computer, or you can join our ‘Basic computers for Work’ class.

H - Wildlife Photographer
Travel to a different wild place every week and learn how to take photographs of animals, plants and scenery.  Our expert teachers will advise you how to take the best pictures.  This course will run for six weeks on Saturdays.  Students should already have a good understanding of photography and their own equipment.  The class is suitable for everyone, as there is very little walking involved.

Drag and Drop

Harriet is 71, and is interested in painting and drawing. She would like to go somewhere in the summer where she can learn new tips and paint attractive scenery. ​

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Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

E - Wild Design

A - Form and Colour

B - Practice makes Perfect

C - Armchair Explorer

D - Art Starter

F - Explore your Imagination

G - Technology for You

H - Wildlife Photographer

Drag and Drop

Belinda works for a large Art Company and she feels she needs to improve her computer skills. She already has a basic understanding of some common computer programmes, but she wants to learn how to organise her work and store information. ​

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Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

B - Practice makes Perfect

A - Form and Colour

C - Armchair Explorer

D - Art Starter

E - Wild Design

F - Explore your Imagination

G - Technology for You

H - Wildlife Photographer

Drag and Drop

Jenny is interested in a career in design, and wants to learn how to create art and change photographs using special computer programmes. She wants a course that will fit into her normal school day. ​

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Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

F - Explore your Imagination

A - Form and Colour

B - Practice makes Perfect

C - Armchair Explorer

D - Art Starter

E - Wild Design

G - Technology for You

H - Wildlife Photographer

Drag and Drop

George is unable to travel because he has difficulty walking, but he wants to learn more about the wildlife and scenery in different parts of the world.​

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Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

C - Armchair Explorer

A - Form and Colour

B - Practice makes Perfect

D - Art Starter

E - Wild Design

F - Explore your Imagination

G - Technology for You

H - Wildlife Photographer

Drag and Drop

Chris wants a change in career, so he’s looking for a full-time course in which he can learn everything there is to know about photography and how to use computers to change and sell his work.​

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Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

A - Form and Colour

B - Practice makes Perfect

C - Armchair Explorer

D - Art Starter

E - Wild Design

F - Explore your Imagination

G - Technology for You

H - Wildlife Photographer

In this part you need to read a long text and answer 5 multiple choice questions.

Different Colours can affect us in many different ways; that’s according to Verity Allen.  In her new series ‘Colour me Healthy’, Verity looks at the ways that colours can influence how hard we work and the choices we make.  They can even change our emotions and even influence how healthy we are. ‘Have you ever noticed how people always use the same colours for the same things?’ says Verity.  ‘Our toothpaste is always white or blue or maybe red.  It’s never green.  Why not?  For some reason we think that blue and white is clean, while we think of green products as being a bit disgusting.  It’s the same for businesses.  We respect a company which writes its name in blue or black, but we don’t respect one that uses pink or orange.  People who design new products can use these ideas to influence what we buy.’

During this four-part series, Verity studies eight different colours, two colours in each programme.  She meets people who work in all aspects of the colour industry, from people who design food packets, to people who name the colours of lipsticks.  Some of the people she meets clearly have very little scientific knowledge to support their ideas, such as the American ‘Colour Doctor’ who believes that serious diseases can be cured by the use of coloured lights.  However, she also interviews real scientists who are studying the effects of green and red lights on mice, with some surprising results. Overall, it’s an interesting show, and anyone who watches it will probably find out something new.  But because Verity is goes out of her way to be polite to everyone she meets on the series, it’s up to the viewers to make their own decisions about how much they should believe.

Multiple Choice

What is the writer doing in this text?

• giving information about how colours influence us

• reporting what happens in a new television series

• giving information about a television presenter

• giving his opinion of a recent television show

Multiple Choice

Which of the following shows the probable content of the four shows?

• Part 1 – Health; Part 2 – Products and Industry; Part 3 – Emotions; Part 4 – Decisions

• Part 1 – Blue and Black; Part 2 – Red and Orange; Part 3 – White and Grey; Part 4 – Green and Yellow

• Part 1 – Meeting Designers; Part 2 – Meeting People who Name Colours; Part 3 – Meeting Doctors; Part 4 – Meeting Scientists

• Part 1 – Cleaning Products; Part 2 – Make-up; Part 3 – Clothes; Part 4 – Food

Multiple Choice

According to Verity, why is a knowledge of colour important?

•  It can help you to choose the best products.

• It can give you new ideas.

• It can help you to change people’s minds.

• It can help you to sell products.

Multiple Choice

Who does the writer respect least?

• Verity Allen  

• The people who name lipsticks

• The ‘Colour Doctor’

• The scientists who work with mice

Multiple Choice

Which of the following would make a good title for the text?

• Enjoy it, but don’t believe everything.

• Another great show from Verity Allen! Five Stars!

• Don’t miss this if you work in Business!  

• Watch this programme! It will make you healthy!

In this part five sentences have been removed from the text below. Choose from the sentences A-G the one which fits each gap.

There are three extra sentences which you do not need to use.

Multiple Choice

Janet Morris was looking for a flat to buy in London. When she saw a top floor flat in Hampstead, she knew this was the one she wanted. ______ What she really liked was the flat roof just outside the large glass windows. She thought that she could turn it into a garden.

• But it was possible to see into other flats from there.

• Janet doesn’t mind the lack of view.

• The view from the windows of the flat was incredible.

• Garden plants could be planted directly into them

• The flat itself didn’t attract her attention

Multiple Choice

She bought the flat and contacted a garden designer, Terry Moore. But as soon as Terry saw the roof, he knew there was a problem. ______ It certainly wasn’t strong enough to support the weight of soil and plants. They are really heavy, especially when they become wet.

• It wasn’t strong enough even for one person to walk there.

• The view from the windows of the flat was incredible.

• These could then be covered with wood to make the garden more attractive.

• Garden plants could be planted directly into them

• Janet doesn’t mind the lack of view.

Multiple Choice

But Terry did not give up. He contacted an engineer for advice. The engineer said that it was possible to make the roof stronger. To do this, they would need to lay many long pieces of metal across the roof.  ______ It would not be cheap. But Janet didn’t mind paying for it. After all, the roof garden was the reason she bought the flat.

• It wasn’t strong enough even for one person to walk there.

• The view from the windows of the flat was incredible.

• These could then be covered with wood to make the garden more attractive.

• Garden plants could be planted directly into them

• Janet doesn’t mind the lack of view.

Multiple Select

Another problem was the view from the roof. Janet hoped to enjoy the views of London from her new garden. ______ People like their homes to be private. They don’t want strangers looking through their windows! Janet could only get permission to build her roof garden if there were no views from it. So pots were fixed around the edge of the flat roof and tall bushes were planted inside. With these in place it was impossible to see into other people’s homes. That solution satisfied the town planners. ______ She says that her garden is cosy, and she can’t hear the noise of the city traffic.

•  But he was pretty sure he could solve the problem.

• Janet doesn’t mind the lack of view.

• The view from the windows of the flat was incredible.

• But it was possible to see into other flats from there.

• Garden plants could be planted directly into them

In this part Read the text and choose the correct word for each space.

Drag and Drop

Easter Island is a small triangle of rock situated in the Pacific Ocean. It’s about 2,000 miles ​

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the nearest city. Easter Island is ​

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for its statues.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

from

famous

for

on

by

important

interesting

fascinating

Drag and Drop

Hundreds of these huge, stone faces can be ​

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all over the island. Who made them? How ​

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they move these giant pieces of rock?

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

found

did

looked

located

situated

were

had

they

Drag and Drop

What happened ​

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the people who lived there? Studies show that people ​

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arrived on the island about 1600 years ago.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

to

first

with

about

for

just

already

once

Drag and Drop

They had a very advanced culture. They made many objects and they had their ​

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language. However, the number of people on the island grew and grew ​

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it reached about 10,000 people.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

own

until

only

clever

self

so

although

because

Drag and Drop

Soon there were too many people and there wasn’t ​

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food to eat. A terrible war started and ​

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of the statues were broken. When western explorers ​

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the island on Easter Day in 1722, the huge rock statues were the only sign that a great society had once lived there.

Drag these tiles and drop them in the correct blank above

enough

many

discovered

too

some

few

lot

invented

sailed

came

In this final part you must find the words to fill the gaps.

Fill in the Blank

Book Review "Join Me" by Helen Wheeler and Jackie Townsend

When I first heard that my two favourite authors were going to write a book together, I was really excited. Now I have read the book, and although I found it enjoyable to read, I think that ____ of the authors writes better on her own. The story was _____ a young woman who hires a man to become her boyfriend in order to get her dream job. She did this after finding out that the boss preferred to hire people ___ were married or in a relationship as he considered them ____ reliable. But to be honest, I found the situation rather unbelievable, as I don’t think bosses can select employees that way these days.  I ___'_ tell you what happened as that would spoil the story for you. I’ll just say that ____ I was reading the book, I predicted what would happen. However. my prediction was wrong, and the ending was a pleasant surprise.

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