World Book Day – the test teen reads – B2 English Reading Test

Reading Tests for B2

You are going to read an article about a list of books for teenage readers. For questions

1-6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

World Book Day – the test teen reads

by Genny Haslett, 24, English literature teacher at Bathampton Secondary School

It is often suggested that teachers and librarians aren’t pushing secondary school
readers towards titles that challenge them enough, and so the organisers of World
Book Day have announced a list which might provide some inspiration for anyone
who’s stuck for ideas. This list of popular books for young adults, voted for by 10,000
people across the UK, features a top 10 to ‘shape and inspire’ teenagers, and handle
some of the challenges of adolescence.

All but one of the books have already been made into films, demonstrating that when
a book makes it to the big screen, it often then acquires more readers thanks to the
film’s success. Of course, this isn’t always the case, as with George Orwell’s 1984,
where the rather mediocre film does not compare so favourably with the book’s ability
to conjure up a dark vision of life in a police state.

James Bowen’s A Streetcat Named Bod, published in 2012, is one of the few relatively
contemporary books here. It’s also certainly for me the least predictable member of
the list, but its extended stay on the bestseller list earned it – and its author – a devoted
following. It is the touching story of Bob, the cat who helped a homeless man called
James get his life back on track. Bob sits on James’s shoulder and sleeps at his feet
while he plays the guitar on the street, and soon becomes the centre of attention. What
makes the story particularly powerful is that it is based on author James Bowen’s real
life.
Also on the list are J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books. In this case it’s actually the
whole series rather than one particular title that makes the shortlist. Perhaps the judges
struggled to agree which one book to pick. For me, the books are rather more pre-teen
than the rest of the books on the list, which are aimed at a more mature readership.

But Harry Potter is a special case: as Harry gets older in each successive book in the
series, the stories do become more complex and darker. In a way, readers themselves
grow up with Harry and his friends. Rowling asks some tough questions about
standing up to authority, challenging ‘normal’ views and many other subjects close to
teenage readers’ hearts. This should get rid of the idea that the whole series is just for
young kids. In actual fact, half of all Harry Potter readers are over the age of 35, but
that’s another story.

The list goes right back to the nineteenth century with Charlotte Bronte’s great
romance Jane Eyre, showing that some books never grow old, though the majority are
twentieth-century works such as Anne Frank’s heartbreaking wartime memoir The
Diary of a Young Girl, which even now I find hard to get through without shedding
tears. Personally, I would have swapped J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings for
one of the many classics that didn’t make the final selection, Lord of the Flies perhaps,
William Golding’s nightmare vision of schoolboys stuck on an island.

Of course there’ll always be some choices we don’t agree with, but that’s what I think
makes a list like this so fascinating. I’ve been using it with my class of 16-year-olds,
and I got them to evaluate it and make other suggestions for what to include or how it
could be changed. But what I hope can really make a lasting difference is if it
stimulates them to try out writers on the list, perhaps ones they haven’t come across
before, and be introduced to new styles of writing.

1 What criticism does the writer make in the first paragraph?

A World Book Day has been poorly organised.

B School librarians aren’t working hard enough.

 C Teenagers are reading books that are too easy.

D Teachers don’t encourage pupils to read enough.

2 What point is made about books which are made into films?

A The best books tend to be made into films.

B The film of a book makes more people read the book.

C Many people prefer to watch a film than read the book.

D It is useful to be able to compare the book and the film.

3 What does the writer suggest about A Streetcat Named Bob?

A She is surprised that it is on the list.

B The book did not sell as well as it deserved to.

C It is the most recently published book on the list.

D It is the only autobiography on the list.

4 How does the writer justify the presence of the Harry Potter books on the list?

A The books’ fame can help the list get more attention.
 B The later books in the series are more suitable for teenagers.

C Teenagers should read books that they will also enjoy as adults.

D It makes sense to have a whole series as well as individual books.

5 Which book does the writer feel shouldn’t be on the list?

A Jane Eyre

B The Diary of a Young Girl

C The Lord of the Rings

D Lord of the Flies

6 What does the writer intend to do?

A be more fully developed in future

B prompt pupils to read more widely

C enable pupils to write more effectively

D provide a useful topic for discussion in class

La Mercè Festival – B2 English Reading Test

Reading Tests for B2

You are going to read a magazine article written by a boy who went to a festival called

La Mercè in Spain. For questions 1-6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you

think fits best according to the text.

La Mercè Festival

by Adrian Jacobs

Last September, I attended the La Mercè festival in the city of Barcelona, Spain, with
my family. I’d never been to the city before and was looking forward to spending a
few days there. After checking in to our hotel, we wandered into the centre for our
first look around the city I’d heard so much about. With the festival already in full
swing, the footpaths were crowded, making it challenging to move with any speed
around the sights. It was nothing I hadn’t been warned about and we were in no rush. I
could barely take my eyes off the beautiful old buildings as we walked along. All that
fascinating history: I imagined all the stories the buildings would be able to tell if they
had a voice. Traffic buzzed round us, filling the air with sounds of beeping horns,
adding to the atmosphere.

The first event we attended was the building of ‘human towers’. Different teams
competed to create the tallest tower of people by standing on each others’ shoulders.
Then the youngest member of each group climbed up the outside to the very top. I
gazed in awe at the height of the towers. They made it look easy but what an
incredible amount of practice and teamwork the activity must need. Now and then, a
tower would collapse to the gasps of the onlookers. The teams had clearly prepared
for this eventuality, though, and caught each other easily. We stood and watched for
ages, transfixed.
Next was the parade of the ‘giants’, where huge brightly painted figures were carried
through the streets representing different neighbourhoods of the city. Kings and
queens dressed in historical costumes hovered over the crowds, spinning and dancing
in pairs to the tunes played on ancient instruments by bands of musicians. Children
stared in wonder, their faces lighting up when they spotted a favourite character – that
was a magical thing. I soon abandoned any attempt at filming the procession; it was
far better just to store the images away in my memory instead.

That evening we saw what, for me, was the highlight of our whole trip: the ‘fire run’.
Another parade, but this one was a procession of huge five-breathing beasts – again,
brightly painted – which were carried along the road, showering the spectators with
sparks from fireworks attached to them. Spectators are advised to cover up as
protection, but there’s no real danger. Even so, I decided to stand well back away from
it! It was an incredible sight and must have been great fun to participate in. The fire lit
up the spectators in the darkness and I recognised my own feelings of happiness on
their faces. I snapped away with my camera, but when I looked at my pictures the next
day, I’d just recorded a blur of movement.

Over the next couple of days we saw everything from a kite flying competition at the
beach to an aerobatic show, sampled local specialities in seaside cafés and sang and
(line 52) danced in the city’s numerous squares. All too soon it was the last night of
the festival. Together with thousands of other people, we stood ready to watch the
final event: the closing of the festival with a magnificent fireworks display. It was as
fantastic as all the other events had been and I knew that even if I never came back
again, I’d go home having made the most of the celebrations I’d so longed to see, and
having gained an insight into another culture.

1 How did Adrian feel when he saw the city of Barcelona for the first time?

A amazed at the number of visitors there

B excited by the interesting architecture

C annoyed by how noisy the city was

 D pleased about how easy it was to get around

2 What does Adrian say about the ‘human towers’ event in the second
paragraph?

A It made him feel nervous at certain moments.

B It continued for longer than he would have liked.

C It required a lot of skill on the part of the participants.

D It was not as impressive as he had expected it to be.

3 When Adrian saw the parade of giants in the third paragraph, he particularly
liked

A trying to capture the figures on video.

B seeing other people’s enjoyment of it.

C learning about the history of the activity.

D listening to the music which accompanied it.

4 During the ‘fire run’ in the fourth paragraph, Adrian

A thought it wise to keep at a distance from the parade.

 B wished he was able to take part in the procession.

C managed to take some atmospheric photos.

D saw someone he knew in the crowds.

5 What does sampled in line 52 mean?

A checked

B experimented

C observed

D tried

6 How did Adrian feel at the end of the festival?

A hopeful that he would return in the future

B regretful that the experience was over

C satisfied to have fulfilled an ambition

D happy to be heading home