Reading 1: An extract from a novel – B2 English Reading Test

Reading Tests for B2

You are going to read an extract from a novel. For questions 1-6, choose the answer
(A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
‘Claire, it’s Ruth.’ Claire held back a sigh and walked into the kitchen to put the coffee
machine on. A phone call from her sister was never over quickly.
‘Ruth, darling. How are you?’ As she waited for her sister to start describing in detail
her latest disaster, Claire mulled over how much to reveal about her new business
assignment. Her family would have to be told something, of course. Not that they ever
came to visit, or called her home phone, or sent her letters. Still, it seemed only right
to tell them it meant she was moving out for twelve months. Tuning back into the
phone call, Claire realised she had missed some key information and tried to catch up
with what her sister was talking about.
‘So the doctor said it was probably lack of sleep. You know Sky is a bad sleeper and
her nightmares have been worse since she started Year Two.’ Claire worked out that
someone was unwell, but was unsure whether it was her sister or her six-year-old
niece.
Claire thought about her own schooling. Her parents had paid for the best, obviously,
although Claire often wondered whether that was to ensure their three children didn’t
affect their lifestyle, rather than to give their off spring a good start in life. T e school
had encouraged independence and character but had no time for tears and tantrums.
Claire had learned quickly to work hard and stay out of trouble. More than could be
said for Ruth. It had been a constant disappointment to her parents that, while their
first and third children both achieved academic success, Ruth only acquired a
reputation for bad behaviour.
Ruth’s next sentence sharply interrupted Claire’s thoughts.
‘The tests are the week after next. That’s why I’m calling. Is there any chance you
could come and look after Sky? It’s half-term and most of her friends are going skiing.
Of course we can’t afford that…’
Claire inhaled deeply and forced herself not to rise to the bait. Ruth was always poor
and begrudged Claire her success.
Claire accepted that looking after a child on your own probably limited your career
options, but look at the ‘Harry Potter’ author J. K. Rowling, it hadn’t held her back.
She was convinced Ruth could help herself if only she’d try harder. Claire was almost
too irritated by the thinly-veiled criticism to react to the request, but not quite.
‘Have Sky? How long for? When?’ Claire could hear panic in her voice and forced
herself to breathe in deeply. Once she was sure she was back in control of her
emotions she said in a slow voice, ‘I start a new work assignment on 1st March, and
I’ll … be on the road a lot. You know. Meeting clients.’
‘Dining out on someone else’s credit card.’ Ruth’s voice cut in.
‘There’s more to it than that,’ Claire responded quickly. Then, before Ruth could start
the age-old argument, Claire (line 33) consciously lowered her voice.
‘Tell me the day you need me to have Sky, I’ll check my diary.’
‘Well, it’s two days, actually.’ Ruth sounded embarrassed.
Thinking about minding a six-year-old for two days almost made Claire choke. She
gulped down her coffee and wondered if she could use the new assignment as an
excuse.
There was something in Ruth’s voice, though, that made her pause.
‘Can’t Mum take care of her? I thought Mum and Dad were the perfect grandparents?’
It seemed odd to Claire that two people who had no time for their own children could
go mad over someone else’s, even if they were their grandkids.
‘Er, Mum’s coming with me, to the hospital.’
Ruth’s words finally got through to Claire. ‘Just what tests are you having exactly?’
‘Weren’t you listening? You never listen to me.’

Claire almost smiled at the petulant tone in Ruth’s voice. For a moment they were
twelve and fourteen again.
1 When Claire realises who is phoning her, she
A expects to hear some good news.
B tries to hide her true feelings.
C hopes it will be a long conversation.
D knows exactly what she will say to Ruth.
2 Why doesn’t Claire know who is ill?
A Ruth didn’t make it clear who she was talking about.
B None of her other relatives had written to her about it.
C She was away on business when the illness began.
D She wasn’t paying attention when Ruth was speaking.
3 How does Claire feel about her school?
A She would have achieved more at a better school.
B Her parents never appreciated how successful she was there.
C Her sister was better suited to that school than she was.
D She may have been sent there for the wrong reasons.
4 What is Claire’s attitude to Ruth’s financial problems?
A She feels they are largely Ruth’s own fault.
B She wishes she could do more to help Ruth.
C She thinks Ruth could get any well-paid job she wanted.
D She feels guilty about having more money than Ruth.
5 What does ‘it’ on line 33 refer to?
A spending the f rm’s money
B the task Claire has been given
 C looking after Ruth’s daughter
D the reason Claire sounds stressed
6 What do we learn about Claire and her family?
A Her relationship with her sister has completely changed since their
childhood.
B She realises that her parents treated her very well when she was a child.
C She doesn’t understand why her parents are so close to their grandchildren.

D She accepts that her mother is more interested in Ruth than in her.
Reading 2: In defence of women’s boxing – B2 English Reading Test
Reading Tests for B2

You are going to read an article about a boxer. Six sentences have been removed from
the article.
Choose from the sentences A-G the one which fits each gap (1-6). There is one extra
sentence which you do not need to use.

In defence of women’s boxing

Lucy O’Connor thinks that women’s boxing is widely misunderstood
Women’s boxing is a new addition to the list of sports included at the Olympic Games.
But according to Lucy O’Connor, winner of various international competitions, it’s
still widely misunderstood – a situation that Lucy’s hoping to change. After
graduating, Lucy took up boxing on the advice of a sports coach, who thought it
would improve her general fitness. But Lucy soon set her sights on competitions and it
wasn’t long before she was boxing at the National Championships, which she
eventually went on to win.
As a result of her success, Lucy was accepted on to what the navy calls its ‘elite
sportsman’s programme’. (1)………… . Every day now starts with a run at 7 a.m.,
followed by a skill and technique session or a strength and conditioning circuit. Come
the afternoon, there are more aerobic workouts, before Lucy gets into the ring and
practices with other elite boxers.
As with all competitors, diet is a huge part of Lucy’s life. Since she first started
boxing, she’s had to shed twenty-eight kilos. Losing the last six, which took her into
the flyweight category, required great determination. (2)………… As she explains: ‘I
don’t go out to party anymore. Thankfully, I’m married to my boxing coach, so at
least I’ve got some sort of social life!’ Lucy’s husband boxed as a heavyweight
himself and he’s in her corner for all her domestic competitions.
Lucy’s mum works as a buyer at a big department store, and Lucy has been testing out
products for the store’s sports division. Whilst preparing for a recent international
championship, Lucy wore a new titanium-based sports clothing range designed to
improve circulation and aid recovery. (3)………… But how does her family react to
her taking part in competitions? ‘Mum tends to admire me boxing from afar, but Dad
just loves it!’
Lucy has clearly answered questions about safety concerns before and cities all the
protective gear boxers strap on before a fight such as hand bandages, head guards,
gum shields and much more, ‘Amateur boxing is not dangerous,’ she says definitively.
‘It’s so safety-orientated and the rules are so stringent it’s actually difficult to get hurt.
We approach it more as a skill and point-scoring exercise, rather than as a fight.
(4)…………’ Boxers win points by landing the white knuckle part of their gloves on
the opponent’s scoring area – essentially the upper body and head – cleanly and with
sufficient force. In five years of competitive boxing, Lucy’s suffered only a few
bruises and a broken thumb.
And in response to those who think it’s ‘inappropriate’ to see women boxing at the
Olympics, Lucy is quick to point out that women have been competing in martial arts
such as taekwondo and judo for years. (5)…………

Her biggest concern is that people confuse amateur boxing competitions with
professional fights, where the focus is more on aggression and hurting your
opponents. ‘Female amateur boxing is about showing skill, speed and stamina,’ she
says. (6)………… ‘I find it so satisfying to be changing people’s opinion.’
A All that hard work certainly paid off and the competition itself brought out the best
in Lucy.
B That’s because in order to reach that target, she had to totally rethink her lifestyle.
C Having access to this space-age training kit was certainly an advantage.
D If the sport was more in the public eye, then fewer people would make that
mistake.
E Nobody complained about women taking part in those events when it was
introduced.
F That’s why I’ve always regarded it as a thinking girl’s sport really.

G What this meant, in effect, was that she was able to train full-time.
Reading 3: I love my bike – B2 English Reading Test
Reading Tests for B2

You are going to read an article about cycling. For questions 1-10, choose from the
cyclists (A-D). The cyclists may be chosen more than once.
When talking about their bike, which cyclist
1 accepts the need to wear uncomfortable safety equipment?
2 advises people to make sure a new bike is comfortable to ride?
3 believes that false information was given by the seller?
4 disagrees with other people’s opinion of one of the bike’s features?
5 hopes not to get caught in bad weather on the bike?
6 feels that cycling is less frustrating than driving?
7 finds some cycle journeys easier than others?
8 feels that the bike matches the owner’s character?
9 was once the victim of bike crime?
10 was a professional cyclist for a short time?

I love my bike
Four young Dubliners talk about the joys of cycling in the city
A Erin
This old second-hand bike gets me from A to B all right because you don’t need
flashy sets of gears or anything like that in a city this size and it makes it less of a
target for thieves. But having said that, mine’s a very bright colour – it cheers me up,
especially when I have to cycle home in the pouring rain. I’ve always thought that the
bike was a good reflection of the real me actually, and I usually wear jeans when I’m
cycling. I might need to rethink that though because I’ve just started my own
company, and my outlook on life has changed a little. There may be times when I need
to turn up looking a bit more elegant! I’d say to anyone thinking of getting a bike,
make sure the saddle’s right before you part with your money. If you’re going to use it
a lot, you don’t want to get sore.
B Luke
I bought my bike from an Internet auction site and had to have it shipped from
Germany in pieces. I then paid to have it assembled here in Dublin – but it was worth
it. I use it every day and tend to wear everyday clothes and try and dodge the showers.
I cycle all over the city because it’s much quicker than walking and you don’t get
snarled up in the traffic, which can be a pain in a motor vehicle. At least on a bike you
can keep moving. The only tip I’d give to novice cyclists round here is keep a lookout
for drivers turning left, it’s easy for them to miss you because you can see what
they’re doing but they can’t necessarily see you. I worked briefly as a cycle courier –
delivering letters and stuff. It was fun, but I wouldn’t recommend making a career out
of it!
C Claire
My parents picked this bike up for me in New York. It’s a red and black cruiser with a
burger-shaped bell – some of my friends think that’s a bit uncool, but I don’t really go
along with that idea. I’ve got two helmets, a summer and a winter version – but I still
get too hot on really sunny days. Still, you can’t really do without one, can you? I
cycle down to college in no time at all, but the uphill trek home takes me around
thirty-five minutes. I only take the bus if it’s wet. It’s quicker, but on the bike I can
make my own mind up about when I travel. I cycle in high heels, which you might
think would be tricky, but is actually easier than walking any distance in them. But I
wouldn’t really recommend them to other cyclists.
D Kieran

My bike’s an early 1980s racer and I bought it off an old man who sells junk out of his
garage. He reckoned it had once belonged to a professional cycling champion, but I
think he was making it up. I was looking for old cameras, but when I saw it I couldn’t
resist it. It did get stolen on one occasion, but then later that week I saw someone
riding it up my street. I grabbed him and gave him his taxi fare home so that I could
take it back. My advice to cyclists would be to wear fluorescent armbands, especially
at night or in poor weather conditions. They’re less uncomfortable than the waistcoats
or jackets in the same material. I’ve just invested in special raingear actually, but I
don’t find it very comfortable, to be honest, because as soon as the sun comes out, you
feel overdressed.