Reading comprehension exercises

Advanced EFL / ESL
Comprehension, grammar and vocabulary: exercise and classroom activity index, listed by type of exercise or activity or grammar point.

A thematic index of exercises and classroom activities for use with advanced English articles on Linguapress.com - median level C1 .

Linguapress Advanced reading texts come with exercises and activities designed to prepare students for the Cambridge Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) and Proficiency (CPE) exams, and other advanced English tests (baccalaureates, PTE Academic, ELSA and others). This index is not exhaustive, and Linguapress reading texts are accompanied by up to five exerciss or activities, so may well feature in two or more of the sections below.

Interactive worksheets / exercises. To save a completed worksheet that has been filled in on a computer or phone, use the print or print to file option of your browser after the answers have been written, and print or save the pages required – or else take (and save) a screenshot.

► To explore different classroom comprehension activities, see Reading comprehension techniques for EFL / ESL

Texts accompanied by general comprehension exercises

General comprehension exercises, based on the text.
For cloze (gap-fill) exercises , jump to ► Words and vocabulary exercises below

• A Few Good Reasons with audio - Interactive A short story with general comprehension exercises
• All you need is Love with audio - 22 written or oral comprehension questions on this article
• Britain - at any cost ? 10 oral or written comprehension questions about the article
• America's drive-in movie theaters. True/False questions - justify your answers
• The Bird Man of the Isles - True/False questions
• Bodie - where the west was wildest - Interactive right or wrong exercise.
• Deserts of America - with audio True/False questions
• Drug addiction: Days in the Death. True/False questions
• Mardi Gras in New Orleans Ten general comprehension questions to answer
• Mississippi Music : Decide if statements are right (R) or wrong (W). Rewrite any wrong statements, correcting them as necessary.
• Rosa Parks - Interactive - General comprehension questions about the article.
• Short story - Lucky Jim - General comprehension questions
  
• Tea and the British :t-style: italic;"> Interactive Text comparison : Find and correct the ten factual mistakes in a summary of the article
• Tolkien & the Hobbit Interactive Read through the article, then complete sentences using relevant information

Comprehension - listening

• Short story - Blue Gum Tree - with audio Two listening comprehension exercises are suggested.
• Crime time basketball - Have students remember what was written in the article.
• Steaming on the Mississippi. with audio Memory exercise - Read or play the text, stopping at the pause marks. Students suggest what follows.
• Thinking it over with baby. with audio Find the differences between the written text and the recorded version, and pick out those that change the meaning.

Comprehension : sequencing events

• Jewel - the voice from Alaska - Read the article then put list of events into chronological order.
• Route 66 - Highway 66 revisited : Read the article, then put these events in the right order.

Comprehension - careful reading for information

• The Queen who almost wsn't - with audio Complete sentences using information from the text, and providing the number of words indicated
• Nevada and its Extraterrestrials Find the 20 cases where the information in the resumé of the article does not correctly reflect what was written in the original. Covers vocabulary and factual information.
• Deserts of America. with audio Parallel texts : pick out differences in expression either between the audio version of this text and the written version, or between the written version and a second version given below.
• Pubs and their signs Read the article and write down five things that you have learned about British pubs.
• Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night : Interactive Text correction (correctable onscreen): Correct 20 mistakes of grammar and vocabulary
• Smugglers Interactive Text correction (correctable onscreen): Correct the mistakes in this badly copied extract from the article.
• Tea and the British : with audio Text comparison : Find the ten factual mistakes in this summary of the article

Reusing information : Creative or descriptive writing

• The American way of eating. with audio Interactive Reuse information from the article, starting with the prompts given.
• Awaiting the big one - Imagine that you are a journalist in 1906 in San Francisco, a short time after the earthquake. Describe the scene that you see
• California's Water Wars: Produce projects for authentic documents (in English) for distribution to the public
• College sport USA. Write a letter reusing certain elements of vocabulary from the article.
• The Bird Man of the Isles : Write a 400-word article about Graham Ross using the interview as your raw material.
• The Story of the blues - with audio Write sentences to link the following words in the order given
• Leonard cohen Interview : write an article about Cohen, using the interview as your source.
• London's Notting Hill Carnival - Describe a day at the carnival, using the words given
  
• Route 66 - Highway 66 revisited : Letter writing, based on information in the article
• Short story - Blue Gum Tree with audio Retell the story as a local newspaper article. Include certain terms.
• Short story - The Car : with audio Rewrite the story as told by Shafi in his own words.
• Short Story - Lucky Jim - Interactive The local coast guard chief had to write a report explaining the events that took place. Complete the sentences of the report using the prompts suggested..
• Tolkien & the Hobbit: letter writing, based on information in the article. An exchange of letters between Tolkien and Edith.

2. Texts accompanied by free expression - writing / speaking - activities

See also creative writing exercises above.

Rephrasing

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• College sport USA. - Rephrase a complex sentence, using the framework given
• Los Angeles - city on the brink - with audio - Interactive rephrasing exercise, with prompts.
• Save the Everglades - Interactive rephrasing exercise - passive to active.
• The King, the Monarchy and their future Interactive rephrasing exercise, with prompts .
• Thanksgiving with audio - Interactive Rephrase sentences, starting with the prompt given:

Question forming:

• America's Amish - Imagine an interview with Johan, using the question words indicated
• Crime time basketball - Rearrange the words to make questions that relate to the article
• For Elise - a short story - with audio An investigative journalist from New York came to interview Coke Bucknil about the story of Elise Toussaint. Here are the answers to his questions; what were the questions?
• Hillary Clinton - the early years . Form questions from the answers given.
• Orson Welles : Fictitious interview with Orson Welles: what were your questions ?
• Short story - Blue Gum Tree : with audio Police interview. Here are the answers, what were the questions ?
• Short Story - Lucky Jim : Interactive Here are the answers, what were the questions ?
  
• Short story - The Car : with audio Interactive Police interview. Here are the answers, what were the questions ?
• Steaming on the Mississippi. with audio Interactive Make up questions to which this article provides the answers, using the prompt words given
• Taylor Swift - the sensation of a generation with audio Imagine ten questions to ask Taylor Swift, and the answers that she might give.
• Thanksgiving. with audio Interactive Form questions starting with specific question words, to which the article provides the answer
• Thinking it over with baby. with audio Interactive Make up questions using the words provided, then answer them

Sentence building

• The American way of eating with audio Interactive Using info from the article, write sentences beginning.
• The Mormons - Make up one correctly structured sentence from each of the groups of words below.
• Tolkien & the Hobbit: Interactive Complete sentences using information from the text.

Characterising

• Short story - A suitable job - Interactive Write a short sentence (at least ten words) to characterise each of these characters mentioned in the story .

• Rodeo - two exercises to explore the question of style

Text contraction / summarizing

• America's Bald Eagles - reduce each paragraph of this article to no more than 20 words,
• America's teenage courts - Reduce the article to four sentences of about 30 words each
• The Bird Man of the Isles - Write a 400-word article based on this interview.
  
• College sport USA - Reduce this article to about half its length.
• Hillary Clinton - the early years Contract the article to about half its length.
• Just who are the English? Write a 200 word summary of this article.,
• Los Angeles - city on the brink - with audio - Interactive text contraction exercise, with prompts

Role play activities, oral expression:

• Amerca's Teen courts - Conduct sessions of the teen court in class, using the method indicated
• Amerca's Deserts - . with audio A citizens' meeting is held as the climate gets drier and drier.
• The Bird Man of the Isles : Pair work : recreate the interview, using the original questions.
• Ellis Island - with audio Structured role play, with roles and theme
• The electric car revolution Free expression / discussion :discuss the future of electric cars..
• GM crops - Frankenstein foods ? Role-play exercise - 5 roles
• NEW Los Angeles - city on the brink - with audio - Role-play exercise - 2 - 4 roles
• Save the Everglades - Structured role play exercise , with roles and theme
• A Town called Sturgis - Imagine a radio sketch based on the article

3. Grammar points - texts focusing on specific grammar points:

Article use

• Pubs and their signs Interactive Complete an extract from the text, adding articles where necessary.
• Thanksgiving. with audio Interactive Choose the correct article from the multiple choice dropdown lists
• Skyscrapers . Interactive Put in the definite articles in an extract from the text, but only when they are needed.
• Fox-Talbot and the origins of photography : cloze exercise. Add articles when and only when they are needed.
  

Nouns and adjectives

• Skiing in the wind : explain the meaning of the many compound nouns used in the article.
• California's Water Wars - Memory and logic - complete an extract from the text, using the qualifiers (adjectives, etc.) listed.
• College sport USA - Interactive Slide or copy the missing nouns and andjectives into an extract from the text

Prepositions

• Nevada and its Extraterrestrials Interactive Replace all the missing prepositions and adverbs in this extract from the article .
• The story of Ellis Island with audio Complete these sentences with the appropriate prepositions
• America's Amish - Interactive Replace all the missing prepositions in this extract from the article.
• Save the Everglades - Replace all the missing prepositions in this extract from the article.
• Smugglers Interactive Replace all the missing prepositions in this extract from the article .

Verbs : participles, tenses, voice

• Martin Luther King - with audio Interactive Blank-fill (cloze) exercise: replace the verbs and participles , choosing the correct form.
• America's teenage courts - Interactive Blank-fill : put the verbs into the correct form
• From Magna Carta to American democracy - Interactive Blank-fill : Multiple choice cloze verb form exercise, past tenses and other forms.
• Just who are the English? Interactive blank-fill : Multiple choice cloze verb form exercise.
• Rodeo, the sport of the West - Interactive blank-fill exercise: present and past participles , words in -ing and -ed.
• Save the Everglades - Interactive rephrasing exercise passive to active.
• Skiing in the wind : Interactive rephrasing exercise active to passive , using the prompts indicated.
• The Story of the jet plane - with audio Interactive Replace all the missing -ing and -ed endings in this extract.
  

Verbs : modals and auxiliaries

• Henry Ford with audio Interactive Blank-fill - Replace missing modal verbs or auxiliaries in extracts from the article
• John Lennon Interactive Blank-fill - Replace missing modal verbs or auxiliaries in these extracts from the article

Verbs : Dependent and consecutive verbs - gerund or infinitive

• Henry Ford with audio Interactive Blank-fill - Put the verb into the correct form

Prepositional and phrasal verbs

• Rodeo : Have students pick out and explain the phrasal/prepositional verbs used.
• Woody Guthrie - Match the prepositional verbs listed with their meanings.

Relative pronouns and adjectives

• All you need is love with audio - Interactive Replace the missing relatives (that, which, who, whom,) or nominal relatives ( what, how) in this extract
• Log cabins and the White House - Multiple choice cloze exercise on relative pronouns and adjectives. .
• The Mormons - Interactive Replace the missing relative pronoun in these sentences: (which, what or whose?)

Time clauses:

• The story of Ellis Island - with audio match phrases and add a time clause.

• Britain at any cost ? : Discover the different ways in which negation is expressed in this article
• Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night : Interactive cloze / gap-fill exercise featuring negative structures

Punctuation

• Short story - The Car : with audio Interactive Replace all the missing punctuation in this extract from the story.
• Woody Guthrie - Replace all the missing punctuation in this extract from the article .

4. Texts with words and vocabulary exercises

Vocabulary exercises : general – including cloze (gap-fill) exercises and word formation exercises

• America's Bald Eagles: What expressions, used in the original article, mean.
• Britain - at any cost ? Find the words in the text that mean.
  
• California's Water Wars - Memory and logic - complete an extract from the text, using the qualifiers (adjectives, etc.) listed.
• Crime time basketball - Interactive CAE/ CPE style open cloze exercise
• Charles Babbage Explain, in English, the following words and expressions
• The Decline of Wasp America - Interactive multiple choice vocabulary exercise and synonym finding
  
• Gettysburg Interactive Two multiple choice cloze vocabulary exercises
  
• GM crops - Frankenstein foods Interactive Cloze exercis e . Complete an extract from the text. Some cases require the original expression, others require alternatives.
• Life in Umbridge - living in the country - Words and structures Complete sentences using appropriate words in the right structure.
• Mark Twain and the frogs of Calaveras County with audio Gap-fill exercise - words and parts of words
• Meet Robodog. Technical language : Explain the meaning of the following expressions:
• Mississippi Music - Missing words cloze exercise. Interactive - Slide the missing words into the correct gaps in the section about Elvis Presley
  
• Rosa Parks - Antonyms - Find the opposites of certain words that are used in the article.
• Shakespeare 400 years on - Interactive General text study exercises.
• Short story - the Car Interactive MCQ cloze exercise. Select the closest equivalent of the words and expressions used in the story:
• Taylor Swift - with audio Interactive MCQ cloze exercises.- General vocabulary development. Complete the start of the partly missing words .; and second exercise: vocabulary exercise. Select the correct meaning.
• The Queen who almost wsn't - Interactive with audio Word families - find nouns derived from root words
• Smugglers : Explain the italicized expressions in the article; then make up sentences reusing them
• The Yukon quest - Synonyms - find the expressions, used in the text, that could be rephrased using the following words.
  

Vocabulary - multiple choice exercises, mostly interactive cloze exercises

• The American way of eating with audio Interactive MCQ cloze exercise - (CAE style)
• Aeroponics - farming without fields - with audio Interactive MCQ cloze Choose the nearest equivalent of each of the following expressions:
• America's Drive-in movie theaters Interactive Interactive MCQ cloze exercise - choose missing words from a dropdown list
• Who killed Martin Luther King with audio MCQ . Select the alternatives that are closest in meaning.
• The electric car revolution Interactive MCQ cloze exercise. Expressions : select the bst alternatives from the drop-down lists.
• Mardi Gras in New Orleans Interactive MCQ cloze exercise. - vocaqbulary. Select the correct words from dropdown lists
• Los Angeles - city on the brink - with audio - Interactive multiple choice cloze vocabulary exercise
• Rosa Parks - MCQ . Select the best alternative for the following words or phrases that occur in the article
• Britain at any cost ? : Find the words in the,article which have the meaning of .
• Short story : Lucky Jim - Interactive MCQ cloze exercise . Select nearest equivalents suggested in the dropdown boxes.
• Short story - A suitable job - Interactive MCQ cloze exercise. . From the drop-down lists,choose the meaning that most closely corresponds to words or phrases.
• Skiing in the wind : Interactive MCQ cloze exercise. Options included in the actual text.
• The King, the Monarchy and their future Interactive MCQ cloze exercise . Select nearest equivalents suggested in the dropdown boxes.
• Who is Angelyne ? MCQ . Select the nearest equivalent to the following words as used in the article.
• Route 66 - Highway 66 revisited : MCQ Select the nearest equivalent for the following words and phrases

Vocabulary : words and meaning

• Agatha Christie - As Uses and meanings of the word as . .
• The electric car revolution Interactive Explain the meanings of these words and expressions.
• The story of the blues : with audio Explain the use of the following expressions.
• Robodog: Compound nouns and noun phrases in technical English. Explain the meanings of the examples listed.
  
• Stephen Hawking : Explain expressions in your own words:

Vocabulary : Synonyms and antonyms

• Britain's Chinese come out on top - Rephrasing - complete an extract from the article using alternative words and expressions
• From Magna Carta to American democracy - Interactive Synonyms and antonyms exercises
  
• The Yukon quest - Find the expressions, used in the text, that could be rephrased using the following words.
• Short story - the Car with audio Interactive MCQ . Select the best synonym from the dropdown list:

Word endings - word formation

• Aeroponics - farming without fields - with audio Interactive Add the missing word endings in this extract.
• Americans fat and thin: Interactive Add the necessary word endings, and words, to complete this extract
• America's bald eagles: Interactive Add the necessary word endings, and words, to complete this extract
• California's earthquake risk Interactive Replace the missing word-endings in two extracts from the article .
• Charles Darwin Interactive Add the necessary word endings to complete this extract
• Fox-Talbot and the origins of photography : word exploration, technical language - compound adjectives.
  
• From Magna Carta to American democracy - Interactive Add the missing word endings in this extract.
• Log cabins and the White House - Add the missing word endings in this extract.
• Stephen Hawking - Interactive online exercise (click) - Without referring back to the article, try to put in all the correct endings
• Wall street culture Interactive Replace the missing word endings.
• Woody Guthrie - Interactive Replace the missing word endings in this short extract from the article

Word beginnings - word formation

• Taylor Swift - with audio Interactive MCQ cloze exercises. Complete the start of the partly missing words

Word search

• America's teenage courts - Find words or expresions in the text which mean.
• Americans fat and thin. Here are some synonyms : find the original words

Word order

• Agatha Christie - Interactive Reorganise the words in the boxes to make up correctly structured sentences .
• Americans fat and thin. Rearrange words to make correctly formed questions, then answer the questions.
• Bodie - where the west was wildest - Interactive Reconstruct sentences putting the words given into the right order.

A thematic and task-based index of exercises and activities suggested for using advanced reading texts from the Linguapress archive with students in the classroom .
As well as allowing teachers to find a text in function of the activity or grammar point they wish to use in class, this index highlights the great wealth and diversity of ways to use written texts in the language class.
The exercises and activities listed in the index are already prepared and available for use with the articles indicated. However many of them can be easily adapted for use with other articles.

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