How to use these reading activities
Read each text once for the main idea. Read the questions, then look again for the relevant detail. Write your answer and a few words of evidence before checking the explanations.
You can open the printable worksheet and keep the separate answer sheet closed until you finish. There is no pass mark for this lesson. Use your mistakes to choose what to practise next.
If you need an introduction to the level, start with our ESOL Entry 3 guide.
Text 1: compare two everyday options
These are fictional course descriptions for this exercise.
Course A: photography walks
Explore local streets with a tutor and practise taking photographs outdoors. Sessions run on Saturdays from 10 am to midday for four weeks. Bring a camera or a phone with a camera. The course costs £24. You do not need previous experience. Most of each session takes place outside, so bring a coat. There is no indoor alternative in wet weather.
Course B: edit your photographs
Learn to crop photographs, improve brightness and organise picture folders. Sessions run on Wednesdays from 6 pm to 8 pm for four weeks. The course costs £24, and classroom computers are provided. Bring five digital photographs on a USB drive. This course is suitable for people who can already use a mouse and open files. All sessions take place indoors.
Questions: compare the whole requirement
- 1. Which course is for someone who wants to learn to change photographs on a computer?
- 2. Leila works every Saturday morning and can attend on Wednesday evenings. Which course fits her timetable?
- 3. Does Course A promise an indoor lesson when it rains?
- 4. Ben has never used a computer. Is the information enough to recommend Course B to him without checking anything else? Explain.
Do not choose a course only because the price matches your budget. Check the time, equipment and starting skills too.
Text 2: follow instructions with conditions
Borrowing a community projector
The fictional Brook Lane Centre lends a projector to registered community groups. To request it, complete the booking form at least seven days before your event. Write the event date, collection time and the name of the person collecting it. Sending the form does not confirm your booking. Wait for a confirmation email before making plans that depend on the equipment.
Collect the projector between 9 am and 4 pm on a weekday. Bring the confirmation email and the collecting person's identification. If a different person needs to collect it, contact reception before collection so that staff can update the booking.
Return the projector by midday on the next working day after the event. If your event is on Friday, return it by midday on Monday, unless Monday is a bank holiday. In that case, reception will confirm a different return date in writing.
Questions: notice before, if and unless
- 5. What is the main purpose of the text: to advertise a projector for sale, or to explain how groups can borrow one?
- 6. Does sending the form mean that the projector is booked?
- 7. What should a group do if the collecting person changes?
- 8. An event takes place on Friday and Monday is not a bank holiday. When must the projector be returned?
Text 3: understand a short opinion
A different kind of book club
I nearly stopped going to our book club because I could not finish a long novel every month. I work evenings, and I often arrived feeling embarrassed about the chapters I had missed. Last month, the organiser suggested that we try short stories instead.
The change has helped me take part. I can read a complete story on the bus and arrive with something to discuss. However, I miss following the same characters for several weeks. A short story sometimes ends just when I want to know more.
I would like the club to keep the short stories for most meetings and choose a longer book occasionally. That would give people with less reading time a way to join in, without losing everything I enjoyed about the old club.
Questions: separate facts from opinions
- 9. Why did the writer nearly leave the club?
- 10. Is the writer completely against reading long books? Give evidence.
- 11. In this text, does “occasionally” mean at every meeting or from time to time?
- 12. Which description fits best: the writer wants a mixture of reading choices, or the writer wants to stop the club?
Answers and the words that support them
Text 1 answers
- 1. Course B. It teaches cropping, brightness and organising picture folders. Course A teaches taking photographs outdoors.
- 2. Course B. Its Wednesday evening sessions match Leila's availability. Course A conflicts with her Saturday work.
- 3. No. The final sentence says there is no indoor alternative in wet weather. Do not assume that every outdoor course moves inside.
- 4. No. Course B expects learners to use a mouse and open files already. Ben should ask about support or a more suitable starting course. Having computers provided does not remove that starting requirement.
Text 2 answers
- 5. To explain how groups can borrow a projector. The text gives booking, collection and return instructions; it does not offer one for sale.
- 6. No. The group must wait for a confirmation email. Submitting a request and receiving confirmation are different steps.
- 7. Contact reception before collection. Staff need to update the booking. Bringing a different person's identification alone is not the instruction given.
- 8. By midday on Monday. That is the stated Friday-event rule when Monday is not a bank holiday. The event is not due back on Saturday, and 4 pm is a collection deadline, not this return deadline.
Text 3 answers
- 9. The writer could not finish a long novel each month. Evening work and missed chapters explain the problem. The text does not say the writer disliked the other members.
- 10. No. The writer misses following characters and suggests choosing a longer book sometimes. This is a mixed opinion, not a complete rejection.
- 11. From time to time. The writer contrasts short stories for most meetings with a longer book occasionally.
- 12. A mixture of reading choices. The final paragraph proposes keeping short stories and adding a longer book sometimes. The writer wants the club to continue in a more manageable form.
Your wording may differ. Check whether it expresses the same meaning and is supported by the text.
Review the skill behind each mistake
| If you missed… | Check this skill | Try this next |
|---|---|---|
| Questions 1–2 | Comparing details across texts | Mark the time, purpose and requirements in both descriptions. |
| Questions 3–4 | Recognising a restriction | Circle words such as no, already and suitable. |
| Questions 6–8 | Following sequence and conditions | Separate request, confirmation, collection and return. |
| Questions 9–12 | Understanding reasons and viewpoint | Find the writer's problem, benefit, reservation and suggestion. |
For shorter activities, use our ESOL reading practice with notices and messages. If reading is comfortable but you want conversation practice, try Entry 1 speaking questions and adapt the answers to your own experience.
To practise noticing changed information in speech, use our appointment listening recordings. Listen before reading the transcript, then compare the old and final details.
Find official Entry 3 reading papers
Ask your tutor which awarding organisation provides your qualification. Then use that organisation's current reading materials, instructions and assessment guidance. Formats and requirements can differ.
Our guide to ESOL assessment practice explains how original exercises and official samples serve different purposes. This lesson practises selected reading skills; it does not cover every assessment criterion or certify readiness for an exam.
Why can an answer be wrong when one detail matches?
A matching word is not enough. An option may use the correct day but the wrong time, or mention equipment while missing a condition. Read the complete requirement and check your answer against it.
