English Reading Exercises for A2 – Disaster alert!

1. Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verbs below.

cause      do      express      get      have      make  provide      take part in      use

1) I often ______________ online games like Minecraft with friends.

2) Video games can ______________ many benefits, such as improving memory and creativity.

3) The scientists ______________ a lot of research on the topic and published the results yesterday.

4) I prefer to ______________ a smartphone rather than a computer.

5) Video games can sometimes ______________ a positive effect on teenagers.

6) The amount of violence in video games can ______________ concern for a lot of parents.

7) Newspapers sometimes claim that video games are bad for children, and parents often ______________ the same opinion.

8) Playing computer games in groups can help you to work together with other people and to ______________ decisions more quickly.

9) Do you think playing computer games helps you to ______________ better grades?

2. Read the text and answer the questions.

1) What does Jenny do? ______________

2) Which country did she visit? ______________

3) What kind of natural disaster did Jenny experience in 2011? ______________

STAYING SAFE

When you ask more people about the benefits of apps on their smartphone, they say they use them to play games, surf the net, keep in touch with people and organise social events. But Jenny Harlow, a scientist from London, has got an app that does something much more important: it warns her when she is in danger. The app is called Safety Tips and it gives users real-time earthquake and tsunami warnings. The Japan Tourist Agency had the idea for the app after the 2011 earthquake in Japan, when many foreign tourists in the country were confused about what was happening and what they should do. Jenny was on a business trip to Japan when the earthquake struck. ‘Although there are a lot of earthquakes in Japan, it was the first time I experienced one. All the warnings and information on the internet, radio and TV were in Japanese, and I couldn’t understand. It was really confusing and I didn’t know what to do.’ She had to rely on Japanese colleagues to help her.

The Safety Tips app sends an alert to users when a major earthquake happens, and also tells them if a tsunami is likely to arrive at the coast. The app gives lots of tips about what to do, where to go and how to stay safe, as well as a list of useful Japanese phrases such as ‘Is this an earthquake?’ and ‘Is it safe here?’ Importantly, all the information is in English, and there are plans to add other languages. The Japan Tourist Agency plans to advertise the app at airports and tourist information centres in Japan. In order to get the app, people visit a website and download it. ‘I’m coming to Japan again next year and I will definitely watch out for alerts from the app,’ says Jenny.

3. Read the Reading Strategy. Then read the text again and choose the correct answers.

1) According to the text, most people

a don’t value apps very highly.

b don’t know what the main benefits of apps are.

c use apps mainly for fun and social situations.

d think apps are useless in dangerous situations.

2) The main purpose of the Safety Tips app is to

a prevent an earthquake like the one in 2011.

b warn people who are visiting Japan about earthquakes.

c warn Japanese people about earthquakes.

d warn business people about earthquakes.

3) Jenny had problems

a because no one told her what to do after an earthquake.

b because she couldn’t understand the advice on Japanese media.

c because there was no information for tourists about what to do in an earthquake.

d because her Japanese colleagues didn’t know what to do.

4) At the moment, the app

a is available in a number of languages.

b is available at airports and tourist information centres.

c warns about earthquakes but not about tsunamis.

d is in English, with Japanese phrases.

Extra exercises

Strategy

When you have completed the task, read the text again carefully and make sure you have made the right choices about where to put the missing sentences.

1. Read the Strategy. Then read the text below. The two sentences in bold are both in the wrong place. Where should they be?

Extract from Gulliver’s Travels

When I left college, I continued studies and became a doctor. I was born in Nottinghamshire and was the third of five sons. father was not a rich man, but he was able to send me to Cambridge University, where I studied for three years. But I always wanted to travel, and so I made several voyages as a ship’s doctor. When I married wife Mary, however, I planned to stay at home for a while. I decided to go to sea again, and this time I joined a ship sailing to the islands in the South Pacific Ocean . But after a few years I discovered I was not earning enough money from patients. We started our journey from Bristol on May 4th, 1699.

2. Read the text below. Match sentences A-H with gaps 1-7. There is one extra sentence.

Extract from Gulliver’s Travels

We sailed across the Atlantic, round the coast of Africa and into the Indian Ocean. But before we could reach the Pacific, a violent storm hit us and drove us to the north-west of Tasmania. 1) _______ Some of the sailors and I managed to get a boat into the water, and we rowed away to look for land. But when we were too tired to row any more, a great wave hit our small boat, and we all feel into the sea. 2) _______

The wind and waves pushed me along as I struggled to keep head above water. 3) _______ Luckily, just then feet touched the ground. I walked out of the sea and on to a beach, where there was no sign of any people or houses. I was so exhausted that I lay down and went to sleep.

When I woke up next morning, and tried to get up, I could not move. I was lying on back and whole body, arms and legs were strongly fastened to the ground. 4) _______ The sun began to grow hot, and I was very uncomfortable. Soon I felt something alive moving along leg and up body to face, and when I looked down, I saw a very small human being, only fifteen centimetres tall. He had a bow and arrow in his hands, and there were forty more of these little men following him. 5) _______ They all jumped back, very frightened, and some hurt themselves by falling off body. Meanwhile, I was struggling to unfasten self, but just as I managed to pull left arm free of the ropes, I felt a hundred arrows land on free hand, and more arrows on face and body. This was very painful, and made me cry aloud. I lay quietly, to see what would happen next.

6) _______ An official climbed up there so speak to me. Although I could not understand his language, I understood that they would be friendly towards me – if I did not try to harm them. By now I was extremely hungry, so I used sign language to beg the official for food. He seemed to understand me, because immediately ladders were put against sides and little men climbed up with baskets of food and drink. 7) _______ In just one mouthful I ate three of their meat dishes and three of their loaves of bread.

a I do not know what happened to companions, but I suppose they were all drowned.

b When they saw I was no longer struggling, they quickly built a platform next to head.

c I became very tired and soon felt I could not swim any more.

d Even hair, which was long and thick, was tied to the ground.

e I was so surprised that I gave a great shout.

f The sky was a cloudless blue and the sea was very calm.

g They were surprised at how much I could eat and drink.

h The wind drove our ship on to a rock, which broke the ship in half.