A wonderful year – A2 English Reading Test

A wonderful year

Ben Jones talks about his year of travel before studying at university.

I always knew I wanted to spend a year travelling before university. I wanted to see the world, improve my skiing, make new friends from other countries and, more than anything, try lots of things I’ve never done before.

The first place I visited was France. I’ve always loved the French language and I wanted to study it. Then, while I was there, I became interested in French food. I took some cooking lessons at a farmhouse in the French countryside, and learned to make lots of lovely dishes.

Next, I visited Australia. My cousins live near the river in Sydney, so I had somewhere to stay. To begin with, we spent a lot of time sailing in their boat. But then I got a job in a hotel. It was great – the customers and staff were so friendly.

My last country was Japan, where I learned to become a skiing teacher. I planned to do a three-week course. But when I got there, I saw that I wasn’t actually that good, so I changed to a seven-week one. The course was amazing and afterwards I got a job with a skiing company.

The other teachers were very friendly and on our days off, we did activities like snowboarding. One weekend we even did winter camping. That was quite interesting, but it was cold, so I can’t say I slept well! Anyway, we’re all planning to meet up soon and I can’t wait.

1   What did Ben want to do during the year after he left school?

      A   try some different sports

      B   have some new experiences

      C   meet up with old friends

2   Why did Ben go to France?

      A   to do a French cooking course

      B   to see the French countryside

      C   to learn to speak French

3   Where did Ben live when he was in Australia?

      A   in the hotel where he worked

      B   with members of his family

      C   on a boat on the river

4   Why did Ben change his course in Japan?

      A   He heard about a better one.

      B   He knew he needed more practice.

      C   He wasn’t enjoying the first one.

5   What does Ben say about winter camping?

      A   It wasn’t pleasant at night.

      B   He would love to do it again soon.

      C   It was the most interesting thing he’s ever done.