READING 9 A2

Quick fried rice

You will need:
2 large spoonfuls of olive oil
1 small onion
1 carrot
1 cup of mushrooms
some green cabbage
2 cups cooked rice
1 egg
salt and pepper

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

I make this when I have extra rice left over from another meal. It's easy and delicious and you can use any
vegetables you have in your kitchen, but some people also use small pieces of fish or meat. If you want to do
this, cook the meat first.
First, heat 2 big spoonfuls of oil in a frying pan, until it's quite hot. The pan has to be big and not very deep so
everything cooks fast.
Next, cut all the vegetables into very small pieces with a large knife. Add them to the hot oil and cook them for a few
minutes, until they start to get soft.
Then mix in the cooked rice. Be careful that the cooker doesn't get too hot. Continue mixing, to make sure all the
rice is hot.
After that, take the pan off the cooker. Make a small hole in the middle of the rice using a spoon. Break the egg into
the hole and quickly mix it into the rice and vegetables.
When it's mixed, add salt and pepper. Your fried rice is ready to eat!

1 Put the words in the correct column. 3 Read the recipe again. Are the sentences
true or false?
add cooker cut eggs frying pan heat knife mix olive oil
onions rice spoon vegetables 1 The writer makes this dish when he has a
lot of rice in the cupboard. TRUE/FALSE
Food Things in the kitchen Cooking verbs 2 This recipe takes about 10 minutes to
frying pan make, from start to finish. TRUE/FALSE
eggs add
knife cut 3 You can only cook this dish with onions,
olive oil spoon
mix carrots and cabbage. TRUE/FALSE
onions
rice 4 You need to use a deep frying pan.
vegetables TRUE/FALSE
2 Read the recipe quickly. Put the sentences in the correct order. 5 The cooker must be very hot. TRUE/FALSE
4 Then add them to the hot oil and cook them for a few minutes. 6 All the rice should be hot. TRUE/FALSE
2 Cut all the vegetables into small pieces. 7 You need to cook the egg first before you
1 First, heat some oil in a frying pan. add it to the rice. TRUE/FALSE
6 When the rice is hot, take the pan off the heat and add the egg. 8 Add salt and pepper at the end.
7 Add salt and pepper. It’s ready! TRUE/FALSE
3 Quickly mix it into the rice and vegetables.
5 After that, mix in the cooked rice.

Skills Boost A2 READING 9 © Richmond 2014 Photocopiable


The Story of Goldie
Chapter 1
The shout came from the kitchen. Mother was near
the cooker looking very worried. She pointed at their
empty breakfast bowls on the table.
"My breakfast!" she said in a surprised voice.
"My bowl's empty, too!” shouted Father. "Where's my
breakfast?" He sounded a little angry.
"And mine's all gone- there's nothing left!" cried the
little boy, looking sadly at his empty bowl.
They were all very hungry because they had just
returned home after a long morning walk. Every day
Father and Robert made the beds so the bedrooms
were nice and tidy, while Mother made the breakfast.
After this, they always went for a walk, came back and
then had breakfast together. That was their routine and
they enjoyed it.
"This is horrible! I’m very upset," said Mother. Father
took her into the living room.
"This is strange," he said. "Maybe someone is still here?
Both of you stay here while I look upstairs."
1 Read the story quickly. Complete the sentence.
Goldie is a dog / girl / boy.
2 Read the story again. Put the sentences in the order they happened.
7 Father went upstairs and Mother and Robert waited in the living room.
5 Robert saw that his chair was broken.
9 5 empty 2
Goldie woke up.
8 They saw that the bed was a mess.
6 They went upstairs to tell father about the broken chair.
4 Mother couldn't find her cushions.
2 The family went for a morning walk.
1 Mother made breakfast.
Robert saw something in his bed.
3 When they came back, their breakfast wasn't there anymore.
READING 10 A2
Mother sat in her armchair.
"Oh!" she said. "Where are all my cushions? I can't sit
on a hard chair if I don't have my soft cushions. Did
you take them, Robert?"
"No, I didn’t,” he replied. “Are they on my chair? Oh
no!” he cried, seeing his chair. “Look! My beautiful
chair, it’s broken!”
"Dad!" shouted Robert. "Someone has broken my chair
and stolen Mum's cushions!" They ran upstairs and
found Father in the large bedroom. The bed was a
mess. All the covers were on the floor.
"But you and Robert made the beds before we went
out…" said Mother.
Father put his arm around her and Robert. "This
is really strange. Let's check if there's anything else
missing, before we call the police." He opened the door
to Robert's small bedroom. Mother sniffed the room.
"The air smells strange in here," she said. "A bit like a
wet animal."
"Something's in my bed!" shouted Robert. "Look! It's
still here!"
****
"Look! It's still here!" a voice shouted in her ears.
Goldie woke up and lay quiet under the blanket, but
she was ready to jump out of bed and run away.
"They think I'm an animal…how strange," she thought.
3 Match the words with their opposites.
1 upstairs 4 A happy
2 broken 5 B full
3 a mess 3 C tidy
4 upset 1 D downstairs
E fixed
Skills Boost A2 READING 10 © Richmond 2014 Photocopiable
 READING 11 A2

Making water
Some interesting new ways of making water in dry parts of the world.
A What can we do about the problem of water? Clean drinking water is a
basic need for all people, but not everyone can get it easily. In some dry
places, like deserts, it is expensive to transport water, difficult to store it,
and if a water system stops working, an engineer is needed to repair it
but sometimes the nearest engineer is miles away.

B Recently, engineers have found new and easier ways to get water in dry
places. It is simple - they have made machines that take water from the
air. There were already a few machines like this, but they didn't make
enough water for a whole village. The new designs are better because
they can make many more litres of water every day, they are cheap, and
they use much less energy.
C One design, the Warka Water Tower, uses the difference between day
and night-time temperatures to take water from the cooling air. It doesn’t
need special parts to build, it doesn’t use expensive technology, and
it doesn’t need complicated repairs. The Warka is made from pieces
of wood, usually bamboo. Inside, there is some cloth. Water in the air
collects on the cloth and runs down slowly into a bowl at the bottom.
The bamboo is very light, so it is easy to build and easy for a person to
carry. It's the perfect way to get water in the mountains of Ethiopia.
D Another design, the Water-Gen, was first made in Israel to
provide water for people in the desert. It is easy to carry by car
(but too heavy to carry on foot) and it is cheap – it can make a
litre of water for just a few cents. It uses very little energy and
the water it makes tastes very good. Bigger models could also
make enough water for people's homes, and India is interested
in using the Water-Gen for people living in the countryside.
E Clean water is becoming harder to find in many countries, from
Jamaica to Australia, but with these new machines, maybe in
the future we will all make water from the air in our own homes.

1 Read the article quickly. Match the headings (1–5) to the paragraphs (A–E).
1 The Warka Water Tower c 4 The problems of getting water a
2 New ways to get water b 5 The Water-Gen d
3 The answer to future problems? e
2 Read the article again. Choose the correct options to complete the sentences.
1 If a water system stops working in the desert 4 The Warka Water Tower is made of
A it is expensive to repair. A wood.
B it needs an engineer to repair it. B plastic.
2 The new water machines 5 The Warka Water Tower is
A make air from water. A difficult to build.
B make water from air. B not heavy.
3 The new water machines are better than the old 6 The Water-Gen is
machines because A not expensive.
A they make more water and don’t use as much energy. B easy to carry on foot.
B they make more water and they are easier to carry.

3 Complete the sentences with words from the article. The first letters of the words are given.
1 C lean water is a basic need for everyone.
2 Engineers have made new ways to get water in d irt places, like deserts.
3 The Warka Water Tower uses the difference between day and night-time t emperatures to take water from the air.
4 India might use the Water-Gen for people living in the c ountryside .

Skills Boost A2 READING 11 © Richmond 2014 Photocopiable

 READING 12 A2

My unusual job: wildlife film-maker

This week we interview wildlife film-maker Mark Flowers. Mark has travelled to some of the most interesting places in
the world, making shows for the BBC about plants and animals.

A You travel all over the world, Mark. What's

Well, it's funny, but it’s where I grew up and where I still live - Wensleydale in the north of England. It's very wild like the
mountains of Spain, but it also has beautiful farms and gardens. That makes it very interesting for me.
B What's your
That’s definitely the orchid, because they're the most beautiful, clever and sometimes funny flowers!
C Orchids are funny?
Because orchids often do funny things! Some orchids copy other flowers, some orchids smell terrible, like old meat.
And some copy insects so other insects will visit them- that's really strange!
D Where did
I often travel far to dangerous or difficult places when I'm filming, but not on
my holidays. Last week I had a holiday with friends in the north of England
and it was fantastic! We walked along rivers and in forests with wild birds and
animals that you don't usually see. The best thing was that the animals aren't
scared of people, so we could get very close to them while they played.
E What was your
Going up the Amazon River in an old boat. That’s my favourite way to travel.
It was really amazing to go very slowly up one of the world's greatest rivers.
We sat and watched the world go by like a dream.
F Who is
The BBC film-maker Sir David Attenborough, because he's so clever, funny,
adventurous and he's a perfect Englishman.
G What do you think
We should be really careful about eating things from the sea. We shouldn't
eat so much meat. And most of all, we should think about where we shop
and what we buy. As shoppers we can do a lot to look after our world.

1 Read the article quickly. Complete the interview questions (A–G) with the 3 Complete the sentences with words from
phrases (1–7). the article. The first letters of the words
1 your favourite wildlife film-maker? F are given.
1 Wensleydale has beautiful
2 the most interesting place you've been to? E
f ARM and gardens.
3 you go for your last holiday? D
2 On holiday, Mark walked in forests
4 favourite journey? A with w ILD birds and animals.
5 favourite plant or animal? B 3 Mark’s boat trip on the Amazon River
6 we should do to look after our world? G was like a d REAM .
7 Why? C 4 Mark says we should be c AREFUL
about eating things from the sea.
2 Read the article again. Are the sentences true or false?
1 Mark lives in Spain. TRUE/FALSE FALSE
2 Mark's favourite plant is a tree. TRUE/FALSE FALSE
3 Mark goes to dangerous parts of the world with his job. TRUE/FALSE TRUE
4 Mark's favourite method of transport is by boat. TRUE/FALSE TRUE
5 Mark's favourite film-maker is an English person. TRUE/FALSE TRUE
6 Mark says we should eat more meat and fish. TRUE/FALSE FALSE

Skills Boost A2 READING 12 © Richmond 2014 Photocopiable