A2 Key for Schools (KET) Reading & Writing Part 3 Test – Mind & Muscle 5
Reading » A2 Reading Tests » A2 Key for Schools (KET) Reading & Writing Part 3 Test – Mind & Muscle
Test 1
Questions 14-18
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Ian's ice-skating lesson
Thirteen-year-old Ian writes about learning a difficult new winter sport.
Thirteen-year-old Ian usually plays football in the winter. But this year, his town opened a beautiful new ice-skating area at the winter market. All his friends from school are very good at skating, and they go there every weekend. Ian didn't know how to skate, but he really wanted to learn. He hoped to impress his friends by showing them some new skills on the ice.
Last Saturday, Ian went to the market and paid to rent some dark blue skates. He was so excited that he made a big mistake before he left home. He didn't wear the right clothes for his feet. He just wore his usual thin summer socks. When he put the hard rental skates on, they felt a bit uncomfortable, but he didn't worry about it too much and walked onto the ice.
At first, Ian had a lot of fun. He fell over a few times, but soon he learned to move around safely. However, after an hour, he had a terrible problem. The hard skates rubbed against his feet, and his toes started to hurt a lot. Soon, he got some painful blisters on his skin. He couldn't skate anymore because his feet were so sore. He had to sit down and take the skates off early.
Ian didn't want to give up. The next morning, he went to a clothes shop and bought two pairs of thick wool socks. In the afternoon, he went back to the ice with his new socks. This time, his feet didn't hurt at all. He felt perfectly comfortable, and he skated very smoothly. Now he loves ice-skating, and he is going to invite his friends to come with him next Sunday.
14 Why did Ian decide to learn ice-skating?
A He wanted to show his friends he could do it.
B He needed to play a different winter sport.
C His friends asked him to go with them.
15 What mistake did Ian make on Saturday?
A He wore the wrong things on his feet.
B He rented skates that were the wrong size.
C He forgot to pay for his dark blue skates.
16 Why did Ian stop skating early?
A He kept falling over on the ice.
B The rental skates gave him very bad pain.
C He wanted to sit down and watch his friends.
17 How did Ian solve his problem?
A He bought a better pair of skates.
B He got some different socks from a shop.
C He borrowed some warm clothes from a friend.
18 What is Ian planning to do next Sunday?
A ask his friends to go skating with him
B show his friends how to skate smoothly
C buy some thick wool socks for his friends
Answer Key & Explanations
14 A - Explanation: In the first paragraph, the text says Ian "hoped to impress his friends by showing them some new skills on the ice." Option A correctly paraphrases this. Option B is a wrong logic trap; he usually plays football in the winter, but he didn't need to play a different sport. Option C is a partial truth trap; his friends go there every weekend, but they didn't ask Ian to go.
15 A - Explanation: The second paragraph states that his mistake was he "didn't wear the right clothes for his feet" and just wore "thin summer socks." Option A matches this perfectly. Option B is a wrong logic trap; the rental skates were "hard" and uncomfortable, but the text doesn't say they were the wrong size. Option C is a partial truth trap; he had dark blue skates, but the text explicitly says he "paid to rent" them.
16 B - Explanation: The third paragraph explains that his toes "started to hurt a lot," he got "painful blisters," and his feet were "so sore." Option B correctly paraphrases this. Option A is a wrong time trap; he fell over a few times "At first," but he stopped early because of the pain. Option C is a wrong logic trap; he had to sit down because his feet hurt, not to watch his friends.
17 B - Explanation: The fourth paragraph says that the next morning, he "went to a clothes shop and bought two pairs of thick wool socks." Option B correctly paraphrases this action. Option A is a wrong logic trap; the skates hurt him, but he bought new socks, not better skates. Option C is a wrong logic trap; he bought warm clothes (thick wool socks), but he didn't borrow them from a friend.
18 A - Explanation: In the final paragraph, Ian's future plan is stated clearly: "he is going to invite his friends to come with him next Sunday." Option A matches this perfectly. Option B is a wrong logic trap; he skated smoothly, but his friends are already very good at skating, so he isn't going to teach them. Option C is a partial truth trap; he bought thick wool socks for himself, not for his friends.
Test 2
Questions 14-18
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Sitting up straight!
15-year-old Jenny writes about trying to change a bad habit.
Hi! I’m Jenny, and I’m 15 years old. Like many teenagers, I spend a lot of time every day looking down at my mobile phone. Because of this, my body posture was terrible. Last month, I started getting a bad pain in my neck. I knew I needed to sit up straight and look after my back. Today, I want to review my month of trying to fix this problem.
At first, I thought it was going to be an easy thing to do. Sitting up straight is a really good idea, and when you do it, you immediately feel much healthier. I tried to pull my shoulders back and keep my head up while I was sitting at my desk. For the first few days, I was very careful with how I sat.
However, I quickly found out that there is one big problem. It is extremely easy to forget what you are doing. Whenever my friends sent me a long text message, I wanted to read it immediately. Because I was so interested in what my friends were saying, I stopped thinking about my back. I instantly went back to my old, bad habits and looked down at the screen again.
Because of this, I had to find a clever way to remember. I decided to use the clock on my phone to help me. I set a timer to make a loud beep every twenty minutes. Now, when I hear that noise, it reminds my brain to check how I am sitting. If you want to stop getting neck pain, I highly recommend doing this. It is a simple trick, but it really works!
14 Why did Jenny try to fix her body posture?
A She started feeling a pain in her neck.
B She wanted to write a review of a new phone.
C She spent too much time sitting at her desk.
15 What does Jenny say about sitting up straight?
A It is an easy thing for teenagers to do.
B It immediately makes you feel healthier.
C It helps you to pull your desk closer to you.
16 What happened when Jenny got a long text message?
A She stopped reading her friends' messages.
B She decided to turn off her mobile phone screen.
C She forgot to sit in the correct way.
17 What is Jenny's advice for the readers?
A Download a clever new app on your mobile phone.
B Use a loud sound to remind you to sit well.
C Stop using your phone for twenty minutes every day.
18 Why has Jenny written this blog?
A to review her experience of changing a bad habit
B to complain about how much teenagers use their phones
C to explain how to send long text messages to friends
Answer Key & Explanations
14 A - Explanation: In paragraph 1, Jenny says, "Last month, I started getting a bad pain in my neck. I knew I needed to sit up straight". This matches option A. Option B is a wrong reference trap; she is writing a review of her experience, not reviewing a new phone. Option C is a partial truth trap; she mentions her desk in the second paragraph, but the phone caused her neck pain, not sitting at her desk.
15 B - Explanation: In paragraph 2, Jenny states that when you sit up straight, "you immediately feel much healthier" (B). Option A is a wrong logic trap; she says she thought it was going to be an easy thing to do at first, but later found out it was hard. Option C is wrong logic; she says she tried to "pull my shoulders back" while at her desk, she didn't pull her desk closer.
16 C - Explanation: In paragraph 3, Jenny explains that when reading a message, she "stopped thinking about my back" and "went back to my old, bad habits". This means she forgot to sit in the correct way (C). Option A is wrong logic; the text says she "wanted to read it immediately", so she didn't stop reading them. Option B is wrong logic; she "looked down at the screen again", so she didn't turn it off.
17 B - Explanation: In paragraph 4, Jenny recommends setting a timer "to make a loud beep" which "reminds my brain to check how I am sitting" (B). Option A is a wrong logic trap; she calls it a "clever way", but she uses her phone's clock, not a new app. Option C is a partial truth trap; she mentions twenty minutes, but to hear a beep, not to stop using her phone.
18 A - Explanation: This is a global question. Throughout the blog, Jenny introduces her bad posture habit, describes her attempts to fix it, explains a problem she had (forgetting when texting), and gives a final solution. Therefore, she is reviewing her experience of changing a bad habit (A). Option B is a partial truth trap; she mentions teenagers use phones a lot, but she doesn't complain about them. Option C is wrong logic; she receives long text messages, but she isn't teaching people how to send them.
Test 3
Questions 14-18
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The perfect sport
Fourteen-year-old Kevin writes about trying something new on a school trip.
Fourteen-year-old Kevin never really liked sports. Most of the boys in his class loved running and playing football, but Kevin wasn't a fast runner. He usually tried to avoid games at school. However, last month, his class went on a trip to a sports centre in the countryside. The teacher told everyone they had to choose a new activity. Kevin decided to try archery, a sport where you shoot arrows at a target.
At the sports centre, a friendly instructor gave Kevin a large wooden bow and some arrows. Kevin felt a bit worried because the equipment looked quite difficult to use. When it was his turn, he stood in front of the target and tried to pull the string back. But it was very tight and heavy. He pulled as hard as he could, but the string didn't move much.
Kevin looked around and saw that his classmates were watching him. Some of the taller, stronger boys were laughing a little bit because they found it easy to shoot their arrows. Kevin felt extremely embarrassed and wanted to stop immediately. He thought that this was just another sport that he was bad at.
Then, the archery instructor walked over to help him. She explained that you don't need big muscles to be good at archery. She showed Kevin a clever way to stand and how to hold his arms differently. Kevin tried again, and this time he pulled the string back easily. The arrow flew through the air and hit the exact centre of the target! Now, Kevin feels fantastic and he plans to join a local archery club next week.
14 Why did Kevin try archery?
A He wanted to learn how to run much faster.
B He had to pick an activity during a school trip.
C His classmates asked him to play a game with them.
15 What happened when Kevin first used the bow?
A He found the string too hard to move.
B He dropped the heavy equipment on the floor.
C He broke one of his wooden arrows.
16 How did Kevin feel when the other boys watched him?
A happy because they were laughing with him
B angry that they wanted to take his turn
C bad because he couldn't do the sport well
17 What did the instructor teach Kevin?
A how to get stronger muscles for the sport
B a better way to use his body to shoot
C the quickest way to pull the arrows out
18 What is Kevin planning to do in the future?
A become a member of an archery group
B help his teacher give archery lessons
C buy a new bow at the sports centre
Answer Key & Explanations
14 B - Explanation: In the first paragraph, the text states that during a trip to a sports centre, "The teacher told everyone they had to choose a new activity." Option B correctly paraphrases this. Option A is a wrong logic trap; Kevin wasn't a fast runner, but archery isn't running. Option C is a partial truth trap; his classmates loved playing games, but they didn't ask him to play.
15 A - Explanation: In the second paragraph, the text says the string was "very tight and heavy" and "the string didn't move much". Option A accurately summarizes this problem. Option B is a wrong logic trap; the equipment was heavy, but the text doesn't say he dropped it on the floor. Option C is a wrong logic trap; the text mentions wooden bows and arrows, but he didn't break anything.
16 C - Explanation: In the third paragraph, the text explains Kevin "felt extremely embarrassed" and thought "this was just another sport that he was bad at." Option C perfectly matches this feeling (bad = embarrassed). Option A is the opposite of the truth (wrong logic); the boys were laughing, but Kevin wasn't happy about it. Option B is a wrong reference trap; he wanted to stop, but the boys didn't try to take his turn.
17 B - Explanation: In the fourth paragraph, the instructor showed Kevin "a clever way to stand and how to hold his arms differently." Option B correctly paraphrases this action (use his body = stand and hold his arms). Option A is a wrong logic trap; she explained that you don't need big muscles. Option C is a wrong logic trap; she showed him how to shoot the arrows, not pull them out.
18 A - Explanation: This is a specific detail question based on the final paragraph. The text states that Kevin "plans to join a local archery club next week." Option A correctly paraphrases this future plan (become a member = join; group = club). Option B uses wrong logic; an instructor helped him, but he isn't going to teach lessons. Option C uses wrong reference; he went to the sports centre, but he doesn't mention buying a bow.