A2 Key for Schools (KET) Reading & Writing Part 4 Test – Birds, Marine Life & Insects 7
Reading » A2 Reading Tests » A2 Key for Schools (KET) Reading & Writing Part 4 Test – Birds, Marine Life & Insects
Test 1
Questions 19-24
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The Amazing Life of Ants
Ants are amazing insects that live in gardens and forests all over the world. They do not like to live alone. Instead, they live in large (19)…………… with thousands of other ants. Most ants build their homes (20)…………… the ground, making small rooms and long tunnels in the dirt.
Ants are famous for working hard. When they find food, they always share it. An ant is very small, but it is actually very (21)…………… . It can easily lift a piece of food that is much heavier than its own body. You can often see long lines of ants (22)…………… leaves or fruit back to their home.
Every ant in the family has a special (23)…………… to do. Some ants look for food, while others keep the home safe. Because they always work (24)…………… , they can build a safe home and find enough food to eat.
19 A teams B groups C crowds
20 A under B across C behind
21 A hard B strong C heavy
22 A holding B catching C carrying
23 A work B job C business
24 A together B both C along
Answer Key & Explanations
19 B (groups): 'Groups' is the correct word for a collection of animals living together. 'Teams' refers to humans playing sports or organized human work, and 'crowds' refers to a large, noisy gathering of people.
20 A (under): 'Under the ground' is the correct prepositional phrase for things buried in the dirt. We do not say 'across the ground' or 'behind the ground' when describing tunnels in the earth.
21 B (strong): 'Strong' fits the broader context of an animal that has the physical power to lift heavy food. Ants are very light, so they are not 'heavy', and we do not use 'hard' to describe an animal's physical strength.
22 C (carrying): 'Carrying' correctly describes lifting and moving leaves across a distance back to their home. 'Holding' just means keeping something in one place, and 'catching' is only used for fast-moving things.
23 B (job): 'A special job' is a standard English phrase because 'job' is a countable noun. We cannot use 'work' here because it is uncountable (we do not say 'a work'), and 'business' refers to a company, not a single task.
24 A (together): 'Work together' is a fixed English collocation that means helping each other in a group. 'Both' is only used for two things (there are thousands of ants), and 'along' does not fit this grammatical structure without the preposition 'with'.
Test 2
Questions 19-24
For each question, choose the correct answer.
From Caterpillar to Butterfly
Butterflies are beautiful insects that fly around our gardens. However, they do not start their lives looking like this. Every butterfly begins as a tiny egg on a leaf. When the egg (19)……………, a small, hungry caterpillar comes out.
The caterpillar spends a lot of (20)…………… eating. It loves to eat green (21)…………… and leaves. It eats so much that it quickly grows very big. After some time, the caterpillar stops eating and gets ready to change.
It makes a hard cover around its body so other hungry animals cannot (22)…………… it. Inside this cover, an amazing change happens. After a few weeks, it comes out. Now, it has big, colourful (23)…………… and it is a beautiful butterfly! It waits in the sun, and then flies away to look (24)…………… sweet food from flowers.
19 A opens B wakes C starts
20 A time B hour C day
21 A plants B woods C forests
22 A catch B take C pick
23 A wings B arms C legs
24 A for B at C after
Answer Key & Explanations
19 A (opens): When an egg breaks so an animal can come out, we say it "opens" (or hatches). Animals "wake" up from sleep, but eggs do not wake up. "Starts" does not fit the action of an egg breaking.
20 A (time): "Spend a lot of time" is a very common fixed phrase. We cannot use "hour" or "day" here because they are countable nouns and would need an article or plural form (e.g., a lot of hours / a lot of days).
21 A (plants): Caterpillars eat small green things like plants and leaves. "Woods" and "forests" are large areas of land covered in trees; an insect cannot eat a whole forest.
22 A (catch): "Catch" is the correct verb when an animal gets another animal to eat it. "Take" means to move an object from one place to another, and "pick" is used for getting flowers or fruit from a plant.
23 A (wings): The broader context tells us the animal is now a butterfly and it "flies away" in the next sentence. Birds and insects use "wings" to fly. They do not have "arms". While they have legs, legs do not help them fly or make them look colourful in the air.
24 A (for): The phrasal verb "look for" means to search for something (in this case, food). "Look at" means to watch something with your eyes, and "look after" means to take care of someone or something.
Test 3
Questions 19-24
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Spiders and their Webs
Spiders are interesting small animals that live all over the world. Many people think spiders are insects, but they belong to a different family. You can often see them outside in gardens, living high up in (19)…………… or bushes.
Spiders are famous for making beautiful webs. They (20)…………… a lot of time building these carefully. They use their webs like a net. The lines of the web are very sticky. When a fly or another small insect flies into it, it gets stuck and cannot get (21)…………… . This is how spiders (22)…………… their food.
Spiders are actually very useful. Because they eat so many small insects, they help to (23)…………… our gardens clean and healthy. So, the next time you see a spider, you do not need to be (24)…………… of it!
19 A trees B flowers C fields
20 A spend B take C pass
21 A away B out C along
22 A catch B meet C collect
23 A keep B make C do
24 A afraid B sorry C angry
Answer Key & Explanations
19 A (trees): "Trees" fits the meaning of living "high up" in a garden. "Flowers" are usually low to the ground, and "fields" are flat open spaces, not individual plants you can live "in".
20 A (spend): "Spend time" is a common English collocation. We do not use "take" or "pass" in this way when talking about how an animal or person uses their time.
21 A (away): The phrasal verb "get away" means to escape. "Get out" would need the preposition "of" (get out of the web), and "get along" means to be friendly with someone.
22 A (catch): "Catch" is the correct verb for hunting and trapping a moving insect for food. You "collect" static objects (like stamps or rocks), and you "meet" people.
23 A (keep): "Keep [something] clean" is the correct English collocation for maintaining a good condition over time. We do not use "do", and while "make" is a common learner guess, "keep" is the natural choice for this ongoing state.
24 A (afraid): "Afraid" fits the broader context of people's typical feelings towards spiders, and it correctly uses the preposition "of" (afraid of). We do not say "sorry of" or "angry of".