A2 Key for Schools (KET) Reading & Writing Part 3 Test – Eco-Earners 1
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Test 1
Questions 14-18
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Penny's new hobby
Fifteen-year-old Penny writes about fixing old furniture.
Fifteen-year-old Penny loves making things and cares about the environment. She thinks people throw away too many good things. Last year, she started a useful new hobby. When she finds old, broken wooden chairs in the street, she takes them home. She fixes them and sells them on the internet. She does this because she wants to stop waste and earn a little money.
A few weeks ago, Penny found a really interesting chair outside a neighbour's house. It was very old, but it wasn't broken. Penny took it into her garage and decided to paint it bright blue. She wanted to finish the job quickly, so she just put the new colour over the old paint.
However, the next morning, there was a big problem. The chair looked terrible. The paint wasn't nice and flat. It had little bumps everywhere and looked really ugly. Penny felt a bit sad, but she knew she had to do the job again. She couldn't sell a chair that looked like that.
This time, she worked much harder. She spent three hours cleaning the chair and taking off all the old paint first. Finally, she could see the beautiful natural wood. After that, she painted it blue again, very slowly and carefully.
When it was dry, the chair looked fantastic. Penny put a photo of it on her website, and someone bought it immediately for a lot of money. Penny was very pleased with the cash. Next weekend, she is going to visit a local market to look for an old wooden table to work on.
14 Why did Penny start her new hobby?
A to make less rubbish and earn cash
B to help her neighbours clean the street
C to find some cheap furniture for her house
15 What did Penny do when she first got the chair?
A She put new paint on top of the old paint.
B She spent a long time fixing the broken wood.
C She showed it to her neighbour before painting it.
16 What was wrong with the chair the next morning?
A The new paint was completely the wrong colour.
B The paint on the chair didn't look flat.
C She thought she couldn't paint it again.
17 How did Penny make the chair look better?
A She removed the old paint before painting it again.
B She used a different colour on the natural wood.
C She spent three hours painting the chair very slowly.
18 What is Penny going to do next weekend?
A sell a table to a customer on the internet
B look for a different type of furniture to fix
C buy some old chairs from the local market
Answer Key & Explanations
14 A - Explanation: In paragraph 1, the text says she fixes and sells chairs because "she wants to stop waste and earn a little money." A paraphrases this correctly. B is a partial truth trap; the text mentions finding chairs in the street, but she isn't cleaning the street for her neighbours. C is wrong logic; she finds the furniture to sell, not to keep in her own house.
15 A - Explanation: In paragraph 2, the text states that Penny wanted to finish quickly, "so she just put the new colour over the old paint." B is wrong logic; the text says the chair "wasn't broken," and she wanted to finish "quickly," not spend a long time. C is a partial truth trap; she found it outside a neighbour's house, but she didn't show it to them.
16 B - Explanation: In paragraph 3, the text says "The paint wasn't nice and flat. It had little bumps everywhere". A is wrong logic; the problem was the bumpy paint, not the colour itself. C is wrong logic; she was sad, but she "knew she had to do the job again," meaning she didn't think she couldn't do it.
17 A - Explanation: In paragraph 4, the text explains she spent time "cleaning the chair and taking off all the old paint first" before painting it again. B is wrong logic; she painted it "blue again," so she didn't use a different colour. C is a partial truth trap; she spent three hours taking the old paint off, not three hours painting it.
18 B - Explanation: In the final paragraph, Penny says she is going to visit a market "to look for an old wooden table to work on." A table is a different type of furniture from a chair. A is wrong logic; she wants to find a table to fix, not sell one yet. C is a partial truth trap; she is going to the market, but she is looking for a table, not more chairs.
Test 2
Questions 14-18
For each question, choose the correct answer.
The Can Collector
13-year-old Quinn writes about his weekend job in the park.
Hi, I’m Quinn, and I am 13 years old. I wanted to find a way to earn some pocket money, so I started doing a small job every weekend. Every Sunday morning, I go to the large park near my house. I walk around and collect empty drinks cans that people leave on the grass. I take them to a recycling centre in town, and they give me cash for them. I like this because I can earn money and help keep the environment clean at the same time.
When I first started, I used old plastic bags from the supermarket to carry the cans. I chose them because they didn't cost anything. I usually needed two or three bags because the cans take up a lot of space. However, it was not always easy. The cans were often sticky with sweet drinks, and the thin plastic wasn't very strong.
One Sunday, I found lots of cans after a big football game in the park. My plastic bag was very heavy. Suddenly, the bottom of the bag broke! Fifty dirty cans fell out and rolled all over the path. Some people looked at me, and I felt quite embarrassed. Nobody came to help, so it took me a long time to pick them all up and carry them in my arms.
After that terrible day, I knew I had to change how I did my job. I went to a camping shop and bought a very strong, large bag. Now, I can carry many cans without worrying, and I can clean the park much faster. I even had enough recycling money left to buy a great new comic book! I enjoy earning my own money and I am going to keep doing my Sunday job for a long time.
14 What does Quinn like about collecting cans?
A He gets to spend time with his friends in the park.
B It gives him cash and is good for the environment.
C He wants to get a full-time job at the recycling centre.
15 Why did Quinn use supermarket bags when he started?
A They were large enough for all his cans.
B He didn't have to pay for them.
C They kept his hands clean from dirty drinks.
16 What happened to Quinn in the park one Sunday?
A He couldn't find many empty cans after the football game.
B Some people helped him pick up the cans he dropped.
C His bag broke and his cans fell on the ground.
17 What did Quinn do after that terrible day?
A He spent all of his money at the camping shop.
B He decided to stop collecting cans in the park.
C He bought something stronger to carry his cans.
18 What does Quinn say about his future plans?
A He plans to carry on doing his weekend job.
B He is going to write his own comic book.
C He wants to start working at a supermarket.
Answer Key & Explanations
14 B - Explanation: The text in paragraph 1 says, "I can earn money and help keep the environment clean at the same time." This matches option B. Option A is incorrect because friends are not mentioned. Option C is a wrong logic trap; he takes cans to the recycling centre, but he doesn't say he wants a job there.
15 B - Explanation: The text in paragraph 2 says, "I chose them because they didn't cost anything." This means he didn't have to pay for them. Option A is wrong logic; the text says he actually needed two or three because the cans take up space. Option C is a partial truth; the text mentions sticky drinks, but not that the bags kept his hands clean.
16 C - Explanation: The text in paragraph 3 says, "the bottom of the bag broke! Fifty dirty cans fell out...". This matches option C. Option A is a wrong logic trap; he actually found "lots of cans", not just a few. Option B is a wrong reference; the text says people looked at him, but "nobody came to help".
17 C - Explanation: The text in paragraph 4 says, "I went to a camping shop and bought a very strong, large bag." This matches buying something stronger. Option A is a partial truth trap; he bought the bag there, but he didn't spend all his money because he still had enough left for a comic book. Option B is wrong logic; he continues his job instead of stopping.
18 A - Explanation: This question tests the final paragraph detail. The text says, "I am going to keep doing my Sunday job for a long time." "Keep doing" means to carry on. Option B is a wrong logic trap; he bought a comic book, but he isn't going to write one. Option C uses the familiar word "supermarket" from earlier in the text, but he doesn't plan to work there.
Test 3
Questions 14-18
For each question, choose the correct answer.
Testing a green soap
Fifteen-year-old Rose writes about a new product she uses for her weekend job.
Fifteen-year-old Rose has a busy weekend job washing cars for people in her town. She usually washes about five or six cars every Saturday morning to earn some pocket money. She always tries to do a great job. Last week, she bought a new, special soap to use for her small business. Today, she is writing her blog to tell her readers what she thinks about this eco-friendly product.
Rose really likes this new soap for a very important reason. It is excellent for the environment. She lives near a beautiful, clean river, and it is important to her that the dirty water from the cars doesn't hurt the fish, birds, and plants there. This special green soap is perfectly safe for nature. When the water goes down the street, Rose feels very happy because she knows she isn't doing anything bad to the local wildlife.
However, Rose found a small problem when she washed her neighbor's very dirty truck. Most normal soaps make a lot of big white bubbles, but this green soap doesn't make many bubbles at all. Because of this, it is quite difficult to clean off thick, dry mud from the bottom of the cars. She actually had to wash the wheels of the truck two times before they were completely clean.
But don't worry! After trying a few different things, Rose finally found a great answer to this problem. Usually, she just washes the cars with freezing cold water from a hose in the garden. But she discovered that if you mix this eco-friendly soap with a bucket of warm water from inside the house, it works much better. It takes the heavy mud off easily, and the whole cleaning job is much faster. She definitely recommends it!
14 Why is Rose writing her blog today?
A to ask readers to bring their dirty cars to her
B to share her opinion on a new thing she uses for work
C to explain how to earn pocket money on Saturdays
15 Why does Rose feel happy about using the green soap?
A It is completely safe for the animals in the river.
B It helps the plants in her garden grow faster.
C She can wash the cars much faster with it.
16 What is the problem with the new soap?
A It leaves too many white bubbles on the cars.
B It can make a neighbour's truck very dirty.
C It is hard to get heavy dirt off the wheels with it.
17 To make the soap work well, Rose says you should
A add it to some warm water.
B use cold water from the garden hose.
C wash the car twice with a bucket.
18 What is the best title for this blog post?
A My favourite way to clean up the river
B Why you should start a weekend business
C A great car soap, if you use it right
Answer Key & Explanations
14 B - Explanation: In the first paragraph, the text states she is writing "to tell her readers what she thinks about this eco-friendly product." Sharing her opinion on a new thing is a paraphrase of telling readers what she thinks about a new product. Option A is wrong logic; she already has a business, but she isn't writing an advert to get more customers. Option C is a partial truth trap; she earns pocket money on Saturdays, but that is not the reason she wrote the blog.
15 A - Explanation: In paragraph 2, the text explains the soap is "perfectly safe for nature" and doesn't "hurt the fish, birds, and plants". Option B is a wrong reference trap; the text mentions plants near the river, not her garden. Option C is wrong logic; paragraph 3 actually says she had to wash a truck twice, making it slower at first, not faster.
16 C - Explanation: Paragraph 3 explains that because there are no bubbles, "it is quite difficult to clean off thick, dry mud from the bottom of the cars." "Heavy dirt" is a synonym for thick mud. Option A is the opposite of the truth (wrong logic); the soap doesn't make many bubbles. Option B uses vocabulary from the text ("neighbour's truck", "dirty") but changes the meaning completely; she washed a dirty truck, the soap didn't make it dirty.
17 A - Explanation: In paragraph 4, Rose advises that "if you mix this eco-friendly soap with a bucket of warm water from inside the house, it works much better." Option B is a partial truth trap; she usually uses cold water from the hose, but she is recommending against that now. Option C is a partial truth; she washed the truck twice before, but she isn't recommending that as the solution.
18 C - Explanation: This is a global question testing the overall meaning. The text is about an eco-friendly car soap that works great, but only if you use it with warm water (using it right). Option A is wrong focus; she wants to protect the river, but she isn't actually cleaning the river itself. Option B is wrong focus; she mentions her small business, but the blog is a product review, not a guide on starting a business.