CEFR A2 Reading Practice: A Short Text with Questions [2026]

Reading at A2 level is about handling short, simple texts on everyday subjects and pulling out the information you need. You are not expected to read long articles or understand every word; you are expected to get the main idea and find specific details in a clear, mostly present-tense text. This guide gives you a short passage at the right level, questions to check your understanding, answers, and the reading skills worth building at A2.

A short reading passage

Read this text once for the general idea, then again to find the details.

Elena is twenty-four years old. She lives in a small flat in the city centre with her sister. From Monday to Friday, she works in a bookshop near the river. She starts work at nine o'clock and finishes at five.

Elena likes her job because she loves books and enjoys meeting new people. At lunchtime, she often buys a sandwich and eats it in the park. On Saturdays, she does not work. She usually visits her parents, who live in a village outside the city. On Sundays, she stays at home and reads.

Comprehension questions

Answer these without looking back at the text, then check below.

1. Who does Elena live with?
2. Where does she work?
3. What time does she finish work?
4. Where does she eat lunch?
5. What does Elena do on Saturdays?
6. Why does she like her job?

Answers

1. Her sister.
2. In a bookshop near the river.
3. At five o'clock.
4. In the park.
5. She visits her parents, who live in a village.
6. Because she loves books and enjoys meeting new people.

If you found most of those, you are reading at A2. Notice that the answers were all there in plain sentences; you did not need to guess or read between the lines, which is exactly right for this level.

Reading skills to build at A2

Three habits will take you furthest. First, read for gist before detail: get the general idea on the first read, then go back for specifics. Second, scan for particular information, running your eye down the text for a name, a number or a time rather than reading every word. Third, guess unknown words from context instead of stopping; if you know most of a sentence, you can often work out the rest. Building your everyday word bank helps too, and our guide to A2 vocabulary covers the words that appear most in texts like this.

Steady reading practice at the right level is what moves you up the scale. Our English levels A1 to C2 guide explains what each stage involves, so you can pick texts that are challenging without being discouraging.