English Reading Exercises for A1 – Teenage pressures

1. Complete each pair of labels using the opposite adjectives below.

artificial      fake      female      male      natural      ordinary      real      special

a …………………….. animal

…………………….. hair colour

2. Read the text. Which of the four teenagers sometimes tries to copy the appearance of famous people?
     …………………………………………………………

Personal perspectives

1   ……….

‘I’m not interested in images from the internet or magazines. Celebrities all look the same these days. And a lot of girls my age try to copy them. But I’m different – I try to find my own look I usually buy my clothes at charity shops, and I have my own ideas about make-up too. My friends say I look great – but my dad doesn’t always agree!’ – Elsie 16

2   ……….

‘I’m not really interested in celebrities, but I care about my appearance and I want to be fit and muscular. I go to the gym four times a week. It’s a good place to meet friends. And it’s a healthy hobby. I never take tablets, but I sometimes have special drinks for building muscles. They aren’t bad for my health. Is it a problem? I don’t think so. A lot of my friends are the same as me.’ – Oscar 17

3   ……….

‘A lot of the girls at school talk about hairstyles all the time – and make-up and fashion. They all have favourite celebrities and they try to copy their look. But I find all that boring. I’ve got other hobbies – like sport. I go swimming three times a week and I’m in the basketball and volleyball teams at school. My close friends are similar to me. They don’t worry about their appearance, they just want to be fit and healthy.’ – Bella 15

4   ……….

‘When I’m on my own, I wear very casual clothes – just a tracksuit, or a sweatshirt with jeans. I don’t wear make-up. But when I’m with my friends, we sometimes dress up in nice clothes and change our hairstyles. We wear make-up too. We sometimes copy pictures of celebrities from magazines or the internet – but that isn’t a problem for us. We don’t worry about our appearance, we’re just having fun. What’s wrong with that?’ – Grace 15

3. Read the Reading Strategy. Then match paragraphs (1-4) in the text with headings (a-f) below. There are two extra headings.

a   Fun with friends

b   Body beautiful

c   Pressure to look good

d   A personal style

e   Sad about looking ordinary

f   Preferring sports

Extra exercises

1. Read the Strategy. Then look at the missing sentences (A-H) in exercise 2 and underline the pronouns and possessive adjectives.

2. Match gaps 1-7 in the text with sentences A-H below. There is one extra sentence.

A   You can use a theatre, a shopping centre, or your school hall.

B   Then see how long it takes them to walk down the catwalk.

C   School often organise events to help them.

D   When it’s over, you can sit back and relax.

E   They shouldn’t be very expensive.

F   Ask if you can borrow some outfits for a few days.

G   The first thing you need is a team.

H   Ask your friends at school if they want to be models for a day.

How to organise a charity fashion show

Charities like UNICEF and OXFAM always need money. 1……………… One thing they sometimes do is to have a fashion show. Read on for some tips on organising a successful show.

It’s impossible for one person to organise a fashion show alone. 2……………… Ask friends and family for help, and give everyone a job to do.

The next thing you need is a place for the show. 3……………… You need to have a catwalk for the models to walk on and some chairs for the audience.

After that, you need to find some clothes. Talk to students at a fashion college or visit some shops. 4……………… Remember to give them back on time.

Now you’ve got the clothes, you need to find people to wear them. 5……………… If they aren’t interested, look on social media, like Facebook.

Before the show, you need to practise. Ask the models to try on the clothes to check that they are the right size. 6……………… The show should last about 20 minutes.

One the big night, ask a good friend to be your assistant director. A fashion show is a lot of work, and there’s always a lot to do. 7……………… It’s time for your cleaning team to tidy up!