A Storm at the Lake
Do more with this exercise
Read about a family camping trip and a storm, then do the exercises. You can listen to the sentences, too.
Reading text
camping
sleeping outside in a tent on holidaytent
a small house made of cloth, for sleeping outsidelake
a big place with water, with land all around itlake
a big place with water, with land all around itsausages
long, thin food made of meatsky
the space above us, where we see clouds and the sunwind
air that moves outsidethunder
the loud noise in the sky in a stormstorm
very bad weather with strong wind and raintent
a small house made of cloth, for sleeping outsidewet
covered with waterwet
covered with waterrainbow
a curve of many colours in the sky after rainlake
a big place with water, with land all around itPractice exercises
Choose the correct answer
Select the option that answers the question.
1.What did the family use to do every summer?
2.What was the weather like on Friday?
3.What was the mum doing when the family heard thunder?
Right or wrong?
Decide whether each sentence is correct.
4.The family went camping again last July.
5.The rain stopped after a whole day.
6.The family waited in the car during the storm.
Match the words
Match each word with its meaning.
Choose a word on the left, then its match on the right.
Listen and choose
Listen once or twice, then choose what you hear.
11.What did the family hear?
12.What were they doing?
13.What was wet?
Listen and write
Listen to each sentence, then type what you hear.
14.Listen and write the sentence.
15.Listen and write the sentence.
16.Listen and write the sentence.
Frequently asked questions
What level is this reading text?
It is written for A2 learners. It uses the past simple, the past continuous with while and when, and used to, with common words about the weather.
How can I use this page to learn English?
Read the story, check the glossary, answer the questions, then listen and write three sentences from the text.
Can I listen to the text?
Yes. Press the play button on a sentence to hear it, or use the listening exercises to practise what you hear.
Answer key
1. What did the family use to do every summer?
Answer: Go camping
The text says: When I was a child, my family used to go camping every summer.
2. What was the weather like on Friday?
Answer: Warm and sunny
The text says: The weather was warm and sunny on Friday.
3. What was the mum doing when the family heard thunder?
Answer: Washing the cups
The text says: My mum was washing the cups when we heard thunder.
4. The family went camping again last July.
Answer: True
The text says: Last July, we went there again.
5. The rain stopped after a whole day.
Answer: False
The text says: After an hour, the rain stopped.
6. The family waited in the car during the storm.
Answer: True
The text says: We ran to the car and waited inside.
7. tent
Answer: a small house made of cloth, for sleeping outside
The family slept in a small tent by the lake.
8. thunder
Answer: the loud noise in the sky in a storm
In the story, the family heard thunder when the storm began.
9. wet
Answer: covered with water
After the rain, the tent and the clothes were wet.
10. rainbow
Answer: a curve of many colours in the sky after rain
Later that day, the family saw a beautiful rainbow over the lake.
11. Listening question 11: My mum was washing the cups when we heard thunder.
Answer: Thunder
The speaker says, “My mum was washing the cups when we heard thunder.”
12. Listening question 12: While we were eating breakfast, the wind started to blow.
Answer: Eating breakfast
The speaker says, “While we were eating breakfast, the wind started to blow.”
13. Listening question 13: The tent was wet, but the sun came out again.
Answer: The tent
The speaker says, “The tent was wet, but the sun came out again.”
14. Dictation 14
Answer: We used to sleep in a small tent by a lake.
The sentence uses used to for a habit in earlier summers.
15. Dictation 15
Answer: On Saturday morning, the sky was grey.
The sentence says what the sky was like on Saturday morning.
16. Dictation 16
Answer: Later that day, we saw a beautiful rainbow over the lake.
The sentence describes the end of the story with a simple past verb: saw.