B1 English Quiz: Interactive Reading and Listening Test

Leo always believed his grandfather’s house held secrets. One rainy afternoon, he searched an old wooden desk and found a tiny brass key covered in dust. Excited, he climbed up to the attic and found an old, locked wooden chest. He inserted the key, turned it, and lifted the heavy lid. Instead of gold, he found a painted map showing a massive tree that wasn’t there anymore. Someone had drawn a bright golden star next to it with the words “Look deeper”.

Maya lived in a modern town filled with bright neon signs and tall streetlights. Despite the lively atmosphere, she felt sad because the city’s light pollution made it impossible to see the stars at night. She decided to gather signatures from her neighbors and formally asked the town mayor for just ten minutes of absolute darkness during a major meteor shower. The mayor agreed. When the power was turned off, the dark sky suddenly came alive with thousands of shooting stars.

Sea otters are fascinating marine mammals. Unlike whales, they do not have a thick layer of fat to keep them warm in the freezing ocean. Instead, they rely on the thickest fur in the animal kingdom. They spend hours grooming it daily. Otters are also highly intelligent; they are one of the few animals that use tools. While floating on their backs, they place a rock on their chests and smash hard-shelled prey against it to open their food.

For a long time, scientists believed trees in a forest competed against each other for survival. Recently, they discovered something amazing: trees are secretly connected underground. Through a massive network of fungi attached to their roots, often nicknamed the “Wood Wide Web”, trees communicate. Older trees can send sugar and water to younger, struggling saplings. They even send chemical warning signals through the network if insects attack them, allowing nearby trees to prepare their defenses.

🎧 Click the button below to listen to the audio track: