How a Repair Café Found Its Volunteers
About this practice test
A community profile about a Repair Café that grows from a difficult first event into a regular local activity by attracting volunteers with different skills.
What you’ll practice
Finding detail
Locate specific information and evidence.
Interpreting ideas
Connect main points and inferences.
Evaluating arguments
Assess claims, evidence, and limitations.
What to expect:
10 questions with explanations to review after submission.
Study the questions and tasks
Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.
- Practice level
- B1. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.
- Question formats
- Single choice
How to approach this practice
Read the passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.
How a Repair Café Found Its Volunteers
On a cold Saturday morning, Maya opened the first Repair Café in Riverside Hall. Her idea was simple: if people could mend a toaster or a chair, they might keep it out of the bin. The first event brought a surprising number of visitors, but there were only two helpers behind the long table. One held a screwdriver, and the other tried to answer questions while also writing names on a list. By noon, the queue still stretched across the room, and Maya began to fear that the project would be remembered as a good idea that arrived too late. She first asked several local groups for support, but the replies were slow. The turning point came when she placed a short notice in the community newsletter: “Do you like fixing things or talking to people?” The message reached people who had never planned to volunteer. Retired mechanic Tom arrived with a box of tools, art teacher Lina offered to mend lamp shades, and a nearby secondary school asked whether its students could help as part of an eco project. Not everyone who joined needed special repair skills. Some volunteers welcomed visitors at the door, sorted screws into jars, or made tea for nervous owners. Once the café showed that there were many small jobs, more people signed up. The café also moved from Friday evening to Saturday morning, because that was when more of the helpers were free. Now the café runs once a month, and the hall feels busy in a calmer way. Broken toasters, toys, and chairs still arrive, but not every item can be saved. Maya is comfortable with that. She says the aim is to build careful habits, not to promise miracles. She keeps a notebook of small successes, including a lamp that worked again and a chair whose loose leg was fixed in ten minutes. Tom once wrote in the notebook, “I came for the tools, but I stayed for the company.” The volunteers say the café helps them feel useful, and many visitors return with friends. What began as a worried experiment has become a regular part of town life.
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Question 1 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
What is the passage mainly about?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- How the café attracted visitors by changing its opening hours.
- How a Repair Café recruited volunteers and became established.
- It describes the repairs that visitors brought to the first event.
- It shows how a school organised an environmental project.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- How a Repair Café recruited volunteers and became established.
The passage focuses on how the Repair Café found enough volunteers and then became a regular part of town life. The other options mention only parts of the passage, not its main focus.
What began as a worried experiment has become a regular part of town life
How the café attracted visitors by changing its opening hours.: The passage focuses on recruiting helpers, rather than changing opening hours.
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Question 2 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
Why did Maya begin to fear that the project might fail at the first event?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- The hall was closed before noon.
- The café had too few visitors.
- Only two helpers were available for many visitors.
- The tools were too old to use.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Only two helpers were available for many visitors.
She worried because many visitors came, but there were not enough helpers to deal with them. The other options are not what the passage says.
The first event brought a surprising number of visitors, but there were only two helpers behind the long table
By noon, the queue still stretched across the room
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Question 3 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
In paragraph 3, what does the word "that" refer to in the sentence "Maya is comfortable with that"?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Tom stayed for the company.
- The café runs once a month.
- Not every item can be saved.
- Visitors return with friends.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Not every item can be saved.
It refers to the fact that not every item can be saved. The other options are ideas mentioned elsewhere, but they are not the thing Maya accepts.
Broken toasters, toys, and chairs still arrive, but not every item can be saved
Maya is comfortable with that
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Question 4 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
What was the turning point in finding volunteers?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- The café bought more tools.
- The community newsletter notice.
- The hall became larger.
- A school held a fundraiser.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- The community newsletter notice.
The passage says the change began when Maya placed a notice in the community newsletter. The other choices did not trigger the increase in volunteers.
The turning point came when she placed a short notice in the community newsletter
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Question 5 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
Why did more people sign up after the café showed what volunteers could do?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- They saw that volunteers could help in several practical ways.
- They understood that every visitor would receive a successful repair.
- They could join only if they already knew how to repair machines.
- They were asked to help the café return to Friday evenings.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- They saw that volunteers could help in several practical ways.
People joined after seeing that the café needed help with many small tasks, not only repairs. The passage specifically says that special repair skills were not necessary.
Once the café showed that there were many small jobs, more people signed up
Not everyone who joined needed special repair skills
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Question 6 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
Why did the café move from Friday evening to Saturday morning?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- More of the helpers were free then.
- The hall could only be used on Saturdays.
- Visitors preferred Friday evening.
- The school requested a morning lesson.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- More of the helpers were free then.
It moved because more helpers were free then. The other options are not given as reasons in the passage.
The café also moved from Friday evening to Saturday morning, because that was when more of the helpers were free
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Question 7 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
What does the newsletter notice suggest about the kind of volunteers the café wanted?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Both repair skills and help with welcoming visitors.
- It was mainly seeking retired mechanics with their own tools.
- It was inviting students to complete compulsory school work.
- It was asking local residents to donate broken household items.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Both repair skills and help with welcoming visitors.
The notice asked about fixing things or talking to people, so it welcomed different kinds of useful abilities. The other options make the request narrower than it was.
Do you like fixing things or talking to people
The message reached people who had never planned to volunteer
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Question 8 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
In paragraph 3, the word "regular" is closest in meaning to which idea?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- New and temporary
- Usual and repeated
- Exciting and surprising
- Difficult and expensive
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Usual and repeated
In context, regular means normal and happening again and again. The other options do not match the idea of something that is now part of usual life.
What began as a worried experiment has become a regular part of town life
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Question 9 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
What did the nearby secondary school ask about?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Students helping with an environmental project.
- Holding its final school exams in the hall.
- Opening the café on every day of the week.
- Buying chairs for a new school classroom.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Students helping with an environmental project.
The school asked whether its students could help as part of an eco project. The other options are not mentioned.
a nearby secondary school asked whether its students could help as part of an eco project
Holding its final school exams in the hall.: The school's request concerned students helping with an eco project, rather than exam space.
Opening the café on every day of the week.: The school asked about student participation, rather than longer opening hours.
Buying chairs for a new school classroom.: The request concerned students' help, rather than classroom equipment.
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Question 10 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
What does Tom's note suggest about his attitude to the Repair Café?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- He valued the social experience as well as the practical work.
- He preferred talking to visitors because he disliked using tools.
- He joined mainly because he wanted to give away his tools.
- He believed the café was more enjoyable when fewer people attended.
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- He valued the social experience as well as the practical work.
Tom first came because of the tools but stayed because he enjoyed being with people. The note does not say that he disliked repairing things or wanted the café to be quieter.
I came for the tools, but I stayed for the company
What to review next
Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.
A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.
Before you practise: a worked example
Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.
The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?
The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.
This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.