The Journey of a Reused Bicycle
About this practice test
A short narrative follows a donated bicycle from collection and repair to its new life helping Elena travel to school and deliver bread, showing practical and environmental benefits of reuse.
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.
The Journey of a Reused Bicycle
Maya had grown too tall for her blue bicycle, and the old machine stood in the hallway for weeks. Her father did not want to throw it away. Instead, on Saturday, the family rode the bus to a market on the edge of town and left the bicycle at a collection point run by Green Wheels. The volunteers there checked the frame, turned the pedals, and made a list of what could be used again. The basket was bent and the chain was rusty, but the frame was still strong. Green Wheels sent the bicycle, along with other donated bikes, to a workshop in a nearby coastal town, where they would be repaired for new riders. At the workshop, a mechanic named Tariq washed the frame, fitted a new chain and new brake pads, and changed the worn inner tubes. He kept the small bell because it still rang clearly. To show that the bike had been fixed, he painted the frame green, the colour used by the repair team. A local group paid for the new parts, and the workshop reused pieces from bicycles that were too damaged to save. After a careful test ride, the bicycle was given to Elena, a student whose walk to school took forty minutes each way. With the repaired bike, she could make the trip in fifteen minutes, so she arrived with less tiredness and more time to help at home. Elena used the bicycle every day, and on weekends she carried bread from her aunt's bakery to a small shop near the river. Because the bread moved faster, it arrived warmer, and her family saved bus money too. Green Wheels later followed several donated bikes and found that the reused ones were often ridden more than many brand-new bicycles, partly because the owners knew the repairs had taken effort. When Maya saw a photo of her old bike with Elena, she felt proud rather than sad. The journey of one bicycle had shown her that reusing an object can support both the environment and daily life.
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Question 1 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
What is the main idea of the passage?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- how a workshop trained people to race bicycles
- how Maya saved money to buy a new bicycle
- how an old bicycle was repaired and used again
- how a city built more roads for cyclists
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- how an old bicycle was repaired and used again
The passage mainly shows how one old bicycle was repaired and used again by someone else. The other options focus on ideas that are not central to the text, such as buying a new bike, racing, or selling bicycles.
The journey of one bicycle had shown her that reusing an object can support both the environment and daily life
how a workshop trained people to race bicycles: Racing is never mentioned in the passage.
how Maya saved money to buy a new bicycle: The passage is not about buying a replacement bike.
how a city built more roads for cyclists: The text is about reuse, not road building.
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Question 2 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
Why did Maya's family take the bicycle to Green Wheels?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- Because Green Wheels needed a bicycle for the market
- Because they wanted to buy a newer bike there
- Because Maya had grown too tall for it and they did not want to throw it away
- Because the bicycle was too dangerous to touch
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Because Maya had grown too tall for it and they did not want to throw it away
They took it there because Maya had outgrown it and her father did not want to throw it away. The other options are not supported by the passage.
Maya had grown too tall for her blue bicycle
Her father did not want to throw it away
Because Green Wheels needed a bicycle for the market: Green Wheels collected bikes; it did not need this one for use at the market.
Because they wanted to buy a newer bike there: They went to donate the bicycle, not to shop for one.
Because the bicycle was too dangerous to touch: The passage says it was old, but still strong, not dangerous to touch.
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Question 3 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
What did Tariq decide to keep on the bicycle because it still worked?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- The bell
- The brake pads
- The chain
- The inner tubes
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- The bell
He kept the small bell because it still rang clearly. The chain, brakes, and inner tubes were replaced instead.
He kept the small bell because it still rang clearly
The brake pads: The brake pads were changed, not kept.
The chain: The chain was replaced with a new one.
The inner tubes: The inner tubes were worn and had to be changed.
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Question 4 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
Why did Tariq paint the frame green?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- To hide the bent basket
- To help Elena find it at school
- To show it had been fixed and identify the team
- To make the bicycle lighter
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- To show it had been fixed and identify the team
He painted it green to show that the bike had been fixed and to match the repair team's colour. The other options do not fit the text.
To show that the bike had been fixed, he painted the frame green, the colour used by the repair team
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Question 5 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
In the sentence 'where they would be repaired for new riders,' what does 'they' refer to?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- the bicycle and other donated bikes
- the new riders
- the workshop workers
- the market stalls
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- the bicycle and other donated bikes
The word 'they' refers to the donated bikes, including Maya's bicycle. It does not refer to the workshop, the riders, or only one bike.
Green Wheels sent the bicycle, along with other donated bikes, to a workshop in a nearby coastal town, where they would be repaired for new riders
the new riders: The new riders will receive the bikes, not be repaired.
the workshop workers: The workers do the repairing; they are not the thing being repaired.
the market stalls: The market stalls are not part of the sentence meaning.
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Question 6 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
In the first paragraph, what does 'outgrown' mean?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- broken beyond repair
- become too big for
- borrowed from a friend
- sold at a market
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- become too big for
'Outgrown' means that Maya had become too big for the bicycle. The other choices do not match the context of her growing taller.
Maya had grown too tall for her blue bicycle
broken beyond repair: The bicycle was old and rusty, but the frame was still strong.
borrowed from a friend: The passage says the bicycle belonged to Maya.
sold at a market: It was donated, not sold.
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Question 7 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
How did Maya feel when she saw a photo of her old bike with Elena?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- proud
- angry
- worried
- confused
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- proud
The passage says Maya felt proud, not sad. The other emotions are not supported by the text.
When Maya saw a photo of her old bike with Elena, she felt proud rather than sad
angry: Nothing in the passage suggests anger.
worried: The passage describes pride, not worry.
confused: Maya understood what had happened to the bike and felt proud.
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Question 8 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
What does Green Wheels' tracking show about the reused bikes?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- They were mainly used for short market trips
- They were often ridden more than new bikes because owners valued the repairs
- They needed no repairs after delivery
- They were usually left unused in sheds
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- They were often ridden more than new bikes because owners valued the repairs
Green Wheels found that reused bikes were often ridden more than many brand-new bicycles, partly because owners knew the repairs had taken effort. The other choices contradict or go beyond the passage.
the reused ones were often ridden more than many brand-new bicycles, partly because the owners knew the repairs had taken effort
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Question 9 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
What did Elena do on weekends?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- She rode the bus to the market with her family
- She taught younger children to cycle
- She delivered bread from her aunt's bakery
- She helped repair bicycles at the workshop
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- She delivered bread from her aunt's bakery
On weekends, Elena used the bicycle to carry bread from her aunt's bakery to a small shop near the river. The other options describe different parts of the passage or are not mentioned.
on weekends she carried bread from her aunt's bakery to a small shop near the river
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Question 10 · Single choice
Choose one answer.
Why does the writer mention that Elena's family saved bus money too?
Return to the passage, recording or visual- To show that the bicycle helped daily life as well as the environment
- To prove that buses were slower than bicycles in every case
- To show that the bakery was making more bread than before
- To explain why the new paint was chosen for the bicycle
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- To show that the bicycle helped daily life as well as the environment
The detail shows that the repaired bicycle helped the family in more than one way: it saved time, kept the bread warmer, and reduced travel costs. The other options do not fit the passage.
Because the bread moved faster, it arrived warmer, and her family saved bus money too
The journey of one bicycle had shown her that reusing an object can support both the environment and daily life
To prove that buses were slower than bicycles in every case: The passage compares travel time, but this is not the main reason for the detail.
To show that the bakery was making more bread than before: The passage says nothing about baking more bread.
To explain why the new paint was chosen for the bicycle: The paint colour is explained earlier for a different reason.
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.