The Town’s Trial of a Refill Shop
About this practice test
A town trials a refill shop and reviews its products, operating rules, customer response and early effect on plastic waste.
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
- True / False / Not Given
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 Town’s Trial of a Refill Shop
When the empty chemist’s on Bridge Street closed, Mina Reed turned it into Green Jar, the town’s first refill shop. Mina had worked in supermarkets before, but she wanted a smaller place where people could buy only what they needed and waste less. Customers brought their own bottles, jars, and cloth bags. Some arrived with tiny containers from home, and others used old washing-up bottles that had been cleaned and saved. Green Jar sold washing-up liquid, shampoo, rice, pasta, beans, and cleaning spray by weight. At first, many people only looked through the window, because they were used to buying a full packet and leaving. A few asked questions, then came back later with shopping lists in their pockets. Mina put a small chalk board near the till with short notes about prices and the weight of each jar. The town council agreed to a one-month trial and reduced the shop’s licence fee, as long as Mina kept clear records. Mina hired two part-time assistants, and they showed newcomers how to place an empty container on the scale before it was filled. One assistant weighed the jars, while the other answered questions about prices and sizes. A few prices were lower than in the supermarket next door, but not all of them. Honey cost more, since Mina bought it from a small farm in glass tubs. On busy mornings the assistants had to repeat the same instructions, yet most visitors learned quickly. The shop did not sell fresh fruit or vegetables, because it had no cold room. It also did not open on Monday mornings. By the end of the month, 180 people had visited Green Jar, and more than half came back at least once. The council’s report said the street bin near the shop held less plastic than before. Even so, the trial did not change every habit in town. Many families still bought packaged snacks at the larger stores, and Mina knew one shop could not solve every waste problem. The quieter afternoons gave her time to tidy the shelves and check the labels. She decided to keep the refill shop open three days a week. For her, the trial was not a grand success story or a failure; it was simply proof that a different kind of shopping could work in the right place.
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Question 1 · True / False / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the information. Choose Not Given when the text or recording does not provide the information.
Customers brought their own bottles, jars, and cloth bags.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- True
- False
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- True
True. The passage explicitly says customers brought their own containers. There is no suggestion that the shop supplied them instead.
Customers brought their own bottles, jars, and cloth bags
True: Correct: customers were expected to bring their own containers.
False: Incorrect: the text says they brought them.
Not Given: Incorrect: this is directly stated in the passage.
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Question 2 · True / False / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the information. Choose Not Given when the text or recording does not provide the information.
The council said the shop would stay open on Saturdays next year.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- True
- False
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Not Given
Not Given. The passage gives the current opening plan of three days a week, but it does not mention Saturdays or next year. So the claim is unsupported.
She decided to keep the refill shop open three days a week
True: Incorrect: this future plan is not stated.
False: Incorrect: the text does not say the opposite either.
Not Given: Correct: Saturdays next year are never mentioned.
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Question 3 · True / False / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the information. Choose Not Given when the text or recording does not provide the information.
The shop opened on Monday mornings.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- True
- False
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- False
False. The passage says the shop did not open on Monday mornings. So the statement is the opposite of the text.
It also did not open on Monday mornings
True: Incorrect: the text says it did not open then.
False: Correct: Monday mornings were specifically closed.
Not Given: Incorrect: opening times on Monday mornings are stated.
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Question 4 · True / False / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the information. Choose Not Given when the text or recording does not provide the information.
Mina turned the empty chemist’s on Bridge Street into Green Jar.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- True
- False
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- True
True. The passage states directly that Mina turned the empty chemist’s on Bridge Street into Green Jar.
Mina Reed turned it into Green Jar
True: Correct: the former chemist’s on Bridge Street became Green Jar.
False: Incorrect: the passage says it was opened there.
Not Given: Incorrect: the location is clearly stated.
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Question 5 · True / False / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the information. Choose Not Given when the text or recording does not provide the information.
The report said the council planned to close the larger stores after the trial.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- True
- False
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Not Given
Not Given. The passage mentions the council’s report on plastic waste and says some families still bought snacks at larger stores, but it does not say the council planned to close those stores after the trial.
The council’s report said the street bin near the shop held less plastic than before
Many families still bought packaged snacks at the larger stores
True: Incorrect: the report does not mention any plan to close the larger stores.
False: Incorrect: the passage does not directly contradict that plan; it simply does not state it.
Not Given: Correct: no plan to close the larger stores is given.
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Question 6 · True / False / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the information. Choose Not Given when the text or recording does not provide the information.
The council approved the trial without requiring Mina to keep any records.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- True
- False
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- False
False. The council approved the trial only on condition that Mina kept clear records.
The town council agreed to a one-month trial and reduced the shop’s licence fee, as long as Mina kept clear records
True: Incorrect: the fee was reduced, not made free.
False: Correct: the passage says the licence fee was reduced.
Not Given: Incorrect: the fee arrangement is clearly mentioned.
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Question 7 · True / False / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the information. Choose Not Given when the text or recording does not provide the information.
The shop sold fresh fruit and vegetables during the trial.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- True
- False
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- False
False. The text says the shop did not sell fresh fruit or vegetables because it had no cold room. That directly contradicts the statement.
The shop did not sell fresh fruit or vegetables, because it had no cold room
True: Incorrect: the passage says the opposite.
False: Correct: the passage says it did not sell fresh fruit or vegetables.
Not Given: Incorrect: the text gives a clear answer.
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Question 8 · True / False / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the information. Choose Not Given when the text or recording does not provide the information.
Mina planned to open another refill shop in a nearby town.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- True
- False
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- Not Given
Not Given. The passage says Mina decided to keep this refill shop open three days a week, but it gives no information about opening another shop in a nearby town. That plan is not stated.
She decided to keep the refill shop open three days a week
it was simply proof that a different kind of shopping could work in the right place
True: Incorrect: another town is never mentioned.
False: Incorrect: the passage does not say the opposite; it only leaves this unstated.
Not Given: Correct: no second shop in a nearby town is mentioned.
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Question 9 · True / False / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the information. Choose Not Given when the text or recording does not provide the information.
More than half the visitors came back at least once.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- True
- False
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- True
True. The passage states that more than half returned at least once, so the statement is supported directly.
more than half came back at least once
True: Correct: the passage gives this result directly.
False: Incorrect: the passage says more than half returned.
Not Given: Incorrect: the return rate is stated clearly.
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Question 10 · True / False / Not Given
Decide whether the statement agrees with the information. Choose Not Given when the text or recording does not provide the information.
The trial lasted one month.
Return to the passage, recording or visual- True
- False
- Not Given
Check answers and explanations
- Answer
- True
True. The council agreed to a one-month trial, so the statement matches the passage exactly.
The town council agreed to a one-month trial
True: Correct: the trial is described as one month long.
False: Incorrect: one month is stated in the text.
Not Given: Incorrect: the length of the trial is stated clearly.
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.