The first day of school brings bells, bikes, buses and big feelings

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

C1. 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.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the article’s central purpose?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To compare academic performance across three regions
   2. To interpret varied local experiences of beginning school
   3. To criticize transportation policies affecting American children
   4. To describe architectural differences among high schools
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To interpret varied local experiences of beginning school

   It interprets three local scenes as varied forms of school transition.

   Together, these moments give the first day a broader meaning than a simple return to classes.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What inference follows from the contrast between fifth graders and kindergartners?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Older students are responsible for formal discipline
   2. Younger children already understand school routines
   3. Experience can equip students to reassure newcomers
   4. Kindergartners receive instruction exclusively from peers
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Experience can equip students to reassure newcomers

   Different levels of experience enable older students to provide emotional support.

   The contrast between the older students’ experience and the younger children’s first encounter with school places peer support at the center of the scene.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   In paragraph four, what does “Their experience” refer to?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The kindergartners’ first encounter with school
   2. The children’s journey by bicycle in Oklahoma
   3. The fifth graders’ role in Los Angeles
   4. The high school students’ experience in Oregon
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The high school students’ experience in Oregon

   The pronoun refers to the high school students’ experience in Oregon.

   Their experience is less about a first introduction to education than about adapting to a changed physical environment.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article describe the bike bus as a “shared activity”?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To emphasize travel as socially meaningful
   2. To show that bicycles replace school buses everywhere
   3. To explain why students arrive before teachers
   4. To distinguish cycling from all other routines
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To emphasize travel as socially meaningful

   The journey connects transportation with collective community participation.

   The term describes a group journey by bicycle, turning the trip to school into a shared activity.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How is the article organized?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Chronologically through one student’s entire day
   2. By presenting locations, then drawing a comparative conclusion
   3. By ranking communities according to educational success
   4. By contrasting school years with summer holidays
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   By presenting locations, then drawing a comparative conclusion

   It moves through locations before synthesizing their broader significance.

   The report’s three settings also suggest that school transitions are shaped by local circumstances: one place highlights mentorship, another collective travel, and another the experience of entering a new facility.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the conclusion imply about starting again?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It is primarily an academic examination
   2. It depends entirely on institutional ceremonies
   3. It combines everyday experiences with significant change
   4. It affects only students entering school for the first time
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It combines everyday experiences with significant change

   Beginning school involves practical navigation alongside emotional adjustment.

   The result is a portrait of a school year beginning through ordinary but meaningful encounters.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the author mention that school’s broader purpose remains familiar?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To suggest that buildings have no educational influence
   2. To distinguish environmental change from institutional continuity
   3. To argue that students dislike conventional schooling
   4. To show that Oregon’s school serves multiple communities
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To distinguish environmental change from institutional continuity

   The familiar purpose contrasts with students’ altered physical surroundings.

   A new building can alter how students orient themselves, move through the day and imagine the year ahead, even when the broader purpose of school remains familiar.

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.