B1 Reading Practice: A Workplace Email — Questions and Answers

Read an original workplace email about a community repair workshop. This B1 lesson practises purpose, instructions, deadlines, conditions and a supported inference. Ten multiple-choice questions include explained answers and exact evidence. You do not need technical repair knowledge: every answer comes from the email.

How to use this reading lesson

1. Read the whole text once without a dictionary. Identify the situation and the writer's main point.

2. Read the ten questions. Return to the relevant paragraph and underline the words that support your answer.

3. Write your answers before opening the answer section. Choose one option for each question.

4. Choose Check my answers to see your score out of ten and compare your choices with the explanations. Use Try again after reviewing any mistakes. This is self-study practice, not an official level test.

Useful vocabulary before you read

• revised — changed or updated, especially when a plan needs a correction.

• unavailable — not possible to use at the moment.

• reception — the place or team that welcomes people and gives information.

• spare — extra and available if another item is needed.

• suitable — right or appropriate for a particular purpose.

• confirm — say that an arrangement or task is understood and agreed.

• unless — except if; a word that introduces an exception.

Email: revised workshop arrangements

1. To: Community Workshop Team. From: Elena Morris, Workshop Coordinator. Subject: Friday workshop: revised room and final checks. Hello everyone, thank you for preparing Friday's repair workshop. We expect eighteen visitors, including six people joining for the first time. The workshop still starts at 10:00 and finishes at 12:30. Please arrive by 9:15 so that we can test the equipment and welcome early visitors without rushing.

2. We will use Room 3, not our usual Room 1. Room 1 is unavailable because its lighting is being repaired. I have updated the booking page, but some visitors may have saved the earlier email. Ben, please put a clear notice beside the main entrance and ask reception to direct people to Room 3. The new room is on the ground floor and has a wider doorway.

3. Aisha, please print twenty copies of the safety sheet and place one on each worktable. Keep the remaining copies near the door. Ben, bring two spare extension leads from the storage cupboard, but do not connect anything until Aisha has checked that the leads are suitable. If either lead is damaged, leave it in the cupboard and tell me. We can rearrange the tables rather than use unsafe equipment.

4. The demonstration that was planned for 11:00 will now begin at 10:30. Several visitors need to leave before noon, and we want them to see the full demonstration. The practical activity will follow it. We are not adding another activity; we are changing the order. Please keep instructions brief and allow visitors enough time to try the task themselves.

5. Could you reply by 16:00 on Thursday to confirm your tasks and mention any problems? I need to send reception the final plan that afternoon. You do not need to write a long update: a short confirmation is enough unless something has changed. If an urgent issue appears on Friday morning, call my work number instead of sending an email because I will be setting up the room. Thanks again for your help. Elena

Ten reading questions

Choose one of the three answers for each question. Use the numbered passage paragraphs as evidence. For an inference, choose what the email supports, not something that is merely possible.

Answers and explanations

Complete each exercise and choose Check my answers to reveal its answers and explanations. You can also open the complete answer key below for self-study.

Show the complete answer key (1–10)

1. C. To explain revised workshop arrangements and confirm preparation tasks. — The email updates the room and running order, assigns preparation tasks and asks the team to confirm. It does not cancel the event or mention a fee. Evidence, paragraph 1: “Subject: Friday workshop: revised room and final checks.”

2. A. By 9:15. — The team arrives before the visitors so it can test equipment and welcome early arrivals. The workshop itself starts at ten. Evidence, paragraph 1: “Please arrive by 9:15 so that we can test the equipment and welcome early visitors without rushing.”

3. B. The lighting in Room 1 is being repaired. — The lighting repair is the explicit reason Room 1 is unavailable. The email gives no evidence for an increased booking or a new computer. Evidence, paragraph 2: “Room 1 is unavailable because its lighting is being repaired.”

4. C. Some visitors may still follow the earlier email. — This is a supported inference: people with old information may go to the former room, so a notice helps them find the revised location. It does not prove anyone will actually go to the wrong room. Evidence, paragraph 2: “I have updated the booking page, but some visitors may have saved the earlier email.”

5. B. Aisha. — Elena directly addresses Aisha when assigning the printing task. Ben's task concerns the notice and extension leads. Evidence, paragraph 3: “Aisha, please print twenty copies of the safety sheet and place one on each worktable.”

6. A. Aisha must check that it is suitable. — The instruction sets a safety condition before connection. A spare lead is not automatically safe merely because it is available. Evidence, paragraph 3: “do not connect anything until Aisha has checked that the leads are suitable.”

7. C. Leave it in the cupboard and tell Elena. — The email says to leave damaged equipment unused and report it. Rearranging tables is the alternative, not trying the unsafe lead. Evidence, paragraph 3: “If either lead is damaged, leave it in the cupboard and tell me.”

8. B. Several visitors need to leave before noon. — Moving the demonstration earlier lets those visitors see it fully. The event still finishes at 12:30, and no extra activity is being added. Evidence, paragraph 4: “Several visitors need to leave before noon, and we want them to see the full demonstration.”

9. A. Except if something has changed. — Unless introduces an exception: a brief confirmation is normally sufficient, but a change or problem needs more explanation. Evidence, paragraph 5: “a short confirmation is enough unless something has changed.”

10. A. Call her work number. — Elena asks for a call rather than email because she will be setting up the room. This instruction applies to urgent Friday-morning issues. Evidence, paragraph 5: “If an urgent issue appears on Friday morning, call my work number instead of sending an email”

Check your learning

Choose Check my answers at the end of each exercise to see your score and explanations, up to 10 points in total. Accepted alternatives also count. Record your first attempt, then use Try again to practise mistakes. This is practice, not a CEFR level test, and your answers are not saved.

• For a missed instruction, note who must do what and any condition that applies.

• For a deadline mistake, record the weekday and purpose beside each time, and cross out the old arrangement.

• For an inference, explain which words support it and what the email does not prove. Then write your short confirmation reply.

Reading strategy: check words, not guesses

Read the subject line to identify the purpose, then scan for who, what and when. A practical email can contain several times with different functions: staff arrival, event start, demonstration start and the reply deadline. Label each time before choosing.

Notice conditions and exceptions. Do not connect anything until Aisha has checked it sets a condition; leave it in the cupboard if it is damaged tells you what to do in that case. Do not treat a conditional instruction as a suggestion.

Separate a supported inference from a certainty. Visitors may have an old email, so a notice can prevent confusion. You cannot conclude that every visitor will be confused or that the updated booking page is unavailable. The word may limits the strength of the claim.

Use the reading in your own writing

Write a short reply as Ben confirming the notice and extension-lead tasks. Include the safety condition and mention that you will call if an urgent problem appears on Friday morning. Use the email's instructions; do not promise to connect an unchecked lead.

Model opening: Hi Elena, I will put the notice beside the main entrance and speak to reception. Continue with two or three sentences in your own words. This is guided self-study writing, not an automatically graded task.

Frequently asked questions

What makes this a B1 reading task?

The email has a clear everyday work purpose, but you must follow revised arrangements and several linked instructions. Questions include vocabulary in context and one supported inference. The B1 label describes the intended practice difficulty, not a certified exam result.

How can I avoid mixing up deadlines and event times?

Write a small who–action–time note: team arrival by 9:15 Friday, demonstration at 10:30 Friday, and reply by 16:00 Thursday. The weekday and the purpose are as important as the number. Check whether a time is an old plan or the revised arrangement.

Can I choose an answer because it sounds sensible?

Only if the email supports it. A safe or sensible idea from your own experience may not match the instruction in the passage. Find the exact words, then check whether the answer adds information that Elena did not state.

Keep practising your reading

Build a habit of choosing one short text, stating its main idea and finding two exact details. These guides explain techniques you can use beyond this lesson:

How to improve your English reading skills

Clear sentence structure

How to read complex English: tone, evidence and implication