¿Qué vocabulario enseña esta lectura de inglés B1?

Enseña vocabulario cotidiano sobre el clima y la comunidad en contexto —isolated (aislado), tunnel (túnel), harsh (duro), resident (residente) e indoors (bajo techo)— a través de la historia real de Whittier, Alaska.

¿Es adecuada esta lectura para el nivel B1?

Sí. El texto usa oraciones simples y compuestas con vocabulario cotidiano propio del nivel B1. Practica el escaneo de datos, la inferencia de razones y la comprensión de la explicación principal del autor, destrezas clave en los exámenes B1 y el IELTS.

¿Es real que en Whittier, Alaska, la gente vive dentro de un solo edificio?

Sí. Alrededor de 260 personas viven en el pequeño pueblo de Whittier, y casi todas habitan un antiguo edificio del ejército de EE. UU. llamado Begich Towers, que incluye apartamentos, una tienda, una clínica y más.

Why does almost everyone in Whittier live in the same building?

Harsh winters with heavy snow and strong winds, plus an isolated location, make it safest and most practical for the whole community to live, shop, and work inside one building.

What does "isolated" mean in this exercise?

Isolated means far away from other places and difficult to reach — exactly why Whittier's harsh weather and single road make daily life so dependent on one shared building.

Which vocabulary does this B1 exercise cover?

It practises five words in context — isolated, tunnel, harsh, resident, and indoors — so learners meet the vocabulary inside new sentences, not just as an isolated list.

Un Pueblo que Vive en un Edificio – Reading en Inglés B1

Q: What can residents find inside Begich Towers?

The building contains apartments, a small grocery store, a laundromat, a health clinic, a church, and the local police station — almost everything a resident needs, all under one roof.

Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question.

Un Pueblo que Vive Dentro de un Solo Edificio – Lectura en Inglés B1 con Preguntas y Respuestas

In the small Alaskan town of Whittier, almost everyone lives behind the same front door. That includes the police officer, the doctor, the postmaster, and most of the children. Around 260 people call Whittier home, and nearly all of them live inside a single fourteen-storey building called Begich Towers.

The building was built by the US Army in the 1950s. Today it holds almost everything a resident needs: apartments, a small grocery store, a laundromat, a health clinic, a church, and the local police station. Until recently, children could walk from their apartment to school entirely indoors, through a covered tunnel, without ever stepping outside in winter.

Whittier's weather explains why. The town can receive more than five metres of snow in a single winter, and fierce winds blow in off the water. The only road in or out passes through a narrow, one-lane tunnel that trains also use. Cars take turns with the railway on a fixed schedule. For much of the year, the safest and warmest place to be is simply inside. So the town built its whole community into one building instead of spreading it across the mountainside.

Roughly how many people live in Whittier, Alaska?

About this reading

This B1 English reading introduces Whittier, Alaska, a real town where almost every resident lives inside a single building. It's a striking example of how extreme weather and geography can shape the way a whole community organises its daily life.

As you read, look for the writer's explanation at the end — the passage builds toward a clear reason (harsh weather, an isolated location) rather than just listing facts. Identifying a writer's overall explanation, not just individual details, is a core B1 and IELTS reading skill.

Preguntas y respuestas de comprensión lectora

Todas las preguntas de lectura de nivel B1 para “Un Pueblo que Vive Dentro de un Solo Edificio – Lectura en Inglés B1 con Preguntas y Respuestas”, cada una con la respuesta correcta y una breve explicación. Lee el texto de arriba, prueba los ejercicios interactivos y comprueba tus respuestas aquí.

Exercise 1: Reading Comprehension

1. Roughly how many people live in Whittier, Alaska?
- A. About 26
- B. About 260 ✓
- C. About 2,600
- D. About 26,000
Respuesta: About 260
Correct. The text states "Around 260 people call Whittier home." The other numbers are all off by a factor of ten or more.
2. Where do almost all of Whittier's residents live?
- A. In separate houses spread across the town
- B. Inside a single fourteen-storey building called Begich Towers ✓
- C. In small cabins near the harbour
- D. On boats docked in the bay
Respuesta: Inside a single fourteen-storey building called Begich Towers
Correct. The text names the building directly: "nearly all of them live inside a single fourteen-storey building called Begich Towers."
3. Who originally built Begich Towers?
- A. A private hotel company
- B. The US Army ✓
- C. The town's fishing cooperative
- D. A Canadian mining company
Respuesta: The US Army
Correct. Paragraph 2 states "the building was built by the US Army in the 1950s." No other builder is mentioned.
4. What could children do until recently without stepping outside in winter?
- A. Buy groceries at the harbour
- B. Walk from their apartment to school through a covered tunnel ✓
- C. Attend school taught entirely online
- D. Travel to the nearest city for classes
Respuesta: Walk from their apartment to school through a covered tunnel
Correct. The text states children "could walk from their apartment to school entirely indoors, through a covered tunnel."
5. What is unusual about the only road in and out of Whittier?
- A. It is closed completely for six months a year
- B. It is a narrow, one-lane tunnel that cars share with a railway on a fixed schedule ✓
- C. It can only be used by emergency vehicles
- D. It floods every winter and becomes unusable
Respuesta: It is a narrow, one-lane tunnel that cars share with a railway on a fixed schedule
Correct. The text says the road "passes through a narrow, one-lane tunnel that trains also use," and that "cars take turns with the railway on a fixed schedule."
6. According to the text, how much snow can Whittier receive in a single winter?
- A. More than half a metre
- B. More than five metres ✓
- C. More than fifty metres
- D. The text does not say
Respuesta: More than five metres
Correct. The exact figure "more than five metres of snow" is stated directly in paragraph 3 — a scanning question with one clear answer.
7. What is the writer's main explanation for why Whittier's community lives inside one building?
- A. The government required all residents to live together
- B. Harsh weather and an isolated location made one building the safest, most practical way to live ✓
- C. The building's owner refused to rent apartments anywhere else
- D. Everyone in Whittier is related to one another
Respuesta: Harsh weather and an isolated location made one building the safest, most practical way to live
Correct. The final paragraph ties the heavy snow, strong winds, and the difficult one-lane tunnel together to explain the choice. Government rules and family relation are never mentioned — this question tests the writer's overall explanation, not one fact.

Exercise 2: Vocabulary in Context

1. The old lighthouse stood on an _____ island, far from any other town.
- A. isolated ✓
- B. harsh
- C. indoors
- D. resident
Respuesta: isolated
Isolated means far away and difficult to reach — like Whittier itself, cut off by mountains and sea.
2. Workers dug a long _____ through the mountain so trains could pass safely.
- A. tunnel ✓
- B. resident
- C. harsh
- D. isolated
Respuesta: tunnel
A tunnel is a passage cut through rock or under ground — the same kind of tunnel that connects Whittier to the rest of Alaska, and once connected its school to its homes.
3. Winters in the north can be extremely _____, with freezing winds and heavy snow.
- A. harsh ✓
- B. indoors
- C. tunnel
- D. resident
Respuesta: harsh

Un Pueblo que Vive Dentro de un Solo Edificio – Lectura en Inglés B1 con Preguntas y Respuestas

Roughly how many people live in Whittier, Alaska?

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