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Beginner Level Autumn Autumn is the season that falls between summer and winter. There are many changes that begin in this fascinating season. Days become shorter. Leaves of trees turn from green to vibrant red, yellow and orange. Trees need sunlight to keep their leaves a lively green. Without sunlight leaves turn colors. The grass is no longer blanketed with dew but with frost, almost every morning, as temperatures reach the freezing point. Animals start storing up a food supply to last through the long winter months. These changes occur as we adjust from the heat of the summer to the chill of the winter. ANSWER THE QUESTIONS: 1. Autumn occurs between summer and which other season? a. January b. spring c. winter d. solstice 2. Which of the following changes may occur during Autumn? a. days become shorter b. it becomes very hot c. days become longer d. there is more sunlight 3. Why do leaves change color during Autumn? a. they don't get enough oxygen b. they don't get enough light c. they don't get enough water d. they get too much oxygen 4. What do animals begin to do to prepare for the end of Autumn? a. store extra body fat b. eat less c. shed fur d. turn colors 1

Reading Comprehension All Levels

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Page 1: Reading Comprehension All Levels

Beginner Level

Autumn 

Autumn is the season that falls between summer and winter. There are many changes that begin in this fascinating season. Days become shorter. Leaves of trees turn from green to vibrant red, yellow and orange. Trees need sunlight to keep their leaves a lively green. Without sunlight leaves turn colors. The grass is no longer blanketed with dew but with frost, almost every morning, as temperatures reach the freezing point. Animals start storing up a food supply to last through the long winter months. These changes occur as we adjust from the heat of the summer to the chill of the winter.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. Autumn occurs between summer and which other season?

a. January b. spring

c. winter d. solstice

 2. Which of the following changes may occur during Autumn?

a. days become shorter b. it becomes very hot

c. days become longer d. there is more sunlight

 3. Why do leaves change color during Autumn?

a. they don't get enough oxygen b. they don't get enough light

c. they don't get enough water d. they get too much oxygen

 4. What do animals begin to do to prepare for the end of Autumn?

a. store extra body fat b. eat less

c. shed fur d. turn colors

Bobby's Big Birthday Party

When Bobby turned six, his mom and dad had a birthday party for him. Twenty of his closest friends joined in the party. Everyone wore birthday hats and had

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birthday cake. The birthday cake was colored blue and white, which are Bobby's favorite colors.As the day went on, the children played kickball in the back yard. Bobby played first base, Sally played outfield, and Bobby's dad was the pitcher. At the end of the party, Bobby asked his parents if he could have next year's birthday at the zoo. His parents agreed and everyone cheered.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. How old is Bobby today?

a. three b. five

c. six d. ten

 2. About how many people came to Bobby's birthday party?

a. five b. seven

c. ten d. twenty

 3. Which of the following is a color that Bobby really likes?

a. blue b. green

c. yellow d. brown

 4. What game did the party members play?

a. pin-the-tail b. hide and go seek

c. baseball d. kickball

 5. What position did Bobby's dad play in the game?

a. first base b. pitcher

c. shortstop d. outfield

 6. Where could you go to find Bobby's next birthday party?

a. school b. the elk's hall

c. the kickball stadium d. the zoo

Carpenters

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Carpenters are involved in the construction of many different types of structures such as bridges or large buildings. Some carpenters change employers each time they finish a construction job. The duties of a carpenter differ just about each time the accept employment. In most cases, carpenters work in many different locations hundred miles away each year. Carpentry is a very strenuous outdoor profession. Carpenters endure climbing, bending, and heavy laborious work. Often they put themselves at risk of injury working with sharp tools and they work in areas where it is all too easy to fall or slip.

 

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. Which of following may a carpenter do in a normal day of work?

a. type letters b. package and ship mail

c. answer phones d. help build a bridge

 2. What is unique about a Carpenters job?

a. They do the same thing all day.b. They something different each new job they receive.c. They always work for the same person throughout their career.d. They wear sandals.

 3. What is one skill that would handy to have if you were a Carpenter?

a. typing b. cooking

c. wood working d. sewing

Chicago Chicago is the third largest city in the United States. Over three million people live in the two hundred and twenty five mile area of Chicago.The world's first skyscraper was constructed in Chicago in 1885. Today, some of the world's tallest and most famous skyscrapers are found in the city. Located in the heart of the city is the one hundred and ten story Sears Tower, which is among the

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most famous skyscrapers ever built. Chicago is often called "The Windy City". It is assumed that this is due to the City's weather, but in the 1990s 11 major U.S. cities outranked Chicago for average annual wind speed.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. How many cities in the United States are larger than Chicago?

a. one b. two

c. three d. four

 2. Which of the following is true?

a. Chicago is the largest city in the world

b. Chicago is home to some of the world's tallest skyscrapers

c. Chicago is the windiest city in the United States

d. None of the above

 3. How many of people (in millions) live in Chicago?

a. one b. two

c. three d. four

 4. What is one of Chicago's most famous skyscrapers?

a. The Sears Tower

b. The Sienna Tower

c. The Times Tower

d. The Empire State Building

Dancers

Dating back to ancient times, humans have expressed emotions, stories, and sounds through the movement of their bodies. They use a variety of dance movements that allow for self-expression. Many dances string several movements together.

Dancers perform in a variety of productions, such as musicals, folk, ethnic, tap, and pop culture. They also perform in a variety of venues such as theaters, television, movies, music videos, opera, and commercials. For the most part, dancers perform in groups. Top dancers do perform solos as well.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

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1. About how old is the art of Dance?

a. a few decades b. a few centuries

c. hundreds of years old d. thousands of years old

 2. What is a good quality to have as a dancer?

a. a high level of flexibility b. a low level of flexibility

c. a loud voice d. a soft voice

3. If you were a dancer, what television program would you be likely to find work on?

a. golf television b. news television

c. business television d. music television

4. Most dancers perform in __________.

a. department stores b. solos

c. offices d. groups

 

Firefighters Fire is to blame for countless lives and billions of dollars each and every year. Firefighters help protect people and their property from injury and damage. Firefighters put their life on the line every time they respond to a call. While on duty, firefighters must be ready to respond in a matter of minutes to just about any disaster that may occur. At every fire scene, a superior fire officer takes command and dictates the jobs of all the personnel at the scene. Some personnel man hose lines to hydrants. Others manually operate the pumps to send water to the hoses. Teams of firefighters also operate ladders used to reach distances high in the air.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. How many dollars are spent each year to repair the damage of fire?

a. thousands b. hundred-thousands

c. millions d. billions

2. Which is not true about firefighters?

a. they are brave b. they put their life danger often

c. they never put their life danger d. they are highly trained

 3. How long does a firefighter have to prepare for a fire?

a. minutes b. hours

c. days d. weeks

 

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4. Which of the following is not operated by a firefighter at the scene of a fire?

a. hoses b. cars

c. pumps d. ladders

 

Going On A Picnic  Savannah and Charlotte worked real hard all summer to prepare for the end of summer picnic. Savannah grew tomatoes and green peppers in her garden. Charlotte lives on a farm and since the spring has been growing corn, lettuce, and grapes.

A week before the picnic both girls harvested and packed their produce. They decided that all of their hard work deserved a reward. They charged others for their produce. Savannah charged one dollar for one tomato or green pepper. Charlotte charged one dollar for a head of lettuce, fifty cents for an ear of corn, and five cents for a grape.

 ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. Savannah grew ________ for the end of summer picnic.

a. tomatoes b. corn

c. lettuce d. apples

 2. Charlotte grew ________ for the end of summer picnic.

a. tomatoes b. corn

c. lettuce d. both b & c

 3. Where does Charlotte live?

a. Mattydale b. on a farm

c. in the circus d. on a boat

 4. If you were to go to the picnic and purchase 3 tomatoes and 3 ears of corn from the girls, how much would it cost?

a. $1.50 b. $3.50

c. $4.00 d. $4.50

 5. If you were to go to the picnic and purchase 1 tomato, 1 pepper, 2 ears of corn, and 4 grapes from the girls, how much would it cost?

a. $2.20 b. $2.50

c. $3.20 d. $3.50

Martin The Monkey 

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Martin The Monkey lives in an oak tree at Cragmore Park in Bananaville. He works for the Banana telephone company. He is the best employee they have because he can climb the telephone poles twice as fast as everyone else. On Saturdays, Martin pitches for Cragmore Craters Baseball team. The Caters are a semiprofessional team. Martin has become extremely famous for what he calls his "Primate Pitch." The "Primate Pitch" is thrown straight up. The pitch then comes straight down and travels directly over home plate at over one hundred miles per hour. On Wednesday nights, Martin takes painting lessons with Sarah Able. She is a famous oil painter who lives in the same town as Martin. Martin is one of the only artists in the area that paints with his tail.

 ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. In what town does Martin live in?

a. Cragmore b. Bananaville

c. Primate d. Able

 2. In what town does Sarah Able live in?

a. Cragmore b. Bananaville

c. Primate d. Able

 3. Where does Martin work?

a. the banana factory b. the paint factory

c. the telephone company d. the oil company

 4. What semiprofessional baseball team does martin play for?

a. Craters b. Cardinals

c. Drains d. Drabs

 5. What position does Martin play on his baseball team?

a. catcher b. outfield

c. second base d. pitcher

 6. Where can you find Martin on Wednesday nights?

a. Banana telephony company

b. a baseball game

c. painting

d. tail fishing

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London London, is the largest city in Europe. It has held this title for over four hundred years. Over seven million people call London, the capital of the United Kingdom, home. One in ten people, who live in the United Kingdom, live in London. Three hundred fifty thousand people travel each day into London to work. Due to London's location, it is a very dry all year. Although it is dry, London is often very cloudy. On average it rains mildly just about every other day. More than a hundred of the world's major companies have their headquarters in London, making the city a major world influence. Most people from London work in a job that involves printing or publishing.

  

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. How long has London been the largest city in Europe?

a. 100 years

b. 200 years

c. 300 years

d. 400 years

 2. London is the capital city of what country?

a. United States b. France

c. United Kingdom d. Spain

 3. What of the following is true about London?

a. it's very wet b. it's very cold

c. it's very dry d. it's very hot

 4. Most of the people that work in London work in which industry?

a. construction

b. law enforcement

c. professional soccer

d. publishing

 

My Rocket Ship 

When I fall asleep, I dream about what it would be like to have a rocket ship. If I had a rocket ship, my first destination would be the Earth's moon, which is called Luna. When I got to Luna I would jump all around. Because there is little gravity I would be able to jump very high.

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After I finished jumping all over the moon, I would fly to Saturn and travel around Saturn's beautiful rings. On my way to Saturn, I would try to avoid a number of Asteroids. Asteroids are large pieces of rocks and minerals.

In my science class I learned that would take me almost my entire life to travel to Pluto. Pluto is the last Planet in our solar system. Because it's so far from our Sun that it is super cold. I wish I could see Pluto up close.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. What is the name of Earth's Moon?

a. moona b. muna

c. mooon d. luna

 2. Which of the following IS true?

a. You wouldn't be able to jump on the moon.

b. The moon's gravity would allow you to jump high.

c. The Earth has less gravity than it's moon.

d. None of the above.

 3. What is a unique feature of Saturn?

a. it's a moon b. it has lots of water

c. it bright pink in color d. it has rings

 4. What are asteroids made of?

a. vitamins b. ice

c. plastic d. rock

 5. Why is Pluto a cold planet?

a. it is too close to our Sun b. it's far away from our Sun

c. it's outside our solar system d. has no moons

 6. which planet do think is furthest from our Sun?

a. Luna b. Pluto

c. Earth d. Saturn

New

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York

New York is the largest city in the United States. More than eight million people live in the Big Apple. New York City is also home of the United Nations. New York city is located in the state of New York. New York City is home to two hundred and fifty museums, four hundred art galleries, and the world famous Broadway for entertainment. New York City is the business capital of the world and many national and international corporations have their headquarters in New York City. Wall Street, the world's leading center of finance and the home of the American Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange. As far as professional sports go, this city has two of everything. Two professional baseball, basketball, hockey, and football teams are located in the city.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. New York is the largest ______ in the United States.

a. city b. country

c. county d. school

 2. New York is home to more than _______ million people.

a. two b. five

c. eight d. ten

 3. Which of the following is a true statement?

a. New York is a small city.

b. New York has a large number of arts galleries.

c. New York has little impact on the world's economy.

d. None of the above.

4. How many stock exchanges reside in New York?

a. none b. one

c. two d. three

 5. Which of the following is NOT true?

a. Chicago is smaller than New York.

b. Chicago is larger than New York.

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c. Little athletics takes place in New York because it is a city.

d. All of the above are true.

Out To Lunch

All morning, all that Ted could think about was eating lunch. He got up late and did not get a chance to eat breakfast before the school bus arrived.

Ted was hoping to have a Ham sandwich. Ham is Ted's favorite lunchmeat. Ted also enjoys apples, but doesn't like the yellow or green ones.

At lunchtime Ted ran to the cafeteria. When he got in line he asked for Ham sandwich, but they only had Tuna and Turkey. Ted is allergic to Tuna, so he asked for the Turkey. He ate the sandwich so fast that he gave himself the hiccups.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. Why is Ted so hungry for lunch?

a. He hasn't eaten in days b. He didn't eat breakfast today

c. He didn't eat lunch yesterday d. He didn't eat dinner yesterday

 2. What is Ted's favorite lunch meat?

a. ham b. turkey

c. salami d. bologna

3. What color apple might you find in Ted's lunch box?

a. yellow b. green

c. red d. Ted doesn't like apples

4. Which lunch item should Ted never eat?

a. ham b. turkey

c. apples d. tuna

Sydney

Just over four million people call Sydney, Australia home. Citizens of Sydney call themselves Sydneysiders. Over thirty thousand native people of Australia called Aborigines live in Sydney. In the late 1700s Britain sent ships of convicted prisoners to Sydney to help free up space in overcrowded jails. When released, many prisoners stayed in Sydney adding to the city's diverse population. The British colonization of Australia also consisted of free settlers, soldiers, and administrative staff.

The Sydney Opera House is the centerpiece of the city. Many live performances of ballet, opera, and classical music take place there. The beautiful architecture seen in the Opera House has helped it gain international fame.

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Because Sydney is found in the Southern Hemisphere, its seasonal pattern is opposite the Northern Hemisphere. Sydney's coldest month of the year is July. Snow is extremely rare in the city, but it does happen occasionally.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. Sydney is a city in which country?

a. Austria b. Australia

c. Africa d. Antarctica

 2. What is the name given to early natives of Australia?

a. Aborigines b. Australians

c. Sydneysiders d. Austrians

3. Which country outside of Australia contributed to large population of Sydney?

a. Japan b. France

c. Great Britain d. Spain

4. What do you think the picture at the top of the passage represents? Hint: It's the centerpiece of the city.

a. The Sydney Opera House b. The Sydney Boat House

c. The Sydney Hemisphere d. The Sydney Ballet

5. When its the Summer season in North America, what season is it in Sydney?a. Fallb. Winterc. Springd. Summer

The Big Run Mary likes to run. Ever since she was in third grade she has been training to run long distances. Now that she was in eighth grade, her parents agreed to let her run in the Banana Classic. The Banana Classic is a ten kilometer run. It takes place every year in Mattydale. The winners get a lifetime supply of peanuts and fruit juice from Paul's Peanut Stand. Mary practiced by running for ten kilometers twice a day. On the average run, she would finish in thirty minutes. Last year's winner finished the race in twenty-six minutes and ten seconds. On the day of the race, Mary ran faster then she ever had in past. As she came across the last kilometer she was in fourth place. She picked up the pace and quickly leaped into second place, just as she could see the finish line. She ran fast as should in a mad dash to the finish line, but she just wasn't fast enough to get ahead of leader.

 

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ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. About how many years have past since Mary began training for long runs and when she ran in the Banana Classic?

a. one year b. three years

c. five years d. eight years

 2. How long of a run is the Banana Classic?

a. one kilometer b. five kilometers

c. seven kilometers d. ten kilometers

 3. Where is the Banana Classic held?

a. New York b. Rosendale

c. Zilldiale d. Mattydale

 4. While training, what was the average amount of time it took Mary to complete a run the same distance as the Banana Classic?

a. fifteen minutes b. thirty minutes

c. forty minutes d. one hour

 5. What place did Mary finish in the Banana Classic?

a. first b. second

c. fourth d. sixth

The Hottest Day Ever 

I woke up one August morning in a warm sweat. I ran to the refrigerator to get a cold drink, but the refrigerator was broken and all the drinks were as hot as me. I walked over to my electric fan, but it wasn't working either. I then turned on the television and finally realized that the electricity in my house was out.

Later that day, I went to the pool to cool off. I dived right in! I swam eight laps before I tired out. My friend Jeremy then bought me an ice cream cone. I got a vanilla ice cream cone with rainbow sprinkles.

Even though it was really hot, I did have a lot of fun.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. What did the narrator want from the refrigerator?

a. a ham sandwichb. a fan

c. a drink d. an apple

 2. Why does the electric fan not work?

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a. it was broken b. it needed batteries

c. the power was out d. it wasn't oiled

 3. How many laps did it take for the narrator to tire of the pool?

a. two b. four

c. six d. eight

 4. Who bought the narrator an ice cream cone?

a. Sarah b. Samantha

c. Joe d. Jeremy

 5. What was the flavor of the ice cream?

a. vanilla b. rainbow

c. chocolate d. strawberry

The Play

Sarah was hoping to get the lead role in the upcoming school play. Last year she played the role of Darma in the school's production of "My Favorite Day." The audience loved her performance. She received a huge round of applause at the end of every performance.

This year the school will be putting on a production called "My Crazy Week." Sarah began to practice her lines three times a day for four weeks before auditions. The week before the audition she began to practice with two friends. Sarah practiced the part of Jane, Mike practiced the part of James, and Amanda practiced the part of Teresa.

When the auditions started Sarah did an excellent job! Her outstanding performance won her the role of Jane. As soon as she learned that she won the part, she ran home to practice for opening night.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. What play did Sarah play the role of Darma in?

a. My Favorite Day b. My Crazy Summer

c. My Worst Day d. My Crazy Week

 2. What is the lead role in the upcoming play?

a. James b. Mike

c. Teresa d. Jane

 3. How long before the play did Sarah begin practicing her lines?

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a. one week b. three weeks

c. four weeks d. five weeks

 4. What part in the upcoming play did Mike pratice for?

a. James b. Mike

c. Teresa d. Jane

 5. What part in the upcoming play did Amanda pratice for?

a. Sarah b. Amanda

c. Teresa d. Jane

The Post Office 

The colony of Massachusetts established the first post office within the United States in 1639. In 1789 Congress authorized the postal service under the U.S. Constitution. At the time, the nation had 75 local post offices and delivered mail over an area of 1875 mi.

Today, the postal service is an independent agency responsible for postal regulation and delivery. The Postal Services main responsibilities are the collection and delivery of printed material and hard goods. The Postal Service also issues domestic and foreign money orders. In a single year, the Postal Service handles more than 160 billion pieces of mail.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS:

1. What U.S. State is credited with the Invention of the post office?

a. New Hampshire b. Maine

c. Massachusetts d. New Jersey

 2. About how long was it between when the first post office was in operation and when the U.S. congress authorized the postal service?

a. 50 years b. 75 years

c. 100 years d. 150 years

 3. How can you send and receive money through the post office?

a. with a postal money order b. with postal crazy bucks

c. with a postal check d. with a postal decoder ring

 4. The post office handles just over 160 _________ pieces of mail a year.

a. thousand b. million

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c. billion d. trillion

Tiffany's Cookies 

Tiffany started baking cookies when she was in fifth grade. By the time she reached seventh grade, her cookies were locally famous. All of her friends would beg her to make her famous chocolate chip cookies almost every week.

Then one day a local reporter wrote a story about her and her famous cookies. The story was later picked up by National Television news. The story talked about the number of different recipes tiffany could make and how tasty her cookies were. Upon seeing the story, Coco Cookie Company called Tiffany to see if she would sell them her famous cookie recipe.

Tiffany sold them her oatmeal raisin recipe for twenty thousand dollars and her pudding cookie recipe for fifty thousand dollars, but she refused to sell them her chocolate chip recipe. She decided to keep this recipe and start her own company. On August 2002, she started Tiffany Boom Cookies Inc.  ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. When did tiffany began to bake cookies?

a. third grade b. fifth grade

c. seventh grade d. eighth grade

 2. What cookie recipe was Tiffany's most famous for?

a. sugar cookies b. oatmeal cookies

c. raisin cookies d. chocolate chip cookies

 3. What news story really lead to her big success?

a. local news b. county news

c. state news d. school news

 4. What company purchased some of Tiffany's recipes?

a. Alpo cookies b. Bobo Cookies

c. Coco cookies d. none of these

 5. How much money did Tiffany make from selling two of her recipes?

a. $20,000 b. $40,000

c. $65,000 d. $75,000

National Baseball Hall of Fame and MuseumReading Passage

More than 350,000 fans visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum located in Cooperstown, New York, every year. The museum, established in 1939 is

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located in the very town where Abner Doubleday was said to have designed the game approximately 100 years prior. Great baseball players, such as Babe Ruth and Ted William's, are honored in life size woodcarvings in the Hall of Fame Gallery. The Cooperstown Room traces the history and development of baseball. Displays of women in baseball, the All Star Game, and world tours can be found on the museums second floor. A newly constructed wing houses a 200-seat movie theatre and interactive exhibits that make the trip, from anywhere, worthwhile!

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. Where is the National Baseball Hall of Fame located?

A. New Mexico C. New York

B. New Jersey D. Canada

2. Who designed the game of baseball?

A. Abner Doubleday C. Babe Ruth

B. Derek Jeter D. Ted Williams

3. What floor can displays of women in baseball be found on?

A. first floor C. second floor

B. third floor D. fourth floor

4. How many seats are in the new movie theatre?

A. 2000 C. 300

B. 200 D. 30

5. The game of baseball was designed in about or around this year.

A. 1739 C. 1939

B. 1839 D. 1639

Nasreddin and the Pot

One day Nasreddin borrowed a pot from his neighbour Ali. The next day he brought it back with another little pot inside. "That's not mine," said Ali. "Yes, it is," said Nasreddin. "While your pot was staying with me, it had a baby."

Some time later Nasreddin asked Ali to lend him a pot again. Ali agreed, hoping that he would once again receive two pots in return. However, days passed and Nasreddin had still not returned the pot. Finally Ali lost patience and went to demand his property. "I am sorry," said Nasreddin. "I can't give you back your pot,

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since it has died." "Died!" screamed Ali, "how can a pot die?" "Well," said Nasreddin, "you believed me when I told you that your pot had had a baby."

1 Who was the owner of the pot?Nasreddin

Ali

the baby

2 How many times did Nasreddin borrow the pot?once

twice

three times

3 How many pots did he give back the first time?none

one

two

4 Why was the neighbour happy to lend his pot a second time?He was greedy.

He was a good neighbour.

He had lots of spare pots.

5 How many pots did Nasreddin return the second time?none

one

two

6 What probably happened to the pot?It died.

The neighbour took it back.

Nasreddin kept it.

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Nasreddin Goes Shopping

One day Nasreddin went to town to buy new clothes. First he tried on a pair of trousers. He didn't like the trousers, so he gave them back to the shopkeeper. Then he tried a robe which had the same price as the trousers. Nasreddin was pleased with the robe, and he left the shop. Before he climbed on his donkey to ride home, the shopkeeper and the shop-assistant ran out. "You didn't pay for the robe!" said the shopkeeper. "But I gave you the trousers in exchange for the robe, didn't I?" replied Nasreddin. "Yes, but you didn't pay for the trousers, either!" said the shopkeeper. "But I didn't buy the trousers," replied Nasreddin. "I am not so stupid as to pay for something which I never bought."

1 How did Nasreddin get to the shop?on foot

by camel

by donkey

the story doesn't say

2 What did Nasreddin do first in the shop?He tried on some trousers.

He tried on a robe.

He tried on a hat.

He greeted the shopkeeper.

3 What did Nasreddin try on next?a robe

a pair of trousers

a hat

4 Which item did Nasreddin like best?the robe

the hat

the trousers

5 How many people were working in the shop?four

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three

two

6 Why was the shopkeeper angry when Nasreddin left?He didn't take the trousers.

He didn't pay for the robe.

He didn't say goodbye.

7 What did Nasreddin actually pay for?nothing

the robe

the trousers

Nasreddin and the Beggar

One day, Nasreddin was up on the roof of his house, mending a hole in the tiles. He had nearly finished, and he was pleased with his work. Suddenly, he heard a voice below call "Hello!" When he looked down, Nasreddin saw an old man in dirty clothes standing below. "What do you want?" asked Nasreddin. "Come down and I'll tell you," called the man. Nasreddin was annoyed, but he was a polite man, so he put down his tools. Carefully, he climbed all the way down to the ground. "What do you want?" he asked, when he reached the ground. "Could you spare a little money for an old beggar?" asked the old man. Nasreddin thought for a minute. Then he said, "Come with me." He began climbing the ladder again. The old man followed him all the way to the top. When they were both sitting on the roof, Nasreddin turned to the beggar."No," he said.

1 Why was Nasreddin on the roof of his house?He was looking at the view.

He was waiting for the old man.

He was fixing the roof.

2 Who was the old man?a beggar

Nasreddin's friend

a roof-mender

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3 Why was Nasreddin angry?It was a hot day.

He knew the beggar only wanted money.

It was a long way to go down the ladder.

4 Why did Nasreddin go down the ladder?He wanted to get away from his work.

Because the beggar asked him to.

He wanted to speak to the beggar.

5 Why did Nasreddin make the beggar climb up the ladder?He wanted to show him the view from the roof.

He wanted to get his revenge on the beggar.

He wanted the beggar to help him fix the roof.

Nasreddin and the Smell of Soup

One day, a poor man, who had only one piece of bread to eat, was walking past a restaurant. There was a large pot of soup on the table. The poor man held his bread over the soup, so the steam from the soup went into the bread, and gave it a good smell. Then he ate the bread. The restaurant owner was very angry at this, and he asked the man for money, in exchange for the steam from the soup. The poor man had no money, so the restaurant owner took him to Nasreddin, who was a judge at that time. Nasreddin thought about the case for a little while.Then he took some money from his pocket. He held the coins next to the restaurant owner's ear, and shook them, so that they made a jingling noise. "What was that?" asked the restaurant owner. "That was payment for you," answered Nasreddin."What do you mean? That was just the sound of coins!" protested the restaurant owner."The sound of the coins is payment for the smell of the soup," answered Nasreddin. "Now go back to your restaurant."

1 What food did the poor man have?soup

bread

nothing

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2 What kind of food did he see in the restaurant?bread

meat

soup

3 Why did he hold the bread over the soup?So the steam from the soup would go into the bread.

So he could warm his hand.

So the restaurant owner would get angry.

4 Why did the restaurant owner take the poor man to Nasreddin?Because Nasreddin was a judge.

So that Nasreddin could pay for the soup.

Because Nasreddin was the man's relative.

5 What did Nasreddin do with the coins?He gave them to the restaurant owner.

He made a noise with them.

He gave them to the poor man.

6 What was the payment for the smell of the soup?the sound of money

a few coins

there was no payment

Nasreddin's Visitors

One day a visitor came to Nasreddin's house. "I am your cousin from Konya," he said, "and I have brought you a duck to celebrate the visit." Nasreddin was delighted. He asked his wife to cook the duck, and served the visitor a fine dinner.

The next day another visitor arrived. "I am the friend of the man who brought you the duck," he said. Nasreddin invited him in and gave him a good meal. The next day another visitor arrived, and said he was the friend of the friend of the man who had brought the duck. Again Nasreddin invited him in for a meal. However, he was getting

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annoyed. Visitors seemed to be using his house as a restaurant.

Then another visitor came, and said he was the friend of the friend of the friend of the man who had brought the duck. Nasreddin invited him to eat dinner with him. His wife brought some soup to the table and the visitor tasted it. "What kind of soup is this?" asked the visitor. "It tastes just like warm water." "Ah!" said Nasreddin, "That is the soup of the soup of the soup of the duck."

1 How many visitors came to see Nasreddin?2

3

4

2 How many of the visitors brought a duck?1

2

3

3 Did Nasreddin know the first visitor?Yes

No

4 Why did Nasreddin get angry?He did not like eating duck.

His cousin didn't bring him a duck.

The first visitor brought a duck, but the others didn't bring anything.

5 How did Nasreddin solve the problem?He served soup which tasted of nothing, so that no more visitors would want to come to his house.He served excellent soup, so that everyone would want to eat at his house.He opened a restaurant.

A Special Christmas Present

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David wants to buy a Christmas present for a very special person, his mother. David's father gives him $5.00 a week pocket money and David puts $2.00 a week into his bank account. After three months David takes $20.00 out of his bank account and goes to the shopping mall. He looks and looks for a perfect gift.Suddenly he sees a beautiful brooch in the shape of his favourite pet. He says to himself, "My mother loves jewelry, and the brooch costs only $17.00." He buys the brooch and takes it home. He wraps the present in Christmas paper and places it under the tree. He is very excited and he is looking forward to Christmas morning to see the joy on his mother's face.But when his mother opens the present she screams with fright because she sees a spider

1. What does David want to buy his Mother?  a. a special birthday present   b. a Christmas present  c.  a spider ring

2. Who does David get his money from? a.  his pet   b. his mother  c.  his father

3. How much money does David take to the mall? a.  $20.00   b. $5.00   c. $17.00

4. What does David buy his mother? a. a ring   b. a brooch   c. a spider

5. What does David do with the present when he takes it home?  a. he gives it to his mother   b. he wraps it in Christmas paper   c. he is very excited

6. Why does David's mother scream?  a. because the present is beautiful   b. because she doesn't like Christmas presents   c. because she thinks she sees a real spider

7. Why does David buy a spider brooch?  a. spiders are his favourite pet   b. he loves Christmas   c. to scare his mother

8. Where does David put the present on Christmas Eve? a.  under his pillow  b.  under a spider

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 c.  under the Christmas tree

Two sisters and the cat

Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Smith are sisters. Mrs. Wilson lives in a house in Duncan and Mrs. Smith lives in a condominium in Victoria. One day Mrs. Wilson visited her sister. When her sister answered the door, Mrs. Wilson saw tears in her eyes. "What's the matter?" she asked. Mrs. Smith said "My cat Sammy died last night and I have no place to bury him". She began to cry again. Mrs. Wilson was very sad because she knew her sister loved the cat very much. Suddenly Mrs.. Wilson said "I can bury your cat in my garden in Duncan and you can come and visit him sometimes." Mrs.. Smith stopped crying and the two sisters had tea together and a nice visit. It was now five o'clock and Mrs. Wilson said it was time for her to go home. She put on her hat, coat and gloves and Mrs. Smith put the dead Sammy into a shopping bag. Mrs. Wilson took the shopping bag and walked to the bus stop. She waited a long time for the bus so she bought a newspaper. When the bus arrived, she got on the bus, sat down and put the shopping bag on the floor beside her feet. She then began to read the newspaper. When the bus arrived at her bus stop, she got off the bus and walked for about two minutes. Suddenly she remembered she had left the shopping bag on the bus.

1. Where does Mrs. Smith live?  a.     in a condominium in Duncan   b. in a condominium in Victoria   c.      in a house in Duncan

2. Why is Mrs. Smith upset? a. because her sister came to see her cat b. because her cat died c. because Mrs. Wilson was sad

3. What did Mrs. Wilson do?a.     take the cat with her on the bus b.     put her gloves in the shopping bag c.     prepare dinner for her sister

4. Who did Sammy the cat live with? a.   Mrs. Wilson  b.   Mrs. Smith c. Mrs. Wilson and Mrs. Smith

5. What time did Mrs. Wilson go home?a.     when the bus arrived  b.    at 5 p.m.  c.    after she walked for two minutes

6. How did Mrs. Wilson go home?a.    walked for two minutes before she caught the bus  b.   read a newspaper on the bus

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 c.   took a bus

7. What did Mrs. Wilson forget? a.     the newspaper  b.    her handbag  c.   the shopping bag

8. Where did Sammy die? a.    in Mrs. Smith's house in Duncan   b.   in Mrs. Wilson's garden   c.    in Victoria

Romulus and Remus

The early history of the city of Rome involves Romulus and Remus, two orphan boys who, legend says, were raised by a she-wolf. The boys' mother had been murdered by an evil king and the two babies tossed into the river Tiber. When the wolf found them they had washed up on the shore. She perhaps took pity on the crying of the babies and, gently picking them up in her teeth, she carried them back to her cave and fed them on her milk. The boys grew bigger and stronger and, eventually, were found by a herdsman who took them home. He and his wife raised the boys like their own children. When they reached manhood they sought revenge on the king who had killed their mother and driven them from their home.They decided to build a city. Unfortunately, they argued over the appropriate site and Romulus killed his brother Remus. Romulus ruled this city -- called Roma -- for thirty-seven years.The city of Rome is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. If you travel there you can see a statue of the two baby boys feeding from their mother - the wolf.

1. What is the gist (the main idea) that this piece of writing conveys?

   a) Wolves like to take care of human children.

   b) The city of Rome had many wolves in the old days.

   c) The city of Rome was founded by a wolf.

   d) Romulus established the city of Rome.

2. What is a herdsman?

   a) someone who builds cities

   b) someone who cares for children

   c) someone who cares for domestic animals

   d) someone who can hear very well

3. "...they sought revenge on the king who had killed their mother..." means...

   a) They attacked the king who had harmed their mother and made them orphans.

   b) They went to court to sue the king for his crime against their mother.

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   c) They hired some gangsters to take care of their problem with the king.

   d) They went to talk to the king about his crime against their mother.

Intermediate Level

The Positive Effects on Children of Owning a Dog

Brendan's best friend is Tip. Tip and Brendan are inseparable. They teach each other things and they look after each other. Tip has helped Brendan become more responsible, more caring, and a better friend. Brendan is a nine-year-old boy, and Tip is a ten-year-old dog. Brendan and Tip are an example of how owning a dog can have a positive effect on a child's development. Having a dog develops a child's sense of responsibility, broadens his capacity for empathy, and teaches the nature of friendship.

Having a dog helps a child learn how to act responsibly. As a dog owner, the child must take care of the animal's daily needs. The dog must be fed and exercised

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every day. A dog is completely dependent on its owner for all its needs, including the need for good health and a safe environment. Therefore, being responsible for a dog also means taking care of the dog so that it stays healthy. Furthermore, the owner must take responsibility for the safety of the dog and the safety of the people it comes into contact with. If the child forgets any of these duties and responsibilities, or ignores any of the dog's needs, the dog will suffer. This teaches the child that his responsibility to the dog is more important than his desire to play with his toys, talk on the phone, or watch TV. This is true not only for the care of a dog, but also for the care of oneself, another person, or one's job. Learning how to take responsibility for the health and welfare of a dog leads to learning how to take responsibility for oneself.

Another lesson that a child can learn from having a dog is how to be empathetic. Empathy is the ability to put oneself in another person's, or in this case another creature's, situation and imagine that person's or creature's feelings or problems. A dog cannot express itself with speech, so its owner must learn how to interpret its behaviour. The child must learn to understand what the dog's behaviour means. Is the dog frightened, aggressive, or sick? The child needs to understand what is going on in the dog's mind. Understanding a situation from the dog's perspective helps the child understand why the dog is behaving in a certain way and what the dog needs. The result of learning to read a dog's behaviour is that the child develops empathy. By learning how to empathize with a dog, the child also learns how to empathize with other people. This leads to the child becoming a more considerate and caring person. Being considerate and caring are important characteristics in a good friend. One of the most significant benefits of owning a dog is the example of true friendship that a dog provides. A dog gives unconditional love to its owner. A dog will not stop loving its owner because of a little anger, indifference, or neglect. The dog will wait patiently for its owner to pat its head and say a few kind words. This acceptance of the negative qualities and appreciation for the positive qualities of its owner provide a wonderful model of how to be a good friend. A child soon realizes that his dog will always listen to him, will always be ready to play with him, will always protect him, and will always forgive him. A child who has learned to be even half as good a friend to others as his dog is to him will have learned one of the most valuable lessons in life. These are some of the most important lessons a child will ever learn. The benefits of owning a dog will last the child's entire lifetime. The understanding and appreciation of responsibility, empathy, and friendship that a child develops from the experience of having a dog will help him or her grow into a reliable, caring, and mature adult.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES:1. The dog's name is _________.

A.   Kip B.   Brennan C.  Tip D.   Brendan

2. Which of the following have a positive effect on a child's development?

A.     feeling responsible B.     all of the above C.     feeling empathy D.     building friendships

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3. A child learns how to be responsible for a dog by _________.A.    feeding the dog weekly B.     becoming dependent on the dog C.     taking away a safe environment D.     taking care of the dog's daily needs

4. Learning how to care for a dog can help children _________.A.     to take of themselves B.     to choose the dog over playing C.     to ignore the dog's needs D.     to get welfare

5. Children can learn how to _________.A.      only care about themselves, and not others B.      be irresponsible C.      get rid of the dog they don't want to take care of it D.     understand the dog's needs

6. The dog's owner must interpret which of the following from their dog's behaviour?

A.     illness B.     fear C.      happiness D.      all of the above

7. Which of the following is a positive result of learning how to interpret a dog's behaviour?

A.    being thoughtless B.    becoming selfish C.    becoming arrogant D.    becoming empathetic

8. What kind of love does a dog provide?A.    one-sided B.    conditional C.    unconditional D.    shallow

9. Which of the following is NOT a benefit of a child owning a dog?A.    reliability B.     friendship C.     neglect D.     companionship

10. In what ways is a dog loyal?

A. It will protect people.

B.

It offers unconditional love.

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C.

It is able to tolerate the negative qualities of humans.

D.

It neglects its owner

From Carrots to Renovations:

How I Spent $10,000 without Really Trying

Do you believe that a kilogram of carrots could cost $10,000? My carrots cost me that much last year. Last summer I had to completely renovate my kitchen and it was all because of a bunch of carrots. The story begins with my picking twelve carrots from my vegetable garden and ends with my getting a new kitchen.

I have a vegetable garden and every summer I enjoy eating my own vegetables. One day last summer I picked a dozen carrots. Usually, as soon as I have picked the carrots, I clean the dirt off them by rinsing them in a bucket of water. I keep a full bucket of water beside the garden just for this purpose. But this day, as I was getting up from the ground with my twelve carrots, I tripped and fell over the bucket. The water spilled out of the bucket and went all over my feet. I ran into the house to change my shoes and socks. When I was finally dry and clean, I realized that I had very little time to make dinner. The carrots were part of dinner, so I decided to wash the carrots quickly in the kitchen sink. The carrots were covered in a large amount of dirt from the garden. I put the carrots in the sink, rinsed them with water, and watched all the dirt wash away down the drain. The next day, when I was washing dishes, I noticed that the water drained out of the sink much more slowly than usual. It drained so slowly that I went to the store and bought a bottle of special drain cleaner. I used the drain cleaner and the water seemed to drain a little faster. However, the following day the drain worked even more slowly. I spent $100 on different kinds of drain cleaner. None of them worked. Soon the water did not drain at all. At this point I called a plumber to come and fix my drain. The plumber tried a lot of different cleaners and equipment, but nothing worked.

He tried to go under the house to check the pipes, but he couldn't reach them. He had to cut a hole in the floor where the drain pipe was in order to try to find the problem. While he was cutting the small hole, he accidentally cut the hot-water pipe. Hot water sprayed over the plumber, onto the floor, behind the counters, under the refrigerator; water went everywhere. Two hours later we finally finished cleaning up all the water. But the water had caused a lot of damage. My refrigerator stopped working because the water had affected the electrical wires. I called an electrician to come and fix the refrigerator. The electrician had to move the refrigerator to work on the wires. In order to move the refrigerator, she had to balance it on an angle and pull it away from the wall.

As the electrician was balancing it, she tripped over the plumber's tools. She fell down and the refrigerator tipped over. It crashed into the wall, resulting in a huge

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hole in the wall. I called a carpenter to come and fix the wall. In order to repair the hole in the wall, the carpenter had to tear down half of the entire wall. When the wall was half gone, the electrician found more electrical problems caused by the water damage. This resulted in the other half of the wall being removed to replace the damaged wiring. Meanwhile, the plumber was still looking for the source of the drain problem. Since the kitchen was in a terrible mess anyway, the plumber decided to remove part of the floor to look at the pipe there. In the middle of the floor, he found the problem: the dirt from the carrots was stuck in the pipe and nothing could go through or past the clump of dirt.

Now I had a sink that did not drain, a refrigerator that did not work, a wall that was gone, and part of a floor that was missing. I looked at this disaster and decided that what I really needed was a new kitchen. Finally, I called a house builder to come and fix my kitchen. Three weeks later I had a new sink, a new refrigerator, new cupboards on a new wall, new tiles on a new floor, and $10,000 less in my bank. I have learned my lesson, I never wash carrots in the kitchen sink; I get them, clean and ready to eat, from the store.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:1. How did a kilogram of carrots cost $10,000?

A. the kitchen needed a more modern look

B. the dirt from the carrots blocked the drain which led to other problems

C. carrots can be very expensive

D. the carrots caused water to spill everywhere

2. Which of the following is not a reason why the carrots were washed in the sink and not in the bucket.

A.  the bucket of water fell over

B. dinner needed to be made soon

C. the carrots were always washed in the kitchen sink

D. the carrots were dirty because they were fresh from the garden

3. Which of the following steps were taken to make the sink drain more quickly?

A. $10,000 was spent to repair the sink

B.a plumber came to repair the drain

C. $100 was spent on different kinds of drain cleaners

D. a new sink and drain pipe were installed

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4. What caused the most damage to the kitchen?  ?   

A.the drain

B.   the plumber

  C.   the water damage

   D.  the electrical problem

1. Which of the following items was not damaged?

  A. the wall

  B. the hot water pipe

C.   the oven

 D. the floor

The Effects of Stress

There is a famous expression in English: "Stop the world, I want to get off!" This expression refers to a feeling of panic, or stress, that makes a person want to stop whatever they are doing, try to relax, and become calm again. 'Stress' means pressure or tension. It is one of the most common causes of health problems in modern life. Too much stress results in physical, emotional, and mental health problems.

There are numerous physical effects of stress. Stress can affect the heart. It can increase the pulse rate, make the heart miss beats, and can cause high blood pressure. Stress can affect the respiratory system. It can lead to asthma. It can cause a person to breathe too fast, resulting in a loss of important carbon dioxide. Stress can affect the stomach. It can cause stomach aches and problems digesting food. These are only a few examples of the wide range of illnesses and symptoms resulting from stress. Emotions are also easily affected by stress. People suffering from stress often feel anxious. They may have panic attacks. They may feel tired all the time. When people are under stress, they often overreact to little problems. For example, a normally gentle parent under a lot of stress at work may yell at a child for dropping a glass of juice. Stress can make people angry, moody, or nervous.

Long-term stress can lead to a variety of serious mental illnesses. Depression, an extreme feeling of sadness and hopelessness, can be the result of continued and increasing stress. Alcoholism and other addictions often develop as a result of overuse of alcohol or drugs to try to relieve stress. Eating disorders, such as anorexia, are sometimes caused by stress and are often made worse by stress. If stress is allowed to continue, then one's mental health is put at risk.

It is obvious that stress is a serious problem. It attacks the body. It affects the emotions. Untreated, it may eventually result in mental illness. Stress has a great influence on the health and well-being of our bodies, our feelings, and our minds. So, reduce stress: stop the world and rest for a while.

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ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:1. Which of the following is not a common problem caused by stress?

A. physical problems

B. anecdotal problems

C. mental problems

D. emotional problems

2. According to the essay, which of the following parts of the body does not have physical problems caused by stress.

A.  the arms

B. the stomach

C. the lungs

D. the heart

3. Which of the following show how stress can affect the emotions?

A. it can make people feel nervous

B. it can cause panic attacks

C. it can make people feel elated

D. it can make people feel angry

4. Which of the following can result from long-term stress?

A. bliss

B.

depression

C.

alcoholism

D.

whimsy

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5. Choose the best answer to explain how alcoholism is caused by stress.

       A. alcohol is used to relieve stress

   B. alcohol is popular

   C. alcohol is a chemical

    D. alcohol is similar to medicine

1. Which of the following is not caused by long-term stress?

    A. bloating

 B.addiction

  C. anorexia

  D.alcoholism

2. Choose all of the answers that can complete this sentence: Stress can affect the respiratory system by __________.

A.causing stomach problems

B.

causing asthma

C.

a loss of carbon dioxide

D.

causing breathing problems

3. Stress can affect the heart by __________.

A. decreasing the pulse rate

B. causing asthma

C. a loss of carbon dioxide

D. causing breathing problems

1. Symptoms of emotional stress include __________.

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A. feeling joyous

B. feeling hungry

   C. feeling thirsty

   D.  feeling tired

Pulp Friction

Every second, 1 hectare of the world's rainforest is destroyed. That's equivalent to two football fields. An area the size of New York City is lost every day. In a year, that adds up to 31 million hectares -- more than the land area of Poland. This alarming rate of destruction has serious consequences for the environment; scientists estimate, for example, that 137 species of plant, insect or animal become extinct every day due to logging. In British Columbia, where, since 1990, thirteen rainforest valleys have been clearcut, 142 species of salmon have already become extinct, and the habitats of grizzly bears, wolves and many other creatures are threatened. Logging, however, provides jobs, profits, taxes for the govenment and cheap products of all kinds for consumers, so the government is reluctant to restrict or control it. Much of Canada's forestry production goes towards making pulp and paper. According to the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, Canada supplies 34% of the world's wood pulp and 49% of its newsprint paper. If these paper products could be produced in some other way, Canadian forests could be preserved. Recently, a possible alternative way of producing paper has been suggested by agriculturalists and environmentalists: a plant called hemp. Hemp has been cultivated by many cultures for thousands of years. It produces fibre which can be made into paper, fuel, oils, textiles, food, and rope. For many centuries, it was essential to the economies of many countries because it was used to make the ropes and cables used on sailing ships; colonial expansion and the establishment of a world-wide trading network would not have been possible without hemp. Nowadays, ships' cables are usually made from wire or synthetic fibres, but scientists are now suggesting that the cultivation of hemp should be revived for the production of paper and pulp. According to its proponents, four times as much paper can be produced from land using hemp rather than trees, and many environmentalists believe that the large-scale cultivation of hemp could reduce the pressure on Canada's forests.

However, there is a problem: hemp is illegal in many countries of the world. This plant, so useful for fibre, rope, oil, fuel and textiles, is a species of cannabis, related to the plant from which marijuana is produced. In the late 1930s, a movement to ban the drug marijuana began to gather force, resulting in the eventual banning of the cultivation not only of the plant used to produce the drug, but also of the commercial fibre-producing hemp plant. Although both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew hemp in large quantities on their own land, any American growing the plant today would soon find himself in prison -- despite the fact that

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marijuana cannot be produced from the hemp plant, since it contains almost no THC (the active ingredient in the drug). In recent years, two major movements for legalization have been gathering strength. One group of activists believes that ALL cannabis should be legal -- both the hemp plant and the marijuana plant -- and that the use of the drug marijuana should not be an offense. They argue that marijuana is not dangerous or addictive, and that it is used by large numbers of people who are not criminals but productive members of society. They also point out that marijuana is less toxic than alcohol or tobacco. The other legalization movement is concerned only with the hemp plant used to produce fibre; this group wants to make it legal to cultivate the plant and sell the fibre for paper and pulp production. This second group has had a major triumph recently: in 1997, Canada legalized the farming of hemp for fibre. For the first time since 1938, hundreds of farmers are planting this crop, and soon we can expect to see pulp and paper produced from this new source.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. How long does it take for 100 hectares of rainforest to be destroyed?

   a) less than two minutes

   b) about an hour

   c) two hours

   d) a day

2. Why is pulp and paper production important to Canada?

   a) Canada needs to find a way to use all its spare wood.

   b) Canada publishes a lot of newspapers and books.

   c) Pulp and paper export is a major source of income for Canada.

3. Who is suggesting that pulp and paper could be produced without cutting down trees?

   a) the logging industry

   b) the government

   c) the environmental lobby

4. Why was the plant hemp essential to world-wide trade in the past?

   a) Ships' ropes were made from it.

   b) Hemp was a very profitable export.

   c) Hemp was used as fuel for ships.

   d) Hemp was used as food for sailors.

5. Why do agriculturalists think that hemp would be better for paper production than trees?

   a) It is cheaper to grow hemp than to cut down trees.

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   b) More paper can be produced from the same area of land.

   c) Hemp produces higher quality paper.

6. When was hemp production banned in Canada?

   a) 1930

   b) 1960

   c) 1996

   d) 1938

7. Why was hemp banned?

   a) It is related to the marijuana plant.

   b) It can be used to produce marijuana.

   c) It was no longer a useful crop.

   d) It was destructive to the land.

8. What chemical ingredient of cannabis plants is a powerful drug?

   a) Fibre

   b) Marijuana

   c) THC

9. True or false: Some activists believe that both marijuana and hemp should be legal.

   a) True

   b) False

10. True or false: Canada has just legalized marijuana.

   a) True

   b) False

Robin Hood

Robin Hood is the archetypal English folk hero, an outlaw who, in modern versions of the legend, stole from the rich to give to the poor. This redistributionist form of philosophy-in-action anticipates the work of writers such as Proudhon and Karl Marx by many hundreds of years. Although most noted for his material egalitarianism, in the stories he also pursues other types of equality and justice. However, as mentioned below, Robin Hood was not originally so generous. The stories relating to Robin Hood are apocryphal, verging on the mythological. His first appearance in a manuscript is in William Langland's Piers Plowman (1377) in which Sloth, the lazy priest boasts "I ken (i.e. 'know') 'rimes of Robin Hood." Three years later the Scottish chronicler John Fordun wrote that, in ballads, "Robin Hood delights above all others".Printed versions of Robin Hood ballads appear in the early 16th century — shortly after the advent of printing in England. In these ballads, Robin Hood is a yeoman

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which, by that time, meant an independent tradesman or farmer. It is only in the late 16th century that he becomes a nobleman, the Earl of Huntington, Robert of Locksley, or later still, Robert Fitz Ooth. His romantic attachment to Maid Marian (or "Marion") (originally known as Mathilda) is also a product of this later period and probably has something to do with the French pastoral play of about 1280, the Jeu de Robin et Marion. Aside from the names there is no recognizable Robin Hood connection to the play. The late 16th century is also the period when the Robin Hood story is moved back in time to the 1190s, when King Richard is away at the crusades. One of the original Robin Hood ballads refers to King Edward (Edward I, II, and III ruled England from 1272 to 1377). The idea of Robin Hood as a high-minded Saxon fighting Norman Lords originates in the 19th century, most notably in the part Robin Hood plays in Sir Walter Scott's Ivanhoe (1819), chapters 40 - 41, where the familiar modern Robin Hood—"King of Outlaws and prince of good fellows!" Richard the Lionheart calls him—makes his debut. The folkloric Robin Hood was deprived of his lands by the villainous Sheriff of Nottingham and became an outlaw. The Sheriff does indeed appear in the early ballads (Robin kills and beheads him), but there is nothing as specific as this allegation. Robin's other enemies include the rich abbots of the Catholic Church and a bounty hunter named Guy of Gisbourne. Robin kills and beheads him as well. The early ballads contain nothing about giving to the poor, although Robin does make a large loan to an unfortunate knight. In the ballads, the original "Merry Men" (though not called that) included: Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet (or Scathlock), Much the Miller's Son, and Little John — who was called "little" because he wasn't. Alan-a-Dale is a later invention in Robin Hood plays.

Questions about the text

1. Robin Hood appeared in print in the beginning of the 16th century.

True.

False.

We don't know.

2. The stories relating to Robin Hood are of questionable authenticity.

True.

False.

We don't know.

3. The folkloric Robin Hood was considered a criminal.

True.

False.

We don't know.

4. According to an early ballad, Robin Hood kills the Sheriff.

True.

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False.

We don't know.

5. The legend of Robin Hood was associated to King Richard and the crusades.

True.

False.

We don't know.

6. Ivanhoe was written by Sir Walter Scott.

True.

False.

We don't know.

7. Little John was called like that because

he was little.

he was tall.

he was young.

OZONE

In 1928, Thomas Midgley, a scientist and engineer in America, found a way to use chlorofluorcarbons (CFCs) as a refrigerant. They proved to be a valuable compound, stable, non-poisonous, non-corrosive, non-flammable. Their low thermal conductivity made them ideal for coolants in refrigerators and air-conditioners. In the Second World War, CFCs were widely used as cleaning solvents and in plastic foam for food and drink containers, and the insulation of buildings.

These are the products which, doubling in output every ten years, have contributed to the destruction of the ozone layer, the thin veil in the stratosphere which protects animals and plants from disease and, possibly, extinction.

Other man-made chemicals, apart from CFCs, are eating ozone molecules. Among them are halon gases used in fire extinguishers, aerosols, and refrigerators, and two compounds widely used as solvents: methyl chloroform and carbon tetrachloride. Their combined reaction on the ozone layer is devastating, allowing ultraviolet rays from the sun, known as UV-Bs, to bombard the earth.

UV-Bs cause skin cancer. Medical journals in Australia say two-thirds of the population alive today will develop some form of skin cancer. More than 250,000 of the continent's 16 million inhabitants will develop the deadliest of all, malignant melanoma.

UV-Bs can damage the immune system and leave you open to infectious diseases. They damage your eyes, burning the cornea, injuring the retina and generating cataracts. In southern Chile, blindness has begun to strike humans, sheep, rabbits and horses. The radiation kills off the plankton on which larger sea

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creatures depend, and in southern Chile a 12 per cent reduction in plankton has been measured.

The scientists who know about the ozone layer are worried. They give three reasons for their pessimism:

1. ozone depletion is now general over the globe, and occurring twice as fast as had been predicted: according to reports, in the first two months of this year, parts of the ozone layer shrank by 20 per cent, and levels of chlorine, the ozone-eating chemical, were 70 times higher than normal;

2. depletion is now being caused by the CFCs released in the mid-1970s, and so the chemicals being released now will endanger our children;

3. no one knows what the cumulative effects of the depletion of the ozone layer will be, but they do know that things from now on are going to change very quickly indeed.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. Which title would best suit the passage?A. CFCs: from Coolers to CancersB. The Ozone LayerC. UV-B and Skin CancerD. Worries about the Ozone Layer

2. As CFCs are non-corrosive, they don'tA. poison food.B. cause explosions.C. eat metals.D. damage plastics.

3. CFCs were used in drink containers because theyA. are easily moulded.B. are light-weightC. don't conduct heat.D. are stable compounds.

4. How rapidly was the use of CFCs increasing?A. Doubling every decade.B. Doubling every year.C. Twice as much each year.D. Ten per cent every year.

5. A solvent is used inA. cooking.B. lubricating.C. cleaning.D. sterilising.

6. "Bombard" is a word normally used with reference toA. artillery fire.B. heavyweight boxing.C. solar radiation.

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D. laser technology.

7. The opposite of "malignant" isA. neutral.B. benevolent.C. healthy.D. salubrious.

8. According to the text, in southern Chile, as a result of UV-BA. fish stocks are falling.B. fish are going blind.C. fish are subject to disease.D. fish food has been depleted.

9. Our children are in danger becauseA. CFCs take time to attack the ozone layer.B. CFCs are used more than ever.C. CFCs are cumulative.D. chlorine levels are rising.

Cheating and Plagiarism

Students are responsible for familiarising themselves with the University Code of Student Conduct, as on enrollment with the University  the student has placed themselves under the policies and regulations of the University and all of its duly constituted bodies. Disciplinary authority is exercised through the Student Conduct Committee. The Committee has procedures in place for hearing allegations of misconduct. Copies of the student conduct code are available at the Student Services Office.

Academic dishonesty is never condoned by the University. This includes cheating and plagiarism, which violate the Student Conduct Code and could result in expulsion or failing the course.

Cheating includes but is not limited to obtaining or giving unauthorized help during an examination, getting unauthorized information about the contents of an examination before it is administered, using unauthorised sources of information during an examination, altering or falsifying the record of any grades, altering or supplying answers after an examination has been handed in, falsifying any official University record, and misrepresenting the facts to get exemptions from or extensions to course requirements.

Plagiarism includes but is not limited to submitting any paper or other document, to satisfy an academic requirement, which has been copied either in whole or in part from someone else’s work without identifying that person; failing to identify as a quotation a documented idea that has not been thoroughly assimilated into the student's language and style, or paraphrasing a passage so closely that the reader could be misled as to the source; submitting the same written or oral material in different courses without obtaining authorisation from the lecturers involved; or 'dry-labbing', which includes obtaining and using experimental data from fellow students without the express consent of the lecturer, utilizing experimental data and laboratory write-ups from other parts of the course or from previous terms during which the course was conducted, and fabricating data to fit the expected results.

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ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:Q1 - The Student Services Office familiarises students with the student code.

True

False

Not given

Q2 - Cheats will automatically be expelled because their behaviour cannot be condoned.

True

False

Not given

Q3 - The text lists all activities that are considered to be cheating.

True

False

Not given

Q4 - According to the text, cheating is a more serious offence than plagiarism.

True

False

Not given

Q5 - It is never acceptable to paraphrase closely.

True

False

Not given

Q6 - Students can submit the same work in different courses as long as they ask their lecturer and it is not their own.

True

False

Not given

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Q7 - If students want to use other students' laboratory data, they must ask them and the lecturer first.

True

False

Not given

Q8 - Data must fit the expected results.

True

False

Not given

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Advanced Level

Culture Shock

     You have read about Romulus and Remus whose culture shock came when they went back to the world of human beings after being raised by a wolf. Tarzan's culture shock came when he discovered that he was not a "white ape" but a human being. Emily Carr preferred the culture of the First Nations people and the life she led on her explorations to the dresses and polite conversations of her own culture. You now know that First Nations culture did not include school or even business activity, people spent most of their time in nature or around the fire of their home talking, telling stories and making the things they needed to survive.      Psychologists tell us that there are four basic stages that human beings pass through when they enter and live in a new culture. This process, which helps us to deal with culture shock, is the way our brain and our personality reacts to the strange new things we encounter when we move from one culture to another. If our culture involves bowing when we greet someone, we may feel very uncomfortable in a culture that does not involve bowing. If the language we use when talking to someone in our own culture is influenced by levels of formality based on the other person's age and status, it may be difficult for us to feel comfortable communicating with people in the new culture.      Culture begins with the "honeymoon stage". This is the period of time when we first arrive in which everything about the new culture is strange and exciting. We may be suffering from "jet lag" but we are thrilled to be in the new environment, seeing new sights, hearing new sounds and language, eating new kinds of food. This honeymoon stage can last for quite a long time because we feel we are involved in some kind of great adventure.      Unfortunately, the second stage of culture shock can be more difficult. After we have settled down into our new life, working or studying, buying groceries, doing laundry, or living with a home-stay family, we can become very tired and begin to miss our homeland and our family, girlfriend/boyfriend, pets. All the little problems that everybody in life has seem to be much bigger and more disturbing when you face them in a foreign culture. This period of cultural adjustment can be very difficult and lead to the new arrival rejecting or pulling away from the new culture. This "rejection stage" can be quite dangerous because the visitor may develop unhealthy habits (smoking and drinking too much, being too concerned over food or contact with people from the new culture). This can, unfortunately lead to the person getting sick or developing skin infections or rashes which then makes the person feel even more scared and confused and helpless. This stage is considered a crisis in the process of cultural adjustment and many people choose to go back to their homeland or spend all their time with people from their own culture speaking their native language.

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     The third stage of culture shock is called the "adjustment stage". This is when you begin to realize that things are not so bad in the host culture. Your sense of humour usually becomes stronger and you realize that you are becoming stronger by learning to take care of yourself in the new place. Things are still difficult, but you are now a survivor!      The fourth stage can be called "at ease at last". Now you feel quite comfortable in your new surroundings. You can cope with most problems that occur. You may still have problems with the language, but you know you are strong enough to deal with them. If you meet someone from your country who has just arrived, you can be the expert on life in the new culture and help them to deal with their culture shock.      There is a fifth stage of culture shock which many people don't know about. This is called "reverse culture shock". Surprisingly, this occurs when you go back to your native culture and find that you have changed and that things there have changed while you have been away. Now you feel a little uncomfortable back home. Life is a struggle!

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. When does culture shock happen?

when you reach your teens

when you move to a big city

when you meet foreign people for the first time

when you go to live in a foreign culture

 2. How do you feel during the first stage of culture shock?

lonely and depressed

bored and homesick

happy and excited

angry and frustrated

 3. How do you feel during the second stage?

homesick and afraid

interested and amused

stressed, but positive

you have no particular feelings

 4. How could the third stage be described?

adjustment

rejection

enthusiasm

anger

 5. How do you feel during the fourth stage of culture shock?

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tense, but positive

relaxed

negative and stressed

afraid

 6. Why might reverse culture shock be a problem?

It hardly ever happens.

It is extremely stressful.

Most people do not expect it.

It only happens to young people.

Immigrants Suffer from Losing Their Identity by Howard Kim

Language is a way to communicate with each other. We started to learn language when we were born. However, people are used to speaking their native language, so immigrants are having many problems between the first generation and the second generation because they don't have the same native language. Also, the second generation is losing their identity. Especially in America, there are many immigrants that came from different countries to succeed in the States. Because they suffer in lots of areas such as getting a job and trying to speak English, they want their children to speak English, not only at school, but also at home in order to be more successful. Because of this situation, their children are losing their ethnic identity and, even more, they are ignoring their parents whose English is not very good.

For example, my aunt, who has been living in Chicago for fifteen years, has three children and they were all born in the States. The eighteen year old daughter speaks English as a native language and she speaks Korean very well too. She has no problems talking with her parents, but she still doesn't understand Korean jokes, and there are sometimes misunderstandings. The second daughter is fourteen years old, and she doesn't want to speak Korean. My aunt often gets upset with her because she is very Americanized and they cannot understand each other. Even when my aunt punishes her, this daughter does not understand what my aunt is talking about. I felt sympathy for my aunt whenever my fourteen year old cousin said, "Mom, what is your problem?" The third child is a twelve year old son. He speaks English to his parents and my aunt speaks Korean to him as she does to the second daughter. He also has a problem communicating with his parents. My aunt is trying to teach him to speak both languages very well, but it is very hard for him because he speaks English all day and does not understand why he should learn to speak Korean.

I think most immigrants are trying to preserve their native language in their new country, but this doesn't help very much in getting a good job. My aunt didn't teach Korean to her children in order to help them succeed in the U.S.; she did so, hopefully, to help them establish a Korean identity. Though the second generation is born in the new country, they often get confused about their identity because they look different from others, and also, if they visit their parent's country, they will

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probably feel different from other people there too. My cousins told me that when they visited Korea a few years ago, they felt different from other Koreans. They could even feel it just strolling around the street because they wore different clothes and walked differently. We must realize that language is important and valuable for many reasons. Immigrants should make an effort not to be ignored by their children and to make their children understand their heritage by teaching them the parents' language. This is very important, not only for the harmony of the family, but also in helping the second generation establish their identity.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1 Look at the title and scan the article quickly. What do you think this article will be about?

Learning a second language.

Immigrants who become sick in the U.S.

Language and its effect on the identity of immigrants.

Schools attended by immigrants to the U.S.

2 Which of these statements is NOT true according to the first paragraph of the article?

Second generation immigrants are usually eager to learn their parents' native language.It is often hard for first and second generation family members to communicate with each other.Because second generation immigrant children often speak only English, they may lose their ethnic identity.Sometimes second generation immigrant children ignore their parents because of language differences.

3 Which of the following is NOT true about the 18 year old daughter?She was born in the U.S.

She speaks only English very well; her Korean is poor.

She gets along better with her parents than her brother and other sister do.She doesn't understand Korean jokes well.

4 Which is NOT a reason that the 14 year old sister has problems with her mother?

She doesn't want to speak Korean.

She doesn't love her mother.

She is very Americanized.

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She does not understand her mother when she gets punished.

5 To whom does the mother speak Korean?Her oldest daughter only.

All of her children.

Her two daughters only.

Only to her son.

6 Why did the author's aunt try to teach her children to speak Korean?To help them succeed in the U.S.

To help them find a good job.

To help them establish a Korean identity.

To help her improve her Korean language skills.

None of the above.

7 There are many reasons that second generation immigrants may get confused about their identity. Which of the following is NOT found in the article?

Their American friends may not see them as Korean -Americans

They look different than most of their friends in the U.S.

If they travel to Korea they wear different clothes than the Koreans.

If they visit Korea, they even walk differently than the Koreans.

8 Which of the following is closest to the main idea of this article?Second generation Korean-Americans walk and dress differently than their parents.Many immigrant families have problems with communication.

The language spoken in immigrant households is often a mixture of two languages.Second generation Korean immigrants often speak only English.

Teaching immigrant children the parents' native language helps them establish their ethnic identity.

I Will Never Get My Innocence Back

Have you ever thought that within a single afternoon you could lose your sense of

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security? Have you ever taken into consideration changing completely the way you look at the world around you? That happened to me, and I'm still paying for the consequences of somebody else's action. The feeling of security and serenity, that everyone should have, is often taken away with brutality for the price of a few dollars. Unfortunately, this happens over and over throughout the world, and it is hard for the victims of criminal actions to recover from their deep wounds.

It was just a day like any other, if possible, even better because it was a Saturday, the end of the working week, and one of the first nice and sunny days of Rome's spring. My best friend and I were in the shop that she owns. It was the middle of the afternoon; we were both pretty happy and making plans for the weekend, and the atmosphere was extremely relaxed, almost lazy. Suddenly a man entered in the shop. We knew, somehow, that he didn't look like one of our usual customers, but we welcomed him politely anyway. Without any hesitation he pulled something out of his coat that we did not recognize immediately, but when he ordered us to go into the back with him, there was no doubt that this "something" was a gun. We were so scared that we could barely understand what was going on. My heart was beating so franticly, that I thought everyone could hear it. Suddenly, while watching the entire scene in astonishment, a shiver ran down my spine. I had that kind of feeling like when you are not sure if you're dreaming or not. In the beginning, I thought it was a stupid joke by a similarly stupid friend of ours, but it took me half a second to realize that it was cruel reality. I still shudder at the thought of it. He seemed to me so calm and so used to this kind of action. "Don't you dare say a single word and come with me in the storage" he said. It was almost a whisper, a few simple words uttered nastily. He gave us precise orders and while doing this, he offended us and kept reminding us that he could shoot at any time. He looked for the money in the register, from our wallets, then he asked for our jewelry and we gave him all he wanted. He was imperturbable while bringing his "job" to conclusion. At that point, he was supposed to leave, instead, he seemed not to have any intention to do so. Suddenly I remember his face becoming soaked in sweat. My friend and I had no chance to talk to each other and exchange our thoughts, but I'm sure we had the same horrible feeling. Fortunately, after a few interminable minutes he left. You can never know where you can feel safe; growing up you learn that gradually. When you are a child, you feel safe with your parents in your home or wherever you are not alone. Then you begin to understand the news and you learn that horrible things are happening "out there", but you still keep thinking that those events are just other people's worries, not yours. Terrible things happen only to the people you read about in the newspaper, but you will soon start to explore the world on your own and little, insignificant, nasty things begin to happen to you too. You see a car accident, you look at ambulances, someone is mean to you and, somehow, you know that this is as the world goes. Then your conscience starts to make you realize that you are a person like any other. So why couldn't bad things happen to you? You are afraid that something could happen and, depending on your optimistic or pessimistic mood, you can deal or not with this thought. I think that from the precise moment the guy walked out of the shop, I completely changed my way of relating to the world. Someone could say that I am exaggerating, and maybe they are right, but this is how I feel. I always look around to see which kinds of people are possibly following me. Now I usually double-check everything: if I've locked myself in the car or in the house. I think about how

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to dress if I have to go out alone or in a particular part of the town; I am always careful not to wear any jewelry. Whenever an unknown guy is getting too close or is trying to get information from me, I tighten up. I know that it is wrong, that not everyone is looking to attack me again. After all, I consider myself lucky, since nothing really bad happened to me or to my friend, but what affects me is the thought of what could have happened. We could have died or he could have beaten or raped us! I know that I have to work on it because since that day I haven't felt safe anymore, What I don't know is where to start. Now I am sure only of one fact, that I blame this guy, not for having taken my jewelry, but for having deprived me of my innocence.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

Top of Form

1 Read only the title and the first sentence in each paragraph. Which of these do you know already?

The writer met a man with a gun.

The author was a visitor in Rome.

It was a hot summer day in Rome.

The author gets hurt in this story.

A man in a shop made a big difference in the life of the author.

2 Scan the story quickly. What do you think the story will be about?

A day of shopping in Rome

A joke that a stupid friend played on the writer.

A car accident and other bad things that happen to people.

Being sure one locks the door to the car and house.

A robbery and its effect on the writers life.

3 Which is true in Paragraph 2?

The man in the shop was one of the usual customers.

The writer was in the shop alone.

Everyone knew immediately that the robber had a gun.

The author and her friends discussed the situation.

The thief took money and jewelry.

4 Which of the following happened first?

The robber ordered the women into the storage.

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He asked the women for their money and jewelry.

He pulled out a gun.

The robber left the store.

His face became soaked with sweat.

5 Which paragraph describes when the writer first realized that bad things don't just happen to *other* people?

Paragraph 1

Paragraph 2

Paragraph 3

Paragraph 4

6 Why does the author consider herself lucky?

She did not lose all her money.

She has never been robbed again.

She was only injured slightly.

She was able to fight off her attacker.

She could have been hurt or killed, but she wasn't.

7 What was the most serious result of the robbery?

The author doesn't trust others or feel safe.

The author was found guilty of a crime.

The store that her friend owned was closed after the robbery.

The author was raped.

The robber was taken to jail.

8 Which is true about the author?

She is pleased with her loss of innocence and trust.

She blames the robber for taking her innocence away.

It is years later, and she feels safe again now.

She no longer locks her car or house door.

She has not been able to travel out of the country after the robbery.

You Can Be a Singer!

To sing a song has been deeply related to human life from ancient times.

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People enjoy singing songs to babies and they enjoy listening to them. In recent years, there has been a boom in "karaoke" in Japan. Karaoke includes disk players with voice mixing facilities and are used to provide musical accompaniment for solos or singalongs. The "kara" of kara-oke means empty, while the "oke" is a Japanese abbreviation of the English word, "orchestra." These two words coming together mean an orchestra without a vocalist. Karaoke systems are widespread in many countries nowadays. I think "karaoke bars" are well known by Americans, so they imagine karaoke bars when they hear "karaoke," but actually we have few karaoke bars in Japan. What we call "karaoke box" is more popular in Japan. You can see many buildings, which say "karaoke box" here and there in Japan. The karaoke box consists of a lot of isolated rooms on several floors and each of those rooms has a karaoke set in it. You can go there with friends or with your family to enjoy singing. No strangers can see you or listen to you singing. Many people, no matter what their age or gender, go there often to enjoy singing out loud, to seek relief from daily stress or just for fun. Everyone can be a singer for that moment. To relish karaoke is not difficult at all. All you have to do is find some friends to go with you and then you will be ready to have fun. After that, maybe you want to go to Shinjuku, one of the metropolitan parts of Japan, to find your karaoke box. Shinjuku is a place where mainly fashionably dressed youths gather. There are huge shopping malls, video centers, various kinds of restaurants, movie theaters and many kinds of amusement around the Shinjuku station. It is very crowded, especially on weekends, and you can hardly walk through the area. You also see tons of karaoke boxes there. But don't worry if you don't know where to go because people who work at those karaoke boxes are on the street, too, and they will come up to you and talk to you. Since all karaoke staff want to have as many customers as they can, they introduce you to the kinds of servicethey have in exaggerated and cheerful voices, or they offer you a discount to visit their karaoke box. They usually wear uniforms with bright colors and are very trustworthy, so that you can decide on a place to visit without having difficulties. Generally they charge you one or two dollars per person, per hour if it's daytime and they show you the way and get a room for you. All Karaoke boxes are set up in a similar way. The room has some couches, two microphones, remote controls for the air conditioner, karaoke set, menus for snacks and drinks, thick song books on a table, and a big TV with karaoke system just for you and your company. The room also has a telephone that is connected to the reception desk; therefore, you can order some food or drinks from that phone. They will also call you when your time is up. After you have settled into the room and gotten something to eat or drink, you are all ready to sing. You look up one of the songbooks and choose a song you wish to sing. You can look up the songs in two different ways. One side of the book has the titles of the songs, names of singers and five or six-digit code numbers following them. The other side of the book starts with singers' names, titles and numbers, So that you can look up songs either by the singer's name or title of the song. After you choose a song to sing, enter the code numbers of the song into the remote control by pushing the buttons on it to send information to the karaoke set. Soon your music will start. The remote control also has a section to change the key or tempo of the songs. If you feel the key of the song is too high or low for you, or too fast or slow, you can adjust them as you want. Also, if you want to have harmony, you can. Some karaoke sets even have a voice change system. You can change your voice from a woman's to a man's, and a man's to a woman's. This is very

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interesting. When you finish singing, you can search for the next song while another person is singing. This is how it goes, but the important thing here is you should listen to other people singing at the same time. Usually people like to have audiences, and you want them to listen to you while you are singing, too. You can feel like a real singer if you have someone to listen to you, and that's what people like when doing karaoke.Since you will have your own room and there will be no unfamiliar people watching you, you will feel more comfortable singing in a karaoke box than singing in front of many people, like in karaoke bars. You can spend the time in a more relaxed atmosphere, which is more enjoyable. You can sing a duet with your friend if you want, and you can dance if you like, but this doesn't mean that you can do whatever you want or misbehave in the room. There are several rules to protect your personal rights and to ensure that you enjoy yourselves comfortably. You should not go look into other rooms. You can't smoke or drink if you are under twenty. Though there are no specific people who patrol the boxes because they don't want to make their customers feel nervous, it is important to follow these rules for everyone to have a good time. Once you have experienced karaoke, you might want to go again and again, though some people would not like singing in front of people even if they were friends or family. But in my opinion, you can still have a lot of fun there, even if you don't sing. We make jokes and we talk as if we were at home. I personally like karaoke very much. I like singing and I have so much fun every time I go. I think we are seeking a way to express ourselves to people whom we like, and we want to say, "Listen to me! I am here!" Karaoke allows us to express who we are and what we like. I encourage you to try it once in your life. Let's go sing! It is so exciting. You can be a singer!

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

Top of Form1 In Japanese, the word "Karaoke" come from "kara" and

"oke." What do these word parts mean? 

sing and together

empty and orchestra

sing and alone

speak and orchestra

sing and have fun

2 Which of the following is NOT true? 

In Japan, there are Karaoke boxes.

A maximum of two people are allowed in a Karaoke box at one time.

Strangers cannot see you when you do Karaoke.

Karaoke relieves daily stress for many people.

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There are many buildings with Karaoke boxes in Japan.

3 Which of the following is NOT true about Shinjuku in Japan? 

There are tons of Karaoke boxes there.

Shinjuku is considered a metropolitan area of Japan.

Other than Karaoke, there is not much to do in Shinjuku.

Weekends are the most crowded time to be in Shinjuku.

Employees of Karaoko boxes will help you find your way.

4 What is NOT true about Karaoke staff?  

Dressed in bright colors

They speak in exaggerated and cheerful voices.

They want to find as many customers as possible.

They wear uniforms.

They must be at least 18 years of age.

5 Which equipment is NOT included in a Karaoke box? 

A Karaoke worker to serve you

Couches or other comfortable furniture

A telephone connected to the reception desk

Air conditioning with remote controls

Microphones to amplify your voice

6 What does the writer say is the most important thing to do to enjoy Karaoke? 

Choose many different types of music.

Change your voice from a woman to a man or vice-versa.

Listen to others sing so everyone has an audience.

Change the key of the music.

Add harmony to the song.

7 What does the writer say is the advantage of a Japanese Karaoke box over a Karaoke bar.

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It is cheaper.

It is more technologically advanced.

There are no unfamiliar people watching you so you won't feel nervous.

The food is better.

The employees are friendlier.

8 Which of the following is NOT true of Japanese Karaoke boxes? 

Employees will come to be sure you are following the rules of the Karaoke box.

You should not look into others' boxes.

You cannot drink if you are under 20.

You cannot smoke if you are under 20.

Duets are allowed.

9 How would you describe the writer's attitude toward Karaoke? 

She has not tried it herself so has no attitude about it.

She would like to try it but is too shy.

She often goes, and likes it sometimes and sometimes not.

She feels it is a waste of time.

She thinks it is not only fun, but stress relieving as well.

10 Which of the following cannot be implied from the article? 

The writer prefers Karaoke boxes to Karaoke bars.

The writer has been to a Karaoke box with friends or family.

The writer has spent time in Shinjuku.

The writer is a good singer.

The writer would probably go to a Karaoke box if asked by her friends.

The Death Car

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    It was a cold night in September. The rain was drumming on the car roof as George and Marie Winston drove through the empty country roads towards the house of their friends, the Harrisons, where they were going to attend a party to celebrate the engagement of the Harrisons' daughter, Lisa. As they drove, they listened to the local radio station, which was playing classical music.     They were about five miles from their destination when the music on the radio was interrupted by a news announcement:  "The Cheshire police have issued a serious warning after a man escaped from Colford Mental Hospital earlier this evening. The man, John Downey, is a murderer who killed six people before he was captured two years ago. He is described as large, very strong and extremely dangerous. People in the Cheshire area are warned to keep their doors and windows locked, and to call the police immediately if they see anyone acting strangely." Marie shivered. "A crazy killer. And he's out there somewhere. That's scary."  "Don't worry about it," said her husband. "We're nearly there now. Anyway, we have more important things to worry about. This car is losing power for some reason -- it must be that old problem with the carburetor. If it gets any worse, we'll have to stay at the Harrisons' tonight and get it fixed before we travel back tomorrow.  As he spoke, the car began to slow down. George pressed the accelerator, but the engine only coughed. Finally they rolled to a halt, as the engine died completely. Just as they stopped, George pulled the car off the road, and it came to rest under a large tree. "Blast!" said George angrily. "Now we'll have to walk in the rain."  "But that'll take us an hour at least," said Marie. "And I have my high-heeled shoes and my nice clothes on. They'll be ruined!"     "Well, you'll have to wait while I run to the nearest house and call the Harrisons. Someone can come out and pick us up," said George. "But George! Have you forgotten what the radio said? There's a homicidal maniac out there! You can't leave me alone here!".  "You'll have to hide in the back of the car. Lock all the doors and lie on the floor in the back, under this blanket. No-one will see you. When I come back, I'll knock three times on the door. Then you can get up and open it. Don't open it unless you hear three knocks." George opened the door and slipped out into the rain. He quickly disappeared into the blackness. Marie quickly locked the doors and settled down under the blanket in the back for a long wait. She was frightened and worried, but she was a strong-minded woman. She had not been waiting long, however, when she heard a strange scratching noise. It seemed to be coming from the roof of the car. Marie was terrified. She listened, holding her breath. Then she heard three slow knocks, one after the other, also on the roof of the car. Was it her husband? Should she open the door? Then she heard another knock, and another. This was not her husband. It was somebody -- or something -- else. She was shaking with fear, but she forced herself to lie still. The knocking continued -- bump, bump, bump, bump. Many hours later, as the sun rose, she was still lying there. She had not slept for a moment. The knocking had never stopped, all night long. She did not know what to do. Where was George? Why had he not come for her? Suddenly, she heard the sound of three or four vehicles, racing quickly down the road. All of them pulled up around her, their tires screeching on the road. At last! Someone had come! Marie sat up quickly and looked out of the window.  The three vehicles were all police cars, and two still had their lights flashing. Several policemen leapt out. One of them rushed towards the car as Marie opened the door. He took her by the hand.     "Get out of the car and walk with me to the police vehicle. miss. You're safe now. Look straight ahead. Keep looking at the police car. Don't look back. Just don't look back." Something in the way he spoke filled Marie with cold horror. She could not help herself. About ten yards from the police car, she stopped, turned and looked

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back at the empty vehicle.  George was hanging from the tree above the car, a rope tied around his neck. As the wind blew his body back and forth, his feet were bumping gently on the roof of the car -- bump, bump, bump, bump.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. Where were the Winstons going when this incident happened?

a) home

b) to Colford Mental Hospital

c) to a party

d) to the police station

2. What was the reason for the news announcement on the radio?

a) Six people, including John Downey, had been murdered.

b) A dangerous prisoner had escaped.

c) The police were warning of accidents on the roads in the bad weather.

d) Some people had been seen acting strangely in the Cheshire area.

3. What did George think was causing the trouble with the car?

a) the carburetor

b) the rain drumming on the roof

c) the accelerator

d) he had no idea

4. Why did he pull the car off the road?

a) to have a rest

b) to go for a walk

c) to walk to the nearest house

d) it broke down

5. Why did Marie stay in the car when George left?

a) She was afraid to go out in the dark.

b) So no-one would steal the car.

c) Her clothes weren't suitable for the rain.

d) She wanted to get some sleep.

6. Where did George set off to walk to?

a) the Mental Hospital

b) the nearest house

c) the Harrisons' house

d) the police station

7. What made Marie so frightened as she waited in the car?

a) There was a strange sound coming from the roof.

b) She could see a man acting strangely

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outside the car.

c) Some police cars came racing down the road.

d) She was afraid of the rain and the dark.

8. Why did the policeman tell her not to look back when he brought her out of the car?

a) He didn't want her to see the body of her husband.

b) The killer was waiting behind her.

c) He wanted her to forget everything that had happened during the night.

d) He didn't want her to see the damage done to the car.

9. Marie says, "There's a homicidal maniac out there!" What does "homicidal maniac" mean?

a) terrible storm

b) busy road

c) crazy killer

d) policeman

10. In "Several policemen leapt out," "leapt" means

a) threw

b) jumped

c) shouted

d) drove

The Choking Dog

     "Come on, come on, move it, idiot!"Joanne beat impatiently on the steering wheel of her Mercedes sports car. How stupid to get caught up in the rush hour! She had planned to leave work early this afternoon, at three o'clock, to give herself a chance to relax and have a bath before going out to a meeting of her local tennis club. But just at ten to three a client had arrived, and it was two hours before she had finished dealing with the man. When she came out of her office, all the other staff in the Highlight Advertising Agency had already left. Now she was stuck in a traffic jam in central Birmingham at 5:30, and at 6:30 she was expected to be chairing a meeting of the tennis club. There would be no time for any hot bath. Ahead of her, the traffic was moving at last, and she swung quickly out into the centre lane to turn right, and raced the last half-mile through the quiet suburban streets to her house. Pulling up on the driveway, she leapt out of the car and ran for the house. As she opened the door, she nearly tripped over Sheba, who was standing behind it. "Hey, Sheba, hello," she said, bending down to stroke the large alsatian dog's head, "I've got no time for you now, but I'll take you out as soon as I get back from the tennis club."     It was then that she noticed something worrying about the dog. Sheba seemed to be coughing or choking, her stomach pumping repeatedly as if she was trying to vomit something up. She was obviously in real discomfort and could hardly breathe; her sad eyes gazed up at Joanne helplessly. "Oh damn, this is all I need now," said

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Joanne to herself, dropping her briefcase and bending down to take a closer look, "a sick dog, today of all days!" On closer examination, Sheba did look very sick, and Joanne realised she would have to take her down to the vet immediately. Luckily, the vet's surgery was only a few streets away, and Joanne quickly loaded the dog, still coughing and choking, into her car for the short drive. When she got there, the surgery was just about to close for the day. Luckily, Dr. Sterne had not left yet, and when he saw the state of Sheba, he brought her quickly into his office.     "It looks like something is stuck in her throat," said Dr. Sterne. It shouldn't take me too long to get it out.  "Listen, doctor, I'm really in a rush to get to a meeting -- can I leave her with you, and go and get changed? I'll be back in ten minutes to pick her up, then I'll take her on to the meeting with me. Is that OK?" "Sure," said the doctor. "You get going. I'll see you in ten minutes." Joanne jumped back into her car again, and made the quick trip round to her house in a couple of minutes. As she was once more entering the hallway, the phone on the table by the door began to ring. She picked it up, annoyed by this additional interruption to her plans."This is Dr. Sterne," said an anxious voice. "Is that you, Joanne?" "Of course it's me," said Joanne, surprised at the sound of his voice, "no-one else lives here.""I want you to get right out of that house immediately," said the doctor's voice. "Right now. I'm coming round right away, and the police will be there any time now. Wait outside for us." The phone went dead. Joanne stared at it. She was confused, but she was also a little frightened by the obvious fear in the voice of the doctor. She replaced the receiver, then quickly backed out of the door and ran into the street. At that moment, a police car with its lights flashing swung round the corner and screeched to a stop outside the house. Two policemen got out. After briefly checking that she was the owner of the house, they ran into the house through the still open door, without explaining anything. Joanne was by now completely confused and very frightened. Then the doctor arrived.     "Where's Sheba? Is she OK?" shouted Joanne, running over to his car.     "She's fine, Joanne. I extracted the thing which was choking her, and she's OK now." "Well what's this all about? Why are the police in my house?"     Just then, the two policemen reappeared from the house, half-carrying a white-faced figure, a man in a dark grey sweater and jeans, who, it seemed, could hardly walk. There was blood all over him. "My God," said Joanne, "how did he get in there? And how did you know he was there?"  "I think he must be a burglar," said the doctor. "I knew he was there because when I finally removed what was stuck in Sheba's throat, it turned out to be three human fingers. I don't think he's a very happy burglar."

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES:

1. Where did Joanne work? a) an advertising agency

b) a vet's surgery

c) a Mercedes dealer's office

d) the text does not say

2. Why was she angry at the beginning of the story?

a) She was lost.

b) She had lost a client at work.

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c) She was stuck in a traffic jam.

d) Her dog was sick.

3. Why did she take the dog to Dr. Sterne's surgery?

a) It was time for Sheba's checkup.

b) The dog couldn't breathe properly.

c) She wanted to get her out of the house.

d) The doctor had asked to see her.

4. Why did she leave the dog at the surgery and drive home again?

a) She wanted to catch a burglar.

b) The dog was too sick to come home.

c) The doctor wanted to keep her.

d) Joanne wanted to change her clothes.

5. How long did it take Joanne to drive home from the surgery?

a) two minutes

b) ten minutes

c) an hour

d) the text does not say

6. What happened as she arrived home for the second time?

a) The police arrived.

b) The phone rang.

c) The dog died.

d) A burglar was just escaping.

7. Why did the doctor tell her to get out of the house?

a) There was a dangerous dog in there.

b) It was on fire.

c) He knew there was a burglar inside.

d) He wanted to meet her outside.

8. Why did the burglar look very sick?

a) The police had caught him, and he would probably have to go to prison.

b) He had caught a disease from the dog.

c) He hadn't found any valuable things to steal.

d) The dog had bitten off his fingers.

9. The story says that the dog "gazed up at Joanne helplessly". "Gazed" means

a) stared

b) cried

c) barked

d) laughed

10. A "vet's surgery" is probably a) a serious operation

b) a minor operation

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c) an animal doctor's office

d) a police station

The Carpet Fitter

    Eddie was a carpet fitter, and he hated it. For ten years he had spent his days sitting, squatting, kneeling or crawling on floors, in houses, offices, shops, factories and restaurants. Ten years of his life, cutting and fitting carpets for other people to walk on, without even seeing them. When his work was done, no-one ever appreciated it. No- one ever said "Oh, that's a beautiful job, the carpet fits so neatly." They just walked all over it. Eddie was sick of it.  He was especially sick of it on this hot, humid day in August, as he worked to put the finishing touches to today's job. He was just cutting and fixing the last edge on a huge red carpet which he had fitted in the living room of Mrs. Vanbrugh's house. Rich Mrs. Vanbrugh, who changed her carpets every year, and always bought the best. Rich Mrs. Vanbrugh, who had never even given him a cup of tea all day, and who made him go outside when he wanted to smoke. Ah well, it was four o'clock and he had nearly finished. At least he would be able to get home early today. He began to day-dream about the weekend, about the Saturday football game he always played for the local team, where he was known as "Ed the Head" for his skill in heading goals from corner kicks.  Eddie sat back and sighed. The job was done, and it was time for a last cigarette. He began tapping the pockets of his overalls, looking for the new packet of Marlboro he had bought that morning. They were not there.  It was as he swung around to look in his toolbox for the cigarettes that Eddie saw the lump. Right in the middle of the brand new bright red carpet, there was a lump. A very visible lump. A lump the size of -- the size of a packet of cigarettes. "Blast!" said Eddie angrily. "I've done it again! I've left the cigarettes under the blasted carpet!".He had done this once before, and taking up and refitting the carpet had taken him two hours. Eddie was determined that he was not going to spend another two hours in this house. He decided to get rid of the lump another way. It would mean wasting a good packet of cigarettes, nearly full, but anything was better than taking up the whole carpet and fitting it again. He turned to his toolbox for a large hammer. Holding the hammer, Eddie approached the lump in the carpet. He didn't want to damage the carpet itself, so he took a block of wood and placed it on top of the lump. Then he began to beat the block of wood as hard as he could. He kept beating, hoping Mrs. Vanbrugh wouldn't hear the noise and come to see what he was doing. It would be difficult to explain why he was hammering the middle of her beautiful new carpet. After three or four minutes, the lump was beginning to flatten out. Eddie imagined the cigarette box breaking up, and the crushed cigarettes spreading out under the carpet. Soon, he judged that the lump was almost invisible. Clearing up his tools, he began to move the furniture back into the living room, and he was careful to place one of the coffee tables over the place where the lump had been, just to make sure that no-one would see the spot where his cigarettes had been lost. Finally, the job was finished, and he called Mrs. Vanbrugh from the dining room to inspect his work.  "Yes, dear, very nice," said the lady, peering around the room briefly. "You'll be sending me a bill, then?"     "Yes madam, as soon as I report to the office tomorrow that the job is done." Eddie picked up his tools, and began to walk out to the van. Mrs. Vanbrugh

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accompanied him. She seemed a little worried about something.     "Young man," she began, as he climbed into the cab of his van, laying his toolbox on the passenger seat beside him, "while you were working today, you didn't by any chance see any sign of Armand, did you? Armand is my parakeet. A beautiful bird, just beautiful, such colors in his feathers... I let him out of his cage, you see, this morning, and he's disappeared. He likes to walk around the house, and he's so good, he usually just comes back to his cage after an hour or so and gets right in. Only today he didn't come back. He's never done such a thing before, it's most peculiar..."     "No, madam, I haven't seen him anywhere," said Eddie, as he reached to start the van. And saw his packet of Marlboro cigarettes on the dashboard, where he had left it at lunchtime...And remembered the lump in the carpet... And realised what the lump was....And remembered the hammering... And began to feel rather sick....

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES:

1. Why did Eddie hate being a carpet-fitter?

a) The pay was too low.

b) He didn't like working alone.

c) No-one appreciated his work.

d) He couldn't smoke on the job.

2. What did Eddie think of Mrs. Vanbrugh?

a) She was a kind, thoughtful lady.

b) She was rich and selfish.

c) She was always losing things.

d) She had good taste in furniture.

3. Why was Eddie called "Ed the Head" by his friends?

a) Because he was such an intelligent carpet-fitter.

b) Because he had a large head.

c) Because he was very proud and self-important.

d) Because of his footballing skills.

4. What did Eddie want to do when he had finished fitting the carpet?

a) have a cigarette

b) hammer the carpet flat

c) look for Mrs. Vanbrugh's lost bird

d) start work in the dining room

5. Why didn't Eddie remove the carpet to take out the thing that was causing the lump?

a) He couldn't take the carpet up once he had fitted it.

b) He didn't need the cigarettes because he had some more in the van.

c) It would take too long to remove the carpet and re-fit it.

d) He intended to come back and

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remove the lump the next day.

6. What did Eddie do with the hammer?

a) hammered nails into the lump

b) fixed the coffee table

c) left it under the carpet

d) flattened the carpet

7. What was Mrs. Vanbrugh worried about?

a) Her bird was missing.

b) She thought the carpet was going to be too expensive.

c) She thought Eddie had been smoking in the house.

d) She couldn't find her husband Armand.

8. What was really under the carpet? a) the cigarettes

b) Eddie's toolbox

c) nothing

d) the missing bird

9. "Eddie was determined...." means that he:

a) had no idea

b) decided for sure

c) felt very angry

d) couldn't decide

10. "Peculiar" in the sentence "He's never done such a thing before, it's most peculiar..." means:

a) normal

b) like a bird

c) difficult

d) strange

The Hitchhiker

     As Andrea turned off the motorway onto the road to Brockbourne, the small village in which she lived, it was four o'clock in the afternoon, but already the sun was falling behind the hills. At this time in December, it would be completely dark by five o'clock. Andrea shivered. The interior of the car was not cold, but the trees bending in the harsh wind and the patches of yesterday's snow still heaped in the fields made her feel chilly inside. It was another ten miles to the cottage where she lived with her husband Michael, and the dim light and wintry weather made her feel a little lonely. She would have liked to listen to the radio, but it had been stolen from her car when it

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was parked outside her office in London about two weeks ago, and she had not got around to replacing it yet. She was just coming out of the little village of Mickley when she saw the old lady, standing by the road, with a crude hand-written sign saying "Brockbourne" in her hand. Andrea was surprised. She had never seen an old lady hitchhiking before. However, the weather and the coming darkness made her feel sorry for the lady, waiting hopefully on a country road like this with little traffic. Normally, Andrea would never pick up a hitchhiker when she was alone, thinking it was too dangerous, but what was the harm in doing a favor for a little old lady like this? Andrea pulled up a little way down the road, and the lady, holding a big shopping bag, hurried over to climb in the door which Andrea had opened for her.     When she did get in, Andrea could see that she was not, in fact, so little. Broad and fat, the old lady had some difficulty climbing in through the car door, with her big bag, and when she had got in, she more than filled the seat next to Andrea. She wore a long, shabby old dress, and she had a yellow hat pulled down low over her eyes. Panting noisily from her effort, she pushed her big brown canvas shopping bag down onto the floor under her feet, and said in a voice which was almost a whisper, "Thank you dearie -- I'm just going to Brockbourne. "Do you live there?" asked Andrea, thinking that she had never seen the old lady in the village in the four years she had lived there herself."No, dearie," answered the passenger, in her soft voice, "I'm just going to visit a friend. He was supposed to meet me back there at Mickley, but his car won't start, so I decided to hitchhike -- there isn't a bus until seven, and I didn't want to wait. I knew some kind soul would give me a lift."     Something in the way the lady spoke, and the way she never turned her head, but stared continuously into the darkness ahead from under her old yellow hat, made Andrea uneasy about this strange hitchhiker. She didn't know why, but she felt instinctively that there was something wrong, something odd, something....dangerous. But how could an old lady be dangerous? it was absurd.     Careful not to turn her head, Andrea looked sideways at her passenger. She studied the hat, the dirty collar of the dress, the shapeless body, the arms with their thick black hairs....Thick black hairs?Hairy arms? Andrea's blood froze.This wasn't a woman. It was a man. At first, she didn't know what to do. Then suddenly, an idea came into her racing, terrified brain. Swinging the wheel suddenly, she threw the car into a skid, and brought it to a halt.  "My God!" she shouted, "A child! Did you see the child? I think I hit her!". The "old lady" was clearly shaken by the sudden skid. "I didn't see anything dearie," she said. "I don't think you hit anything."     "I'm sure it was a child!" insisted Andrea. "Could you just get out and have a look? Just see if there's anything on the road?" She held her breath. Would her plan work?     It did. The passenger slowly opened the car door, leaving her bag inside, and climbed out to investigate. As soon as she was out of the vehicle, Andrea gunned the engine and accelerated madly away. The car door swung shut as she rounded a bend, and soon she had put a good three miles between herself and the awful hitchhiker.     It was only then that she thought about the bag lying on the floor in front of her. Maybe the bag would provide some information about the real identity about the old woman who was not an old woman. Pulling into the side of the road, Andrea lifted the heavy bag onto her lap and opened it curiously. It contained only one item -- a small hand axe, with a razor-sharp blade. The axe, and the inside of the bag, were covered with the dark red stains of dried blood.  Andrea began to scream.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES:

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1. Where did Andrea work? a) Brockbourne

b) Mickley

c) London

d) the text doesn't say

2. How was Andrea feeling as she drove home?

a) happy

b) afraid

c) lonely

d) hot

3. Why didn't she listen to the radio?

a) The radio had been stolen from her car.

b) She liked peace and quiet.

c) The radio was broken.

d) There was a strike at the radio station.

4. Why did she stop to give the old lady a ride?

a) It was a cold evening.

b) Andrea felt lonely.

c) She felt sorry for the lady.

d) All of the above.

5. Where did the lady want to go?

a) Brockbourne

b) Mickley

c) London

d) The text doesn't say

6. What made Andrea afraid when she looked at the old lady?

a) She had a moustache.

b) She had a hard voice like a man.

c) She had a shopping bag.

d) She had hairy arms.

7. Why did Andrea suddenly stop the car?

a) She thought she had hit a child in the road.

b) She skidded on some ice in the road.

c) She wanted to trick the passenger into getting out.

d) She was so afraid that she couldn't concentrate, and she nearly had a crash.

8. What did Andrea do when the "old lady" got out?

a) waited for her

b) drove away quickly

c) opened her bag

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d) switched off the engine

9. Why did Andrea look in the old lady's bag?

a) She wanted to steal what was in it.

b) She wanted to find her address so that she could send the bag back to her.

c) She wanted to borrow the old lady's tools.

d) She wanted to find out who the strange passenger was.

10. What was the "old lady" probably going to do to Andrea?

a) nothing

b) kill her

c) give her an axe

d) visit her in Brockbourne

The American Pepper

      "Mummy! Mummy!" shouted little Murna racing from the front door through to the kitchen. "There's a parcel. The postman's brought a parcel!" Her mother, Savni, looked at her in surprise. She had no idea who could have sent them a parcel. Maybe it was a mistake. She hurried to the door to find out. Sure enough, the postman was there, holding a parcel about the size of asmall brick. "From America, madam," he said. "See! American stamps."      It was true. In the top right-hand corner of the brown paper parcel were three strange-looking stamps, showing a man's head. The package was addressed to Savni, in big, clear black letters. "Well, I suppose it must be from Great-Aunt Pasni," said Savni to herself, as the postman went on his way down the street, whistling. "Although it must be twenty years since we heard anything from her. I thought she would have been dead by now. Savni's husband Jornas and her son Arinas were just coming in from the garden, where Murna had run to tell them about the parcel. "Well, open it then!" said Arinas impatiently. "Let's see what's inside!"      Setting the parcel down in the middle of the table, Savni carefully began to tear open the paper. Inside, there was a large silver container with a hinged lid, which was taped shut. There was also a letter. "What is it? What is it?" demanded Murna impatiently. "Is it a present?" ."I have no idea," said Savni in confusion. "I think it must be from Great-Aunt Pasni. She went to America almost thirty years ago now. But we haven't heard from her in twenty years. Perhaps the letter will tell us." She opened the folded page cautiously, then looked up in dismay. "Well, this is no help!" she said in annoyance. "It's written in English! How does she expect us to read English? We're poor people, we have no education. Maybe Pasni has forgotten her native language, after thirty years in America."."Well, open the pot, anyway," said Jornas. "Let's see what's inside."Cautiously, Savni pulled the tape from the neck of the silver pot, and opened the lid. Four heads touched over the top of the container, as their owners stared down inside. "Strange," said Arinas. "All I see is powder." The pot was about one-third full of a kind of light-grey powder. "What is it?" asked Murna, mystified.      "We don't know, darling," said Savni, stroking her daughter's hair. "What do you think?" Murna stared again into the pot. "I think it's coffee," she announced, finally.

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"American coffee." "It's the wrong colour for coffee, darling," said Jornas thoughtfully. "But maybe she's on the right track. It must be some kind of food." Murna, by now, had her nose right down into the pot. Suddenly, she lifted her head and sneezed loudly."Id god ub by doze," she explained. "That's it!" said Arinas. "It must be pepper! Let me try some." Dipping a finger into the powder, he licked it. "Yes," he said, "it's pepper all right. Mild, but quite tasty. It's American pepper." "All right," said Savni, "we'll try it on the stew tonight. We'll have American-style stew!"      That evening, the whole family agreed that the American pepper had added a special extra taste to their usual evening stew. They were delighted with it. By the end of the week, there was only a teaspoonful of the grey powderleft in the silver container. Then Savni called a halt. "We're saving the last bit for Sunday. Dr. Haret is coming to dinner, and we'll let him have some as a special treat. Then it will be finished." The following Sunday, the whole family put on their best clothes, ready for dinner with Dr. Haret. He was the local doctor, and he had become a friend of the family many years before, when he had saved Arinas's life after an accident. Once every couple of months, Savni invited the doctor for dinner, and they all looked forward to his entertaining stories of his youth at the university in thecapital.      During dinner, Savni explained to the doctor about the mysterious American pepper, the last of which she had put in the stew they were eating, and the letter they could not read. "Well, give it to me, give it to me!" said the doctor briskly. "I speak English! I can translate it for you." Savni brought the letter, and the family waited, fascinated, as the doctor began to translate. "Dear Savni: you don't know me, but I am the son of your old Great-Aunt Pasni. She never talked much to us about the old country, but in her final illness earlier this year, she told us that after her death, she wanted her ashes to be sent back home to you, so that you could scatter them on the hills of the country where she was born.

My mother died two weeks ago, and her funeral and cremation took place last week. I am sending her ashes to you in a silver casket. Please do as she asked, and spread them over the ground near where she was born. Your cousin, George Leary."

(MDH 1995 -- from a common urban legend)

MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Where does this story take place?

a) America

b) Arinas

c) India

d) The text doesn't say

2. How was the parcel wrapped? a) in brown paper

b) in silver paper

c) in grey paper

d) in tape

3. Who was Savni? a) a little girl

b) the Great-Aunt

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c) the mother of the family

d) the son of the family

4. Why don't the family read the letter?

a) They are too impatient to look in the container.

b) It is addressed to the doctor.

c) It is in English.

d) It is missing.

5. What does Murna think is in the pot?

a) dust

b) ashes

c) coffee

d) pepper

6. Why does Arinas think that the powder is pepper?

a) It tastes very hot.

b) It makes Murna sneeze.

c) It is written on the pot.

d) The letter says so.

7. What does the family do with the powder?

a) They keep it to give to the doctor.

b) They send it back to America.

c) They make drinks with it.

d) They put it on their food.

8. Why does Savni save the last bit of the powder?

a) as a souvenir

b) for Dr. Haret

c) to analyse it

d) to spread it on the hills

9. How does Dr. Haret solve the mystery?

a) He analyses the powder.

b) He recognizes the powder.

c) He is a friend of Pasni.

d) He translates the letter.

10. What was really in the pot? a) coffee

b) Great-Aunt Pasni

c) dust

d) special American pepper

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Dirty Britain

Before the grass has thickened on the roadside verges and leaves have started growing on the trees is a perfect time to look around and see just how dirty Britain has become. The pavements are stained with chewing gum that has been spat out and the gutters are full of discarded fast food cartons. Years ago I remember travelling abroad and being saddened by the plastic bags, discarded bottles and soiled nappies at the edge of every road. Nowadays, Britain seems to look at least as bad. What has gone wrong?The problem is that the rubbish created by our increasingly mobile lives lasts a lot longer than before. If it is not cleared up and properly thrown away, it stays in the undergrowth for years; a semi-permanent reminder of what a tatty little country we have now.

Firstly, it is estimated that 10 billion plastic bags have been given to shoppers. These will take anything from 100 to 1,000 years to rot. However, it is not as if there is no solution to this. A few years ago, the Irish government introduced a tax on non-recyclable carrier bags and in three months reduced their use by 90%. When he was a minister, Michael Meacher attempted to introduce a similar arrangement in Britain. The plastics industry protested, of course. However, they need not have bothered; the idea was killed before it could draw breath, leaving supermarkets free to give away plastic bags.

What is clearly necessary right now is some sort of combined initiative, both individual and collective, before it is too late. The alternative is to continue sliding downhill until we have a country that looks like a vast municipal rubbish tip. We may well be at the tipping point. Yet we know that people respond to their environment. If things around them are clean and tidy, people behave cleanly and tidily. If they are surrounded by squalor, they behave squalidly. Now, much of Britain looks pretty squalid. What will it look like in five years?

QUESTIONS

Q1 - The writer says that it is a good time to see Britain before the trees have leaves because

Britain looks perfect.

you can see Britain at its dirtiest.

you can see how dirty Britain is now.

the grass has thickened on the verges.

Q2 - According to the writer, things used to be

worse abroad.

the same abroad.

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better abroad.

worse, but now things are better abroad.

Q3 - For the writer, the problem is that

rubbish is not cleared up.

rubbish last longer than it used to.

our society is increasingly mobile.

Britain is a tatty country.

Q4 - Michael Meacher

followed the Irish example with a tax on plastic bags.

tried to follow the Irish example with a tax on plastic bags.

made no attempt to follow the Irish example with a tax on plastic bags.

had problems with the plastics industry who weren't bothered about the tax.

Q5 - The writer thinks

it is too late to do anything.

we are at the tipping point.

there is no alternative.

we need to work together to solve the problem.

Q6 - The writer thinks that

people are squalid.

people behave according to what they see around them.

people are clean and tidy.

people are like a vast municipal rubbish tip

English as a National Foreign Language

India has two national languages for central administrative purposes: Hindi and English. Hindi is the national, official, and main link language of India. English is an associate official language. The Indian Constitution also officially approves twenty-two regional languages for official purposes.Dozens of distinctly different regional languages are spoken in India, which share many characteristics such as grammatical structure and vocabulary. Apart from these languages, Hindi is used for communication in India. The homeland of Hindi is mainly in the north of India, but it is spoken and widely understood in all urban centers of India. In the southern states of

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India, where people speak many different languages that are not much related to Hindi, there is more resistance to Hindi, which has allowed English to remain a lingua franca to a greater degree. Since the early 1600s, the English language has had a toehold on the Indian subcontinent, when the East India Company established settlements in Chennai, Kolkata, and Mumbai, formerly Madras, Calcutta, and Bombay respectively. The historical background of India is never far away from everyday usage of English. India has had a longer exposure to English than any other country which uses it as a second language, its distinctive words, idioms, grammar and rhetoric spreading gradually to affect all places, habits and culture. In India, English serves two purposes. First, it provides a linguistic tool for the administrative cohesiveness of the country, causing people who speak different languages to become united. Secondly, it serves as a language of wider communication, including a large variety of different people covering a vast area. It overlaps with local languages in certain spheres of influence and in public domains. Generally, English is used among Indians as a ‘link’ language and it is the first language for many well-educated Indians. It is also the second language for many who speak more than one language in India. The English language is a tie that helps bind the many segments of our society together. Also, it is a linguistic bridge between the major countries of the world and India. English has special national status in India. It has a special place in the parliament, judiciary, broadcasting, journalism, and in the education system. One can see a Hindi-speaking teacher giving their students instructions during an educational tour about where to meet and when their bus would leave, but all in English. It means that the language permeates daily life. It is unavoidable and is always expected, especially in the cities. The importance of the ability to speak or write English has recently increased significantly because English has become the de facto standard. Learning English language has become popular for business, commerce and cultural reasons and especially for internet communications throughout the world. English is a language that has become a standard not because it has been approved by any ‘standards’ organization but because it is widely used by many information and technology industries and recognized as being standard. The call centre phenomenon has stimulated a huge expansion of internet-related activity, establishing the future of India as a cyber-technological super-power. Modern communications, videos, journals and newspapers on the internet use English and have made ‘knowing English’ indispensable. The prevailing view seems to be that unless students learn English, they can only work in limited jobs. Those who do not have basic knowledge of English cannot obtain good quality jobs. They cannot communicate efficiently with others, and cannot have the benefit of India’s rich social and cultural life. Men and women who cannot comprehend and interpret instructions in English, even if educated, are unemployable. They cannot help with their children’s school homework everyday or decide their revenue options of the future. A positive attitude to English as a national language is essential to the integration of people into Indian society. There would appear to be virtually no disagreement in the community about the importance of English language skills. Using English you will become a citizen of the world almost naturally. English plays a dominant role in the media. It has been used as a medium for inter-state communication and broadcasting both before and since India’s independence. India is, without a doubt, committed to English as a national language. The impact of English is not only continuing but increasing.

QUESTIONS

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Q1 - According to the writer, the Indian constitution recognises

22 official languages.

Hindi as the national language.

2 national, official languages.

2 national languages.

Q2 - English's status as a lingua franca is helped by

its status in northern India.

the fact that it is widely understood in urban centres.

the fact that people from the south speak languages not much related to Hindi.

it shares many grammatical similarities with Hindi.

Q3 - In paragraph 3, 'toehold' means that English

dominated India.

changed the names of some cities in India.

has had a presence in India.

has been in India longer than any other language.

Q4 - Hindi-speaking teachers

might well be heard using English.

only use English.

only use English for instructions.

do not use English.

Q5 - In paragraph eight, it says 'the prevailing view', which suggests that

the view is correct.

the view is held by the majority.

the view is incorrect.

the view is held by the minority.

Q6 - English in India

is going to decrease.

has decreased since independence.

causes disagreement.

is going to have a greater importance.

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Mark Rothko

Mark Rothko, one of the greatest painters of the twentieth century, was born in Daugavpils, Latvia in 1903. His father emigrated to the United States, afraid that his sons would be drafted into the Czarist army. Mark stayed in Russia with his mother and older sister; they joined the family later, arriving in the winter of 1913, after a 12-day voyage.

Mark moved to New York in the autumn of 1923 and found employment in the garment trade and took up residence on the Upper West Side. It was while he was visiting someone at the Art Students League that he saw students sketching a nude model. According to him, this was the start of his life as an artist. He was twenty years old and had taken some art lessons at school, so his initial experience was far from an immediate calling.

In 1936, Mark Rothko began writing a book, which he never completed, about the similarities in the children's art and the work of modern painters. The work of modernists, which was influenced by primitive art, could, according to him, be compared to that of children in that "child art transforms itself into primitivism, which is only the child producing a mimicry of himself." In this same work, he said that "the fact that one usually begins with drawing is already academic. We start with colour."It was not long before his multiforms developed into the style he is remembered for; in 1949 Rothko exhibited these new works at the Betty Parsons Gallery. For critic Harold Rosenberg, the paintings were a revelation. Rothko had, after painting his first multiform, secluded himself to his home in East Hampton on Long Island, only inviting a very few people, including Rosenberg, to view the new paintings. The discovery of his definitive form came at a period of great grief; his mother Kate died in October 1948 and it was at some point during that winter that Rothko chanced upon the striking symmetrical rectangular blocks of two to three opposing or contrasting, yet complementary colours. As part of this new uniformity of artistic vision, his paintings and drawings no longer had individual titles; from this point on they were simply untitled, numbered or dated.  However, to assist in distinguishing one work from another, dealers would sometimes add the primary colours to the name. Additionally, for the next few years, Rothko painted in oil only on large vertical canvasses. This was done to overwhelm the viewer, or, in his words, to make the viewer feel enveloped within the picture.

On February 25, 1970, Oliver Steindecker, Rothko’s assistant, found him in his kitchen, lying on the floor in front of the sink, covered in blood. His arms had been cut open with a razor. The emergency doctor arrived on the scene minutes later to pronounce him dead as the result of suicide; it was discovered during the autopsy that he had also overdosed on anti-depressants. He was just 66 years old.

QUESTIONS

Q1 - Mark Rothko emigrated to the United States

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with his father and elder sister.

with his mother and brothers.

with his mother and elder sister.

with all his family.Q2 - Rothko wanted to be an artist

from his early childhood.

when he joined the Art Students League.

when he watched students drawing.

when he moved to the Upper West Side.

Q3 - Rothko thought that modern art

was primitive.

could be compared to children's pictures.

was already academic.

was childish.

Q4 - Rothko's distinctive style

was inspired by Rosenberg.

resulted from moving to Long Island.

resulted from his grief.

evolved in 1948.

Q5 - Who named paintings by their colours?

Rosenberg

Rothko

Dealers

Steindecker

The Great Wall of China

Walls and wall building have played a very important role in Chinese culture. These people, from the dim mists of prehistory have been wall-conscious; from the Neolithic period – when ramparts of pounded earth were used - to the Communist Revolution, walls were an essential part of any village. Not only towns and villages; the houses and the temples within them were somehow walled, and the houses also had no windows overlooking the street, thus giving the feeling of wandering around a huge maze. The name for “city” in Chinese (ch’eng) means wall, and over these walled cities, villages, houses and temples presides the god of walls and mounts, whose duties were, and still are, to protect and be responsible for the welfare of the

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inhabitants. Thus a great and extremely laborious task such as constructing a wall, which was supposed to run throughout the country, must not have seemed such an absurdity.

However, it is indeed a common mistake to perceive the Great Wall as a single architectural structure, and it would also be erroneous to assume that it was built during a single dynasty. For the building of the wall spanned the various dynasties, and each of these dynasties somehow contributed to the refurbishing and the construction of a wall, whose foundations had been laid many centuries ago. It was during the fourth and third century B.C. that each warring state started building walls to protect their kingdoms, both against one another and against the northern nomads. Especially three of these states: the Ch’in, the Chao and the Yen, corresponding respectively to the modern provinces of Shensi, Shanzi and Hopei, over and above building walls that surrounded their kingdoms, also laid the foundations on which Ch’in Shih Huang Di would build his first continuous Great Wall.The role that the Great Wall played in the growth of Chinese economy was an important one. Throughout the centuries many settlements were established along the new border. The garrison troops were instructed to reclaim wasteland and to plant crops on it, roads and canals were built, to mention just a few of the works carried out. All these undertakings greatly helped to increase the country’s trade and cultural exchanges with many remote areas and also with the southern, central and western parts of Asia – the formation of the Silk Route. Builders, garrisons, artisans, farmers and peasants left behind a trail of objects, including inscribed tablets, household articles, and written work, which have become extremely valuable archaeological evidence to the study of defence institutions of the Great Wall and the everyday life of these people who lived and died along the wall.

QUESTIONS

Q1 - Chinese cities resembled a maze

because they were walled.

because the houses has no external windows.

because the name for cities means 'wall'.

because walls have always been important there.

Q2 - Constructing a wall that ran the length of the country

honoured the god of walls and mounts.

was an absurdly laborious task.

may have made sense within Chinese culture.

made the country look like a huge maze.

Q3 - The Great Wall of China

was built in a single dynasty.

was refurbished in the fourth and third centuries BC.

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used existing foundations.

was built by the Ch’in, the Chao and the Yen.

Q4 - Crops were planted

on wasteland.

to reclaim wasteland.

on reclaimed wasteland.

along the canals.

Q5 - The Great Wall

helped build trade only inside China.

helped build trade in China and abroad.

helped build trade only abroad.

helped build trade only to remote areas

Airbus crisis over

Airbus says it has turned the corner after a crisis connected to production problems and turmoil in the boardroom at its A380 super-jumbo project that has gone on for the past year. Speaking at the Paris air show, Louis Gallois, CEO of the European planemaker, said, "Airbus is back."

Airbus, which announced a raft of orders on the first day of the show, is competing with Boeing, its American rival, for the title of the largest planemaker in the world.

Boeing is expected to reveal the numbers of orders for its 787 Dreamliner soon. Airbus orders unveiled on Monday included Qatar Airways confirming a $16bn order for 80 A350 Airbus planes and ordering three A380 super-jumbos for about $750m.

Boeing and Airbus are also competing for orders from aircraft leasing firms. Orders from these companies - who rank highly among the biggest global buyers of aircraft - are often regarded as an indication of how successful a model will be in the long term. Airbus also secured orders from US Airways that are worth $10bn for 22 of its A350 jets, 60 A320s and ten of its A330-200 wide-body planes. A few months ago, Airbus unveiled a major cost-cutting programme aiming to reduce the workforce in Europe by 10,000, as well as announcing a group restructuring. "I can tell you with full confidence that Airbus is back and fully back, as you have started noting yesterday as demonstrated by our first day announcements," said Mr Gallois on the second day of the air show. However, Boeing also announced a deal with General Electric (GE) on the show's first day. GE's commercial aviation services placed an order for six 777 Boeing freighters valued at around $1.4bn, to be delivered in the last quarter of 2008. A Wall Street Journal website report, quoting the Delta operating chief yesterday said that Delta Air Lines were on the verge of ordering as many as 125 Boeing 787 jetliners by the end of this year. However, a spokesman for Delta

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later said that it had been having conversations "with several aircraft makers" and that "no final decision" had been made on future fleet purchases.

QUESTIONS

Q1 - The problems at Airbus

have been resolved completely.

are well on their way to being sorted out.

are far from resolved.

Q2 - Airbus announced

a large number of orders on the first day of the show.

some orders on the first day of the show.

a few orders on the first day of the show.

Q3 - Qatar Airways ordered

83 planes on Monday.

80 planes on Monday.

3 planes on Monday.

Q4 - US Airways

placed an order for the new super-jumbo.

didn't place an order for the new super-jumbo.

may have placed an order for the new super-jumbo.

Q5 - Boeing

announced sales of the Dreamliner.

may sell some Dreamliners to General Electric.

may sell some Dreamliners to Delta Air Lines.

Q6 - The Wall Street Journal website report

was definitely correct.

was possibly correct.

was definitely wrong.

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Scottish Independence

The majority of people in Scotland are in favour breaking away from the rest of the UK and becoming independent, according to a poll taken just before the 300th anniversary of the Act of Union, which united Scotland and England.

A pair of Acts of Parliament, passed in 1706 and 1707 that came into effect on May 1, 1707, created Great Britain. The parliaments of both countries were dissolved, and replaced by a new Parliament of Great Britain in Westminster, London.

he poll showed support for independence for Scotland is running at 51%. This is the first time since 1998 that support for separation has passed 50%, and the first time since devolution gave power to the country in 1999. Six months before elections for the Scottish Parliament, these poll results come as good news to the Scottish Nationalist Party, who are hoping to make progress against Labour and further the cause of an independent Scotland.

Many people have become disillusioned with devolution, and believe that the Scottish Parliament has failed to deliver what they had hoped it would; only a tenth have no opinion. In fact, only 39% of those polled want to keep things as they are.

QUESTIONS

Q1 - Scotland and England

have always been united.

want to break up the union.

have been united for a long time.

were united by war.

Q2 - Great Britain

was formed by an Act of Parliament in 1706.

was formed by two Acts of Parliament in 1707.

was formed by an Act of Parliament that came into effect on May 1st 1707.

was formed by Acts of Parliament that came into effect on May 1st 1707.

Q3 - People who want indepence for Scotland

are the vast majority.

are in the minority.

are the slight majority.

have decreased in number since devolution.

Q4 - The majority of people wanted independence for the first time

before devolution.

in 1999.

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after devolution.

before and after independence.

Q5 - The results of the poll are good news

for Labour.

for both parties.

for the Scottish Nationalist Party.

for devolution.

Q6 - Most people's opinions of devolution

have gone up.

have gone down.

are the same.

make progress against Labour.

Q7 - The number of people who want to keep things as they are

is greater than those that don't know.

is smaller than those that don't know.

is increasing.

is the majority

Neither a Borrower Nor a Lender Be

Both borrowers and lenders in the sub-prime mortgage market are wishing they had listened to the old saying: neither a borrower nor a lender be.

Last year people with poor credit ratings borrowed $605 billion in mortgages, a figure that is about 20% of the home-loan market. It includes people who cannot afford to meet the mortgage payments on expensive homes they have bought, and low-income buyers. In some cases, the latter could not even meet the first payment. Lenders include banks like HSBC, which may have lost almost $7 billion.

Both sides can be blamed. Lenders, after the 2-3 percentage point premium they could charge, offered loans, known as 'liar loans', with no down payments and without any income verification to people with bad credit histories. They believed that rising house prices would cover them in the event of default. Borrowers ignored the fact that interest rates would rise after an initial period.

One result is that default rates on these sub-prime mortgages reached 14% last year- a record. The problems in this market also threaten to spread to the rest of the mortgage market, which would reduce the flow of credit available to the shrinking numbers of consumers still interested in buying property.

So, the housing market will remain weak; borrowers with weak credit histories will find the credit window closed; people with adjustable-rate mortgages will have to spend less so they can meet their increased payments; tighter lending standards and falling home prices will reduce consumers' ability to tap the equity in their homes.

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But as long as the labour market remains strong, which it has done despite job losses in housing-related industries, and as long as real incomes continue to go up, consumers might complain, but they are unlikely to go on a buyers' strike on a scale that will make this slowdown become a recession.Therefore, we should not be too worried, but, at the same time, we should be a bit cautious and watch closely how things develop.

QUESTIONS

Q1 - Sub-prime mortgage loans were offered

only to low income families.

to people who wanted to by very expensive houses.

to people with poor credit histories.

Q2 - Who believed that rising house prices would cover them in the event of a default?

Borrowers

Lenders

Both

Q3 - Borrowers have been caught out

because they lied when applying for the loan.

because house prices have risen.

because interest rates rise after a while.

Q4 - According to the text, people with adjustable-rate mortgages

will not be able to get credit.

will have to economise.

have weak credit histories.

Q5 - The housing market problems

could easily tip the counrty in recession.

are unlikely to tip the country into recession.

will cause a buyers' strike.

Q6 - The writer is

a bit concerned about the housing market.

very worried about the housing market.

not worried about the housing market

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Sick buildings

Like people, buildings get sick. When they do, the people inside them also get sick. They suffer from coughs, colds, wheezes, skin rashes, sickness, tiredness, headaches, eye troubles. They work slowly and inefficiently. They stay away from work. Sick buildings cause a 40 per cent drop in productivity and a 30 per cent rise in absenteeism. Management in North America and Europe have been slow to respond to the need to maintain a healthy environment for office workers, just as much as for blue collar workers. In a typical case in a large London office block, about 25 years old, staff complained about constant lethargy and lack of natural light. The complaints dragged on for years. Management were unwilling to admit to the problem because of the bad publicity which would result. They preferred to think that workers were malingerers or hypochondriacs. What would happen to rental values if a building were admitted to be sick?The trouble is the difficulty of knowing whether it is the people who are sick, or suffering from hysteria, or whether something has gone seriously wrong with the place they work in. A professor of design analysis at Cornell University gives the example of a building in Anchorage, Alaska, where three women, all heavy smokers, developed bronchitis. One of them was advised to wear a mask to work. The reaction of her colleagues led to an evacuation of the building, an investigation by consultants wearing full protective clothing, newspaper reports, and many lawyers. No cause was ever found. On the other hand, he also cites the example of the headquarters of the US Environmental Protection Agency where 70 people fell ill. The outbreak was traced to 4PC, a chemical produced by the interaction between adhesive and foam backing on new carpets.A survey in 1987 found that 80 per cent of British office workers suffered sickness related to the buildings in which they worked. Lethargy was cited by 57 per cent, followed by stuffy nose, dry throat and headaches. The United States Institute for Occupational Health investigates about 50 buildings a year. These are mainly energy-efficient "tight" buildings which save money by using recycled warmed air rather than cold air from outside. They are usually open-plan or "deep" offices, where daylight has been replaced by artificial lighting. Thirdly, they are offices dominated, of course, by the data processor. What goes wrong? For a start, the whole place can be at the wrong temperature, usually too warm. A four degree rise above a comfortable 20C can half productivity. It is almost certainly too dry, with a relative humidity below 40 per cent, resulting in stuffy and stale air. Equally certainly, the air is dirty: too many people still smoke, and smoke containing ammonia, formaldehyde, phenols and hydrogen cyanide circulate is breathed by nonsmokers. Gases are given off by synthetic carpets and furniture. Ozone is produced by malfunctioning photocopiers.The lighting may be all wrong. Low-frequency fluorescent lights produce a flicker which the eye cannot see but the brain can. It causes anxiety and headaches. Medical studies have shown that headaches are less frequent on higher floors which receive more natural light. Headaches fall by half when high-frequency lights are introduced. The computer screen has been linked to illness and to pregnancy problems, but there is no definite proof of links between health and the VDU. If you wanted a building not to work in, it would be air-conditioned, dusty, date from the mid-seventies, have tinted and sealed windows, and house batteries of clerical workers.The trouble may lie less in the building itself, and more in the design of the workplace and the jobs that people are expected to do. The office worker has become more like a factory worker, tied to a work station in an assembly line. You can introduce full

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spectrum lighting and you can litter the office with spider plants to eat the carbon monoxide, but the central problem remains. The modern office has been built to house machines, not people. There is something psychologically wrong with the high-tech office which makes people prefer polluted "natural" air to the air-conditioned "pure" air of the office block. In one case, absenteeism through sickness increased by 30 per cent after the workforce moved from an old naturally-ventilated office into a new air-conditioned one, without any change in the nature of the work being carried out.

The new technology creates a prison, and people go "prison crazy". An occupational health specialist says: "If you are trying to get the best out of your equipment, then the easiest thing is to chain your operator to the chair. Everything in the worming environment is geared to keeping people working. Restaurants care close by. You can carry out food, People even come round selling sandwiches at the work station. But you are wringing the sponge dry, allowing it no time to recover. work becomes one-dimensional. "You take away the opportunity for human contact, for simply walking around and feeling there are wider horizons. Just because building technology and information technology have made it possible to extract 150 per cent out of people doesn't mean that is what you ought to do. It's a bit like a new drug. We don't know the long-term effects of what we are doing."

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1. Building managers ignored complaints from office workers becauseA.they thought the workers were lazyB.there was nothing really wrongC.their companies would lose moneyD.the workers were suffering from hysteria

2. People become lethargic from stuffy conditions whenA.too many people smokeB.air is recycledC.photocopiers don't work properlyD.the air is too dry

3. Office workers worry less and feel less stressA.in an ozone-free environmentB.when there is less dust in the atmosphereC.in natural lightD.in an open-plan office

4. Workers stay away from work more often whenA.the office is air-conditionedB.they have to use a computer screenC.there are no plants in the officeD.the office has polluted natural air

5. According to a health expert, office workersA.need more convenient working conditionsB.shouldn't be allowed to eat at their desks

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C.need to get more exerciseD.are too isolated

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