Boost your reading skills

TEXT1

You are going to read an abstract from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Complete the sentences with appropriate word or expression from A, B, C or D.

 

  There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been 1. A_, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but 2.__ dinner the cold wind had brought with it clouds so somber, and a rain so penetrating, that 3.__ outdoor exercise was now 4.__question.

 I was glad of it; I never liked long 5.__, especially on chilly autumn afternoons: dreadful to me was the coming home in the raw 6.__, with nipped fingers and toes, and a heart saddened by the chiding of Bessie, the nurse, and humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John and Georgiana Reed.

 The said Eliza, John and Georgiana were now clustered 7.__ their mamma in the drawing-room: she lay reclined on a sofa with her darlings about her and looked 8.__ happy. A small breakfast-room 9.__ the drawing-room, I slipped in there. It 10.__ a bookcase; I soon possessed myself of a volume, taking 11.__ that it should be one stored with pictures. Folds of scarlet drapery shut in my view to the right hand; to the left were the clear panes of glass, 12.__, but not separating me from the drear 13.__ day.

 

1.a)wandering  b)dashing  c)strolling  d)roaming

2.a)for   b)during  c)since  d)before

3.a)father   b)further  c)far   d)furthest

4.a)out in   b)out of  c)besides  d)in addition to

5.a)distances  b)paths  c)trips  d)strolls

6.a)morning   b)dawn  c)twilight  d)noon

7.a)round   b)across  c)at   d)nearby

8.a)perfectly  b)pretty  c)enough  d)unusually

9.a)joined   b)adhered  c)connected  d)adjoined

10.a)included  b)contained  c)consisted  d)owned

11.a)up   b)advantage  c)care   d)for

12.a)avoiding  b)protecting  c)preventing  d)defending

13.a)November  b)June  c)August  d)May

 

 

 

 

 

TEXT2

You are going to read the text “Village School” by Miss Read. Complete the sentences with appropriate word or expression from A, B, C or D.

 

I had my tea in the warm sunshine of the garden at the back of my school-house. The schoolmaster who had lived here 1. B  me was a great 2.__. He had planted current bushes, black and red, raspberries and gooseberries.

I had planted 3.__ flowers in my garden. Vegetables I didn’t bother to plant, not only because of the lack of 4.__, but also because kind and 5.__ neighbours gave me more than I could eat, week after week. Beans, peas, carrots, turnips, brussels sprouts, cabbage, they all came in lavish supplies to my door. Sometimes the donors were almost too lavish, forgetting, I suppose, how relatively one little woman could 6.__.

I made some jam in the evening with a basket of early black plums which John Pringle, Mrs. Pringle’s only son, and a near neighbour of mine, 7.__ me. The kitchen was pleasant enough as I 8.__. In the corner stands a large brick copper and my 9.__ used this to heat water for their baths, lighting a fire each time, but I have a/an 10.__ copper which saves much time and trouble. The rest of the house downstairs 11.__ of a large dining-room with a brick fireplace, a small hall, and a small sitting-room. I 12.__ use this room as it face north, and was rather cold, but live mainly in the dining-room which is warmer, lighter and even more has a bigger fireplace and is 13.__ for the kitchen.

 

1.a)past  b)before  c)last   d)behind

2.a)teacher  b)headmaster c)gardener  d)worker

3.a)only  b)sole   c)just   d)hardly

4.a)area  b)place  c)territory  d)room

5.a)generous b)oblivious  c)mean  d)avaricious

6.a)take it  b)cope with  c)undertake  d)cope together

7.a)has brought b)brings  c)had brought   d)used to bring

8.a)observed b)watched  c)stirred  d)looked into

9.a)predecessors b)collaborators c)disciples  d)acquaintances

10.a)electric  b)natural  c)electricity  d)artificial

11.a)consist  b)consists  c)made  d)makes

12.a)often  b)rarely  c)rare   d)now and then

13.a)essential  b)cozy  c)matched  d)convenient

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEXT 3

You are going to read the text “Gambling” by Richard Sidaway. Complete the sentences with appropriate word or expression from A, B, C or D.

 

Human beings have spent large amounts of money trying to beat the laws of probability for centuries. More than 30 countries currently have 1.B gambling in the form of national lotteries or private casinos. In the last ten years this addictive 2.__ has been generating millions more via the internet. So, how do you become a 3.__ gambler? Back in 1873, engineer Joseph Jagger won $300,000 dollars 4.__ 3 days at the casino in Monte Carlo by noticing that the mechanical faults in their roulette wheels made 5.__ numbers come up more often than others. More recently, an Australian wrote

a software programme 6.__ him spot winners on the horses in Hong Kong and has supposedly 7.__$150 million over the last 20 years.

What is the biggest lottery jackpot ever? The record is currently $390 million, won by 2 people in the USA in May. This, 8.__ is a peanuts. The biggest single win on a national lottery was $314.9 million in the Powerball game in 2002 by a man who had already made a 9.__ in the sewer business. Why do lotteries exist? Often to make money for the 10.__. Which city 11.__ more from gambling? Las Vegas, of course. 12.__ gambling was legalized there in 1930s it was a small desert town; today it has 35 million visitors and earns seven and a half thousand million dollars from its casinos every year. What do they do with the 13.__? Build hotels. It seems-the world’s biggest is the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino with 5,005 rooms. In fact, somebody estimated it would take one person 329 years to sleep in every hotel room in Las Vegas.

1.a)adopted   b)legalized  c)law  d)estimated

2.a)pastime   b)hobby  c)leisure d)activity

3.a)delighted  b)advanced  c)perfect d)successful

4.a)for   b)after  c)in  d)during

5.a)proper   b)given  c)certain d)mentioned

6.a)to help   b)to made  c)to cause d)to let

7.a)won   b)gained  c)acquired d)received

8.a)as a matter   b)usually  c)of course d)by the way

9.a)money   b)fortune  c)living d)lottery

10.a)government  b)country  c)state d)nation

11.a)earns   b)gets   c)gives d)possesses

12.a)till   b)before  c)after d)as

13.a)pay   b)fee   c)money d)profit

 

 

 

 

 

TEXT 4

You are going to read the text “The advantages and disadvantage of living in the village and city”.  Complete the sentences with appropriate word or expression from A, B, C or D.

 Village life.

Do you know what it’s like to live in a small village surrounded by countryside? Have you ever been 1.B by the sound of cows in the field under your bedroom window? When I was a child, I enjoyed playing outside, 2.__ my bike, and buying sweets at the shop. Now I’m older, I’m bored and 3.__with having to travel twenty miles to the nearest town just to buy a CD. I can’t 4__ because I don’t have a car and there are only two buses a day. There is a derelict farmhouse near my house which looks sad and empty. I’m not sure when the owners left, but it 5.__ me that I’m living in a place that’s dying. More and more families leave and 6.__ the city every year. Our village primary school which has been there for almost a hundred and fifty years had to close last year. I can’t wait to leave.

City life.

Have you thought of what it’s like living in a place that is so 7.__ and dirty that you have to 8.__ a mask when you go out on your bicycle? I live in the city, two miles from an/a 9.__  complex which has two discos, six restaurants, a bowling alley, and a multi-screen cinema with seven screens. However, I never have the money to go and this makes me feel 10.__.

11.__, it’s not safe to go out at night on your own. A friend was 12.__ in this area last week and there is so much traffic that you risk your life crossing the road. We go to the 13.__ for fresh air whenever we can. I would love to move to a smaller town.

1.a)got up  b)woken up  c)evoked  d)slept

2.a)driving  b)going  c)travelling  d)riding

3.a)repleted  b)satisfied  c)enjoyed  d)fed up

4.a)come up  b)get around c)come across d)get through

5.a)reminds  b)mentions  c)remembers d)resembles

6.a)move at  b)move into  c)arrive at  d)departure

7.a)contaminated b)filthy  c)depraved  d)abolished

8.a)carry  b)bear  c)wear  d)hold

9.a)diversion b)amused  c)distracted  d)entertainment

10.a)reluctant b)ambitious  c)frustrated  d)destroyed

11.a)although b)besides  c)though  d)enough

12.a)mugged b)stolen  c)taken  d)caught

13.a)seaside  b)meadow  c)countryside d)outskirt

TEXT 5

You are going to read the text “What price a cycle helmet”.  Complete the sentences with appropriate word or expression from A, B, C or D.

 

On a rainy November morning 2 years ago, Shirley Huxham was free-wheeling 1.D downhill. As she waved to a friend, her bike 2.__ the wet road, throwing her to the ground. “I’d never even thought of 3.__ a helmet,” she says. For months she was partly paralyzed down her left side and still has health problems today.

Last year, 12-year-old James Dowson was riding his new mountain bike on a woodland 4.__ near his home. He hurtled down a 5.__slope and up the other side but lost control of his bike. James hit his head 6.__ a tree. “My injuries started where my bike helmet stopped,” says James.

Some might think that James and Shirley were just 7.__. How dangerous can it be to fall from a bicycle? Each year on Britain’s roads more than 200 people are killed and 8.__ 4,000 seriously injured on bicycles. But these numbers don’t tell the whole story: the majority of the dead and injured were not wearing 9.__ helmets. A study of bicycle accidents in the US found that helmets 10.__ the risk of serious head injury by 85 per cent. Yet it is estimated that less than 5 per cent of British cyclists wear helmets. Why don’t more cyclists wear them? There is a11.__ of reasons. People think that helmets look foolish, that they are 12.__, and that accidents only happen to other people. Special headgear, however, can make all the difference. James wasn’t just lucky. If he hadn’t worn a helmet, he would be dead, and if Shirley had, she wouldn’t have spent months in hospital. So, why 13.__ the risk?  

 1.a)smoothly  b)evenly  c)fluently  d)gently

2.a)got into   b)skidded on c)fetched  d)rushed

3.a)getting   b)owing  c)purchasing d)throwing

4.a)path   b)road  c)track  d)way

5.a)steep   b)straight  c)tight  d)sudden

6.a)on    b)at   c)in   d)against

7.a)wretched  b)unlucky  c)miserable  d)innocent

8.a)at last   b)at least  c)rather  d)evidently

9.a)protecting  b)preventing c)avoiding  d)defending

10.a)increased  b)diminished c)caused  d)reduced

11.a)lack   b)enormous  c)pack  d)variety

12.a)inconvenient  b)uncomfortable  c)awkward  d)unconvenient

13.a)take   b)fall   c)undertake  d)resist

 

 

 

 

TEXT 6

You are going to read the text”Hooked on Horoscopes”.  Complete the sentences with appropriate word or expression from A, B, C or D.

 

Why do so many people believe in, and sometimes act on the 1.B of astrologers? Astrology has no scientific evidence to 2.__ it yet people from all backgrounds consult their horoscopes every day. Psychologists suggest that one answer may be the Barnum Effect. This is the 3.__ used to describe how people will believe feedback about their personality, when they think it’s the result of a proper procedure. The Barnum Effect 4.__ well when people receive feedback they believe is specific to them. For example, a French astrologer sent out detailed computer horoscopes to 2,000 people. Many of the people who received them were astonished by how 5.__ and specific the horoscopes were. For the Barnum Effect to work at its best, personally analysis must be complimentary. This is because humans 6.__ love compliments, but disbelieve criticism. The analysis needn’t be entirely positive but any negative comment must be very gentle and possibly be seen as complimentary too. The Barnum Effect explains the 7.__ of astrology. Astrological forecasts are 8.__ specific information such as the time and place of birth and are nearly always positive. People begin to believe and 9.__ in horoscopes for 2 reasons. The first is that we like to remember positive or complimentary 10.__ about ourselves. The following words like “like most Virgos, you are particular honest,” are typical. After reading these words you may remember an occasion when you were particular honest and 11.__ that the words are true. You may even change your behaviour 12.__ and become more honest as a result. So, 13.__ we mustn’t believe everything we read about ourselves, even if it’s complimentary.

1.a)riddles   b)predictions c)mysterious d)superstitions

2.a)support   b)encourage  c)maintain  d)bear

3.a)term   b)notion  c)definition  d)meaning

4.a)performs  b)fulfills  c)acts   d)works

5.a)proper   b)detailed  c)cunning  d)accurate

6.a)tend   b)expect  c)turn   d)obviously

7.a)use   b)necessity  c)widespread d)popularity

8.a)based on   b)settled  c)found  d)grounded 

9.a)charge   b)trust  c)commit  d)need

10.a)sentences  b)assumptions c)statements  d)presumptions

11.a)agree   b)believe  c)consider  d)admit

12.a)at least   b)probably  c)noticeably  d)slightly

13.a)mention  b)remember  c)remind  d)recall