Тест. Reading Comprehension 10th Form

Test.10^th Form

Reading Comprehension.

Read three texts and choose the best possible answer from four possible answers (a, b, c or d) in each task.             

Text 1.

The largest lake in the western United States is the Great Salt Lake, an inland saltwater lake in northwestern Utah, just outside the state capital of Salt Lake City. Rivers and streams feed into the Great Salt Lake, but none drain out of it; this has a major influence on both the salt content and the size of the lake.

Although the Great Salt Lake is fed by freshwater streams, it is actually saltier than the oceans of the world. The salt comes from the more than two million tons of minerals that flow into the lake each year from the rivers and creeks that feed it. Sodium and chloride — the components of salt — comprise the large majority of the lake's mineral content.

The Great Salt Lake can vary tremendously from its normal size of 1,700 square miles, depending on long-term weather conditions. During periods of heavy rains, the size of the lake can swell tremendously from the huge amounts of water flowing into the Salt Lake from its feeder rivers and streams; in 1980 the lake even reached a size of 2,400 square miles. During periods of dry weather, the size of the lake decreases, sometimes drastically, due to evaporation.

Task 1: Questions (choose the correct letter a, b, c or d):

1.  The passage is NOT telling about...

1.   the location of the lake;
2.   the formation of the lake;
3.   the reasons for saltiness;
4.   the size of the lake.

2.  The word "drain" means:

1.   walk;  
2.   stop;
3.   flow;
4.   cross.

3.  According to the passage, the size of the lake depends on ...

1. one reason;
2. two reasons;
3. three reasons;
4. four reasons.

4.  It may be inferred from the passage that...

1. the water leaves the lake through some underground passages;
2. the water evaporates intensively from the surface;
3. the water only feeds the lake without leaving it;
4. there is no water at all but a saline and mineral solution.

5.  The lake is salty because ...

1. salty rivers flow into it;
2. its bottom is made of salt;
3. salt is not carried out of the lake;
4. it is a part of an ocean.

Text 2

People are often surprised to learn just how long some varieties of trees can live. If asked to estimate the age of the oldest living trees on the Earth, they often come up with guesses in the neighbourhood of two or perhaps three hundred years. The real answer is considerably larger than that, more than five thousand years.

The tree that wins the prize for its considerable maturity is the bristlecone pine of California. This venerable pine predates wonders of the ancient world such as the pyramids of Egypt, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and the Colossus of Rhodes. It is not nearly as tall as the giant redwood that is also found in California, and in fact it is actually not very tall compared with many other trees often little more than five meters in height. This relatively short height may be one of the factors that aid the bristlecone pine in living to a ripe old age—high winds and inclement weather cannot easily reach the shorter trees and cause damage. An additional factor that contributes to the long life of the bristlecone pine is that this type of tree has a high percentage of resin, which prevents rot from developing in the tree trunk and branches.

Task 2: Questions (choose the correct letter a, b, c or d):

6. The best title for this passage would be.

a) The Size of the Bristlecone Pine.

b) Three-Hundred-Year-Old-Forests.

c) The Wonders of the Ancient World.

d) An Amazingly Enduring Tree.

7. The expression "in the neighborhood of" could best be replaced by:

1. of approximately;
2. on the same block as;
3. with the friendliness of;
4. located close to.

8. It can be inferred from the passage that most people:

a) are quite accurate in their estimates of the ages of trees;

b) have two to three hundred trees in their neighborhoods;

c) do not really have any idea how old the oldest trees on the Earth are;

d) can name some three-hundred-year-old trees.

9. According to the passage, approximately how old are the oldest trees on the Earth?

1. Two hundred years old;
2. three hundred years old;
3. five hundred years old;
4. five thousand years old.

10. The word "venerable" is closest in meaning to which of the following?

1. ancient;
2. incredible;
3. towering;
4. unrecognizable.

Text 3

The teddy bear is a child's toy, a nice soft stuffed animal suitable for cuddling. It is, however, a toy with an interesting history behind it.

Theodore Roosevelt, or Teddy, as he was commonly called, was the president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. He was an unusually active man with varied pastimes, one of which was hunting. One day the president was invited to take part in a bear hunt; and in as much as Teddy was president, his hosts wanted to ensure that he caught a bear. A bear was captured, clanked over the head to knock it out, and tied to a tree; however, Teddy, who really wanted to hunt actually, refused to shoot the bear and in fact demanded that the bear be extricated from the ropes; that is, he demanded that the bear be set free.

The incident attracted a lot of attention among journalists. First, a cartoon — made by Clifford K. Berryman to make fun of this situation — appeared in the Washington Post, and the cartoon was widely distributed and reprinted throughout the country. Then, toy manufacturers began producing a toy bear, which they called a "teddy bear". The teddy bear became the most widely recognised symbol of Roosevelt's presidency.

Task 3: Questions (choose the correct letter a, b, c or d):

11. The topic of the passage probably is ...

1.   Theodore Roosevelt's activity;
2.   the episode from Theodore Roosevelt's life;
3.   the origin of a popular play thing;
4.   the history of one incident.

12.  The word "pastimes" is closest in meaning to ...

1.   duties;
2.   hopes;
3.   jobs;
4.   hobbies.

13. The passage implies that Theodore Roosevelt was ...

1.   a poor hunter;
2.   a fair-play person;
3.   a good president;
4.   a faithful friend.

14.  To make fun of the situation Clifford K. Berryman produced ...

1.   a photograph;
2.   a radio program;
3.   a drawing:
4.   a film.

15. The teddy bear toy witnessed about...

a) US economic growth;

b) lack of patriotism;

c) shortage of toys in the US;

d) Roosevelt's popularity in the country.