Reading Comprehension Test (8th form)

        Chris, Belgium

 I prefer magazines to books because I just cannot spend that much time reading a book. You can read magazines everywhere: on the train, in the car or if you have to wait for somebody. It's much nicer. Time passes by and you don't have to invest that much time, like for example if you would have to read a whole book. 

Why doesn’t Chris read books?

Buddhi, Sri Lanka

Do I prefer books or magazines? I'll say magazines because I don't like to read for too long. I actually don't read for too long, so I prefer short articles or something interesting that would finish quickly. I don't like to read for too long. I know that's a bad habit. I’ve got to work on it but I prefer magazines.

What does Buddhi like in magazines?

Tom, the UK

I read a lot of books. Magazines ... uh, very pretty and they look nice on the shelf but I almost never look through them. I'm not interested in the advertising, but give me a good book, and I can read it for hours and hours.

What doesn’t Tom like in magazines?

Aiste, Lithuania

I think books are really nicer to read. At present I'm reading mostly books from my major area, and as for magazines, so most of the time I don't read magazines. I just take them and scan them while checking out the pictures and what the major topic is. But as for reading, I think it's a little bit too shallow.

 What books is Aiste reading at present?

Chrystal, the USA

I prefer both. Actually, I like both, but then if I were to choose, I would choose magazines because they're easier and books are ... honestly, they're boring. I fall asleep all the time. They say that magazines are not good for your imagination, so it's really good to read books more when you're a child, but I don't think that's quite necessarily true because magazines also provide good pictures and colors and I think it's better for imagination.

How can we understand that books are boring for Chrystal?

David, Kenya

What do I prefer between books or magazines? I'm more into magazines because they're interesting and easy to follow. They are both good but you know you have to go to ... I have to go to a deeper level of reading and sometimes it's boring for me.

What does David like better?

 Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage

Think about all the emotions expressed in the music you listen to: joy, happiness, loneliness, nervousness, and, of course, sadness. Music with sad themes is often called the blues.

Blues music developed in the USA among Southern blacks after the Civil War. When slaves were brought to America from Africa, they brought their musical traditions with them. Mixed with folk and popular music of whites, these African musical traditions developed into the blues.

The blues is believed to have originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region in northern Mississippi between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers. This is a rural area where the poorest black people lived. The sadness of their lifestyle was expressed in the blues. The conditions in this area – poverty, racism, difficult working situations – led many blacks to go north, to cities such as Memphis, Chicago, St Louis and Detroit.

The blues didn’t disappear from the Mississippi countryside, however, and in 1978, the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage festival was founded to celebrate and promote the blues and the culture. Now it is the oldest and largest blues festival in the South, with 20,000 visitors and performances.

 The blues is the music with sad themes.

 Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage

Think about all the emotions expressed in the music you listen to: joy, happiness, loneliness, nervousness, and, of course, sadness. Music with sad themes is often called the blues.

Blues music developed in the USA among Southern blacks after the Civil War. When slaves were brought to America from Africa, they brought their musical traditions with them. Mixed with folk and popular music of whites, these African musical traditions developed into the blues.

The blues is believed to have originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region in northern Mississippi between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers. This is a rural area where the poorest black people lived. The sadness of their lifestyle was expressed in the blues. The conditions in this area – poverty, racism, difficult working situations – led many blacks to go north, to cities such as Memphis, Chicago, St Louis and Detroit.

The blues didn’t disappear from the Mississippi countryside, however, and in 1978, the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage festival was founded to celebrate and promote the blues and the culture. Now it is the oldest and largest blues festival in the South, with 20,000 visitors and performances 

 Blues music developed after the World War among Southern blacks.

 Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage

Think about all the emotions expressed in the music you listen to: joy, happiness, loneliness, nervousness, and, of course, sadness. Music with sad themes is often called the blues.

Blues music developed in the USA among Southern blacks after the Civil War. When slaves were brought to America from Africa, they brought their musical traditions with them. Mixed with folk and popular music of whites, these African musical traditions developed into the blues.

The blues is believed to have originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region in northern Mississippi between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers. This is a rural area where the poorest black people lived. The sadness of their lifestyle was expressed in the blues. The conditions in this area – poverty, racism, difficult working situations – led many blacks to go north, to cities such as Memphis, Chicago, St Louis and Detroit.

The blues didn’t disappear from the Mississippi countryside, however, and in 1978, the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage festival was founded to celebrate and promote the blues and the culture. Now it is the oldest and largest blues festival in the South, with 20,000 visitors and performances 

 The sadness of blues is caused by hard life of people.

 Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage

Think about all the emotions expressed in the music you listen to: joy, happiness, loneliness, nervousness, and, of course, sadness. Music with sad themes is often called the blues.

Blues music developed in the USA among Southern blacks after the Civil War. When slaves were brought to America from Africa, they brought their musical traditions with them. Mixed with folk and popular music of whites, these African musical traditions developed into the blues.

The blues is believed to have originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region in northern Mississippi between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers. This is a rural area where the poorest black people lived. The sadness of their lifestyle was expressed in the blues. The conditions in this area – poverty, racism, difficult working situations – led many blacks to go north, to cities such as Memphis, Chicago, St Louis and Detroit.

The blues didn’t disappear from the Mississippi countryside, however, and in 1978, the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage festival was founded to celebrate and promote the blues and the culture. Now it is the oldest and largest blues festival in the South, with 20,000 visitors and performances 

 The Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival was founded to celebrate jazz.

 Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage

Think about all the emotions expressed in the music you listen to: joy, happiness, loneliness, nervousness, and, of course, sadness. Music with sad themes is often called the blues.

Blues music developed in the USA among Southern blacks after the Civil War. When slaves were brought to America from Africa, they brought their musical traditions with them. Mixed with folk and popular music of whites, these African musical traditions developed into the blues.

The blues is believed to have originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region in northern Mississippi between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers. This is a rural area where the poorest black people lived. The sadness of their lifestyle was expressed in the blues. The conditions in this area – poverty, racism, difficult working situations – led many blacks to go north, to cities such as Memphis, Chicago, St Louis and Detroit.

The blues didn’t disappear from the Mississippi countryside, however, and in 1978, the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage festival was founded to celebrate and promote the blues and the culture. Now it is the oldest and largest blues festival in the South, with 20,000 visitors and performances on three festival.

 Blues music is a mix of black and white musical traditions.

 Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage

Think about all the emotions expressed in the music you listen to: joy, happiness, loneliness, nervousness, and, of course, sadness. Music with sad themes is often called the blues.

Blues music developed in the USA among Southern blacks after the Civil War. When slaves were brought to America from Africa, they brought their musical traditions with them. Mixed with folk and popular music of whites, these African musical traditions developed into the blues.

The blues is believed to have originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region in northern Mississippi between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers. This is a rural area where the poorest black people lived. The sadness of their lifestyle was expressed in the blues. The conditions in this area – poverty, racism, difficult working situations – led many blacks to go north, to cities such as Memphis, Chicago, St Louis and Detroit.

The blues didn’t disappear from the Mississippi countryside, however, and in 1978, the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage festival was founded to celebrate and promote the blues and the culture. Now it is the oldest and largest blues festival in the South, with 20,000 visitors and performances on three festival 

  The blues is the music with happy themes.