Reading. Grade 9

Read the texts and match them with statements 

A   Girl On the Move, by Sally Coldwell

Girl On the Move is an emotional novel about the life of Destiny Jones. Destiny and her parents live in a mobile home, and they move around the country, looking for work. But many people don’t want ‘travellers’ to move into their village or onto their farm. One day, Destiny meets a boy, and for the first time, she begins to question her life on the road. What would it be like if she could stay in one place? Soon, Destiny begins to dream of a better, more ordinary life. But her parents and a local farmer have different ideas.

In this book, you can read about

Read the texts and match them with statements 

B   Home Maker: All the Secrets, by Fiona and Scott Bradley

Following the highly-successful TV series Home Maker, husband and wife team Fiona and Scott Bradley have found time to produce a great book. Just like the TV series, the book is full of useful, easy-to-follow ideas, and simple building projects. Learn how to repair and decorate old furniture, how to change your garage into the brightest, most comfortable room in your house and many more great ideas. So if you would like a home to be proud of, this is the book for you.

In this book, you can read about

Read the texts and match them with statements 

C   The History of your Home, by Michael Fossepath

The History of your Home is full of interesting – and sometimes crazy – facts about houses in Britain. Did you know that a thousand years ago, most houses in Britain had only one room? People cooked, ate and slept in it. There was no privacy at all, and no bathroom either. If you wanted to wash, you went to a bath house in the city – or jumped in the local river! Fossepath’s amusing book also looks at how houses have changed the English language. For example, we say ‘full board’ to talk about a hotel room with meals because the earliest dining tables were actually ‘boards’ − pieces of wood to put on your knees.

In this book, you can read about

Read the texts and match them with statements 

D   The House of Broken Lives, by Tamara Vale

When Josh and Katie Alder see a beautiful house for sale in Pacific Grove, they buy it immediately. It might be a little dilapidated, but it would look much better if they painted it and tidied the garden. And after all, it’s a big house with a great view, at a very good price. But soon after buying the house, they learn the shocking truth about what happened there one hot August night in 1992. They also begin to hear strange sounds upstairs. Someone − or something − is living in their house. And it wishes they would leave. 

In this book, you can read about

Read the text. Choose the correct answers.

To smoke or not to smoke?

Laws that ban smoking in public places are not exactly a new idea. One of the world’s first smoking bans was introduced in 1575, when the Roman Catholic Church passed a law that made it illegal to smoke in any church in the Spanish colonies of Central America. In the eighteenth century, a number of German and Austrian cities also banned smoking, not in specific locations or buildings, but anywhere in the city. Some of these bans were based on ideas about health. Others were more concerned with safety. The Old Government Building in Wellington, New Zealand banned smoking in the 19th century because the building was made entirely of wood; smoking was a fire risk.

In the second half of the twentieth century, campaigns began to make people aware of the health dangers of smoking, and the concept of passive smoking – or breathing other people’s smoke – became a widespread concern. As a result, governments passed laws in the 1970s to control the use of tobacco, and restaurants and other public places began to create smoking and non-smoking sections. But it wasn’t until the late 1990s that public smoking bans became widespread. California led the way in the US when it became the first US state to prohibit smoking in all public places in 1998. By 2010, nearly eighty percent of American states had introduced smoking bans. Elsewhere, ventilation systems were installed in public places, and smokers’ lounges were created as alternatives to complete bans.

Not everyone is happy about the introduction of smoking bans. Not surprisingly, tobacco companies, restaurants and bars are concerned about losing business because of the new restrictions. Smokers often complain that by limiting the places where they can smoke, smoking bans unfairly limit their freedom. Plus, it is difficult to break the habit and give up smoking. But nowadays most people accept the overwhelming scientific evidence that smoking harms our health and can cause lung and heart disease. Furthermore, research shows that smoking bans have resulted in a reduction in smoking-related diseases and deaths. We shall have to see whether in the future every country in the world will follow suit and impose bans on smoking in public places.

One of the earliest anti-smoking laws prohibited smoking...

Read the text. Choose the correct answers.

To smoke or not to smoke?

Laws that ban smoking in public places are not exactly a new idea. One of the world’s first smoking bans was introduced in 1575, when the Roman Catholic Church passed a law that made it illegal to smoke in any church in the Spanish colonies of Central America. In the eighteenth century, a number of German and Austrian cities also banned smoking, not in specific locations or buildings, but anywhere in the city. Some of these bans were based on ideas about health. Others were more concerned with safety. The Old Government Building in Wellington, New Zealand banned smoking in the 19th century because the building was made entirely of wood; smoking was a fire risk.

In the second half of the twentieth century, campaigns began to make people aware of the health dangers of smoking, and the concept of passive smoking – or breathing other people’s smoke – became a widespread concern. As a result, governments passed laws in the 1970s to control the use of tobacco, and restaurants and other public places began to create smoking and non-smoking sections. But it wasn’t until the late 1990s that public smoking bans became widespread. California led the way in the US when it became the first US state to prohibit smoking in all public places in 1998. By 2010, nearly eighty percent of American states had introduced smoking bans. Elsewhere, ventilation systems were installed in public places, and smokers’ lounges were created as alternatives to complete bans.

Not everyone is happy about the introduction of smoking bans. Not surprisingly, tobacco companies, restaurants and bars are concerned about losing business because of the new restrictions. Smokers often complain that by limiting the places where they can smoke, smoking bans unfairly limit their freedom. Plus, it is difficult to break the habit and give up smoking. But nowadays most people accept the overwhelming scientific evidence that smoking harms our health and can cause lung and heart disease. Furthermore, research shows that smoking bans have resulted in a reduction in smoking-related diseases and deaths. We shall have to see whether in the future every country in the world will follow suit and impose bans on smoking in public places.

In modern times laws about smoking were introduced because

Read the text. Choose the correct answers.

To smoke or not to smoke?

Laws that ban smoking in public places are not exactly a new idea. One of the world’s first smoking bans was introduced in 1575, when the Roman Catholic Church passed a law that made it illegal to smoke in any church in the Spanish colonies of Central America. In the eighteenth century, a number of German and Austrian cities also banned smoking, not in specific locations or buildings, but anywhere in the city. Some of these bans were based on ideas about health. Others were more concerned with safety. The Old Government Building in Wellington, New Zealand banned smoking in the 19th century because the building was made entirely of wood; smoking was a fire risk.

In the second half of the twentieth century, campaigns began to make people aware of the health dangers of smoking, and the concept of passive smoking – or breathing other people’s smoke – became a widespread concern. As a result, governments passed laws in the 1970s to control the use of tobacco, and restaurants and other public places began to create smoking and non-smoking sections. But it wasn’t until the late 1990s that public smoking bans became widespread. California led the way in the US when it became the first US state to prohibit smoking in all public places in 1998. By 2010, nearly eighty percent of American states had introduced smoking bans. Elsewhere, ventilation systems were installed in public places, and smokers’ lounges were created as alternatives to complete bans.

Not everyone is happy about the introduction of smoking bans. Not surprisingly, tobacco companies, restaurants and bars are concerned about losing business because of the new restrictions. Smokers often complain that by limiting the places where they can smoke, smoking bans unfairly limit their freedom. Plus, it is difficult to break the habit and give up smoking. But nowadays most people accept the overwhelming scientific evidence that smoking harms our health and can cause lung and heart disease. Furthermore, research shows that smoking bans have resulted in a reduction in smoking-related diseases and deaths. We shall have to see whether in the future every country in the world will follow suit and impose bans on smoking in public places.

The smoking ban in California was important because

Read the text. Choose the correct answers.

To smoke or not to smoke?

Laws that ban smoking in public places are not exactly a new idea. One of the world’s first smoking bans was introduced in 1575, when the Roman Catholic Church passed a law that made it illegal to smoke in any church in the Spanish colonies of Central America. In the eighteenth century, a number of German and Austrian cities also banned smoking, not in specific locations or buildings, but anywhere in the city. Some of these bans were based on ideas about health. Others were more concerned with safety. The Old Government Building in Wellington, New Zealand banned smoking in the 19th century because the building was made entirely of wood; smoking was a fire risk.

In the second half of the twentieth century, campaigns began to make people aware of the health dangers of smoking, and the concept of passive smoking – or breathing other people’s smoke – became a widespread concern. As a result, governments passed laws in the 1970s to control the use of tobacco, and restaurants and other public places began to create smoking and non-smoking sections. But it wasn’t until the late 1990s that public smoking bans became widespread. California led the way in the US when it became the first US state to prohibit smoking in all public places in 1998. By 2010, nearly eighty percent of American states had introduced smoking bans. Elsewhere, ventilation systems were installed in public places, and smokers’ lounges were created as alternatives to complete bans.

Not everyone is happy about the introduction of smoking bans. Not surprisingly, tobacco companies, restaurants and bars are concerned about losing business because of the new restrictions. Smokers often complain that by limiting the places where they can smoke, smoking bans unfairly limit their freedom. Plus, it is difficult to break the habit and give up smoking. But nowadays most people accept the overwhelming scientific evidence that smoking harms our health and can cause lung and heart disease. Furthermore, research shows that smoking bans have resulted in a reduction in smoking-related diseases and deaths. We shall have to see whether in the future every country in the world will follow suit and impose bans on smoking in public places.

Many smokers feel that

Read the text. Choose the correct answers.

To smoke or not to smoke?

Laws that ban smoking in public places are not exactly a new idea. One of the world’s first smoking bans was introduced in 1575, when the Roman Catholic Church passed a law that made it illegal to smoke in any church in the Spanish colonies of Central America. In the eighteenth century, a number of German and Austrian cities also banned smoking, not in specific locations or buildings, but anywhere in the city. Some of these bans were based on ideas about health. Others were more concerned with safety. The Old Government Building in Wellington, New Zealand banned smoking in the 19th century because the building was made entirely of wood; smoking was a fire risk.

In the second half of the twentieth century, campaigns began to make people aware of the health dangers of smoking, and the concept of passive smoking – or breathing other people’s smoke – became a widespread concern. As a result, governments passed laws in the 1970s to control the use of tobacco, and restaurants and other public places began to create smoking and non-smoking sections. But it wasn’t until the late 1990s that public smoking bans became widespread. California led the way in the US when it became the first US state to prohibit smoking in all public places in 1998. By 2010, nearly eighty percent of American states had introduced smoking bans. Elsewhere, ventilation systems were installed in public places, and smokers’ lounges were created as alternatives to complete bans.

Not everyone is happy about the introduction of smoking bans. Not surprisingly, tobacco companies, restaurants and bars are concerned about losing business because of the new restrictions. Smokers often complain that by limiting the places where they can smoke, smoking bans unfairly limit their freedom. Plus, it is difficult to break the habit and give up smoking. But nowadays most people accept the overwhelming scientific evidence that smoking harms our health and can cause lung and heart disease. Furthermore, research shows that smoking bans have resulted in a reduction in smoking-related diseases and deaths. We shall have to see whether in the future every country in the world will follow suit and impose bans on smoking in public places.

According to research, smoking bans