Irrelevant Sentences Advanced Level Test – Quiz (Online Exercise With Answers) 1

1. (I) Though you may think the hula hoop was a fad born in the 1950s, in fact people have been doing basically the same thing with circular hoops for thousands of years. (II) The word hula hoop may be regarded as very interesting by most of the people. (III) In ancient Egypt, for example, children played with large hoops of dried grapevines which they would propel along the ground with sticks or swing around their waists. (IV) During the 14th century, a “hooping” craze swept through England, and was as popular among adults as kids. (V) The records of doctors at the time attribute numerous dislocated backs and heart attacks to “hoping”.

2. (I) The legendary jazzman Charlie Parker, popularly known as “bird", was born in Kansas city, Kansas in 1920. (II) When he was 7, his family moved across the river to Kansas City, Missouri (III) Charlie, played tuba in his high school band, but his fcj mother thought it looked funny and bought him a saxophone instead. (IV) Kansas city was one of the great jazz centres of the time. (V) Because he was seif - taught on this instrument, he developed a strange but highly original style.

3. (I) Few would dispute V. S. Naipaul's status as probably the greatest living writer of Indian origin. (II) Indeed, some would go further and argue that he is the greatest living writer of English prose. (Ill) Moreover, his views are taken very seriously, and for good reason. (IV) He is a writer whose fiction and nonfiction form a body of work of great brilliance. (V) Therefore, he displays an immoral and humiliated style.

4. (I) Popular literature includes both those writings intended for masses and those that find favour with large audiences. (II) It can be distinguished from artistic literature in that it is designed primarily to entertain. (Ill) Unlike high literature, which seeks a high degree of formal beauty or subtlety, popular literature is generally aimed to be simple enough to be understood by the average reader. (IV) in this way, high literature aims to appeal to ordinary readers. (V) Therefore, the growth of popular literature has paralleled the spread of literacy through education.

5. (I) Worrying news comes from Britain about the high school curriculum. (II) In the country that discovered gravity, evolution and DNA, the popularity of Maths and Science are on the decline. (Ill) In the short term, it may be necessary to make use of the universities' resources. (IV) The number of secondary school pupils who choose to study these subjects is falling due to their difficulty. (V) The authorities' response is to make the courses a lot easier starting next year.

6. (I) Sewage system of the government has a major problem. (II) They're running out of numbers for their customers. (Ill) The system now in use was invented in 1947. (IV) No one then had any idea how fast the population would grow. (V) Soon there will be no more combinations left of the seven-digit numbers.

7. (I) Many scientists, including Charles Darwin, wondered why we cry tears. (II) But, in fact animals cry, too. (Ill) What is the biological or evolutionary purpose of tears? (IV) We could just as well cry without any tears falling. (V) Despite his further studies, Darwin couldn't find the answer to this crying matter.

8. (I) Some of the most famous classical composers died quite young. (II) Most of the musicians died in their beds while sleeping. (Ill) Among these, for example, were Schubert and Mozart, who both died very early in their thirties. (IV) But not all composers have had short lives. (V) Bach lived until age 65 and Haydn until age 69.

9. (I) Exercising in your home may be good for your health, but it may not be good for your children. (II) In 1990, about 13,000 children were hurt by exercise equipment. (Ill) The exercise bicycle was the most common cause of injury. (IV) Age 3 is considered to be too early for the kids to start kindergarten. (V) Many children lost a finger or a toe in the wheels of these bicycles.

10. (I) Why do we grow old? (II) This is a question that people have asked since the beginning of history. (Ill) Now biologists are looking for scientific answers to this question. (IV) They think that aging is part of our genetic program. (V) Most of the baboons die younger than the chimpanzees.

11. (I) By 1984, NASA, the United States space program, had carried out many successful flights of the space shuttle. (II) In fact, Americans were beginning to take the whole NASA program for granted. (Ill) Then, the president announced that the next shuttle would carry a school teacher into space. (IV) Hundreds of teachers from all parts of the country applied for the job. (V) Early in the morning, the challenger crew had a good breakfast and discussed their plans.

12. (I) Many working people, unfortunately, have no time to take naps. (II) The people in these experiments almost always followed a similar sleeping pattern. (Ill) If you do have the possibility, however, here are a few tips about making the most of your nap. (IV) Remember that the best time to take a nap is about eight hours after you get up. (V) A nap too late in the day may only make you feel more tired and sleepy afterward.

13. (I) By the 1950s and 1960s, Coca-Cola had become a popular drink and a kind of symbol of American culture. (II) You can find Japanese drink and food all around the world. (Ill) In the next decade, the Coca Cola Company began exporting to Europe and other countries. (IV) The drink was soon in great demand around the world. (V) But it was very expensive because of the demand.

14. (I) The Chinese were the first people to make book. (II) They discovered how to make paper and how to print books in about 1300. (Ill) At that time, there was almost no contact between Europe and China. (IV) Among the many of the Europeans to travel to China was Marco Polo. (V) Hence, it was difficult for Europeans to learn about books from the Chinese.

15. (I) A young child's untreated ear infection can lead to serious consequences, (il) The infection can spread to the throat and cause a general illness. (Ill) Adults with frequent or untreated ear infections cannot hear well. (IV) It can also do permanent damage to a child's hearing ability. (V) Perhaps the leastknown consequence of untreated ear infection involves language development.

16. (I) High school graduates are sometimes nervous about attending college, because they fear that everything will be different. (II) In fact, there are some important similarities between college and high school. (Ill) Colleges demand more efficient work whereas high schools are much easier. (IV) In both places, academic success depends on being a responsible student. (V) This means attending classes regularly, doing your homework, and studying new materials carefully.

17. (I) Can you think of anything that Ukraine and Japan have in common? Not much, except for one surprising aspect of their cooking. (II) Ukrainians are fond of a dish called pilmeni. (Ill) It's made of pieces of flat pastry folded around a spicey meat filling. (IV) The Japanese make a dish that is remarkably like it, only they call it gyoza. (V) In both countries, furthermore, people prefer living in flats to living in houses.

18. (I) After several decades, jogging is still a very popular activity in the United States. (II) Many people-like-to go jogging early in the morning before work or after work in the evening. (Ill) But running in the streets instead of parks may increase the risk of accidents. (IV) However, in the winter months especially, it may be dark during those hours. (V) To help these joggers a sports shoe manufacturer has invented a new kind of jogging shoes which have little red lights on the back of the heels.

19. (I) Have you ever noticed how much of the potato is wasted when you peel it? (II) Now, new technology may bring an end to that loss. (Ill) When you're peeling just a few potatoes for your dinner, this does not matter, of course. (IV) But just imagine what happens when potatoes are peeled in factories. (V) Industrial potato peelers, in fact, waste an average of 15% of the potato.

20. (I) The problem of air pollution has turned up on every continent on Earth - even Antarctica. (II) Winter Quarters Bay, on Antarctica, is the site of an important scientific station. (Ill) This bay, in fact, is as polluted as many city harbors. (IV) The reason is that for long time people at the station dumped garbage into the sea. (V) Now, however, that has stopped because an international agreement has limited the dumping of garbage in Antarctica.

21.(1) Statistics show that teenage mothers in the United States often have unhealthy babies. (II) These babies often weigh less than normal. (Ill) They also are generally less intelligent than babies of older mothers. (IV) Doctors have wondered about the reasons for these statistics. (V) The researchers believe that this is probably true for animals.

22. (I) Rubber is made from latex, a white liquid found in certain plants. (II) Most of the world's supply of rubber comes from the para rubber tree. (Ill) When latex was discovered by Europeans, they soon found many uses for it. (IV) This tree originally came from the Amazon Valley in Brazil. (V) The Indians of that area used the latex from the rubber tree to make statues, cups and shoes.

23. (I) The game of croquet was probably invented in France. (II) In the 13* century, the French villagers played something they called “paille-maille.” (Ill) Now it is played everywhere, from the United States to India and Australia. (IV) From there, the game traveled to Ireland, where they called it “crooky.” (V) In the mid-19th century, some people in England began playing “crooky", and it quickly became popular all around the world.

24- (I) The connection between sunlight and cancer has been known for a long time. (II) Doctors usually say that people who are at risk for heart disease should be careful about their diet. (Ill) They should not eat foods that have a lot of fat. (IV) That means they should not eat nuts, since nuts contain 70-90% fat. (V) Recent research, however, has shown that this advice may be wrong, since people who eat nuts seem to have fewer heart problems.

25. (I) One of the most important principles in biology is that all living things must come from other living things. (II) This principle was not discovered until the 18th century. (Ill) Before that people believed that life could come from other kinds of matter. (IV) In other words, a human being can come from a chimpanzee. (V) For example, they thought that worms could come from meat.