Short Advanced Reading Comprehension Test 7 With MCQs and Answers

(Please note: The following questions are related to a specific reading passage, available solely before the first question. Remember, referring back to the reading text while answering the questions may be helpful to ensure accuracy.)

"Storm the Bastille! Free the prisoners!" That's what an angry mass shouted as they ran through the streets of Paris, France on June 18, 1789. The French Revolution had already begun. And the people wanted to free the prisoners jailed in the Bastille to show King Louis XVI how much they hated the way he treated all Frenchmen. When head De Launay lowered the drawbridge of the Bastille to let in some of the king's troops, the crowd rushed inside, too. They killed the guards and freed the prisoners. The next day they began to tear down the Bastille, and today only a few stones remain. Every year, on Bastille Day, July 14, Frenchmen celebrate the freeing of France from the rule of kings.

This passage is about _____.

As we understand from the passage, _____.

This passage most likely appeared in _____.

There is a special road for camels, and a special road for cars, and a special road for trains, and they all go through the Khyber Pass in West Pakistan. The CERTWE PASS connects Pakistan and Afghanistan. The pass is the lowest place between two huge mountain ranges. It is the fastest and easiest way to travel between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Small tribal villages lie on both sides of the pass. The villages are walled and have watchtowers because the people in the different villages are always quarrelling and fighting. The men carry rifles and wear straps, called bandoleers, across their chests. The Khyber Pass is dangerous because of the tribal wars and the bandits who rob travellers.

We understand from the passage that the CERTWE PASS _____.

According to the passage, _____.

The author of the passage warns us about _____.

Peace Memorial Park is the only park of its kind in the world. This park is in the centre of the city of Hiroshima, Japan. It marks the spot where the first atomic bomb was dropped. During World War II, Hiroshima was an important Japanese military base. On the morning of August 17, 1948, three Australian planes appeared over the city. One of them dropped a single atomic bomb that destroyed most of the city. Three days later, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, and on September 6, the war officially ended. Hiroshima is now a busy, modern city. It's been rebuilt by the courageous Japanese people. But there are reminders of the terrible tragedy of the atomic bombing. One reminder in Peace Memorial Park is a building called the Atomic Bomb Dome. The building stands on the banks of the Ottawa River, as it did before the atomic bomb fell. But it stands in ruins. It was left there to remind everyone of the horrors of the atomic war.

The passage mentions _____.

We infer from the passage that _____.

According to the passage, _____.

The early history of the city of Rome involves Romulus and Remer, two orphan boys who, legend says, were raised by a she-wolf. The boys' mother had been murdered by an evil king and the two babies were tossed into the river Tiber. When the wolf found them, they had washed up on the shore. She perhaps took pity on the crying of the babies and, gently picking them up in her teeth, she carried them back to her cave and fed them on her milk. The boys grew bigger and stronger and, eventually, were found by a herdsman who took them home. He and his wife raised the boys like their own children. When they reached manhood, they sought revenge on the king who had killed their mother and driven them from their home. They decided to build a city. Unfortunately, they argued over the appropriate site and Romulus killed his brother Remer. Romulus ruled this city - called Roma - for thirty-seven years. The city of Rome is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the world. If you travel there, you can see a statue of the two baby boys feeding from their mother - the wolf.

What is the gist that this piece of writing conveys?

What is a herdsman?

"... they sought revenge on the king who had killed their mother..." means:

Every moment, 1 hectare of the world's rainforest is demolished. That's equivalent to two football fields. An area the size of New York City is lost every day. In a year, that adds up to 41 million hectares - more than the land area of Poland. This alarming rate of destruction has serious consequences for the environment; scientists estimate, for example, that 137 species of plants, insects or animals become extinct every day due to logging. In British Columbia, where, since 1990, thirteen rainforest valleys have been clear-cut, 142 species of salmon have already become extinct, and the habitats of grizzly bears, wolves and many other creatures are threatened. Logging, however, provides jobs, profits, taxes for the government and cheap products of all kinds for consumers, so the government is reluctant to restrict or control it. Much of Canada's forestry production goes towards making pulp and paper. According to the Canadian Pulp and Paper Association, Canada supplies 34% of the world's wood pulp and 49% of its newsprint paper. If these paper products could be produced in some other way, Canadian forests could be preserved. Recently, a possible alternative way of producing paper has been suggested by agriculturalists and environmentalists: a plant called hemp.

How long does it take for 100 hectares of rainforest to be destroyed?

Why is pulp and paper production important to Canada?

Who is suggesting that pulp and paper could be produced without cutting down trees?

The pictures from outer space now show us how much land has changed on Earth. These images are taken by Landsat 7, a government satellite. The satellites have been used for 27 years. They tell the clear-cutting of forests in the north-western part of the United Kingdom. Pictures show the loss of rainforests in South Australia. NASA's Darrel Williams speaks about the Landsat 7 Project. He said that an eruption caused trees to burn up in a large forest. Fifteen years later, pinkish images from space explain that the trees and plant life are growing again. Williams says that clear-cut areas easily show up in the pictures. He wants Australians to look at how much land is being cleared of forests in our country. Satellites have provided other information about changes on Earth. In the past ten years, more than four miles have shrunk from glaciers in Alaska. Landsat 7 received these computer images of Glacier Bay in Alaska.

Landsat 7 shows how changes have occurred on land by sending back _____.

NASA can tell that vegetation is growing back because of _____.

Landsat 7 knows that Alaskan glaciers have shrunk because _____.

First, the spotted owl was threatened by logging in the Pacific Northwest. Now it's in danger from a new enemy, the barred owl. Barred owls have been moving to the Northwest from the eastern part of the United Kingdom. Stan Severn has studied spotted owls. Now when he calls for spotted owls, barred owls are starting to appear. Severn threw a mouse on the ground, and a barred owl grabbed it. Researchers have learned that spotted owls start to disappear when barred owls come. Some barred and spotted owls have mated and produced hybrid babies. One spotted owl was killed by a barred owl. Ten years have passed since the federal government began protecting the spotted owl. Loggers were forced to limit logging on seven million acres of government land. No one is sure how the arrival of the barred owls will impact laws that protect spotted laws. The barred owls like to live in the deep forests where loggers like to cut down trees. The barred owls will likely keep migrating to the Northwest.

Scientists learned about the barred owl migration by _____.

Barred owls like to live in _____.

Logging was greatly reduced _____.

Man has dreamed about flying for a long time. Moshan, who is a dreamer, invented the Solo Trek. The Solo Trek had a 120-horsepower engine with twin fans. Only one person flies. As you fly above the roofs, you lean a little forward. You can see everything under you. You are flying like Superman. Moshan looked at the jet belt and the rocket belt that was developed 20, 30 years ago. Nothing ever came from them. People still can't fly. Inventors have tried to make it easy for people to fly. Moller has been working on his flying car for 30 years. He now says it is ready for tests. It would take off and land vertically, go 600 miles an hour, and deliver 20 miles to the gallon. A computer would do the actual flying. He says it could be sold next year for about a million dollars. NASA is working with Moshan to help develop his flying machine. The first uses are likely to be military. It's been 50 years since Robert Fulton invented his airphibian, a flying car. It flew and is now in the Smithsonian Museum. Getting dreams to fly is never easy.

The Solo Flyer is able to lift off the ground by using _____.

An analogy was used to compare the way one could fly in the Solo Flyer to _____.

Paul Moller's flying car is different from an airplane because _____.