Reading Skills

Placement Test

Name: ________________________ Date: ____________ ( / 50)

Total 40 minutes

Read each of the three passages and answer the questions. Circle the
correct answer.

Passage 1
Mount Everest
There are many famous mountains in the world, but of course we should all know about
the most well-known of them allMount Everest. It is the highest mountain in the
world.

A difficult mountain to climb

Because the mountain is so high, it is not easy for humans to climb. In fact, the first men
to actually climb all the way to the top were Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay,
on May 29, 1953. They could only stay there for about 15 minutes, because they did not
have enough oxygen to survive any longer. The mountain reaches high into the
atmosphere, above the clouds, where there is not much oxygen.

How high is it?

The actual height of the mountain is often debated. A height of 8,850 meters was
recorded by a team of American climbers in 1999. Two years before that an Indian team
had claimed the height was 8,848 meters. These recordings were higher than the original
official figure of 8,839 meters when the mountain was first measured in 1852. In 2005,
a Chinese team measured the mountain to a height of 8848 meters. They used
information from newer technology like radar and satellite readings.

1 What is the main idea (the most important idea) of the whole passage?
a Mountain climbing.
b How to measure the height of mountains.
c Mount Everestthe most difficult mountain to climb.
d Mount Everestthe highest mountain in the world.

2 What is the main idea of the second paragraph?

a Everest is the highest mountain and has the most clouds.
b Everest has been climbed many times before.
c Everest is hard to climb because there is not much oxygen near the top.
d Some people disagree about how high the mountain is.

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3 How long did Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay stay on top of
Mount Everest?
a 15 minutes
b May 29
c Two years
d 1953

4 Which of the following information is false?

a There is more oxygen at the bottom of the mountain than at the top.
b A height of 8,848 meters was claimed by an Indian team.
c Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the top.
d The first official height measurement comes from 1953.

5 Which word in the first paragraph can mean the same as well-known?
a world
b famous
c highest
d many

6 Which words in the first paragraph show the writers opinion (what he/she believes)?
a there are
b of course, should
c highest, well-known
d many, in the world

7 From the passage, which of the following can you infer (guess)?
a Sir Edmund Hillary was the first to step onto the very top of the mountain.
b Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed the mountain many times.
c Climbers need to take extra oxygen with them if they climb to the top.
d The Chinese team has measured the mountain many times.

8 The Indian team measured the height of Mount Everest ...

a after the American team measured it but before Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing
Norgay climbed the mountain.
b after Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay climbed the mountain but before
the Chinese team measured it.
c before the Chinese team measured it but after the American team measured it.
d before the American team measured it but after the Chinese team measured it.

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Passage 2
Sharks
Some people are scared of the sea because they cannot swim. People who can swim
might still be scared of ocean swimming for a different reason: sharks! Sharks can be
the most dangerous fish in the ocean, but many people misunderstand why shark attacks
happen.

Bull sharks are large and stoutmeaning heavy and solid. Males can be up to 2.1 meters
in length, while females can be up to 3.5 meters long. They are usually gray on top and
white underneath. They are called bull sharks because of their heavy build and their
method of attackthey bump hard into their prey before biting. They are unpredictable,
and can be quite aggressive and territorial, meaning they want to protect their own
space.

The nature of bull sharks is not the main thing that makes them dangerous to humans.
They live in warm, shallow waters close to land and also in the parts of rivers that open
out to the ocean, so they are often close to the places where people like to swim and
play. It is the proximity (close distance) between humans and bull sharks that makes
them dangerous.

Then there are the most fearsome sharks, called great white or white pointer sharks.
These sharks swim near the coasts but also in the open ocean. They can grow up to
6 meters in length, with dark coloration on top and white bellies. Famous movies like
Jaws have caused people to think great whites are man hunters. Actually, there have
not been many attacks on humans. Those that do happen often appear to be test bites
(biting to find out what kind of animal it is) or mistakes, where the shark thinks
a swimming person is another animal, like a seal.

9 What is the writer trying to do in this passage?

a Explain why some people are scared to swim in the ocean.
b Explain why sharks are not dangerous at all to humans.
c Give us information about sharks and explain why they can be dangerous.
d Make us like sharks by giving us information about dangerous sharks.

10 What is the main idea of the third paragraph?

a Bull sharks are large, heavy, unpredictable and aggressive.
b Bull sharks are dangerous because humans and bull sharks live close to each
other.
c Bull sharks like to swim and play with humans in warm coastal waters.
d Bull sharks live in warm coastal waters and in some parts of rivers.

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11 What made many people think great white sharks want to kill humans?
a Movies like Jaws.
b Their large size and dark coloration.
c They swim near the coasts.
d They bump hard into prey before biting.

12 What gives bull sharks their name?

a Their color.
b Their length, color and aggressive nature.
c The parts of the ocean they live in.
d Their appearance and attack method.

13 Which word from the passage means heavy and solid?

a large
b stout
c males
d build

14 How are bull sharks and great white sharks similar (choose two answers)?
a They live in open ocean.
b Their bellies are the same color.
c They both bite their prey.
d They are the same size and length.

15 From the passage, which of the following can you infer (guess)?
a Great white sharks do not eat seals.
b Great white sharks like to eat humans.
c Great white sharks cannot see very well.
d Great white sharks are not very clever.

16 Bull sharks sometimes come close to the places where people like to swim and play
because ...
a they want to be in close proximity to humans.
b they share their territory.
c they hunt humans for food.
d they live in waters close to land and in parts of rivers.

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Passage 3
World Population
You would not be surprised to learn that there are a lot of people in the world. But did
you know that, as of January 2008, there were more than 6.6 billion people living on the
planet? If you think that is a lot, consider that by the year 2150, experts predict there will
be more than 9.7 billion people in the world!
The explosion in human population numbers started in the 20th century. Before that,
human population had risen, but nowhere near as dramatically as from 1900 onwards.
n The last century saw very important advances in medicine, which in turn allowed
people to overcome illness and disease to live a lot longer. o This period also saw
something called the green revolution, which allowed humans to grow a lot more
food. p So the combination of improved medicine and increased food production
allowed humans to live to much older ages, and of course that means more people
overall living in the world.
Population numbers are not a simple matter. q Some regions of the world have much
greater populations than other regionsthis is called population distribution. Population
growth is also greater in some regions than others, and this growth is not always in the
places best able to support larger populations. In addition, while the overall number of
people is increasing, some regions have negative population growth (population
decrease).
World historical and predicted populations (in millions)
1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 1999 2050 2150
Africa 106 107 111 133 221 767 1,766 2,308
Asia 502 635 809 947 1,402 3,634 5,268 5,561
Europe 163 203 276 408 547 729 628 517
North America 2 7 26 82 172 307 392 398
Oceania 2 2 2 6 13 30 46 51
South America 16 24 38 74 167 511 809 912
World 791 978 1,262 1,650 2,522 5,978 8,909 9,747

Population evolution in different regions

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17 Where is the main idea of the second paragraph stated?

a In the title of the passage.
b At the start of the second paragraph.
c In the middle of the second paragraph.
d At the end of the second paragraph.

18 In the second paragraph, the word explosion can mean the same as
a dramatic rise.
b the death of many people.
c experts prediction.
d important advances.

19 What term from the passage is used to describe a falling population number?
a Population growth.
b Population distribution.
c Negative population growth.
d Areas not able to support larger populations.

20 According to the table, how much did the population of Asia grow between 1750
and 1900?
a 445,000 people
b 445 million people
c 1,402 million people
d 1,449 million people

21 According to the table, which region is going to see the greatest population growth
after 2050?
a North America
b Asia
c Europe
d Africa

22 According to the graph, which region is perhaps going to see negative population
growth after 2010?
a Oceania
b South America
c Europe
d Asia

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23 Which of the following is false?
a Most of the worlds population has lived, currently lives, and will live in Asia.
b Some regions of the world saw negative population growth between 1900 and
1999.
c As of 1999, Asia has more people than the rest of the world put together.
d Oceania has the smallest population in the world.

24 Look at the positions in the passage marked n, o, p and q. At which position

would you add the following sentence?
For example, farm machinery allowed us to plant, harvest and transport more
crops.
a Position n
b Position o
c Position p
d Position q

25 Which three sentences summarize (state the main ideas of) the whole passage?
a We need to think about the world population after the year 2150.
b The world has a large human population and there will be more in future.
c Advances in medicine and agriculture have increased the population in the last
century.
d People will live longer with good food and medicine in the next 100 years.
e To understand population, you need to consider distribution and growth.
f It is simpler to understand population growth by also thinking about negative
population growth.

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 Reading Skills
Placement Test

Introduction

Boost! Reading Skills Placement Test

The Boost! Reading Skills Placement Test is designed for the purpose of helping
accurately place student candidates in Levels 14 of Boost! Reading. The test consists of
three reading passages and 25 reading skills-based multiple-choice questions. Each item
is worth two points, resulting in a final tally of 50 points. It can be combined with the
General Language Awareness Placement Test to generate a comprehensive placement
score out of 100 points.

Boost! General Language Awareness Placement Test

The General Language Awareness Placement Test consists of 50 multiple-choice
questions on vocabulary and grammar. It can be used solely for placement purposes in
Boost! Grammar, or combined with other Boost! placement tests to create a
comprehensive placement score.

Administering the test

Photocopy the test pages, then staple the pages to make a test booklet. Make sure you
have one booklet for each student. Students will need a pen or a pencil and an eraser to
take the tests. You may administer the tests to any size group of students.

In the case where students are not familiar with placement tests, it is a good idea to
explain the reasoning behind the teststhey are for leveling purposes only and the
results are not included in any final grade. Also provide a quick explanation with
possible examples in case the students find the test formats foreign or intimidating.

Allow the following times for administering the tests.

General Language Awareness: 25 minutes
Boost! Reading Skills: 40 minutes
It is possible for either of the tests to be completed earlier than the set time limits.
However, students should be encouraged to use the full available time and use any extra
time to check their answers.

All test booklets should be gathered up when the test time has elapsed, with names
and/or student identification clearly indicated. If more than one placement test is being
applied, it is recommended that students be given a short break between the tests.

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Scoring and placement

General Language Awareness

Use the General Language Awareness Placement Chart and the students score on the
General Language Awareness Placement Test to determine his/her appropriate Boost!
level.
General Language Awareness Placement Chart
Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! beyond
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Boost!
Score 011 1223 2435 3647 4850
Examples:
General Language Awareness Score = 17 = Boost! Level 2
General Language Awareness Score = 42 = Boost! Level 4

Reading Skills
Use the Reading Skills Placement Chart and the students score on the Reading Skills
Placement Test to determine his/her appropriate Boost! Reading level.
Reading Skills Placement Chart
Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! beyond
Reading Reading Reading Reading Boost!
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Reading
Score 011 1223 2435 3647 4850
Examples:
Reading Skills Score = 19 = Boost! Reading Level 2
Reading Skills Score = 27 = Boost! Reading Level 3

Comprehensive Placement Method

Use the Comprehensive Reading Skills Placement Chart and the students combined
score on the General Language Awareness and Reading Skills Placement Tests to
determine his/her appropriate Boost! Reading level.
Comprehensive Reading Skills Placement Chart
Boost! Boost! Boost! Boost! beyond
Reading Reading Reading Reading Boost!
Level 1 Level 2 Level 3 Level 4 Reading
GLA Score 011 1223 2435 3647 4850
RS Score 011 1223 2435 3647 4850
Total Score 022 2346 4770 7194 95100
Examples:
GLA Score 9 + RS Score 31 = Total Score 40 = Boost! Reading Level 2
GLA Score 38 + RS Score 14 = Total Score 52 = Boost! Reading Level 3

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Answer key

1 d 14 b, c
2 c 15 c
3 a 16 d
4 d 17 d
5 b 18 a
6 b 19 c
7 c 20 b
8 b 21 d
9 c 22 c
10 b 23 b
11 a 24 c
12 d 25 b, c, e
13 b

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