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Reading Comprehension Test
Reading Comprehension Test
Questions 1-5
In the 16th century, an age of great marine and terrestrial exploration, Ferdinand Magellan led the first
expedition to sail around the world. As a young Portuguese noble, he served the king of Portugal, but he
became involved in the quagmire of political intrigue at court and lost the king's favor. After he was
dismissed from service by the king of Portugal, he offered to serve the future Emperor Charles V of
Spain. A papal decree of 1493 had assigned all land in the New World west of 50 degrees W longitude to
Spain and all the land east of that line to Portugal. Magellan offered to prove that the East Indies fell
under Spanish authority. On September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail from Spain with five ships. More
than a year later, one of these ships was exploring the topography of South America in search of a water
route across the continent. This ship sank, but the remaining four ships searched along the southern
peninsula of South America. Finally, they found the passage they sought near 50 degrees S latitude.
Magellan named this passage the Strait of All Saints, but today it is known as the Strait of Magellan.
One ship deserted while in this passage and returned to Spain, so fewer sailors were privileged to gaze
at that first panorama of the Pacific Ocean. Those who remained crossed the meridian now known as
the International Date Line in the early spring of 1521 after 98 days on the Pacific Ocean. During those
long days at sea, many of Magellan's men died of starvation and disease. Later, Magellan became
involved in an insular conflict in the Philippines and was killed in a tribal battle. Only one ship and 17
sailors under the command of the Basque navigator Elcano survived to complete the westward journey
to Spain and thus prove once and for all that the world is round, with no precipice at the edge.
Answer: b. land
2. Magellan lost the favor of the king of Portugal when he became involved in a political _______.
a. entanglement
b. discussion
c. negotation
d. problem
Answer: a. entanglement
3. The Pope divided New World lands between Spain and Portugal according to their location on one
side or the other of an imaginary geographical line 50 degrees west of Greenwich that extends in a
_________ direction.
a. north and south
b. crosswise
c. easterly
d. south east
4. One of Magellan's ships explored the _________ of South America for a passage across the continent.
a. coastline
b. mountain range
c. physical features
d. islands
5. One of Magellan's ships explored the _________ of South America for a passage across the continent.
a. coast
b. inland
c. body of land with water on three sides
d. border
Questions 6-10
Questions 11-15
Joseph Pulitzer was born in 1847 in Makó, Hungary. He emigrated to the United States when he was
seventeen years old, and was naturalised on his twentieth birthday. He spent his career in journalism
working in the mid-west and New York. From 1871 he was also the owner or part-owner of many
newspapers. His most famous newspaper was the New York World (which many believe was the model
for the Daily Planet of the Superman stories). The World campaigned against corruption, and exposed
many scandals. It was also a strong supporter of the rights of the working man.
In later life, Joseph Pulitzer collapsed from overwork, and lost his sight. He became dedicated to
improving the quality of journalism in America, and donated $1 million to Columbia University to found
a school of journalism. However, his most significant contribution was the establishment of the Pulitzer
prizes in his will.
These prizes for excellence in journalism have been given every year since 1917 by Columbia University.
Since 1942 there have been extra categories for press photography, and later still for criticism, feature
writing and commentary. The prize was originally for $500, but today the winners of the prize receive a
gold medal. However, the real value of the prize is that it confirms that the journalist who has received
the award is the best American journalist of the year - a fact that is worth much more than $500 to the
journalist and to the newspaper that employs him or her.
Answer: d. B and C
Questions 16-20
France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final of the FIFA World Cup in Moscow on Sunday night. It was a thrilling
and high-scoring end to a hugely successful tournament. France's victory came 20 years after their very
first success in 1998. French coach Didier Deschamps became only the third man to win the competition
as a player and coach. The final was a true spectacle that had quality football, controversial refereeing
decisions, an own goal, a pitch invasion, and a goalkeeping howler. Billions of people around the world
watched as France slowly imposed their quality on the game with a team full of outstanding talent,
which included the next global superstar - the explosive 19-year-old forward Kylian Mbappe.
Croatia dominated the game early on and frequently threatened to score first. However, France got a
free kick after 18 minutes on the edge of Croatia's penalty area. The kick was deflected in for an own
goal by the Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic. Croatia deservedly equalized with a beautiful piece of
control and a quality shot from Ivan Perisic. France restored its lead from the penalty spot after the
referee reviewed video evidence of a handball, which many pundits say was not handball. Two shots
from outside Croatia's penalty area from Paul Pogba and Mbappe extended France's lead. An error from
France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris in the 69th minute gave Croatia hope, but France held on for victory.
Answer: b. France beating Croatia in the final of the 2018 FIFA World Cup
17. How successful did the article say the tournament was?
a. Same as last year
b. Unsuccessful and failure
c. Victorious and triumphant
d. Average
18. What adjective did the article use in describing Kylian Mbappe?
a. dynamite
b. quick
c. explosive
d. fast
Answer: c. explosive
19. What did the referee review to make a decision about a handball?
a. the rule book
b. video evidence
c. FIFA
d. a soccer website
Answer: video evidence
Questions 21-25
21. Which of the following statements best describes a central theme of the poem?
a. Love is unconditional and eternal.
b. Coming of age is when one is willing to give up everything for another person.
c. True freedom comes from freedom of the soul.
d. Love requires sacrifice and is not always constant.
Answer: d. stretching to its greatest capacity to show how much she loves “thee”.
23. Which of the following is NOT a statement the narrator would likely agree with.
a. Her love is limitless and impossible to measure.
b. Her love is pure, strong, and unconditional.
c. Her love stems from childhood grief and is thus flawed.
d. She will never stop loving them, even in the afterlife.
Answer: c. Her love stems from childhood grief and is thus flawed.
24. Which of the following best summarizes how the speakers quantifies her love?
a. The speaker quantifies her love in specific numbers and instances.
b. The speaker refuses to quantify her love, which is uncountable.
c. The speaker compares her love to great distances, grand ideas, strong emotions, etc.
d. The speaker talks about her love only in terms of religious ideas, like the soul.
Answer: c. The speaker compares her love to great distances, grand ideas, strong emotions, etc.
25. What do the lines 13-14 “if God choose,/ I shall but love thee better after death” reveal about the
narrator’s perspective or beliefs?
a. The narrator believes she and her loved one shall be together in the afterlife.
b. The narrator fears she will be separated from her loved one after death.
c. The narrator believes her love is so strong that it will not fade even in death but grow stronger.
d. The narrator has faith in a grand design, that God will “choose” what is best for her and her lover.
Answer: c. The narrator believes her love is so strong that it will not fade even in death but grow
stronger.