ENGLISH LEVEL ASSESSMENT

Name: ______________________ Date: _____________

Reading
Read the following text message conversation. Then answer the questions.

All Messages Steve Klein Call Info

Hi Bill, how are you?

I’m good, Steve, thanks. How

about you?

I’m alright. What are you doing

tonight?

I’m going to the café to watch

the soccer game.

Which café? Starbuck’s?

No, that place across the street

from the movie theater. Do you
want to come too?
Okay. What time should I meet
you there?

8:00pm, like always.

Sound good, I’ll see you then.

See you soon!

Type to send a message Send

1
1) What is Steve going to do tonight?
a. Watch a movie.
b. Go to a café.
c. Play soccer.
d. Sit in the street.

2) Where will Bill be at 20:00?

a. The movie theatre.
b. Starbuck’s.
c. Steve’s house.
d. A café.

3) Why are Bill and Steve meeting?

a. To see a new film.
b. To work at the café.
c. To watch a soccer game.
d. To eat dinner together.

2
Read the following text. Then answer the questions that follow.

Storytelling and cultural traditions

Every culture likes to tell stories. Storytelling helps people continue their traditions. You
don't need a book to tell a story. Oral storytelling is telling a story with just your voice and
your body. Here are some examples of storytelling in different cultures.

Choctaw Storytelling
The Choctaw are a Native American tribe. They have been telling stories for a long time.
Some of the stories are about where the Choctaw people came from. One story says they
came from a big hill called a mound. A different story says they traveled east to where they
live now. Other Choctaw stories are about history and life lessons. Many of these stories use
animal characters.

Native Hawaiian Storytelling

Hawaii is an island state of the United States of America. Native Hawaiians have also told
stories for a very long time. One story is about the first Hawaiian. The story says this person
was born from a vegetable called a taro. Other stories are about traveling the ocean.

Hawaiian storytelling also uses songs and dance. For example, hula tells a story through
dance. The stories help teach Hawaiian children about behavior and tradition.

Western African Storytelling

Many people in Africa listen to storytellers after dinner. The storyteller entertains and
educates people. Some of the most famous stories are about a clever spider named Anansi.

Storytellers in west Africa are called griots. They also sometimes study history and sing
songs.
There used to be schools where people could learn how to be a griot. Both men and women
can be griots. Some people say that the women are not as important as the men.

Irish Storytelling
The seanchai were Irish storytellers. They used to travel to villages. They brought with them
news and told the old stories. Many of the stories were about kings and heroes.

People are becoming interested in storytelling again. People want to spend time together.
Stories can help people come together.

3
1) Which sentence from the text states a main idea of the entire article?
a. Storytelling helps people continue their traditions.
b. Many of these stories use animal characters.
c. The story says this person was born from a vegetable called a taro.
d. Some of the most famous stories are about a clever spider

2) What is one main idea of the section, “Western African Storytelling”?

a. Women were not allowed to be storytellers in many different cultures.
b. Storytellers in every culture use stories about animals to teach people.
c. Griot schools all over Africa have closed down now.
d. People in West Africa listen to storytellers called griots.

3) According to the section “Irish Storytelling,” why do people like storytelling?

a. Because they want to learn about other cultures.
b. Because it helps them spend time with others.
c. Because they like listening to stories after dinner.
d. Because it teaches them special songs and dances.

4) What do both Choctaw and Native Hawaiian storytelling have in common?

a. They both use hula to teach children about behavior and tradition.
b. They both talk about the origin of a people.
c. They both say that taro comes from a big hill called a mound.
d. They both call their storytellers griots.

4
Read the following excerpt from the novel The City of Ember. Then answer the questions that
follow.

The City of Ember

When the city of Ember was just built and not yet inhabited, the chief builder and the
assistant builder, both of them weary, sat down to speak of the future.
“They must not leave the city for at least two hundred years,” said the chief builder. “Or
perhaps two hundred and twenty.”

“Is that long enough?” asked his assistant.

“It should be. We can’t know for sure.”

“And when the time comes,” said the assistant, “how will they know what to do?”

“We’ll provide them with instructions, of course,” the chief builder replied.

“But who will keep the instructions? Who can we trust to keep them safe and secret all
that time?”

“The mayor of the city will keep the instructions,” said the chief builder. “We’ll put them
in a box with a timed lock, set to open on the proper date.”

“And will we tell the mayor what’s in the box?” the assistant asked.

“No, just that it’s information they won’t need and must not see until the box opens of its
own accord.”

“So the first mayor will pass the box to the next mayor, and that one to the next, and so on
down through the years, all of them keeping it secret, all that time?”

“What else can we do?” asked the chief builder. “Nothing about this endeavor is certain.
There may be no one left in the city by then or no safe place for them to come back to.”

So the first mayor of Ember was given the box, told to guard it carefully, and solemnly
sworn to secrecy. When she grew old, and her time as mayor was up, she explained about the
box to her successor, who also kept the secret carefully, as did the next mayor. Things went
as planned for many years. But the seventh mayor of Ember was less honorable than the ones
who’d come before him, and more desperate. He was ill—he had the coughing sickness that
was common in the city then—and he thought the box might hold a secret that would save his
life. He took it from its hiding place in the basement of the Gathering Hall and brought it
home with him, where he attacked it with a hammer.

But his strength was failing by then. All he managed to do was dent the lid a little. And
before he could return the box to its official hiding place or tell his successor about it, he
died. The box ended up at the back of a closet, shoved behind some old bags and bundles.
There it sat, unnoticed, year after year, until its time arrived, and the lock quietly clicked
open.

5
1) What information do the instructions contain?
a. How to open the box with a timed lock.
b. Who the mayor of the city is.
c. What to do once the box has opened.
d. Where to hide the box with a timed lock.

2) What secret must the mayor guard and pass on to his/her successors?
a. The information contained inside of the box.
b. The existence and hiding place of the box.
c. The cure for the coughing sickness.
d. The existence of the chief builder and his assistant.

3) What is the closest synonym for the word “weary” in paragraph 1?

a. exhausted
b. excited
c. jaded
d. frustrated

4) Which of the following words best describes the actions of the seventh mayor?
a. careful
b. dishonorable
c. nervous
d. uncertain

5) Which of the following statements is NOT supported by the text?

a. The chief builder and his assistant are worried about the future.
b. Only the chief builder, his assistant, and the mayors know about the box.
c. The seventh mayor failed to fulfill his duty to his successor.
d. The box with the timed lock was broken and would never open.

6
Read the following opinion piece about the environmental impact of coffee consumption.
Then answer the following questions.

Your morning coffee has a huge carbon footprint: How to help the eco-revolution
(by Vincent Meyer, published by Newsweek, September 2019)

The National Coffee Association reports that more than 50 percent of Americans over 18
years of age (that's 150,000,000 people) drink coffee every day. In the United States alone,
we consume 400 million cups of coffee per day. This equates to a lot of waste, not only in the
U.S., but also globally. Our friends at Earthday.org recently reported that 16 billion
disposable coffee cups are used each year, which are coated with plastic to laminate the
inside and also use plastic lids.

These stats equate to a staggering carbon footprint in the world of coffee, but it doesn't end
there. Let's start at the beginning of the supply chain. Growing and harvesting beans requires
energy and that energy releases a lot of carbon into the atmosphere. Research from The Arbor
Day Foundation found that one pound of roasted coffee produces an average of 11 pounds of
carbon. Trying to find the total amount of coffee—in pounds—produced yearly was like
trying to find a needle in a haystack, but an unnamed source on Wikipedia quoted 12
billion pounds in yearly production. Just do the math.

There's more... The Project Cafe USA 2019 report from Allegra World Coffee Portal reported
approximately 35,616 coffee shops in the U.S. alone. Think about it. That's 35,000+ retail
locations that require energy to operate, heating and cooling, machines needing to be plugged
in, paper and plastic product usage beyond cups: it all contributes to the industry's massive
carbon footprint.

It's clear that the coffee industry is due for an overhaul with a key focus on reducing the
overall carbon footprint and becoming more eco-friendly. Luckily, there are innovators
taking steps that will ultimately make a difference and set precedent for other larger players
to follow suit.

Take German start-up Kaffeeform, for instance. This company is collecting grounds from
local coffee shops in Berlin, drying the waste and then mixing it with biopolymers, starch,
cellulose, wood, natural resins, waxes and oils. The resulting composite material, which
smells like coffee and looks like wood, is used to produce biodegradable cups as an
alternative to paper.

Coffee grounds seem to be a hotbed for eco-innovation. Two entrepreneurs in Scotland have
developed a method to extract oil from coffee grounds. The goal is to use the extract in a
wide range of products and as an alternative to palm oil. According to the WWF, about 50
percent of supermarket product packaging is created using palm oil. A not-so-fun fact is that
palm oil has been linked to deforestation, leading to damaging environmental consequences.
Another coffee ground innovator is U.K.-based bio-bean. They also collect grounds and use
them to produce a range of biofuels and biochemicals.

It takes a village to raise a child. That proverb means an entire community of people must
interact with children for them to grow in a safe and healthy environment. Well, a new wave
in more eco-conscious coffee production is just getting started and it will take a village
working along every part of the supply chain to reduce the carbon footprint of coffee as much

7
as possible. The coffee industry is poised for an eco-revolution. What will your contribution
be?

1) What is the main idea of the text?

a. The National Coffee Association states that nearly 400 million people suffer
from health issues from overconsumption of coffee.
b. According to Project Café USA, the coffee industry was responsible for more
than 50 percent of the world’s carbon footprint in 2019.
c. In order to prevent lasting damage to our environment, the coffee industry
should find ways to make its practices more eco-friendly and sustainable.
d. German start-up Kaffeeform uses coffee byproducts to make biodegradable
cups that are better for the environment than paper.

2) In paragraph 2, the expression “like trying to find a needle in a haystack” means that
a. finding the total amount of coffee produced yearly was incredibly difficult.
b. 11 pounds of hay are required to produce just one pound of roasted coffee.
c. producing coffee beans releases a lot of carbon into the atmosphere
d. Needles should not be hidden inside of haystacks because they look similar.

3) In paragraph 4, the word “overhaul” is closest in meaning to

a. registration.
b. analysis.
c. confirmation.
d. reform.

4) Which of the following would the author of the text be most likely to agree with?
a. Coffee consumers should find ways to waste less coffee.
b. Coffee producers should develop new methods of reducing waste.
c. Coffee is more dangerous for a person’s health than for the environment.
d. Coffee ground oil cannot be used as a substitute for palm oil.

5) According to the article, which of the following is NOT a product or result of the
coffee industry?
a. Carbon
b. Energy
c. Biopolymers
d. Deforestation

8
6) In the last paragraph, why does the author use the proverb, “It takes a village to raise a
child”?
a. To suggest that parents should raise their children to respect the environment.
b. To say that all members of the coffee supply chain need to change their habits.
c. To claim that it is better to raise a family in a village than in a major city.
d. To deny the importance of an eco-revolution in the coffee industry.