1.

Lester was lost. He didn't know where he was, or how to get where he was going. He
had left the directions at home and he didn't have a map. Now, he was in a strange
neighborhood and he was confused. If he could find a familiar landmark, he might
figure things out.

Which of these choices best sums up what the story is about?

Pick One

Wanting a map

Lester was lost

Getting directions

On his way to a party

2.

Baseball has been a part of American life for more than 100 years. There are 30
professional teams in 28 American cities and hundreds of minor league teams
throughout the 50 states. More Americans attend major league baseball games than
any other professional team sport in the United States. Baseball is a part of American
slang, fashion, music, and movies.

Which of these choices best sums up what the story is about?

Pick One

Baseball stadiums

Baseball in America

Minor league baseball

Baseball slang

3.

Many people buy lottery tickets, but not many win. Even fewer give away their prize.
Paul Sherman, a fast food assistant manager, won $10,000 in the state lottery and
decided to give the money to a youth club. The club's director could not believe Paul's
generosity. Paul didn't think it was any big deal. "The kids need it more than I do," he
said.
Which of these choices best sums up what this story is about?

Pick One

The state lottery

The dangers of gambling

One man's generosity

Pick the winning number

4.

For most of us, getting older means getting better. We might not have as much energy
as we used to, but we know how to use it more efficiently. We think more clearly. We
have more experience and get less intimidated. We're more focused on what we love
best. That's what maturity is all about.

Which of these choices best sums up what this story is about?

Pick One

A bad situation

Problems of the elderly

Getting more experience

Positive side of maturity

5.

Farming has changed a lot since 1800. Half the people in America worked on farms 200
years ago. Today, less than 2% of the population does. Animals used to do the bulk of
the work on farms. Now machines, such as tractors, are used. Another change in
American agriculture is the amount of land used for farming; today's farmers produce
more food, using much less land.

Which of these choices best sums up what this story is about?

Pick One

Changes in farming
Less land in farming

Tractors and farming

Hard work on farms

6.

"If you want something done, give it to a busy person." That advice sounds odd at first,
but people with energy and ambition often get results. Time and again, people with
ambition accomplish things that others thought were impossible. Whether a person
wants to set a world record, or rise to the top of a company, ambition is one of the
qualities that's most needed.

Which of these choices best sums up what this story is about?

Pick One

Too much ambition

The value of ambition

The cost of ambition

How to be more ambitious

7.

Cats are affectionate, cuddly, and independent. Unlike dogs, cats can stay on their own
if you go away overnight. They do not need to be walked, and can monitor their own
food so they don't overeat. Also, cats do not bark, so your neighbors won't have any
noise to complain about. If someone wants to have a pet, a cat is a great choice!

Which of these choices best sums up what this story is about?

Pick One

Cats are independent

Dogs are a lot of work

Cats are great pets

Pets are hard work

8.

Plenty of people try to fool unsuspecting customers. To protect yourself, read the fine
print before you sign a document. If something looks too good to be true, it usually is!
Make sure you know what you're agreeing to, how much you're paying, and what
you're getting in return. If you feel uncertain, do nothing until you've had time to study
and understand the agreement.

Which of these choices best sums up what this story is about?

Pick One

Unsuspecting consumers

Protection from scams

Too good to be true

Being uncertain

9.

1. Create a title for the passage related to the main idea.

2. Accurately summarize the text.
3. Your summary must describe all key ideas from the text.
4. Do not include opinions or personal info in your summary.
5. Highlight or underline key ideas in each passage.

Picture this: a herd of elephants flies past you at sixty miles per
hour, followed by a streak of tigers, a pride of lions, and a bunch of clowns. What do you see?
It must be a circus train! One of the first uses of the circus train is credited to W.C. Coup. He
partnered with P.T. Barnum in 1871 to expand the reach of their newly combined shows using
locomotives. Before circus trains, these operators had to lug around all of their animals,
performers, and equipment with a team of more than 600 horses. Since there were no
highways, these voyages were rough and took a long time. Circuses would stop at many small
towns between the large venues. Performing at many of these small towns was not very
profitable. Because of these limitations, circuses could not grow as large as the imaginations of
the operators. After they began using circus trains, Barnum and Coup only brought their show to
large cities. These performances were much more profitable and the profits went toward
creating an even bigger and better circus. Multiple rings were added and the show went on.
Today, Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus still rely on the circus train to transport
their astounding show, but now they use two.

10. Summarize the passage in your own words:

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How do you say ―Holy cow‖ in French? The fastest thing in France may just be the fastest
ground transportation in the world. The TGV (Train à Grande Vitesse: French for very high
speed) is France‘s national high speed rail service. On April 3rd, 2007, a TGV test train set a
record for the fastest wheeled train, reaching 357.2 miles per hour. In mid 2011, TGV trains
operated at the highest speed in passenger train service in the world, regularly reaching 200
miles per hour. But what you may find most shocking is that TGV trains run on electric power
not petrol. Now if you‘ll excuse me; I have a record to catch.

11. Summarize the passage in your own words:

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Giddy-up, cowboys and girls! In the Southwest during early half of the 1800s, cows were only
worth 2 or 3 dollars a piece. They roamed wild, grazed off of the open range, and were
abundant. Midway through the century though, railroads were built and the nation was
connected. People could suddenly ship cows in freight trains to the Northeast, where the
Yankees had a growing taste for beef. Out of the blue, the same cows that were once worth a
couple of bucks were now worth between twenty and forty dollars each, if you could get them to
the train station. It became pretty lucrative to wrangle up a drove of cattle and herd them to the
nearest train town, but it was at least as dangerous as it was profitable. Cowboys were
threatened at every turn. They faced cattle rustlers, stampedes and extreme weather, but kept
pushing those steers to the train station. By the turn of the century, barbed wire killed the open
range and some may say the cowboy too, but it was the train that birthed him.

12. Summarize the passage in your own words:

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Electric trolley cars or trams were once the chief mode of public transportation in the United
States. Though they required tracks and electric cables to run, these trolley cars were clean
and comfortable. In 1922, auto manufacturer General Motors created a special unit to replace
electric trolleys with cars, trucks, and buses. Over the next decade, this group successfully
lobbied for laws and regulations that made operating trams more difficult and less profitable. In
1936 General Motors created several front companies for the purpose of purchasing and
dismantling the trolley car system. They received substantial investments from Firestone Tire,
Standard Oil of California, Phillips Petroleum, and other parties invested in the automotive
industry. Some people suspect that these parties wanted to replace trolley cars with buses to
make public transportation less desirable, which would then increase automobile sales. The
decline of the tram system in North America could be attributed to many things—labor strikes,
the Great Depression, regulations that were unfavorable to operators—but perhaps the primary
cause was having a group of powerful men from rival sectors of the auto industry working
together to ensure its destruction. Fill it up, please.

13. Write a summary of the text in English, including the most important points, using
your own words whenever possible (maximum 50 words,).

As today's bride and groom celebrate their wedding, they have every excuse for being nervous.
They exchange promises of lifelong fidelity and mutual support. However, all around them, they
can see that many people do not and cannot keep these promises. Their own marriage has a
one in three chance of divorce, if present tendencies continue. Traditional marriage is facing a
crisis, at least in Britain. Not only are there more and more divorces, but the number of
marriages is falling. Living together is more popular than before. The family is now no longer
one man, one woman and their children. Instead, there are more and more families which
include parents, half sisters and brothers, or even only one parent on her / his own. Although
Britain is still conservative in its attitudes to marriage compared with other countries such as the
USA, Sweden and Denmark, the future will probably see many more people living together
before marriage - and more divorce. Interestingly, it is women rather than men who apply for
divorce. Seven out of ten divorces are given to the wife. Also, one of the main reasons for
divorce, chosen by ten times more women than men, is unreasonable or cruel behaviour.
Perhaps this means that women will tolerate less than they used to.

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14.

One of the most commonly practised activities in modern day society is travelling between two
countries on a huge mechanical device, which has two wings, a tail and four engines, for no
other purpose than for pleasure.
Nowadays, people travel.
In recent times air travel has become very popular.

15.

Coffee, made from adding water to ground coca beans, is dark brown in colour, quite bitter to
drink and is rapidly becoming the preferred tipple of many a person throughout the world.

Coffee is gaining popularity.

Coffee is dark brown and quite bitter.

16.

Increases in the movement of population, food, and livestock, added to an increase in the use of
fossil fuels, an overall increase of pollution from cars, factories and industrial chemicals in
addition to a demand for more efficient and cheaper air travel, are creating more extreme
problems in the gradual temperature issues related to our planet at the moment.
 21st century life is causing global warming to become increasingly serious
People are moving more and are using their cars to do this. In addition, they are eating
more food and are travelling more. This means that they are causing pollution. Pollution is
creating the global warming effect which is slowly becoming a more and more serious problem.

17. Summarize the following sentences

University professors, who have often worked in the same institution for years and years, are
experts in their field of interest and study and will probably have written many books.
___________________________________________________________________________

Swine flu, a strain of the HN1N1 influenza virus, is a strange and harmful viral infection which is
currently sweeping across the globe, instigating both sickness and death, causing people to fall
into states of pandemonium and panic.
___________________________________________________________________________

The formal testing of knowledge which takes place annually is a cause of great stress and
concern for most students.
___________________________________________________________________________

18. Choose the best summary of the paragraph. Remember to focus on the main point of
the paragraph.

There are various ways of preparing for cultural shock. It is helpful to learn as much of the
language as possible before going to the country, to learn about the new culture, in particular
aspects such as time differences, communication, conflict resolution, climate, standard of living,
transportation, ethical practices, holidays, superstitions, taboos and technology. However,
something that is extremely difficult to prepare for is what is known as ‘ecoshock’, the result of a
person’s ‘physiological and psychological reaction to a new, diverse, or changed ecology’, a
typical example of this being travel dysrhythmia, or jet lag, when people’s biological clocks have
problems synchronizing with the local time. Physiological adjustment to the temperature,
humidity, and altitude are also features of ecoshock, though these are generally coped with in
the initial stage of cultural shock rather than being prolonged difficulties in the process of
adjustment to life in a new country. For those who take frequent short trips abroad, however,
ecoshock may be the most difficult part of dealing with cultural shock, since they do not
experience its various longer term phases.

Reference:

Martin, J.S. and Chaney, L.H. (2006). Global Business Etiquette Westport, CT, USA: Praeger
Publishers

1) There are many ways of getting ready for cultural shock. It is useful to learn as much of the
language as you can before going there, to learn about the new traditions, in particular factors
such as attitudes to time, talking, arguments, weather, poverty, getting around, moral practices,
vacations, beliefs, areas which cause discussion and innovation. However, something that is
very difficult to get ready for is what is known as ‗ecoshock‘, the sum of a person‘s ‗physiological
and psychological reaction to a new, diverse, or changed ecology‘, a typical example of this
being travel problems, or ‗jet lag‘, when people‘s inner clocks have problems matching up with
the local time. Bodily adjustment to the climate, changes in the water in the air, and height are
also features of ‗ecoshock', though these are generally dealt with in the first stage of cultural
shock rather than being extended difficulties in the process of changing to life in a new nation.
For those who take short trips abroad often, however, ‗ecoshock‘ may be the most difficult part
of accepting cultural shock, as they do not experience its many longer term phases.

2) Preparing for cultural shock can be done in many different ways but you can‘t really prepare
for ecoshock which is potentially the most difficult part of culture shock.

3) Preparation for cultural shock can take different forms, e.g. learning about the target culture
and learning the language. However, preparing for particular aspects of culture shock, such as
‗ecoshock‘ is more difficult because it is hard to adjust one‘s body to ‗local time‘, weather,
‗humidity‘ and ‗altitude‘. Features such as these are usually experienced in the initial, rather
than latter, stages of culture shock.

19. Write a summary of the following paragraph.

In amongst these formal services networks, however, are a series of hidden niches, often prime
public spaces (e.g. car parks, main thoroughfares or parks) which homeless people colonise at
particular times for particular purposes, and which become re-classified as places of
homelessness. Research has found that these formal networks and hidden niches are
interspersed by carefully mapped out geographies, as homeless people sleep, eat, deal with
cold and wet weather, arrange their ablutions and addictions and relate to each other in ways
which incorporate fun and social association but also fear and avoidance of regulation. Flows of
movement result, as people find places to set up ‗home‘, make friends, ensure security and
seek money and entertainment. Such flows involve performances, such as begging, and
‗hanging out‘, which produces a life of its own. Thus, silently mapped geographies can become
underpinned by logic relating to space, as in Bristol‘s ‗food route‘ – a time-space map of free
eating opportunities, or the organisation and regulation of begging pitches. Spatial logics vary
enormously between places, according to the visibility, regulation and policing of street
homelessness at the local level.

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20. Summarise the short text in a couple of paragraphs.

Today, the pandemic alert level was raised to 5, just one level away from epidemic proportions.
This, according to the World health Organisation, is because deaths attributed to the virus have
occurred in countries in which the virus was not born. In layman‘s terms, we are facing a global
flu pandemic the likes of which have not been seen since the 1918 flu pandemic (commonly
referred to as the Spanish flu), in which an influenza virus spread to nearly every part of the
world and reportedly killed more than 40 million people. The increase of this pandemic alert to
level 5 has instilled fear and panic into the hearts of most people. Despite continual assurance
that we are prepared for the pandemic, there are signs throughout the world – the global rush to
purchase facemasks - that people are not listening to the experts.

A pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus, which people have no immunity to, emerges
and starts spreading with the same ferocity as normal influenza. Experts have been forecasting
for many years that the world is on the brink of a pandemic. Such speculations are based on the
fact that records show that a global epidemic occurs every forty to fifty years. Simple
calculations thus reveal that we are about 40 years overdue.

As with all diseases and illnesses, mutations occur leaving the virus more resistant to common
drugs, and leaving common immune systems without antibodies to fight the virus. What people
do not seem to realise however, is that the swine flu is relatively harmless in its effects on
people, and that we are indeed well placed to tackle this outbreak in terms of anti-viral drugs
and medical care. Indeed, should a pandemic occur, the population of the world will not face
such terrible consequences as in 1918.

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