Full Name: ________________________________ Class Code: ________ Student ID: _______________

TEST PAPER
ADVANCED READING C1 – June 24, 2022
Notes: Materials and dictionaries of all kinds are NOT allowed.
Students write their answers on the answer sheet.
SECTION 1 VOCABULARY (2 points)
Choose the lettered word or phrase that best completes each of the following sentences. (1 point)
1. The driveway was _______ by piles of stones and gravel.
A. scrutinized B. appraised C. disclosed D. obstructed
2. The building will be developed as a public _______.
A. amendment B. amenity C. alimony D. armistice
3. After many delays, the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis proceeded without _______.
A. mishap B. calamity C. misfortune D. reverse
4. Kidney stone disease _______ mostly men between 20 and 55.
A. conveys B. afflicts C. indicts D. inhibits
5. The project lay _______ for two years until we found a co-sponsor.
A. explicit B. captive C. dormant D. rigorous
6. The drug prevents the virus from _______ itself.
A. celebrating B. calculating C. appreciating D. replicating
7. The house was buried beneath a _______.
A. landslide B. famine C. drought D. deluge
8. Federal and state engineers are seeking way to capture and treat the _______ run-off.
A. depressed B. contaminated C. destitute D. apathetic
9. Hall was found guilty of _______ and obstruction of justice.
A. pageantry B. infantry C. perjury D. adversary
10. Another world crisis was _______ through the high art of diplomacy.
A. reverted B. diverted C. converted D. averted
Choose the lettered word or phrase that is closest in meaning to the underlined part in each of the
following sentences. (1 point)
11. It is a price that may seem exorbitant to many.
A. natural B. interesting C. comfortable D. expensive
12. Smith was sentenced to 14 years for plotting to subvert the government.
A. weaken B. brainwash C. depart D. control
13. After the squalid conditions of the camps even this place seems preferable.
A. untidy B. dirty C. smoky D. clumsy
14. Childhood adversities also affect parenting indirectly through their effects on choice of spouse.
A. orders B. accessories C. difficulties D. arguments
15. Bertha vividly remembers the conflagration that consumed her home.
A. light B. heat C. spark D. fire
16. The United States is pressing the rebel army to relinquish power.
A. give up B. carry on C. look after D. kick off
17. His book extolling the benefits of vegetarianism sold thousands of copies.
A. denying B. praising C. evaluating D. maximizing
18. Changes in wind appear to have been more important ecologically than changes in temperature or
precipitation.
A. sun B. sunlight C. rain D. breeze
19. At that time there were no other universities in England equal in stature to Oxford and Cambridge.
A. stamina B. status C. statue D. standpoint
20. Working out without a break makes you more prone to injury.
A. afraid B. nervous C. likely D. careful
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SECTION 2 READING COMPREHENSION (8 points)
PASSAGE 1 (2.5 points)
SKYSCRAPERS
(1) While in today’s modern society, skyscrapers may seem ubiquitous, they are relatively recent phenomena
in historical terms. The first ones appeared in Chicago in the late nineteenth century, and the building craze
about which city or country has the highest one in the world has never really stopped. The Taiwanese
currently hold the record with their Taipei 101 standing at 1,670 feet and 101 stories, but this is surely to
be broken at some future date as men reach even higher. Technology makes this all possible, and steel is
the main reason skyscrapers exist. Until the invention of a process to make it easily produced yet strong
steel, it was impossible to build anything higher than around fifteen stories. Yet, steel alone did not enable
the construction of higher buildings, and it took a combination of steel, improved hydraulics, reinforced
concrete, and elevators to make the modern skyscraper possible.
(2) As a building rises higher from the ground, gravity acts as a brake on its progression. The common building
materials before the invention of steel were wood, stone, bricks, and then iron. Wood is too weak to support
very high structures while stone and brick buildings are massive at the bottom and then have to be
progressively smaller and lighter towards the top, or the weight will crush the structure. In ancient times,
the Egyptian pyramids were the largest structures known to man, with the massive blocks placed on top
of each other and the pyramids’ shapes perfectly distributing the weight around the massive base. Iron
seemed to be the answer to building higher, but its strength was not equal to the task, and structures often
collapsed under their own weight.
(3) It took the invention of steel to allow architects and engineers to fulfill their building fantasies. Steel is
basically iron with a carbon content that allows it to have a greater strength. Iron ore has too much carbon,
and the secret to finding the right balance between carbon and iron to make the best steel was a quest that
occupied many minds in many countries over the centuries. Steel was known in ancient and medieval
times, but it was cumbersome and time-consuming to produce with some methods and extremely
expensive with others. Then in the mid-nineteenth century in the English city of Sheffield, Henry Bessemer
perfected a fast, inexpensive way to make strong steel from iron. The Bessemer process of steelmaking
became the norm around the world and did not fall out of favor until the 1960s.
(4) Steel had both the strength and malleability to allow people to build higher and higher without the necessity
of a massive base as was required in stone and brick buildings. Aesthetically speaking, steel is rather ugly
to look at, so stone, brick, glass, and reinforced concrete are used to give a building the shape of the
architect’s vision. Steel has also found usefulness in reinforced concrete, which is a major building
material for buildings, bridges, tunnels, and countless other structures. The strength of steel is what allows
skyscrapers to reach higher and higher into the sky. In addition to steel, progress in the fields of hydraulics
enabled greater water pressure to be applied to buildings to permit plumbing on the highest floors. No one
wants to walk up dozens of floors, so the development of the safety elevator by Elisha Otis in 1857 was a
big step towards higher buildings.
(5) Historians consider the Home Insurance Building in Chicago the world’s first skyscraper. It was built to
ten stories in 1884-85. Although shorter than some masonry buildings, it was the first to use an all-steel
frame construction to bear the weight of the floors. Today’s modern buildings are technical marvels that
attract visitors from around the world to view their unique designs and see the views from their highest
levels. Their familiar shapes fill the skylines of the world, and others are symbols of their nations, like the
Empire State Building in New York, and the Petronas Towers of Malaysia. They are the combination of
many inventive minds of the nineteenth century, but without the development of strong, dependable steel,
the skyscrapers of today would mostly likely not exist.

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Questions 1-9: Choose the correct answer to each of the following questions.
1. The word ubiquitous in the passage is closest in meaning to ________.
A. gigantic B. impressive C. pervasive D. outdated
2. According to paragraph 1, the record for the world’s tallest building ________.
A. will be challenged by other buildings in C. is not considered very important
the future D. has remained the same for a long time
B. is never going to change in the future
3. In paragraph 2, the author mentions wood, stone, bricks, and then iron in order to ________.
A. prove that the Egyptian pyramids were the largest structures
B. demonstrate why buildings could not be very high
C. explain the building methods of previous eras
D. show that these materials were adequate for the time
4. The word it in the passage refers to ________.
A. iron B. steel C. greater strength D. carbon content
5. According to paragraph 3, why did it take so long to produce cheap but strong steel?
A. It was too expensive to make many experiments.
B. Too many people were working on the project.
C. It was time-consuming and difficult to produce.
D. The right mix of carbon and iron eluded the experts.
6. It can be inferred from paragraph 4 that steel ________.
A. was the final necessity for skyscrapers C. cannot be made into many different shapes
B. is a component of reinforced concrete D. is considered pleasing to the eye
7. According to paragraph 4, all of the following were hindrances to making higher buildings EXCEPT
________.
A. a lack of material strong enough to support the weight
B. an efficient means of reaching the higher floors
C. different ways to make steel appear more beautiful
D. useful methods to pump water to higher floors
8. According to paragraph 5, the first skyscraper was ________.
A. not the tallest building in the world at that time C. the first to look like a modern skyscraper
B. constructed with both a steel and iron frame D. the tallest building in Chicago at that time
9. Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the
summary by selecting the THREE answer choices that express the most important ideas of the passage.
Some sentences do not belong because they express ideas that are not presented in the passage or are minor
ideas in the passage.
Prior to the late nineteenth century, building height was limited, but a combination of both building
material development and the invention of new machines allowed the creation of the modern skyscraper.
• _______ • _______ • _______
A. Many cities around the world want to be known for having the world’s tallest building.
B. Many people tried to find the secret of the right combination of carbon and iron to make strong yet
cheap steel.
C. The production of cheap but strong steel provided a building material that could hold the weight of
very high buildings.
D. Buildings made of stone and brick cannot be very high due to these materials’ inability to bear very
heavy loads.
E. The invention of the safety elevator and the improvements in hydraulic systems permitted comfortable
living in very high buildings.
F. Glass and reinforced concrete on a frame of steep have allowed the modern architect’s vision to
become a reality.
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PASSAGE 2 (3 points)
WHAT IS DYSCALCULIA?
When you look at the morning newspaper or check a news webpage, numbers are everywhere: the date is 12th
December; it’s 16oC in London; England lose 2-1 at football; the time is 12.30. But for people with dyscalculia,
dealing with numbers presents a particular everyday difficulty. Dyscalculia is a learning difficulty in
mathematics. It was originally uncovered by Kosc – a Czech researcher – after research into damage to parts
of the brain involved in mathematical cognition. Dyscalculia can have two causes: brain damage or “acquired
dyscalculia” and developmental dyscalculia – or dyscalculia from birth. Whichever the cause, dyscalculia has
three features: problems with mathematics; problems with mathematics only, not other areas of learning; and
the assumption that these problems are rooted in brain activity.
Unlike dyslexia – difficulties with words – dyscalculia has been relatively little studied until recently. Very
little is known about its causes, prevalence or how to treat it. Estimates indicate that between 3% and 6% of
the population could be affected. The figures refer to children who only have difficulties with math but have
good or excellent performance in other areas of learning. People with dyscalculia have difficulty with the most
basic aspects of numbers and mathematics, but this does not mean that the person affected has difficulty with
higher mathematical reasoning or arithmetic. In fact, the evidence from brain-damaged dyscalculic people
shows that an individual might suffer dyscalculia but can even show great ability in abstract mathematical
reasoning.
Dyscalculia appears to be related to an ability shared between humans and many other animals. This is called
“subitizing” and is the capacity to count the number of objects by briefly looking at them. Subitizing seems to
be an innate skill present in humans from birth and is a useful survival skill for humans and animals: there is
a big advantage in being able to count how many predators or prey there are. Experiments with babies show
that we are able to count at a very early age: if a baby sees a doll put behind a screen, then another doll is also
put behind the screen, the baby expects to see two dolls when the screen is removed. Babies will look longer
at things they didn’t expect to see, so if the screen is removed and the baby sees only one doll or three dolls,
they stare at this unexpected sight longer, proving our ability to count from infancy. Dyscalculia could be
explained by the lack of this innate capability. Genetic causes could include known genetic disorders such as
Fragile X syndrome. However, as well as genetic factors, there could also be environmental causes such as
drinking alcohol during pregnancy, which can result in underdevelopment of the brain.
There are many signs of dyscalculia including some well established and some less well researched. There are
a number of symptoms that we are relatively certain of. Firstly, counting: whilst dyscalculic children can learn
the sequence of numbers – 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. – they have difficulty counting backwards or forwards, particularly
in twos or threes. Secondly, they find learning and remembering number facts difficult and often lack
confidence even when they have the right answer. They can’t use rules correctly either; for instance, they may
know that 4 + 2 = 6, but not be able to see that 2 + 4 = 6 or understand the concept of addition. Thirdly, they
have problems with numbers with zeros and don’t understand that the numerals 10, 100, and 1000 are the
same as the words ten, one hundred, and one thousand. Fourthly, dyscalculic children may not be good at
using money or telling the time. Concepts of speed or temperature may be difficult for them to fully
understand. Finally, they may have problems in understanding directions or in following a map.
Diagnosing and treating dyscalculia is not straightforward as there are many reasons for being bad at math
including poor teaching, lack of motivation, and inability to concentrate for long periods of time. An important
result of present research will be to improve our methods for identifying children with dyscalculia. The
treatment of the problem, however, is a different matter. Many people think that, because the cause of
dyscalculia is in the brain, it can’t be treated. But this is a misunderstanding. Every time we learn a new fact
or skill, our brain changes. Furthermore, if we practice a new skill extensively, the brain changes considerably.
This is related to a property of the brain called “plasticity”, which simply means the ability of the brain to
develop and change, particularly during childhood. Dyscalculia could be treated by experiences at home,
providing an environment that encourages children to count. Schools could pay more attention to making sure
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children understand basic mathematical concepts before dealing with more advanced ideas; they should, for
example, avoid teaching the division of fractions before ensuring children have understood the concept of
division. Teaching math through a multi-sensory approach using speech, sound, writing, and reading
simultaneously has been shown to be a good approach. Finally, math should be taught in short blocks of time
and lessons should build on what was taught previously.
Questions 10-15: Do the following statements agree with the information given in Passage 2?
Write TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
10. There is not much information on how many people have dyscalculia. _______
11. People with dyscalculia are not able to do advanced math. _______
12. “Subitizing” means knowing how many things there are by counting them. _______
13. Experiments show that babies are able to count to four. _______
14. One explanation is that people with dyscalculia have not inherited a common ability. _______
15. Drinking alcohol may be linked to the development of dyscalculia. _______

Questions 16-21: Write the correct letter, A, B, C, or D.

Classify the following as typical of
16. poor concentration for longer lengths of time __________ A. reasons for being bad at math
17. limiting math teaching to short periods __________ B. plasticity
18. not associating words about figures with numbers __________ C. dyscalculia
19. the brain developing, especially when young __________ D. the treatment of dyscalculia
20. Being unmotivated to learn __________
21. Needing practice at telling the time __________

PASSAGE 3 (2.5 points)

TURNING A HOBBY INTO A CAREER
It may seem idealistic or risky to exchange one’s regular job for the uncertainty of earning your living from
a hobby – but more and more people are attempting to do just that.
A I had piano lessons when I was young, and I did have some talent. But it became obvious I’d never be
good enough for a career on the stage. In a way, I was lucky. If I hadn’t realized that early on, I probably
would have carried on dreaming that my big break would come. As it is, I became a music teacher instead,
and in my free time I started to dabble in the technical side of music production. Then an aunt died, leaving
me some cash, and I set up my own recording studio! Of course, there is a downside to turning a hobby
into a career. I love my job so much that I used to work seven days a week, but after a while, I realized
you need to switch off occasionally. My job has definitely added depth to the way I listen to music; now I
can really understand why someone’s using a certain technique or piece of equipment.
B I studied medicine, but when I finished medical school, I had a sort of crisis. I knew I couldn’t go on with
it! I would have been an awful doctor. But I was keen on amateur dramatics, and I enjoyed putting on
plays at the local youth center. So I started wondering if I could make a living from teaching drama. A
friend suggested I should offer acting lessons for children. It was tricky and at first, I couldn’t work out
how to find people who would pay for their children to attend the kind of courses I wanted to run. Then
someone at an organization called Business Link, which helps people set up their own businesses,
suggested advertising on the Internet! I was contacted by a surprising number of interested people and five
years down the line, I’m still doing all right. The classes themselves are not terribly lucrative, but I
supplement my income by giving talks to amateur dramatics societies and writing articles for magazines.
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C When I left college, I started working in a bank, but my heart was never really in it. The problem was
partly the environment: I don’t like working in an office. I’m more of an outdoor person – and I had always
been crazy about surfing. One summer while I was on holiday, I got chatting to the owner of a surf shop.
It turned out he was good friends with a cousin of mine. He said he wanted to sell up and I jumped at the
chance to buy the business from him! Looking back, I can see how lucky I was. It’s incredibly difficult to
set up a shop like that from scratch. Besides, being an avid surfer myself, I assumed a lot of other people
must share that interest – which is not the case! It took me a while to realize how naïve I was. Now that I
have learnt the ropes, I’m considering either expanding – more shops, managers, and so on – or
diversifying, perhaps producing my own surf boards! The second option is more likely because it interests
me a lot.
D I wanted to study graphic design when I left school, but I did not have good enough grades. So I got a job
in a garage instead and for the next 10 years, I worked as a car mechanic. But while I was working, I did
some evening courses in industrial design. I even built a car of my own from spare parts. Then I got the
idea of building a bike – a four-wheel delivery bike – and the next thing I knew, my wife was urging me
to set up my own company! I had to take a very deep breath before I finally took the plunge. I had done
my best to prepare for it, taking time, and I knew I’d be working longer hours for less money, at least at
first. The big difficulty was the uncertainty of not knowing how much would be coming in each month.
And things were pretty tough for the first few years – looking back, I can see that I underestimated the
amount of paperwork I’d have to do – but I’ve never regretted it.
For questions 22-31, choose from the people (A-D). Some people may be chosen more than once.
In which section of the article are the following mentioned?
22. thoughts about the future ________
23. an enhanced appreciation of other people’s work ________
24. advice from a specialist ________
25. encouragement from a family member ________
26. an impulsive decision ________
27. identifying potential customers ________
28. a feeling of apprehension about making a major change ________
29. the value of assessing one’s abilities objectively ________
30. academic qualifications which were never used ________
31. the financial necessity for engaging in other ventures as well ________

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