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ACHIEVE 1
5 UNIT 2 TEST

Miracle Animal Survivors

On March 11, 2011, a Magnitude 8.9 tremor off the coast of Honshu, Japan resulted in
one of the worst earthquakes in Japanese history. Over 30,000 people are dead or
10 missing in the earthquake and the tsunamis that followed. Thousands more lost
everything they owned in this terrible tragedy.
When the tsunami warnings sounded, many people left their homes so quickly that they
had to leave their pets behind. Said survivor Ayano Sato, “I was driving home from
work when the earthquake happened. My dogs were at home. When I saw the water
15 coming, I had to turn around. After the tsunami hit, my home collapsed. I still don’t
know what happened to them.” We don’t know how many animals were killed in the
tragedy but, despite the losses, there were a few stories of survival “miracles.”
Atsuko Oikawa, the owner of two dachshunds, said that both dogs were frightened
when the earthquake occurred. She found one dog, Carlos, but Ghosn, her other dog,
20 ran away, towards the beach. She had to leave him and find safety on high ground.
Tsunami waves destroyed her town. A week later, the police told Oikawa that her dog
was fine, 1.6 kilometers inland, away from the beach. “Maybe he rode on it, a surfing
dog,” said Oikawa’s husband, Yuki. “We’re so incredibly happy to get him back.”
As soon as he heard the tsunami warnings, a man identified only as Kamata told his
25 neighbors about the incoming water. Unfortunately, he couldn’t return home to get his
dog, a pedigree Akita. That evening, he was sure his dog was dead. “It was terribly
sad,” said Kamata. Later that night, the dog appeared outside the shelter where
Kamata was staying. “He had swum and found me,” Kamata said. The dog was injured,
but survived.
30 Near Sendai, rescuers received a phone call about a different kind of animal. The
tsunami had washed a baby finless porpoise into a rice field, far from the ocean. A
volunteer named Ryo Taira picked the porpoise up and returned it to the sea. “I don’t
know if it will survive, but it’s much better than dying in a rice field, right?” said Taira.

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 Read the text again. Choose the correct answers.
1 What was the magnitude of the earthquake off the coast of Japan?
a) 2011
b) 8.9
5 c) 30,000
d) 11
e) 1.6

2 Why couldn’t Ayano Sato get her dogs?

10 a) Because she was at home.
b) Because her home collapsed because of the tsunami waves.
c) Because the water came and she had to turn around.
d) Because she was working.
e) Because her dogs were already in the shelter.
15
3 Where did rescuers find the Oikawas’ dog Ghosn one week after the tsunami?
a) They found him on the beach.
b) The found him outside the shelter where the Oikawas were staying.
c) They found him inside a car.
20 d) They found him over a kilometer and a half inland from the beach.
e) They found him in a rice field.

4 How did Kamata’s dog find him?

a) He swam to the shelter where Kamata was staying.
25 b) He stayed by the beach, waiting for Kamata.
c) He surfed inland and was found by rescuers.
d) He stayed in a shelter until the police found him.
e) He stayed at Kamata’s house.

30 5 What happened to the porpoise after it was returned to the Pacific Ocean?
a) It rode the tsunami inland.
b) It swam far from the coast of Japan.
c) It died near the shore.
d) It found its mother and survived.
35 e) We don’t know.

Circle the correct alternatives.

6 The first tremors hit Japan at 2:46 p.m. Many people, but not all, ___ far from their
homes at that time.
40 a) were working
b) working
c) worked
d) will work
e) had worked
45

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 7 One rescuer said, “We were looking for lost dogs and cats when we ___ about the
porpoise in a rice field.”
a) hear
b) were hearing
5 c) was hearing
d) heard
e) hearing

8 While most people ___ towards high ground, a few people like Kamata ___ to warn
10 their neighbors.
a) run / were staying
b) were running / stayed
c) run / stayed
d) running / stay
15 e) were running / stay

9 Many of the animals found after the earthquake were ___ and needed veterinary
help.
a) rebuilt
20 b) collapsed
c) occurred
d) destroyed
e) injured

25 10 Many people are working very hard to rebuild their homes and destroyed cities.
They refuse to ___.
a) take over
b) fall down
c) give up
30 d) get back
e) be spoiled

35

40

45
A00115
2

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photocopiable © Oxford University Press 2011
 Answer Key
1 b)
2 c)
3 d)
5 4 a)
5 e)
6 a)
7 d)
8 b)
10 9 e)
10 c)

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