Read the email and answer the questions.
Hi Simon,
Sorry I haven’t written till now. Since I got here I’ve been really busy with the course and making new friends. I’m speaking English all the time and going out in the evenings with my classmates. We’re a real mix of nationalities. We all talk in English but I’m learning loads about other languages and countries too.
My host family is really nice. The parents are very friendly and kind. The children are both in primary school and are very sweet but they can be a bit annoying too. If I have to watch the film Frozen with them one more time, I’m going to go crazy! I know all the songs by heart now. Ahhhh!
We live pretty near the school so I walk there every day. It’s only a short bus ride from Edinburgh city center, and there are loads of shops and cafés there. There’s an ancient castle too and we’re going there on a school trip next week. Edinburgh is a really interesting place to be and there’s a festival on at the moment. It’s awesome but a bit expensive for us students, so we’ve been hanging out in the streets matching the free street performances from actors and musicians. Yesterday I saw a magician doing card tricks - it was so much fun!
I’ll send some photos of Edinburgh Castle next time. Take care and let me know how you are doing.
Fran
(Adapted from “Foreign exchange emails”, Learn English Teens - British Council)
The word "here" in paragraph 1 refers to _____.
Who does Fran spend evenings going out with?
What are the host family’s children like?
Edinburgh city centre has a great number of _____.
Fran thinks the street performances are _____.
Read the announcement and answer the questions.
All students,
Our season of giving will now gear up for Christmas but will be a little shorter this year because we only have two Fridays in December to collect money and gifts for our Christmas Toy Drive. For our Christmas Toy Drive, we will once again partner with St. Peter’s Church to help less fortunate children have a brighter Christmas. Our outreach will be to families and children from south-central LA and Tijuana, Mexico who St. Peter’s Church has identified as being in particular need this Christmas.
To participate in our Christmas Toy Drive you just need to donate $5.00 this Friday or next Friday or bring a new unwrapped toy to school that you believe a child would like to receive. In appreciation for your $5.00 donation or a new toy, all those who make a donation on Friday can enjoy the privilege of dressing casually and being out of uniform on Friday. Once again, for our Christmas Toy Drive we have just 2 Fridays, so consider donating this Friday as we help others this Advent season.
(Adapted from an announcement of Cathedral High School)
The word "gear up" in the first sentence is closest in meaning to _____.
Why is the school appealing for money and gifts?
We can infer from the sentence: "...we will once again partner with St. Peter’s Church to help less fortunate children have a brighter Christmas." that _____.
The word "that" in paragraph 2 refers to _____.
It can be inferred from the sentence "..., all those who make a donation on Friday can enjoy the privilege of dressing casually and being out of uniform on Friday." that _____.
Read the passage then choose the best answer to each question.
School days should be a happy time in a young person’s life. What can make people’s lives a misery during this time, then? I personally believe there is one word which answers this question – bullying.
Unfortunately, bullying is quite common in schools where I live. It can affect students of any age, and both boys and girls. A friend of mine had a very negative experience at school last year as an older boy continually called him names and sometimes used to post nasty messages about him on Facebook. Obviously, my friend felt upset about this and it affected his self-confidence. Some days, he didn’t want to come to school at all.
What can people do to stop this problem? First and foremost, teachers need to be aware that bullying may be happening in their classes and be very strict when they have a case of bullying. Another thing teachers could do is prepare lessons to talk about the problem with their pupils, which might make bullies realize how badly they hurt their victims. As for students, if they find out a classmate is being bullied, they should support them as much as possible and let a teacher know.
Bullying can be a nightmare but there are things we can do to prevent it. Hopefully, one day all students will be able to go to school without fear of being bullied.
(Adapted from “A magazine article ”, Learn English Teens - British Council)
What title best summarizes the main idea of the passage?
The word "misery" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _____.
What does the writer think about a person’s school life?
What best describes the writer’s attitude toward bullying?
The word “nasty” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _____.
How did bullying affect its victim, in the writer’s friend’s experience?
The writer mentions all of the following to stop bullying EXCEPT _____.
Read the story and answer the questions.
“Mom, you won't believe it!” Rosi shouted as she burst in the door. “What's all the fuss?” Rosi’s mom asked.
“Remember the contest I entered? I sent a letter to VMS about why I should be able to meet Johnny Corazon!”
“VMS? That music video station?”
“Yes - VMS.”
Her mom's eyes grew wide as boiled eggs.“So you won?”
“Not yet,” said Rosi, “but I'm a finalist! Now I have to make a video. If they pick mine, I'll get to meet him - in person!”
“That's wonderful! But you'd better get started, honey. Call me if you need help.”
Rosi set up a video camera in her room. She turned on the camera and sang a song, and danced. She tried over and over again until she got it right. Then she watched the best version several times. But something didn't seem right. Rosi showed the video to her sister Anita.
“What do you think?” Rosi asked.
“Well, your routine is good,” Anita answered, “but it seems sort of boring. Maybe it's because the camera stays in the same place all the time.” Rosi sighed.
“I have an idea,” Anita said. Rosi did her routine again. But this time, Anita held the camera and moved around. The new video was much better.
Rosi went next door to her friend Albert's house. She showed him the video.
“Well?” she asked.
“It pretty cool, I guess,” Albert began, “but -”
“But what? Tell me!”
“I’ll guess it seems weird that it's all in your room.”
“Oh, no.” Rosi moaned.
“I can help,” Albert said.
The three of them made a stage set in Albert's backyard. They used some old curtains and painted cardboard. Finally, they shot the video again.
“That's it,” said Rosi when they were done. “That's as good as it's going to get.”
Everyone wished her luck, and she sent the final version of her video. Three days later, Rosi got a call. It was from Johnny Corazon.
“Congratulations!” he said. “Your video was great! No one else put as much thought into camera angles and sets !"
Rosi was quiet for a moment. “Mr. Corazon, that's very kind,” she began sadly. “But I can't accept.” She explained that she had got a lot of help.
“Don’t worry about that" Johnny said, “I get a lot more help than you did.”
(Adapted from Achievement Test - oneplusone.cn)
What would be the best title for this story?
When the author writes in paragraph 6 that "her mom's eyes grew wide as boiled eggs", the author means that Rosi’s mom _____.
How did Rosi become a finalist in the contest?
Why does Anita think Rosi's video is boring when she first sees it?
What can be inferred about Mr. Corazon?
All of the following people worked on Rosi's video EXCEPT _____.
Read the passage and answer the questions.
All pet owners will happily explain to you their dog’s or cat’s character traits - probably in far more detail than you ever wanted to know. However, the idea of animal personality is not one that’s been formally studied all that much.
A new study has classed a species of birds into groups of more or less aggressive males. Researchers gauged the response of male collared flycatchers to female birds, to a strange object, and to other males. They found that each type of individual displayed consistent behavior in each of these situations.
However, they also found that the birds more likely to take risks were the ones most likely to be trapped - and thus studied further - raising important questions about the skewed sample set present when researchers base their findings on animals caught in traps. It’s kind of like when a talk show host says, “95% of 13-year olds (who responded to our online survey) are smoking pot!!!”, leaving out the part about it really is 95% of the particular 20 teenagers who felt like responding to the survey.
(Adapted from TOEFL Junior Practice Tests, New Oriental Education & Technology Group)
What is the passage mainly about?
In paragraph 2, the word “classed” is closest in meaning to _____.
In paragraph 2, the word "gauged" is closest in meaning to _____.
What does the author want to tell the readers in the second paragraph?
In the last paragraph, the word “ones” refers to _____.
Who is more likely to write the passage?
What can be inferred from the last paragraph?
The article is likely to be selected from the magazine ____.
Read the passage and answer the questions.
It is common knowledge that spiders use their webs to trap insects. And many people believe spider webs are all basically the same. However, scientists know this is not entirely true. Some spiders have developed other uses for their webs. One such spider is the European water spider, which uses its web to breathe underwater.
The European water spider spends most of its life underwater. It mates raise its young and feed on aquatic insects below the water's surface. However, since it needs to breathe, the spider carefully stores a supply of air inside its web. This is what allows it to stay underwater for long periods of time.
The web is shaped like a balloon with a hole in the bottom. This design traps a large bubble of air inside the web, while still allowing the spider to enter and exit through the bottom to catch nearby insects. In fact, the water spider's web works much the same as a diving bell, an early type of submarine. Diving bells were basically large metal bells supplied with air from a hose running to the water's surface. The air kept the water from filling up the bell, and divers could enter and exit through the open bottom. Because of this similarity, water spiders are sometimes known as ̈diving bell spiders.”
The water spider's web also makes breathing underwater possible by acting as a kind of filter. Like humans, spiders breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. Also like humans, carbon dioxide is harmful to spiders. Thus, the water spider cannot breathe the same air continuously. Its web is specially designed to let carbon dioxide escape while allowing oxygen in from the surrounding water. This extends the supply of oxygen within the web.
Although the web allows water spiders to stay underwater for long periods of time, some trips to the surface are necessary. When the web needs more fresh air, the spider tips the web and lets the old air escape. Then, it swims to the surface to collect a fresh air bubble. The spider traps the bubble of air beneath its stomach and holds it with its legs and a special layer of hair. Then it dives back down to the web and refills it.
(Adapted from Achievement Test - oneplusone.cn)
What is the passage mainly about?
In paragraph 2, the word “stores” is closest in meaning to _____.
In paragraph 2, the word “This” refers to _____.
What does the design of its web allow the water spider to do?
In paragraph 3, the word “supplied” is closest in meaning to _____.
Why does the author mention diving bells?
According to the passage, why can't water spiders breathe the same air continuously?
In paragraph 4, the word "extends" is closest in meaning to _____.
Why are the spider’s trips to the surface important?
In paragraph 5, the word “it” refers to _____.
When its web needs fresh air, the water spider does all of the following EXCEPT _____.