READING COMPREHENSION

Directions: Read the texts below. Then read the questions that follow them and choose the !
best answer to each question correspondingly among A, B or C, marking the answer on your \
answer sheet.

Ireland's Past Is True Gold

The shape and landscape of present-day Ireland— an island of 70,200 square kilometers—
were formed 10,000 years ago when Atlantic Ocean glaciers slowly began their retreat. The
event left the country rich with the soil that has nurtured Ireland's flora and fauna for
centuries, and which offered a hospitable environment for migrating people to settle and plant
seeds.
Some of the oldest existing Irish artifacts are megalithic tombs that date back to the Stone
Age. They were lined in stone and had passages that led from a circular chamber to a burial
one at the center.
During the times of the Vikings, the tombs were robbed. But because the tombs were created
prior to the Bronze or Iron Age, they did not hold much booty.
Until the Vikings arrived in Ireland in A.D. 795, the economy centered on cattle raising,
which left the land widely undeveloped. Moreover, there were no towns until the Vikings
began building Dublin in A.D. 840.
The Vikings also introduced trade, shipbuilding, and coinage. The increased urbanization of
Ireland under the Vikings basically changed the economy and way of life for the local Gaelic
people.

1. The retreat of the Atlantic Ocean glaciers influenced the size and territory of Ireland.
a) True.
b) False.
c) No information in the text.

2. Ireland is rich in animal species and plant varieties.

a) True.
b) False.
c) No information in the text.

3. The natural conditions in Ireland are very favourable.

a) True.
b) False.
c) No information in the text.

4. In Ireland there are burial tombs dating back to the Stone Age.