UNIT 3 TEST

READING PAPER
YOU HAVE 15 MINUTES.

REMEMBER HOW TO …
understand new words
 Identify the type of word (verb, noun, adjective, adverb).
 Is there a similar word in your language? Does its meaning help you?
 Look at the words and sentences before and after the new word.
 Think what the new word might mean and check your idea in the sentence.
First read the text. Then answer the questions. You have 15 minutes in total. Use the tips in the
Remember how to box to help you.

Child prodigies

A child prodigy is a child who has a very special ability in a particular area. Here are some examples of child
prodigies from the world of music.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Austria in 1756 and is one of history's most famous child prodigies. His
father described him as the 'miracle that God let be born in Salzburg'. He started playing the harpsichord (a string
instrument with a keyboard like that of the piano) at the age of four, and started to compose his own pieces of
music at the age of five. When he was just eight years old, he went on a tour of Europe with his father and older
sister (who was also an incredibly talented musician) and he published his first music.

More recently, 12-year-old Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin left his audience astonished when he played with the
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra in 1984. He was not well known before that performance, but the next morning
he was a star. When he was still a baby, Evgeny enjoyed listening to his older sister playing the piano and singing
the tunes he had heard. At the age of two he took up the piano, but it wasn't until he went to school that he
learned to read music. He gave his first performance when he was seven years old and it was his own music that
he played.

Five-year-old Chinese-Canadian Ryan Wang caused a sensation when he appeared on The Ellen Show in the
USA in 2013. When the show's presenter Ellen Degeneres asked him to explain his remarkable talent for
playing the piano, little Ryan said: 'It's just in my memory' and 'it just goes to my fingers'. 101-year-old grandma
Dorothy Landsay saw him playing on television and became his biggest fan. When the Canadian Broadcasting
Corporation heard about this, they asked Ryan to play in person for the elderly lady so that she could hear him
playing more clearly. The two became good friends and Ryan said: 'I like playing for Grandma Dorothy because it
makes her happy'.

Choose the correct option, A, B, C or D.

1 What word can replace compose in the reading text, paragraph 2?
A dance B sing C write D read
2 What word can replace astonished in the reading text, paragraph 3?
A angry B amazed C bored D unhappy
3 The phrase a sensation in the reading text, paragraph 4, means a feeling of __________ .
A excitement B sadness C fear D boredom
4 A presenter (paragraph 4) is someone who __________ .
A looks after small children C plays the piano
B teaches children to play musical instruments D is the main speaker on a TV or radio show
5 The word remarkable in paragraph 4 means __________ .
A unusual and special C happy and excited
B grown up and sensible D friendly and sociable

Write True (T) or False (F).

6 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music first became available for other musicians to play when
he was an adult. (F)
7 Evgeny Kissin started learning to read music after he learned to play the piano. (T)
8 Ellen Degeneres told Ryan Wang he had a good memory and special fingers. (T)
9 Based on the information provided in this text, it is clear that Mozart was performing for the
public at an earlier age than both Evgeny Kissin and Ryan Wang. (F)
10 Evgeny Kissin and Mozart were not the only musicians in their families. (T)

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