READING TEST

Time allotted: 60 minutes

PART 1: Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question.
Everybody likes to feel that she or he is useless. Sadly, many of us grow up believing that we are
not special at all. We wish that we could be more attractive or better at sports to win the attention
of people. We wish we had more money or more beautiful clothes to look rich around our friends
or relatives. Like the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, or the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz, we
think we are not good enough just as we are. In the film, The Tin Man wishes he had a heart. The
Scarecrow wishes that he had a brain, and the Lion wants courage. Eventually, each of them
realizes that he already has what he wants.
Nearly all parents want us to be the best we can be. They occasionally attempt to encourage us to
do better by comparing us to others. They mean well, but the message we usually get is that we
are nothing. This can be harmful: to yourself, to your mental health, but also to the world around
you, including your loved ones. We start to believe that the only way we can be special is by
being better than somebody else, but we are frequently disappointed. There will always be
somebody out there that is better than we are at something. There are a lot of people around who
may not be as intelligent as we are but who are better at sports or art. Or they may not be as
handsome, but they have more money. It is unthinkable for us to be better than everybody else
all the time. Like the Tin Man, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion, we all need what we
believe will make us better people.
What we do not understand is that often we already have inside us the very things that we look
for in life. Our parents often forget to tell us that we are special, that we are good enough just as
we are. Perhaps no one told them when they were growing up, or maybe they just forgot. Either
way, it is up to us to remind them sometimes that each of us, in our own way, is special. What
we are is enough!
1. What is the writer's main aim in writing the text?
a. to talk about your family problems
b. to explain the importance of being yourself
c. to describe how intelligent we are
2. This essay was most likely written by...
a. a young person
b. a teacher
c. a parent
3. What does the writer say about our parents?
a. They do not tell us that we are special enough.
b. They frequently forget to tell us that we are special.
c. They never forget to tell us that we are special.
4. The author of this essay believes that _____.
a. the richer you are, the better you are
 b. intelligent people are more special than others
c. we should be happy with who we are
5. Comparing one person to another does ____________.
a. make people feel happier
b. hurt people
c. not make them feel anything
6. Comparison is an effort of our parents to ______.
a. motivate us
b. devalue us
c. teach us
7. Our parents might __________ too.
a. fail to recall that they are special
b. remind us that they are special
c. not try to find out what we are special
8. Which of the following would be the best title for this passage?
a. Our kids are useless.
b. Always not good enough.
c. Am I special?
9. The Wizard of Oz taught us ______.
a. that we are always looking for something
b. about things we never knew we had
c. that we can have what we want
10. It is important to let people _________.
a. know you are very important to them
b. realize that we just shine in our way
c. remember what they might forget
PART 2: Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question.
A few decades ago, professional footballers spent their nights partying. Now, they are much
more aware of the benefits of a good night’s sleep.
The change began in the mid-1990s, when mattress salesman Nick Littlehales contacted the
manager of the Manchester United football team, Alex Ferguson, asking whether he had ever
considered how sleep affected performance on the pitch. Interested, Ferguson arranged for
Littlehales to give a presentation to his team. Before long, the whole team had new mattresses
and pillows, and Littlehales soon became football’s leading mattress advisor. In 1998, he
supplied mattresses for England’s World Cup team, and at the 2004 Euros, he created individual
sleep routines for every player.
Gradually, club managers began to pay more attention to scientific sleep research, and for good
reason. In 2011, sleep specialist Cheri Mah discovered that increasing sleep to 8-10 hours per
night massively increased the speed and shot accuracy of basketball players. Other research
shows that a single night of inadequate sleep can increase the risk of injury, and 64 hours of bad
sleep reduces strength, power and balance, and can even cause the body to eat its own muscles!
Consequently, managers started trying to improve their players’ sleep. Southampton Football
Club’s manager Alek Gross, for example, forbade his players from consuming caffeine, sugar or
fatty foods, which prevent sleep, in the evenings. Instead, they were given milky protein drinks
which made them tired. The Mexico team manager was also concerned about sleep loss when
travelling to their World Cup group games in Russia. Together with Manchester United sports
scientist Robin Thorpe, he drew up a sleep and training schedule to optimize performance. Even
the hotel bedrooms were set to the ideal sleeping temperature. The players supported the routine.
In fact, on the evening of a game, their captain Rafael Marquez even asked fans who were
celebrating at the same hotel to keep quiet because the team were sleeping. The intervention was
a great success. Mexico won their next game versus South Korea and even beat Germany in their
group.
Now, many teams and players are making an effort to improve their sleep patterns, using various
means. Manchester City player Sergio Aguero, for example, was finding it hard to sleep because
his muscular body prevented his legs from closing when he lay on his side. He got a new
mattress which matched his height and weight, thus keeping his neck and back aligned in the
night. Meanwhile, James Milner from Manchester City found it hard to sleep after evening
games, so he would play computer games into the early hours. As a result, he was too tired to
train the following morning. Setting a routine with a late bedtime, early rise and afternoon nap
helped to fix this problem. Since these interventions are cheap and effective, even the less well-
known teams can benefit. Brentford, for example, has the smallest budget in the championship
league. Even so, the club’s head of performance, Chris Haslam, introduced wrist trackers to
monitor player’s sleep, and these have led to a clear improvement in players’ attentiveness.
Whereas in the past, playing after a party and a few hours’ sleep was seen as a badge of honour,
a good sleep is now considered an essential part of performance.
11. ___ used technology to track how players were sleeping.
a. Sergio Aguero
b. James Milner
c. Chris Haslam
12. What can be inferred from the third paragraph?
a. Sleep is very important to athletes’ performance
b. Cheri Mah is the best sleep specialist in the world
c. Club managers are spending millions of dollars to buy better beds for their athletes
13. Lack of sleep can cause...
a. increased speed and shot accuracy among basketball players
b. increased risk of injury
c. increased strength, power and balance
14. Why was James Milner too tired to train in the morning after an evening game?
a. Because he usually had sore legs after an evening game
b. Because he usually celebrated with his teammates into the early hours
c. Because he usually played video games until very late
15. What is the main idea of the fourth paragraph?
a. Mexico’s football team is better than Korean’s and Germany’s
b. Optimal sleeping conditions and an example of the effects of a good sleeping routine
c. Rafael Manquez is a legendary captain
16. What food is likely to be good for sleep?
a. Hamburgers
b. Donuts
c. Chocolate-flavored protein milkshakes
17. Rafael Marquez asked fans not to be noisy so that...
a. his team can sleep
b. his team can mediate before they sleep
c. his team can discuss the strategy for their next match
18. ___ invited ____ to talk to his team about sleep and bedding.
a. Robin Thorpe - Alex Ferguson
b. Sergio Aguero - James Milner
c. Alex Ferguson - Nick Littlehales
19. It can be inferred from the last sentence of the passage that...
a. Now, professional football players would prefer sleep to celebration
b. Now, professional football players would celebrate hard after a game
c. Now, professional football players would sleep until the next afternoon after a long
game
20. What would be the best title for this passage?
a. Benefits of a good night’s sleep
b. How sleep science transformed professional football
c. The ideal routine of a professional football player
PART 3: Read the passage and choose the best answer for each question.
The biography of Nelson Mandela reads like a morality tale. Here is a man who is subjected by
a racist society to years of imprisonment, for most of the time in degrading and humiliating
conditions, who emerges a quarter of a century later to become president of his country and
Nobel Peace Prize winner.
Nelson Mandela came slowly to political activism. He grew up as a reasonably privileged child
and was not exposed to the racial discrimination which was becoming institutionalized in his
country until he was at university at the age of 24. But once he recognized the injustices, he
could not remain silent and he was expelled from the University of Fort Hare in 1940 for taking
part in a student demonstration. He did not give up on his university degree, however,
eventually completing the course by correspondence in 1942. He went on to become the first
black student at the University of Witwatersrand, where he studied law, although he never
completed the course.
He joined the “African National Congress” (ANC) which was fighting for self-determination
for a multi-racial society. But when the National Party (NP) came to power in South Africa in
1948, it introduced a policy of forced separation of races, which became known around the
world as apartheid. By 1952 the ANC was encouraging protesters to refuse to obey laws which
aimed at segregating the races in everyday life. However, Mandela urged the protesters not to
use violence, even if violence was used against them.
Mandela did not just protest on the streets. With his friend, Oliver Tambo, he opened a law
practice in Johannesburg, and continued to work there through his five-year long treason trial
which the authorities staged as the ANC became more militant in the face of harsher and
harsher racist laws.
In 1961 Mandela was recognized not guilty but he realized his life had changed. He went
underground and even accepted the need for violent protests, after the massacre of 69 blacks in
Sharpeville.
The military arm of the ANC, the Umkhonto we Sizwe or Spear of the Nation was formed and
Mandela went to Algeria for military training. On his return to South Africa, he was arrested in
August 1962 and sentenced to five years in prison but then, following the arrest of ANC
colleagues at Rivonia, he was tried again for treason and conspiracy and sentenced to life
imprisonment in June 1964.
He spent 18 years on the infamous Robben Island but he never lost touch with the outside
world. His autobiography was written at this time and secretly sent out of prison, to be
published later under the title Long Walk to Freedom. Mandela was moved to Pollsmoor Prison
near Cape Town and finally to Victor Vester prison. By now, Mandela had become the icon for
resistance to apartheid and finally, bowing to international and domestic pressure, the South
African government lifted the ban on the ANC and released Mandela in February 1990.
In 1993 Mandela and the President of South Africa, De Klerk, won the Nobel Peace Prize for
their efforts to resolve the conflict between races, and in 1994 Mandela became the new
President.
21. According to the passage, Nelson Mandela…
a. had been exposed to social discrimination since he was a child.
b. understood what racism was when he was sent to prison.
c. became interested in politics when he was at university.
22. The African National Congress (ANC)…
a. encouraged black people to fight.
b. wanted Nelson Mandela not to use violence.
c. told black people to disobey segregation laws.
23. According to the text, after 1952 Nelson Mandela…
a. stopped participating in demonstrations.
b. started working for a lawyer.
c. had contracts with the ANC.
24. At the end of his trial in 1961, Nelson Mandela…
a. stopped working publicly.
b. was recognized as the ANC leader.
c. encouraged pacific protests.
25. According to the text, Nelson Mandela’s biography was…
a. declared illegal by the government.
b. written while he was in prison.
c. written and published after his liberation.
26. When did Nelson Mandela go underground?
a. In 1969
b. In 1961
c. In 1962
27. When did Nelson Mandela come back to South Africa and was sentenced?
a. In 1961
b. In 1962
c. In 1963
28. Nelson Mandela kept in touch with everyone when he was on the infamous Robben
Island.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given
29. His autobiography was written before he was on the infamous Robben Island.
a. True
b. False
c. Not given
30. What would be the best title for this passage?
a. The Apartheid
b. The history of South Africa: 1940s-2000s
c. The life of Nelson Mandela