READING EXERCISE-2016

Reading 1

Read the passages below and choose the correct answer among A, B, C or D.

Not so many years ago, the world vitamin was known only to a few scientists. Today it is
very widely used, and the importance of vitamins in our foods is common knowledge.

Vitamins are life-giving substances found in foods and are needed for the proper growth
and general health of the body. The different kinds of vitamins are indicated by letters of the
alphabet. At the present time, vitamins A, B1, B2, C, D, E and G are know. A proper diet should
contain a collection of foods in which all of these vitamins are present. Vitamins are also
prepared and sold in tablet and capsule form.

Each vitamin has its particular work to do in the life-giving process. Vitamin B1, for
example, benefits appetite and digestion. It also helps the body grow. Another vitamin helps the
blood to clot, so that danger of bleeding to death in case of injury is lessened. Still another makes
the eyes stronger of seeing at night. Airplane pilots need plenty of this vitamin. Scientists think
vitamins may have some effect on keeping the hair from turning gray.

1. Which of the following is not directly stated in the article but is a reasonable conclusion
from the reading matter?

A. scientists have known about vitamins for centuries.

B. vitamins are medicines given to cure diseases.

C. to get all the vitamins a person must eat a variety of foods.

D. a few people know the value of vitamins.

2. This article as a whole is about....

A. diet in relation to health B. prevention of diseases

C. what vitamins are and what they do D. how scientists discovered vitamins.

3. We know the name of vitamins through....

A. the pictures B. the food

C. the letters of the alphabet D. the different tastes

4. The word "another" in the fourth sentence of the last paragraph refers to what word?

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 A. vitamin B. food C. diet D. medicine

5. Which sentence is NOT true?

A. vitamins can be taken only by eating the foods in which they are found

B. vitamins can be prepared in tablet and capsule form

C. vitamins have an important effect on health.

D. each vitamin has its particular work to do.

Reading 2

Read the passages below and choose the correct answer among A, B, C or D.

The Polygraph

When we tell lies, we usually fear getting caught. This fear causes small changes in our
bodies. Our hearts beat more quickly, our blood flows faster and we breathe harder. A machine
called a polygraph or lie detector, measures these changes. It can tell if a person is lying. Police
often use lie detectors to question suspects. Companies use polygraphs to screen people for jobs
or to investigate theft. However, people cannot be forced to take lie detector tests. The person
being tested wears an arm band that attaches to the polygraph. At first the person is asked simple
questions such as. "What is your name?" From answers to these types of questions, the machine
measures the person's normal body activity. If a person tells the truth there is little or no change
in the polygraph. Later, the questions, the machine measure the person's normal body activity. If
a person tells the truth there is little or no change in the polygraph. Later, the questions are more
pointed. They focus more and more on what the tester really wants to know. If the answers cause
a large change on the polygraph it may mean the person is lying. Polygraphs are not always
right. They sometimes measure changes a person might feel even when telling the truth.

This is especially true when the tester has not been trained to ask questions the right way.
People can sometimes learn to control their emotions and fool the lie detector, too. Still,
polygraphs are very useful in many kinds of police work.

1. What is the machine called that can tell if a person is lying?

A. a screening machine B. a polygraph

C. a fib detector D. none of the above

2. How is a person connected to this machine?

A. electrical wires B. by a chest strap C. by an arm strap D. none of the above

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3. How does the machine know if you are lying?

A. It watches your eyes

B. It measures changes in the body

C. It check to see if you are crossing your fingers

D. It tells the truth.

4. How can someone fool a lie detector?

A. they cannot B. unplugging it

C. controlling their emotions D. none of the above

5. What happens if you tell the truth?

A. There is little or no change in the polygraph.

B. The polygraph will not work.

C. The tester asked the wrong questions.

D. None of the above.

Reading 3

Read the passages below and choose the correct answer among A, B, C or D.

One of the most dangerous drugs for pregnant women to consume is alcohol. Because
alcohol is delivered quickly into the blood and passes quickly into the tissues and membranes,
the human fetus is particularly vulnerable to its effects. In fact, the negative effects on a fetus are
so pronounced that babies born after exposure to alcohol are said to be suffering from fetal
alcohol syndrome.

As a pregnant woman drinks alcohol, the alcohol is passed into her bloodstream almost
simultaneously. Moreover, because the bloodstream of the fetus is inextricably tied to that of the
mother, the alcohol passes directly into the bloodstream of the fetus as well. And what is more,
the concentration of alcohol in the fetus is exactly the same as in the mother. For the mother, this
concentration is not a problem because her liver can remove one ounce of alcohol from her
system per hour. However, the fetus's liver is not completely developed (how developed it is
depends on its stage of development). The rate at which it is able to eliminate the alcohol from
the blood of the fetus is much slower. Eventually, the alcohol will be returned to the mother's
system by passing across the placenta, but this process is slow. By the time this takes place,

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major neurological damage may have already occurred. Research has shown that as little as one
drink of alcohol can produce significant, irreversible damage to the fetus. Babies born after
exposure to alcohol generally exhibit facial distortion, inability to concentrate, and difficulty in
remembering. Simply speaking, it is imperative that pregnant women avoid alcohol.

1. What is the main topic of this reading?

A. Women and drugs B. The dangers of pregnancy

C. The fetus and alcohol D. Drinking and the human body

2. How much time can it be inferred that it takes alcohol to enter a woman's bloodstream
after she takes a drink?

A. about one hour B. a few seconds

C. several minutes D. at least 24 hours

3. According to the passage, how does the concentration of alcohol in a fetus compare to that
in the mother.

A. The concentration is more B. The concentration is less

C. The concentration is equivalent D. The concentration cannot be measured

4. It can be inferred that the development of a fetal liver depends on

A. how many months pregnant the mother is

B. how much alcohol the mother has consumed

C. how large the fetus is

D. how well the mother has taken care of the fetus.

5. According to the passage, how is alcohol finally returned to the mother's system?

A. It is carried through the bloodstream B. It is transferred across the placenta

C. It is expelled by the fetus's liver D. It is not completely returned

Reading 4: Read the following passage and mark A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate
the correct answer to each of the questions

PANDEMIC DISEASES

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 Diseases are a natural part of life on earth. If there were no diseases, the population
would grow too quickly, and there would not be enough food or other resources. So in a way,
diseases are natural’s way of keeping the Earth in balance. But sometimes they spread very
quickly and kill large numbers of people. For example, in 1918, an outbreak of the flu spread
across the world, killing over 25 million people only six months. Such terrible outbreaks of a
disease are called pandemics.

Pandemics happen when a disease changes in a way that our bodies are not prepared to
fight. In 1918, a new type of flu virus appeared. Or bodies had no way to fight this new flu virus,
and so it spread very quickly and killed large numbers of people. While there have been many
different pandemic diseases throughout history, all of them have a new thing in common.

First, all pandemic diseases spread from one person to another very easily.

Second, while they may kill many people, they generally do not kill people very quickly.
A good example of this would be the Marburg virus. The Marburg virus is an extremely
infectious disease. In addition, it is deadly. About 70 -80% of all people who get the Marburg
virus died from the disease. However, the Marburg virus has not become a pandemic because
most people die within three days of getting the disease. This means that the virus does not have
enough time to spread a large number of people. The flu virus of 1918, on the other hand,
generally took about a week to ten days to kill its victims, so it had more time to spread.

While we may never be able to completely stop pandemics, we can make them less
common. Doctors carefully monitor new diseases that they fear could become pandemics. For
example, in 2002, and 2003, doctors carefully watched SARS. Their health warnings may have
prevented SARS from becoming a pandemic.

1. This passage is mainly about______________

A. how to prevent pandemic disease B. pandemic disease

C. pandemic disease throughout history D. why pandemics happen

2. According to paragraph 1, how are diseases a natural part of life on Earth?

A. They prevent pandemics B. They help control the population

C. They help the world grow quickly D. They kill too many people

3. Based on the information in the passage the term pandemics can be explained as
___________

A. diseases with no cure B. a deadly kind of flu

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C. diseases that spread quickly and kill large numbers of people

D. new disease like SARS or the Marburg virus

4. According to the passage, what causes pandemics?

A. Changes in a disease that body cannot fight B. Careless doctors who do not watch the
spread of disease

C. Population growth that the world cannot support D. The failure to make new medicines

5. According to the passage, all of the following are true of the 1918 flu pandemic EXCEPT that
______

A. it involved a new kind of flu virus B. it killed over 25 million people

C. it was the last pandemic in history D. it took a little over a week to kill its victims

6. The word it in the passage refers to ____________

A. disease B. flu virus C. pandemics D. bodies

7. Which of the following is mentioned as a common feature of all pandemic disease?

A. They spread from people to people very quickly B. It kill may people very quickly

C. They do not kill people very quickly D. They kill all the victims

8. According to the paragraph 3, why hasn’t Marburg virus become a pandemic?

A. It is not a deadly disease

B. It does not spread from person to person easily

C. Doctors have prevented it from becoming a pandemic

D. It kills people too quickly

9. The word monitor in the passage is closest in meaning to __________

A. fight B. prevent C. watch D. avoid

10. The author mentions SARS in order to ___________

A. give an example of a highly dangerous disease

B. suggest that SARS will never become a pandemic

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C. give an example of the successful prevention of a pandemic

D. suggest that there may be a new pandemic soon.