UNIT 3: HOBBIES, LEISURE AND ENTERTAINMENT

Session 1: Reading_Multiple choice question

Student’s name:………………………………………………………Class:…………….

Practice 1: [IELTS Reading: Multiple choice questions] Read the text about professional
swimmer Michael Daley’s day. Then complete the exercise.

I usually get up at around 6:00 a.m. Before I became a professional swimmer, I got up late most
days, but I don’t ever stay in bed now, even on Sundays! I always go to the gym in the mornings.
I spend about 30 minutes on the running machine, and then another 30 minutes doing other
exercises. It is very important for me to stay fit and healthy. I only spend two hours at the gym
when I have a big swimming competition. I get home from the gym at about 8:00 a.m., have a
shower and get dressed. I always have a big breakfast of cereal with banana, toast, eggs, coffee
and orange juice. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day for me because I do a lot of
swimming every day. After breakfast, I go for a long walk in the park near my house. The
exercise helps me to relax and feel prepared for the rest of the day.

Then it’s time for me to start work. From 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. I normally go to the
swimming pool and train for two hours with my personal trainer. I swim about five kilometres,
and practise diving. After my training, I usually have a meeting with my trainer to talk about
how well I’m doing and what I still need to work on. I sometimes have lunch at the pool
café with my trainer, but if I have a television interview, I’ll walk over to the TV studio. All my
friends think that it’s exciting to be on television, but it takes a long time to film, so it can be a
bit boring. It’s not difficult to do TV interviews, but it takes a long time to get ready. At home, it
takes me about 20 minutes to have a shower, get dressed and do my hair, or maybe half an hour
if I’m going somewhere special, but at the TV studio it takes an hour! If I have a big competition
coming up, then I do more training in the afternoon, or have more meetings with my trainer.

In the evenings, I usually relax at home with my wife, Emma. I quite enjoy cooking, so we often
eat at home together. Emma hated my cooking at first, but now she thinks it’s OK. Her father is a
chef at a top restaurant, so she loves good food. We sometimes go to a restaurant for dinner. We
both love Korean food, and there’s a great place near my house. I never eat fast food like burgers
and kebabs, or my trainer will get angry with me. Then Emma and I usually watch a film on
television. We both love comedy films, and Emma also likes romantic films, but I’m not a big
fan – I prefer action films. I usually go to bed at 10.00 p.m. because I need to be back in the gym
by 7.00 a.m. the next day!

Read the text. Choose the correct answers.

1 When does Michael get up late now?

A. Most days. B. On Sundays. C. Never.

2 Michael usually exercises at the gym for

A. 30 minutes. B. 1 hour. C. 2 hours.

3 After breakfast, Michael

A. gets prepared for the day. B. goes for a walk. C. relaxes in his house.

4 Michael says that TV interviews are sometimes

A. exciting. B. boring. C. difficult.

5 When Michael gets ready at the TV studio, it takes him

A. 20 minutes. B. 30 minutes. C. 1 hour.

6 What does Michael’s wife, Emma, think about his cooking now?

A. She loves it. B. She hates it. C. She doesn’t mind

it.

7 Michael often eats

A. dinner at home. B. dinner in a restaurant. C. burgers and kebabs.

8 Both Michael and Emma like watching

A. comedy films. B. romantic films. C. action films.

Practice 2: [IELTS Reading: Multiple choice questions] Read the passage and choose the
correct answer.

August 1985: The Worst Month For Air Disasters

There are many grim landmarks in the history of aviation. One, in particular, stands out. Three
decades ago, 720 travellers and crew lost their lives on board commercial aircraft in a single
month - more than in any other before or since.
The deaths occurred in four separate accidents in August 1985. Each disaster had quite different
causes. The aircraft involved ranged from a 747 with hundreds on board to a tiny twin engine
turboprop carrying just eight people.

There was Japan Air Lines flight 123, the worst single-aircraft accident in history, in which 520
of 524 on board were killed. A further 137 died when Delta flight 191 flew into heavy winds as it
approached Dallas-Fort Worth International. A fire on board British Airtours flight 28M at
Manchester Airport led to 55 deaths. And all those on board the smallest aircraft, Bar Harbor
Airlines flight 1808, lost their lives as it flew into a small airport in Maine, USA.

Each, in their own way, had a lasting legacy, whether in the memories of those left bereaved or
in changes in technology and procedure introduced as a direct result. The worst death toll was on
Japan Air Lines Flight 123, a Boeing 747, which was en route from Tokyo to Osaka on 12
August 1985 when the airtight bulkhead between its cabin and tail tore open. The change in
pressure blew off the vertical stabiliser, or tail fin. It also destroyed the hydraulic systems. The
plane lurched up and down.

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

3. The worst accident in history, according to the

paragraph, was:
1. When did the 720 travellers die?
A. Flight 123.
A Thirteen decades ago.
B. Delta flight 191.
B A few decades ago.

C 30 years ago. C. British Airtours flight 28M.

D. Bar Harbor Airlines flight 1808.

D There is no information about it.
4. Why did the Japan Air Lines Flight 123 crash?

A. The change in pressure blew off the

2. Twin engine turboprop could carry:
vertical stabiliser.
A. Eight people.
B. Destruction of the hydraulic systems.
B. Four people.
C. The airtight bulkhead between its cabin
C. Two people.
and tail tore open.
D. Only a pilot.
D. It is unknown.
Practice 3: [IELTS Reading: Multiple choice questions] Read the passage and choose the
correct answer.

Air Conditioning

The history of an invention that makes life more pleasant

Willis Carrier designed the first air-conditioning unit in 1902, just a year after graduating from
Cornell University with a Masters in Engineering.

At a Brooklyn printing plant, fluctuations in heat and moisture were causing the size of the
printing paper to keep changing slightly, making it hard to align different colours. Carrier’s
invention made it possible to control temperature and humidity levels and so align the colours.
The invention also allowed industries such as film, processed food, textiles and pharmaceuticals
to improve the quality of their products.

In 1914, the first air-conditioning device was installed in a private house. However, its size,
similar to that of an early computer, meant it took up too much space to come into widespread
use, and later models, such as the Weathermaker, which Carrier brought out in the 1920s, cost
too much for most people. Cooling for human comfort, rather than industrial need, really took off
when three air conditioners were installed in the J.L. Hudson Department Store in Detroit,
Michigan. People crowded into the shop to experience the new invention. The fashion spread
from department stores to cinemas, whose income rose steeply as a result of the comfort they
provided.

To start with, money-conscious employers regarded air conditioning as a luxury. They

considered that if they were paying people to work, they should not be paying for them to be
comfortable as well. So in the 1940s and ’50s, the industry started putting out a different
message about its product: according to their research, installing air conditioning increased
productivity amongst employees. They found that typists increased their output by 24% when
transferred from a regular office to a cooled one. Another study into office working conditions,
which was carried out in the late ’50s, showed that the majority of companies cited air
conditioning as the single most important contributor to efficiency in offices.

However, air conditioning has its critics. Jed Brown, an environmentalist, complains that air
conditioning is a factor in global warming. Unfortunately, he adds, because air conditioning
leads to higher temperatures, people have to use it even more. However, he admits that it
provides a healthier environment for many people in the heat of summer.

Read the text and choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

1 When Willis Carrier invented air conditioning, his aim was to

A make workers feel cooler. C set up a new business.

B produce more attractive paper. D solve problems in a factory.

2 Home air conditioners were not popular at first because they were

A too big and expensive.

B not considered necessary.

C too inefficient.

D complicated to use.
4 What was the purpose of the research done in the 1940s and ’50s?

A to make office workers produce more.

B to compare different types of air conditioner.

C to persuade businesses to buy air conditioners.

D to encourage employees to change offices.

5 What does Jed Brown say about air conditioning?

A In future, everyone will need it.

B Turning it off will not reduce global warming.

C It can seriously damage people’s health.

D It is good for people, but bad for the environment.

Practice 4: [IELTS Reading: Multiple choice questions] Read the passage and choose the
correct answer.

The ballpoint pen

Most of us have at least one, but how did this popular item evolve?

One morning in 1945, a crowd of 5,000 people jammed the entrance of Gimbels Department
Store in New York. The day before, Gimbels had placed a full-page advertisement in the New
York Times for a wonderful new invention, the ball point pen. The advertisement described the
pen as 'fantastic' and 'miraculous'. Although they were expensive, $12.50 each, all 10,000 pens in
stock were sold on the first day.

In fact, this 'new' pen was not new at all. In 1888, John Loud, a leather manufacturer, had
invented a pen with a reservoir of ink and a rolling ball. However, his pen was never produced,
and efforts by other people to produce a commercially successful one failed too. The main
problem was with the ink. If it was too thin, the ink leaked out of the pen. If it was too thick, it
didn't come out of the pen at all.

Almost fifty years later, in 1935, a newspaper editor in Hungary thought he spent too much time
filling his pens with ink. He decided to invent a better kind of pen. With the help of his brother,
who was a chemist, he produced a ballpoint pen that didn't leak when the pen wasn't being used.
The editor was called Ladislas Biro, and it was his name that people would associate more than
any other with the ballpoint pen.

By chance, Biro met Augustine Justo, the Argentinian president. Justo was so impressed with
Biro's invention that he invited him to set up a factory in Argentina. In 1943, the first Biro pens
were produced.

Unfortunately, they were not popular, since the pen needed to be held in a vertical position for
the ink to come out. Biro redesigned the pen with a better ball, and in 1944 the new product was
on sale throughout Argentina.

It was a North American, Milton Reynolds, who introduced the ballpoint pen to the USA.
Copying Biro's design, he produced the version that sold so well at Gimbels. Another American,
Patrick Frawley, improved the design and in 1950 began producing a pen he called the
Papermate. It was an immediate success, and within a few years, Papermates were selling in their
millions around the world.

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

1 People went to Gimbels to buy a ballpoint pen because__________

A they couldn't get them anywhere else. C they had never seen a ballpoint pen before.
B they had been told how good the pens were. D they thought the price was good.

2 Why were early ballpoint pens not produced commercially?

A Nobody wanted to buy one. C They used too much ink.

B It cost too much to produce them. D They didn't work properly.

3 Why was Ladislas Biro's pen better than earlier models?

A It didn't need to be filled with ink as often.

B It was designed by a chemist.
C The ink stayed in the pen until it was
needed.
D It was easier to use.
4 Biro's first commercially-produced pen___________

A was produced in a factory owned by the Argentinian president.

B only worked if used in a certain way.
C was a major success.
D went on sale in 1944.

5 Patrick Frawley's pen__________

A was a better version of an earlier model.

B took time to become successful.

C was the USA's first commercially successful ballpoint pen.

D was only successful in the USA.