Reading Comprehension Test

Text 1. Are Zoos a Good Thing?

Critics of zoos would argue that animals often suffer physically and mentally by being
enclosed. Even the best environments can’t come close to matching the space, diversity, and
freedom that animals have in their natural habitats. This deprivation causes many zoo animals to
become stressed or mentally ill. Capturing animals in the wild also causes much suffering by
splitting up families. Some zoos make animals behave unnaturally: for instance, marine parks
often force dolphins and whales to perform tricks. These mammals may die decades earlier than
their wild relatives, and some even try to commit suicide.
On the other hand, by bringing people and animals together, zoos have the potential to
educate the public about conservation issues and inspire people to protect animals and their
habitats. Some zoos provide a safe environment for animals which have been mistreated in
circuses, or pets which have been abandoned. Zoos also carry out important research into
subjects like animal behaviour and how to treat illnesses.
One of the most important modern functions of zoos is supporting international breeding
programmes, particularly for endangered species. In the wild, some of the rarest species have
difficulty in finding mates and breeding, and they might also be threatened by poachers, loss of
their habitat and predators. A good zoo will enable these species to live and breed in a secure
environment. In addition, as numbers of some wild species drop, there is an increased danger of
populations becoming too genetically similar. Breeding programmes provide a safeguard: zoo-
bred animals can be released into the wild to increase genetic diversity.
However, opponents of zoos say that the vast majority of captive breeding programmes
do not release animals back into the wild. Surplus animals are sold not only to other zoos but
also to circuses or hunting ranches.
Decide whether these statements are true or false.
1. F
2. T
3. F
4. T
5. F
6. F
7. T
8. T
9. F
10. F

Text 2.
Colour films are older than you think. Did you know that even some silent movies were made in
colour? One of the most popular films of all time was a silent movie called ‘A Trip to the Moon.’
It was made in France in 1902. The film is a story about a group of people who fly to the moon
and meet strange insects living there. Most films at this time were only in black and white but ‘A
Trip to the Moon’ was special. It was sent to Paris to be made into a colour film. To make it
colour, the film had to be painted with coloured paints and brushes. It took 200 people to finish
the work. For a long time, people thought that this film was lost. But in 1993 a copy of it was
found. You can now admire the film, in colour, in a museum in Spain.

1. C
2. A
3. C
4. A
5. B
Text 3.
Last week when I was talking about my flight around the world, I’d got as far as Norway.
This week I’ll tell you about the last part back to London. When I landed in Norway, two friends
were there to meet me. We stayed together in a hotel and talked a lot about my trip and the route
I’d chosen. Next morning, we were given a wonderful cooked breakfast and then my friends
helped me get into the suit I have to wear when flying over water. It’s really tight.
I hadn’t slept much, but I was excited and felt really wide-awake on the flight to
Denmark. My son, who is also a pilot, called me on the radio. He was flying a plane in Germany
at the time and we chatted for a few minutes. I was flying across the sea in a thick cloud so I
couldn’t see much, but I arrived in Denmark safely on the Sunday evening.
On Monday I was worried about the plane. There was a problem with one of the front
wheels. I knew I could still take off and fly, without any fear of an accident, but I knew that if I
made a bad landing, I could damage the plane and so not be able to continue. I called the airport
in Holland, my next destination, to arrange some repairs, and fortunately I managed to land there
without any problems.
That night I stayed with some friends on their farm in Holland. Next morning it was so
foggy that I couldn’t fly, but it was good to have a break. It was difficult to sleep so I walked
around the farm instead. I hadn’t spent any time in the countryside for months, and I’d forgotten
how much I missed the sound of birds.
When the fog lifted in the afternoon, I was pleased to learn they had repaired my plane,
and I took off within minutes. My next destination was a flying club in the north of England and
I knew it would be impossible to land there once the sun had gone down. But fortunately it was a
lovely sunny evening, and I arrived in good time.
I left early again on Thursday for London. I felt nervous because it was my last day of
flying. Then, when I finally landed, I felt wonderful – the long, difficult journey had been worth
it. It was lovely seeing my family who were all there to meet me. I promised I wouldn’t make
another long trip like that again.
1. D
2. B
 3. B
4. B
5. A
Text 4. Indian Films Actor Amitabh Bachchan talks about his experience
I have spent over 30 years in the Indian film industry and have worked with almost three
generations of directors and actors. There was a time life in the movies was very different. It was
slower and everything seemed simpler. Now, there are so many things to be dealt with: the light
needs to be right, the equipment needs to be returned, the actors have to be somewhere else.
There also used to be a sense of magic about the movie industry and the stars were special. Now
they are just one of a crowd.
However, in my experience, the new generation of film-makers take their work seriously
and they are all very confident. Sometimes, when a young director is talking to me about a scene,
I can see technical difficulties. For example, in the film Aks we needed wild dogs for a particular
scene and I asked Rakesh Mehra how we would do that. He said it was not a problem. He found
an address on the internet and we shot the scene in Romania. More often, Rakesh is anxious
about getting the actors’ dates right or sorting out the financial side.
Most of today’s young directors have trained in the United States. They have learnt how
to plan their productions in great detail and they are extremely well prepared. Before filming
starts, they have already made decisions about the costumes, make-up, camera angles and so on.
For an actor it means there’s someone taking care of everything. It makes the filming go
smoothly. I have little doubt that the future of our film industry is in very good hands.
21. What is Amitabh Bachchan trying to do in this text?
A suggest how Indian actors could improve their technique
B compare Indian films with those made in the USA
C encourage people to watch more Indian films
D describe changes in the Indian film industry
22. What does Amitabh Bachchan say about the Indian film industry today?
A Every stage of filming takes a long time.
B The film stars are famous around the world.
C The people involved in filming have a lot to do.
D It is difficult for young actors to start their careers.
23. What happened when Amitabh Bachchan and Rakesh Mehra worked together on Aks?
A They dislike working with one another.
B They argued about the best actor to use.
C They disagreed about acceptable levels of cost.
D They worried about different things in making the film.
24. What is Amitabh Bachchan’s opinion of young directors?
A They have a professional attitude towards their work.
B They are careful not to annoy any of the actors.
C They like to discuss their decisions with others.
D They make sure that everyone is well trained.
25 How would Amitabh Bachchan describe the Indian film industry?
A The films we made when I was younger were so much better – more money is available today
but the acting is worse.
B Indian film-makers know what they are doing – the industry is growing in strength and I think
it will continue to do so.
C Our new generation of film-makers depends too much on technology – they don’t realize what
makes a really good film.
D There are some great young actors today – they have to film scenes unprepared and this makes
them very special.

Text 5. The Flying Doctor

John Flynn was born in Australia in 1880. His father was a schoolteacher. John studied
hard and in 1911 he left the city of Melbourne and went to work in South Australia for a church.
The church wanted to help the sheep farmers who lived in the outback – the countryside area
many kilometres from towns and cities. They built a number of small hospitals and found nurses
to work in them. But at that time there were only two doctors in all of South Australia.
One story Flynn often told was of Jimmy Darcy. One day Jimmy had an accident on his
farm so friends took him to see F.W. Tuckett, who worked at the post office at Halls Creek. It
was a journey of 22 km. Tuckett was the only person in the area who knew anything about
medicine. He wanted to help but Jimmy was too ill. Tuckett finally talked by radio to a doctor in
Perth, a city 1500 km away. The doctor took ten days to arrive. He travelled by car, by horse and
on foot and when he arrived, he found that Jimmy was already dead.
Flynn saw that planes could really help people in the outback. He wrote about his idea for
a ‘Flying Doctor’ in 1917 but it wasn’t until 1928 that one actually took off. By the 1930s there
was a Flying Doctor plane in every part of Australia.
26. Flynn worked in
A a city.
B a hospital.
C the countryside.
D a small town.
27. What was the problem in South Australia?
A There were no doctors.
B The nurses weren’t good enough.
C There were no hospitals.
D There weren’t enough doctors.
28. What does Flynn tell us about Jimmy?
A He was a farmer.
B He helped sick people.
C He was often ill.
D He lived at Halls Creek.
29. What do we know about the doctor from Perth?
A He was the only doctor in a hospital.
B He travelled too slowly to save Jimmy.
C He had problems with the car.
D He didn’t know the way to Halls Creek.
30. The first Flying Doctor plane flew in
A 1917.
B 1928.
C 1911.
D 1930.