Reading Comprehension

A VERY LONG LIFE

1-Read the text and answer the questions.

Timothy the tortoise was about 160 years old when he died at his home near Exeter in
November 2005. Timothy, whose early life was spent at sea, was thought to be the oldest
resident in Britain at the time.
He was found by a British naval officer, Captain John Courtenay Everard, on a Portuguese ship
in 1854. Everard, who was a relative of the Earl of Devon, adopted him and he became the
mascot on a succession of British ships for nearly forty years. In 1892 he went to live at
Powderham Castle, which is the historic home of the Earls of Devon, and in 1935 he was given a
permanent home in the castle’s rose garden.
Throughout his long life, Timothy showed a keen instinct for survival. During the second world
war, for example, he felt the vibrations from the bombs that the Germans were dropping on
Exeter and made his own air-raid shelter under some steps. He was also very healthy, never
needing to see a vet until the last year of his life.
At the time of his death, Timothy was owned by Lady Gabrielle Courtenay, who is the aunt of
the current Earl of Devon. Lady Devon also lives at Powderham, where Timothy was given a
family funeral and was buried in the grounds of the castle.

- You have to give complete answers!

1. Who is Timothy?

2. Who found Timothy?

3. How long did Timothy stay on the British ships as a mascot?

4. Where did he spend most of his time? Why?

5. Did they take Timothy to the vet regularly?

6. Who was Gabrielle Courtenay?

7. What did they do after Timothy’s death?

2- Insert the correct relative pronoun who, which, that, where or whose to complete the
sentences.

1. John Brown’s second wife, who was called Mary Anne Day, was only 16 when she married him.
2. Martin Luther King, _______________ birthday is now a national holiday in the USA, was shot
dead in Memphis, Tennessee.
3. Aeschylus was killed when an eagle, _______________ was flying above him, dropped a
tortoise on his head.
4. Eleusis, _______________ Aeschylus was born, is a town near Athens.
5. Attila, _______________ was king of the Huns, died in 453 AD.
6. The British naval officer _______________ found Timothy was called John Courtenay Everard.
7. Powderham Castle, _______________ Timothy lived, belongs to the Earl of Devon. 8. Slavery,
8._______________ was abolished in 1865, was one of the causes of the American civil war.
9. John Brown, _______________ business ventures were not successful, accumulated a lot of
debts.
10. The speech _______________ Martin Luther King made in Washington is very famous.

3- Now read the original passage about student bank accounts, and mark the
sentences [T] for true or [F] for false.

Most banks have special current accounts for students. They usually include a cash card for
withdrawing money at the “hole-in-the-wall”. These cards often have a dual function, and can be
used as debit cards on the Visa Delta network. This means that you can pay for your shopping by
plastic. You can also access the “cash-back” service in supermarkets – this is a convenient
alternative to using the cash machine.
Provided that you are over eighteen, most banks will also issue you with a cheque book, and
some will even give you a credit card. Most student accounts have an overdraft facility, and many
banks also offer loans at competitive rates.
You can set up direct debits to pay your utility bills. The gas or electricity company tells your
bank how much you owe them, and the sum is paid to them directly from your account. If you’re
lucky enough to be able to save money, you may want to set up a standing order to put money
aside. Personal savings accounts tend to have better interest rates, so your money will earn
more.

- Are these statements true or false? If false, justify them

1. There are current accounts designed for students. [ ]

2. Cash cards usually function as debit and credit cards. [ ]
3. You can get “cash-back” from any cash-point machine. [ ]
4. All students can have a cheque book. [ ]
5. Overdraft facilities for students are not rare. [ ]
6. Banks often offer good conditions for borrowing money. [ ]
7. Gas and electricity companies can easily steal money from your account. [
] 8. You will get more interest on your money in a savings account. [ ]