1 READING SKIL LS PRACTICE G
eneral English 2 – LIFE A2-B1 READING TEST 01
Read the passages below careful y, and then select the correct option A, B, C or D
PASSAGE 1 – Questions 1-10 Line
Bees, classified into over 10,000 species, are insects found in almost
part of the world except the northernmost and southernmost regions
commonly known species is the honeybee, the only bee that produces hon
wax. Humans use the wax in making candles, lipsticks, and other product 5
they use the honey as a food. While gathering the nectar and pol en with
they make honey, bees are simultaneously helping to fertilize the flowe
which they land. Many fruits and vegetables would not survive if bees did
carry the pol en from blossom to blossom.
Bees live in a structured environment and social structure within a 10
which is a nest with storage space for the honey. The different types of bee
perform a unique function. The worker bee carries nectar to the hive in a s
stomach cal ed a honey stomach. Other workers make beeswax and shap
a honeycomb, which is a waterproof mass of six-sided compartments, or
The queen lays eggs in completed cel s. As the workers build more cel 15 queen lays more eggs.
All workers, like the queen, are female, but the workers are smal er
the queen. The male honeybees are cal ed drones; they do no work and
sting. They are developed from unfertilized eggs, and their only job
impregnate a queen. The queen must be fertilized in order to lay worker
During the season when less honey is available and the drone is of no furth
the workers block the drones from eating the honey so that they wil sta death.
Question 1. Which of the fol owing is the best title for this reading? A. The Many Species of Bees B. The Useless Drone
C. The Honeybee — Its Characteristics and Usefulness D. Making Honey
Question 2. The word species in the first sentence is closest in meaning to ………. A. mates B. varieties C. kil ers D. enemies
Question 3. The word which in the fourth sentence refers to ………. A. fertilizer B. flowers C. honey D. bees
Question 4. According to the passage, a hive is ……….. A. a type of honey B. a nest C. a type of bee D. a storage space
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eneral English 2 – LIFE A2-B1
Question 5. According to the passage, the drone …………
A. col ects less honey than workers.
B. mates with the queen and has no other purpose.
C. comes from eggs fertilized by other drones. D. can be male or female.
Question 6. The author implies that ………..
A. bees are unnecessary in the food chain.
B. drones are completely dispensable. C. the queen can be a worker. D. drones are never females.
Question 7. According to the passage, honey is carried to the hive in a honey stomach by the ………… A. queens B. drones C. males D. workers
Question 8. In what way does the reading imply that bees are useful in nature?
A. They pol inate fruit and vegetable plants.
B. They make marvelous creations from wax.
C. They kil the dangerous drones.
D. They create storage spaces.
Question 9. The passage implies that bees can be found in each of the fol owing parts of the world EXCEPT ………… A. Africa B. China C. Europe D. Antarctica
Question 10. It can be inferred from the reading that beeswax is …………… A. absorbent B. pliable C. complex in structure D. sweet
------Faculty of Foreign Languages.HNMU 2 3 READING SKIL LS PRACTICE G
eneral English 2 – LIFE A2-B1
PASSAGE 2 – Questions 11-20 Line
Coincident with concerns about the accelerat n i g loss of species and h
has been a growing appreciation of the importance of biological diversi y t
number of species in a particular ecosystem, to the heal h t of the Earth and
wel -being. Much has been written about the diversity of terrestrial 5
organisms, particularly the exceptional y rich li e f associated with tropical rain-forest habi a
t ts. Relatively little has been said, h owever, about diversity
of life in the sea even though coral reef systems are comp r a able to ra
forests i n t erms of richness of life.
An alien exploring Earth would probably give priority to the plan 10
dominants, most-distinctive feature - the ocean. Humans have a bias towa
that sometimes gets in the way of truly examining global issues. Seen fro away, it is easy to real z
i e that landmasses occupy only one-thi d r of the E surface. Given that two-thi d
r s of the Earth's surface is w ater and that mari
lives at al levels of the ocean, the tot l
a three-dimensional living space o 15 ocean is perhaps 100 t m
i es greater than that of land and contains more
percent of al life on Earth even though the ocean has fewer dist n i ct spe i c e
The fact that half of the known species are thought to inhabit the w
rain forests does not seem surprising, considering the huge numbers of
that comprise t he bulk of the species. One scientis tfound many different s 20
of ants in just one tree from a rain forest. While every species is dif e f rent
every other species, their genetic makeup constrains them to be insects share simi a l r character s
i tics with 750,000 species of insects. If basic,
categories such as phyla and classes are given more emphasis than differe bet e
w en species, then the greatest diversity of life is unquest o i nably th 25
Nearly every major type of plant and animal has some representat o i n ther
To appreciate ful y the diversity and abundance of life in the sea, it he
think smal . Every spoonful of ocean water contains li e f , on the order of 1 100,000 bacterial cel s
l plus assorted microscopic plants and ani a m ls, inc
larvae of organisms ranging from sponges and corals to starfish and clam much more.
Question 11. What is the main point of the passage?
A. Humans are destroying thousands of species.
B. There are thousands of insect species. C. The sea is v
e en richer in life than the rain forests.
D. Coral reefs are similar to rain forests.
Question 12. The word "appreciation" in line 2 is closest in meaning to ____. A. ignorance B. recognition C. tolerance
------Faculty of Foreign Languages.HNMU 3 4 READING SKIL LS PRACTICE G
eneral English 2 – LIFE A2-B1 D. forgiveness
Question 13. What is happening to species and habitats? A. Their number is fal ing.
B. They are growing in numbers.
C. They are being more and more appreciated.
D. They are being widely written.
Question 14. Why does the author compare rain forests and coral reefs (l ines 4-8)?
A. They are approximately the same size.
B. They share many similar species.
C. Most of their inhabitants require water.
D. Both have different forms of life.
Question 15. The word "bias" in line 10 is closest in meaning to ____. A. concern B. disadvantage C. attitude D. prejudice
Question 16. The passage suggests t hat most rain forest species are ____. A. insects B. bacteria C. mammals D. bi d r s
Question 17. The word "there" in line 25 refers t o ____. A. the sea
B. t he rain forests C. a tree D. the Earth's surface
Question 18. The author argues that there is more diversity of life in the sea than in the rain forest because ____.
A. more phyla and classes of life are represented in the sea
B. there are too many insects t o make meaningful distinct o i ns C. many insect spe i
c es are too smal to divide into categories D. marine li e
f -forms reproduce at a faster rate
Question 19. Which of the fol owing is N
OT mentioned as an example of microscopic sea li e f ? A. Sponges B. Coral C. Starfish D. Shrimp
Question 20. Which of the fol owing conclusions is supported by the passa ge? A. Ocean li e f is i h ghly adapt v i e.
B. More attentions need to be paid to preserving ocean species and habitats . C. Ocean li e f is primari y l composed of plants. D. The sea is i
h ghly resistant to the damage done by pol utants .
------Faculty of Foreign Languages.HNMU 4 5 READING SKIL LS PRACTICE G
eneral English 2 – LIFE A2-B1 READING TEST 02
Read the passages below careful y, and then select the correct option A, B, C or D
PASSAGE 1 – Questions 1-10
Line If parents bring up a child with the sole aim of turning the child into a genius
wil cause a disaster. According to several leading educational psychologist
is one of the biggest mistakes which ambitious parents make. General y, the
wil be only too aware of what his parents expect, and wil fail. Unrealistic par 5
expectations can cause great damage to children.
However, if parents are not too unrealistic about what they expect their ch
to do, but are ambitious in a sensible way, the child may succeed in doing
wel – especial y if the parents are very supportive of their child. Michael Co
is very lucky. He is crazy about music, and his parents help him a lot by t 10
him to concerts and arranging private piano and violin lessons for him. They
drive him 50 kilometers twice a week for violin lessons. Michael’s mother know
very little about music, but his father plays the trumpet in a large orche
However, he never makes Michael enter music competitions if he is unwi
Winston Smith, Michael’s friend, however, is not so lucky. Both his parents are 15
successful musicians, and they set too high a standard for Winston. They
their son to be as successful as they are and so they enter him for every
competition held. They are very unhappy when he does not win. Winston is a
afraid that he wil disappoint his parents and now he always seems quie unhappy.
Question 1: One of the serious mistakes parents can make is to ______.
A. push their child into trying too much B. h
elp their child to become a genius
C. make their child become a musician
D. neglect their child’s education
Question 2: Parents’ ambition for their children is not wrong if they ______.
A. force their children into achieving success B. t hemselves have been very successful
C. understand and help their children sensibly D. arrange private lessons for their childre
Question 3: Who have criticized the methods of some ambitious parents? A. Successful musicians. B. U nrealistic parents. C. Their children. D. Educational psychologists.
Question 4: Michael Col ins is fortunate in that ______. A. his father is a musician B. his parents are quite rich
C. his mother knows little about music
D. his parents help him in a sensible way
Question 5: The phrase "crazy about" in the passage mostly means ______. A. "surprised at" B. " extremely interested in" C. "completely unaware of" D. "confused about"
Question 6: Winston’s parents push their son so much and he ______.
------Faculty of Foreign Languages.HNMU 5 6 READING SKIL LS PRACTICE G
eneral English 2 – LIFE A2-B1
A. has won a lot of piano competitions
B. cannot learn much music from them C. has become a good musician
D. is afraid to disappoint the m
Question 7: The word "They" in the passage refers to ______. A. concerts B. v iolin lessons C. p arents in general D. Michael’s parents
Question 8: Al of the fol owing people are musical EXCEPT _____. A. Winston’s father B. Winston’s mother C. Michael’s father D. Michael’s mother
Question 9: The word "unwil ing" in the passage mostly means ______.
A. "getting ready to do something" B. "eager to do something"
C. "not objecting to doing anything"
D. "not wanting to do something"
Question 10: The two examples given in the passage il ustrate the principle that ______.
A. successful parents always have intel igent children
B. successful parents often have unsuccessful children
C. parents should let the child develop in the way he wants
D. parents should spend more money on the child’s education
PASSAGE 2 – Questions 11-20 Line
Most people can remember a phone number for up to thirty seconds. Wh
short amount of time elapses, however, the numbers are erased from the memo
did the information get there in the first place? Information that makes its way t
short term memory (STM) does so via the sensory storage area. The brain has 5
which only allows stimuli that is of immediate interest to pass on to the STM, known as the working memory.
There is much debate about the capacity and duration of the short term m
The most accepted theory comes from George A. Miller, a cognitive psychologis
suggested that humans can remember approximately seven chunks of inform
(A) A chunk is defined as a meaningful unit of information, such as a word or n 10
rather than just a letter or number. Modern theorists suggest that one can incre
capacity of the short term memory by chunking, or classifying similar informa
together. By organizing information, one can optimize the STM, and improve
chances of a memory being passed on to long term storage. (B)
When making a conscious effort to memorize something, such as inform 15
for an exam, many people engage in "rote rehearsal". By repeating something o
over again, one is able to keep a memory alive. Unfortunately, this type of me
maintenance only succeeds if there are no interruptions. As soon as a perso
rehearsing the information, it has the tendency to disappear. When a pen and pa
not handy, people often attempt to remember a phone number by repeating it a 20
the doorbell rings or the dog barks to come in before a person has the opportu
------Faculty of Foreign Languages.HNMU 6 7 READING SKIL LS PRACTICE G
eneral English 2 – LIFE A2-B1
make a phone call, he will likely forget the number instantly. (C) T erefore, h
rehearsal is not an efficient way to pass information from the short term to long
memory. A better way is to practice "elaborate rehearsal". This involves assig
semantic meaning to a piece of information so that it can be filed along with othe 25 existing long term memories. (D
Encoding information semantically also makes it more retrievable. Retrie
information can be done by recognition or recall. Humans can easily recal mem
that are stored in the long term memory and used often; however, if a me 30
seems to be forgotten, it may eventual y be retrieved by prompting
more cues a person is given (such as pictures), the more likely a memory
retrieved. This is why multiple choice tests are often used for subjects that requir of memorization.
Question 11. According to the passage, how do memories get transferred to the STM?
A. They revert from the long term memory.
B. They are filtered from the sensory storage area.
C. They get chunked when they enter the brain .
D. They enter via the nervous system.
Question 12. The word “elapses” in line 2 is closest in meaning to ________. A. passes B. appears C. adds up D. continues
Question 13. All of the fol owing are mentioned as places in which memories are stored EXCEPT the ________. A. STM B. long term memory C. sensory storage area D. maintenance area
Question 14. Why does the author mention a dog's bark?
A. To give an example of a type of memory
B. To provide a type of interruption
C. To prove that dogs have better memories than humans
D. To compare another sound that is loud like a doorbel
Question 15. In which space (marked A, B, C and D in the passage) wil the fol owing sentence fit?
For example, a reader engages in elaborate rehearsal when he brings prior knowledge of a subject to a text. A. (A) B. (B) C. (C) D. (D)
Question 16. How do theorists believe a person can remember more information in a short time? A. By organizing it B. By repeating it C. By giving it a name D. By drawing it
------Faculty of Foreign Languages.HNMU 7 8 READING SKIL LS PRACTICE G
eneral English 2 – LIFE A2-B1
Question 17. The author believes that rote rotation is ________.
A. the best way to remember something B. more efficient than chunking
C. ineffective in the long run
D. an unnecessary inter ruption
Question 18. The word “it” in l ine 29 refers to ________. A. encoding B. ST M C. semantics D. information
Question 19. The word “elaborate” in l ine 25 is closest in meaning to ________. A. complex B. efficient C. pretty D. regular
Question 20. Which of the fol owing best provides the important information in the highlighted
sentence in the last paragraph from the passage?
A. Prompting is the easiest way to retrieve short term memory after an extended period of time.
B. A memory can be retrieved by prompting, in a case where it has been rarely used.
C. It's easier to remember short term memories than long term memories due to regular prompt
D. Recal ing a long term memory that is often used is easy, while forgotten memories often requ prompting.
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