Reading Comprehension "Old-fashioned ways of keeping time" Form 9 Term 1 Test 3

Read the texts below. Match choices A-H to the texts 1-6. There are two choices you do not need to use.

"Old-fashioned ways of keeping time"

1. Sundial

As the sun moves across the sky, shadows change direction and length, a simple sundial can measure the length of a day. It was quickly noticed that the length of the day varies at different times of the year. Another discovery was that sundials had to be specially made for different latitudes because the Sun's altitude in the sky decreases at higher latitudes, producing longer shadows than at lower latitudes.

2. Obelisk

Obelisks aren't just impressive monuments, they also have long shadows that are perfect for timekeeping. In Paris, you can still see an obelisk being used as a sundial: The Luxor Obelisk in the center of the Place de la Concorde aligns its shadow with points on the pavement to show pedestrians the time.

3. Water clock

A sundial becomes rather useless after sunset, so another ancient timekeeping device appeared. The water clock dates back to at least 1500 BC, basically it's a device that uses the reliable flow of water to represent the passing of time. Water clocks appear throughout the ancient world, from Egypt to Greece to the Arabic world, and became quite incredible in their complicated designs.

4. Church bells

Before every household had a clock, communities could keep track of time by listening for the local church bells. The word clock actually comes from c/occo - Latin for bell - as many of the church clocks that began to be built in the 14th century involved striking bells. If you live near a church that still rings the bell every hour, you're getting the time like a medieval person.

5. Hour glasses or sandglasses

As the technology of glass-blowing developed, somewhere in the 14th century it became possible to make sandglasses. Originally, sandglasses were used as a measure of periods of time, but then sandglasses were adjusted to measure specific periods of time, and to decide the correct duration of university lectures and even periods of torture.

6. Candle clocks

Marked candles were used for telling the time in China from the 6th century. There is a popular story that King Alfred the Great invented the candle clock, but we know they were in use in England from the 10th century. However, the speed of burning depends on air blowing, and the quality of the wax. This is why candles were used to mark the passage of time from one event to another, rather than to tell the time of day.

Read the texts above one more time. Match choices A-H to the texts 1-6. There are two choices you do not need to use.

1. Sundial___________________________

Read the texts below. Match choices A-H to the texts 1-6. There are two choices you do not need to use.

"Old-fashioned ways of keeping time"

1. Sundial

As the sun moves across the sky, shadows change direction and length, a simple sundial can measure the length of a day. It was quickly noticed that the length of the day varies at different times of the year. Another discovery was that sundials had to be specially made for different latitudes because the Sun's altitude in the sky decreases at higher latitudes, producing longer shadows than at lower latitudes.

2. Obelisk

Obelisks aren't just impressive monuments, they also have long shadows that are perfect for timekeeping. In Paris, you can still see an obelisk being used as a sundial: The Luxor Obelisk in the center of the Place de la Concorde aligns its shadow with points on the pavement to show pedestrians the time.

3. Water clock

A sundial becomes rather useless after sunset, so another ancient timekeeping device appeared. The water clock dates back to at least 1500 BC, basically it's a device that uses the reliable flow of water to represent the passing of time. Water clocks appear throughout the ancient world, from Egypt to Greece to the Arabic world, and became quite incredible in their complicated designs.

4. Church bells

Before every household had a clock, communities could keep track of time by listening for the local church bells. The word clock actually comes from c/occo - Latin for bell - as many of the church clocks that began to be built in the 14th century involved striking bells. If you live near a church that still rings the bell every hour, you're getting the time like a medieval person.

5. Hour glasses or sandglasses

As the technology of glass-blowing developed, somewhere in the 14th century it became possible to make sandglasses. Originally, sandglasses were used as a measure of periods of time, but then sandglasses were adjusted to measure specific periods of time, and to decide the correct duration of university lectures and even periods of torture.

6. Candle clocks

Marked candles were used for telling the time in China from the 6th century. There is a popular story that King Alfred the Great invented the candle clock, but we know they were in use in England from the 10th century. However, the speed of burning depends on air blowing, and the quality of the wax. This is why candles were used to mark the passage of time from one event to another, rather than to tell the time of day.

Read the texts above one more time. Match choices A-H to the texts 1-6. There are two choices you do not need to use.

2. Obelisk ________________

Read the texts below. Match choices A-H to the texts 1-6. There are two choices you do not need to use.

"Old-fashioned ways of keeping time"

1. Sundial

As the sun moves across the sky, shadows change direction and length, a simple sundial can measure the length of a day. It was quickly noticed that the length of the day varies at different times of the year. Another discovery was that sundials had to be specially made for different latitudes because the Sun's altitude in the sky decreases at higher latitudes, producing longer shadows than at lower latitudes.

2. Obelisk

Obelisks aren't just impressive monuments, they also have long shadows that are perfect for timekeeping. In Paris, you can still see an obelisk being used as a sundial: The Luxor Obelisk in the center of the Place de la Concorde aligns its shadow with points on the pavement to show pedestrians the time.

3. Water clock

A sundial becomes rather useless after sunset, so another ancient timekeeping device appeared. The water clock dates back to at least 1500 BC, basically it's a device that uses the reliable flow of water to represent the passing of time. Water clocks appear throughout the ancient world, from Egypt to Greece to the Arabic world, and became quite incredible in their complicated designs.

4. Church bells

Before every household had a clock, communities could keep track of time by listening for the local church bells. The word clock actually comes from c/occo - Latin for bell - as many of the church clocks that began to be built in the 14th century involved striking bells. If you live near a church that still rings the bell every hour, you're getting the time like a medieval person.

5. Hour glasses or sandglasses

As the technology of glass-blowing developed, somewhere in the 14th century it became possible to make sandglasses. Originally, sandglasses were used as a measure of periods of time, but then sandglasses were adjusted to measure specific periods of time, and to decide the correct duration of university lectures and even periods of torture.

6. Candle clocks

Marked candles were used for telling the time in China from the 6th century. There is a popular story that King Alfred the Great invented the candle clock, but we know they were in use in England from the 10th century. However, the speed of burning depends on air blowing, and the quality of the wax. This is why candles were used to mark the passage of time from one event to another, rather than to tell the time of day.

Read the texts above one more time. Match choices A-H to the texts 1-6. There are two choices you do not need to use.

3. Water clock______________________________