Reading Comprehension Test. Semestr 2

Read the article and decide if the statements 1–8 are true (T) or false (F).

PLACES TO VISIT: CHURCHILL, HOME OF POLAR BEARS

There are no roads into Churchill, so access to this place is by rail or air. Air service is available all year round. Normally, there are three or four flights a week from Winnipeg. In addition, there are extra flights in the summer months. Trains run three times a week from Winnipeg and the journey takes two days.

If it’s polar bears you are looking for, this is the place to come! Starting in the autumn, a large number of polar bears migrate from their summer places to their winter fishing grounds and their route goes directly through the town of Churchill. The summer months are when whales make their way into the Churchill River from Hudson Bay to find cooler water. Other wildlife in the area include wolves, Arctic foxes and seals.

Most visitors to Churchill stay for about three days but for visitors with a special interest, such as the bears, a five-day stay is usual. You should book rooms several months ahead, especially in summer. Hotels and bed & breakfasts get fully booked up in the polar bear season. A special place to stay is the ‘Polar Inn’ on the other side of the Churchill River. Here you can see the bears passing right outside your front door.

The motel and hotel dining rooms serve a good variety of dishes from regional to classic. Wild meat, such as ox meat, is on offer in some of the restaurants together with local fish, mushrooms, and wild fruit jams. Prices in these places are not generally cheap in Churchill but travellers are very satisfied.

1. You can reach Churchill by plane in the summer months only. ___       [True, False]

2. It takes two days to get from Churchill to Winnipeg. ___       [True, False]

3. People visit Churchill because they want to watch wildlife. ___       [True, False]

4. Polar bears can only be seen in Churchill in the summer months. ___       [True, False]

5. During a five-day visit, you can see both polar bears and whales. ___       [True, False]

6. Booking a room in advance is recommended, especially in the summer. ___       [True, False]

7. The ‘Polar Inn’ is a great place to watch polar bears. ___       [True, False]

8. Local restaurants serve a variety of international dishes. ___       [True, False]

Read the text and decide if the statements 1–4 are true (T) or false (F).

ANIMALS and our IMMUNE SYSTEM

Pigs have known for a long time, what doctors and scientists have just learned: dirt is good for you. Well, at least some dirt. One recent Swiss study of eight hundred children found that children who live on a farm close to cows, horses, geese and other farm animals do not suffer from asthma and allergies later in life. The same is true for city kids growing up with pets in the home such as dogs, cats, rabbits, hamsters or even rats and mice. In both cases, scientists proved that children who have more contact with dirt and animal waste develop a stronger disease fighting immune system.

1. In Switzerland a lot of children live in dirt. ___       [True, False]

2. The research studied life of children on farms. ______       [True, False]

3. Keeping rats or mice is good for children’s health. ___       [True, False]

4. Children who don’t live in contact with animals fall ill more easily. ___       [True, False]

Read three short texts about computers. For questions 1–6 circle the correct answer A–C.

Computers are improving all the time. What is most important is that computer memory is increasing. Experts say that the amount of memory in a typical desktop computer gets twice as big, every eighteen months. Modern computers have a million times more memory than those of the 1980s and they are much cheaper. So why do we need so much memory? It isn’t because we have a lot more documents to keep, but because we do much more complexthings with our desktop and laptop computers. A lot of other electronic devices use memory, too. Mobile phones and tablets need a lot of it as well, for example, to keep your contact details, save text messages, surf the web or watch videos online.

1. The text is about …   [A, B, C]

   A progress in modern technology.

   B different functions of computers.

   C the complexity of electronic devices.

2. More memory is needed to …   [A, B, C]

   A keep more and more documents.

   B manage more complicated operations.

   C keep lots of contact details and download