Reading. Use of English 3. Part 1

Read the text. For questions 1-5 choose the correct answer.

Learning at home

Have you ever thought about leaving school and learning at home? thousands of young people do exactly that. It's called 'home-schooling' or 'home-education'. So why do parents make the decision to do this? Some parent take their children out of school due to bullying or other serious problems, but there is a growing number of British parents who choose home-schooling for their children from the start.

We spoke to Erin Morgan, who chose home-schooling for her children. 'We took our children out of school when my son Joseph was six and my daughter lily was eight. There were no problems with teachers and neither of the children was being bullied - in fact they were quite popular - but they were simply bored. With large class sizes, little money and other problems, it's too difficult for teachers to give some children the individual attention they need.'

When we started home-schooling, I was worried the children wouldn't fit in socially, so they have a few organized activities a week. Joseph is learning the trumpet and plays in a band. Lily goes to ballet classes and they both have swimming lessons. This means they learn skills and enjoy the company of other children at the same time. In addition, I belong to a home-schooling network so we often get together for trips with other home-schoolers.'

'We don't have a set timetable, but negotiatewhat we're going to do every day. Morning activities include using computer, writing, spelling, reading, maths and science. After lunch, we generally choose something more creative like art, sewing or gardening. I have to admit that some activities are more popular than the others, but in my view, it's important to get through every subject in order to get a good general education.'

'People ask what happens when home'schoolers get to secondary school age. I have friends with teenage children and most of them have decided to follow a syllabus and take GCSE exams. This has meant a more organized day, but the young people still take a great deal of responsibility for their own learning. One boy I know is planning to stop home-schooling when he is 16, do a part-time-college course and then go th university.'

'Whatever the age of your children, home-schooling is a challenge, but in my opinion the worst thing to do is to turn the home into a formal school. Learning should be fun, and children and young people need to feel happy in order to achieve.

1. The writher says that home-schooling in Britain ...   [A, B, C, D]

   A is a serious problem.

   B only happens when children are unhappy at school.

   C must start at a very early age.

   D is becoming more common.

2. Which of the following is NOT a reason why Erin decided to home-school her children?   [A, B, C, D]

   A The classes had too many students.

   B Her children didn't get on with other students.

   C The teachers couldn't give the students enough attention.

   D Her children were not interested in the material.

3. What does the word 'THIS' in paragraph 3 refer to?   [A, B, C, D]

   A Lily's swimming lessons.

   B Joseph's music classes.

   C Lily and Joseph's after-school activities.

   D The parents' meetings with other home-schoolers.

4. According to Erin, Lily and Joseph ...   [A, B, C, D]

   A especially enjoy the creative activities.

   B can decide what activities to do every day.

   C will not take GCSE.

   D will go to a regular school when they're 16.

5. Why did the author write the article?   [A, B, C, D]

   A To convince parents to do home-schooling

   B To warn parents about the problems with home-schooling

   C To describe home-schooling and the reasons for choosing it

   D To point out the need for improvements to local schools.

Read the text below. For questions (1 -10) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

21st Century Learning

When politicians fail to get their (1)         [message, news, notice, facts]______________ across on TV debates, they face "the worm". Now teachers and pupils at a Melbourne primary school are being evaluated in (2)           [absolute, live, original, real]________ time. Students are testing hand-held gadgets that fire feedback to their teacher. The electronic programme is (3)            [stated, called, declared, announced]________ the 'Student Response System'. "The kids (4)                    [are opening, are establishing, are demonstrating, are determining]__________ their understanding, or misunderstanding, immediately," the school's curriculum and innovations coordinator said. Teachers can then address any issues at the (5)       [spot, point, place, mark]__________ of need, rather than taking home 30 pieces of paper to mark. They can (6)           [lonely, quietly, privately, secretly]_________ assess students' responses, or they can be displayed on one of the school's 35 interactive boards, and discussed by the (7)          [full, complete, total, entire]_________ class. "The hi-tech focus is about helping kids learn in the 21 st century," the coordinator says, "It's very engaging for the students and we've really seen a big change in the (8)         [form, way, process, means] ___________ teachers are teaching." The school, one of the smartest in the state, also allows students to (9)         [watch, carry, take, make]__________ several live broadcasts a week on their own radio frequency. They use "green screen" technology (10)             [to revise, to exceed, to enlarge, to improve]_________ their video and multimedia skills.

Read the texts below. For questions (1 -10) choose the correct answer (A, B, Cor D).

Brain Teaser

Laughter is one of the least (1)               [understand, understood, understanding, to understand]_________ aspects of human behaviour. Scientists have found that during a good laugh, three parts of the brain (2)              [light, lights, is lighting, has lighted]_________ up: a thinking part that helps you get the joke, a movement area that tells your muscles to move, and an emotional region that elicits the «giddy» feeling. However, it remains unknown (3 )      [how, what, why, that]_________ one person laughs at your brother's foolish jokes while (4)            [other, the other, another, others]___________ chuckles while watching a horror movie. Anyway, one thing is clear: laughter makes us (5)          [feel, feeling, feels, to feel]_________ better.

Who Invented the Sandwich?

Food historians generally attribute the creation of the sandwich to John Montague, 4th Earl of Sandwich. This Englishman (6)             [says, said, was said, was saying]_________ to have been fond of gambling. As the story goes, in 1762, during a (7)            [24 hour, 24 hours, 24 hour's, 24 hours']_________ gambling streak he instructed a cook to prepare his food in such a way that it (8)                    [doesn't interfere, won't interfere, wouldn't interfere, hadn't interfered]_________ with his game. The cook presented him with (9)          [slice, slices, slicing, sliced]_________ meat between two pieces of toast. Perfect! This meal required no utensils and could be eaten with one hand, leaving (10)            [other, another, the other, the others]_________ free to continue the game.