Read

This reading test contains 7 questions. You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
To make it more authentic, download the test and do it with pen and paper.

Read the passage below and answer questions 1-7.

The Right and Left Brain

It is common today to identify, in some way, with one side of the brain.  You may think, for example, that you are more ‘right brain’ than ‘left’.  When we make such statements, we are referring to the fact that the two halves of the human brain deal with information from the senses, and hence the world, in different ways. In general, the left hemisphere is responsible for our processing of language and logic and the right deals with aspects of thought like emotions and spatial relationships.  The hemispheres also control our movements, though the left hemisphere controls the right side of our bodies, and vice versa. 

The fact that the two hemispheres of the brain work in different ways on different tasks is a relatively new discovery.  That discovery was made by a psychobiologist named Roger Sperry and it won him a Nobel Prize in 1981.  Sperry uncovered the inner workings of normal brains by studying the brain function of people who had a certain kind of brain damage.  In most brains, the two halves are connected by the corpus callosum, a bundle of millions of nerves, which serves as a ‘bridge’ of sorts between the two hemispheres, allowing them to communicate with each other.  The people Sperry studied had had their corpus callosa cut, and because of this, their left and right brains couldn’t exchange information. 

In a famous experiment, Sperry showed one such subject two pictures.  The subject saw a picture of a knife with his right eye (controlled by the left brain) and a picture of a spoon with his left eye (controlled by the right).  When asked to name what he saw, the subject said knife, because it is the left brain that deals with language and the naming of things.  However, when asked to reach over with his left hand to a nearby table on which was placed both a knife and a spoon, and choose, without looking, the object he saw, the subject chose the spoon.  This is because his left eye (controlled by the right brain) saw the spoon and his left hand (also controlled by the right brain) chose this rather than the knife.  The subject himself was not at all conscious of the fact that he was seeing and choosing two different objects. 

Until recently, it was thought that there was a strict division of labour.  Today, however, we are aware that, for example, while the left brain is responsible for most of the language functions, the right brain plays a role in some language functions like following a story and interpreting humour.  Tasks such as face recognition require both halves in different ways.  Unfamiliar faces are interpreted and processed by the right hemisphere while familiar faces are processed and recognized by the left.  Similarly, non-musicians will interpret a melody with their right brain, but musicians will process music with their left.

Questions

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write your answer in box 1-7 on your answer sheet.

1)    The right hemisphere of the human brain is responsible for

A. The right side of the body

B. Language

C. Emotions

D. Touch

2)    Roger Sperry studied

A. The corpus callosum

B. People with abnormal brains

C. People with normal brains

D. The connection between vision and touch

3)    The corpus callosum

A. Is only found in abnormal human brains

B. Is found between the two hemispheres

C. Is part of the left hemisphere

D. Is where memory is stored

4)    Roger Sperry’s experiment shows that

A. One half of the brain processes language and the other processes touch

B. People see differently with each eye

C. The two hemispheres of the brain function in different ways

D. People are not conscious of the left and right halves of their brain

5)    The subject of the knife / spoon experiment

A. Was not aware that he was seeing two images

B. Thought the spoon was a knife

C. Could not tell the difference between a spoon and a knife

D. Was unable to process visual information accurately

6)    The example in the last sentence about musicians demonstrates that

A. The left side of the brain deals with familiar material

B. The left side of the brain processes music more efficiently

C. Musicians are born with more developed left brains

D. Listening to music requires both halves of the brain

7)    Which of these statements is true?

A. We now know that the left and right brain function similarly

B. We now know that the left and right brain function completely separately

C. We now know that the left and right brain may both be involved in a task, though one side may be more involved than the other.

D. We now know that the left and right brain may both be structurally different.

Answers

1) C

2) B

3) B

4) C

5) A

6) A

7) C

Advice / Hints

Read the qustions first to have an idea of what you need to pay attention in the passage.

It is important to read each paragraph with care at first. Then scan the passage for your answers.

Downloads

To save these files to your computer simply right click on the title and select 'Save Target As...' from the menu.

The Right And Left Brain Test

Answer sheet

Read

This reading test contains 10 questions. You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
To make it more authentic, download the test and do it with pen and paper.

Read the passage below and answer 10 questions.

Ethnic Groups in Singapore

In addition to being one of the smallest (and youngest) countries in the world, Singapore, with its population of less than four million, is one of the world’s most ethnically mixed countries.  It is primarily Chinese, a group to which over three quarters of permanent residents assign themselves, but even in this group there are differences in languages and cultures.  The other two main ethnic groups in Singapore are Malays and Indians, each representing around ten percent of the population.  It has long been the goal of the government to promote Singapore as a multicultural society in which all three of these main groups enjoy equal access to the wealth, education, and social systems that Singapore offers.

For nearly seven hundred years, Chinese have been travelling to Southeast Asia in search of wealth and prosperity.  Those who settled in Singapore came mainly from southern China and spoke different languages depending on which area was home.  Hokkien, one of the main Chinese languages spoken in Singapore, originates from Fujian Province.  Speakers of Teochew had ancestors from eastern Guangdong.  Hakka has roots in both Fujian and Guangdong.  Cantonese is also spoken in Singapore today, and originates from Guangzhou.  All of these languages (and more) are spoken by the Chinese population of Singapore today, though there are very few communities now that are linguistically isolated as they were in the past, and in recent years the government has also heavily promoted the teaching and learning of Mandarin to serve as a common language for the Chinese community.

Though representing a much smaller proportion of the population, the Malays are the second largest ethnic group in Singapore and the original inhabitants of Singapore.  They are still today the main ethnic group throughout the region stretching from Malaysia to Indonesia and the Philippines.  The Malay community in Singapore came mainly from the Malaysian peninsula, though many also came from Java and other Indonesian islands.  The Malay community practices Islam, which came to the area via Arab and Indian traders in the 1400s, but their religion also retains some features of pre-islamic Hindu beliefs.

The third largest ethnic group in Singapore, slightly smaller than the Malay community, is that of the Indians.  Migration from India dates mainly from the days of the British colony of Malaya in the 18th century, and most Indians came to the area as labourers recruited by the British to work on plantations.  Most of the Indian community are Tamil from the southern part of India, but a sizeable portion originates from Kerala in the southwest. 

Another group of people with a long history in Singapore are known as the Peranakans.  The word peranakan in Malay means ‘half-caste’ and the Peranakans are the descendants of Chinese immigrants who settled in the area and married Malay women.  The groups of Chinese who travelled and settled in the region centuries ago were predominantly (if not entirely) men, and so a most were married to local women.  The culture of the Peranakans is a mix of both Chinese and Malay traditions, and in most cases this group adopted the name and religion of their Chinese fathers, but retained the language and customs of their Malay mothers.  Today, the Peranakan population speaks a version of Malay which borrows from Hokkien so much that Malay speakers often cannot understand the dialect.  While the Peranakan culture is being preserved and revived by organisations in Singapore, there are just a few thousand Peranakan Malay speakers left on the island.
 

Questions

According to the information in the reading passage, which group(s) have the following features:

A     Chinese

B     Malays

C     Indians

D     Peranakans

1) Has/Have features of more than ethnic group?

2) Is/Are united strongly through religion?

3) Speak / Speaks many different languages?

4) Is/Are not native to the Singapore region?

5) Was originally made up mostly of men?

In boxes 6-10 on your answer sheet write

Yes                 if the statement is true according to the article

No                  if the statement is not true according to the article

NOT GIVEN     if it is not possible to determine the truth of the statement from the article

6)  Originally, many Chinese communities in Singapore couldn’t communicate easily with each other due to linguistic differences. 

7) Mandarin is the main language of Singapore.

8) Indians were the most recent of the three to arrive in Singapore.

9) Arab and Indian traders settled in Singapore in the 1400s.

10) The Peranakan language is being increasingly used in Singapore.

Answers

1) D

2) B

3) A

4) A, C

5) A

6) YES

7) NOT GIVEN

8) YES

9) NO

10) NO

Advice / Hints

Scan the qustions first to have an idea of what you need to pay attention in the passage.

It is important to read the article with care and understand what it is really about when doing true-false type of questions.

Downloads

To save these files to your computer simply right click on the title and select 'Save Target As...' from the menu.

Ethnic Groups In Singapore Test

Answer sheet

Read

Research study is the learning activity in which students choose and identify research topics under the guidance of teachers and take the initiative to acquire knowledge and apply knowledge to solve the problems in the course of the study. In broad terms, it refers to the study in which students take the initiative to explore the learning activities. It is a philosophy, strategy and approach of learning, which is applied to all subjects.

Nowadays, in English teaching, there are various types of materials, whether the "Oxford English" or "in the new century English", that are rich in content and wide range of topics, covering social, economic, scientific, historical, cultural aspects. Its purpose is to require students to master English and on the basis of the application, students can carry out social practice and research study through self-study and cooperative learning. They make full use of libraries, Internet resources in English for more information, which will enable them to broaden horizons, to understand the society, to learn scientific and cultural knowledge, to be concerned with the country's social progress and about the harmonious development of mankind and the environment, gradually forming a positive outlook on life and culture of the community, the sense of responsibility and mission. As a result, in the normal course of teaching, I consciously try the teaching of research study.

To establish an appropriate subject

Whether the choice and setting of the subject is appropriate or not directly have impact on the level and value of the outcome of the study. From the point of the establishment of the subject, there are various different aspects of the research, and even there are many issues worth studying on one content, but the value of each study is not the same. Therefore, teachers must first seriously study the teaching materials, choose the core of knowledge, and then choose the subject which is related to the real social life and has contact with the actual thinking of the students and whose level of difficulty is appropriate for the students’ age and ability, and then guide the students to establish the topic of research study. Students acquire the information through their own observation of the surrounding environment, and investigating the use of network resources and form their own views and conclusions through analysis, reflection and research.

According to our text, Unit V "Little Spenders are Big Spenders" in "Oxford English" 1A, we combined with the actual lives of students. We proposed research issue -- "Little Spenders are Big Spenders", from which students got a general idea of the current consumption of local and foreign youngsters. Now the students are most concerned about their peers’ concept of consumption, especially in our school. After the panel discussion, I made reference in a timely manner, and finally made the issue of this research study, that is ‘ A Tentative Survey of Consumption Structure of Senior High School Students’. The forms of research were independent individual, team, teachers and students collaboration with the questionnaire as the source.

After the selection of topics, it is necessary to guide students on how to perform a planned and targeted research study and to advise them on how to make use of after-school social survey and Internet resources to collect information. The process of collecting information was the process of a multi-disciplinary learning, in which students not only acquired the knowledge of English, but also other disciplines of knowledge. Collecting information not only depends on textbooks, but also on the library, and more on network resources and social studies. In this way, students learn through independent research, training and self-learning ability to solve their own problems.

To Carry out Research

Step1, to plan for the task: designing the questionnaire, issuing questionnaires, analyzing the questionnaire, writing the report, exchanging ideas in groups. Step2, to carry out survey and analyse - the students made use of their free time and investigated the source of pocket money, as well as consumer psychology and consumer behavior etc, and wrote a report on the analysis of the questionnaire in English. Step3, to express and communicate - in the classroom, students presented their research results in English, showing the collected data and information through the multimedia courseware to the students. Step4, to sum up – we evaluated and summed up the attitude the students took and the achievements they made in this research study, which enabled them to realize their potential and to further stimulate their interest in English learning, to mobilize their enthusiasm.

To sum up

to form a correct idea

Through this activity, the students gathered the consumption structure and the concept of the people of the same age and they were encouraged to think deeply of their own expenses, and consciously find the right form of consumption and form their own values. In the survey, we found 94% of the pocket money of the students was from their parents. It was generally agreed that it was not easy for the parent to make money and it must be used appropriately.

To train individual ability

When writing this report, some students think that they have no ability to summerise, in particular, the report was written in English, they felt ‘terrible’. Usually they even didn’t speak English and had no words to write a complete article. How can they finish writing a professional report? But I gave them some advice and encouraged them to do so. At the meantime, I revised some aspects, and finally they have completed a satisfactory report. It is worth mentioning that there was my English representative, who was a quiet person and afraid of speaking in public. But in that class, I invited him to host the presentation. At the beginning he didn’t dare and hesitated to do so. But I said to him: ‘It does not matter. As long as you do, that’s OK. Don’t be too concerned about the outcome. The key is the process. Do not have too much burden on yourself.’ He tried under my encouragement, which proved to be a great success. All the teachers praised his spoken English ability. Some student said afterwards: ‘Xiao Huang was no longer what he used to be. He was quite confident.’ I thought this was what I wanted. Everyone should show their superiority. Later, Xiao Huang also hosted the school's English festival.

To Reflect on this activity

Teachers played an important leading role in research, which was shown in the study of materials, the designing teaching process, the encouraging emotional incentive and creating the atmosphere for learning and so on. When we established the subject, teachers must give proper and timely guidance. In addition, teachers also should have a stronger ability to cope with changes, skillfully guiding the students when they are blocked in the thinking, timely encouraging them when they are active in thinking, and awarding them when they get achievements ... ... For a teacher to truly become a learning facilitator, organizer and director, the key is to change the traditional concept of teaching and teaching behaviour.

To believe the learning ability of students. It is a try for me to take this lesson. When design it, I adopted the ‘cooperation’ way on which the students can rely during the implementation for I have taken into account that it was the first time for the students to use English outside the class. At the same time, in the process of writing, although they encountered a lot of new words, the students themselves challenged themselves to write a unique article with the help of their own knowledge and dictionary, which made them realize that they have great potential.

Compared with the daily teaching, the students played more important role in the research study and they have become the organizer in the teaching, which helped them to gain experience. The students played more than 80% of the class, which fully showed the ‘student-centered’ teaching philosophy. It helped to enhance the students’ awareness of cooperation in the form of group study.

It made the small class bigger, more active and newer with the application of research study, which combined the language learning, study and social practice together. The students study in learning, learn from the study, which trained the self learning ability and cooperation ability, heighten the ability to analyse and solve the problems, which is the new requirement on the students’ development by second curriculum reform.

Glossary

multi-disciplinary (adj.) – involving different subjects

facilitator (n.) – person who makes certain thing easier

Discuss

Have you ever asked your students to work on research study in English?

How to encourage students to present their work confidently?

Read

As teachers, what we must do in an EFL class is to motivate students and get them to explore and use what they learn by themselves. It’s no easy job but we can try different ways. One of the effective ways is to link the course book to the daily life. In Unit 2 of Senior I, we talked about the differences between British English and American English, it’ll be better to get students to know more about the differences if the teacher can provide them some articles like the following one.

I’d like to share my teaching plan with everyone who is concerned in the idea of using news story in an EFL class.

Content: Getting lost across the pond (21st Century Teens Issue 331)

Level: Senior Grade I

Goals: To help students know more about American English and British English

To develop reading skills such as skimming, scanning and guessing words.

To practice having an interview

Procedures:

Pre-reading section

Task 1

Brainstorm what the students know about the differences between American English and British English ( Purpose: to review what they have learned in the course book)

                            spelling                     pronunciation        words

British English         colour, travelling...      not, after             petrol, autumn...

American English     color, traveling...        not, after             gas fall

Task 2

Discuss questions about David Beckham. (purpose: to create interest in the topic and lead in)

1. Who is David Beckham? What does he do?

2. What is his nationality? Where is he now?

3. What language does he speak? Do you think he has any difficulty in communicating with Americans? If so, what difficulty do you think he has?

While-reading section

Task 1

Discuss the topic (Purpose: to predict the content) What do you think the title mean?

Task 2

Skim the passage to get the general idea of the passage. (Purpose: to develop the skimming skill) Guiding question: What does the article mainly tell us?

Task 3

Scan the text and find information in detail to fill in the chart. (Purpose: to practice the scanning skill and generate information in the context)

Find out what the Americans say about the following things:

British people say:                Americans say:

football                               soccer

pitch

trainers

jumper

bat

table tennis

baseball

(Use an overhead projector to give clear feedback)

Post-reading section

Task 1

Discuss and understand the long sentences: (Purpose: to focus on the grammar)

1. So he remembered that while the games are the same, some of the sports terms are different in the United States than in Britain

2. Of course, while these words differences might seem confusing, Beckham probably thinks they are no big deal. (while: a conj, meaning “although”)

E.g While I like the jumper very much, I won’t buy it because it is too expensive.

Task 2

Suppose you were a reporter at the press conference. Try to create questions about the language problems David Beckham came across in the US and have an interview with him. (Purpose: to link the reading with speaking and get students to use the information they get from the reading; to transfer input into output.)

Assignment:

Search on the Internet and get more about differences between American English and British English and add what you find to the chart. (Purpose: to promote autonomous learning)

Reading: Getting lost across the pond

David Beckham, one of the world’s most famous athletes, was at a press conference. He held his new Los Angeles Galaxy jersey in his hand. Beckham said he couldn’t wait to play football in LA. Then he stopped, laughed and said, “I mean soccer”.

Beckham, the England native, is truly an international man. So he remembered that while the games are the same, some of the sports terms are different in the United States than in Britain. Now, Beckham can’t forget that while in England he plays football on a pitch, in the US he plays soccer on a field.

After the games is over Beckham might want to change out of his uniform and into regular clothes. In the US he will be wearing sneakers and perhaps a lighter sweater. But is he were back home in England he’d be wearing trainers and a jumper.

After training, Beckham might need to relax. So one of his American teammates might hand Beckham a paddle and challenge him to a ping-pong game. Even here Beckham could be confused. In Britain they call it table tennis and play with a bat.

But Beckham is rich and famous so he would never get upset. After playing ping-pong he might try to become really American and go watch a baseball game. Of course, if he didn’t know better he’d ask to watch “rounders”, which is what the British call baseball.

Of course, while these words differences might seem confusing, Beckham probably thinks they are no big deal. Remember, he used to play in Spain. (21st Century Teens Sept 15, 2008)

Glossary

skim (v.) – to read something quickly in order to understand the main point

pitch (n.) – sports field

Discuss

What do you think about Jane’s teaching plan?

Do you have any ideas on how to motivate students in news report lesson?

Read

I am afraid I am not qualified to review Gossip Girl—The hittest and latest soap opera in America with several hit characters, based on Cecily-von-Ziegesar's best-selling book series of the same name because I saw the reviews and the videos the big fans made on site. They are mad about Gossip Girl but I am not so crazy. However, I have to review it now while I am still keeping calm with it.

The “it” characters are best friends Serena van der Woodsen (Blake Lively) and Blair Waldorf (Leighton Meester), Blair’s boyfriend Nate (Chace Crawford) and his friend Chuck (Ed Westwick). These four are from the New York City's Upper East Side, they own “sprawling apartments, endless designer wardrobes, and enough wealth and privilege to last them several lifetimes over”. In contrast, Dan Humphrey, the lonely boy and poor little Jenny, two outsiders, have to work hard to get what they want. And they are talented and did work very hard. But Dan works hard on his study and Jenny works hard on her stepping into that upper world. These six kids are in the same private school, that’s how and where the story started.

So, who is gossip girl? An omniscient blogger. It’s a blog, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan’s elite. What does gossip girl want? They want everything and they are everywhere. Spotted, the bad girl Serena comes back from the broading school from last year’s mysterious shipping off. We all know why, she “kissed” with Nate and “killed” someone. She is guilty and trying to change. However, so many people dragged her into her old memories.

With the so called aspirational plot, latest clothes, handbags and shoes, our characters hook up, party, and play out adult-sized dramas. They play social-climbing, back-stabbing, boyfriend-stealing, pot-smoking, rumor-spreading, suicide-attempting and even murdering. We will soon find out what it’s trying to tell us—their lives are complicated because their parents’ lives are more complicated. It turned out to be a theme of reality, we can touch the real world and think through all these fairy tales’ scenes. What’s gossip? What’s gossip for? As Oscar Wilde said “Scandal is gossip made tedious by morality.”

Glossary

sprawling (adj.) – covering a large area of land

wardrobes (n.) – all of the clothes that a person owns

omniscient (adj.) – having unlimited knowledge

scandalous (adj.) – causing shock and disapproval

elite (n.) – the riches, most powerful, best educated group in a society

aspirational (adj.) – ambitious

pot (n.) – a slang for marijuana

tedious (adj.) - boring

Discuss

Have you watched Gossip Girl? What do you think of this drama series?

Do you think that blogging has become part of people’s lives? Do you think blogging can be as powerful as it is portrayed in Gossip Girl, where people gossip and spread rumours through it?

Read

Even though Reggae music is the sound of the summer, I can’t help but switching on some Bob Marley and the Wailers and listening to some of their feel-good songs. If you have never heard of Bob Marley, he was considered as one of the most influential artists of the 21st Century.

Reggae has roots in Jamaica which in turn means it has strong ties with the UK. In the summer there is a huge carnival called the ‘Notting Hill Carnival’ which is a celebration of the Caribbean and the West Indian Community in the UK. Most of the streets around Notting Hill are closed off to allow steel reggae bands as well as costumed dancers parade down the streets with a number of sound systems booming out basslines in the side alleys.

Reggaes distinctive sound comes from piano chords, booming basslines and of course colourful lyrics. There are so many different styles of Reggae – dancehall, lovers, ragga, bogle just to name a few.

Internet Radio is a good place to hear reggae, and you can type in Reggae on Last.fm and a number of artists will appear. Britiains most well known contemporary Reggae artist is Finlay Quaye.

As usual I like to recommend a track from the Selector which is this week from the Midfield General – 137Piano. My main question to you is on listening to it – what would you classify it as. Is it pop? or funk or something completely different? Can you spot the reggae style in it?

Glossary

feel-good (adj.) – causing a sense of well-being or satisfaction

influential (adj.) – powerful

steel bands (n.) – a group of people who play steel drums

Discuss

Have you listened to Andy’s recommendation? What would you classify the music style as? Can you spot the reggae style in it?

Read

As it is the time of the credit crunch, shops have started their Christmas sales early, the difference is there aren’t so many people getting into the shops to get themselves an early Christmas bargain.

You might think it is crazy to talk about Christmas at this stage, but it was the first frost of the season in the UK, and slowly the lights are starting to come out in people’s windows. Next to come will be the Christmas carols and music along with all other winter warmth that Christmas is supposed to bring.

I’d like to think that this year will be the time when we don’t all go for the latest gadget, the most popular toy (did you ever get a cabbage patch kid?) or a new TV, and that instead of diving into the shops or our Amazon account, we spend some time actually making something to give to someone. I appreciate we aren’t all creatives, but I am curious, what gift would you make for a loved one?

Glossary

credit crunch (n.) – a period of economic recession in which investment capital is difficult to obtain

bargain (n.) – something on sale at a lower price

cabbage patch kid (n.) – a kind of doll

gadget (n.) – a small device

Discuss

Are you going to make something for your loved one as a Christmas present? If so, what gift would you make?

Does the financial turmoil affect you in anyway? Will you cut back on spending on gifts?

Read

This reading test contains 10 questions. You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
To make it more authentic, download the test and do it with pen and paper.

Read the passage below and answer questions 1-10.

Language Conservation and Revitalisation

It is estimated that around of the approximately six thousand languages that are spoken today, over three thousand of them are likely to have disappeared by the year 2100. Many of these are now classified as endangered languages and are classified as such by factors such as the number of speakers a language has, the age of the speakers, and the percentage of the youngest generation acquiring fluency in the language. For example, a language with many tens of thousands of speakers may be considered endangered if the children in the community are no longer learning the language. This scenario may happen in a place like Indonesia which as many different languages in use, but is trying to make communication easier by teaching a national language nation-wide. In another scenario, a language may only have a few hundred speakers but may not be considered endangered because all of the children in the community are learning the language.

Once a language is classified as endangered, conservation efforts may be made in an attempt to save or revive the language. Whether or not to make such efforts is a decision which is ultimately made by the speakers of the language themselves, but success often requires a great deal of help and approval from the government or other authorities.

One of the most famous language conservation success stories is that of the Welsh language. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh, but eventually English became the main language of Wales and fewer and fewer people learned Welsh. Conservation efforts began to be made in the mid-20th century with the establishment of such organisations as the Welsh Language Association in 1962. The Welsh Language Act and the Government of Wales Act, but passed in the 1990s, protected the Welsh language and made sure that English and Welsh would have equal status in Wales. Since 2000, the study of the Welsh language has been a compulsory subject in school. Today, over 22% of the population of Wales are Welsh speakers, up from 18% in 1991.

Another famous example, Hebrew, is not so much a story of language conservation as much as language revitalisation. Hebrew was once a spoken language but by the 4th century BCE it had been replaced by Aramaic. Hebrew continued to be used for religious purposes and in literature but the language was no longer used for everyday purposes. In the 19th century, there was a movement to revive Hebrew as a spoken language, and when the State of Israel was founded in 1948, Hebrew was adopted as the official language. There was some resistance to this idea, as Hebrew was considered a religious language, not a language to be used for common communication. In addition, because Hebrew was an ancient language, it lacked many of the words that are used in modern times and many new words had to be coined. However, because there was a need for a common language in Israel, the language was accepted and now thrives.

The successes of language conservation are many, but many more attempts at language preservation do not succeed and there are many languages that have not survived except for a few recordings made by the last native speakers before their deaths. In some cases, the number of remaining speakers at the start of conservation efforts was not enough to sustain revitalisation, and in others, efforts may fail because there is often no economic benefit to learning an endangered language at the expense of a more commonly spoken national or international language.

Questions

Do the following statements agree with the information given in the article?

In boxes 1-10 on your answer sheet write

TRUE             if the statement agrees with the information

FALSE            if the statement contradicts the information

NOT GIVEN     if there is no information on this

1) Half of the languages spoken today will be gone by 2100.

2) A language may be considered endangered if children of the speakers are no longer learning the language.

3) Indonesian an endangered language.

4) Most endangered languages today are saved and revived.

5) Welsh was revived mainly due to government legislature.

6) The number of Welsh speakers is expected to rise rapidly in the future.

7) All school lessons in Wales are taught in Welsh.

8) Hebrew died out completely in the 4th century BCE.

9) Hebrew and Aramaic are similar languages.

10) Many new terms had to be added to Hebrew to make it functional for today’s world.

Answers

1) T

2) T

3) F

4) NG

5) T

6) NG

7) F

8) F

9) NG

10) T

Advice / Hints

Scan the qustions first to have an idea of what you need to pay attention in the passage.

It is important to read the article with care and understand what it is really about when doing true-false type of questions.

Downloads

To save these files to your computer simply right click on the title and select 'Save Target As...' from the menu.

Language Conservation And Revitalisation Test

Answer sheet

Read

This reading test contains 10 questions. You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
To make it more authentic, download the test and do it with pen and paper.

Read the passage below and answer questions 1-10.

Four Early Important Films

The Birth of a Nation (America) 1915

The Birth of a Nation tells a story about two families who are friends but hold different beliefs and are torn apart during the American Civil War. This film was the most expensive ever made, costing one hundred thousand US dollars – a paltry sum in today’s film industry but at the time an absolute fortune. Tickets were also incredibly expensive at two dollars, but audiences thought it was more than worth it, and the film more than made up the money spent on its production. This film included things never before seen in cinema – a coherent plot, excellent acting, and inventive camerawork. This was the first film to be seen as a feature film, and from this point on, movies, no longer an arcade novelty, became respectable. It also set a precedent for future blockbusters, films in which huge amounts of money are invested in the hopes of even larger returns at the box office.

Potemkin (Russia) 1925

Potemkin was directed by Sergei Eisenstein, who followed Lenin’s belief that art could influence politics and that the cinema was their country’s most important art form. The film, set in 1905, follows the story of sailors on the battleship Potemkin as they grow tired of conditions on the ship and start a rebellion which spreads from the ship to the town where the ship is anchored. Potemkin was unusual at the time in that it didn’t look like a staged film. Eisenstein chose to use people who had never acted before to achieve a sense of reality in the film. In addition, he chose to shoot the film on location rather than on a created set in a studio.

The Passion of Joan of Arc (France) 1928

The film follows the trial and execution of Joan of Arc as based on historical records that had recently come to light. The aspect of this film that makes it different from those that came before was the camerawork - this is the first film that makes good use of close-ups. The audience, by looking closely at the faces of the characters, felt the emotions of the characters through their facial expressions and the film itself moved forward through the faces and emotions of the characters / actors rather than actions or events. The film is considered the last great silent film. In fact, the technology required to make films with sound had just recently arrived at the time of filming, but the director failed to get the funding needed to film with sound.

Citizen Kane (America) 1940

One of the most famous films of all time, Citizen Kane follows the life story of rich and enigmatic Charles Foster Kane, based largely on William Randolph Hearst, as a reported tries to discover the meaning behind Kane’s dying word, ‘rosebud’. Citizen Kane was directed by Orson Welles, who also played Kane. Hearst, knowing of the film and the fact that it was based on his life, tried by various means to suppress it. He mostly succeeded, and the film was largely unseen until it was revived in the late 1950s, and while the film was nominated for nine Academy Awards that year, the audience at the award ceremony refused to applaud when the film was announced. Because of all of this, Citizen Kane is considered by some to be the most controversial movies in the history of film. On the technical side, Citizen Kane makes full use of the sound and camerawork technology available at the time and employed both in new and creative ways.

Questions

Answer the questions below with A-D.

A – The Birth of a Nation

B – Potemkin

C – The Passion of Joan of Arc

D – Citizen Kane E – Doesn’t say

Which film(s):

1) Is/Are based on real people?

2) Is/Are silent films?

3) Changed film from being a curiosity to an art form?

4) Was/Were not praised at the time of release?

5) Was/Were designed and crafted to look like a film record of real events?

6) Was/Were the most expensive of all four?

7) Was/Were commercially successful?

8) Was meant to influence the audiences’ political views

9) Focuses on thought and feelings rather than action

10) Stars the director in the main role?

Answers

1) C, D

2) A, B, C

3) A

4) D

5) B

6) E

7) A

8) B

9) C

10) D

Advice / Hints

Read the qustions first to have an idea of what you need to pay attention in the passage.

It is important to read each paragraph with care at first. Then scan the passage for your answers.

Downloads

To save these files to your computer simply right click on the title and select 'Save Target As...' from the menu.

Four Early Important Films Test

Answer sheet

Read

This reading test contains 10 questions. You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
To make it more authentic, download the test and do it with pen and paper.

Read the passage below and answer 10 questions.

Many people are affected by discomfort or injury resulting from the use of equipment which is not suited or not adjusted for our bodies. If you have ever experienced pain in your hands after a lengthy session of typing, or have had back pain after sitting at a desk for a long time, you will be able to imagine how much a person’s productivity would be affected if these minor pains became persistent injury. Discomfort in the hands, back, shoulders, elbows, and neck can be caused by overuse or misuse of the machines and equipment we use everyday, and it is because of this that students and office workers alike are now learning about and applying the principles of ergonomics, the practice of arranging an environment to suit the person using it.

While based in science and engineering, ergonomics has practical applications that anyone can use on their working or studying environment. How you position and use your computer, for example, can make all the difference. Pay attention first of all to the height of the monitor. Too low and you are constantly looking down; too high and you are constantly straining your neck to look up. Try to adjust the height of your monitor so that the first line of text is at eye-level. You can also reduce the risk of discomfort in your wrists and the tendons of your hands by making sure you type so that your wrists are suspended in the air, not resting against the desk top. By making sure the mouse is right next to the keyboard, you can avoid having to stretch to reach it, and therefore avoid unnecessary stress on your shoulder, elbow and wrist.

How you sit is also of vital importance in avoiding injury and discomfort, a fact which has directed chair design in recent year. Today, it is easy to find ergonomically designed chairs which promise to reduce stress on your back and legs when sitting for long periods, but it is not always easy to decide which one is best for you. You’ll want to make sure the chair is adjustable in height and has a back which is at a 90 to 110 degree angle to the chair seat. Whether or not the chair has a reclining back or armrests is more a matter of personal preference than ergonomics, and as with using a computer, the best way to avoid discomfort is to adjust the equipment to suit your body; the chair should be not so high as to cause strain on your legs, but not so low as to make typing uncomfortable.

The principles of ergonomics make good sense, but the suggestions made above will reduce but not eliminate discomfort associated with long periods at a desk. The best advice for avoiding repetitive stress injury at work or home is tried and true – take breaks. Make sure you rest periodically during your work period. Five or ten minutes every hour should do it. Take a short walk, make a cup of tea, anything which interrupts the repetitive motions required when working or studying at a desk. The human body is designed for action, not long periods of inaction, so regardless of how comfortable your surrounding environment is, you will feel some discomfort if you stay in one position too long.

Questions

Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

Write your answer in box 1-4 on your answer sheet.

1) Ergonomic chairs

A. Make sitting for long periods comfortable.

B. Should always have armrests.

C. Should accommodate both short and tall people.

D. Should allow the sitter to recline.

2) The best way to avoid discomfort while doing office work is

A. To make sure to keep yourself hydrated by drinking liquids.

B. To make sure your chair suits your body.

C. To adjust your computer according to the principles of ergonomics.

D. To make sure you don’t stay in the same position for too long.

3) If your computer’s monitor is not at an appropriate height,

A. You will increase stress on your eyes.

B. You will increase stress on your neck.

C. You will reduce your efficiency at work.

D. You should adjust your seat height.

4) Ergonomics

A. Is something which comes into play mostly in the design phase of equipment.

B. Depends on both the designer and the user to be effectively employed.

C. Is based on traditional ideas.

D. Is most useful to students.

Complete the summary with words (A-L) from the box below.

Write the correct letter A-L in boxes 5-10 on your answer sheet.

People who ____(5)____ for long periods of time are at risk of ____(6)____ resulting from prolonged ____(7)____ on the muscles of the body. To combat this risk, you should ensure your environment is ____(8)____ to your body. You must also make sure that you change ____(9)____ often, as the human body is not suited to stay still for too long. Taking breaks is also highly recommended, especially if these breaks involve ___(10)___ around.

A breaks           B adjusted           C positions

D rest               E sit                    F injury

G stress            H painful             I suits

J moving           K motion             L chairs

Answers

1) C

2) D

3) B

4) B

5) E

6) F

7) G

8) B

9) C

10) J

Advice / Hints

Read the qustions first to have an idea of what you need to pay attention in the passage.

It is important to read each paragraph with care at first. Then scan the passage for your answers.

Downloads

To save these files to your computer simply right click on the title and select 'Save Target As...' from the menu.

Ergonomics Test

Answer sheet