Ngân hàng câu hỏi thi công chức môn tiếng anh

A. READING COMPREHENSION:
No. 1
I was born in Newcastle, a city in the North East of England. Newcastle is on the bank of
the River Tyne. It is quite big, with a population of about 200,000 people. There is a
cathedral and a university. There are five bridges over the River Tyne, which link
Newcastle to the next town, Gateshead, where there is one of the biggest shopping centres
in the world. A few years ago, the main industries were shipbuilding and coal mining, but
now the chemical and soap industries are important.
I moved to London ten years ago but I often return to Newcastle. I miss the people, who
are very friendly, and I miss the beautiful countryside near the city, where there are so
many hills and streams.
1. Newcastle is ............................ .
A. a city near the North East of England
B. a small town in England
C. a city in the North East of England
2. The population of Newcastle is .................... .
A. about 200,000 people
B. much less than 200,000 people
C. much more than 200,000 people
3. Gateshead has one of ................................ in the world.
A. the biggest shopping centres
B. the most important shipbuilding industries
C. the most beautiful countrysides
4. According to the passage, the writer ...................... .
A. is still living in Newcastle
B. has never returned to Newcastle
C. doesn't live in Newcastle any more
5. Which of the following is NOT true about Newcastle?
A. Its people are friendly.
B. Its main industry now is shipbuilding.
C. It has a cathedral and a university.

David Hempleman Adams is an explorer and adventurer. In April 1984, he walked through
northern Canada to the North Pole. He walked 400 kilometres in 22 days. He was 27 years


No. 2
old when he did it. David was the first person to walk to the North Pole by himself. Other
people travelled to the North Pole before David but they had a sled and a dog team. David
didn't have a dog team. David was a brave man to go on this adventure on his own. He was
also a lucky man because the bear and the icy water didn't kill him.
1. Which of the following best expresses the main idea of the passage? A. David drove to
the North Pole.
B. No one travelled to the North Pole before David.
C. David was the first person to walk to the North Pole alone.
2. David travelled to the North Pole with..................... .
A. a dog team
B. another person
C. nobody
3. Which of the following is NOT true? A. He was killed by the bear.
B. He walked to the North Pole alone.
C. He walked 400 kilometres.
4. The phrase "by himself" can be replaced by .................. .
A. alone
B. successfully
C. with other people
5. Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A. A Lucky Man
B. A Walk to the North Pole
C. Without a Dog Team

For many people the language of the Internet is English. “World, Wide, Web: Three
English Words” was the name of an article by Michael Specter in the New York Times a
few years ago. The article went on to say: “If you want to take full advantage of the
Internet, there is only one real way to do it: learn English.”
In general, it is not difficult to learn to use Internet services. But although Internet services
are rather easy to use, you will have considerable difficulties if you are not familiar with
English. In fact, a good knowledge of English is one of the most important aspects that
help you use the Internet.
Learning to use a new Internet service may take a few hours, a few days or some weeks,
but it takes years to learn a language so that you can use it fluently and confidently. Of
course, when you know some English, you can learn more just by using it on the Internet.


But at least your English should be good enough to understand commonly used words and
to know what to do on the Internet.
1. It ______________ to learn to use Internet services.
A. is easy
B. is difficult
C. takes a few minutes
2. According to the article by Michael Specter, you should _________ to take full
advantage of the Internet.
A. learn to type fast
B. learn to use the Internet services
C. learn English
3. Learning to use a language fluently and confidently may take ________.
A. a few years
B. a few hours
C. a few weeks
4. If you do not know English very well, you will______ when using the Internet.
A. be laughed at

B. have many difficulties
C. feel more comfortable
5. Which of the following could be the best title for the passage?
A. “English and the Internet”
B. “Ways to take full advantage of the Internet”
C. “Practising your English on the Internet”

George Washington was born on February 22nd, 1732 in Virginia. His parents were
Augustine and Mary Washington. George grew up on a farm in Virginia. Little is known
of his early childhood. He attended school irregularly from his 7th to his 15th year. His
favourite subject was mathematics. He learned to be a surveyor of land when he grew up.
He joined the army and was a leader during the American Revolution. He later became the
first President of the United States. George Washington is called by his people the "Father
of our country". The Americans celebrate his birthday on Presidents' Day in February. His
picture is on the one-dollar bill.
1. When was George Washington born? A. In 1732.
B. In 1932.
C.
In 1772.


No. 4
2. Where did he grow up?
A. On a farm in Chicago.
B. On a farm in Virginia.
C. On the grassland in Virginia.
3. What subject did he like when he was a child?
A. Chemistry.
B. Mathematics.
C. Literature.

4. His people call him ______.
A. the "Leader of our country"
B. the "Hero of our country"
C. the "Father of our country"
5. The Americans celebrate his birthday on ______.
A. Presidents' Day
B. May Day
C. Labor Day

A combination of water, salt, air pollution, sun, sand, and wind is destroying the huge
statue just outside Cairo. This five-thousand-year-old statue, which has the body of a lion
and the face of a human being, is too badly damaged to be completely saved. First, there is
not a good drainage system around the statue and too much water has been running into
the stone statue for several years. As a result, tiny pieces of salt have been left on the stone
and have damaged it. Second, air pollution from the increasing amount of traffic in Cairo
is also destroying the ancient statue. The air is so full of poisonous gases that it is
damaging the statue even faster. Third, the statue is being destroyed by extremes of
temperature. The air is very cold at night, but during the day the stone of the statue
becomes very hot under the strong sunlight. Other natural forces such as severe
sandstorms attack the statue as well. Finally, the tourists who visit the statue every day
also cause a lot of damage to it.
1. Which of the following is NOT true about the statue? A. Part of it looks like a person.
B. It is in the centre of Cairo.
C. It is very big.
2. According to the passage, the statue was built ______.


A. 5,000 years ago
B. 500 years ago
C. in the 10th century

3. All of the following are mentioned as causes of damage to the statue EXCEPT ______.
A. temperature
B. fires
C. air pollution
4. The word “ancient” in the passage mostly means ______.
A. very old
B. very big
C. modern
5. It can be inferred from the text that ______.
A. human beings as well as nature cause much damage to the statue.
B. there is little damage to the statue
C. the statue was built for entertainment many years ago

People usually sing because they like music or because they feel happy. They express their
happiness by singing. When a bird sings, however, its song usually means much more than
that the bird is happy. Birds have many reasons for singing. They sing to give information.
Their songs are their language.
The most beautiful songs are sung by male birds. They sing when they want to attract a
female bird. It is their way of saying that they are looking for a wife. Birds also sing to tell
other birds to keep away. To a bird, his tree or even a branch of a tree is his home. He does
not want strangers to come near him, so he sings to warn them.
If a bird cannot sing well, he usually has some other means of giving important
information. Some birds dance, spread out their tails or make other signs.
1. People sing because ______.
A. they feel happy
B. they are good at singing
C. they want to tell a story
2. What is one of the main reasons why birds sing?
A. They are in a bad temper.
B. They want to give information.

C. They are sad.
3. Which birds sing the most beautiful songs?


No. 6
A. Male birds
B. Young birds which attract male birds
C. Female birds which attract male birds
4. According to the passage, a bird sings ______.
A. to stop sadness
B. to tell strangers to keep away
C. to warn about the approach of people
5. Most birds usually ______ if they cannot sing well.
A. give information in another way
B. warn other birds to go away
C. find a wife

Smoking causes lung cancer, which is the number one cancer among men. Ninety percent
of the people who get lung cancer die. Smoking is also the leading cause of mouth cancer,
tongue cancer, and throat cancer.
Many smokers have heart disease and pneumonia. Smoking causes about one million early
deaths in the world every year.
Smokers not only harm themselves but also harm others. Smokers breathe smoke out into
the air. They breathe it out on their children and on their wives or husbands. Children
whose parents smoke have more breathing and lung problems than other children. Women
who are married to smokers are more likely to have lung cancer than those married to
nonsmokers. We are all aware that smoking is bad. So why do people smoke?
1. The number one cancer among men is ______.
A. lung cancer
B. throat cancer

C. tongue cancer
2. The main cause of mouth cancer, tongue cancer and throat cancer is ______.
A. overeating
B. smoking
C. breathing
3. Every year, smoking causes about one million ______.
A. early deaths
B. injured men
C. cancer patients


4. The word “it” in the passage refers to ______.
A. air
B. cancer
C. smoke
5. Who are more likely to have lung cancer and lung problems? A. People who live in the
city.
B. People who live in the country.
C. People who live with smokers.

These days, power is a big concern for many countries. People are using more and more
electricity, but our traditional sources of electricity, coal and oil, are getting smaller and
smaller. In addition, both coal and oil power plants create a lot of pollution. How will we
get enough electricity in the future? Some scientists are looking to the sky for answers.
The sun is an almost endless source of energy. Every minute, the Earth gets enough energy
from the sun to provide the world with electricity for a year. The problem is that this
energy is in the form of heat and light. To use this energy, we need to change it into
electricity. Solar cells already do this for calculators and other electronics. Unfortunately,
solar cells only produce a small amount of electricity. We can make larger solar cells, but
it is very expensive.

Instead, scientists are now trying to build solar power plants. These power plants would
use thousands of huge mirrors to focus the light of the sun on a small place, where it
would create a lot of heat. The heat would then be used to create electricity. This creates
more electricity than solar cells, but not enough. The biggest solar power plant in the
world creates 15 mega watts of electricity. In contrast, most nuclear power plants create
about 1,000 mega watts of electricity.
1. According to the passage, which of the following is a traditional source of electricity?
A. oil
B. the nuclear power
C. water
2. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
A. Solar cells only produce a small amount of electricity.
B. The sun is a limited source of energy.
C. People are using more and more electricity.
3. As mentioned in the passage, making larger solar cells is ______.
A. quite cheap


No. 8
B. not expensive
C. very expensive
4. The underlined word “create” in the last paragraph is closest in meaning to ______.
A. work
B. protect
C. produce
5. The biggest solar power plant in the world creates ______ mega watts of electricity.
A. 150
B. 100
C. 15

No. 9
By adopting a few simple techniques, parents who read to their children can considerably
increase their children's language development. It is surprising, but true. How parents talk
to their children makes a big difference in the children's language development. If a parent
encourages the child to actively respond to what the parent is reading, the child's language
skills increase.
A study was done with two or three-year-old children and their parents. Half of the thirty
children participants were in the experimental study; the other half acted as the control
group. In the experimental group, the parents were given a two-hour training session in
which they were taught to ask open-ended questions rather than yes-no questions. For
example, the parent should ask, "What is the doggy doing?" rather than, "Is the doggy
running away?" Experimental parents were also instructed how to expand on their
children's answer, how to suggest alternative possibilities, and how to praise correct
answers.
At the beginning of the study, the children did not differ on levels of language
development, but at the end of one month, the children in the experimental group were 5.5
months ahead of the control group on a test of verbal expression and vocabulary. Nine
months later, the children in the experimental group still showed an advance of 6 months
over the children in the control group.
1. Parents can give great help to their children's language development by _____ them.
A. responding to
B. experimenting
C. reading to
2. What does the word "they" in the second paragraph refer to?
A. Questions.
B. Children.
C. Parents.
3. During the training session, experimental parents were taught to _____.
A. use yes-no questions

B. give correct answers
C. ask open-ended questions
4. What was the major difference between the control group and the experimental one in
the study?
A. The training that parents received.
B. The books that were read.
C. The age of the children.
5. What conclusion can be drawn from this passage?


A. Children who read actively always act six months earlier than those who don't.
B. Children's language skills increase when they are required to respond actively.
C. Two or three-year-old children can be taught to read actively.
No. 10 Valentine's Day
February 14 is a day for people who have fallen in love. On this day, these men and women
give gifts and cards to each other to celebrate Valentine's Day.
At first, February 14 was the old Roman festival, Lupercalia. Then, one story says, on
February 14, 270 A.D., a man named Valentine was killed by the Romans' because of his
beliefs. Before Valentine was killed, he fell in love with the daughter of his jailer' and
would pass notes to her. His final note read, "From your Valentine." Later, February 14
became known as Valentine's Day.
Since then, people in love around the world have given gifts and cards to each other on
Valentine's Day. Gloves, chocolates, and even underwear have all been popular as gifts.
Valentine cards did not become popular until the 1750s.The first Valentine cards were
made by hand. People wrote their own words on the cards, usually a kind or funny
message. By around 1850 there were lots of machines for making cards. All of a sudden,
sending Valentine cards became very popular.
Now, every year around February 14, cards and chocolates fill stores around the world, for
all the people who have fallen in love.
1. A good title for this Reading Passage is ... A. The History of Valentine's Day

B. Why People Fall in Love
C. The Most Romantic Valentine's Day Ever
2. What was Lupercalia?
A. a jail
B. a Roman festival
C. a type of card
3. Who was Valentine?
A. a man who killed someone
B. a Roman
C. a man who was in love
4. Why is Valentine thought to be romantic? A. He was killed by the Romans.
B. He fell in love with his jailer.
C. He passed love notes to the daughter of his jailer.
5. When did Valentine cards first become popular?
A. about 270


B. about 1750
C. about 1850

No. 11
A Computer problem
Computers make people's lives easier. People can use their computers for working,
shopping, or playing games. Laptop computers make people's lives even easier! Instead of
just using a computer at home, people can take laptops anywhere. They can work, shop, or
play games any place at any time. But there is a problem with laptops. People can be
burned by them!
People who sit with laptops on their legs for hours and hours have noticed they get dark
marks on their legs. The hot laptop is toasting the skin. Doctors have noticed more people
show up with "toasted skin syndrome. They use their laptops every day for hours and hours

for a month or more and this results in a burn. The marks are not dangerous, but they look
strange because they are just in one spot on people's legs.
Companies that make computers tell people not to let warm computers touch bare skin for
a long time. Wearing pants and putting a laptop's case under the laptop is usually enough to
protect one's skin from the computer's heat. But the best way to avoid toasted skin is not to
put a laptop on your lap when you use it for a long time.
1. This reading is about ...
A. a problem that laptops may have.
B. a problem that electronic devices may have.
C. a problem that people may have.
2. What does toasted skin syndrome result in?
A. a burn
B. a hot laptop
C. a dangerous problem
3. How long does a person need to sit with a laptop on his or her lap to experience this
problem?
A. a few hours
B. about one week
C. more than a month
4. Which of the following is NOT true about toasted skin syndrome? A. It covers a
person's whole leg.
B. It is not a dangerous problem.


C. It is a burn.
5. What can be guessed about the people who got toasted skin syndrome?
A. They did not protect their laps well while using their laptops.
B. They felt pain when their pants touched the burns on their legs.
C. They tried to make the laptop companies pay the doctors' bills.

No. 13
A Long Weekend
Many people have to work on the weekend. Some people do not Mind. Other people think
it is terrible. One man thinks that working on the weekend can be dangerous. He is
Graham Coates. Mr. Coates worked in an office in Brighton, England.
One Saturday, he went to the office to do some work. When he got in the elevator' to go
home, it stopped between floors. Mr. Coates could not get out of the elevator. He was
trapped! He did not have a cell phone, so he started to shout. However, no one heard him.
Then Mr. Coates remembered that Monday was a holiday. No one was going to come to
work until Tuesday!
There was nothing for Mr. Coates to do. He had to wait until one of his coworkers came to
work and found him. With nothing to eat or drink, Mr. Coates ended up sleeping for most
of the time.
Early on Tuesday morning, the vice president of the company came into work and found
the elevator was not working. When someone finally opened the elevator, Mr. Coates
came out cold, weak, and tired. He had been in the elevator for sixty-two hours!
1. What is the best title for this story?
A. Elevator Safety
B. A Busy Weekend
C. Trapped in an Elevator
2. Why could Mr. Coates not get out of the elevator? A. It was broken.
B. It was the weekend.
C. It was in an office.
3. What is NOT a reason why Mr. Coates spent so long in the elevator?
A. It was a three-day weekend.
B. He had no food or drink.
C. The elevator was stuck between two floors.
4. How long was he in the elevator?
A. twenty-four hours

B. more than sixty hours
C. from Saturday to Monday
5. How was Mr. Coates able to get out of the elevator? A. He telephoned
his coworkers.
B. The elevator started again.
C. The vice president discovered the elevator was not working.


No. 14

Lizards
Lizards are unusual, but they can make good pets because most of them are small and easy
to care for. They do not make loud noises, and they do not need to go for walks or take
baths.
Of course, some lizards make better pets than others. One of the most popular lizards in
pet stores is the bearded dragon.' Bearded dragons are active during the day and do not
mind people holding them. Geckos are another popular pet lizard. They are a little more
difficult to care for. Geckos are active at night and need a warm place to live. Like bearded
dragons, they can be held by their owners. Both of these lizards can live ten years or more
when they are well cared for.
Two lizards that are bad choices for pets are iguanas and chameleons. Iguanas can grow to
be almost two meters (nearly six feet), so they need a big space to live in. They can also
bite or scratch their owners. Chameleons do not hurt their owners, but they are quite
difficult to care for. While iguanas can live up to twenty years, chameleons do not live
very long. Most do not live more than five years.
1. This reading is about
A. good and bad pets.
B. how to tell male from female lizards.
C. why lizards are disappearing.
2. What is true according to the passage?

A. It is not hard to care for most lizards.
B. Lizards are better than dogs or cats.
C. Lizard bites can be dangerous.
3. Which lizard would be good for a child to watch and play with during the day?
A. a bearded dragon
B. a chameleon
C. a gecko
4. Which lizard lives the longest?
A. a chameleon
B. a gecko
C. an iguana


No. 15
5. What would the writer of the passage probably say is true? A. Iguanas are not good
pets for children.
B. It is more difficult to care for a gecko than for a chameleon.
C. Most lizards are dangerous, so do not keep them as pets.

Lions
Lions have been called the kings of the animal world. These animals can be found wild in
Africa and India. Lions in Africa can go without water for up to one month, so they have
no trouble during dry times.
Without question, lions are also one of the most popular animals to see in zoos. Almost
every zoo around the world has a few lions.
It is very easy for people to tell male and female lions apart. Lions are the only kind of cat
that shows this big difference between males and females. A male lion has a ‘mane,' a
large collar of hair around the lion's face. Females do not have manes.
Male lions are also larger than females. A male lion usually weighs about 200 kilograms.
Both male and female lions have very strong mouths. They can break the backs of other

animals with one bite. One lion will usually kill between ten and twenty large animals
each year for food.
It is unusual for lions to kill people. However, in 1898 two lions killed and ate over one
hundred people in Kenya before they were shot by a British colonel named P. J. Patterson.
This story became the subject of a Hollywood movie called The Ghost and the Darkness.
1. The passage is about ...
A. countries with lots of lions.
B. lions in books and movies. and cats.
C. male and female lions.
2. How are lions different from other cats? A. Lions are from Africa.
B. Many zoos keep them.
C. Males and females look very different.
3. Male lions
A. have manes.
B. weigh more than most people.
C. all of the above
4. Female lions
A. are larger than males.'


No. 16
B. have manes.
C. can break the back of an animal with one bite.
5. How many large animals does a lion usually kill for food in one year?
A. less than ten
B. between ten and twenty
C. over one hundred

No 1 .
A university professor in the Southwest tells of a student who went on a one-day trip to

the Grand Canyon. She didn’t return until a week later. When asked what had
happened, she answered that the Grand Canyon was so amazing that she had needed
three days just to get used to it.
The Grand Canyon was formed by the mighty Colorado River cutting into a plateau in
Arizona. The canyon is 277 miles long and about 1 mile deep. Because it is so deep,
the top and the bottom have very different weather and vegetation. Going from the top
to the bottom is somewhat like going from Canada to Mexico.
Known as one of the seven tourist travel wonders, which include the Great Wall of
China, the Taj Mahal, and Machu Picchu, it is visited by millions of people each year.
1. What does the word ‘it’ in line 3 refer to?
A. The university
B. The trip
C. The Grand Canyon
2. What is the depth of the Grand Canyon?
A. 277 miles
B. 278 miles
C. 1 mile
3. What does the word ‘wonder’ in line 8 mean? A. A feeling of surprise and
admiration.
B. Something that causes you to feel surprise or admiration.
C. A place in a desert that has trees and water.
4. Not only the Grand Canyon but also ______ is one of the seven tourist travel
wonders.
A. the Taj Mahal
B. Machu Picchu
C. all are correct


No. 17
5. Which of the following could be the best title of the passage?

A. The Seven Tourist Travel Wonders
B. The Grand Canyon
C. The Story of a Student

More than two hundred years ago, the term “environmental pollution” was quite
strange to people. They lived healthily, drank pure water, and breathed fresh air.
Nowadays, the situation is quite different. People all over the world are worried about
things that are happening to the environment. Actually it is man that is destroying the
surroundings with many kinds of wastes. Everybody knows that motorbikes and cars
emit dangerous gases that cause poisonous air and cancer, but no one wants to travel on
foot or by bicycle. Manufactures know that wastes from factories make water and soil
polluted, but they do not want to spend a lot of their money on treating the wastes
safely. Scattering rubbish is bad for our health, but no one wants to spend time burying
it. Is it worth talking a lot about pollution?
1. More than two hundred years ago _______.
A. the environment was polluted as much as it is today
B. people knew nothing about environmental pollution
C. air was polluted badly
2. In former days, people _______.
A. led a healthy life
B. lived in the polluted environment
C. were worried about pollution
3. Nowadays, many people are concerned about _______.
A. the polluted water
B. the wastes from the factories
C. the pollution of the environment
4. Everybody knows that cars emit dangerous gases _______.
A. so they do not travel by car
B. so they prefer travelling by bicycle
C. but they still prefer traveling by car

5. Factory owners _______.
A. have no awareness of pollution
B. treat wastes from their factories safely


No. 18
C. do not want to spend money on treating the wastes safely

Thomas Edison was born in Milan, Ohio, in 1847. His family moved to Port Huron,
Michigan, when he was seven years old. Surprisingly, he attended school for only two
months. His mother, a former teacher, taught him a few things, but Thomas was mostly
self-educated. His natural curiosity led him to start experimenting at a young age.
Thomas Edison lit up the world with his invention of the electric light. Although the
electric light was the most useful, it was not his only invention. He also invented the
record player, the motion picture camera, and over 1,200 other things. About every two
weeks he created something new. He worked 16 out of every 24 hours. Sometimes he
worked so intensely that his wife had to remind him to sleep and eat.
Thomas Edison died in 1931, in West Orange, New Jersey. He left numerous
inventions that improved the quality of life all over the world.
1. Thomas Edison was ______.
A. a teacher
B. an explorer
C. an inventor
2. In 1854 Edison’s family ______.
A. moved to Port Huron, Michigan
B. bought a new house in Milan, Ohio
C. decided to settle in Milan, Ohio
3. The word “self-educated” in the passage mostly means ______. A. “having been
well taught”
B. “having had good schooling”

C. “having taught himself”
4. Edison died at the age of ______.
A. 76
B. 84
C. 47
5. Which of following statements is NOT true about Edison? A. He invented the
motion picture camera.
B. He didn’t go to school at all.
C. He made numerous inventions.


No. 19
Britain is now a highly industrialized country and there are only 238,000 farms in the
UK. More and more farmers leave the land because they cannot earn enough money to
survive. Only large farms are economic and because of this, most British farms are big.
They usually grow cereals in the east of England and raise sheep and cows in the north
of England and Scotland. The small family farms often have to earn more money by
offering bed and breakfast accommodation to tourists.
Farming methods in Britain have also changed. Fields used to be quite small, divided
by hedges which were sometimes a thousand years old and full of wild flowers and
birds. Many hedges were pulled up to allow farmers to use modern machinery. Now
most fields in England are large by European standards.
1. British farmers give up working on their farms because______.
A. they are tired of the farm work
B. they can’t earn their own living by farming
C. they want to continue to live
2. Most British farms are big because______. A. there are plenty of abandoned land
B. farming is now industrialized
C. small farms are uneconomic
3. The small family farms often offer bed and breakfast accommodation to tourists

______.
A. to show their friendship
B. because they want to have more tourists to their farms
C. in order to improve their earnings
4. Fields on British farms were ______.
A. separated from each other by hedges
B. full of wild flowers and birds
C. all are correct
5. Which of the following sentences is not true?
A. Industries are developed in Britain
B. Breeding farms are usually in the north of England
C. Farming methods in Britain have remained unchanged up to now
No. 19


No. 20
Probably you have seen someone reading a book on an electronic reading device. Over the
past few years, these small computers have become more popular. For that reason, more
companies that make traditional paper books are now making electronic books (ebooks).
Most ebooks are the same as paper books, but people download a file into a reading device
rather than buying the paper book. This way they can carry many books.
Book companies are adding special features to some ebooks. These extra features might
include sound files, picture files, or video files. When the readers click on these files they
learn more about the book, the story or the writer.
The latest electronic readers are smaller and cheaper, but they are also much more
powerful. They can store much more information, so writers and book companies can do
more with their ebooks. They do not want to just add files to a completed book. They are
making the sound, picture, and video files part of the story. Readers need these files to
understand the whole story. Readers can even change the story. Readers already have a lot
of books to choose from. If they can change the way stories end, they will have even more

choice!
1. This reading is about ...
A. books about the future.
B. books about animals.
C. electronic books.
2. Which sentence is true about the devices described in the passage? A. You can use them
to read ebooks.
B. They change paper books into ebooks.
C. You can use them to make videos.
3. According to the passage, what special feature might some ebooks include?
A. copies of the paper book
B. extra files
C. devices for other ebooks
4. Which of the following ebooks is NOT mentioned in the passage?
A. an ebook that has sold over one million copies
B. an ebook that is only text
C. an ebook with a sound file that tells part of the story
5. How are some ebooks today different than older ebooks? A. Companies sell them in
many files.
B. Readers can change the stories.
C. Devices make them easier to read.


No. 21
The leaning tower
Why does the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Italy lean? It leans because of a mistake. It has
leaned almost since the day the tower was built.
In 1173, the people of Pisa, Italy, wanted to build a bell tower. They wanted the tower to
be the most beautiful bell tower in all of Italy. The city also needed a bell tower because
the church did not have one. However, there was a problem. As soon as the third floor of

the building was finished, the tower started to lean. Builders tried to make the building
straight again as they added more floors, but they could not figure out how to make it stop
leaning. When the building was finished in 1350, it had eight floors and was 54.5 meters
tall.
After it was built, the tower continued to lean by another millimeter every year. By 1990,
it was leaning by about four meters to one side. It was also slowly sinking into the ground.
Many people became worried that it would soon fall apart. In 1998, repair works began on
the tower. Workers took nearly three years to move it back by 45 centimeters. It is still
leaning, but it is safe now.
1. Why did the people of Pisa want to build the tower? A.
They needed a new church.
B. They needed a bell tower.
C. They wanted to build the tallest tower in Italy.
2. When did the tower begin to lean? A. from the first day
it was built
B. after the third floor was built
C. after the last floor was built
3. When was the tower finished?
A. in 1173
B. in 1180
C. in 1350
4. Before being repaired, the tower leaned every year by
another ... A. 1 millimeter.
B. 54.5 millimeters.
C. 45 centimeters.
5. Which of the following is NOT true about the tower?
A. It was sinking into the ground.
B. It was repaired between 1990 and 1998.
C. People were worried it might fall apart.

No. 22
A smart dog
Rico is a collie who lives in Germany. His owners trained him from a young age to find
his toys. When they say the name of a certain toy, Rico can find it. In fact, he seems to
know the names of 200 toys!
Some researchers in Germany wanted to test Rico. They put his toys in a room and then
told him to go in the room and find a certain toy. Since nobody was in the room with Rico,
he had no help from anyone finding the right toy. The researchers did this test forty times.
Rico found the right toy thirty-seven times!
Then the researchers tried something else. They put seven of Rico's toys in the room plus
one new toy that Rico had never seen before. Then they told Rico to go into the room and
get the new toy. This new toy had a name Rico had never heard before. Rico found the
right toy seven out of ten times!
Researchers cannot really say that Rico knows words or language. However, these tests
seem to show that Rico can think about what he hears and think about what he knows. In
fact, Rico seems to think and remember things as well as a three-year-old child. From
these tests, animal researchers know one thing for sure. Rico has given them a lot to think
about.
1. A good title for the passage is ...
A. German Collies Are the Smartest Dogs
B. Rico Surprises Researchers
C. How Dogs Use Language
2. What is Rico good at?
A. Catching things
B. Finding things
C. Counting things
3. What did researchers ask Rico to do at first?
A. Bring a certain toy out of a room B. Name toys plus put them away
C. Choose a toy that he liked playing with

4. How many times did Rico go into the room to find a new toy he did not know?
A. Seven
B. Ten
C. Thirty-seven
5. Why were researchers surprised by what they saw?
A. Rico always knew which toys were his and which were not. B. Rico seems to
remember things as well as a young child
C. Rico showed that he understands language.


No. 23
.
The Salt Palace Hotel
There are many unique hotels around the world. In Sweden, you can stay in a hotel made
out of ice, open between December and April every year. In Turkey, you can stay in a
cave hotel with a television, and a bathroom in each room. And in Bolivia, you can stay at
the Palacio de Sal (Palace of Salt).
Thousands of years ago, the area around the Palace of Salt was a large lake. But over time,
all the water disappeared. Today, the area has only two small lakes and two salt deserts.
The larger of the two deserts, the Uyuni salt desert, is 12,000 square kilometers. During
the day, the desert is bright white because of the salt. There are no roads across the Uyuni
desert, so local people must show guests the way to the hotel.
In the early 1990s, a man named Juan Quesada cut big blocks of salt from the desert. He
used the blocks to build the hotel. Everything in the hotel is made out of salt: the walls, the
roof, even the furniture, so the tables, the chairs, the beds, and the hotel's bar are all made
of salt. The sun heats the walls and roof during the day. At night the desert is very cold,
but the rooms stay warm. The hotel has sixteen rooms. A single room costs about $100 a
night, and a double room costs about $130. A sign on the hotel's wall tells guests, "Please,
do not lick the walls."
1. What is unique about Palacio de Sal?

A. its long history
B. what it is made of
C. the price of the rooms
2. Who is Juan Quesada? A. a hotel quest
B. a guide
C. the hotel's owner
3. Where did the salt used for the hotel come from?
A. a salt factory
B. the ground
C. Turkey
4. What keeps the rooms warm at night?
A. heat from the walls
B. the desert air
C. the sun
5. Which sentence about the area around Palacio de Sal is NOT true? A. It was a lake
many years ago.
B. It is white during the day.


No. 24
C. There are several roads to the hotel.
The Taj Mahal
Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in Agra, India, in the 1600s. He wanted to make a beautiful
place where he could bury his wife, Mumtaz Mahal. Mumtaz Mahal was only one of Shah
Jahan's wives, but he liked her the most. After Mumtaz died, the Shah built the Taj Mahal.
It took twenty-two years to complete all of the work. The main building is made of white
marble and the main roof is white and round. It is one of the most famous things to see in
India. The Taj Mahal is beautiful. The Jumna River flows beside the north wall, but inside
the walls, a smaller river runs through a pretty garden.
Some people who study history think that Shah Jahan was also a cruel man. They say that

after the Taj Mahal was completed, Shah Jahan killed the man who made it. He did this
because he did not want the man to build anything more beautiful than the Taj Mahal. That
was not all they found out. Stories also say the Shah cut off the hands of all of the artists
who took part in building the Taj Mahal.
As for Shah Jahan, when he died he was also buried in the Taj Mahal, next to his wife.
1. Why did Shah Jahan build the Taj Mahal? A. He needed a
new place to live.
B. He liked beautiful gardens.
C. He wanted to bury his wife there.
2. Who was Mumtaz Mahal? A. one of the Shah's wives
B. a person who studied history
C. the man who made the Taj Mahal
3. What can you NOT see when you visit the Taj Mahal?
A. the Jumna River
B. a round bell tower
C. a pretty garden
4. Why did Shah Jahan kill the man who made the Taj Mahal?
A. The Shah did not like the Taj Mahal.
B. The man made a mistake.
C. The Shah did not want him to make another building.
5. What did Shah Jahan do that makes people think he was a
cruel man? A. He buried his wife.
B. He built the Taj Mahal.
C. He cut off the hands of the artists.


No. 25
The Mona Lisa
Leonardo da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa, one of the most famous paintings of all
time, in 1503. He was working on a special painting for a church at the time, but it was not

going well. The woman who can be seen in the Mona Lisa is said to be Madonna Lisa del
Giocondo. She was the wife of an Italian businessman who asked da Vinci to paint a
portrait of her. After da Vinci finished the painting in 1506 he was invited by the French
King, Francois I, to visit France, and he took the painting with him. Today the Mona Lisa
is kept in the Louvre, an art museum in Paris, and it is seen by about six million visitors a
year.
The painting measures only 77 centimeters by 53 centimeters and is painted with oil on
wood. In 1911, Vincenzo Peruggia, a worker at the Louvre, stole the painting. He took it
out of the museum by hiding it under his coat. Two years later, police officers found the
painting under Mr. Peruggia's bed after he tried to sell it.
In 1962, the Mona Lisa was taken to Washington and New York for an exhibition. For the
journey, the museum wanted to insure the painting. The insurance company set the value
of it at 100 million dollars, making it the most valuable painting ever! Today, the value of
the painting would be over 700 million dollars.
1. What is the best title for the passage?
A. Leonardo da Vinci - an Interesting Painter
B. The Louvre - a Famous French Art Museum
C. The Mona Lisa - the Most Valuable Painting of All Time
2. Who is Madonna Lisa del Giocondo said to be?
A. the painter of the Mona Lisa
B. the woman in the painting
C. the wife of the French king
3. When did Leonardo da Vinci finish painting the Mona Lisa?
A. 1503
B.1506
C. 1911
4. Why did da Vinci go to France?
A. to visit the Louvre
B. to paint the Mona Lisa
C. He was invited by Francois 1.

5. What sentence about Vincenzo Peruggia is NOT true? A. He worked in an art museum.
B. He stole the Mona Lisa.
C. He sold the painting.