||READING EXERCISES||

Ex8 The Fishing Champion

In the following text, four paragraphs have been removed. Above the extract you will find the four removed
paragraphs PLUS one paragraph which doesn't fit. Choose from the paragraphs (A-E) the one which fits
each gap in the text (1-4). Remember, there is one extra paragraph you do not need to use. Write the
correct letter in the empty boxes in the text.

A. "I was at this tournament in Oregon last autumn and it had been left back in the motel by my father. I

tell you, not a single fish came near the hook that day. I wouldn't go anywhere without it now."

B. But it was mainly his mother who saw his potential and decided to buy Mattie his first rod for his ninth

birthday. The rest, as they say, is history.

C. Oh, and he's the Western USA Under-16 Freshwater Angling Champion. Which, considering he's up

against kids who have been fishing for some ten years while Mattie has had a rod in his hand for a mere

three, is pretty impressive.

D. "I went to Florida for the national Under-13's. I won that with a barracuda and it was caught in about 3

feet of water. Everyone else was casting out to 20 foot. I just seem to have a knack for finding fish."

E. This explains the wise head he seems to have on his shoulders. Fishing runs wide and deep in the

Jackson family, who live near the mountain resort of Mammoth in the north of the state of California. "So

much of what I know about fishing has been given to me by my father, my brothers, my uncles and aunts.

It's a team effort I like to say."

Mattie Jackson is 12 years old. He rides his bike around the neighborhood, plays soccer with his friends and

gets good grades from Fairmount Ridge Junior High School.

1.

When I first met Mattie, he was exchanging baseball cards with some of his pals. This is a quiet,

unassuming youngster and not at all what I expected from somebody who is said to have the fishing world

at his feet. He was called the "Tiger Woods of fishing" by the editor of California Fishing last month just

after he won the prestigious under-16 title.

numerous fishing trips so many successful tips and tricks had already been picked up by the time he tried it

himself. And it seemed to come oh-so-naturally to him.

"I caught my first fish after about four minutes. My father was furious," he laughs. His father says he has a

great technique, enormous patience and, most importantly, a willingness to listen and learn.

2.

His first angling trophy was won at the age of ten. He was Californian under-12 champion the following

year. He is also American under-13 champion but it is the under-16 tournament success, against much

older anglers, that gives him the most satisfaction.

3.

It's what his father calls 'Mattie's radar' and it is being used on a daily basis in rivers and lakes across the

USA as he travels from one tournament to the next with his father by his side. But he has other tools of the

trade and is, typically for a fisherman, pretty superstitious when it comes to his tackle.

"This lure was bought for me in England," he explains, handing me something that looks like a wasp on a

hook. "I've won three tournaments using that and if I lost it, snagged it or something, I would dive in after

it. And this hat." He is wearing a light blue cloth hat that he goes on to explain brings him luck.

4.

What does the future hold for Mattie? "I intend to finish school and I want to go to college. I know it's

important to get a good education. I'll always have fishing to go back to whenever I want."

And with that, we reach the lake shore and he settles down for what promises to be a fruitful evening.

Instinctively, his hand reaches up and pats his faithful blue hat before returning to his rod. Just checking.

Ex9 A Traditional Wedding.

Read about this traditional wedding, then answer the true/false questions.
Everybody loves a good wedding and I'm no exception. I've been to a load of them in my native Britain and

I must say that I usually have a great time. I've also been to a few abroad, including the Caribbean and

Spain, and most recently (last week in fact) to one in the mountains of Sardinia. No two weddings are ever

the same and I really enjoyed this one for one or two of the differences from those in the UK.

First, the two families spent at least three weeks before the big day preparing all the food, from wonderful

home-made delicacies to simple traditional breads and pastas. In my experience, in the UK that onerous

task is left to the caterers! In the week leading up to the wedding there is a dinner or some form of

celebration every day - training for the stomach I guess. I know that we have the traditional Bachelor party

and Bachelorette party, but this is more family orientated and certainly a little less rowdy. This particular

ceremony was in a beautiful country church and afterwards the couple was driven to the reception in a

wonderfully decorated classic Fiat 500, which was really similar to what happens in the UK, even down to

the string of tin cans trailing behind the car!

The reception itself was also very similar until I realized that the seven tables in the hall each sat sixty

guests (that's four hundred and twenty, for those of you who didn't study Math), an average number for

Sardinia but would be considered a very large wedding where I'm from.

The wine flowed, as did the chatter - the famous Italian exuberance showing itself to the full. There were

the five or six courses of wonderful food, screaming kids running wild, the ceremonial cutting of the cake by

the bride and groom - but no speeches! Not one. In the UK it's traditional for the father of the bride to

propose a toast, followed by the groom and finishing up with that of the best man. His is meant to be he

highlight of the lunch \ dinner, generally having a good laugh at the groom's expense, but here the groom

was spared that particular discomfort.

Instead there was a delightful custom which I'd never seen before, in which six or seven of the male guests

pass round the hall banging trays, drums, pots, pans or basically anything that makes a horrendous noise,

selling pieces of the groom's tie which has been cut into tiny bits. The money raised is then given to the

happy(!) couple to help them set up their new life together. Really nice. Finally the evening saw a lot of

traditional dancing, a little disco dancing and some karaoke. Pretty much the part I like best, and again I

wasn't disappointed. Can't wait for the next one.

1. The writer generally likes weddings.

3. The families helped the caterers to prepare the food.

4. There is usually a dinner the night before the wedding.

5. The groom meets the bride outside the church.

6. UK wedding receptions are often a lot smaller than Sardinian ones.

7. The writer found it hard to understand the speeches.

8. The staff of the reception hall cut the cake for the guests.

9. There is an auction to sell the groom's tie.

10. The money from this helps to pay for the reception.

Ex10 The Dangers of Radiation, Gapped Text.

Seven parts of sentences have been removed from this article about radiation. There are 7 questions. For

each question, write the number of the space. If you think the words for question 1 go into space 4,

write ONLY the number 4. For one question, the sentence does not belong in the text so just write "NO".

Most people hear terms like radiation and ______(1) as a bad or dangerous thing. It turns out that

_____(2) are ordinarily harmful to humans. For example, ultraviolet radiation can give people sunburns. X-

rays and gamma rays can _____(3), or even die if they are exposed to them for a very long time. Some

types of particle radiation can also make people sick and lead to burns. Any type of radiation that causes

changes in the world like these is referred to _____(4). If radiation does not carry high enough levels of

energy, though, then these changes _____(5) something is hit by the radiation. This is referred to as non-

ionizing radiation, which is not as dangerous.

One can distinguish between various types of radiation by _____(6) of the radiation, its wavelength (if the

radiation is electromagnetic), the amount of energy being carried, any particles involved, etc. Radioactive

material is a physical material that emits radiation. Uranium and _____(7) radioactive materials. The atoms
they are made of tend to fall apart and give off different kinds of radiation, like gamma rays and lots of

types of particle radiation.

Source: http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation

1. as ionizing radiation >> >> Space

2. only certain types of radiation >> >> Space

3. looking at the source >> >> Space

4. will not happen when >> >> Space

5. which most people >> >> Space

6. immediately think of it >> >> Space

7. plutonium are examples of >> >> Space

8. make a person sick >> >> Space

Ex11 Statue of Liberty Begins Her Rise, Gapped Text.

Seven parts of sentences have been removed from this article about radiation. There are 7 questions. For

each question, write the number of the space. If you think the words for question 1 go into space 4,

write ONLY the number 4. For one question, the sentence does not belong in the text so just write "NO".

Finally, on August 5th, 1884, workers began building the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal, or foundation, on a

small island in New York Harbor.

The statue is made of a covering of pure copper, put on a _____(1) (originally puddled iron) with the

exception of the flame of the torch, which is coated in gold leaf (originally made of copper and later altered

to hold glass panes). It _____(2) stonework pedestal with a foundation in the shape of an irregular eleven-

pointed star. The statue is 151 ft (46 m) tall, _____(3) and foundation, it is 305 ft (93 m) tall.

She was a gift from the people of France to the _____(4) 100th anniversary of America’s independence

from Great Britain. She was sculpted by Frederic Bartholdi. Barry Moreno wrote The Statue of Liberty

Encyclopedia. He says Frederic Bartholdi chose the place where the statue was placed. “And while entering
the harbor by ship he saw a small island called Bedloe’s Island. And he saw Manhattan, and he was

_____(5) vista, and he was aware that New York was the pre-eminent harbor. So he selected _____(6)

Statue of Liberty for that reason. He realized his statue would have a greater impact in the busiest harbor.”

It took more than two years to complete the pedestal and statue on the island. The Statue of Liberty was

dedicated by President Grover Cleveland on October 28th, 1886. Millions of _____(7) immigration station on

Ellis Island -- near Bedloe’s Island -- came to see the Statue of Liberty as a symbol of their new lives in

America.

Source: http://voanews.com

1. United States to mark the >> >> Space

2. is on a rectangular >> >> Space

3. passengers heading for the >> >> Space

4. New York as the site of the >> >> Space

5. framework of steel >> >> Space

6. the best location >> >> Space

7. but with the pedestal >> >> Space

8. struck by the magnificent >> >> Space

Ex12 The Hotel Of The Famous.

Read about this very strange hotel, then answer the True/False questions.

What would your life be like if you were Albert Einstein. What clothes would be in your wardrobe if you were

Marilyn Monroe? Or Madonna?

Well now you can discover the answer to all these questions and many more at the Fame Hotel in California.

Ten miles outside Los Angeles, the Fame Hotel promises to answer the question "What if?". When you check

into the hotel, you choose a room. Each room has a name. There's Clint Eastwood on the second floor and

Elvis Presley on the third floor. In total, the Fame Hotel has 32 rooms, most of which are named after stars
of Hollywood or music. But there are also famous writers (Mark Twain and Agatha Christie) and even some

scientists and sports stars, such as Mike Tyson.

When you enter the room, you enter the life of that person. There are pictures everywhere. The owner of

the hotel has tried to fill the room with objects, clothes, even food that he thinks the stars would have liked.

Marilyn Monroe's wardrobe is full of beautiful white dresses, Albert Einstein doesn't have any socks in his

wardrobe because the real Einstein never wore them! If you choose Mike Tyson's room, you'll be able to

practice boxing in one corner of the room. And there's even a skipping rope too!

I spoke to one guest staying in the Elvis Presley room. "I love this hotel," he said to me. "I wanted to know

'What would Elvis Presley eat for breakfast?' and now I know". That guest eats pancakes and strawberry ice

cream every morning, just as Elvis liked to do. On the next table, the Einstein room's guest is eating

cabbage soup!

The company plans to open another Fame Hotel in New York next year and there are plans to expand into

Europe too. I look forward to staying in the Winston Churchill suite in London!

1. You can meet famous people in the hotel.

2. Some famous people have stayed at the hotel.

3. The Fame Hotel is near Hollywood.

4. Guests are able to choose which room they stay in.

5. Each room has a celebrity's signature on the door.

6. The hotel's owner has tried to make the wardobe authentic.

7. Each guest eats something different in the hotel restaurant.

8. There is also a Fame Hotel in London.

Ex13 Abraham Lincoln.

Read about Abraham Lincoln, then answer the True/False questions.

Lincoln, a farmer, and Nancy Hanks. His family was very poor. Abraham had one brother and one sister. His

brother died in childhood. They grew up in a small log cabin house, with just one room inside.

Although slavery was legal in Kentucky at that time, Lincoln's father, who was a religious Baptist, refused to

own any slaves. When Lincoln was seven years old, his family moved to Indiana, and later to Illinois. In his

childhood he helped his father on the farm, but when he was 22 years old he left home and moved to New

Salem, Illinois, where he worked in a general store. Later, he said that he had gone to school for just one

year, but that was enough to learn how to read, write, and do simple math.

In 1842, he married Mary Todd Lincoln. They had four children, but three of them died when they were very

young. Abraham Lincoln was sometimes called Abe Lincoln or "Honest Abe" after he ran miles to give a

costumer the right amount of change. The nickname "Honest Abe" came from a time when he started a

business that failed. Instead of running away like many people would have, he stayed and worked to pay off

his debt.

He has also been called the "Great Emancipator" because of his work to end slavery in the United States. In

1863, he declared that all slaves held in the rebellious Confederate States were free. He also sponsored the

Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Ratified in 1865, nine months after his

assassination, that amendment completely outlawed slavery in the United States.

1. Lincoln was born in the south of the United States.

2. Lincoln's family were not rich but didn't have any financial problems.

3. Lincoln's father, like most people at the time, owned a few slaves.

4. When Lincoln grew up, he didn't work on the family farm anymore.

5. Lincoln didn't have a lot of success as a businessman.

6. Lincoln lived to see the constitutional amendment that outlawed slavery.