Bài Tập Rèn Luyện Reading B2

Bài 1: Read about the history of time, then answer the questions about the text,
choosing either A, B, C or D as the best answer:

If you can read a clock, you can know the time of day. But no one knows what
time itself is. We cannot see it. We cannot touch it. We cannot hear it. We know
it only by the way we mark its passing. For all our success in measuring the
smallest parts of time, time remains one of the great mysteries of the universe.
One way to think about time is to imagine a world without time. There could be
no movement, because time and movement cannot be separated. A world
without time could exist only as long as there were no changes. For time and
change are linked. We know that time has passed when something changes.

In the real world, the world with time, changes never stop. Some changes
happen only once in a while, like an eclipse of the moon. Others happen
repeatedly, like the rising and setting of the sun. Humans always have noted
natural events that repeat themselves. When people began to count such events,
they began to measure time. In early human history, the only changes that
seemed to repeat themselves evenly were the movements of objects in the sky.
The most easily seen result of these movements was the difference between
light and darkness.

The sun rises in the eastern sky, producing light. It moves across the sky and sinks
in the west, causing darkness. The appearance and disappearance of the sun was
even and unfailing. The periods of light and darkness it created were the first
accepted periods of time. We have named each period of light and darkness: one
day.

People saw the sun rise higher in the sky during the summer than in winter. They
counted the days that passed from the sun's highest position until it returned to
that position. They counted three hundred and sixty-five days. We now know
that is the time Earth takes to move once around the sun. We call this period of
time a year.
Early humans also noted changes in the moon. As it moved across the night sky,
they must have wondered: Why did it look different every night? Why did it
disappear? Where did it go? Even before they learned the answers to these
questions, they developed a way to use the changing faces of the moon to tell
time. The moon was "full" when its face was bright and round and "new" when it
was almost entirely dark. The early humans counted the number of times the sun
appeared between full moons. They learned that this number always remained
the same, about twenty-nine suns. Twenty-nine suns equalled one moon. We
now know this period of time as one month.

Early humans hunted animals and gathered wild plants. They moved in groups or
tribes from place to place in search of food. Then, people learned to plant seeds
and grow crops. They learned to use animals to help them work, and for food.
They found they no longer needed to move from one place to another to survive.
As hunters, people did not need a way to measure time. As farmers, however,
they had to plant crops in time to harvest them before winter. They had to know
when the seasons would change. So, they were forced to developed calendars.
No one knows when the first calendar was developed. But it seems possible that
it was based on moons, or lunar months.

When people started farming, the wise men of the tribes became very
important. They studied the sky. They gathered enough information so they
could know when the seasons would change. They announced when it was time
to plant crops.

source: voanews

1. Why is time such a difficult concept to understand?

A. it's always changing

B. it's always moving
C. it's been misunderstood since pre-history
D. it's not tangible
2. How were early humans able to begin measuring time?
A. by counting the objects in the sky
B. by working both at night and during the day
C. the movements of objects they saw every day
D. by following the sun to the west
3. How did the concept of seasons become understood?
A. by tracking the sun's movements through the months
B. by noting the differences in temperature
C. by measuring the length of the days
D. with the introduction of early calendars
4. How would an early human have defined a 'month'?
A. the number of days between a full moon and a new moon
B. the number of days from one phase of the moon's cycle and then back to the
same point again
C. the number of days for the sun and moon to be seen together
D. the number of days between eclipses of the moon
5. Why did the move towards farming require a better understanding of time?
A. so that crops were grown at the right time of the year
B. because looking after animals required it
C. because they needed to have traditional celebrations at the same time every
year
D. because they wanted to know when animals would give birth
6. What is the meaning of the word 'forced' in the penultimate paragraph?
A.the wise men were given no choice
B. the crops wouldn't grow without the calendars
C. time became a lot more important
D. it was critical for survival
Bài 2: Read about the constellations, then answer the questions about the text,
choosing either A, B, C or D as the best answer.

Constelltions are patterns of stars in the sky. Over many thousands of years,
human beings living on the Earth have looked up and seen the shapes of people,
animals and everyday objects - they 'joined the dots' of the stars to form patterns
in the sky. They gave these shapes names, some of which we still use today. But
why did they bother with constellations at all? One reason is that having
constellations makes it easier to find your way around the sky. This is useful for
finding north, or working out the date or the time. When there were no
compasses, clocks or watches, this was all very important.

There is another reason why constellations were so important. Imagine going

back to a time before paper and pencil had been invented. Life was sparse. If you
wanted to draw a picture, you had to scratch it out on a dark cave wall or write it
in sand that could blow away. But at night an amazing pattern of bright specks of
light would appear above your head. By joining the dots you could see almost
any picture you wanted. You could imagine seeing your favourite shapes in the
sky. You might tell others about the constellations you have made up. They might
tell others, and your constellation could be passed down from generation to
generation for hundreds or even thousands of years. This is how many of the
constellations got the names we use.

Seasons

You don't see exactly the same part of the sky every night, though between one
night and the next you won't see much of a difference. Over a few weeks you'll
definitely notice that you can see some constellations that you couldn't see
before and some constellations that you could see aren't there any more. This is
because the Earth is moving around the Sun. As the Earth moves round in its
orbit, the night side of the Earth (the side facing away from the Sun) faces out to
different parts of space, where there are different constellations.

This means that you see different constellations in different seasons. Orion and
Taurus are (Northern Hemisphere) winter constellations, because you can see
them on winter evenings. Cygnus and Scorpius are (Northern Hemisphere)
summer constellations, because you can see them on summer evenings.
Naming The Constellations

So who made up the constellations and their names? The earliest people on the
Earth were hunters and gatherers. They looked up into the sky and saw shapes
that were important to them - like Orion the Hunter. Much later in human
history, English farmers looked up into the sky and saw the shape of a Plough.
Russian peasants, looking at the same group of stars, called it Ursa Major or The
Great Bear. People in France called it Le Casserole meaning the Saucepan. People
in the USA called it The Big Dipper meaning a soup ladle. All of these different
names are used today. The only people who have decided on one set of names
for the constellations are the astronomers. For example, they always call the
Plough 'Ursa Major', and never any of the other names. They had to do this so
that they all knew what other astronomers across the world were talking about.

The stars in a constellation have nothing to do with each other; they can be very,
very far apart, even if they appear to be right next to each other in the sky.
Imagine looking up while standing in a street. You might see your hand next to a
street light, which is next to the Moon, which is next to a planet, which is next to
a star. All of these things are far away from each other, yet they can be next to
each other when you look at them.

If you like, you can look up into the sky, join the dots and make up your own
constellations. Tell other people about your constellations. Maybe one day
people all around the world will be using one of your constellation names!

1. What use for constellations is NOT mentioned in the opening paragraphs?

A. To help people find their way
B. To understand the origins of life in the universe
C. To provide entertainment
D. To allow people to orientate themselves
2. What is the best meaning of the word "sparse" in the second paragraph?
A. rare
B. boring
C. difficult
D. tough
3. Why do constellations change in the sky from month to month?
A. Because of passing fashions
B. Because of the weather
C. Because of the Earth's movements
D. Because stars are always moving
4. Why do astronomers call the constellation 'Ursa Major' by this name?
A. To ease international communication
B. Because the Russians insisted
C. Because Russia provides much of the finance for these organisations
D. They decided that's what it most looks like
5. What point is being made in the penultimate paragraph?
A. Stars used to be closer together
B. The stars look different depending on where you are standing
C. You won't see stars well under street lights
D. Perspective makes stars seem closer
6. Where would you most likely find this text?
A. A scholarly publication
B. A newspaper
C. A children's encyclopedia
D. A political leaflet
Bafi 3: Read about the domestication of cats, then answer the questions about
the text, choosing either A, B, C or D as the best answer.

For centuries, the common view of how domestication had occurred was that
prehistoric people, realizing how useful it would be to have captive herds of food
animals, began capturing wild animals and breeding them. Over time, by allowing
only animals with "tame" characteristics to mate and produce offspring, human
beings created animals that were less wild and more dependent upon people.
Eventually this process led to the domestic farm animals and pets that we know
today, many of which would fare quite badly in the wild, having lost their ancient
survival skills and instincts.

Recent research suggests that this view of domestication is incomplete.

Prehistoric human beings did capture and breed useful wild animals, and those
species became tamer over time (they generally changed physically, too,
developing larger bodies and smaller brains than their wild cousins). But
specialists in animal behavior now think that domestication was not simply
something people did to animals - the animals played an active part in the
process. Wolves and wild horses, for example, may have taken the first steps in
their own domestication by hanging around human settlements, feeding on
people's garbage and crops and getting used to human presence and activity.
Individual animals that were not too nervous or fearful to live near people
produced offspring that also tolerated humans, making it easier for people to
capture and tame them.

In this version, people succeeded in domesticating only animals that had already
adapted easily to life around humans. Domestication required an animal that was
willing to become domestic. The process was more like a dance with two
partners than a triumph of humans over animals.

At first glance, the taming of cats seems to fit nicely into this new story of
domestication. A traditional theory says that after prehistoric people in the Near
East and Egypt invented agriculture and started farming, rats and mice gathered
to feast on their stored grain. Wildcats, in turn, gathered at the same places to
prey on the rats and mice. Over time, cats got used to people and people got
used to cats, until at some point cats were tame. New studies of wildcats,
however, seem to call this theory into question. Wildcats don't share hunting and
feeding territories, and they don't live close to people or seek out human
settlements as food sources. Experts do not know whether wildcats were
partners in their own domestication. They do know that long after people had
acquired domestic dogs, sheep,

goats. cattle, and horses, they somehow acquired tame cats. By mating the least
aggressive cats with one another, they produced animals with increasingly tame
qualities.

1. According to traditional theories of domestication, how were wild animals

tamed?

A. selective breeding

B. capturing only smaller animals

C. aggression and control

2. What is suggested in the new theory?

A. that animals were less afraid than thought

B. that wolves and horses were the first to be domesticated

C. that animals had an active role in their domestication

3. Why is the word "dance" used in the 3rd paragraph?

A. that animals and humans were close

B. there were two active partners

C. that it was complex and not simple to understand

4. What probably attracted cats to human settlements?

A. warmth

B. other cats

C. food
5. What characteristic of the cat causes a problem for the theory that cats were
domesticated like wolves were?

A. independence

B. greed

C. friendliness

Bafi 4: Read about the Earth's tectonic plates, then answer the questions about
the text, choosing either A, B, or C as the best answer.

Most earthquakes are caused by large-scale movements of the Earth's

lithospheric plates. and occur at the boundaries between the plates. Experts
recognize seven to twelve major plates and a number of smaller ones. The plates
take their names from continents (the North American plate): from oceans (the
Pacific plate): and from geographic areas (the Arabian plate).

Slow and Steady Motion

The plates are in very slow but constant motion, so that seen from above, the
Earth's surface might look like a slowly moving spherical jigsaw puzzle. The plates
move at rates of 2 to 15 cm or several inches in a year, about as fast as our
fingernails grow. On a human scale, this is a rate of movement that only the most
sophisticated instruments can detect. But on the scale of geological time, it's a
dizzying speed. At this rate, those almost-four-billion-year old rocks could have
traveled all the way around the Earth eleven times.

The movement of the plates is generally one of three kinds: spreading, colliding
or sliding. When plates are spreading, or separating from each other, we call
their movement divergent. When they are colliding, or pushing each other, we
call the movement convergent. Movement in which plates slide past each other
is called lateral (or transform) plate movement. Earthquakes can accompany
each of the three types of movement.

Plate Tectonics

The revolutionary theory of plate tectonics originated early in the 20th century,
although it did not gain general acceptance until the late 1960s. The German
meteorologist, geophysicist, and explorer Alfred L Wegener is now given credit
for the first step in understanding the movement of the lithosphere. In the
period 1910-1912 he formulated the theory called continental drift and collected
evidence from the rocks, fossils, and climate of various continents to show that
they had once been joined together. Wegener had little data on the oceanic
crust, so he thought that the continents merely moved through that crust.

1. Earthquakes occur when what parts of the tectonic plates collide?

A. the edges

B. the centres

C. the peaks

2. Tectonic plates can get their names from what?

A. cities

B. rivers

C seas

3. Why is the phrase "jigsaw puzzle" used in the second paragraph?

A. to show how complex everything is

B. because of the way the plates fit together

C. because of the number of plates

4. Why have the plates travelled so far?

A. because they are moving quite fast

B. because Earth is not very big

C. because of the age of the Earth

5. Can earthquakes be caused when plates are moving away from each other?

A. yes.

B. No

C. Only if they are touching

6. Why did Wegener's theory take so long to be accepted?

A. he had no understanding of the ocean floor

B. it was very different from previous ideas in this area

C. he made several errors in his theory

7. What evidence did Wegener NOT use to support his theory of Continental
Drift when looking at two now-distant locations?

A. the existence of similar rocks

B. the existence of similar extinct animals

C. the existence of similar races of people