Improving reading skills

THEME : IMPROVING READING SKILLS
READING QUESTIONS IN THE FINAL TEST OF THE GCSE
EXTRACTED FROM THE SAMPLE TEST - 2018 ( MOET)
READING 1: ( 7 questions) 
Question 1. Main idea question 
Question 2. “Unstated’” question
Question 3. Vocabulary in context question
Question 4. Reference question 
Question 5. Vocabulary in context question
Question 6. (implied) detailed question
Question 7. (implied) detailed question
READING 2 (8 questions)
Question 1. Main idea question 
Question 2. Vocabulary in context question
Question 3. Reference question 
Question 4. “Unstated’ question
Question 5. Vocabulary in context question
Question 6. (implied) detailed question
Question 7. Vocabulary in context question
Question 8: Inferring question 
PART 1: IMPROVING SCANNING SKILL (READING FOR SPECIFIC INFORMATION)
TASK 1: Read the excerpts from sports articles and write the competitor’s name, sport and accomplishment.
Excerpt 1:
With only seconds left in the game, striker Rene Lucci came up from behind to score the winning goal. This will surely make him a name to watch in football
Competitor’s name:
Sport:
Achievement:
Excerpt 2:
The event, held this year in Sydney, Australia, includes participants from over twenty countries, including the US sailing team led by record holder Alan Lock.
Competitor’s name:
Sport:
Achievement:
Excerpt 3:
The first round for bowling tournament takes place this Saturday. Don Clark’s team, which he helped win last year’s top prize, will lead the round.
Competitor’s name:
Sport:
Achievement:
Excerpt 4:
Born in 1895, legendary athlete Babe Ruth is one of the most famous players in American baseball history. In the span of his career, he scored 714 home runs.
Competitor’s name:
Sport:
Achievement:
Excerpt 5:
Other breakthrough in women’s sport include Ann Meyers, who in 1974 became the first high school student to play for the US national team in baseball.
Competitor’s name:
Sport:
Achievement:
Excerpt 6:
We met with Antonio Diez, an Argentine water polo player, to discuss how his team won the gold medal at men’s Water Polo World Championship
Competitor’s name:
Sport:
Achievement
TASK 2: Write the numbers of sentences in exercise 1 that contain the following information. More than one answer may be possible.
Important year
Day of the week
Reference to a country/ nationality
Location
Name of a competition
Education level
TASK 3: Scan the blog posts quickly and complete the chart.
Andy, 21
Practice is going to be tough this year, but I know our team is going to do really well in the competition this spring. It’s difficult waking up at 6 a.m. every weekday to be at the court by 7a.m; especially for practice that lasts an hour and a half , but I really enjoy having a lot of energy throughout the day. My team are terrific as well, and we’ve become great friends. I’m sure we’re going to have the best basketball team in the area.
Beth,22
I meet my cycling team once a week, but we do our practicing on our own. It’s definitely a team sport with great emphasis on individual performance. That works really well for me, particularly because I can practice whenever I like. These days, I do it for a couple of hours on Monday and Wednesday after my class which ends at 4.p.m. It’s perfect because I can use the bike trails in the park between school and home. The only drawback is that some team-mates don’t meet every week. That’s not good for teamwork.
Paul,22
I’m really excited about his year’s polo competition. We’ve been working really hard every weekend to practice for it. I’d like to practice more often but, with everyone’s busy schedule, it’s difficult to meet during the week. But we spend about three hours every Saturday and Sunday on the polo field and that’s enough to get good at it. I have a great time with my horse, too. That’s the best thing about it. If only the field were maintained a little better, I’d have no complaints at all
PLAYER
ANDY
BETH
PAUL
Sport
Practice days
Practice length
Likes
dislikes
TASK 4: Match the phrases with the headlines.
1/ the beginning of a practice
a) Football fired over disappointed loss
2/ a professional gain
b) Draw forces hockey game into thrilling overtime
3/ location of a major event
c) Wembley Stadium to host national championship game
4/ a type of injury
d) Relay runner suffers broken ankle during race
5/ details of an exciting game
e) Lyle Taylor wins bib in move from Liverpool to Chelsea
6/ a below standard performance
f) Training for Olympic rowing team to start Saturday.
PART 2: DEALING WITH REFERENCE QUESTIONS
These questions ask you to identify referential relationships between the words in the passage.  Often, the relationship is between a pronoun and its antecedent (the word to which the pronoun refers). Sometimes other kinds of grammatical reference are tested (like which or this).
How to Recognize Reference Questions:
Reference questions look similar to vocabulary questions. In the passage, one word or phrase is highlighted.  Usually the word is a pronoun.  Then you are asked :
The word “x”in the passage refers to:
The four answer choices will be words or phrases from the passage. Only one choice is the word to which the highlighted word refers.
Tips for Reference Questions:
1. If the reference question is about a pronoun, make sure your answer is the same number (singular or plural) and case (first person, second person, third person) as the highlighted pronoun.
2. Substitute your choice for the highlighted word or words in the sentence. Does it violate any grammar rules? Does it make sense?
3.Reference questions ask about the meanings of pronouns and demonstratives such as 
-They/ them/ their / theirs
- It / its
- he, him /his
- she/ her/ hers
- which, who, that, and this.  
- Other / others .
4. Read the question(s) and the options
5. Find the reference word in the passage
6. Identify the reference word of the preceding sentence
7. Match the reference word with the correct answer
 The goal of these questions is simple: you need to decide what the pronoun or phrase refers to. You probably already do this automatically when you read; if you don’t, then you probably have trouble understanding the reading passages. Reference questions are one of relatively few question types that very basically test a skill that is necessary to read well.
Pre- reference
The options that stand after the reference items should be eliminated first
It is advisable that the item that is close to the reference item should be chosen.
Post -reference – choose the reference that is closest . 
EXAMPLES OF REFERENCE QUESTIONS
Example 1: 
People who want to become university teachers need master's degrees. Getting a master's   degree is a necessity, but if it is gained too early, there may be concerns that the candidate lacks the real-world experience to go with it. In fact, very few schools want to hire novices with little or no classroom experience and even if they are accepted, they are usually ill-paid. One wise solution to the issue is for future postgraduates to start working as teachers before going on to gain their master's degree.
(extracted from the first term exam 2016-2107)
Question 41.   The word “they” in paragraph 3 refers to ____________.
A. postgraduates                   B. novices         	C. schools     	   D. teachers
Example 2:
 You can usually tell when your friends are happy or angry by the looks on their faces or by their actions. This is useful because reading their emotional expressions helps you to know how to respond to them. Emotions have evolved to help us respond to important situations and to convey our intentions to others. But does raising the eyebrows and rounding the mouth say the same thing in Minneapolis as they does in Madagascar? Much research on emotional expressions has centered on such questions.
(extracted from the first term exam 2016-2017)
Question 40: The word “ they” in paragraph 1 refers to ______
A. appropriate responses in particular situations	B. raising eyebrows and rounding the mouth
C. our intentions to others	D. research on emotional expressions
Example 3: 
In many Asian cultures, for example, children are taught to control emotional responses - especially negative ones- while many American children are encouraged to express their feelings more openly. Another difference can be found when an American person understands a grin as a signal of joy while on a Japanese face, it may mean embarrassment.
(extracted from the first term exam 2016-2017)
Question 44: the word “it” in paragraph 2 refers to __________
	A. feeling	B. difference	C. a grin	D. face
Example 4: 
When they were asked what they thought was a fair division of labor, women with jobs felt that housework should be shared equally between male and female partners. Women who did not work outside the home were satisfied to perform 80% - the majority of the household work – if their husbands did remainder. Research has shown that, if levels increase beyond these percentages, women become unhappy and anxious, and feel they are unimportant.
 (extracted from the second term exam2016 -2017)
Question 2: The word “they” in paragraph 2 refers to__________
men	B. women	C. jobs	D. labour
Example 5: 
The civil war broke out 6 years later. Immediately, Barton started war service by helping the soldiers with their needs. At the battle of Bull run, Clara Barton received permission from the government to take care of the sick and hurt. Barton did this with great empathy and kindness. She acknowledged each soldier as a person . her endurance and courage on the battlefield were admired by many. When the war ended in 1865 , she used 4 years of her life to assist the government in searching for soldiers who were missing during the war.
 (extracted from the second term exam 2016-2017)
Question 33: The word ”this” in paragraph 2 refers to________
	A. cooking for soldiers	B. receiving permission
	C. acknowledging each soldier as a person	D. taking care of the sick and hurt
Example 6: 
Although speech is the most advanced form of communication, there are many ways of communicating without using speech. Signals, signs, symbols, and gestures may be found in every known culture. The basic function of signal is to impinge upon the environment in such a way that it attracts attention, as, for example, the dots and dashes of a telegraph circuit. Coded to refer to speech, the potential for communication is very great.
 (extracted from the first term exam 2017-2018)
Question 40. The word "it" in paragraph refers to ________.
A. way                           B. environment            C. function                 D. signal
Example 7: 
Schooling, on the other hand, is a specific, formalized process, whose general pattern varies little from one setting to the next. Throughout a country, children arrive at school at approximately the same time, take assigned seats, are taught by an adult, use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of reality that are to be learned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the workings of government, have usually been limited by the boundaries of the subject being taught. For example, high school students know that they are not likely to find out in their classes the truth about political problems in their communities or what the newest filmmakers are experimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the formalized process of schooling.
(extracted from the first term exam 2017-2018)
Question 46. The word “they” in line 16 refers to ____________.
 A. slices of reality 	B. similar textbooks 
 C. boundaries 	D. seats
Example 8: 
Parents may get another kind of help from the companies they work for. Many companies now let people with children work part-time. That way, parents can spend more time with their children. Some husbands may even stop working for a while to stay with the children. For these men there is a new word: They are called "househusband". In the United States more and more men are becoming househusband every year.
 (extracted from the second term exam 2017-2018)
Question 20: The word " they" in paragraph 5 refers to _______________
A. parents who work part-time	B. children who spend more time with fathers than mothers
C. fathers who spend more time with their children	D. husbands who stop working to stay with the children
Example 9:
 For animals other than mammals, then, feeding is not intrinsic to parental care. Animals add it to their reproductive strategies to give them an edge in their lifelong quest for descendants. The most vulnerable moment in any animal's life is when it first finds itself completely on its own, when it must forage and fend for itself. Feeding postpones that moment until a young animal has grown to such a size that it is better able to cope. 
(extracted from the second term exam 2017-2018)
Question 47: The word “it” in the last paragraph refers to ______
A. feeding	B. moment	C. young animal	D. size
Example 10 : 
Different cultures follow their own special customs when a child's baby teeth fall out. In Korea, for example, they have the custom of throwing lost teeth up on the roof of a house. According to tradition, a magpie will come and take the tooth. Later, the magpie will return with a new tooth for the child. In other Asian countries, such as Japan and Vietnam, children follow a similar tradition of throwing their lost teeth onto the roofs of houses. 
 ( extracted from the actual test 2017 -2018)
Question 29. The word "their" in paragraph 1 refers to ______.
A. houses' 
B. roofs' 
C. children's 
D. countries' 
Example 11:
The combination of these human-related effects and natural obstacles such as disease or low birthrates has proven to be too much for some species to overcome. They have no chance of survival without human help. 
 ( extracted from the actual test 2017-2018 )
natural obstacles	B. low birthrates
some species	D. human-related effects
Example 12 : 
The pleasure derived from this activity is common to all kinds of reading. But different types of books give us different types of pleasure. First in order of popularity is novel-reading. Novels contain pictures of imaginary people in imaginary situations, and give us an opportunity of escaping into a new world very much like our world and yet different from it. Here we seem to live a new life, and the experience of this new life gives us a thrill of pleasure.
 (extracted from the sample test 2018 )
Question 31. The word “it” in paragraph 2 refers to ______.
a new life 
B. our world 
C. an opportunity 
D. a thrill of pleasure 
Example 13:
 Another difference is the existence in France of prestigious higher educational institutions known as grandes écoles, which provide advanced professional and technical training. Most of these schools are not affiliated with the universities, although they too recruit their students by giving competitive examinations to candidates. The grandes écoles provide rigorous training in all branches of applied science and technology, and their diplomas have a somewhat higher standing than the ordinary licence. 
(extracted from the sample test 2018 )
Question 37: The word ”their” in paragraph 3 refers to _____________
schools	B. universities	C. examinations	D. branches
Example 14:
North Americans are familiar with the many "person on the street" interviews on local television news shows. While such interviews can be highly entertaining, they are not necessarily an accurate indication of public opinion. First, they reflect the opinions of only those people who appear at a certain location. Thus, such samples can be biased in favor of commuters, middle-class shoppers, or factory workers, depending on which area the new people select.
(extracted from the actual IELTS test )	
Question 6. The word "they" refers to ______.              
       A. interviews                      B. opinions                     C. news shows                D. North Americans
Example 15: 
Although people commonly associate the word clone with modern scientific advancements, its usage in botany (the study of plants) is far removed from those developments; a clone is, in the world of plants, a completely natural thing, even a common one. Generally speaking, a clone is an individual which is genetically identical to its progenitor, the parent from which the clone was produced. In this type of procreation, only one progenitor is necessary. There are, of course, relatively few animals which reproduce in this way. While certain types of fish, reptiles, and insects (among others) do reproduce asexually, most creatures from the animal kingdom are born from two parent individuals with two discrete sets of genes. In comparison, plants frequently reproduce asexually, creating genetically identical offspring, or clones. The term for this type of procreation is vegetative reproduction, which includes a number of different processes by which various plants multiply. 
(extracted from the actual TOEFL test)
Question 1: The phrase “this type of procreation” refers to
(A) becoming genetically identical	(B) reproduction by cloning
(C) birth to a pair of parents	(D) producing individual sets of genes
Example 16: 
All workers, like the queen, are female, but the workers are smaller than the queen. The male honeybees are called drones; they do no work and cannot sting. They are developed from unfertilized eggs, and their only job is to impregnate a queen. The queen must be fertilized in order to lay worker eggs. During the season, when less honey is available and the drones is of no further use, the workers block the drones from eating the honey so that they will starve to death.
Question : The word “They” in the last paragraph refers to_________.
A. queens	B. workers	C. honeybees	D. drones
Example 17: 
People used to know more or less how their children would live. Now things are changing so quickly that they don’t even know what their own lives will be like in a few years’ time. What follows is not science fiction. It is how experts see the future. You are daydreaming behind the steering wheel; is it too dangerous? No! That’s no problem because you have it on automatic pilot, and with its hi-tech computers and cameras, your car “knows” how to get home safe and sound.
Question : What does “its” in line 5 refer to?
A. Your car.	B. Your home.	C. The future.	D. The steering wheel.
PART 3: DEDUCING THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
TYPES OF QUESTIONS
The word “..” in line 19 is closest in meaning to 
The word “..” in line 20 could be best replaced by
In line, the phrase “ ...” could be best replaced by which of the following?
The phrase "the wee hours" in paragraph 3 probably refers to the period of time ______.
TIPS: Steps of guessing unknown vocabulary
- Step 1: Guessing meaning from word formation
- Step 2: Guessing meaning from context
Example 1: 
Bees live in a structured environment and social structure within a hive, which is a nest with storage space for the honey. The different types of bees each perform a unique function.
Question: It is stated in paragraph 2 that a hive is_________.
A. a storage space	B. a nest	C. a type of bee	D. a type of honey
Example 2: 
Bees, classified into over 10,000 species, are insects found in almost every part of the world except the northernmost and southernmost regions.
The word “species” in the first sentence probably means_________.
A. enemies	B. mates	C. killers	D. varieties
Example 3 
But that is not all. Almost every school in the USA understands that real classroom teaching  experience is a vital part of a teacher's training. Before taking over a class, a person typically needs to complete a training program, including working as a supervised student teacher.
(Extracted from the first term test 2016-2017)
The word “vital” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to______ .
A. very useless                      B. very easy                  C. very important        D. very interesting
Example 4: 
A recent study shows that an unequal share of household chores is still the norm in many households, despite the fact that many more women now have jobs. In a survey of 1,256 people ages between 18 and 65, men said they contributed an average of 37% of the total housework, while the women estimated their share to be nearly double that, at 70%. This ratio was not affected by whether the woman was working or not.
When they were asked what they thought was a fair division of labor, women with jobs felt that housework should be shared equally between male and female partners. Women who did not work outside the home were satisfied to perform 80% - the majority of the household work – if their husbands did remainder. Research has shown that, if levels increase beyond these percentages, women become unhappy and anxious, and feel they are unimportant.
(Extracted from the second term test 2016-2017)
Question 1:The word remainder in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to ______ .
A. what is done          B. what is fulfilled           C. what is left          D. what is share
Question 2: The word norm in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______ .
A. changing thing      B. strange thing              C. usual thing           D. unequal thing
Question 3: The word estimated in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to ______ .
A. wanted                  B. divided                       C. hoped                 D. guessed
Example 5:
The civil war broke out 6 years later. Immediately, Barton started was service by helping the soldiers with their needs. At the battle of Bull Run, Clara Barton received permission from the government to take care of the sick and hurt. Barton did this with great empathy and kindness. She acknowledged each soldier as a person. Her endurance and courage on the battlefield were admired by many. When the war ended in 1865, she used 4 years of her life to assist the government in searching for soldiers who were missing during the war.
(Extracted from the second term test 2016-2017)
Question 1: The phrase broke out in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
A. extended
B. broke down
C. closed
D. began
Question 2: The word acknowledged in paragraph 2 could best be replaced by
A. nursed
B. recognized
C. pleaded
D. believed
Example 6:
Although speech is the most advanced form of communication, there are many ways of communicating without using speech. Signals, signs, symbols, and gestures may be found in every known culture. The basic function of signal is to impinge upon the environment in such a way that it attracts attention, as, for example, the dots and dashes of a telegraph circuit. Coded to refer to speech, the potential for communication is very great. Less adaptable to the codification of words, signs also contain meaning in and of themselves. A stop sign or a barber pole conveys meaning quickly and conveniently.
Symbols are more difficult to describe than either signals or signs because of their intricate relationship with the receiver's cultural perceptions. In some cultures, applauding in a theater provides performers with an auditory symbol of approval. Gestures such as waving and handshaking also communicate certain cultural messages.
(Extracted from the first term test 2017-2018)
Question 1 :The phrase "impinge upon" in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to _______.
A. prohibit                      B. affect                     C. vary                      D. improve
Question 2: The word "potential" in paragraph 1 could be replaced by _______.
A. advantage                B. possibility                 C. organization          D. range
Question 3: The word "intricate" in paragraph 2 could best be replaced by _______.
A. inefficient                 B. complicated              C. historical               D. uncertain
Example 7:
It is commonly believed in the United States that school is where people go to get an education. Nevertheless, it has been said that today children interrupt their education to go to school. The distinction between schooling and education implied by this remark is important. 
Education is much more open-ended and all-inclusive than schooling. Education knows no bounds. It can take place anywhere, whether in the shower or on the job, whether in a kitchen or on a tractor. It includes both the formal learning that takes place in schools and the whole universe of informal learning. The agents of education can range from a revered grandparent to the people debating politics on the radio, from a child to a distinguished scientist. Whereas schooling has a certain predictability, education quite often produces surprises. A chance conversation with a stranger may lead a person to discover how little is known of other religions. People are engaged in education from infancy on. Education, then, is a very broad, inclusive term. It is a lifelong process, a process that starts long before the start of school, and one that should be an integral part of one's entire life.
(Extracted from the first term test 2017-2018)
Question 1: What does the author probably mean by using the expression “children interrupt their education to go to school” (lines 2) ?
A. Going to several different schools is educationally beneficial.
B. School vacations interrupt the continuity of the school year.
C. Summer school makes the school year too long.	
D. All of life is an education.
Question 2: The word “bounds “in line 4 is closest in meaning to ___________.
A. rules 	B. experience 	C. limits 	D. exceptions
Question 3: The word “chance” in line 9 is closest in meaning to_________________.
A. unexpected	B. unusual 	C. lengthy 	D. lively
Question 4: The word “an integral” in line 12 is closest in meaning to ____________.
A. an equitable 	B. a profitable 	C. a pleasant 	D. an essential
Example 8:
These days, however, more and more women work outside the home. They do not stay with the children all day. They, too, come home tired in the evening. They do not want to spend the evening cooking dinner and cleaning up. They do not have time to clean the house and do the laundry. So who is going to do the housework now? Who is going to take care of the children?
(Extracted from the second term test 2017-2018)
Question: The word "laundry" in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to _____________
A. place where clothes are washed 	B. washing and ironing
C. shopping 	D. cooking and washing up
Example 9:
But not all animal parents, even those that tend their offspring to the point of hatching or birth, feed their young. Most egg-guarding fish do not, for the simple reason that their young are so much smaller than the parents and eat food that is also much smaller than the food eaten by adults. In reptiles, the crocodile mother protects her young after they have hatched and takes them down to the water, where they will find food, but she does not actually feed them. Few insects feed their young after hatching, but some make other arrangement, provisioning their cells and nests with caterpillars and spiders that they have paralyzed with their venom and stored in a state of suspended animation so that their larvae might have a supply of fresh food when they hatch.
                 For animals other than mammals, then, feeding is not intrinsic to parental care. Animals add it to their reproductive strategies to give them an edge in their lifelong quest for descendants. The most vulnerable moment in any animal's life is when it first finds itself completely on its own, when it must forage and fend for itself. Feeding postpones that moment until a young animal has grown to such a size that it is better able to cope. Young that are fed by their parents become nutritionally independent at a much greater fraction of their full adult size. And in the meantime those young are shielded against the vagaries of fluctuating of difficult-to-find supplies. Once a species does take the step of feeding its young, the young become totally dependent on the extra effort. If both parents are removed, the young generally do not survive. 
(Extracted from the second term test 2017-2018)
Question 1: The word "tend" in line 7 is closest in meaning to
A. sit on                        B. move                        C. notice                       D. care for
Question 2: The word "provisioning" in line 13 is closest in meaning to
          A. supplying                  B. preparing                      C. building                        D. expanding
Question 3: The word "edge" in line 17 is closest in meaning to
A. opportunity              B. advantage                 C. purpose                     D. rest
Question 4: The word "shielded" in line 22 is closest in meaning to
A. raised                                  B. protected                      C. hatched                         D. valued
Example 10:
The idea of giving lost teeth to an angel or fairy is also a tradition in the West. Many children in Western countries count on the Tooth Fairy to leave money or presents in exchange for a tooth. The exact origins of the Tooth Fairy are a mystery, although the story probably began in England or Ireland centuries ago. According to tradition, a child puts a lost tooth under his or her pillow before going to bed. In the wee hours, while the child is sleeping, the Tooth Fairy takes the tooth and leaves something else under the pillow.
( extracted from the actual test 2017-2018 )
Question 1: The word "origins" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to ______.
A. countries 
B. families 
C. beginnings 
D. stories 
Question 2: The phrase "the wee hours" in paragraph 3 probably refers to the period of time ______.
A. early in the evening 
B. soon after midnight 
C. late in the morning 
D. long before bedtim