MINI READING TEST(30 mins)

Name: …………………....Class: ……….. Date of test : April, 26th, 2023

A. Read the following passage and choose the best answer for each question.

In 776 B.C, the first Olympic Games were held at the foot of Mount Olympus to honour
the Greek’s chief god, Zeus. The warm climate for outdoor activities, the need for
preparedness in war, and their lifestyle caused the Greeks to create competitive
sports. Only the elite and military could participate at first, but later the Games were
open to all free Greek males who had no criminal record. The Greeks emphasized
physical fitness and strength in their education of youth. Therefore, contests in
running, jumping, discus and javelin throwing, boxing, and horse and chariot racing
were held in individual cities, and the winners competed every four years at Mount
Olympus. Winners were greatly honoured by having olive wreaths placed on their
heads and having poems sung about their deeds. Originally these contests were held
as games of friendship, and any wars in progress were halted to allow the game to
take place. They also helped to strengthen bonds among competitors and the different
cities represented. The Greeks attached so much importance to the Games that they
calculated time in four-year cycles called “Olympiads” dating from 776 B.C. The
contests coincided with religious festivities and constituted an all-out effort on the part
of the participants to please the gods. Anyone who disobeyed the rules were
dismissed and seriously punished. These athletes brought shame not only to
themselves, but also t the cities they represented.
1. Which of the following is not true?
A. Winners placed olive wreaths on their own heads. Battles were
interrupted to participate in the games.
B. The games were held in Greece every four years. Poems glorified the winners
in songs.
2. The word “elite” is closest in the meaning to
A. aristocracy B. brave C. intellectuals D.
muscular
3. Why were the Olympics held?
A. to stop war B. to crown the best athletes C. to honour Zeus D. to
sing songs about athletes
4. Approximately how many years ago did these games originate?
A. 800 years B. 1,200 years C. 2,300 years D.
2,800 years
5. What conclusion can we draw about the ancient Greek?
A. They are pacifists. C. They were very simple.
 B. They believed athletic events were important. D. They couldn’t count, so
they use “Olympiads” for dates.
6. What is the main idea of this passage?
A. Physical fitness was an integral part of the lives of the ancient Greeks.S
B. The Greeks severely punished those who did not participate in physical fitness
programs.
C. The Greeks had always encouraged everyone to participate in the games.
D. The Greeks had the games coincide with religious festivities so they could go
back to war when the games were over.
7. The word “deeds” is closest in meaning to ______.
A. accomplishments B. ancestors C. documents
D. property
8. Which of the following was ultimately required of all athletes competing in the
Olympics?
A. They must have completed military service. C. They had to be the
Greek males with no criminal record.
B. They had to attend special training sessions. D. They had to be
religious.
9. The word “halted” means most nearly the same as ______.
A. encouraged B. started C. curtailed D.
fixed
10. What is an “Olympiad”?
A. the time it took to finish the games C. the time it took to finish a war
B. the time between games D. the time it took the athletes to
train

Read the following text and choose the best answer to each question.
Since the 20th century, magazines have been a major growth area of popular
publishing. Specialist magazines cater to every imaginable field and activity. In the
United Kingdom, over 12,000 periodicals, magazines, bulletins, annuals, trade journals
and academic journals are published on a regular basis. There are some 40 women’s
magazines and over 60 dealing with particular sports, games, hobbies, and pastimes.
Although some U.S. magazines such as The Saturday Evening Post, has succumbed
to the competition of television, many continue to have enormous international
circulations, The Reader’s Digest over 16 million, The National Geographic over 10
million. For many people, magazines have been the most available and widely used
form of continuing education, providing information about history, geography,
literature, science, and the arts, as well as guidance on gardening, cooking, home
decorating, financial management, psychology, even marriage and family life.
Until the rise of television, magazines were the most available form of cheap,
convenient entertainment in the English-speaking world. Radio served a similar
function, but it was more limited in what it could do. Magazines and television,
however, both address the more powerful visual sense. During the third quarter of the
20th century, coincident with a dramatic rise in the popularity of television, many
general-interest, especially illustrated magazines went out of business. The shift in
attention of a mass audience from reading such magazines to watching television has
been a major factor in this decline, but it is an implicit tribute from television to the
older genre that its programs are generally organized in a single format and content.
11.The word “it” in bold refers to ______.
A. television B. publishing C. entertainment D.
radio
12.From the passage, it can be inferred that ______.
A. the movies have replaced magazines C. the author is fond of
magazines
B. almost all magazines are printed in English D. home decorating
magazines are dramatic
13.According to the passage, which of the following magazines is no longer
printed?
A. The Saturday Evening Post B. The Reader’s Digest C. The Nation
D. The National Geography
14.The word “circulation” in bold is closest in meaning to ______.
A. the number of blood banks selling magazines
C. the number of readers of a magazine
B. the number of international magazines
D. the number of sold copies of a magazine
15.The passage implies that magazines ______.
A. are less visual than radio C. put television out of business
B. influence television programs D. have a limited range of
subjects.
16.Which of the following does the author describe as limited in what it could do?
A. radio B. magazines C. movies D.
television
17.The word “succumbed” in bold means ______.
A. set up for B. brought up for D. taken up by D.
given in to
18.The passage mainly discusses ______.
A. the rise and fall of the radio business C. the growth and decline
th
of magazines in the 20 century
B. magazines and continuing education D. the decline of
international circulation
19.The phrase “every imaginable field” in bold is closest in meaning to ______.
A. all imaginary fields in stories and poems C. all images in a camera’s
field of vision
B. all professions that one can think of D. all trade journals about
farming and psychology
20.What does the author say about mass audiences?
A. They have little influence on communications in the 20th century.
B. They have gone out of business.
C. They get information about gardening and psychology from radio.
D. They have shifted their attention from magazines to television.