Read the following passage and choose the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

READING COMPREHENSION

Exercises

Read the following passage and choose the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Exercise 2

       Personal computers, or PCs, are an important part of our everyday lives. Many people cannot imagine life without them. One of the most important people in making these machines work is Bill Gates.

Bill Gates was born in 1955 in Washington State. He grew up in a rich family. His parents sent him to a private school. There he met his business partner, Paul Allen. When they were in eighth grade, they were writing programs for business computers and making money.

In 1973, Gates was accepted at Harvard University. His parents were happy. They thought he would get over his obsession with computers and become a lawyer like his father. Two years later, Gates dropped out of Harvard to work on a computer program with his friend Allen. They worked eighteen hours a day in a dormitory room at Harvard. They were writing the program that would run one of the first personal computers. In 1975, they created a company called Microsoft to sell their product.

Allen became ill with cancer and left Microsoft in 1983. He recovered a few years later and started his own company. Meanwhile, Microsoft became a giant company. By 1990, at the age of thirty-four, Gates was the youngest billionaire in the history of the United States. He was the "King of Software". He achieved his success with a lot of hard work. For more than ten years, he worked sixteen-hour days, seven days a week. He had a dream and the will to succeed. By 1997, he was the richest man in the United States.

1. According to the writer, _______________.

A. people cannot live without personal computers

B. computers play an important part of our lives

C. Bill Gates invented personal computers

D. Bill Gates is the most important people in computer science

2. The phrase "dropped out of" in line 7 and 8 mean __________.

A. graduated from

B. got over

C. took part in

D. stopped taking class at

3. According to the passage, ___________.

A. Bill Gate's parents wanted him to become a computer programmer.

B. Bill Gates and Paul Allen created Microsoft because they want to sell their program for personal computers.

C. Paul Allen left Microsoft because he wanted to start his own company.

D. Bill Gates met his business partner at Harvard.

How old was Bill Gates when he became the richest man in the United States?

A. 34

B. 51

C. 42

D. 44

Which of the following is not mentioned in the text?

A. In a few years, Microsoft became a very large company.

B. Bill Gates and Paul Allen first wrote programs for business computers when they were about fifteen.

C. Bill Gates earned his success by working very hard.

D. Bill Gates is the richest man in the United States.

Exercise 5

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving is celebrated in the US on the fourth Thursday in November. For many Americans it is the most important holiday apart from Christmas. Schools, offices and most businesses close for Thanksgiving, and many people make the whole weekend a vacation.

Thanksgiving is associated with the time when Europeans first came to North America. In 1620 the ship the Mayflowers arrived, bringing about 150 people who today are usually called Pilgrims. They arrived at the beginning of a very hard winter and could not find enough to eat, so many of them died. But in the following summer Native Americans showed them what foods were safe to eat, so that they could save food for the next winter. They held a big celebration to thank God and the Native Americans for the fact that they had survived.

Today people celebrate Thanksgiving to remember these early days.

The most important part of the celebration is a traditional dinner with foods that come from North America. The meal includes turkey, sweet potatoes (also called yams) and cranberries, which are made into a kind of sauce or jelly. The turkey is filled with stuffing or dressing, and many families have their own special recipe. Dessert is pumpkin made into a pie.

On Thanksgiving there are special television programs and sports events. In New York there is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, when a long line of people wearing fancy costumes march through the streets with large balloons in- the shape of imaginary characters. Thanksgiving is considered the beginning of the Christmasperiod, and the next day many people go out to shop for Christmas presents.

1. In the United States, Thanksgiving is ______.

A. a religious celebration held by Christians only

B. celebrated as a public holiday.

C. more important than Christmas

D. right after Christmas

2. According to the passage Pilgrims are ______.

A. people who travelled to America by ships

B. trips that religious people make to a holy place.

C. people who left their home and went to live in North America in the early 17th century;

D. Native Americans who live in North America.

3. All of the following statements are mentioned EXCEPT ______.

A. People celebrate Thanksgiving to thank God

B. People usually have traditional dinners on Thanksgiving

C. There are lots of entertainments on Thanksgiving

D. People go to churches for religious services on Thanksgiving.

4. On thanksgiving ______.

A. turkey, yams and pumpkin pies are served

B. people join in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade

C. people wear coloured carnival masks matching through the streets

D. people go out to shop for Christmas presents

PRACTICE  20 TEST S

PRACTICE TES T№ 1

PRACTICE TEST No. 4

PRACTICE TEST No. 1 5

READING COMPREHENSION

Exercises

Read the following passage and choose the letter A, B, C or D to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions.

Exercise 2

       Personal computers, or PCs, are an important part of our everyday lives. Many people cannot imagine life without them. One of the most important people in making these machines work is Bill Gates.

Bill Gates was born in 1955 in Washington State. He grew up in a rich family. His parents sent him to a private school. There he met his business partner, Paul Allen. When they were in eighth grade, they were writing programs for business computers and making money.

In 1973, Gates was accepted at Harvard University. His parents were happy. They thought he would get over his obsession with computers and become a lawyer like his father. Two years later, Gates dropped out of Harvard to work on a computer program with his friend Allen. They worked eighteen hours a day in a dormitory room at Harvard. They were writing the program that would run one of the first personal computers. In 1975, they created a company called Microsoft to sell their product.

Allen became ill with cancer and left Microsoft in 1983. He recovered a few years later and started his own company. Meanwhile, Microsoft became a giant company. By 1990, at the age of thirty-four, Gates was the youngest billionaire in the history of the United States. He was the "King of Software". He achieved his success with a lot of hard work. For more than ten years, he worked sixteen-hour days, seven days a week. He had a dream and the will to succeed. By 1997, he was the richest man in the United States.

1. According to the writer, _______________.

A. people cannot live without personal computers

B. computers play an important part of our lives

C. Bill Gates invented personal computers

D. Bill Gates is the most important people in computer science

2. The phrase "dropped out of" in line 7 and 8 mean __________.

A. graduated from

B. got over

C. took part in

D. stopped taking class at

3. According to the passage, ___________.

A. Bill Gate's parents wanted him to become a computer programmer.

B. Bill Gates and Paul Allen created Microsoft because they want to sell their program for personal computers.

C. Paul Allen left Microsoft because he wanted to start his own company.

D. Bill Gates met his business partner at Harvard.