FC Practice Test 3 name:____________________ score:____________%
Reading comprehension
part 1
You are going to read a magazine article about a Cuban baseball player. For questions 1-8, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
For the Love of the Game
Talented baseball player Jose Navarro tells us all about his move from Cuba to Canada.
From the moment I open my mouth, the questions begin. It happens every single time without fail. "Where are you from?" people I meet ask me. "I'm from Cuba," I reply, a treat for the inquiring mind. For I think we humans are born with a natural curiosity. If we hear an accent that is different from our own, we want to put a place to the voice, we want to know where the person is from. Of course, this is not a bad thing, or at least I don't think it is. I believe our desire to learn more about others shows that, by and large, we are social creatures. The way I see it, it's like having a new neighbour that you often see from across the street but haven't had the chance to introduce yourself to yet. Well, it's perfectly natural to want to cross the road to say 'Hi!
Before I continue, let me give you a brief history of how I came to be in Canada, a stranger in this new land. For as long as I can remember, I've been obsessed with baseball, the national sport of Cuba. I dedicated myself totally to both playing and watching it, sacrificing free time, friendships and sometimes school grades along the way. Eleven months ago, I finally made it onto a Cuban team. Wearing my team colours before fans in my home stadium for the first time was the proudest moment of my life. Then, six months ago, talent scouts from Canada saw me playing at the 'Estadio Latinoamericano' in Havana and were impressed enough to offer me a sports scholarship. I didn't think twice about accepting the offer. Within the month I was on a plane heading for Toronto. I realised my line 35 obsession had paid off.
The scholarship offered me a place at the renowned York University. I was given the opportunity to choose from a list which degree I wanted to pursue. After one or two sleepless nights and five long and somewhat heated phone calls with my parents, I decided to do a law degree. I thought it was very important to pick something that I could fall back on if I didn't make it as a big league player. There was only one catch: when I wasn't studying, I had to play ball. My opinion on that: 'No objections, Your Honour!'
When I first arrived, I wasn't afraid, even though I was all alone in a foreign country. On the contrary, I was eager to explore this new, unknown city. Toronto was a brand new world; mine to discover. Gone were the 1950s Cadillacs and cobbled streets and before my eyes were sleek, shiny visions of the future. And for reasons I've already explained, it hasn't been difficult to make friends with my fellow students. "What's it like living in Cuba?" they ask. "Did you like it?", "Have you come here to escape it?" You see, Cuba, Cubans and the Cuban way of life are something of an enigma to them. They see my home as a secretive island, shrouded in mystery.
Sometimes we talk into the early hours of the morning, exchanging stories. I reminisce about walking barefoot along the Havana coastline in the tropical warmth. I talk about the many hours spent playing dominoes and eating shellfish with my family. I joke that it's not all politics and cigars! They say they realise this and joke back. But then we also chat about the many shared experiences that we have here in Canada. You know, we may start off thinking about our differences, but when all is said and done, we look for what we have in common.
1 What is the writer's attitude to being asked a lot of questions?
A He welcomes the attention.
B He wishes people weren't so curious.
C He believes it will help him make new friends.
D He believes it reflects human nature.
2 What do we learn about the writer's love for baseball while growing up?
A It made him feel like a foreigner in his own country.
B It developed over time.
C It wasn't encouraged by others.
D It caused him to miss out on certain things.
3 What does the writer mean by the phrase 'my obsession had paid off in line 35?
A His love for baseball was now bringing rewards.
B His talent would at last bring financial benefits.
C His dream had become a reality.
D His passion had led to more than expected.
4 The writer decided to study law because
A the course allowed him plenty of time to play baseball.
B he realised he was unlikely to succeed as a baseball player.
C he felt it would be useful if he failed in sport.
D he was respecting his parents' wishes.
5 When the writer first arrived in Toronto, he felt
A homesick
B lonely
C excited
D anxious
6 According to the writer, why were the other students so interested in his life back home?
A They wanted to understand why he had left his country.
B They were curious about something they knew very little about.
C They enjoyed the stories he told about it.
D They were eager to get to know him better.
7 At the end of the passage, the writer concludes that
A he would prefer to be living in his own country.
B life in his own country is very different to life in Canada.
C people from different cultures may be more similar than they realise.
D he still has a lot to learn about the Canadian people.
8 What was the writer's main purpose in writing the text?
A to describe his great love for baseball
B to share his experience of becoming a foreigner
C to show the value of learning more about others
D to encourage others to follow their dreams
part 2
You are going to read an article about what it takes to become a detective. Seven sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (9-15). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
A Far Cry from Sherlock
Being a huge Sherlock Holmes fan, our reporter Anne Carlisle decided to do a bit of investigating of her own to find out about the history and work of Britain's police detectives. Here's what she discovered.
Way back in 1828, the world's first modern police force was created by Sir Robert Peel. The Metropolitan Police Force of London made its home at the famous Scotland Yard and quickly became the model for police forces around the world. But it would be another decade before the Detective Branch of Scotland Yard was set up. This branch later became the Criminal Investigation Department (commonly known as C.I.D) and to this day remains the main police department in Britain responsible for major crime investigation.
Becoming a plain clothes detective in the C.I.D is no easy task. Firstly, a police officer needs to have served for at least two years as a uniformed officer, 9…… Once this period has been completed the officer can then apply to go to a detective training school. However, there's no guarantee they will be accepted.
In order to become a detective, an officer needs to possess a wide range of skills and qualities, the most obvious being complete honesty and good character. They also need to be highly observant and to have good judgement. 10……. An officer with all these skills could more than likely find themselves being accepted to train as a detective.
Most of these 'detectives-to-be' discover that the really hard work begins once they get to the training school. 11 ……….. . For instance, they will have to learn about psychology, which will come in handy when they are questioning suspects and witnesses. Perhaps the most difficult subjects though deal with learning all about the modern scientific methods now used in crime detection.
Once our future Sherlocks have completed their initial training, they begin life as detective constables and start working on unsolved crime cases in the C.I.D. Most of the work they do is not nearly as glamorous as it seems on TV and in novels. 12……….. . Not exactly enthralling, but essential duties all the same.
Apart from having to do painstaking investigative work, detectives also have a lot of paperwork to deal with. 13 …….. . Every detail of a crime and its investigation must be recorded. Most detectives find the amount of clerical work they have to do the most frustrating part of their job.
Nonetheless, it can be a very rewarding job; a detective gets great satisfaction knowing they have solved a major crime. However, a detective's job is still not over after a suspect has been arrested and charged. 14 …….. Only when the offender is actually behind bars is the detective's goal achieved. Then there's always the next case to tackle, of course.
In many ways the detectives of today are similar to the ones of the past. Much of the work has hardly changed at all. 15 …….. The main difference is the technology and modern science now available to help them. Whether it be using computers or looking through a microscope, it all helps to get the crime solved. In the end, just like the detectives we avidly watch on TV, they are heroes doing everything in their power to get the bad guys off our streets.
A For every investigation, forms have to be filled in and reports written.
B During this time, the officer learns all the basics of general police work.
C In addition to catching criminals, they have to give evidence in court.
D Last but not least, a high degree of patience is an absolute must as, believe it or not, crime investigation can often be a very lengthy and boring process.
E In fact, it is nothing like it used to be.
F Detectives still have to ask questions and find answers.
G Typical mundane tasks include going house to house asking questions or searching carefully through a suspect's phone records for clues to a crime.
H There the officers receive intensive instruction in all areas related to solving major crime.
Part 3
You are going to read a magazine article about four different readers. For questions 16-30, choose from the people (A-D). The people may be chosen more than once. When more than one answer is required, these may be given in any order.
Which person
enjoys the humour in the books they read? 16…………..
regrets people's lack of interest in a particular type of book? 17…………..
appreciates books that are true to life? 18…………..
chooses what to read based on how they are feeling? 19…………..
dislikes being able to predict what will happen in a book? 20…………..
doesn't read a particular type of book very often? 21…………..
mentions reading for a particular purpose? 22………….. 23…………..
has read some of their books more than once? 24…………..
thinks there is a misunderstanding regarding the themes of some books? 25…………..
is concerned that some information could be inaccurate? 26…………..
mentions a change in their reading habits? 27…………..
likes to read without interruptions? 28…………..
is influenced by book reviews? 29…………..
believes something has become easier? 30…………..
Book Worms
A
Isabella Milbank
People often comment that I've always got my head in a book. I just find that reading is such a great way to pass idle moments; when I'm on the bus or in a doctor's waiting room, for example, or whenever I have a spare minute, really. I'll read almost anything, but on the whole, I tend to go for books that a friend has recommended or that have had a positive write-up in a newspaper or magazine. That way, you're almost guaranteed to get a good read. And I guess I'd have to say that my favourite kinds of books are modern crime thrillers. I just love it when the plots are really cleverly constructed, especially when you can tell the author has thoroughly researched how modern police work is carried out. Then, you get into it more easily because you feel like you're reading about something that really happened. The very best ones are those that keep you guessing right up until the end. It's so disappointing if you manage to work everything out half way through.
B
Emily Hawthorne
I used to read a lot of romantic novels, but I guess I sort of grew out of them. Now, I'm hooked on biographies. I've read about so many different kinds of people: historical figures, politicians, celebrities, you name it. They're all interesting in their own way, but when I'm not in the mood for anything too heavy, I just go for something more light-hearted: the gossip and scandals of the rich and famous, for example!
I enjoy autobiographies, too, but I sometimes wonder how true a picture they actually paint. I mean, when you're writing about yourself, it must be tempting to leave out anything that shows you in a bad light. You're probably more likely to get a more rounded picture of the person by reading a well-researched biography.
C
Ian Reed
I don't usually read purely for entertainment; I guess it just feels like a waste of time to me. But what I do enjoy reading are books that I think I can learn something from. You know, non-fiction books about historical events or current or political issues like the environment, for example. I realise these kinds of books aren't everyone's cup of tea, but it's a shame that more people don't give them a try. I admit that in the past they, could often be a bit tricky to read, but that has all changed now. These days, plenty of them are written in quite an entertaining style and in a language that any reasonably educated person can comprehend. You can learn an incredible amount about the world by reading those kinds of books.
D
Henry Crawford
I most enjoy reading when I know I can sit down for at least a couple of hours without being disturbed. Sunday mornings are the best time. I guess some would say that I read a fairly narrow range of books. I do read the occasional modern novel, when something particularly catches my attention, but generally, I prefer the classics, by authors like Dickens and Eliot, for example. They are both wonderful, of course, but in my opinion, no one compares to Jane Austen!
People are often surprised when I tell them that Jane Austen is my favourite author because they think she only wrote romance novels. Her books do deal with love and marriage, but on the whole, they're actually more about general relationships and human nature. And they're hilarious at times, too, which makes them incredibly entertaining to read. I've read all of her books, some of them several times over. They are like old friends you need to meet up with every once in a while!
legusta