Reading Comprehension Test - Level 1

Genealogy is fun. Just as a piece of furniture or a picture takes on much more interest if you know its history, so does an individual become more real once the ancestral elements that shaped him are known. An in-depth family history is a tapestry of all those to whom we owe our existence.

Which statement best conveys the theme of this paragraph?

• Finding out about our ancestors is more interesting than researching the history of objects

• Genealogy is a study of people and their belongings in the past

• Genealogy is a study of family history

• Genealogical research can bring meaning and life to a family’s history.

• Most genealogies are a waste of effort

Tailgating another vehicle is unsafe and illegal. Many rear-end collisions are caused by drivers following too close to the vehicle in front of them. The rules state that a driver must keep sufficient distance from the vehicle in front in order to stop safely and avoid a collision. Drivers should allow a minimum two seconds’ gap between their vehicle and the one ahead. At sixty kilometres an hour, this equates to thirty-three metres; at a hundred it equates to fifty-five metres. More distance is needed to safely stop in rain or poor visibility.

Tailgating another vehicle is unsafe because:

• all rear end collisions are caused by drivers following too close to the vehicle in front.

• it may not allow sufficient time and space to stop and avoid a collision.

• it is against the road rules

• it is a reckless practice

• None of these

The debate on whether Australia will have a nation-wide carbon trading scheme ended last week with the government committed to a national emissions scheme from 2012. However, the decisionmaking as to how we power the economy in a carbon constrained world is only just beginning. Fossil fuels like coal and oil have underpinned our economic growth and standard of living for decades. The current resources boom is there because other countries want our fossil fuels, and for all these reasons it is profitable to keep mining them. Ironically, the income may help develop the technologies to replace them, but it is a matter of which and when. Almost certainly, in the race to reduce emissions, new technologies such as solar, wind and geothermal (heat from rocks) power will compete against gas, clean coal and perhaps nuclear energy to win the hearts and minds of the business world. In the end, business will favour whatever is a cheap, abundant and reliable solution. You can imagine the lobbying that will ensue from the different interest groups, to attract business capital and government support so that their technology wins out. There may be many collapsed ventures and lost fortunes along the way.

Fossil fuels will be in demand for some time yet because:

• we have no other options

• they are plentiful and cheap in Australia

• our wealth and lifestyle are at present dependent on them

• A and B together

• B and C together

"Far from being upright and moral, his behaviour showed him to be fallible"

The word fallible in this sentence means

• capable of falling over

• immoral

• weak-kneed

• capable of error

• None of these

"You cannot be a hero without being a coward"

What does this sentence suggest?

• Heroes are transformed cowards

• To be truly heroic, you first have to know the meaning of fear

• Heroes are cowards in disguise

• You can never be one or the other; it is always a combination of both

• None of these

"For the little boy, a lolly was tangible, whereas a promise was not."

The word tangible in this sentence means :

• Actual

• Basic

• Untouchable

• None of these