Phil-Iri English Gr 11/12 - Reading Comprehension Assessment

In sentence #1, who is referred to as the last century’s most famous genius?

• Jurgen Renn

• Albert Einstein

• Peter Galison

• Leonard Szilard

Why did Einstein decide to invent the fridge?

• because he loved to invent things

• because he teamed up with a fellow scientist

• because of an accident that had happened

• because he wanted something that he could sell

Where was Albert Einstein working when he wrote his theory of relativity in 1905?

• in his family’s business

• in a Swiss patent office

• at the MaxPlank-Institute

• in a university laboratory

Why is the fridge referred to as a less-celebrated discovery of Einstein?

• because the model of the fridge disappeared

• because he was not the only inventor of the fridge

• because it was not a well-known invention of Einstein

• because it took long before scientists took notice of it

What does this article suggest about Einstein’s personality by mentoring his fridge invention?

• He was interested in appliances that can be used at home.

• As an inventor, he was also considering commercial success.

• He was capable of inventing anything that he could think of.

• As a scientist, he could balance intelligence and practicality.

What is implied by the historian Peter Galison in the last paragraph?

• Einstein started inventing things early in his career.

• Einstein’s hobbies include writing letters to his friends.

• Einstein had friends who had the same interests as him.

• Einstein made sure that his inventions would not be copied.

Why does the passage include Jurgen Renn’s comments about Einstein’s family background in paragraph 5?

• to provide explanation as to why Einstein left Germany

• to show that Einstein was not interested in science at first

• to suggest that Einstein would soon have a very big responsibility

• to imply that financial concerns had an influence on his inventions

Why can be inferred from the statement that Einstein’s fridge “never went into production” despite being patented (line 9)?

• Advances in technology made the invention unnecessary.

• The design was probably considered too dangerous to use.

• Einstein and his partner may have lost interest in the invention.

• Manufacturers were more interested in Einstein’s other inventions.

Why does the author mention that physicists are rebuilding the fridge nearly 80 years later (line 3)?

• to prove that the original fridge was not well-made

• to show that Einstein’s design was ahead of his time

• to criticize modern technology that caused its failure

• to suggest that the fridge is still commercially valuable

What is the general tone of the passage?

• light and humorous

• critical and reflective

• admiring and informative

• subjective and opinionated