English reading passages (for dtm test takers)

51. All of the following statements are FALSE, EXCEPT ...
A) Sir James Thornhill punished his servant.
B) St.Paul’s Cathedral is the world’s greatest palace.
C) The painter didn’t fall o ff the scaffolding.
D) Sir James Thornhill decorated the outside o f St.Pauls’s Cathedral.
52. The servant proved that he was ...
A) smart B) silly
C) modest D) polite


Read the text and answer the questions according to it.

Octopuses are extremely intelligent. They have even learnt a few tricks to get themselves

out o f sticky situations, for example, when it is afraid of a predator. As octopuses don’t have teeth or sharp claws to defend themselves, they hide themselves in the sand on the bottom of the ocean floor. The octopus is like a chameleon because it can change the colour of its skin to match the sand. Some octopuses like to stay in more shallow water where there are rocks and coral. They can squeeze themselves into small spaces between the rocks to get out o f reach of predators. Another way an octopus can hide is by shooting ink. An octopus uses a part of its body called a siphon to shoot ink into the water. The ink forms a cloud that hides the octopus. If an octopus is being attacked, it can actually make itself look like a venomous sea snake. It will bury itself in the sand, keeping two arms visible. It will change the colour of those arms to match a sea snake.


53. What is the author’s purpose for writing this article?
A) to describe the origin of octopuses
B) to explain how octopuses eat, live, and play
C) to explain how octopuses protect themselves
D) to show how dangerous octopuses are
54. What happens to an octopus after it shoots
ink into the water?
A) It is no longer poisonous.
B) It can hide.
C) It will grow a little.
D) It will die.
55. How are an octopus and a chameleon alike?
A) They are both invertebrates.
B) They both like to hide on the ocean floor.
C) They can both change the colour of their skin.
D) They both use their arms to kill animals.