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Reading for the Real World 2 Second Edition – Test Bank
Unit 1
Strange and Unusual
Reading 1.1
UFOs
UFO stands for Unidentified Flying Object. Although many people associate this term with aliens or spaceships, it can pertain to any unknown object seen in the atmosphere.
It is commonly believed that UFO sightings began in modern times, but sightings of extraordinary lights and mysterious objects in the sky have been documented for thousands of years. One of the earliest sightings was in the fifteenth century BCE, in Egypt, where “foul smelling circles of fire and discs in the sky” were observed. Centuries later, in 1516 CE in Nuremberg, Germany, more than 200 UFOs of differing shapes, including cylinders, spheres, and spinning discs, were observed. For their part, science fiction writers have been describing UFOs in their stories for years. These examples typify the thousands of sightings that have been recorded over the ages in many different cultures on various continents.
The most interesting part of UFO history has been the latter half of the 20th century. During World War II, fighter pilots reported many luminescent and cylindrical UFOs. Sightings of these objects were described by pilots and high-ranking intelligence officials. Interestingly enough, both the Allies and the Germans recounted this. At first, they thought that these UFOs were really just new weapons made by their enemies. However, when they realized that the other side was seeing them, too, they concluded that these sightings were UFOs. Both the British and Germans created committees to investigate. Ultimately, it was determined that these UFOs, nicknamed “Foo Fighters,” were not manmade; no alternative explanations offered.
In the late 1940s, following WWII, the “flying saucer” era began. In 1947, a man named Kenneth Arnold recounted seeing “nine silvery circular objects” in the sky. He told his story to many people, including the press. (A) ________, he wrote a book titled The Coming of the Saucers. In it, he described the UFOs as flying saucers because they were shaped like large dishes. After the book’s release, more and more people reported UFO sightings. Previously, anyone who reported a UFO was considered a liar or a lunatic. (B) _______, because authorities were receiving countless reports, they decided to set up a committee, called Project Blue Book, to investigate these sightings.
In the 1940s, the most famous UFO case in US history, the Roswell Crash, occurred. In early July of 1947, an object crashed onto a sheep ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. All the pieces of the fallen object were collected by members of the US Air Force, stationed at Roswell Army Air Field. Later in the day, the commander of the base informed the press that the remains of a “flying disc” had been recovered. This news spread worldwide in a matter of hours.
Strangely, a few hours after the press release, the commanding general of the Eighth Air Force issued a counter press release asserting that the remains were from a common weather balloon. There were reputable eye witnesses—including the sheep rancher and an Air Force major—who saw many items of unknown origin made of strange material. They even claimed to have caught sight of bodies of non-humanoid beings.
Despite this incident and continued UFO sightings, the government disbanded the Project Blue Book committee in 1969, due to lack of (A) [concrete / concealed] evidence. To this day, many people think the government is (B) [suppressing / encouraging] the truth of what they collected from the Roswell Crash and of other unexplained sightings and incidences. As a result, the public still does not know what to believe. Over the years, UFO sightings have continued to be reported by __________. They include former US president Jimmy Carter, NASA engineers, and Japanese businessmen. In fact, it is estimated that every three minutes, there is a UFO sighting somewhere on the planet. There are most certainly there a number of (C) [explanations / descriptions] for these UFO sightings. Whether they are natural or otherwise, more research into this phenomenon is definitely needed.
It is commonly believed that UFO sightings began in modern times, but sightings of extraordinary lights and mysterious objects in the sky have been documented for thousands of years. One of the earliest sightings was in the fifteenth century BCE, in Egypt, where “foul smelling circles of fire and discs in the sky” were observed. Centuries later, in 1516 CE in Nuremberg, Germany, more than 200 UFOs of differing shapes, including cylinders, spheres, and spinning discs, were observed. For their part, science fiction writers have been describing UFOs in their stories for years. These examples typify the thousands of sightings that have been recorded over the ages in many different cultures on various continents.
1. Choose the sentence that does not fit the flow of the passage.
2. What is NOT true according to the passage?
UFO sightings have occurred for thousands of years.
Ancient Egyptians left documentation of a sighting.
German astronomers observed 200 kinds of UFOs.
Observed UFOs have had several different shapes.
UFOs have been seen by people on every continent.
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The most interesting part of UFO history has been the latter half of the 20th century. During World War II, fighter pilots reported many luminescent and cylindrical UFOs. Sightings of these objects were described by pilots and high-ranking intelligence officials. Interestingly enough, both the Allies and the Germans recounted this. At first, they thought that these UFOs were really just new weapons made by their enemies. However, when they realized that the other side was seeing them, too, they concluded that these sightings were UFOs. Both the British and Germans created committees to investigate. Ultimately, it was determined that these UFOs, nicknamed “Foo Fighters,” were not manmade; no alternative explanations offered.
In the late 1940s, following WWII, the “flying saucer” era began. In 1947, a man named Kenneth Arnold recounted seeing “nine silvery circular objects” in the sky. He told his story to many people, including the press. (A) ________, he wrote a book titled The Coming of the Saucers. In it, he described the UFOs as flying saucers because they were shaped like large dishes. After the book’s release, more and more people reported UFO sightings. Previously, anyone who reported a UFO was considered a liar or a lunatic. (B) _______, because authorities were receiving countless reports, they decided to set up a committee, called Project Blue Book, to investigate these sightings.
3. Choose the grammatically incorrect one.
4. Choose the correct words for (A) and (B)
(A) (B)
On the other hand After all
Eventually Regardless
On the other hand However
In contrast After all
Eventually However
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In the 1940s, the most famous UFO case in US history, the Roswell Crash, occurred. In early July of 1947, an object crashed onto a sheep ranch near Roswell, New Mexico. All the pieces of the fallen object were collected by members of the US Air Force, stationed at Roswell Army Air Field. Later in the day, the commander of the base informed the press that the remains of a “flying disc” had been recovered. This news spread worldwide in a matter of hours.
Strangely, a few hours after the press release, the commanding general of the Eighth Air Force issued a counter press release asserting that the remains were from a common weather balloon. There were reputable eye witnesses—including the sheep rancher and an Air Force major—who saw many items of unknown origin made of strange material. They even claimed to have caught sight of bodies of non-humanoid beings.
5. Where is the best place to insert the sentence below?
This retraction caused a lot of controversy.
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6. What is the best title for this passage?
Proof UFOs Exist
What Really Happened at Roswell?
US Air Force Shoots Down Strange Disk
Similarities of Weather Balloons and UFOs
Physical Characteristics of Alien Beings
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Despite this incident and continued UFO sightings, the government disbanded the Project Blue Book committee in 1969, due to lack of (A) [concrete / concealed] evidence. To this day, many people think the government is (B) [suppressing / encouraging] the truth of what they collected from the Roswell Crash and of other unexplained sightings and incidences. As a result, the public still does not know what to believe. Over the years, UFO sightings have continued to be reported by __________. They include former US president Jimmy Carter, NASA engineers, and Japanese businessmen. In fact, it is estimated that every three minutes, there is a UFO sighting somewhere on the planet. There are most certainly there a number of (C) [explanations / descriptions] for these UFO sightings. Whether they are natural or otherwise, more research into this phenomenon is definitely needed.
7. Which words best complete the blank?
members of the armed forces
professional UFO researchers
people all over the world
residents of Roswell
astronauts launched into space
8. Choose the correct words for A, B and C.
(A) (B) (C)
concealed suppressing descriptions
concealed suppressing descriptions
concealed encouraging explanations
concrete encouraging explanations
concrete suppressing explanations
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Reading 1.2
The Truth About UFOs
(A) As of 2002, 72 percent of Americans believe the US government is not telling the public everything it knows about UFOs. In addition, 68 percent think the government has knowledge of extraterrestrial life (life from other planets) and is hiding it from the public. (a) It’s not surprising there has been more and more pressure on the government to declassify its UFO records. A variety of different groups have been involved in these efforts.
(B) CFI has requested the release of information on several UFO cases, starting with the Kecksburg, Pennsylvania incident. In 1965, a large acorn-shaped object, about the size of a small car, crashed in a wooded area of Pennsylvania. Witnesses contacted police and firefighters, but even they were not allowed to come close to the scene. (b) The United States Army was already on site and in the process of removing the object. Even though several witnesses could clearly describe the object when it was in the air, the government claimed the object was a meteorite. (c) Suspicions of the government’s claim have been raised ever since.
(C) While many groups in addition to CFI have been formed to convince the US Government to open cases such as the Kecksburg event, yet it remains tight-lipped. It has not allowed these classified records to be made public.
(D) One of the most recent groups to become involved is CFI—the Coalition for Freedom of Information. (d) John Podesta, former Chief of Staff to President Clinton, is one of the many important people in this group. The group’s aim is not to prove the existence of extraterrestrial life, but to make it easier for scientists in general to study unexplained aerial phenomena. (e) Podesta and his group have asked the Pentagon to declassify its UFO records and provide scientists with data that will help in the study of UFOs.
1. What is the correct order of the passages that come after (A)?
(B) (D) (C)
(C) (B) (D)
(C) (D) (B)
(D) (B) (C)
(D) (C) (B)
2. Choose the sentence that best shows that the government is trying to hide evidence of UFOs.
a
b
c
d
e
Reading 2.1
An Insight Into the Future
Divination, also called fortune-telling, is the attempt to discover future events through unconventional methods. One popular method of divination, (A) finding / found] in both Eastern and Western culture, is palm reading. Through palm reading, a person hopes to find out his or her fate, or future circumstances. By looking at the lines on the palm of the hand, a palm reader claims (B) [to be / being] able to foretell a person’s life span, financial success, or marital bliss, among other things. Although there is no proven connection between the lines on the palm of a hand and a person’s future, palm reading remains popular, along with (C) [other / others] divination practices. Some of these practices include predicting the future through astrology (analyzing the stars and planets), tasseography (reading tea leaves) or numerology (analyzing numbers).
Fortune-telling has a long history. Its earliest examples go back to 4000 BCE, in Egypt and elsewhere. The divination practiced at that time, and for thousands of years after, was often engaged by _________. Both the ancient Roman and Chinese emperors routinely consulted astrologers and other fortune-tellers on important matters. (A) _________, Chinese court astrologers constantly looked for signs that foretold the future, since their predictions could influence the royal court in many ways and give them job security. (B) __________, divination was used to diagnose illnesses, predict what would happen in battle, interpret dreams, and promote soldiers.
One of the main reasons why divination was so important to people in the ancient world is that probably at that time humans had very little control over the world. Even those in the highest positions were still subject to natural disasters. The causes of such events as plagues or storms were not clearly understood. Divination provided a sort of control over life. If a person could get a glimpse of the future, that person could escape at least a little of the uncertainty that would have worried him or her constantly. People have used all sorts of objects for divination such as bones, food, stones and dice. A farmer could plan for his future crops, and an emperor could plan for a war with some amount of certainty that a particular outcome was likely. Since divination could not be disproved and any failure in the prediction could be blamed on the person making the prediction, believing in divination was not difficult for the people in the ancient world.
Although unfounded, it is easy to understand that the practice of divination gave people in the ancient world a sense of control over their environment. However, it is a bit less evident why divination practices should still be so (A) [popular / practical] today. Some people spend hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars a year on divination. Humans have achieved a great amount of mastery over, if not understanding of, the environment. They are no longer at the total mercy of the (B) [contemporary / natural] world. There does not seem to be any need for the practice of divination to give the world a sense of order. Even so, human life is still (C) [fragile / frantic]. People still get sick, hurt themselves, and die. They still suffer from financial and emotional problems, and worry about what the future will bring them.
One thing that has not changed since ancient times is that the future remains uncertain. Compared to previous ages, humans have a great amount of control over the present period. With all the new technology and advances in science, humans can predict natural disasters, giving some certainty to the future. Nonetheless, the simple fact that we do not know precisely what will happen in the next week, month, or year lends uncertainty to our lives. Since the great majority of modern people desire certainty and security, they may try to find ways to achieve these feelings even when there is no way to reasonably obtain them. Divination then, in all its forms, fulfills a basic human need; the need to feel secure.
Divination, also called fortune-telling, is the attempt to discover future events through unconventional methods. One popular method of divination, (A) finding / found] in both Eastern and Western culture, is palm reading. Through palm reading, a person hopes to find out his or her fate, or future circumstances. By looking at the lines on the palm of the hand, a palm reader claims (B) [to be / being] able to foretell a person’s life span, financial success, or marital bliss, among other things. Although there is no proven connection between the lines on the palm of a hand and a person’s future, palm reading remains popular, along with (C) [other / others] divination practices. Some of these practices include predicting the future through astrology (analyzing the stars and planets), tasseography (reading tea leaves) or numerology (analyzing numbers).
1. What is the purpose of this paragraph?
To warn people that divination is inaccurate
To explain the different types of divination
To inform how palm reading can affect fate
To encourage people to practice divination
To give reasons why palm reading is popular
2. Choose the grammatically correct ones.
(A) (B) (C)
finding to be others
finding being others
found being other
found to be other
finding to be other
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Fortune-telling has a long history. Its earliest examples go back to 4000 BCE, in Egypt and elsewhere. The divination practiced at that time, and for thousands of years after, was often engaged by _________. Both the ancient Roman and Chinese emperors routinely consulted astrologers and other fortune-tellers on important matters. (A) _________, Chinese court astrologers constantly looked for signs that foretold the future, since their predictions could influence the royal court in many ways and give them job security. (B) __________, divination was used to diagnose illnesses, predict what would happen in battle, interpret dreams, and promote soldiers.
3. Which words best complete the blank?
military generals
common people
concerned rulers
wealthy merchants
skilled physicians
4. Choose the correct words for (A) and (B)
(A) (B)
On the other hand In comparison
As a result In addition
On the other hand In conclusion
Meanwhile In addition
As a result In comparison
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One of the main reasons why divination was so important to people in the ancient world is that probably at that time humans had very little control over the world. Even those in the highest positions were still subject to natural disasters. The causes of such events as plagues or storms were not clearly understood. Divination provided a sort of control over life. If a person could get a glimpse of the future, that person could escape at least a little of the uncertainty that would have worried him or her constantly. People have used all sorts of objects for divination such as bones, food, stones and dice. A farmer could plan for his future crops, and an emperor could plan for a war with some amount of certainty that a particular outcome was likely. Since divination could not be disproved and any failure in the prediction could be blamed on the person making the prediction, believing in divination was not difficult for the people in the ancient world.
5. What is NOT true according to the passage?
Ancient people used divination to make sense of natural occurrences.
Divination helped ancient people feel like they had some control in life.
It was reassuring for ancient people to know the future outcome of an event.
Rulers made important decisions based on outcomes predicted by divination.
People who made wrong predictions could be punished as a result.
6. Which sentence does not fit the flow of the passage?
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Although unfounded, it is easy to understand that the practice of divination gave people in the ancient world a sense of control over their environment. However, it is a bit less evident why divination practices should still be so (A) [popular / practical] today. Some people spend hundreds, sometimes thousands of dollars a year on divination. Humans have achieved a great amount of mastery over, if not understanding of, the environment. They are no longer at the total mercy of the (B) [contemporary / natural] world. There does not seem to be any need for the practice of divination to give the world a sense of order. Even so, human life is still (C) [fragile / frantic]. People still get sick, hurt themselves, and die. They still suffer from financial and emotional problems, and worry about what the future will bring them.
One thing that has not changed since ancient times is that the future remains uncertain. Compared to previous ages, humans have a great amount of control over the present period. With all the new technology and advances in science, humans can predict natural disasters, giving some certainty to the future. Since the great majority of modern people desire certainty and security, they may try to find ways to achieve these feelings even when there is no way to reasonably obtain them. Divination then, in all its forms, fulfills a basic human need; the need to feel secure.
7. Choose the correct words for A, B and C.
(A) (B) (C)
popular natural frantic
popular contemporary frantic
practical contemporary frantic
practical natural fragile
popular natural fragile
8. Where is the best place to insert the sentence below?
Nonetheless, the simple fact that we do not know precisely what will happen in the next week, month, or year lends uncertainty to our lives.
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Reading 2.2
Technology – The Modern Divination?
(A) Generations past have used divination as a means of gaining answers to the unknown. This is especially true when it was used to predict the future. (a) Modern technology is so advanced that it can now trace patterns of history and predict certain outcomes. Scientific data that has been collected is used to make these remarkably accurate predictions.
(B) In addition, the use of weather forecasting tools is another way modern technology is replacing the practice of divination. Computers have the ability to predict the types and amounts of precipitation, storms, temperatures, and pressure systems. IBM is developing a service that can predict weather conditions down to a one kilometer resolution. (b) In time, company researchers hope to be able to predict the weather on individual streets within a city.
(C) To see where these predictions come from, we can look at a few areas where technology has advanced. (c) Many different types of divination have been used in the past to predict future health. Today’s technology can track a patient’s medical history, and it can predict and diagnose patterns of health and diseases. Technology can even make predictions based on children’s genes. (d) For instance, a Colorado company is selling a kit that helps parents forecast their child’s athletic ability, by testing for a gene associated with strong athletic performance.
(D) In conclusion, technology continues to advance and increase as computer programs become more complex. (e) Scientists are using technology in more specific ways to gain more knowledge about the way nature works. As for divination, what was once considered to be supernatural is now seen more as a form of entertainment.
1. What is the correct order of the passages that come after (A)?
(B) (D) (C)
(C) (B) (D)
(C) (D) (B)
(D) (B) (C)
(D) (C) (B)
2. Choose the sentence that best shows an example of technology predicting outcomes?
a
b
c
d
e
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