Reading Exam
Sample Reading Examination
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READING EXAMINATION
PART I: Comedy of Errors (William Shakespeare)
Source: http://www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/errors/1/
Read the following dialogue and answer the questions afterward:
DUKE SOLINUS
Merchant of Syracuse, plead no more;
I am not partial to infringe our laws:
The enmity and discord which of late
Sprung from the rancorous outrage of your duke
To merchants, our well-dealing countrymen,
Who wanting guilders to redeem their lives
Have seal'd his rigorous statutes with their bloods,
Excludes all pity from our threatening looks.
For, since the mortal and intestine jars
'Twixt thy seditious countrymen and us,
It hath in solemn synods been decreed
Both by the Syracusians and ourselves,
To admit no traffic to our adverse towns Nay, more,
If any born at Ephesus be seen
At any Syracusian marts and fairs;
Again: if any Syracusian born
Come to the bay of Ephesus, he dies,
His goods confiscate to the duke's dispose,
Unless a thousand marks be levied,
To quit the penalty and to ransom him.
Thy substance, valued at the highest rate,
Cannot amount unto a hundred marks;
Therefore by law thou art condemned to die.
AEGEON
Yet this my comfort: when your words are done,
My woes end likewise with the evening sun.
DUKE SOLINUS
Well, Syracusian, say in brief the cause
Why thou departed'st from thy native home
And for what cause thou camest to Ephesus.
AEGEON
A heavier task could not have been imposed
Than I to speak my griefs unspeakable:
Yet, that the world may witness that my end
Was wrought by nature, not by vile offence,
I'll utter what my sorrows give me leave.
In Syracusa was I born, and wed
Unto a woman, happy but for me,
And by me, had not our hap been bad.
With her I lived in joy; our wealth increased
By prosperous voyages I often made
To Epidamnum; till my factor's death
And the great care of goods at random left
Drew me from kind embracements of my spouse....
1) What is the name of the second person to speak in this play?
A Duke Solinus B The Clown
C Aergeon D Ephesus
2) Where is the Duke from?
A Venice B Ephesus
C Syracuse D Epidamnum
3) Where is Aergeon from?
A Syracuse B Venice
C Ephesus D Athens
4) According to the Duke, how are relations between the two cities?
A Excellent B He doesn’t know
C Very funny D Lately, full of enmity and discord
5) Based on the reading, what is the job of Aergeon?
A Messenger B Duke
C Friend of Duke Solinus D Judge
6) Why does the Duke say Aergeon is “condemned to die”?
A He is an Ephesusian at Syracuse B He tried to kill the Duke
C He is a Syracusian at Ephesus D Aergeon refuses to speak
7) Why does Aergeon mean by “unspeakable” grief?
A He lost his wife B He is no longer young
C Ephesus lost a war D The Duke angers him
8) At the opening, the Duke says he will do what for a levy of a thousand marks?
A Return Aergeon to his wife B Stop the war with Venice
C Build a nicer palace for his king D Spare the life of a Syracusian at Ephesus
9) Which of the following is TRUE about the passage?
A The first speaker is a witch B The author is William Shakespeare
C Aergeon and the Duke fight D The first part is of two brothers
10) Which of the following is FALSE about the passage?
A Aergeon was born in Syracuse B The Duke asks why Aeregon has come
C The Duke values Aergeon at 500 marks D The title of the play is Comedy of Errors
PART II: The Bill of Rights, Amendments 1-5 (1787-1789)
Source: http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/funddocs/billeng.htm
Read the following dialogue and answer the questions afterward:
Amendment I
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
Amendment II
A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.
Amendment III
No soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.
Amendment IV
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Amendment V
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.
1) Which amendment contains the phrase “unreasonable searches and seizures”
A First B Second
C Third D Fourth
2) Which amendment contains the phrase “due process”
A First B Fourth
C Fifth D Second
3) Which amendment protects citizens against “quartering”
A Third B Second
C Fourth D Fifth
4) Which amendment allows citizens to own and use guns for their own protection?
A Second B Third
C Fourth D Fifth
5) Which amendment outlaws something known as “double jeopardy”
A Second B Fifth
C First D Third
6) The First Amendment protects all of the following EXCEPT…
A Religion B Speech
C Freedom of Press D Right to have an abortion
7) All of the following are true of the Fifth Amendment EXCEPT…
A Guarantees use of grand jury B Citizens don’t have to testify against themselves
C Protects citizens’ property D Citizens can directly elect US Senators
8) Which constitutional right is NOT found in the FIRST five amendments?
A 18-year olds can vote B Right to bear arms
C Right to petition D Right not to quarter troops
9) The Fourth Amendment protects all of the following EXCEPT…
A People to be secure in their persons B The existence of a milita
C Warrantless searches D Warranted searches with no clear purpose
10) Only one of these statements is true, which one?
A The first six amendments are shown B The first amendments date from 1763
C The Fifth Amendment is the longest D The First Amendment protects citizens land
PART III: Newsweek article; Jon Meachem; August 14, 2006
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14204483/
Read the following dialogue and answer the questions afterward:
Earlier this summer, on a warm Carolina evening, Billy Graham awoke in the middle of the night. He had been asleep in his bedroom at the end of a long hall off the main part of the log house he and his wife, Ruth, have lived in for 50 years. The house, which sits atop a small mountain in Montreat, N.C., is sprawling but simple; the only hint a celebrated figure lives here is a mechanical gate, a precaution suggested by J. Edgar Hoover. At 87 Graham uses a hospital bed; Ruth ("that angel in there," he calls her) sleeps next door. Over the stone fireplace in his room—dark this time of year; the air conditioner hums loudly—hangs a homemade family tree decorated with snapshots of his five children and dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren. An enormous television sits in the corner. Graham remains a news junkie, following developments in the Mideast, North Korea—and in nearby Durham, where he keeps an eye on coverage of the Duke lacrosse rape case.
On this particular night, Graham lay in the darkness, trying to recite the 23rd Psalm from memory. He begins: "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want ... " Then, for a moment, he loses the thread. "I missed a sequence, and that disturbed me," Graham recalls. It was frustrating—the man who has preached the Gospel to more human beings than anyone in history does not like to forget critical verses of the Bible—but in the end the last line comes back to him: "Surely thy loving-kindness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Relieved, he drifts back to sleep.
To everything there is a season, says the author of Ecclesiastes, and for Billy Graham this is the season of coping with the toll of time. Getting around is harder; so is recalling familiar Scriptures. Yet rather than simply withdrawing into the shadows to enjoy a few richly deserved quiet years with his wife and family, Graham believes he may have been called to a last mission: to soldier on by faith, praying and pondering and sharing what he has come to see and feel and think in the twilight of his life. In the same way he refused to give up searching his memory for the verses to the psalm, he seems congenitally incapable of surrendering completely to the weakness of the body. "All my life I've been taught how to die, but no one ever taught me how to grow old," Graham remarked one day to his daughter Anne Graham Lotz. "And I told him, 'Well, Daddy, you are now teaching all of us’.”....
1) Who is the MAIN subject of the article?
A Condi Rice B Billy Graham
C J. Edgar Hoover D Jon Meachem
2) Where does that person now live?
A New York, N.Y. B Chicago, I.L.
C Montreat, N.C. D Miami, F.L.
3) How old is the person who is the MAIN subject of the article?
A 87 B 90
C 60 D 95
4) What is the first phrase of the 23rd Psalm?
A In the house of the Lord B The Lord is my shepherd
C I am the Lord thy God D In the beginning
5) To everything there is a _____________, says the author of Ecclesiastes
A Time to Die B Time to be Born
C Season D Turn! Turn! Turn!
6) Which of the following BEST describes the lifelong job of the article subject?
A Preacher of the Gospel B Lover of Music
C Friend of Presidents D Painter
7) What is the name of his wife?
A Billy B Ruth
C J. J. D Anne
8) What is the name of his daughter?
A Amelia B Ruth
C Laura D Anne
9) What is the only hint that a celebrated figure lives in his house?
A A mechanical gate B Electronic lights in front
C Five cars in the garage D The house is a mansion
10) Why do you think Newsweek sent Jon Meachem to cover this story?
A His last name begins with “M” B His first name is Jon
C He is a noted religious scholar D He hates Billy Graham