Reading Comprehension – Short
Answers
Passage 1
Six consecutive days of
spring rain had created a raging river running by Nancy Brown‘s farm. As she
tried to herd her cows to higher ground, she slipped and hit her head on a
fallen tree trunk. The fall knocked her out for a moment or two. When she came
to, Lizzie, one of her oldest and favorite cows, was licking her face. The water
was rising. Nancy got up and began walking slowly with Lizzie. The water was now
waist high. Nancy‘s pace got slower and slower. Finally, all she could do was to
throw her arm around Lizzie‘s neck and try to hang on. About 20 minutes later,
Lizzie managed to successfully pull herself and Nancy out of the raging water
and onto a bit of high land, a small island now in the middle of acres of white
water.
Even though it was about noon, the sky was so dark
and the rain and lightning so bad that it took rescuers another two hours to
discover Nancy. A helicopter lowered a paramedic, who attached Nancy to a
life-support hoist. They raised her into the helicopter and took her to the
school gym, where the Red Cross had set up an emergency shelter.
When the
flood subsided two days later, Nancy immediately went back to the "island."
Lizzie was gone. She was one of 19 cows that Nancy lost. "I owe my life to her,"
said Nancy sobbingly.
Instructions: Please give a complete
answer.
1. What had created a raging river?
- Six consecutive days of spring rain had created a
raging river.
2. What happened when Nancy tried to herd her cows
to higher ground?
- She slipped and hit her
head on a fallen tree trunk.
3. What did she see when she came
to?
- Lizzie, one of her oldest and favorite
cows, was licking her face.
4. What did Nancy throw her arm
around?
- She threw her arm around Lizzie‘s
neck.
5. What was the small "island"?
- It was a bit of high land.
6. How
long did it take the rescuers to find Nancy?
- It took them 2 hours to discover Nancy.
7. What lowered a
paramedic to the ground?
- A helicopter
lowered the paramedic to the ground.
8. Where had the Red Cross
set up an emergency shelter?
- The Red Cross
had set up an emergency shelter in the school gym.
9. When did
the flood subside?
- It subsided two days
later.
10. How many cows did Nancy lose?
- She lost 19 cows.
Passage 2
A fifteen-year-old boy was injured in a car accident when the
minivan he was traveling in was hit by a pickup truck at an intersection. The
boy was taken to a nearby hospital. The paramedics said that it appeared that
the boy had nothing more serious than a broken left leg, but that internal
injuries were always a possibility. The boy was conscious and alert. His mother,
who was driving, was uninjured. She said that the truck appeared out of nowhere,
and she thought she was going to die. She turned the steering wheel sharply to
the left, and the truck hit her minivan on the passenger side. The driver of the
truck was a 50-year-old man who was unemployed and apparently had been
drinking—police found 18 empty beer cans inside the truck. The man denied
drinking, but he failed the police test for sobriety. When asked to touch his
nose with his arms outstretched and eyes closed, he was unable to touch any part
of his head.
The handcuffed man asked the police if they
knew where "Mabel" was as he was put into the back seat of the police vehicle.
The police asked him if Mabel was his wife. He said, "She‘s my dog, my dog!
Where‘s my baby?" A dog with a collar, but no identification, was found minutes
later, half a block away. The man was taken to the city jail and booked on
suspicion of driving while intoxicated and on causing an
accident.
Instructions: Please give a complete answer.
1. Who was injured in a car accident?
- A boy was injured in a car
accident.
2. Where did the accident happen?
- It happened at an intersection.
3.
Where was the boy taken?
- He was taken to a
hospital.
4. Who was driving the minivan when the accident
happened?
- The mother was driving the
minivan when the accident happened.
5. Which side of the minivan
was hit by the truck?
- The truck hit the
passenger side of the minivan.
6. How old was the truck
driver?
- He was 50 years
old.
7. What did the driver deny?
- He denied drinking.
8. Which part of
his head was the driver unable to touch?
- He
was unable to touch any part of his head.
9. Where was the man
put in the police vehicle?
- He was put into
the back seat of the police vehicle.
10. Where was the man
taken?
- He was taken to the city
jail.
Passage 3
Sara Smith, a Pasadena
resident, went shopping. She is 30, and has lived at 3037 N. Foothill Street
since 1992. Sara has been married to John for seven years. They have two
children; Bob is five years old and Nancy is three. Sara owns a 1995 four-door
blue Toyola. At 9 a.m., Sara got into her car and drove to Barget, a department
store a mile away.
Barget was having a holiday sale. Sara
bought a four-slice toaster for $29.95 plus tax. The regular price was $39.95.
She paid by check. On her way home, Sara stopped at MilkPlus to buy a gallon of
nonfat milk. The milk was $3.50. Sara got 50 cents back in change.
Sara
arrived home at 10 a.m. John and the kids were still sleeping. She woke them up
and then made a hot and nutritious breakfast for everyone.
Instructions:
Please give a complete answer.
1. How old is
Sara?
- She's 30 years old.
2.
Who is Sara married to?
- She is married to
John.
3. How many children do Sara and John have?
- They have two children.
4. What kind
of car does Sara have?
- She has a 1995
four-door blue Toyola.
5. When did she go to Barget?
- She went to Barget at 9:00 AM.
6.
What is Barget?
- It is a department
store.
7. How did she pay for the toaster?
- She paid by check.
8. What did she
buy on her way home?
- She bought some nonfat
milk.
9. What was the price of the milk?
- It was $3.50.
10. What did she do
when she found that kids were still sleeping?
- She woke them up.
Passage 4
A
79-year-old man was slightly injured on Saturday while waiting in his brand new
convertible in a drive-through lane at Burger Prince restaurant. Herman Sherman
of Northville suffered a mild burn about 9:00 p.m. when a young female employee
accidentally spilled a cup of coffee into his lap. Sherman said the coffee was
hot but not scalding.
He refused medical aid, saying the
only problem was the stain on his slacks, but it would wash out. He was given a
fresh refill. Before Sherman drove off, the restaurant manager, John Johnson,
gave him two free gift certificates--one for an extra-large coffee and one for
the restaurant's newest sandwich, the McRap.
The employee, who was a new
hire, was let go later that evening. She was quite upset. She said she would
probably sue Burger Prince for letting her go. She said it was the man's fault
for ordering something that she might be able to spill.
Instructions:
Please give a complete answer.
1. Where was the man
injured?
- He was injured at a fast food
restaurant.
2. How old was the man?
- He was 79.
3. How serious was his
injury?
- His injury was
slight.
4. What day was he injured?
- He was injured on Saturday.
5. What
was he doing when he was injured?
- He was
accepting a cup of coffee from the employee.
6. What
happened?
- The employee accidentally spilled
coffee into the man's lap.
7. Was the employee male or
female?
The employee was
female.
8. What did Sherman refuse?
- He refused medical aid.
9. What did
Sherman say was the only problem?
- He said
the only problem was the coffee stain on his slacks.
10. When was
the employee let go?
- She was let go later
that evening.
Passage 5
Jerry Baldwin
was 30 years old. He was the manager of a pizza restaurant. He lived in an
apartment about one mile north of the restaurant. He walked to and from work.
When it was raining, he took the bus. Jerry loved gangster movies. When a new
one came out, he would go to the theater and watch the new movie three or four
times. Then, when it went to video, Jerry would buy the video at Barney‘s Video
Store. Jerry had a home collection of over 1,000 gangster videos. Old ones, new
ones, color, black and white, English, Spanish, Japanese--he loved them all. He
could tell you the name of the movie, the director, the stars, and the plot. Did
you say you liked "Pulp Fiction"? Well, Jerry would rattle off all the details
of that movie. And then he would invite you to his place to watch it some time.
He was a nice guy. Jerry finally decided that he would like to own a gun, just
like the gangsters. So he saved his money for a couple of years. Then he went to
a gun store and bought a used .38 caliber revolver for $300. While there, he
also bought a couple of boxes of ammunition. The following Saturday morning, he
went to the gun club to practice with his new revolver. He was in the club for
only 10 minutes when he accidentally dropped his pistol. The gun went off, and
the bullet went into Jerry‘s right knee. Jerry now walks with a limp and a cane,
just like some gangsters.
Instructions: Please give a
complete answer.
1. Where does Jerry work?
- He works in a pizza restaurant.
2.
Does he live in an apartment or a house?
- He
lives in an apartment.
3. How does Jerry get to work?
- He walks to work.
4. What does Jerry
do when a new movie goes to video?
- He
watches the new movie three or four times.
5. What does Jerry do
when a new movie goes to video?
- He buys the
video at Barney‘s Video Store.
6. How big is Jerry’s collection
of gangster videos?
- He has a collection of
over 1,000 gangster videos.
7. What did Jerry finally decide to
own?
- He finally decided that he would like
to own a gun.
Passage 6
A 24-year-old
Los Angeles man was taken to a hospital and then to county jail after leading
police on a one-hour freeway chase in a stolen SUV. The chase ended in downtown
Los Angeles in front of the Spring Hotel. Most of the chase was uneventful,
except for an empty bottle of whiskey that the driver threw at one police
vehicle.
When the driver got into downtown, things started
to happen. He ran over a fire hydrant. The water spewed out of the hydrant,
causing a geyser that ruined all the books in several carts that a vendor had
put outside to attract customers into his bookstore. The driver hurriedly turned
west onto Grand Avenue and managed to bang into three parked cars on one side of
that street and two cars on the other side. The driver also tried to run over a
police officer, who was standing in the crosswalk ordering him to
halt.
Turning north, the driver caused a bus to slam on its brakes to avoid a
collision. The bus was empty, and the bus driver was uninjured. However, two
police cars that were pursuing the SUV from different directions were not so
lucky. One of them ran into the front of the bus, and the other into the back.
Because the drivers had braked early enough, the damage to their cars was minor.
Both officers resumed the chase.
They only went two blocks north to find that
the SUV had come to a full stop because it had plowed into a newspaper stand.
The driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was slumped behind the steering
wheel. The proprietor of the newsstand was yelling at the driver and shaking a
magazine at him. The police called for the ambulance. They charged the driver
with failure to yield to a police officer and driving under the
influence.
Instructions: Answer the following yes/no questions
1. Was the man taken to county jail? Y
2.
Did the chase end on the freeway? N
3. Was most of the chase eventful?
N
4. Did the driver throw an empty bottle? Y
5. Did he run over a geyser?
N
6. Were the books ruined by water? Y
7. Did the SUV collide with the
bus? N
8. Did two police cars run into the bus? Y
9. Was the driver
wearing a seatbelt? N
10. Did the police call for the ambulance?
Y
Passage 7
Sam, an unemployed piano tuner, said
it was only the second thing he had ever won in his life. The first thing was an
Afghan blanket at a church raffle when he was 25 years old. But this was much
bigger: it was $120,000! He had won the Big Cube, a state lottery game. To win,
a contestant must first guess which number a spinning cube will stop on. The
cube has six numbers on it: 1X, 10X, 50X, 100X, 500X, and 1000X. If he is
correct, the contestant must then guess which of two selected variables is going
to be greater. So, just guessing which number appears on the cube does not
guarantee that you will win any money.
Sam correctly
guessed 1000X, but he still had to choose between two variables. One variable
was the number of cars that would run the stop sign at Hill Street and Lake
Avenue in six hours. The other variable was the number of times that a teenage
boy would change TV channels in a three-hour period. This was a tough
decision.
Finally, Sam flipped a coin. It came up heads, so Sam picked the
teenager. He picked right. The stop sign was run only 76 times, but the teen
clicked 120 times. Sixty-year-old Sam jumped for joy, for he had just won 1000
times 120, or $120,000. Sam dreamily left the lottery studio. Talking excitedly
on his cell phone while crossing the street, he got hit by a little sports car.
Sam is slowly getting better. He was in the hospital for a month. His hospital
bill was $110,000. And the insurance company for the little sports car‘s owner
sued Sam for $9,000 worth of repairs. Also, Sam still has to pay federal taxes
on his winnings. Sam doesn‘t play the state lottery any more. He says it‘s
better to be unlucky.
Instructions: Please give a complete
answer.
1. How many times has Sam won anything in his
life?
- He has won only two times in his
life.
2. What was the first thing Sam ever won?
- It was an Afghan blanket.
3. How old
was Sam when he first won something?
- He was
twenty-five years old.
4. What was the second thing he
won?
- He had won the Big Cube, a state
lottery game.
5. What did he flip?
- He flipped a coin.
6. Where did Sam
jump for joy?
- He jumped for joy in the
lottery studio.
7. What was he doing while crossing the
street?
- He was talking on his cell
phone.
Passage 8
Inmates released two
correctional officers they had held for a week in the tower at the state prison
complex. The inmates captured the officers a week ago after the two officers
tried to quell a food fight in the main dining room. The food fight erupted when
the prisoners discovered that their candy ration had been cut in half. The candy
is a popular bartering item. Inmates trade it for cigarettes, cigars, magazines,
stationery, legal dictionaries, and other items. Prison officials said it was
necessary to cut back on this luxury item in order to provide basic items, like
soap and razors and toilet paper.
The prisoners went
berserk over the reduction. They threw food, plates, and silverware at the
doors, windows, and guards. Then they grabbed two guards and hauled them up to
the tower. Once they had the tower door secured, they sent messages to prison
officials demanding big bags of candy in exchange for sparing the guards‘ lives.
The warden complied with their demands. After a week of negotiations, the
prisoners approved a deal which restored their candy ration, but in return the
administration said they would have to reduce daily soap allotments by 75
percent.
Instructions: Please give a complete answer.
1. Where were the officers held?
- The officers were held in the tower at the state
prison complex.
2. Where was the food fight?
- It was in the main dining room.
3.
Why did the food fight start?
- It started
because the prisoners‘ candy ration had been cut in half.
4. What
had been cut in half?
- The prisoners‘ candy
ration had been cut in half.
5. Why was the candy ration cut in
half?
- It was a luxury
item.
6. How did the prisoners react to the candy ration being
cut in half?
- They went
berserk.
7. What did the prisoners throw?
- They threw food, plates, and
silverware.
8. What did they demand?
- They demanded big bags of candy.
9.
What did the warden do?
- He complied with
the prisoners‘ demands.
10. How long did the negotiations
last?
- They lasted a
week.
Passage 9
Two mayors made a bet on the
outcome of the Vegetable Bowl, the annual football game between their high
school teams. If Arvada‘s team lost, the mayor of Arvada would send the mayor of
Boulder ten pounds of sliced potatoes, ready for frying. If Boulder‘s team lost,
the mayor would send ten pounds of sliced tomatoes, ready for sandwiches or
salads.
Unfortunately, before the game started, the mayor of Boulder
overheard the Arvada mayor tell someone: "They grow the worst tomatoes. If they
lose and send us their tomatoes, I‘m going to give them all to my pig." The
mayor of Boulder was upset to hear this, because he thought Boulder‘s tomatoes
were the best in the state. So he gave the matter some thought.
The following
week, the big game was played. Boulder lost its star quarterback in the first
half when he tripped over a cheerleader and sprained his big toe. The
quarterback glumly watched the rest of the game from the bench. His team ended
up losing, 38 to 12. The two mayors shook hands after the game, and the Arvada
mayor said, "I‘m really looking forward to those tomatoes." As the Boulder team
left the stadium, some unhappy fans threw ripe tomatoes at them.
A week
later, the mayor of Arvada received a package of beautifully sliced tomatoes. He
took them straight to his pig, which gobbled them right up. That night the mayor
of Boulder asked his wife if Arvada‘s mayor had called. "No," she said. "Why? "
"Because I mixed a pint of hot sauce into the tomatoes and I wanted to know how
his pig‘s doing."
Instructions: Please give a complete answer.
1.
Who made a bet? - The two mayors made a bet.
2.
How often does the Vegetable Bowl occur? - It occurs
annually.
3. What were the prizes for the bet? -
Potatoes and tomatoes were the prizes.
4. How many pounds of
sliced potatoes were there? - There were ten
pounds.
5. What can you do with sliced potatoes?
- You can fry them.
6. What did the Boulder mayor
think? - He thought Boulder‘s tomatoes were the best in the
state.
7. When did the Boulder team lose its
quarterback? - They lost him in the first
half.
Passage 10
Goats are being hired
to do the work of men in a neighborhood just outside of San Diego. The fires
that occurred in Hillborough four years ago destroyed thirty homes, most of
which have been rebuilt. While contractors were rebuilding the homes, nature was
regrowing the grasses, bushes, and shrubs. The area is now so overgrown in brush
that it again poses a major fire hazard. The city council asked for bids to
remove the brush. The lowest bid they received was $50,000. And that was if the
city provided breakfast and lunch for the work crews for the six weeks it would
take to clear the overgrown area. The city countered, offering unlimited coffee
(black only) and a doughnut a day for each crew member. When that offer was
rejected, the city asked for help on its website. A sheepherder in Montana and a
goatherder in San Bernardino read about the city‘s plight while surfing the web
on their laptops. They both offered to do the job for $25,000. The council chose
the goatherder because he lived closer. When told that the city dump was
overflowing, the goatherder said, "No problem. My goats will eat everything in
your dump. Except for the automobile engines, of course." So, for another
$5,000, the city killed two birds with one stone. If all goes well, they will
invite the goatherder and his "family" back every three years. The goatherder
said he will probably visit San Diego while his goats are in the dump. "I want
to take one of those hang-glider rides. I just hope we don‘t crash. My goats
would miss me a lot," he said.
Instructions: Please
give a complete answer.
1. What did the city ask for on
its website?
- It asked for
help.
2. Who read about the city’s plight?
- A sheepherder and a goat herder read about
it.
3. What were the herders doing when they read about the
city’s plight?
- They were surfing the
web.
4. What were the herders surfing the web on?
- They were surfing the web on their
laptops.
5. How much money did the herders want to do the
job?
- They wanted $25,000 to do the
job.
6. Which herder did the council choose?
- They chose the goat herder.
7. Why
did the council choose the goat herder?
-
They chose him because he lived closer.
Passage 11
The owner of a missing cat is asking for help. "My baby has been
missing for over a month now, and I want him back so badly," said Mrs. Brown, a
56-year-old woman. Mrs. Brown lives by herself in a trailer park near Clovis.
She said that Clyde, her 7-year-old cat, didn‘t come home for dinner more than a
month ago. The next morning he didn‘t appear for breakfast either. After Clyde
missed an extra-special lunch, she called the police.
When
the policeman asked her to describe Clyde, she told him that Clyde had beautiful
green eyes, had all his teeth but was missing half of his left ear, and was
seven years old and completely white. She then told the officer that Clyde was
about a foot high.
A bell went off. "Is Clyde your child or your pet?" the
officer suspiciously asked. "Well, he‘s my cat, of course," Mrs. Brown replied.
"Lady, you‘re supposed to report missing PERSONS, not missing CATS," said the
irritated policeman. "Well, who can I report this to?" she asked. "You can‘t.
You have to ask around your neighborhood or put up flyers," replied the
officer.
Mrs. Brown figured that a billboard would work a lot better than an
8"x11" piece of paper on a telephone pole. There was an empty billboard at the
end of her street just off the interstate highway. The billboard had a phone
number on it. She called that number, and they told her they could blow up a
picture of Clyde (from Mrs. Brown‘s family album) and put it on the billboard
for all to see.
"But how can people see it when they whiz by on the
interstate?" she asked. "Oh, don‘t worry, ma‘am, they only whiz by between 2
a.m. and 5:30 a.m. The rest of the day, the interstate is so full of commuters
that no one moves." They told her it would cost only $3,000 a month. So she took
most of the money out of her savings account and rented the billboard for a
month.
The month has passed, but Clyde has not appeared. Because she has
almost no money in savings, Mrs. Brown called the local newspaper to see if
anyone could help her rent the billboard for just one more month. She is waiting
but, so far, no one has stepped forward.
Instructions: Please give a
complete answer.
1. What is Clyde missing?
- He‘s missing half of his left ear.
2.
How old is Clyde?
- He‘s seven years
old.
3. What color is Clyde?
-
He‘s completely white.
4. How tall is Clyde?
- He‘s about one foot tall.
5. What did
the policeman say that people are supposed to report?
- He said that people are supposed to report missing
persons.
6. What is at the end of Mrs. Brown’s street?
- An empty billboard is at the end of her
street.
Passage 12
A man accused of
failing to return more than 700 children‘s books to five different libraries in
the county was released from jail yesterday after a book publisher agreed to
post his bond of $1,000. The publisher said, "There‘s a story here. This is a
man who loves books. He just can‘t let go of them. He hasn‘t stolen a single
book. So what‘s the crime? We think that Mr. Barush has a story to tell. We plan
to publish his story."
When asked why he didn‘t return the
books, Mr. Barush said, "Well, how could I? They became family to me. I was
afraid to return them, because I knew that kids or dogs would get hold of these
books and chew them up, throw them around, rip the pages, spill soda on them,
get jam and jelly on them, and drown them in the toilet."
He continued,
"Books are people, too! They talk to you, they take care of you, and they enrich
you with wisdom and humor and love. A book is my guest in my home. How could I
kick it out? I repaired torn pages. I dusted them with a soft clean cloth. I
turned their pages so they could breathe and get some fresh air.
"Every week
I reorganized them on their shelves so they could meet new friends. My books
were HAPPY books. You could tell just by looking at them. Now they‘re all back
in the library, on the lower shelves, on the floors, at the mercy of all those
runny-nosed kids. I can hear them calling me! I need to rescue them. Excuse me.
I have to go now."
Instructions: Please give a complete answer.
1. What did Mr. Barush fail to do?
- He failed to return more than 700 children‘s
books.
2. Where do all the books belong?
- They belong in five different
libraries.
3. When was Mr. Barush released from jail?
- He was released yesterday.
4. What
did the book publisher agree to do?
- He
agreed to post Mr. Barush's bond of $1,000.
5. What did the
publisher plan to do?
- He planned to publish
Mr. Barush‘s story.
6. Why didn’t Mr. Barush return the
books?
- Because they had become family to
him.
7. What would kids spill on the books?
- They would spill soda on
them.
Passage 13
The 36-year-old
bachelor ate his usual lunch at home. He had an apple, a ham sandwich with a
sliced dill pickle, a bowl of chicken noodle soup with a couple of soda
crackers, and a small candy bar, all washed down with an eight-ounce glass of
milk.
After he finished breakfast, Ed put everything in the
sink, poured a little dishwashing soap onto a Teflon pad, and scrubbed the soup
bowl, the sandwich plate, and the milk glass. Then he switched on the garbage
disposal to grind up the few bits of food that he had scraped off his plate. He
left the kitchen to go brush his teeth. But he felt something wet on his bare
foot. Sure enough, he looked down and saw some water on the kitchen carpet.
"What is this?" he said aloud.
Opening the cabinet door under the sink, he
saw no dripping water. He went to the closet and got a flashlight. When he
shined the light into the cabinet under the sink, he saw drops of water on the
sides of the dark blue steel cylinder. It looked like he had a leaky garbage
disposal. To test his theory, he turned on the switch, and a stream of water
flowed out of a seam onto the cabinet floor and then onto the kitchen carpet. Ed
had a problem, but he didn‘t have time to fix it now. He had to run some
errands. He put some tape over the switch so he couldn‘t accidentally turn the
disposal on again.
Instructions: Please give a complete answer.
1. What did Ed have to do?
-
He had to run some errands.
2. How old is Ed?
- He‘s 36 years old.
3. Where did Ed
eat lunch?
- He ate lunch at
home.
4. What kind of fruit did Ed have?
- He had an apple.
5. What kind of
sandwich did Ed have?
- He had a ham
sandwich.
6. What animal does ham come from?
- It comes from a hog.
7. How many soda
crackers did Ed have?
- He had two soda
crackers.
Passage 14
Ed came home from
his errands and put the groceries into the cupboard and the refrigerator. He
grabbed a flathead screwdriver and a pair of pliers from his toolbox. In the
kitchen, he got down on his hands and knees and turned on the flashlight. After
a couple of minutes of looking, he decided what to do. He had never opened up a
disposal before, but there is a first time for everything.
The cylindrical disposal was about 7 inches in diameter and had a
horizontal seam dividing the top half from the bottom half. The halves were held
together by three screws. Ed jiggled the bottom half of the disposal; it was
loose because two of the three screws were corroded. Only one screw was still
doing its duty. Ed unscrewed it.
The bottom half of the disposal was now
lying on the cabinet floor. Ed thought for sure that it would be full of
months-old food, but there was no food, only a hardened, torn, useless gasket.
The next day Ed went to the hardware store to buy some screws and a new gasket.
The employee told him that they did not carry those gaskets and suggested that
he write to the manufacturer. Ed returned home. He created his own gasket by
using gasket sealant that comes in a tube. He applied the sealant, screwed the
two halves back together, and crossed his fingers.
The next day he turned on
the water and switched on the disposal. When he saw the water pouring out of the
seam, Ed knew one thing: it was time to buy a new disposal. The good thing was
that new disposals started at $79. The bad thing was that it would have to be
installed by a plumber. Plumber rates started at about $80 an hour. Ed decided
that since the disposal used a lot of energy and the world needed to use less
energy, from now on he would put his scraps into the kitchen garbage bag. He
reminded himself to tell everyone at work tomorrow about how he was now helping
to solve the world‘s energy problems.
Instructions: Please give a
complete answer.
1. What was loose?
- The bottom half of the disposal was
loose.
2. Why was the bottom half loose?
- Because two screws were corroded.
3.
How many screws were not corroded?
- One screw
was not corroded.
4. Where was the bottom half of the disposal
lying?
- It was lying on the cabinet
floor.
5. Where did Ed go the next day?
- He went to the hardware
store.
Passage 15
An elderly woman told
the police that, as she entered a restroom, she was jostled by a woman behind
her. A few minutes later, as she was about to pay for a moustache remover at a
nearby store, she discovered that her wallet was missing from her purse.
Apparently the woman who had bumped into her had cleverly stolen her wallet.
This type of theft is called pick-pocketing.
Perhaps an
even more personal kind of theft is known as housebreaking, or burglary. After
such an intrusion, the victims often report a feeling of violation. They seldom
regain the comfort and security level they used to have in their home. They
constantly feel like they are being watched; they feel that if they go out, the
burglars will again come in. They feel uncomfortable when they are home, and
they feel uncomfortable when they aren‘t home.
Burglars get lucky or make
their own luck. Sometimes homeowners forget to lock all their windows or doors.
Sometimes burglars will break a window, cut through a screen door, or force open
a side door.
Thieves have no shame. They will steal from anyone that they
think is vulnerable. Of course, that means the elderly are their frequent
victims. Some thieves are very clever; some are very lucky. All of them make an
honest person‘s life more difficult. It‘s too bad that all of them can‘t be
caught and converted into honest people.
Imagine that: a world with no
larceny, a world where you can park your bicycle unsecured on the sidewalk, or
leave your purse unattended in your shopping cart. Is this only a dream? Some
say that if you can dream about it, it can happen.
Instructions: Please
give a complete answer.
1. What did the elderly woman
enter?
- She entered a
restroom.
2. What was the elderly woman about to pay
for?
- She was about to pay for a moustache
remover.
3. What did she discover?
- She discovered that her wallet was
missing.
4. Who stole her wallet?
- The woman who had bumped into her stole her
wallet.
5. What do burglary victims report?
- They report a feeling of
violation.
6. How do burglary victims feel?
- They feel uncomfortable.
7. What will
burglars do to a screen door sometimes?
-
They will cut through it.
Passage 16
Easter Sunday was a cloudy but festive day in Memorial Park for
about 100 kids from local orphanages. An Easter egg hunt started at 10 a.m. when
a fire engine blasted its horn. Boys and girls, ranging in age from 2 to 6,
dashed throughout the park, yelling and screaming, walking and running, and
quite often, falling down. One little girl, Amanda, found her first egg less
than a minute after the horn blew. Instead of putting it into her basket and
continuing to search for more, she sat down. Then she spent the next 10 minutes
examining it, unwrapping it, and eating it piece by piece. When she finished,
she put the wrapper into her basket, wiped her hands on her white dress, and
went to hunt for another egg.
Meanwhile Jeff, one of the
older boys, filled his basket to overflowing. He asked one of the firemen to
hold it for him, and then took off running for more candy eggs. As soon as he
found some, he put them into the basket of the child closest to him. Two little
toddlers both saw a candy egg at the same time, and they both bent over to pick
it up. They banged heads, and both of them sat down bawling. A couple of
volunteer nurses picked them up and told them that everything was going to be
all right.
By 11 a.m., the search was over. Most of the kids were studying
their candy, exchanging it with others, or eating it. But then the fire engine
horn blasted again, causing three-year-old Jenny to cry. A fireman on a bullhorn
told everyone to gather around, because a special guest had arrived.
Once
everyone was settled, the Easter Bunny climbed down out of the fire engine. The
bunny was 6‘6" tall. Most of the kids cheered and ran toward him. Even Jenny
stopped crying for a moment. She stared at the bunny and at all the kids running
toward the bunny; then she started crying even harder. The Easter Bunny hugged
the kids, and they hugged him. Then the Easter Bunny sat on a fire engine step,
and one by one the kids came up, sat on his lap, and got their pictures taken.
After that, the older kids were allowed to explore the fire engine
itself.
The festivities ended about 3 p.m., when the orphans climbed into the
buses for the return trip home. Most of them said they had a fun time.
Six-year-old Sara asked, "Can we do this every Sunday?" And more than one boy
asked, "Can I drive the fire engine next time?"
Instructions: Please give
a complete answer.
1. When did Amanda find her first
egg?
- She found it less than a minute after
the horn blew.
2. What did Amanda do after she found her first
egg?
- She sat down and ate
it.
3. What color dress was Amanda wearing?
- She was wearing a white dress.
4.
What did Amanda do after eating her egg?
-
She went to hunt for another egg.
5. What kind of eggs were
they?
- They were candy
eggs.
6. What happened to two little toddlers?
- They banged heads.
7. What time was
the search over?
- It was over by 11
o'clock.
Passage 17
Theodore, the
manager of the Paradise Hotel, told a middle-aged couple that they would have to
leave the hotel after just one night. The couple, visiting from Texas, had
booked a room for eight nights.
"They wanted a sterile
environment," Theodore said. "They should have rented a room in a hospital,
maybe an operating room. This hotel is clean, but it isn‘t that
clean."
Theodore said that, on the very first day, the couple brought all the
sheets, pillowcases, and bedspreads down to the main lobby and just dropped them
next to the front desk. They stood there next to this pile of bedding while
other guests looked, pointed, and murmured. The hotel got three cancellations
within the hour from people who witnessed this strange event.
When Theodore
asked the couple what the problem was, they said that their bedding was filthy
and they wanted it replaced. The couple could not identify any specific "filth"
on the bedding. The wife just said, "We‘re paying good money to stay here. How
dare you doubt us? We know the filth is there. That‘s all the proof you need."
Theodore called room service, and the bedding was replaced immediately.
Early
the next evening, however, the couple marched to the front desk again and
demanded seven cans of spray disinfectant. "We need a can for each night. We
have to spray the phone, the TV, all the door handles, the toilet handle, the
shower stall, the faucet, the sink, and any hotel staff entering our
room."
Worried about what their demands might be in the following days,
Theodore politely suggested that a hotel more suitable for them was just around
the corner. He then called ahead to reserve a "very clean" room, and gave them
free transportation in the hotel limousine.
"They seemed surprised that I
suggested a different hotel, but they liked the idea that I didn‘t charge them
for the second day, and they really liked the limousine service," said
Theodore.
Instructions: Please give a complete answer.
1. Who is Theodore?
- He‘s
the manager of the Paradise hotel.
2. Where was the couple
from?
- They were from
Texas.
3. How old was the couple?
- They were middle-aged.
4. What kind
of environment did the couple want?
- They
wanted a sterile environment.
5. Where did they drop the
sheets?
- They dropped them next to the front
desk.
6. What did other guests do?
- They looked, pointed, and
murmured.
Passage 18
The well-dressed,
gray-haired woman was crying her eyes out. She had just been fined $100 by the
judge because a month ago her dog made a mess on the front lawn of the
courthouse.
"I just got out of the cab and I leashed
Poopsie to the light pole. After I paid the fare and gave the driver a dollar
tip, I turned around and saw that Poopsie had made a mess. I didn‘t have any
plastic bags, so I said, ‗Well, Poopsie, let‘s go home. There‘s nothing I can do
about this now.‘
"We were just starting home when I heard this voice out of
nowhere: ‗Excuse me, ma‘am. Is that your dog?‘ I turned around. It was an
officer of the law. Well, of course, it was my dog. ‗That dog just made an
illegal deposit on the courthouse lawn. As its owner, it‘s your responsibility
to dispose of that deposit. See the sign over there? I‘m going to have to write
you a citation.‘
"I asked him what sign he was talking about. He pointed all
the way down to the end of the block. One little sign, a block away! How could
anyone see that? I couldn‘t see that sign with my best opera glasses. The
officer said that I could fight the ticket. He said the judge was a nice old man
who owned four dogs. So I said, ‗OK, thank you, I‘ll fight the ticket.‘
"So
when I went to court, I dressed Poopsie up in his prettiest ribbons and made
extra sure he did his business first. We were both so excited. I just knew the
judge and Poopsie would hit it off.
"But do you know what happened when we
got inside? They had a different judge, a judge who is allergic to dogs, and he
immediately started sniffling, coughing, sneezing, and looking around. And then
he yelled at me to get the dog out of the courtroom. He fined me $100 on the way
out without even giving me a chance to talk about Poopsie‘s chronic dyspepsia.
It was terrible! I‘m still upset."
Instructions: Please give a complete
answer.
1. Why did the judge start sniffling?
- Because he was allergic to dogs.
2.
What did the judge tell her to do?
- He told
her to get the dog out of the courtroom.
3. How much did the
judge fine her?
- He fined her
$100.
4. How did she feel?
-
She felt upset.
5. What color is her hair?
- It‘s gray.
6. Where did her dog make
a mess?
- He made a mess on the front lawn of
the courthouse.
7. Where did she leash Poopsie?
- She leashed him to the light
pole.
Passage 19
A local community
college professor decided to fight back. "The price of books for our students is
just getting higher and higher and, combined with the rising cost of tuition,
it‘s killing these kids," said Peter Jason, Ph.D. "Remember, students are one of
the poorest groups of people in America. Almost half of them have at least one
part-time job. In fact, one of my students has three jobs. She is a part-time
sales clerk at a clothing store three days a week, then works three evenings a
week as a pizza cook, and on weekends she does manicures at a beauty salon. And
she still manages to have a high GPA and go to school full-time."
Textbook prices are traditionally high. Adding to that problem, many
college instructors change textbooks year after year; they either upgrade to a
new edition or switch to an entirely different textbook. This further hurts
students because if an instructor no longer uses a particular textbook, that
book has no resale value.
Dr. Jason decided to make life a little easier and
a lot cheaper for his students by writing his own book on public speaking. "Many
books have an increased price because of bells and whistles: CD-ROMs, lots of
color photographs, and lots of graphics. I talked to my students, and many of
them, like me, prefer to keep things simple. So, during a sabbatical a few years
ago, I wrote my own textbook. I made sure that it wasn‘t long-winded. I called
it Successful Public Speaking: How To Be Brief, Concise, and to the
Point.
"Compared to most other public speaking primers, mine is half the
number of pages, and one-third the price. That is, $30 instead of $90. Plus, it
is published in a three-ring binder format. So, when I wrote a second edition
last year, students only had to buy the 35 new pages and delete 35 of the
original pages. For only $7.00, they had upgraded to the new edition. I‘ve had
great feedback from my students about this loose-leaf concept. Maybe the word
will get out, and more writers and publishers will try it."
Instructions:
Please give a complete answer.
1. How much was the
second edition?
- It was only
$7.00.
2. What kind of feedback has Dr. Jason gotten from his
students?
- He's gotten great
feedback.
3. What does he call the concept for his book?
- He calls it the loose-leaf
concept.
4. Who does Dr. Jason hope will try the loose-leaf
concept?
- He hopes writers and publishers
will try it.
5. Where does Dr. Jason teach?
- He teaches at a local community
college.
6. What did Dr. Jason decide to do?
- He decided to fight back.
Passage
20
A man and a woman died in an apparent murder-suicide
last night in Altadena. The man was 74-year-old Dominic Vittorio. The woman was
his 70-year-old wife, Victoria. The couple had been married for 50 years. In
fact, their 50th anniversary occurred just a month ago, according to their
next-door neighbor, Mrs. Allen. The couple was childless and had no close
friends. Mr. Vittorio was a retired carpenter who had emphysema and was blind in
one eye because of a cataract. His wife was a diabetic who had already had one
foot amputated because of complications from the disease. Her eyesight was
almost completely gone.
"They were such a nice couple,"
said Mrs. Allen. "I‘ve lived next to them for the last 20 years or so. I‘m
widowed, and Dom always used to help me with things like changing light bulbs
and fixing appliances. They had no kids, but they were always friendly to the
neighborhood kids. Every Halloween they handed out tons of candy and fresh
fruit. But about eight years ago Vicky came down with diabetes, and things just
haven‘t been the same for her or Dom. They used to be so friendly and full of
life, and then they just seemed to get quieter and quieter.
"She used to come
over to my place once or twice a week, and we would talk about all kinds of
things and have the nicest time. But that happened less and less as she got
sicker. So I would go over to her house about once a week and we would talk. But
the conversations steadily got shorter, and she seemed to lose interest in
listening and in talking. She didn‘t say it, but you could tell she was in a lot
of pain."
Mrs. Allen said she hadn‘t even talked to either of the Vittorios
in almost a year. They never came out. Even food was delivered to them by a
local agency. She said she heard two gunshots last night. "It scared me half to
death!" She immediately called the police. "Such a sad ending for such nice
people," she said. "Together in sickness, but alone in the
world."
Instructions: Please give a complete answer.
1. Who was Mrs. Allen?
- She
was their next-door neighbor.
2. What did Mrs. Allen call Mr.
Vittorio?
- She called him
Dom.
3. What is Mrs. Allen's marital status?
- She's widowed.
4. How many kids did
the Vittorios have?
- They didn't have any
kids.
5. What did the Vittorios hand out every
Halloween?
- They handed out tons of candy
and fresh fruit.
6. What disease did Vicky come down
with?
- She came down with diabetes
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