SHORT READING TEST
1. Read the following text carefully and do the activities that follow.
One day, two students decided to fix a flag on Luther ’s
Pinnacle, the highest point of a rival college. This was regarded as a
particularly dangerous operation, for the building had not been climbed since
1991; moreover, it was extremely unsafe. But both students possessed those rare
qualities common to great climbers: skill and daring.
Just after midnight ,
the students climbed up a rusty pipe, which brought them onto the roof of the
main building. Roundabout, tall towers rose up above their heads, and looking
down on them all was the forbidding sight of Luther ’s
Pinnacle’. The students next climbed up an arch that had been put up fairly
recently and was therefore not too difficult. Then, balancing themselves on the
top, they both jumped across a great gap and were now beneath the Pinnacle itself.
The delicate stonework had been worn smooth by the wind and rain over the
centuries. Ugly stone heads with twisted smiles on their faces looked down on
them scornfully. One of the students seized one of the heads and part of it
came away in his hands. It was an awkward moment, but they were determined not
to give up now. The climbers tested each stone to make sure it was safe before
stepping on it but in spite of the care they took loose stones kept slipping
away when they leaned on them. The wind screamed around them and there were
times when they thought that the whole Pinnacle would crash down.
At last, they reached the very top and pushed a flag into the
hollow mouth of a devilish head on the highest point. As they looked down on
the dark mass of building below, they knew very well what questions would be
asked in the morning.
A. State whether the following statements are true, false, or not given.
a) A climber needn’t have any courage or skill.
b) The students almost gave up their resolution in the middle.
c) The Pinnacle was made of stones that were weathered
by the forces of nature.
d) The whole apex crashed in the end and the buildings below
it were demolished.
B. Reorder the following statements in the order of the events in the text.
a)
The students fought against a strong wind.
b)
They stepped on each stone carefully.
c)
They fixed a flag on the Pinnacle.
d)
Then they climbed up an arch.
e)
They jumped up a rusty pipe.
C. Answer the following questions in a sentence or two.
a)
Give two reasons why it was difficult to climb Luther ’s
Pinnacle?
b)
What was the students’ reaction after fixing the flag on the top?
c)
Do you think climbing old university buildings provide some sort
of excitement? Why/Why not?
D. Find words that are similar in meaning to the following words or phrases.
a.
caught
b.
disdainfully
c.
business
d.
threatening
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