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SECTION 01 · Reading: separate texts

Reading

Choose a text number. Its questions will appear on its own page.

40 texts

Text 19Book 2 · Section 1 · 19 / 40

How to solve: ReadingA text with several questions: main idea, details, word meaning and inference.

What it tests

Careful reading: finding the main idea, locating details, understanding a word from its context and drawing conclusions the text supports.

In the exam: part I, 10 tasks.

Step by step

Read the questions first, so you know what to look for.
Skim the whole text once for its topic and the author's purpose.
For each question find the exact place in the text (line numbers help) and read the sentence before and after it.
Choose the option that says the same thing in other words — not the one that copies the most words.
For “main idea” questions pick the option that covers the whole text, not one paragraph.

Watch out for

An option that is true in real life but not stated in the text.
An option that repeats words from the text but changes the meaning (“always” instead of “often”, wrong date or person).
A detail that is correct but too narrow for a “main idea” question.

Example

Text: “It took 800 men seven years to build the bridge.” — The bridge was built in: a) one year b) seven years c) 800 days

b) The text says “seven years”; 800 is the number of men, not days.

Text 19

READING TEXT

It was previously believed that dinosaurs were cold-blooded creatures, like
reptiles.However, a recent discovery has led researchers to believe they may
have been warm-blooded. The fossilized remains of a 66 million-year-old
dinosaur's heart were discovered and examined by x-ray. The basis for the
analysis that they were warm-blooded is the number of chambers in the heart as
well as the existence of a single aorta. a
Most reptiles have three chambers in their hearts, although some do have
four. Butthose that have four chambers, such as the crocodile, have two arteries
to mix the oxygen-heavy blood with oxygen-lean. blood. Reptiles are cold-
blooded, meaning that they are dependent on the environment for body heat. Yet
the fossilized heart had four chambers in the heart as well as a single aorta. The
single aorta means that the oxygen-rich blood was completely separated from
the oxygen-poor blood and sent through the aorta to all parts of the body.
Mammals, on the other hand, are warm-blooded, meaning that they generate
their own body heat and are thus more tolerant of temperature extremes. Birds
and mammals, because they are warm-blooded, move more quickly and have
greater physical endurance than reptiles.
Scientists believe that the evidence now points to the idea that all dinosaurs
were actually warm-blooded.Ironically, the particular dinosaur in which the
discovery was made was a Tescelosaurus, which translates to “marvelous
lizard”. A lizard, of course, is a reptile.

QUESTION 1

The word they in line 2 refers to

a)researchersb)discoveriesc)reptilesd)dinosaurs

QUESTION 2

According to the author, what theory was previously held and now is being questioned?

a)That dinosaurs were warm-bloodedb)That dinosaurs had four-chambered heartsc)That dinosaurs were swifter and stronger than reptilesd)That dinosaurs were cold-blooded

QUESTION 3

The author implies that reptiles

a)have four-chambered heartsb)have one aortac)are cold-bloodedd)are faster and have more endurance than mammals

QUESTION 4

The word generate in paragraph three is closest in meaning to

a)produceb)losec)used)tolerate

QUESTION 5

The author implies that birds c

a)move faster and have greater endurance than reptilesb)move slower and have less endurance than reptilesc)move faster and have greater endurance than dinosaursd)move slower and have less endurance than dinosaurs