e· ExamHubENGLISH WORKBOOK TRAINER
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SECTION 01 · Reading: separate texts

Reading

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

35 texts
Text 14Book 3 · Section 1 · 14 / 35
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

  1. Read the questions first, so you know what to look for.
  2. Skim the whole text once for its topic and the author's purpose.
  3. For each question find the exact place in the text (line numbers help) and read the sentence before and after it.
  4. Choose the option that says the same thing in other words — not the one that copies the most words.
  5. 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 14
READING TEXT
  1. China has a very interesting marriage celebration. In the 19th century, a
  2. wedding represented the transfer of a woman's dependence on money from
  3. her family to her husband. There was also a transfer of the woman's property,
  4. called a “dowry', from the bride's father to her husband.
  5. At most times in the 19th century, when a couple got married, it was
  6. arranged by the parents, and the couple had no say in it. In the 20th century,
  7. things changed for the better. In 1950 China proclaimed a marriage code
  8. giving spouses equal rights in the control of property.
  9. Laws of most countries require the husband to support his wife and
  10. children. With the increase in the number of women working outside the
  11. home, women sometimes support themselves, and child support has fallen
  12. upon them nearly as much as on their husbands.
  13. Couples now choose their own partners, but must get the consent of their
  14. parents. As a wedding gift, it is customary for the parents to buy appliances for
  15. the couple's new home. They have a simple ceremony, and the date is chosen
  16. by the parents. A popular date for weddings in China is the seventh day of the
  17. seventh moon. They say that a fairy from heaven can bless their marriage on
  18. that day. Another popular time for weddings is during the autumn months.
  19. During the ceremony, the bride and groom usually wear sunglasses. The bride
  20. wears a brightly colored dress, and no veil, and the man wears a suit.
  21. They ride down the aisle on horses.
QUESTION 1

According to Paragraph 1, lines 1—4,

QUESTION 2

In the 19th century, in China

QUESTION 3

According to Paragraph 3, lines 9—12, nowadays

QUESTION 4

The word consent in line 13 means

QUESTION 5

According to the text, couples in China