EmSAT Practice (Reading, Cloze Reading & Sentence Builders)

Read the paragraph and answer the question.

Throughout the world, citizens in many large cities rely on their local metro systems. From going to work to going out sightseeing. Underground train lines are a vital part of people's routines. Opened in London in 1890, Metropolitan Railway was the first major urban railway in the world and remains one of the busiest. The system, usually called the Underground or the Tube, consists of over 400 kilometers of tracks, making it the third longest metro system on the planet. Each year its crowded trains travel nearly 185,000 km, roughly enough to circle the planet 4-5 times.

Which one is true about London's Metro?

• It is the oldest metro system in the world.

• Its trains have circled the planet roughly 4 5 times in its history.

• It has more than 400 different tracks.

• It is the longest metro system in the world.

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Read the passage and answer the question.

The traditional Chinese solar calendar separates the year into 24 solar terms. The 19th solar term, "Start of winter" begins in early November. The beginnings of the seasons were important festivals in ancient China.

 

The emperor would bathe and cleanse himself thoroughly and eat a special vegetarian diet. During the day, he would lead his officials to the suburbs of the capital and perform the ceremony of "welcoming the winter."

 

Another tradition is to eat dumplings filled with meat, peppers, and herbs. They are said to increase body heat. They come from an ancient doctor who created the dish in the shape of an ear. Today people often say in China "Eat dumplings at the start of winter or your ears will freeze!"

The start of winter in China is           .

• an important event that is celebrated even now

• not something that people look forward to

• a day when the common people tidy their homes

• was only remembered many thousands of years ago

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Read the passage and answer the question.

November, the eleventh month of the year, has something confusing about it. It takes its name from the Latin word for the number 9. September, October, and December are also named after the Latin words for the numbers 7, 8 and 10. So, why do these months represent month numbers later than their original meanings?

 

One possible explanation is that there used to be just 10 months in the Roman calendar. Then, it was decided to increase the number of months to 12, and the Romans added January and February, which disturbed the original order of the months. Adding to the lack of clarity, July and August, which are named after two Roman emperors, used to be called Quintiles and Sextiles, meaning the fifth and sixth month.

Compared with the past, the calendar that we use today          .

• has stayed constant throughout the years.

• has gone through some major changes.

• has most months named after Roman rulers.

• has the same names for the fifth and sixth month.

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Read the passage and answer the question.

The British Isles are the home of English, but they are also home to four other languages. One of these is Cornish. Cornish is spoken in the southwest of England and is more closely related to Breton and Welsh than to Scottish or Irish Gaelic.

 

Cornish is an unusual language as it became extinct as a first language in 1777. However, many speakers continued to use it as a second language, and interest in the language increased, leading to its revival in the 20th century.

 

In 2008, UNESCO announced that numerous people were using Cornish as a first language. Furthermore, school textbooks, works of literature and films using Cornish have been produced over the last few decades. As a result, it can no longer be considered extinct.

Which one of the following is true regarding the Cornish language?

• UNESCO developed school textbooks for use in Cornish schools.

• Cornish is closely related to the language spoken in Scotland.

• Scottish and Welsh are mentioned as examples of extinct languages.

• People began using Cornish again in the 20th century.

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Read the passage and answer the question.

Many people watch television after their work, but for a very few lucky people watching television is their job. Every year, Netflix pays a few people to watch their shows and tag them with useful information. For example, after watching a film the worker might describe it as a "sad movie about horses for ages 8-14."

 

Information like this helps people find things to watch on Netflix. Netflix taggers need to know a lot about television and films, and they must also speak at least two languages.

Why is this job useful for people who use Netflix?

• Netflix taggers usually work from home.

• Netflix users can make money from tagging shows.

• It helps Netflix users to find shows that they enjoy.

• It helps Netflix users to learn another language.

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Read the paragraph and answer the question.
The palm oil in your sandwiches, biscuits and even in your soap is a danger to the environment. Farmers clear the land with natural forests and animals and replace them with huge farms of palm oil trees. This results in animals losing their homes and feeding grounds. In Malaysia and Indonesia, animals like orangutans, elephants and tigers are disappearing. Despite such damage, the palm oil industry has increased the size of the area where these trees are planted from 60,000 to 170,000 square kilometers between 1990 and 2012.
Which of the following can be understood from the passage?

• The area containing plam oil trees was increasing, but is now starting to decrease

• Palm oil is grown in forests where there are many wild animals.

• Palm oil has a number of uses and is good for the environment.

• The production of palm oil had negative effects on wildlife in several countries.

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Read the paragraph and answer the question.

Imagine a city where people could meet their basic needs within a is minute walk or bicycle ride from their house. That's the concept behind the 15-Minute City. It's been described as a return to a local way of life. Technology has created a lot of opportunities to work from home, to do more things in the neighborhood, and to stop separating work from living. This would also reduce pollution that goes with too much traffic. Fewer vehicles would reduce the need for more car parking spaces. It would free up spare land for creating green spaces such as parks and gardens.

According to the text, which of the following is true about the 15-minute city?

• In such cities, everyone would have to use a bicycle.

• The writer grew up in a 15-minute city.

• It is still just an idea.

• There are several 15-minute cities in the world

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Read the paragraph and answer the question.
Cheetahs, one of the fastest animals in the world, are big cats found in Africa. A story says that once there was a cheetah who had two beautiful babies. The cheetah would go out to look for food for her babies during the day. One day, a hunter saw her beautiful babies and decided to take them while the mother was away. When she came back and could not find her babies, she started to cry. People say that she cried for months and that's what gave her the black lines around her eyes. Since that time, all cheetahs have been born with the same lines too.
What does this story explain?

• how some people can be very mean to animals.

• why cheetahs cry when they lose their babies

• why cheetahs have black around their eyes.

• how it can be dangerous for cheetahs to leave their babies alone.

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Read the passage and answer the question.
The discovery of gold in the southeastern state of Victoria in Australia in 1851 brought many people to the gold fields to try their luck at finding gold. The news also quickly travelled to China, and by the end of 1858, more than 33,000 Chinese arrived from Guangdong region.

When they first arrived, most Chinese miners worked alone or with a partner. Later, as gold was more difficult to find, many Chinese formed companies to increase their chances of finding the metal.

Their numbers frightened the local population, which resulted in the Victorian government trying to tax ships which carried Chinese to Victoria. However, Chinese ended up coming to Victoria from the neighboring state of South Australia, where there were no such rules.

According to the text, the Victorian state government tried to           .

• allow Chinese people to come from different areas in Australia

• encourage Chinese workers to discover more gold

• reduce the number of Chinese people coming to Victoria

• make Chinese people build ships for gold companies

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Read the paragraph and answer the question.
Many fans of Indian food wonder, "Who put potatoes in biryani? While the dish is made mainly with rice and meat, someone once decided to put a vegetable in it.

One account says that in 1856, Wajid Ali Shah, a rich landowner in Lucknow, had to move his large family and workers to Calcutta. To feed his family and staff, he added potato to the dish so everyone could eat. This may not be completely correct, however. Even in the 19th century, two hundred years after the Portuguese brought them to India, potatoes were quite expensive, so perhaps Shah used this rare vegetable in his biryani to show how rich he was! Whatever the reason, potatoes (and a lot of other things) taste great in biryani. Try some today!

Which of the following is true according to the text?

• There are two different theories about why potatoes were added to biryani.

• Biryani traditionally has rice, meat, and potatoes along with other vegetables.

• Wajid Ali Shah did not eat meat so he added potatoes to biryani so than vegetarians could eat it as well.

• Potatoes came to India in the 17th century and were very quickly eaten by many people.

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