Test Master 2
Test Master 2
Test Master 2
Text 1
Achieve 2nd edition Level 1 Test Master unit 2 EDITABLE © Oxford University Press 2014
1 The main intention of the author of the article is …
A to tell inspirational stories of surviving natural disasters.
B to highlight the challenges in predicting disasters.
C to warn people about the importance of reliable disaster forecasts.
D to comment on a recent court case connected to a natural catastrophe.
E to give an account of current research at Rutgers University.
A 1, 2, and 3.
B 2 only.
C 1 and 2.
D 1 and 3.
E None of the statements.
Achieve 2nd edition Level 1 Test Master unit 2 EDITABLE © Oxford University Press 2014
4 Which of the following statements is true, according to the information in
paragraph 3?
A The team at Rutgers was experimenting with creating electric signals.
B None of the physicists expected pharmaceutical powders to stick together.
C The small lightning bolt, or electric charge, followed a short time after the
powder had fallen apart.
D The electrical charge only affected powders that have fallen apart suddenly.
E In the experiment, the electric charge always appeared before the materials
fell apart.
Achieve 2nd edition Level 1 Test Master unit 2 EDITABLE © Oxford University Press 2014
7 In the sentence, “This electric charge then causes changes in the
surrounding air or water, which animals may be able to sense before
humans do” (line 25), the underlined relative pronoun “which” refers to …
A the electric charge.
B changes.
C air or water.
D animals.
E humans.
8 Grammatically, the sentence, “The same kind of electric charge, like the
small bolt of lightning felt in the experiment at Rutgers, may have been
responsible” (line 30) is equivalent to ...
A The same kind of electric charge felt in the Rutgers experiment was
definitely the reason the snakes left their caves.
B It is possible that the same kind of electric charge felt in the Rutgers
experiment caused the snakes to leave their caves.
C The same kind of electric charge felt in the Rutgers experiment should have
made the snakes leave their caves.
D The snakes leaving their caves could have explained the electric charge felt
in the Rutgers experiment.
E Perhaps the electric charge felt in the Rutgers experiment was the result of
the snakes leaving their caves.
Achieve 2nd edition Level 1 Test Master unit 2 EDITABLE © Oxford University Press 2014
Text 2
Krakatoa
1 In May 1883, strange things were happening on the volcanic island of Krakatoa, in
Indonesia. Steam was rising from the volcano, and small earthquakes started
affecting the region. At first, some villagers on nearby Sumatra and Java held parties
when they saw that smoke was rising from the volcano. Others were more concerned.
5 When the Dutch scientist H. J. G. Ferzenaar was exploring the island in August, he
saw gray ash from the volcano everywhere. It stuck to his shoes and covered the trees
and flowers. All of the plants were dead.
On August 26, 1883, the volcano erupted again with a series of violent explosions.
The next day, a gigantic eruption roared out of the volcano. It was the loudest noise
10 ever heard by modern humans: it was louder than a nuclear bomb. The explosion was
so large that people heard it from a distance of 5,000 kilometers away. It destroyed
the island of Krakatoa: two-thirds of the land collapsed into the sea, and around 1,000
people on nearby islands were buried under a rain of hot ash.
The eruption on August 27 also generated some of the most powerful tsunamis in the
15 history of the world. The giant waves covered several islands. Some people survived
by holding onto trees while huge waves hit their streets and homes, but many
buildings collapsed, and whole towns disappeared. Over 30,000 people died as a
result of the destructive tsunamis.
The entire planet felt the effects of the eruption. Over the next twelve months, world
20 temperatures dropped by over one degree centigrade. As far away as Britain, people
reported strange clouds and unusual light in the evening.
The story doesn’t stop there. The volcano continued burning under the water. In
1927, it created a new island, called “Anak Krakatoa” (Son of Krakatoa), which rose
out of the sea. The new island is still there between Java and Sumatra, and it’s
25 growing all the time.
1 It can be inferred from the web page that the most life-threatening part of
the eruption was ...
A the heat of the volcano.
B the powerful explosions.
C the poisonous ash.
D a fire that started afterwards.
E the enormous sea waves.
Achieve 2nd edition Level 1 Test Master unit 2 EDITABLE © Oxford University Press 2014
2 According to the web page, which statements are true?
1 Skies looked different in the year after the eruption.
2 Summer was longer in the year after the eruption.
3 The world was cooler in the year after the eruption.
A 1 and 3.
B 2 only.
C 1 and 2.
D 3 only.
E None of the statements.
5 Choose the best definition for the word “roared” (line 9).
A Disappeared.
B Fell, sank.
C Gave off light.
D Made a loud sound.
E Shocked people.
Achieve 2nd edition Level 1 Test Master unit 2 EDITABLE © Oxford University Press 2014