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NAME:___________________ DATE:_______________

SCORE:__________/ 100

Reading Passage

Text 1

Nicola Pierce

CITY OF FATE

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It was 23 August 1942, about four o’clock on a typical Sunday afternoon.

Yuri Bogdanov was swimming in the River Volga with his friends Grigori

and Anatoly. There were plenty of people around the water’s edge, kissing

couples and noisy families — everyone is relishing their freedom from lessons

and chores.

The boys were celebrating. It was Yuri’s fourteenth birthday, and after their

swim, they were going back to his house, where his mother had baked a cake

in his honour. For now, Yuri was in no rush to leave the river, preferring to

spin out the feeling of excitement, of expectation for as long as he could.

Underwater, he practised his gliding, focused and determined. This was where

he was faster than anyone else. His left leg had never been straight, nor had it

ever been quite as long as his right one, so he limped when he walked. No

doubt the other two were calling him to grab someone’s legs as he swam past.

One, two, three, four; he held his breath for twenty-five seconds before jutting

his face out for a gulp of air, glancing at his friends splashing one another.

F5 ENGLISH

Second Test 2

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Leaving them to it, he drew back beneath the water and started counting all

over again. It was a green jungle down there, almost like a secret garden with

knots of bushes, barely two inches high, and waving weeds. Out of the corner

of his eye he spotted tiny flashes of silver fish that nibbled here and there

before fleeing from his shadow.

On reaching twenty-six seconds, he nosed up once more for air, and that was

when he heard the thunder; or at least that’s what he thought it was. He gazed

at the cloudless sky, puzzled. Then he had another idea. Bees, he thought, and

a heavy swarm from the sound of it. But where? He was approximately ten

feet from the bank and all about him was wide open space. Bees don’t like

water, so that didn’t make sense. How much time did he spend at this debate

before noticing the heads of the picnickers and sunbathers snapping upwards?

Water plunged in and out of his ears, and his teeth chattered in the blazing

sunlight.

`Planes!’ somebody shouted. Yes, Yuri thought, that’s exactly what it sounds

like; an awful lot of planes.

Then, there was a second of silence, or maybe two — allowing the nearest loud

speaker to be heard calmly repeating the general alert: ATTENTION

CITIZENS, AIR-RAID WARNING — a bitter pause when everyone

understood. It was followed by the sound of Stalingrad’s anti-aircraft guns

rallying to her defence. Boom! Boom!

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An old woman stood up and quickly crossed herself; just as she finished there

was an almighty crash somewhere in the city. That’s how her prayer was

answered, and again and again and again.

Following months of half-hearted expectation, the Germans had finally

arrived. In minutes, thousands of bombs pelted down from the Luftwaffe

killer planes. Fire and smoke exploded into being in such volume that the

most powerful light of all, God’s own sun, was blocked out. Day became

night, while throughout the city huge clouds of dirt poured down a heavy rain

of bricks and roof tiles that had previously been the guts of pristine buildings

such as the prized Cinema, universities, hospitals and the train station.

Almost accidentally, Yuri caught sight of Grigori who screamed at him, wild-

eyed, ‘Get out of the water!’

Confused by his friend’s expression, Yuri made no reply. Who was this boy?

Grigori’s normally relaxed features were scrunched up in terror. Not

surprisingly, Yuri had never seen him like that before. After all, terror is not a

common expression for a freckly-faced, plump thirteen-year-old. This was

Yuri’s first thought. He waited, stunned a little, as the air shook around him,

and then his next thought came and it propelled him towards the bank as fast

as he could swim: Mama...

For the next two weeks Yuri lived in the coal cellar, at the end of his garden,

with his mother and baby sister Anna. Every morning, before sunrise, his job

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was to climb out and scout around the smashed houses for food and water.

But then Anna got sick. Mrs Bogdanov said that the noise of the bombs had

made her too frightened to eat. The child cried all the time during the attacks,

and when each one was over, she would tremble for hours in the fleeting

silence.

The roar of the planes and the fierce, deafening booms, as all over the city

bombs fell, were like nothing anyone could ever imagine. In between the

explosions there was plenty of noise. For one thing, fire has a sound; it

cackles and splutters as it consumes all around it. Then there were the howls

and wails of animals that were wounded, lost or just very afraid. No one

could have got used to that, not to mention the fear that at any moment

something could fall on their cellar, blowing them all into tiny little

fragments.

Yuri’s entire body ached with the strain; his withered leg itched with fright,

while his heart could hardly bear the terror in his mother’s face.

One time he found himself wishing it would happen; he really did. The three

of them were so scared and the bombing so brutal and constant; he couldn’t

help it. He suddenly prayed for them to die together, not to feel a thing but

just be gone in a puff of smoke. It was the only way he felt the noise would

ever stop.

But, then, after fourteen long days, the bombing came to an end. As soon as it

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did, the Germans swarmed around with their loudspeakers, calling for any

civilians to come out from wherever they were hiding.

Yuri saw no reason for any of them to move. Who would bother to look in a

coal cellar? He told his mother as much, ‘We’re safe here; they’ll never find

us.’

She said nothing to this. But the following day, when they heard the German

again, she explained that she had to go, for Anna’s sake, ‘Or she’ll starve to

death otherwise. You understand me, Yuri, don’t you?’

Yuri wasn’t sure that he did and proved it by asking, ‘Are we leaving now?’

Mrs Bogdanov licked the palm of her hand to flatten down a few stray wispy

hairs on Anna’s head. On her face was a look her son had never seen before.

`No, Yuri. I need you to stay free. Someone needs to be here when Papa s

returns, and then you can tell him where Anna and I have gone.’

Text 2

TV’s ‘dog whisperer’

[1] Cesar Millan doesn’t walk one dog. He

typically leads at least two handfuls — all

off-leash and without a problem — with

calm control and confidence.

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[2] When it comes to all matters related to

man’s fluffy best friend, of course, Millan

has reason to throw his weight around. He’s

the world’s leading expert on canine

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behaviour, best known for his TV series Dog

Whisperer and his dog-rescuing charity, the

Millan Foundation. His new TV show, Cesar

911, just started on National Geographic

Wild.

[3] Next month, he’s flying from his home

in Los Angeles to Hong Kong for the first

time to do a live show. If you go, you can

expect plenty of educating and entertaining

demonstrations on how to read your pooch’s

body language and fix common bad habits.

[4] With 25 years of experience tackling

cases of aggressive, scared and just difficult

dogs, Millan emphasises he trains not the

animal, but the owner to rehabilitate their

pets because he believes problems lie mostly

in the way humans see and interact with

dogs.

[5] Our greatest mistake is to humanise

dogs without thinking, he says. And that

imbalance in a dog’s natural identity and

how we look at them leads to behavioural

issues.

[6] ‘We assume that dogs are human and

that they have the same needs as we do, but

they are completely different. It’s like saying

pandas are the same as baby humans,’

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Millan says in a phone interview.

[7] ‘To love a dog the way you love a

human, I understand. But I don’t change

their identity ... We have to respect, honour

and care for the dog the way another dog

would.’

[8] What dogs really want is not for the

owner to shower them with affection and

babble at them in high-pitched baby talk.

Neither would they like it if the

person-in-charge only bosses them around,

giving commands and setting rules. Millan

says a calm and happy dog needs an

‘authoritative figure’ to look up to, someone

who understands their physical and

emotional needs. His approach, then, is to

help dog owners to become pack leaders like

parents are to children and coaches are to a

football team.

[9] ‘A leader is a person who takes the

position of protector and director ...’ he

explains.

[10] ‘When a dog and a human enter a

relationship, we need to tell them what to do

and set up the [rules] as to how to behave in

certain environments for the dog’s benefit.’

[11] One example was celebrity client Oprah

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Winfrey, who once had a cocker spaniel,

Sophie. The problem was that Winfrey,

despite having a powerful media presence in

the US, became scared when Sophie would

see other dogs and go into attack mode.

[12] ‘When you’re in front of a dog and you

show fear, they don’t feel secure,’ he says.

‘It’s just like when you are with a friend in a

dangerous neighbourhood and your friend

becomes afraid. You don’t feel as safe, and

you try to control the situation. That’s what

happened with Sophie.’

[13] When Millan visited Winfrey, all he did

was to take Sophie’s leash firmly and

confidently when she met his five dogs.

Sophie, knowing she was protected and

didn’t need to act as a guardian, got along

well with the pack. Sophie became a new

dog in about 15 seconds.

[14] Millan hopes his upcoming show will

help dog lovers understand that being a

leader comes before being an affectionate

owner.

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Question-Answer Book

Read Text 1 and answer questions 1-28.

1. According to line 4, why are the people free from their lessons and chores?

______________________________________________________________________________

2. What is the tone in lines 1-5?

A. anxious

B. critical

C. relaxed

D. uncertain

3. What are the boys celebrating?

______________________________________________________________________________

4. Who does ‘the other two’ (line 13) refer to?

______________________________________________________________________________

5. List Yuri’s guesses about the source of the sound.

______________________________________________________________________________

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6. Decide whether the following statements are True, False or the information is Not Given (NG) in

lines 1-25. Put ONE tick in the correct box only for each statement.

True False NG

a) The people near the river are loud and happy.

b) Yuri wants to stay in the river for as long as he can.

c) Yuri is diving underwater with his friends.

d) Yuri can walk faster than his friends.

7. Are Yuri’s guesses right? Provide two pieces of evidence based on paragraph 4.

______________________________________________________________________________

8. What does Yuri realise is the source of the sound?

______________________________________________________________________________

9. Why do you think there is ‘a second of silence’? (line 32)

______________________________________________________________________________

10. What might be the cause of the ‘almighty crash’? (line 38)

______________________________________________________________________________

11. What sentence suggests that people in the city are not completely surprised by the attack?

(lines 40-46)

______________________________________________________________________________

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12. Number the following events in chronological order. Write 1-4 in the boxes provided.

The bombs hit the city.

Yuri notices a noise.

The anti-aircraft guns start firing.

The loudspeakers broadcast the announcement.

13. Decide whether the following statements are True, False or the information is Not

Given in lines 35-48.

a) The old woman is religious. _________

b) The bombs destroy every building in the city. _________

14. What does the word ‘guts’ refer to? (line 45)

A. bombs

B. bricks and roof tiles

C. clouds of dirt

D. heavy rain

15. What is Grigori’s reaction on hearing the bombs?

A. anger

B. confusion

C. fear

D. sadness

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16. Why doesn’t Yuri reply to Grigori? (lines 49-50)

______________________________________________________________________________

17. Why does Yuri swim as fast as he can towards the bank?

A. He is worried about a bomb hitting the river.

B. He is worried about his mother.

C. He wants to get out of the water before Grigori.

D. He wants to help the people at the water’s edge.

18. According to lines 55-65, what does Yuri do every morning while it is still dark?

______________________________________________________________________________

19. What happened to Yuri’s sister Anna because of the bomb attacks?

______________________________________________________________________________

20. List the types of sounds one can hear in the city.

______________________________________________________________________________

21. Find a word in lines 73-80 which means ‘moved in large numbers.’

______________________________________________________________________________

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22. Why does Yuri wish for his family’s death?

A. He believes that giving up to the Germans is a worse option.

B. He can’t handle the pressure of looking after them anymore.

C. He doesn’t want them to bear the bombing anymore.

D. He is frightened to see the terror in his mother’s face.

23. What did the Germans want the people in the city to do?

______________________________________________________________________________

24. Fill in the missing words about how Yuri feels at different points in the story. Choose an answer

from the ten options given below.

Write the answer in the space provided. Only FOUR options can be used.

ashamed / confident / confused / helpless / proud / shocked / shy / smart / thrilled

a) Yuri feels _________________ when he is initially in the water.

b) Yuri feels _________________ just before he begins swimming towards the bank.

c) Yuri feels _________________ when he wishes he could die with his mother and sister.

d) Yuri feels _________________ that the Germans will not find him and his family in the coal

cellar.

25. According to Yuri’s mother, what may happen if she and her daughter Anna go to the Germans?

______________________________________________________________________________

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26. List two people in the story who pray.

a) ____________________________

b) ____________________________

27. What is the main idea of the first three paragraphs?

A. to introduce Grigori and Anatoly as Yuri’s friends

B. to show how Yuri has lived before the bombing

C. to show that people are happy

D. to show that Yuri is a good swimmer

28. Which character from the story is most likely to say each quote below? Write the name of the

character next to the quote. Do not use any character more than once.

Quotes Character

a) "I wish I could run as fast as I swim."

b) "Happy birthday! Soon I’ll be fourteen, too!"

c) "Don’t come with us. Keep hiding."

d) "Where are your mother and sister?"

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Read Text 2 and answer questions 29-41.

29. Which of Cesar Millan’s TV shows are mentioned in paragraph 2?

a) ____________________________

b) ____________________________

30. Someone who likes ‘to throw his weight around’ (para. 2) often ...

A. appears on television. B. gains weight. C. gives orders. D. stays calm.

31. According to paragraphs 1-2, why might Cesar Millan be thought of as ‘the world’s leading

expert on canine behaviour’ (lines 8-9)? Give one reason from the text.

______________________________________________________________________________

32. What are two things that someone who goes to Millan’s event can expect to learn?

______________________________________________________________________________

33. Based on the information in paragraphs 2-3, complete the summary below by writing ONE word

to fill in each blank. You should make sure that your answers are grammatically correct, paying

attention to word form, plurals, etc.

Cesar Milian is a world-famous expert on how dogs (a)___________________. Next month,

he’s coming to Hong Kong from Los Angeles, where he (b) ___________________ , to

(c) ___________________ in person about how to care for dogs properly. Besides doing

live shows, Millan gives advice through his TV series and runs a charity, the Millan

Foundation, to (d) ___________________ dogs.

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34. Why does Millan train the dogs’ owners instead of the dogs themselves?

______________________________________________________________________________

35. Decide whether the following statements are True, False or the information is Not Given in

paragraphs 5-7. Put ONE tick in the correct box only for each statement.

True False NG

a) Millan thinks we should treat dogs and people in the same way.

b) According to Millan, pandas are the same as baby humans.

c) Millan thinks dogs have their own identity.

36. In paragraph 8, find a phrase that can be replaced by ‘to respect’.

______________________________________________________________________________

37. Decide if the following statements are ‘Dos’ or ‘Don’ts’ for dog owners according to the

information given in paragraph 8. Put ONE tick in the correct box only for each statement.

Do Don’t

a) Treat your dog like a prince or princess.

b) Give your dog strict instructions at all times.

c) Talk to your dog in your normal voice.

d) Understand your dog and meet its needs.

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38. Use ONE word to complete each blank.

According to Millan, a leader is someone who is a _______________ and ______________.

39. What does Millan advise dog owners to do for the good of their pets?

a) _________________________________________________________________________

b) _________________________________________________________________________

40. In line 79, what does ‘the pack’ refer to?

______________________________________________________________________________

41. Based on the information in paragraphs 11-13, number the following events (1-6) in order. The

first and last events have been ordered for you.

Winfrey and Sophie see other dogs. 1

Sophie starts to feel insecure.

Millan is firm and confident with Sophie

Millan visits Winfrey to help Sophie.

Winfrey becomes afraid of the situation.

Sophie becomes a new dog very quickly. 6