Reading Comprehension Test 16

[passage-header]Read the passage given below and complete the summary by filling in the appropriate word.[/passage-header]The Galapagos Islands in the Pacific Ocean are a rocky, lonely spot, but they are also one of the most unusual places in the world. The reason is that they are the home of some of the last giant tortoises left on earth.
Weighing hundreds of pounds, these tortoises wander slowly around the rocks and sand of the islands. Each of these islands has its own particular kinds of tortoises. There are seven different kinds of tortoises on the eight islands. Hundreds of years ago, thousands of tortoises wandered around these islands. All that changed when people started landing there. When people first arrived, their ships had no refrigerators. This meant that fresh food was always a problem for the sailors on board. The giant tortoises provided a solution to this problem. Ships would anchor off the islands, and crew would seize as many tortoises as they could. Once the animals were aboard the ship, the crew would roll the tortoises onto their backs and use them for soups and stews.

[passage-header]Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:
[/passage-header]Designing toys for children is challenging yet stimulating. Considering the low attention span of today's kids, toys with higher play value are able to engage them longer. Young minds are also quite impressionable. So toy design has to be conscious about ethics and values and also aid their cognitive, physical, emotional, and social skills. But above all, fun is the primary objective of play. Fun is what makes them come back for more; makes them learn and remember. Another crucial factor is eco-friendliness. Some of the best pro-environment design processes can actually be found in the Indian handicrafts industry. One such example is the lathe-turned toy craft of Channapatna - a town near Bengaluru. The age old craft uses wood and colors made completely from natural materials like turmeric, kumkum, indigo, etc. Creating modern designs based on such conventional techniques opens up a new range of products that are unique, educational, and organic.

[passage-header]Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]Are the 1980s and 1990s the era of colour? According to some people, they are. Now you can buy radios and electric fans in lavender and pink. Restaurants have an emphasis on flowers and colourful plates. Cars are corning out in pink and aqua. Even bathroom fixtures are being made in "honeydew" and "blond". Part of the importance of the colour of an object is that the colour affects the way one feels about it. You want a vacuum cleaner to look light and easy, which is why it may be coloured in pastels and light colours. But gardening equipment should look powerful. You would never find a lawn mower in pink, but red would be fine. Not very long ago, sheets were always white and refrigerators commonly came in colours like "old gold", "avocado green" and "copper tone". Now those are thought of as old-fashioned. Popular colours change because fashion influences everything. In fact, new colours often spring from the fashion industry. It's a lot cheaper to make a blouse or skirt than a sofa. After people get used to seeing new colours on clothing or towels, they are ready to accept those colours in carpeting, refrigerators, or cars. Colour analysis consultants have been very successful in recent years. People want to choose the most flattering colours for makeup and clothing. Some car designers are even saying that people may begin buying cars of the colour that goes with their skin colouring. This sounds too extreme. It's hard to believe that people are that impressionable!

[passage-header]Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]Years ago, people woke up to find sparrows chirping in their backyard. A noisy lot, they took grains right from your hand if you had befriended them. They got over their fear easily and demanded food or water with their loud chirping if you had forgotten to give them their regular share of food. Tiny pink beaks opened to morsels of food or worms sometimes regurgitated by the parent birds. We had a splendid time watching the bird family bond and as children sat gazing at them as they picked up grain or splashed about us in muddy water. Many people have written poems and lyrics on sparrows, their noisy chirps, their friendly nature, and their spotty feathers. Sparrows were a menace on the fields. There were guards with slings and stones to chase them away as they ate grain from standing crops. Now people are trying to woo them back to nature.

[passage-header]Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]

[passage-header]Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]

[passage-header]Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]The purpose of education is to make the student an expert in his subject. This must be clearly understood, and mere muddling through lessons, lectures, books, and passing examinations are relegated to secondary importance as a means to the end, which is excellence in the field chosen. But there are so many fields, and no man can become an expert in all the fields. It is necessary to decide which fields are the important ones that a man should know well. It is clear that one's own work is the most important. This has been realized and modern civilization has accordingly provided vocational education. It is now possible to acquire high professional skill in various fields such as medicine, engineering production, commerce and so on, but with the good and bad mixed together, and no standard for guidance.

[passage-header]Read the passage given below and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]The purpose of education is to make the student an expert in his subject. This must be clearly understood, and mere muddling through lessons, lectures, books, and passing examinations are relegated to secondary importance as a means to the end, which is excellence in the field chosen. But there are so many fields, and no man can become an expert in all the fields. It is necessary to decide which fields are the important ones that a man should know well. It is clear that one's own work is the most important. This has been realized and modern civilization has accordingly provided vocational education. It is now possible to acquire high professional skill in various fields such as medicine, engineering production, commerce and so on, but with the good and bad mixed together, and no standard for guidance.

[passage-header]Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:[/passage-header]