Short Advanced Reading Comprehension Test 10 With MCQs and Answers

(Please note: The following questions are related to a specific reading passage, available solely before the first question. Remember, referring back to the reading text while answering the questions may be helpful to ensure accuracy.)

First, the spotted owl was threatened by logging in the Pacific Northwest. Now it is in danger from a new enemy, the barred owl. Barred owls have been moving to the Northwest from the eastern part of the United States. Stan Severn has studied spotted owls. Now when he calls for spotted owls, barred owls are starting to appear. Severn threw a mouse on the ground, and a barred owl grabbed it. Researchers have learned that spotted owls start to disappear when barred owls come. Some barred and spotted owls have mated and produced hybrid babies. One spotted owl was killed by a barred owl. Ten years have passed since the federal government began protecting the spotted owl. Loggers were forced to limit logging on seven million acres of government land. No one is sure how the arrival of the barred owls will impact laws that protect spotted owls. The barred owls like to live in the deep forests where loggers like to cut down trees. The barred owls will likely keep migrating to the Northwest.

Scientists learned about the barred owl migration by _____.

Barred owls like to live in _____.

Logging was greatly reduced _____.

Man has dreamed about flying for a long time. Moshan, who is a dreamer, invented the Solo Trek. The Solo Trek had a 120-horsepower engine with twin fans. Only one person flies. As you fly above the roofs, you lean a little forward. You can see everything under you. You are flying like Superman. Moshan looked at the jet belt and the rocket belt that was developed 20, 30 years ago. Nothing ever came from them. People still can't fly. Inventors have tried to make it easy for people to fly. Moller has been working on his flying car for 30 years. He now says it is ready for tests. It would take off and land vertically, go 600 miles an hour, and deliver 20 miles to the gallon. A computer would do the actual flying. He says it could be sold next year for about a million dollars. NASA is working with Moshan to help develop his flying machine. The first uses are likely to be military. It's been 50 years since Robert Fulton invented his airphibian, a flying car. It flew and is now in the Smithsonian Museum. Getting dreams to fly is never easy.

The Solo Trek is able to lift off the ground by using _____.

An analogy was used to compare the way one could fly in the Solo Trek to _____.

Paul Moller's flying car is different from an airplane because _____.

Every year in Alaska, there is a huge race with sleds pulled by dogs. On the day of the race, the Alaskan huskies seem willing to go on what may be the world's longest race. It is called the Iditarod dog sled race. The voice of the race announcer booms over the streets of Anchorage as the racers set off on their long journey: "They're off. The last great race..." Fifty-six sleds leave downtown Anchorage to start the race. A sled leaves every two minutes. It will take ten days to two weeks before reaching the finish line at Nome on the other side of Alaska. The men and women who guide the sleds are called mushers.

The Iditarod dog sled race is known as the world's _____ race.

The people in Anchorage _____.

The first sled leaves at the start, and then one sled leaves every two minutes. How many minutes after the first sled does the 56th sled leave?

The America's Cup sailing race has been going on since 1851. In that year, the Americans won a special silver cup from England. Since then, America has held the cup for 132 years. America has only lost the cup two times, once in 1983 and once in 1995. The race is held about every three years. The next race will be in New Zealand in early 2000. There are 16 crew members on the sailing boat. The 17th person on the boat is a novice. A contest was held to see who could ride along on the boats in the America's Cup race. George Ellison heard about the contest on the radio. He entered as many times as he could. Then he won! George Ellison says, "You get to sit on a boat as the 17th person and rub shoulders with some of the greatest sailors in the world, in Auckland, New Zealand. I still can't believe it!" There are two boats from San Francisco in the race, America One and America True. Ellison won a seat on America True. There are no other world-class sports events where a novice can be on the boat. It's called the 17th-man position.

The 17th person on the boat is _____.

George Ellison will be _____.

To get the 17th-man seat on America True, George Ellison had to _____.

Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. The United States was mad at the Japanese so they made many Japanese-Americans leave their homes. They were put in camps with barbed wire around the outside of the camps. Many Japanese-American young men were called into the army. Some of them joined the U.S. Military Intelligence Service or MIS. The MIS was a secret group that fought the Japanese soldiers. This secret group translated important maps and papers. They questioned Japanese prisoners. Another task they did was to translate diaries written in Japanese. Sometimes Japanese soldiers hid in caves to hide from the Americans. The MIS would try to get the scared soldiers to leave the caves. This was known as "cave flushing." Some of the soldiers would give up and leave the caves. Other Japanese would jump to their deaths. The MIS never got awards for their efforts until the year 2000. Then they were rewarded for their brave acts in World War II. It took almost sixty years for them to be honoured. Gayle Yamada has made a film about the brave Japanese-American MIS. The film is called "Uncommon Courage" and is a true story. Hopefully, Yamada's film and the movie "Pearl Harbor" will not cause people to dislike Japanese-Americans or any other race.

The letters MIS stood for _____.

Many Japanese-American families spent World War II _____.

The MIS finally received recognition _____.

People in Los Altos want to build bigger and better houses. The property there is expensive. Owners want to tear down or move houses so they can build on the lots. Some property owners have decided to give their houses to East Palo Alto. When people donate houses, they receive tax breaks. After the house is moved, a needy family gets a cheap home. Roger Gaw wanted to donate a house. He paid a lot of money to have the house moved. Christina Luiz has two houses that can be used. Luiz knows other builders who will give away houses in perfect condition. The idea is catching on and others are calling to donate houses. East Palo Alto's mayor is Sharifa Wilson. The city doesn't own any property. Wilson thinks people will start screaming that they want the houses. Now the city must decide how to give away the donated houses. East Palo Alto is close to rich cities. The city has had problems with poverty and drugs. Drive-by shootings earned it the title of "murder capital" a few years ago. Now East Palo Alto is benefiting from donated houses. Eight houses have been given to the city. The city will have to learn how to handle its new wealth.

A tax break for the donor and a home for the needy add up to _____.

Some builders are willing to donate houses in _____.

For a few decades, East Palo Alto has been _____.

Californian Michael Schwabe said goodbye to the gas pump two years ago. He leased an electric car. Schwabe says he gets more out of driving an electric car than just a charge. "With the price of gasoline and with the problems with clean air, it's important we get electric vehicles out on the road." On California roads, there are about two thousand electric cars. By 2003, ten per cent of all new cars may be required to have zero emissions. This is a mandate automakers say is way ahead of its time. Gloria Bergquist of the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers says, "The technology (for zero emissions) isn't here yet; it still needs advancement in driving range to make it more appealing to a wider consumer audience". Automakers blame it on the batteries. Power runs out on most cars after about 70 miles. However, some cars can now go more than 100 miles on a charge. Batteries are expensive. Carmakers say there is nothing they can do about it. Tim Carmichael of the Clean Air Coalition says, "The automakers have not built a vehicle unless required to do so, so it's very important for the state to stay committed to this program requiring automakers to build small amounts in beginning years and then the market will take off".

When did Michael Schwabe say goodbye to the gas pump?

Approximately how many electric cars are now on California roads?

What do automakers blame for there being few electric cars now on the road?

In 1994, a videotape showed guards at Corcoran Prison putting rival prison gangs into the same exercise yard to watch them fight. The guards stopped the fight by shooting at the prisoners, killing one. Between 1989 and 1995 Corcoran prison guards shot fifty inmates, killing 7. The state investigated the prison twice and found nothing wrong. Then the FBI investigated for 4 years. Eight guards were charged with civil rights abuses. One guard told the FBI "... we were shooting inmates with a lethal weapon to break up fistfights." After telling his story to the FBI, the guard received death threats. The California Department of Corrections will spend one million dollars to defend the guards.

Why were rival prison gangs forced into a common exercise yard?

How much will the California Department of Corrections spend to defend the guards?

Many people believe prisoner abuse is _____.