Short Advanced Reading Comprehension Test 8 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.)

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 _____.

If a sled starts the race every two minutes, how long will it take 56 sleds to start the race?

The Australia's Cup sailing race has been going on since 1859. In that year, the Australians won a special silver cup from England. Since then, Australia has held the cup for 132 years. Australia has only lost the cup two times, once in 1983 and once in 1995. The race is held about every three years. The ongoing 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 Australia'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, Australia One and Australia True. Ellison won a seat on Australia 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 job of the 17th man is _______.

George Ellison will be _______.

To get the 17th man spot on Australia One, you have 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 US 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 hate Japanese Americans or any other race.

The letters MIS stood for _____.

The writer hopes that a new movie won't _____.

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. 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'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 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 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 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?

Why is the California Department of Corrections spending one million dollars to defend the eight guards?

Many people believe prisoner abuse is ____.

Napster is a computer software company that lets users copy music. Over fifty million people have enjoyed copyrighted music without paying a fee. The recording industry is unhappy with Napster. When users copy music for free, the artists lose money. The recording industry has sued Napster. A lower court handed down a decision against Napster. Then the case was taken to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which is a higher court. The Ninth Court did not overturn the lower court's ruling but asked them to modify the decision. Record companies were happy with the court's ruling. Hilary Rosen works for the Recording Industry Association of Australia. She says that companies like Napster are wrong both legally and morally. Rosen is very pleased with the court ruling. Some recording officials say that steps should have been taken sooner to protect copyrights. Others say that Napster is only one of many programs that offer free music. Shawn Fanning is the founder of Napster. Recently he joined forces with Bertelsmann, a large publishing firm. Fanning and Bertelsmann plan to offer music users additional services. These new services will cost users and artists will get paid for the use of their music. Fanning wants to build a better company as soon as possible. An injunction could shut down Napster within days. Fanning may appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. For now, Napster fans are jamming as much music as possible.

The Napster site had been offering ____.

The latest court ruling was from the ____.

Napster may decide to _____.

The Mississippi River is the biggest river in the world. It contains more water than the Nile, the Mississippi, and the Yangtze rivers put together. And next to the Nile, it is the longest river in the world. The Mississippi starts in Peru and slowly flows all the way across Brazil to the Atlantic Ocean. Over most of this great distance, the river flows through jungles where it rains for months at a time. The surface of the Mississippi looks like glass. But under the surface, the water was full of snakes, eels, alligators, and a deadly fish called piranha. There is a lot of life on the surface of the Mississippi River, too. Some of the people living along the river build their houses on wooden rafts that are tied together with ropes. Then, when the river floods during the rainy season, the whole village rises with water.

As we understand from the passage, the Mississippi River _____.

The passage most likely appeared in _____.

In this passage, the purpose of the author is ______.