9 th FORM OLYMPIAD 2013 Round I ~ Listening Comprehension Directions: Listen to the story, Jonas Salk Discovers the Polio Vaccine, and mark True (+) or False (-) next to the number. 1.) A terrible disease called polio struck the United States in the late 1940 s and early 1950 s. 2.) Polio crippled 57,000 people, mostly children. 3.) Salk joined the fight against the March of Dimes. 4.) Salk knew that the only way to stop the disease was to develop polio. 5.) When a vaccine was injected into a person s body, it would cause the body to fight the virus and make it harmless. 6.) Salk concentrated all his energy on developing the vaccine. 7.) Salk was so sure of his vaccine success that he tested it on animals. 8.) The vaccine was then tried on 500 volunteers. It proved successful every time. 9.) In some towns, church bells rang, and schools closed for a year. 10.) Dr. Jonas Salk announced that he and his staff had developed a successful vaccine against the dreadful disease. Directions: Listen to the story, Jonas Salk Discovers the Polio Vaccine again, and circle A, B, C or D. 11.) Polio struck the United States in the late 1940 s. A.) attacked B.) resisted C.) slowed down D.) vaccinated 12.) The announcement was a turning point in the history of medicine. A.) time of important change B.) most enjoyable time C.) highest point D.) end of century 13.) People rejoiced when they heard the news. A.) screamed B.) danced C.) celebrated D.) realized 14.) Salk tested the vaccine on. A.) himself B.) his wife C.) his children D.) all of these 15.) When the vaccine was injected into a person s body, it would cause the body to fight the _ and make it harmless. A.) injection B.) cure C.) serum D.) virus 16.) There was no for the disease, although scientists were working hard to find one. A.) virus B.) contribution C.) cure D.) injection 17.) of Americans contributed to the March of Dimes. A.) Millions B.) Thousands C.) 300,000 people D.) The United States 18.) Salk knew the only way to stop the disease was to develop a vaccine, a serum containing a small amount of the virus. A.) prepared B.) killed C.) flu D.) developed 19.) Sometimes he worked 20 hours a day, seven days a week with his. A.) dedicated staff B.) patients C.) children D.) program 20.) It was a when Dr. Salk announced that a successful vaccine against the dreadful disease had been developed. A.) killed virus B.) tradegy C.) research program D.) momentous occasion 1
9 th FORM OLYMPIAD 2013 Round II ~ Reading Comprehension Directions: Read The Joshua Tree, and answer questions 1-10. Mark True(+) or False (-) next to the number. Text 1 The Joshua Tree In the 1840 s the Mormons, who are a religious group, traveled west searching for a new home. Many Mormons lived in the state of Illinois. But they had been badly treated and finally were forced to leave. As the Mormons traveled through the desert they became discouraged. Then they saw a strange tree. The tree s branches stretched out like arms. The Mormons thought that the tree looked like Joshua, a hero from the bible. The Mormons thought that the arms of the tree were telling them to continue on their way, so they did. They found a new home in the state of Utah. In Utah they saw trees like the one in the desert. They called them Joshua trees. The Joshua tree was very useful. The Indians of the West used almost all its parts. They ate not only the fruit of the tree, but also its seeds and white blossoms. They used its leaves for shoes. From its roots they made baskets and colors for clothes. Settlers in the West used the Joshua tree for firewood and fences. Unfortunately, they often needed to cut down the trees. Some of the trees were as tall as fifty feet. These trees were 700 or 800 years old. The Joshua tree grows very slowly. It grows only about one inch a year. By the beginning of the 1900 s, most Joshua trees had been cut down. People were sad that this strange tree had almost disappeared. In 1936 the Joshua Tree National Monument was established in California. It has many kinds of interesting desert plants, including, of course, many Joshua trees. None of these trees are fifty feet. But perhaps someday they will be. 1.) The Mormons traveled west searching for gold. 2.) The Mormons were treated badly in Illinois and were forced to leave. 3.) The Mormons thought that the strange tree looked like Joshua from the Koran. 4.) The Mormons became discouraged as they traveled through the desert. 5.) The Indians of the West made shoes from the roots of the Joshua Tree. 6.) Some of the trees the settlers cut down were 700 meters tall. 7.) In Illinois the Mormons saw trees like the one in the desert. 8.) The tree grows about one inch a year. 9.) In 1936 the Joshua Tree National Monument was established in California. 10)Indians could use the Joshua trees roots to color their clothes. Directions: Read Jazz, and answer questions 11-15. Choose A, B, C or D. Text 2 Jazz Americans have contributed to many art forms, but jazz, a type of music is the only art form that was created in the United States by black Americans. Many blacks were brought from Africa to America as slaves. The black slaves sang and played the music of their homeland. Jazz is a mixture of many different kinds of music. It is a combination of the music of West Africa, the work songs the slaves sang, and religious music. Jazz bands formed in the late 1800 s. They played in bars and clubs in many towns and cities of the South, especially New Orleans. New Orleans is an international seaport, and people from all over the world come to New Orleans to hear jazz. Improvisation is an important part of jazz. This means that the musicians make the music up as they go along, or create the music on the spot. This is why a jazz song might sound a little different each time it is played. Jazz became more and more popular. By the 1920 s, jazz was popular all over the United States. By the 1940 s, you could not only hear jazz in clubs and bars, but in concert halls as well. Today, people from all over the world play jazz. Jazz musicians from the United States, Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe meet and share their music at festivals on every continent. In this way jazz continues to grow and change. 2
11.) Jazz is a musical art form that was created by. A.) black Africans B.) black Americans C.) slaves in Africa D.) their homeland 12.) Jazz is a mixture of music. It is a combination of all of these except. A.) religious music B.) music of West Africa C.) club music D.) work songs 13.) Jazz may sound different each time it is played for all of these reasons except that. A.) people from all over the world come to New Orleans B.) its improvised C.) its created on the spot D.) musicians make the music up as they go along 14.) By the 1940 s, people could only hear jazz music in clubs and bars. A.) true B.) false 15.) Jazz musicians from all over the world meet at to play and share their music. A.) festivals B.) concert halls C.) bars D.) spots Directions: Read The Wright Brothers Take Off, and answer questions 16-20. Choose A, B, C or D. Text 3 The Wright Brothers Take Off From the time of primitive men, humans have wanted to fly. Centuries ago men strapped wings on themselves in an attempt to fly. Needless to say, more than one leg was broken trying that. By 1900, humans had finally succeeded in flying through the air. They had done it in balloons and gliders. Now they were ready for the next step. Two brothers, Orville and Wilbur Wright, owned a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, and loved mechanical things. They were also fascinated with the idea of flying. They had read about the glider experiments of Otto Lilienthal, a German inventor, and Octave Chanute, a French-born American engineer. They decided to make a glider of their own. They came up with a biplane, or double-wing, glider. It had a new feature called wing warping, a way of bending the wings to make the best use of air flowing over them. They made several successful flights with their biplane glider. But the Wright brothers wanted more. They asked the U.S. Weather Bureau where the strongest and steadiest winds blew, which were necessary for glider flying. As Orville and Wilbur and other pilots knew, when the winds died down, the plane went down too. In the Fall of 1900, the Wright Brothers took a new glider to the windy beaches near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. It had bent wings and a flap in front for better up-and-down movement. Once again, their glider was successful. Once again, it wasn t quite good enough. The Wright brothers went back to their home in Dayton. They set up a wind tunnel to test the data that Lilienthal and Chanute had come up with in their glider experiments. The wind test showed the figures were wrong. The Wright brothers had more designing to do. In 1902 Wilbur and Orville were back in Kitty Hawk with a redesigned glider. This one had straighter wings, a movable rudder, and better control. They made more than a thousand successful flights on the deserted beaches. But the Wright brothers weren t happy with having to rely on nature and its unpredictable winds. They wanted more. They wanted powered flight. No engine on the market was light and powerful enough for an airplane. So they built their own. There were no propellers around either. So they built them too. They put one propeller behind the engine and one behind the pilot. Power from the engine was carried to the propellers by a bicycle chain. 16.) Before 1900 humans had already successfully flown through the air in. A.) jets B.) helicopters C.) rockets D.) ballons 17.) Wing warping helps a plane to fly by. 3
A.) making air flow over the wings C.) a new glider feature B.) increasing the speed of a plane D.) making a double-wing 18.) The flap in front of the glider caused for. A.) the strongest and steadiest winds B.) the winds to die down C.) better up-and-down movement D.) more designing to be done by the Wright brothers 19.) The redesigned glider of 1902 had. A.) straighter wings B.) a movable ruder C.) better control D.) all of these 20.) carried power to the propellers from the engine. A.) a bicycle chain B.) a glider C.) the pilot D.) a redesigned engine Directions: Read The Wright Brothers Take Off (continued), and answer questions 26-30. Choose A, B, C or D. Text 4 The Wright Brothers Take Off (continued) The brothers went back and forth to Kitty Hawk. With each unsuccessful flight, they corrected the problem and tried again. On December 17 th, 1903, they were ready for another trial. They had named their odd-looking, twowinged contraption Flyer. It was a cold windy day. No one except four men and a boy, was interested enough to watch the Wright brothers try their funny flying machine. No one believed that humans would ever fly a mechanical plane. The brothers always took turns at piloting their experimental airplanes. This day, Orville climbed into Flyer and lay flat on the lower wing. He started the engine and the plane moved forward. Then it lifted off the ground, reaching 40 feet. Orville found the controls so sensitive that when he changed the angle of the controls just a little, the plane rose or fell sharply. Then he altered one of the controls a little too much and the plane came down. It had flown 120 feet and had been in the air for 12 seconds. History had been made. What humankind had dreamed about for thousands of years had become reality. The Wright brothers made three more flights that day. The fourth flight lasted 59 seconds and went a distance of 852 feet. After this flight, everyone gathered around the aircraft. They joyfully discussed what had happened. Suddenly a strong gust of wind picked up the plane and turned it over and over while everyone watched in dismay. It was badly damaged and could not be flown again that day. But the Wright Brothers could not be sad. They had accomplished their goal. In spite of this historical achievement, the Wright brothers and their flight went nearly unnoticed. They continued their research and experimentation for almost three more years. Finally, they were granted a U.S. patent on their plane in 1906. In 1907 they went to Europe and flew their aircraft from place to place, to the delight of thousands of Europeans. The success of this tour reached American newspapers. The Wright brothers finally achieved their long-deserved fame and honor. The door was opened to the future. That having been done, it took Americans only 66 years to go from the beaches of Kitty Hawk to the distant moon. 21.) was the name of the odd-looking funny flying machine. A.) Kitty Hawk B.) Flyer C.) Contraption D.) Wright 22.) The plane rose and fell sharply due to. A.) reaching 40 feet B.) laying flat on the lower wing C.) an experimental airplane D.) sensitive controls 23.) The Wright brothers were not sad because. A.) a strong gust of wind picked up the plane B.) it was badly damaged and could not be flown C.) they had accomplished their goal D.) they were dismayed when the plane turned over 4
24.) At first the Wright brothers were more famous then in America. A.) in Europe B.) on the moon C.) in Kitty Hawk D.) on the beach 25.) Americans reached the moon in. 66 years after Flyer flew for the first time. A.) 1906 B.) 1907 C.) 1966 D.) 1969 5