Reading A2 Hesi

• Eating

  Consumption of food is a universal necessity. Different cultures have developed different methods to accomplish the task. It is interesting to discover these differences and learn new ways to do things. European cultures developed cutlery (knives, forks, and spoons) to enable people to efficiently eat their food. Correct use of this tools changes with the times-what was polite in 1800 may not be considered proper manners today. China developed the chopstick as an efficient tool for eating. Mastery of the use of chopsticks can be difficult for the person not raised in the culture. The attempts of a novice to use chopsticks can be very amusing to the watcher, but frustrating for the hungry diner. Space travel has created new challenges for consuming food. Squeeze bottles and other unique packaging have enabled space travelers to get their needed nutrition. Chopsticks and forks do not work well in space.

  set 1
• 1. What conclusion can be drawn about the article? (eating)


  The author explain differences in eating processes.
• 2. What statement can be implied from the content of article. (eating)

  Diversity is interesting to learn about
• 3. What is the best definition of "efficient" as used in the third paragraph? (eating)

  Productive without waste
• 5. What statement from the article draws a conclusion? (eating)

  It is interesting to discover new ways to do things
• 6. What statement from the article is correct? (eating)

  China developed chopsticks for eating utensils
• Food

  Food and drink are necessary and desirable, but their abuse can cause serious physical and metal problem. Many physicians believe that overeating is one of the country's main health problems, since it places a great strain on the heart, can lead to diabetes, and often shortens the individual's life span. To fill an emotional void. people often turn to food when they are bored or lonely. Another area of concern is alcohol consumption. The results of alcohol abuse are widely publicized. The social drinker who becomes alcoholic, the drunken driver's contribution to highway death, spousal and child abuse, are all concomitant problems associated with alcohol abuse.

  Set 2
• 1. As used in the last sentence of this paragraph, the term "concomitant" means? (food)

  Accompanying
• 2. The information presented in this article is? (food)

  Against drinking alcohol
• 3. The author's motive for writing the paragraph seems to have have been to? (food)

  Urge self-control
• 4. What is implied by this paragraph? (food)


  We should eat and drink in reasonable quantities.
• 5. The author seems to? (food)

  Oppose drinking alcohol
• Game of Bridge

  The ebb and flow of laughter and silence fills the room as four old friends gather to engage in a round of Bridge playing. For the beginner, Bridge can be complicated, but with time, effort, and a good teacher, even the novice can become proficient. Composed of two main parts, bidding and playing, Bridge requires the player's undivided attention. The dealer deals the entire deck of playing cards evenly between the for players, with each person receiving thirteen cards. In the bidding portion of the game, the four suits of cards in the deck are ranked highest to lowest as follows: spades, hearts, diamonds, and finally clubs. However, during play all the suits of cards are considered equals, and they go from highest to lowest from the ace being high to the two card being low. The highest number of tricks wins. A trick is one card played by each player for a total of four. After the lead player lays down his/her card, the other players follow suit, if possible. The highest card within the four "same suit" cards played wins the trick and picks up all four cards. if a player cannot follow suit, he/she plays any card, but to make the game more interesting and challenging, one suit is named a trump suit which means that if a player plays a card from the trump suit, it always wins the trick. If two cards from the trump suit are played, the highest card within the trump suit wins the trick. obviously the team with the most tricks wins the hand.

  set 3
• 1. The author wants the reader to feel (Gob)


  Confident and excited about learning the game of bridge
• 2. Throughout this passage the word suit means (gob)


  Any of the four sets into which a deck of cards is divided.
• 3. In the passage, a trick is described as (gob)


  A collection of one card played by each of four players.
• 4. The passage explicitly states (gob)


  That the highest card within the "trump" suit always wins the trick.
• 5. The passage implies that (gob)

  Playing bridge requires concentration.
• Getting a Good Night's Sleep


  set 4
• 1. What is stated in the passage? (gagns)

  Physical Illness can cause Insomnia.
• 2. Which is a solution to Insomnia? (gagns)

  Developing good sleep and taking herbs and spices.
• 3. Sleep Apnea causes? (gagns)


  Chronic illness
• 4. Why did the author write this passage? (gagns)

  To explain insomnia and purpose some solutions for the condition.
• 5. Insomnia affects intellectual abilities because it (gagns)


  Causes a deficit in memory, concentration, and attention.
• Phobia


  set 6
• 1. According to the passage, which of the following are types of phobias? (Check all that apply) (phobia)

  Social phobias, panic disorder, specific phobia
• 2. What does the author want the reader to know about phobia?

  That phobias are debilitating.
• 3. The passage says that being afraid is normal and good, according to the passage why is having a phobia not normal and good?

  Because phobias are extreme and unreasonable.
• 4. What are physical ailments that phobias cause?

  Ulcers and hypertension
• 5. The author wants to conclude that

  people can gain control or deal with phobias
• The Water Cycle

  Water is needed to sustain practically all life functions on planet Earth. A single drop of this compound is composed of an oxygen atom that shares its electrons with each of the two hydrogen atoms. The cycle starts when precipitation, such as rain, snow, sleet, or hail, descends from the sky onto the ground. Water that is not absorbed immediately from the precipitation is known as runoff. The runoff flows across the land and collects in groundwater reservoirs, rivers, streams, and oceans. Evaporation takes place when liquid water changes into water vapor, which is a gas. Water vapor returns to the air from surface water and plants. Ultimately, condensation happens when this water vapor cools and changes back into droplets of liquid. In fact, the puffy, cotton clouds that we observe are formed by condensation. When the clouds become heavily laden with liquid droplets, precipitation ensues.


  set 7
• 1. What is the meaning of the word "composed" in the first paragraph?

  To consist of
• 2. What is the main idea of this passage?

  The different components of the water cycle are precipitation, evaporation, and condensation. The explanation of the different components of the water cycle
• 3. Which statement is not a detail from the passage?

  Condensation fails to happen when water vapor cools and changes back into droplets of liquid.
• 4. What was the author's primary purpose for writing this essay?

  To inform the reader about the stages of the water cycle
• 5. What can the reader conclude from this passage about ponds and lakes?

  They are examples of groundwater reservoirs.
• 6. Knowing that the cooling of water vapor results in condensation, one could conclude that _______ is/are a factor in the evaporation process.

  heat
• Amazon Rainforest

  About 6% of the earth is covered by rainforests. The largest rainforest in the world is theAmazon Basin, which stretches over 2.3 million square miles in nine different South American countries. This area is double the length of all the other remaining rainforests in the world. Brazil contains 60%of the Amazonian rainforest, since it lies at the mouth of the river Amazon. This river is the second largest in the world and contains more than one-fifth of the world's fresh water. The Amazon rainforest is a type of wet broadleaf forest. The weather there is very humid and warm as it rains quite a bit. Because of the high rainfall, the forest is very rich and green. The tree leaves are pointed and narrow so that the raindrops can easily drop off wet plants. This tropical rainforest has more living species than the entire European continent. There are over 400 types of insects living in one single rain forest tree for a total of 2.5 million species. One square kilometer of rainforest may contain over 75,000 types of trees and approximately 438,000 different kinds of plants, which comes to a total of 90,000 tons of greenery overall. The Amazon rainforest is home to 2,000 birds and mammals, with one in every five birds in the world living there. Local farmers have lived off this rich and diverse land for thousands of years. They have been able to find food and water here without destroying the land. The Kayapo people of Brazil farm in an environmentally-friendly way. Instead of chemicals, they use burned wood to enrich the soil, and plant banana trees, which attract wasps. These wasps then feed on leafcutter ants and get rid of these harmful insects. The rainforest also offers a lot of tropical fruits, such as bananas and coconuts, as food. Cinnamon is made from the bark of a rainforest tree. Amazonian Indians use the fruit and stem of the Buruti plant as a drink, to make bread and to build houses. Many other plants are used as medicine. But the Amazon rainforest is in very big danger of disappearing. 9,169 square miles of forest have been cut down in 2003 in Brazil alone. An area of the size of a football field is burned down basically every minute, which means that the rain forest may be gone by the year 2030.The dangers related to this type of activity are obvious. Trees take in poisonous carbon dioxide from the air and give off oxygen. There is more oxygen and less carbon dioxide around a rainforest. When trees are cut down, however, the amount of carbon dioxide increases, and the air gets warmer. This leads to global warming, which is extremely harmful to the environment. It is estimated that the burning of Brazilian rainforests alone produces 200 million metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. Another danger connected with destroying the rainforest is the disappearance of plants and animals. When trees are cut down, plants and animals have no more food left and slowly die out. Killing wild animals is illegal in Brazil, but there is plenty of stealing going on. 38 million animals are stolen and sold illegally each year. The most hunted animals are birds, especially parrots, followed by snakes and the jaguar.


  set 8
• 1. According to paragraph 1, which of the following is NOT mentioned about the AmazonRainforest?

  Its precipitation
• 2. How can you describe the Amazon rainforest? (Choose 2 answers)

  (A)It rains all time there so the forest is always green.(C)The plants are shaped so that rainwater can pour off them.