John Fisher, a builder, and his wife Elizabeth wanted more living space, so they left small flat for an old 40-metre high castle tower. They have spent five years turning it into a beautiful home with six floors, winning three architectural prizes.
'I love the space, and being private,'Elizabeth says. 'You feel separated from the world. If I'm in the kitchen, which is 25 metres above the groud floor, and the doorbell rings, I don't have to answer it because visitor can't see I'm in!'.
Lê Huỳnh Phan
There are 142 steps to the top, so i go up and down five or six times a day, it's very good exercise! But having to carry heavy things to the top is terrible, so i never buy two bags of shopping from the supermarket at a time. Apart from that, it's a brilliant place to live.'
'When we first saw the place, I asked my father's advice about buying it, because we couldn't decide. After paying for it, we were a bit worried because it looked awful. But we really loved it, and knew how we wamted it to look'
'Living here can be difficult - yesterday I climbed a four-metre ladder to clean the windows. But when you stand on the roof you can see all the way out to sea on a lear day, and that's a wonderful experience. I'm really glad we moved.'
1/ What is the writer trying to do in the test?
a/ Describe how to turn an old tower into a house
b/ Recommend a particular builder
c/ Describe what it is like to live in a tower
d/ Explain how to win prizes for building work
2/ From this text, a reader can find out
a/ Why visitors are not welcome at John and Elizabeth's house
b/ Why Elizabeth exercises everyday
c/ Why Elizabeth asked her father to buy the tower
d/ Why John and Elizabeth left the flat
3/ Which of the following best describes Elizabeth's feeling about the tower?
a/ She wanted it as soon as she saw it
b/ She likes most things about it
c/ She has been worried since they paid for it
d/ She finds it unsuitable to live in
4/ What problem does Elizabeth have with living in such a tall building
a/ Her visitor find it difficult to see if she is at home
b/ She feels separated from other people
c/ She cannot bring home lots of shopping at once.
d/ It is impossible to clean any of the window
5/ They were rather worried after paying for the castle because
a/ They really couldn't afford it
b/ It was about to collapse
c/ It looked terrible at first
d/ They were unable to take care of such a large house
@Dương Yến Tử; @Linh Diệu