Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the correct answer to each of the questions from 1 to 10.
Reading to oneself is a modern activity which was almost unknown to the scholars of the classical and medieval worlds, while during the fifteenth century the term "reading" undoubtedly meant reading aloud. Only during the nineteenth century did silent reading become commonplace.
One should be wary, however, of assuming that silent reading came about simply because reading aloud was a distraction to others. Examinations of factors related to the historical development of silent reading have revealed that it became the usual mode of reading for most adults mainly because the tasks themselves changed in character.
The last century saw a steady gradual increase in literacy and thus in the number of readers. As the number of readers increased, the number of potential listeners declined and thus there was some reduction in the need to read aloud. As reading for the benefit of listeners grew less common, so came the flourishing of reading as a private activity in such public places as libraries, railway carriages and offices, where reading aloud would cause distraction to other readers.
Towards the end of the century, there was still considerable argument over whether books should be used for information or treated respectfully and over whether the reading of materials such as newspapers was in some way mentally weakening. Indeed, this argument remains with us still in education. However, whatever its virtues, the old shared literacy culture had gone and was replaced by the printed mass media on the one hand and by books and periodicals for a specialised readership on the other.
By the end of the twentieth century, students were being recommended to adopt attitudes to books and to use reading skills which were inappropriate, if not impossible, for the oral reader. The social, cultural and technological changes in the century had greatly altered what the term "reading" implied.
Question 1: Reading aloud was more common in the medieval world because:
A. people relied on reading for entertainment
B. silent reading had not been discovered
C. there were few places available for private reading
D. few people could read to themselves
Question 2: The word "commonplace" in the first paragraph mostly means:
A. for everybody's use B. most preferable
C. attracting attention D. widely used
Question 3: The development of silent reading during the last century indicated
A. an increase in the average age of readers
B. an increase in the number of books
C. a change in the nature of reading
D. a change in the status of literate people
Question 4: Silent reading, especially in public places, flourished mainly because of:
A. the decreasing need to read aloud
B. the development of libraries
C. the increase in literacy
D. the decreasing number of listeners
Question 5 It can be inferred that the emergence of the mass media and specialized reading materials was an indication of .
A. a decline of standards of literacy
B. a change in the readers' interest
C. an alteration in educationalists ’attitudes
D. an improvement of printing techniques.
Question 6: The phrase "a specialized readership" in paragraph 4 mostly means:
A. a requirement for readers in a particular area of knowledge
B. a limited number of readers in a particular area of knowledge
C. a reading volume for particular professionals
D. a status for readers specialized in mass media
Question 7: The phrase “oral reader" in the last paragraph mostly means a person who:
A. is good at public speaking
B. practices reading to an audience
C. takes part in an audition
D. is interested in spoken language
Question 8: All of the following might be the factors that affected the continuation of the old shared literacy culture EXCEPT .
A. the inappropriate reading skills B. the specialized readership
C. the diversity of reading materials D. the printed mass media
Question 9: Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the passage?
A. Reading aloud was more common in the past than it is today.
B. Not all printed mass media was appropriate for reading aloud.
C. The decline of reading aloud was wholly due to its distracting effect.
D. The change in reading habits was partly due to the social, cultural and technological changes.
Question 10: The writer of this passage is attempting to .
A. explain how reading habits have developed
B. change people's attitudes to reading
C. show how reading methods have improved
D. encourage the growth of reading.
