Let me tell you about a young boy who made a model car all on his own. The boy is me, six years ago when I was just 11 and the car was small and simple but in my imagination it was a high-speed, Formula 1 racing car, speeding along the race track.

It was during the school summer holidays and workmen were building a new drive and garage beside our house. While watching the workmen I had an idea. I'd build a car to drive into the garage in celebration of the new addition to our home. I told my mother and drew up complicated plans but I couldn't find the right materials, so I gave up and spent a miserable couple of days doing nothing. My mother noticed that I'd stopped working and asked me why. I explained and she suggested that maybe I should change my plans to fit the materials I did have, rather than give up.

And that's just what I did. I found small pieces of wood in my father's workshop and made my car from anything that was lying around the house. When I found a small engine from an old model plane of mine I added that. The power came from a battery attached with some wire I found in a cupboard.

By the time the garage was finished, so was my car. I called my family together outside the house, connected the wires, started the engine and placed the car on the driveway. It was fast and I had to run to the garage to rescue it before it crashed into the new door. My family began to clap and I smiled proudly. Thanks to my mother I learned the value of seeing a project through to its end. Soon I was making plans for my next project: a helicopter!
 

f seeing a project through to its end. Soon I was making plans for my next project: a helicopter!

53. What is the writer trying to do in this text?

A. suggest that everybody should try making something

B. recommend a type of car that is easy to make

C. explain how he learned not to give up on an idea

D. give information about where to find good model cars

54. Why did the writer start building the car?

A. to show the workmen that he could build something too

B. to pass the time during the school holidays

C. to give to his mother as a special present

D. to celebrate the family’s new garage

55. How did the writer feel about the first car he planned?

A. sad that he was unable to find suitable things to build the car with

B. annoyed that his father wouldn’t let him borrow any materials

C. frustrated by how much time he’d wasted on the project

D. embarrassed by the poor quality of the car plan he drew

56. What do we find out about the car the writer finally made?

A. It was completed shortly after the garage was built.

B. It was powered by an old electric motor.

C. It went up the driveway too quickly and hit the garage.

D. Its design needed some improvements.

57. What advice might the writer give about making something?

A. Always try to keep to your plans rather than change them halfway through your project.

B. When you start a project you need as much help as you can get, so ask your friends and family to get involved.

C. Look carefully around you to see what’s available and what things you can reuse for your project.

D. Don’t make a car for your first project – they’re difficult to get right and may not work.

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to choose the best answer for each of the question from 43- 50

The National Automobile Show in New York has been one of the top auto shows in the United States since 1900. On November 3 of that year, about 8,000 people looked over the “horseless carriages.” It was the opening day and the first opportunity for the automobile industry to show off its wares to a large crowd; however, the black-tie audience treated the occasion more as a social affair than as a sales extravaganza. It was also on the first day of this show that William McKinley became the first U.S. president to ride in a car.

The automobile was not invented in the United States. That distinction belongs to Germany. Nicolaus Otto built the first practical internal-combustion engine there in 1876. Then, German engineer Karl Benz built what are regarded as the first modern automobiles in the mid-1880s. But the United States pioneered the merchandising of the automobile. The auto show proved to be an effective means of getting the public excited about automotive products.

By happenstance, the number of people at the first New York show equaled the entire car population of the United States at that time. In 1900, 10 million bicycles and an unknown number of horse-drawn carriages provided the prime means of personal transportation. Only about 4,000 cars were assembled in the United States in 1900, and only a quarter of those were gasoline powered. The rest ran on steam or electricity.

After viewing the cars made by forty car makers, the show’s audience favored electric cars because they were quiet. The risk of a boiler explosion turned people away from steamers, and the gasoline-powered cars produced smelly fumes. The Duryea Motor Wagon Company, which launched the American auto industry in 1895, offered a fragrant additive designed to mask the smells of the naphtha that it burned. Many of the 1900 models were cumbersome—the Gasmobile, the Franklin, and the Orient, for example, steered with a tiller like a boat instead of with a steering wheel. None of them was equipped with an automatic starter.

These early model cars were practically handmade and were not very dependable. They were basically toys of the well-to-do. In fact, Woodrow Wilson, then a professor at Princeton University and later President of the United States, predicted that automobiles would cause conflict between the wealthy and the poor. However, among the exhibitors at the 1900 show was a young engineer named Henry Ford. But before the end of the decade, he would revolutionize the automobile industry with his Model T Ford. The Model T, first produced in 1909, featured a standardized design and a streamlined method of production—the assembly line. Its lower costs made it available to the mass market.

Cars at the 1900 show ranged in price from $1,000 to $1,500, or roughly $14,000 to $21,000 in today’s prices. By 1913, the Model T was selling for less than $300, and soon the price would drop even further. “I will build cars for the multitudes,” Ford said, and he kept his promise.

What was the highest price asked for a car at the 1900 National Automobile Show in the dollars of that time?

A. $300

B. $1,500

C. $14,000

D. $21,000

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 following questions.

The National Automobile Show in New York has been one of the top auto shows in the United States since 1900. On November 3 of that year, about 8,000 people looked over the “horseless carriages.” It was the opening day and the first opportunity for the automobile industry to show off its wares to a large crowd; however, the black-tie audience treated the occasion more as a social affair than as a sales extravaganza. It was also on the first day of this show that William McKinley became the first U.S. president to ride in a car.

The automobile was not invented in the United States. That distinction belongs to Germany. Nikolaus Otto built the first practical internal-combustion engine there in 1876. Then, German engineer Karl Benz built what are regarded as the first modern automobiles in the mid-1880s. But the United States pioneered the merchandising of the automobile. The auto show proved to be an effective means of getting the public excited about automotive products.

    By happenstance ,the number of people at the first New York show equaled the entire car population of the United States at that time. In 1900, 10 million bicycles and an unknown number of horse- drawn carriages provided the prime means of personal transportation. Only about 4,000 cars were assembled in the United States in 1900, and only a quarter of those were gasoline powered. The rest ran on steam or electricity.

After viewing the cars made by forty car makers, the show’s audience favored electric cars because they were quiet. The risk of a boiler explosion turned people away from steamers, and the gasoline- powered cars produced smelly fumes. The Duryea Motor Wagon Company, which launched the American auto industry in 1895, offered a fragrant additive designed to mask the smells of the naphtha that it burned. Many of the 1900 models were cumbersome -the Gasmobile, the Franklin, and the Orient, for example, steered with a tiller like a boat instead of with a steering wheel. None of them was equipped with an automatic starter.

These early model cars were practically handmade and were not very dependable. They were basically toys of the well-to-do. In fact, Woodrow Wilson, then a professor at Princeton University and later President of the United States, predicted that automobiles would cause conflict between the wealthy and the poor. However, among the exhibitors at the 1900 show was a young engineer named Henry Ford. But before the end of the decade, he would revolutionize the automobile industry with his Model T Ford. The Model T, first produced in 1909, featured a standardized design and a streamlined method of production—the assembly line. Its lower costs made it available to the mass market.

Cars at the 1900 show ranged in price from $1,000 to $1,500, or roughly $14,000 to $21,000 in today’s prices. By 1913, the Model T was selling for less than $300, and soon the price would drop even further. “I will build cars for the multitudes,” Ford said, and he kept his promise

What was the highest price asked for a car at the 1900 National Automobile Show in the dollars of that time?

A. $300

B. $21,000

C. $14,000

D. $1,500

Read the following passage and answer the questions

Ballpoint pen is a pen that has, as its name says, ball at its point which rotates when dragged across the writing surface and leaves behind ink that comes from the reservoir of the pen. Ball at the point can be of different diameter and can be made of brass, steel, or tungsten carbide. It is today the most widespread writing instrument and has literally changed the way we write.

   Trying to invent a pen which can write on leather, a tanner John J. Loud invented the first ballpoint pen and patented it in 1888 in America. This pen had a small steel ball which was placed so it could not fall out nor fall in but it still could rotate freely. This invention was not commercially viable and could not be used for writing. Because of that patent lapsed in time.

Who invented the first ballpoint pen?

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 following questions.

The National Automobile Show in New York has been one of the top auto shows in the United States since 1900. On November 3 of that year, about 8,000 people looked over the “horseless carriages.” It was the opening day and the first opportunity for the automobile industry to show off its wares to a large crowd; however, the black-tie audience treated the occasion more as a social affair than as a sales extravaganza. It was also on the first day of this show that William McKinley became the first U.S. president to ride in a car.

The automobile was not invented in the United States. That distinction belongs to Germany. Nikolaus Otto built the first practical internal-combustion engine there in 1876. Then, German engineer Karl Benz built what are regarded as the first modern automobiles in the mid-1880s. But the United States pioneered the merchandising of the automobile. The auto show proved to be an effective means of getting the public excited about automotive products.

    By happenstance ,the number of people at the first New York show equaled the entire car population of the United States at that time. In 1900, 10 million bicycles and an unknown number of horse- drawn carriages provided the prime means of personal transportation. Only about 4,000 cars were assembled in the United States in 1900, and only a quarter of those were gasoline powered. The rest ran on steam or electricity.

After viewing the cars made by forty car makers, the show’s audience favored electric cars because they were quiet. The risk of a boiler explosion turned people away from steamers, and the gasoline- powered cars produced smelly fumes. The Duryea Motor Wagon Company, which launched the American auto industry in 1895, offered a fragrant additive designed to mask the smells of the naphtha that it burned. Many of the 1900 models were cumbersome -the Gasmobile, the Franklin, and the Orient, for example, steered with a tiller like a boat instead of with a steering wheel. None of them was equipped with an automatic starter.

These early model cars were practically handmade and were not very dependable. They were basically toys of the well-to-do. In fact, Woodrow Wilson, then a professor at Princeton University and later President of the United States, predicted that automobiles would cause conflict between the wealthy and the poor. However, among the exhibitors at the 1900 show was a young engineer named Henry Ford. But before the end of the decade, he would revolutionize the automobile industry with his Model T Ford. The Model T, first produced in 1909, featured a standardized design and a streamlined method of production—the assembly line. Its lower costs made it available to the mass market.

Cars at the 1900 show ranged in price from $1,000 to $1,500, or roughly $14,000 to $21,000 in today’s prices. By 1913, the Model T was selling for less than $300, and soon the price would drop even further. “I will build cars for the multitudes,” Ford said, and he kept his promise

According to the passage, who developed the first modern car?

A. William McKinley

B. Nikolaus Otto

C. Henry Ford

D. Karl Benz

Read the following passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer

sheet to choose the best answer for each of the question from 43- 50

The National Automobile Show in New York has been one of the top auto shows in the United States since 1900. On November 3 of that year, about 8,000 people looked over the “horseless carriages.” It was the opening day and the first opportunity for the automobile industry to show off its wares to a large crowd; however, the black-tie audience treated the occasion more as a social affair than as a sales extravaganza. It was also on the first day of this show that William McKinley became the first U.S. president to ride in a car.

The automobile was not invented in the United States. That distinction belongs to Germany. Nicolaus Otto built the first practical internal-combustion engine there in 1876. Then, German engineer Karl Benz built what are regarded as the first modern automobiles in the mid-1880s. But the United States pioneered the merchandising of the automobile. The auto show proved to be an effective means of getting the public excited about automotive products.

By happenstance, the number of people at the first New York show equaled the entire car population of the United States at that time. In 1900, 10 million bicycles and an unknown number of horse-drawn carriages provided the prime means of personal transportation. Only about 4,000 cars were assembled in the United States in 1900, and only a quarter of those were gasoline powered. The rest ran on steam or electricity.

After viewing the cars made by forty car makers, the show’s audience favored electric cars because they were quiet. The risk of a boiler explosion turned people away from steamers, and the gasoline-powered cars produced smelly fumes. The Duryea Motor Wagon Company, which launched the American auto industry in 1895, offered a fragrant additive designed to mask the smells of the naphtha that it burned. Many of the 1900 models were cumbersome—the Gasmobile, the Franklin, and the Orient, for example, steered with a tiller like a boat instead of with a steering wheel. None of them was equipped with an automatic starter.

These early model cars were practically handmade and were not very dependable. They were basically toys of the well-to-do. In fact, Woodrow Wilson, then a professor at Princeton University and later President of the United States, predicted that automobiles would cause conflict between the wealthy and the poor. However, among the exhibitors at the 1900 show was a young engineer named Henry Ford. But before the end of the decade, he would revolutionize the automobile industry with his Model T Ford. The Model T, first produced in 1909, featured a standardized design and a streamlined method of production—the assembly line. Its lower costs made it available to the mass market.

Cars at the 1900 show ranged in price from $1,000 to $1,500, or roughly $14,000 to $21,000 in today’s prices. By 1913, the Model T was selling for less than $300, and soon the price would drop even further. “I will build cars for the multitudes,” Ford said, and he kept his promise.

According to the passage, who developed the first modern car?

A. Karl Benz

B. Nikolaus Otto

C. William McKinley

D. Henry Ford

Read the following passage and answer the questions

Ballpoint pen is a pen that has, as its name says, ball at its point which rotates when dragged across the writing surface and leaves behind ink that comes from the reservoir of the pen. Ball at the point can be of different diameter and can be made of brass, steel, or tungsten carbide. It is today the most widespread writing instrument and has literally changed the way we write.

   Trying to invent a pen which can write on leather, a tanner John J. Loud invented the first ballpoint pen and patented it in 1888 in America. This pen had a small steel ball which was placed so it could not fall out nor fall in but it still could rotate freely. This invention was not commercially viable and could not be used for writing. Because of that patent lapsed in time.

Was this invention commercially viable?

II. Read the text carefully, then do the tasks.

THE FIRST ELECTRIC TRAFFIC LIGHTS

In the early 1900's,the world was developing at a very rapid pace, and with the
growth of industrialization, cities became more crowded. Furthermore, with the invention
automobiles, the traffic on the roads increased significantly, so there was a need for a
better traffic system.

In 1912, an American policeman, Lester Wire, who was concerned with the
increasing traffic, came up with the idea of the first electric traffic light.Based on Wire's
design, the lights were first installed in Cleveland, Ohio, on August 5,1914, at the corner
of 105th and Euclid Avenue

The first electric traffic light had only red and green lights; it did not have a
yellow light like modern- day traffic signals.Instead of a yellow light, it had a buzzer
sound that was used to indicate that the signal would be changing soon.

In the year 1920, a policeman named William Potts in Detroit, Michigan
invented the first four-way and three-coloured traffic lights. Apart from red and green, a
third colour - amber (or yellow) - was introduced. Detroit became the first city to
implement the four-way and three-colored traffic lights. In the 1920's,several automated
traffic signals were installed in major cities around the world. The modern traffic light
still uses this famous T-shaped model with three different colors.
safest vehicles only far crossroad follow across reason

A. Decide whether the following sentences are true (T) or false (F).
1. Due to the invention of cars, the traffic on the roads increased rapidly.
2. The first electric traffic light was invented in 1914 by Lester Wire.
3. The first electric traffic light had red, green and amber lights.
4. The yellow light didn’t exist until the 1920s.
5. Detroit was the first city to use the red, yellow, and green lights to control road traffic.
6. The modern traffic light works on the same principle as Wire’s original light.
B. Answer the questions
1. When was the first electric traffic light invented?
_______________________________________________
2. Who invented the first electric traffic light?
_______________________________________________
3. How many colours did the first electric traffic light have?
_______________________________________________
4. Where were the lights first installed?
_______________________________________________
5. What was used instead of yellow light to warn everyone of a signal change?
________________________________________________
6. When was the yellow light added?
________________________________________________

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 following questions.

The National Automobile Show in New York has been one of the top auto shows in the United States since 1900. On November 3 of that year, about 8,000 people looked over the “horseless carriages.” It was the opening day and the first opportunity for the automobile industry to show off its wares to a large crowd; however, the black-tie audience treated the occasion more as a social affair than as a sales extravaganza. It was also on the first day of this show that William McKinley became the first U.S. president to ride in a car.

The automobile was not invented in the United States. That distinction belongs to Germany. Nikolaus Otto built the first practical internal-combustion engine there in 1876. Then, German engineer Karl Benz built what are regarded as the first modern automobiles in the mid-1880s. But the United States pioneered the merchandising of the automobile. The auto show proved to be an effective means of getting the public excited about automotive products.

    By happenstance ,the number of people at the first New York show equaled the entire car population of the United States at that time. In 1900, 10 million bicycles and an unknown number of horse- drawn carriages provided the prime means of personal transportation. Only about 4,000 cars were assembled in the United States in 1900, and only a quarter of those were gasoline powered. The rest ran on steam or electricity.

After viewing the cars made by forty car makers, the show’s audience favored electric cars because they were quiet. The risk of a boiler explosion turned people away from steamers, and the gasoline- powered cars produced smelly fumes. The Duryea Motor Wagon Company, which launched the American auto industry in 1895, offered a fragrant additive designed to mask the smells of the naphtha that it burned. Many of the 1900 models were cumbersome -the Gasmobile, the Franklin, and the Orient, for example, steered with a tiller like a boat instead of with a steering wheel. None of them was equipped with an automatic starter.

These early model cars were practically handmade and were not very dependable. They were basically toys of the well-to-do. In fact, Woodrow Wilson, then a professor at Princeton University and later President of the United States, predicted that automobiles would cause conflict between the wealthy and the poor. However, among the exhibitors at the 1900 show was a young engineer named Henry Ford. But before the end of the decade, he would revolutionize the automobile industry with his Model T Ford. The Model T, first produced in 1909, featured a standardized design and a streamlined method of production—the assembly line. Its lower costs made it available to the mass market.

Cars at the 1900 show ranged in price from $1,000 to $1,500, or roughly $14,000 to $21,000 in today’s prices. By 1913, the Model T was selling for less than $300, and soon the price would drop even further. “I will build cars for the multitudes,” Ford said, and he kept his promise

Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as steering with a tiller rather than with a steering wheel?

A. A Gasmobile

B. A Duryea

C. A Franklin

D. An Orient