Reading Smart HI: Test 9

 Part I. Grammar & Vocabulary (40％)

(   ) 1. Lacking any _____, the man often trips over his own two feet and knocks things over.

(A) hospitality    (B) preference           (C) coordination        (D) significance

(   ) 2. This part of the country is _____ in natural beauty, especially in the spring.

(A) modified      (B) steeped                (C) discarded            (D) evolved

(   ) 3. Don't lend anything to Karen, for she is _____ for not giving things back.

(A) notorious      (B) glorious              (C) mysterious          (D) luxurious

(   ) 4. The locals saw their ritual of killing animals to please their gods as an act of _____.

(A) fragrance      (B) rubbish               (C) tyranny               (D) worship

(   ) 5. Safety _____ were not put in place at the concert, which is why so many people got hurt when a fire broke out.

(A) precautions   (B) prescriptions       (C) prosecutions        (D) proportions

(   ) 6. The Changing the Guard ceremony at Buckingham Palace is a _____ that attracts many tourists.

(A) district          (B) hardship              (C) nightmare            (D) spectacle

(   ) 7. Never given any for all the work she does, Andrea started looking for a new job.

(A) hymn           (B) signal                  (C) credit                   (D) blame

(   ) 8. _____ recently, Larry had no desire to settle down, but that changed when Jill came into his life.

(A) As with        (B) Even if                (C) Ever since           (D) Up until

(   ) 9. Not feeling _____ security, Ivy decided to end the relationship with Justin before it was too late.

(A) a matter of   (B) a sense of            (C) a total of             (D) a variety of

(   ) 10. The man on the motorcycle did some amazing jumps and other _____.

(A) stunts           (B) squads                 (C) starches               (D) stares

 

Part II. Fill-in-the-Blank (40%)

(A) teammates           (B) vibrant          (C) stunning       (D) architecture       (E) decaying

(F) cautioned             (G) academy       (H) illuminated   (I) progression    (J) inhabited

(   ) 11. Measures are being taken to revive the area's _____ public school system.

(   ) 12. The city boasts a(n) _____ nightlife that has something for everyone to enjoy.

(   ) 13. Two of my basketball _____ were injured badly during the last game we played.

(   ) 14. The _____ is run by artists who would like to promote interest in the arts.

(   ) 15. As the campfire came to life, it _____ the faces of all the people gathered around it.

(   ) 16. Cynthia expects that marriage and motherhood will be the natural _____ of her life.

(   ) 17. Al was _____ not to text and drive, but he did so anyway and ended up crashing his father's car.

(   ) 18. We had a(n) _____ view of the lake and the mountains from our hotel room.

(   ) 19. Grace wants to study _____ because it combines her interests in design and physics.

(   ) 20. The remote island is _____ by a tribe of people who have little contact with the outside world.

 

Part III. Reading Comprehension (20%)

Believe it or not, cheerleading is a dangerous sport. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, it results in more catastrophic injuries like paralysis and brain trauma than all other sports combined. That even includes the high-impact world of football.

When we think of cheerleading, images of young ladies jumping around making noise and shaking their pom-poms come to mind. However, cheerleaders do a lot more than that. They have to perform complex routines that often involve acrobatic tricks. Their tosses, flips, and spins need to be timed just right so that nobody falls or gets dropped. Needless to say, a significant amount of athleticism and coordination is required of all its participants.

Sadly, cheerleading isn't seen as a real sport in many areas. Thus, school teams are not given the financial support they need for safe practice spaces, reliable equipment, and properly trained coaches. Having inexperienced instructors lead the teams can spell disaster for the cheerleaders who are trying to execute gymnastic and circus-like moves. When a green coach can't teach the participants how to toss and catch someone correctly, something can and will probably go wrong. Moreover, undertrained instructors may not know how to build up the cheerleaders' skills in a safe and proper fashion, causing further injuries.

(   ) 21. What can we infer from the article?

(A) Cheerleading teams often get lots of financial supports.

(B) Cheerleaders rarely do more than shake pom-poms and make noise.

(C) Most people don't think of cheerleading as a dangerous sport.

(D) If cheerleaders were more athletic, they wouldn't get hurt as often.

(   ) 22. In paragraph 3, what does the word "green" probably mean?

(A) Sick                   (B) Lazy            (C) Environmental    (D) Inexperienced

(   ) 23. What is NOT given as a consequence of not receiving as much money as other school sports?

(A) Cheerleaders don't have a safe place to practice.

(B) People don't think of cheerleading as an actual sport.

(C) Cheerleaders don't have equipment they can rely on.

(D) Coaches with proper training cannot be hired.

(   ) 24. Which of the following is true about cheerleading?

(A) It only results in minor injuries.

(B) It is the noisiest sport.

(C) It involves complicated stunts with spins and flips.

(D) It is not a high-impact sport.