EXERCISE

01
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

I like to go out for a walk every day if possible, but I dont always have the time. Its not that Im busy, sometimes Im simply lazy. When I do go out, though, there is usually one route that I take that takes me about two hours to complete. While I walk I listen to music, or sometimes to an audio book in a foreign language. Its a great way to learn and to pass the time! Sometimes I go to the park and do some people watching, and I suppose some of them watch me too as I walk by listening to music and maybe even singing out loud. I wonder if they think Im crazy? Other times, I head toward the city and lose myself in the streets. Since I dont have a car, this is a good way to get to know the city, though I must admit I still dont know a lot of street names because the signs with the names on them are on the sides of buildings. Ive always thought that wasnt really the best place to put the sign with the streets name on it because its not a very convenient place to look, especially if youre driving. They really should look into a way to make those signs more visible.

EXCERCISE

1. The author goes out for a walk every day. 2. When the author doesnt go for a walk, its because hes too busy. 3. The author has one route that he usually takes. 4. How long does the authors normal route take him to complete? 5. What does the author do while he walks? 6. Why does the author wonder if people think hes crazy? 7. The author always knows where he is when hes walking. 8. Why doesnt the author know the names of the streets he walks on? 9. Why doesnt the author think its a good idea to put the signs there? 10. The they in the last sentence probably refers to drivers. 11. Who do you think the they in the last sentence refers to?

1. 2. 3.

True True True

False False False

4. .............................................................................. .............................................................................. 5. .............................................................................. .............................................................................. 6. .............................................................................. .............................................................................. 7. True False

8. .............................................................................. .............................................................................. .............................................................................. 9. .............................................................................. .............................................................................. .............................................................................. 10. True False

11. .............................................................................. ..............................................................................

1 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

02
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

In human beings, a rise in the amount of heat generated results in the dilation of blood vessels close to the skin, which causes blushing, that characteristic red color of skin, and facilitates cooling. Another cooling mechanism available to the body is perspiration, which cools the body through the effect of transpiration as the liquid sweat on the skin evaporates. You can get an idea of how this works by putting some alcohol on your skin and letting it evaporate. The energy required for the liquid to turn to vapor is provided by your bodys heat, and thus helps to cool you down. When your body is cold, on the other hand, it wants to preserve heat. It does this by contracting blood vessels, shivering, which makes your body shake to generate heat, and by the raising of body hairs, which increases the insulation provided to the body by the hair.

EXCERCISE

1. This article discusses three main methods the body has for cooling down. 2. What color does blushing cause skin to turn? 3. When you sweat, where does the energy for the sweat to evaporate come from? 4. Sweat uses alcohol to aid in the evaporation process. 5. Blood vessels can expand or contract to help regulate body temperature. 6. Shaking helps regulate the loss of heat by raising body hairs, which insulates the body. 7. How many methods does the article mention for raising body temperature?

1.

True

False

2. .............................................................................. .............................................................................. 3. .............................................................................. .............................................................................. 4. 5. 6. True True True False False False

7. .............................................................................. ..............................................................................

2 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

03
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

The more scientists learn about the world of subatomic particles, the stranger that unseen world becomes. Because the particles being studied are so tiny, scientists have to rely on indirect observations, and a lot of ingenuity and mathematical ability, to try to gain some insight into the world of the impossibly small. And the word impossibly is not there by accident. In fact, some research seems to suggest that electrons, one of the smallest of subatomic particles, may not even exist as matter, that they may just be energy fluctuations in the fabric of space and time. And the particles that reside inside the atomic nucleus may be even stranger still. These infinitesimal bits of matter, called quarks, are supported more by theory than anything else, since they are too small to be seen by even the most powerful detectors. And there are particles, called neutrinos, that are so elusive, that the vast majority of neutrinos that have been created since the Big Bang, the explosion that resulted in the birth of the universe some 13.7 billion years ago, have never interacted with any other type of matter. But thats not all. Incredibly enough, the properties of subatomic particles can have an effect on some of the strangest bodies in the universe, the so-called neutron stars, which are created after the massive supernova explosions that signal the end of certain types of stars. It is believed that if not for an effect called neutron degeneracy, that every supernova would result in the creation of a black hole.

EXCERCISE

1. Which of the following is NOT true?

2. The article raises the possibility that electrons may not even be matter. 3. The next paragraph in this article will probably

1. a) scientists arent really sure what an electron is, b) at least some subatomic particles are not directly observable, c) scientists rely exclusively on indirect observations to learn about subatomic particles, d) there is a connection between particle physics and astrophysics. 2. True False 3. a) explain Einsteins famous E=mc2 equation, b) discuss further connections between subatomic particles and astronomy, c) explain how the sun was created, d) describe the mathematics behind the theory of quarks. 4. True False 5. 6. a) b) c) d) 7. a) True False

4. Quarks have been directly observed in the laboratory. 5. The article provides one possible explanation for the birth of the universe. 6. It may be deduced from the article that

7. Neutrons

8. Every supernova explosion produces a black hole.

neutrinos are smaller than electrons, neutrinos are not matter, neutrinos were only created in the Big Bang, some neutrinos are 13.7 billion years old. cause the supernova explosions that result in neutron stars, b) have a property that keeps neutron stars from collapsing into black holes, c) do not interact with matter, d) result in the creation of black holes. 8. True False

3 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

04
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

The potato is still one of the most important crops in the United States, both in terms of its economy and in terms of land devoted to farming it. Although the potato was first farmed in the mountainous regions of South America there are records of Incas cultivating the potato in Peru as far back as 200 A.D. in the United States it is referred to as the Irish potato. This is probably because of the widespread cultivation of the potato in Ireland in the 1600s, where it supplied practically all of the population with the food they needed for survival. Naturally, the large inflow of Irish immigrants to the United States meant that the potato, too, made the journey back across the Atlantic Ocean, this time to North America. But while the potato was traveling from east to west, the blight disease was going in the other direction, affecting nearly 100% of the potato crop in Ireland in the mid 19th century. The destruction of the crop resulted in the starvation of thousands in Ireland and in the increased prominence of potato farming in the United States.

EXCERCISE

1. This paragraph is mainly about

2. The potato

3. The potato was the primary source of food for the Irish prior to the famine. 4. The paragraph implies that the potato was introduced to the United States after the great potato famine in Ireland. 5. Why is the word back (underlined) used?

1. a) the origins of the potato, b) the introduction of potatoes to Ireland, c) the connection between the Irish and the potato, d) the Irish potato famine. 2. a) is native to Ireland, b) provided most of the calories Americans needed for survival, c) was introduced to the United States by the Incas, d) was first cultivated in the second century after Christ. 3. True False 4. True False

6. The blight disease

7. Concerns about the blight disease caused potato farming to decrease in the United States.

5. a) because the potato had been exported from the United States into Ireland, b) because the potato had originated in the Americas, c) because thousands of Irish immigrants sailed across the Atlantic many times, d) because the famine in Ireland caused potatoes to be re-introduced into the United States. 6. a) affected nearly all of the potato crop in the United States, b) was introduced to Ireland from America, c) infected and killed thousands of Irish, d) forever eliminated potato farming in Ireland. 7. True False

4 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

05
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

As is the case with many inventions, the rst codes were developed for military use, specically as a way of sending secure messages to generals in the eld. But these codes, which relied on a simple substitution of letters, were easy to break. So other schemes were soon developed involving increasingly harder ciphers (cdigos). The mathematical properties of numbers were investigated to give code makers and code breakers alike more sophisticated tools in their efforts to conceal, or to reveal, secrets. It wasnt long before mathematicians became as important to winning wars as generals in the eld. In fact, you could argue that without the pioneering work of Englands code breakers, that England would have eventually fallen to Nazi Germany. You could also argue that it was exactly these same efforts that led to the development of the modern computer. So it is no surprise, then, that the internet, which is no more than a vast network of interconnected computers, relies on ciphers to keep our most vulnerable transactions private. These ciphers, which today are based on prime numbers (numbers that are divisible only by themselves and by one), are absolutely essential to the vast number of electronic transactions that take place every day. But code writers know the history of ciphers very well, and they know that its only a matter of time before even todays ultra-secure communications are compromised. Thats why they are already working on the next generation of codes, which will rely on the properties of subatomic particles to keep our secrets hidden from unwelcome eyes.

EXCERCISE

1. In the rst sentence the author implies that

2. The rst codes took advantage of the mathematical properties of numbers. 3. The rst codes were easy to break. 4. The author probably believes that

1. a) many inventions are developed by generals in the eld, b) the rst combatant to develop an unbreakable code often won the war, c) many inventions arose from military necessity, d) without wars there wouldnt be inventions. 2. True False 3. True False 4. a) a good code is as important as a good battle strategy, b) mathematicians should lead troops into battle, c) ciphers and computers are unrelated, d) code breakers are smarter than code writers. 5. a) creating codes only, b) creating and breaking codes, c) designing computers, d) generals in the eld. 6. True False 7. a) b) c) d) 8. a) b) we wouldnt have computers, there wouldnt be an internet, online banking would be impossible, prime numbers would be useless. will always be secure, are no longer being developed by mathematicians, c) are essential to the proper operation of the internet as we know it, d) were developed during World War II. 9. True False

5. The mathematical properties of numbers were useful to 6. The author probably believes that the rst code breakers would have been good computer scientists. 7. Without encryption codes,

8. Todays encryption methods

9. Todays codes rely on the properties of subatomic particles.

5 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

06
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

Some inventions are more glamorous than others. There is no denying the convenience of the cellular telephone or portable GPS unit, and while both have certainly made life more comfortable, it can hardly be said that either is absolutely essential to the average person. This is not the case, however, for the common, and definitely unglamorous, toilet. Yes, that unassuming (humilde) little bathroom fixture is a marvel of technology, one that people in the first world would truly be hard pressed to live without. Consider, for a moment, what life must have been like in a large city before the invention of this porcelain wonder. You dont have to go back too far. Although the Romans, Egyptians and Persians are known to have had public toilets, which looked much like they do today, their use, especially in private homes, did not become widespread until the mid-19th century. So, if you were walking down a sidewalk in, say, London in 1750, you might have heard someone cry out leau (from which the modern word loo is derived), an abbreviated form gardez leau, from the French for watch out for the water. This would have been your signal that someone was tossing the contents of their chamber pot (orinal) out the window. Needless to say, local residents were not aiming the water and the other contents at the sewer (alcantarilla), since there wasnt any. Instead, wherever the refuse ended up, there it stayed until rain came along to wash it away, usually into a local river. And whatever didnt get washed away was stepped on by the equine, canine and, not surprisingly, human residents of the city. So the next time youre walking down a relatively clean street talking on your phone about nothing in particular and wondering how you ever lived without it, think about the lowly toilet and how truly essential this invention is to our daily lives.

EXCERCISE

1. A good title for this paragraph might be

2. The author probably believes that neither a cell phone nor a GPS unit has ever saved anyones life. 3. What do you think the expression to be hard pressed means? 4. Toilets from ancient times would be unrecognizable to us today. 5. People yelled leau

1. a) How the word loo originated, b) The cell phone versus the toilet: a study in convenience, c) The birth of modern sewage systems, d) The toilet: A truly indispensable invention. 2. True False 3. .............................................................................. .............................................................................. 4. True False 5. a) so that others in the house would know they were using the bathroom, b) when throwing their waste out the window, c) when someone was about to step in fecal matter, d) only in French cities. 6. a) because London was the most important city in the world in 1750, b) because indoor toilets were first used in London, c) to explain the origins of the word loo, d) because people in other large cities didnt empty their chamber pots out the window. 7. a) dirty, b) pleasant, c) clean, d) crowded. 8. a) the toilet is more essential than the cell phone, b) without cell phones, streets would be cleaner, c) without toilets, streets would be filthy, d) the importance of the toilet is often taken for granted (tomar por entendido).

6. Why do you think the author chose London for his example of life before indoor plumbing (fontanera)?

7. The author probably thinks 18th-century London was 8. Which of the following should NOT be implied from the last sentence?

6 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

07
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

I cant even remember how many times Ive been to San Jose. The first time was when I was in my early 20s. I went there to interview for a job, and even though I didnt get the job, I ended up renting an apartment and staying in the area for about six months. Ive gone back many times since to visit the friends I made during that stay. Of course, these days with the internet its easy to keep in touch, but I prefer to go there in person. My best friends in the area are a married couple, Tom and Cindy. It turns out that they both work at the company I interviewed for, though thats not where I met them. They lived in the same apartment building as me, one on the floor above mine and the other on the floor below. Now they have a beautiful house on the bay, a little girl and another on the way. They dont know whether itll be a boy or a girl, but theyve asked me to be the godfather (padrino), so it looks like Ill be going back to San Jose in a few months.

EXCERCISE

1. In the first sentence, you can substitute recall for remember. 2. In the first sentence, you can substitute remind for remember. 3. in my early 20s probably refers to the time period between 1920 and 1923. 4. The narrator first went to San Jose to visit his friends, Tom and Cindy. 5. The narrators first visit to San Jose lasted about six months. 6. Why was the purpose of the narrators first visit to San Jose? 7. Where do Tom and Cindy work now? 8. Tom, Cindy and the narrator all used to live in the same apartment building. 9. What does the it (underlined, last sentence) refer to? 10. Why will the narrator be going back to San Jose soon?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

True True True True True

False False False False False

6. ................................................................................ ................................................................................ 7. ................................................................................. ................................................................................. 8. True False

9. ................................................................................. ................................................................................. 10. ................................................................................. .................................................................................

7 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

08
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

Like most other hobbies, stamp collecting can be exhilarating, time-consuming and, for the uninitiated, overwhelming. Consider this - it is estimated that in the last 100 years alone, close to one billion different stamps have been issued by governments all around the world. Not only that, but some of these stamps are as rare, and as expensive, as Renaissance paintings. The most famous is probably the upside-down airplane stamp, valued at almost 1 million dollars. Also the result of a printing mistake is the worlds most expensive stamp, the Treskilling Yellow, so called because it was originally worth three shillings when issued in Sweden in 1855, and because it was supposed to be printed in green, this being the only known sample in yellow. This stamp was recently sold at auction for 1.7 million pounds, making it the single most expensive item by weight in the world. Of course, amateur philatelists would do well to concentrate on a sub-section of the wonderful world that is philately, such as collecting every stamp issued by a certain government in a year, or collecting every stamp of a particular design, etc. Any other approach to this hobby is a surefire recipe for frustration and perhaps for ruin.

EXCERCISE

1. This article mainly

2. The most famous stamp is also the most expensive. 3. Which of the following adjectives is/are NOT used to describe stamp collecting? 4. The author uses the figure of one billion to prove that stamp collecting can be 5. Both of the stamps mentioned have printing mistakes. 6. How many pieces of advice does the article give to focus the efforts of a new philatelist? 7. The article implies that

1. a) tells hobbyists how to get into stamp collecting, b) warns of the expenses involved, c) describes the history of stamps, d) describes the sale of the most expensive stamp in the world. 2. True False 3. a) b) c) d) 4. a) b) c) d) 5. 6. a) b) c) d) 7. a) stressful, time-consuming, wonderful, uninitiated.. exciting, boring, time-consuming, overwhelming. True False

8. The sale of the worlds most expensive stamp was arranged through a private dealer. 9. The worlds most expensive stamp was originally supposed to be green.

1, 2, 3, 4. only stamps with printing mistakes are valuable, b) stamp collecting is an expensive hobby, c) if you buy a cheap stamp now it could be worth millions in the 22nd century, d) a disorganized approach to stamp collecting will result in disappointment. 8. True False 9. True False

8 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

09
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

While the average European knows more about American history than the average American does about European history, there is one document that every American school child has heard of that not many Europeans know about: the Gettysburg Address (en este contexto, discurso). The address, delivered by Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of a civil war cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is considered to be one of the greatest speeches in American oratory, both for its duration -it lasted a little over two minutes-, and for the legend that surrounds the writing of the brief speech. Contrary to popular belief, Lincoln did not write the address on the back of an envelope, nor did he write it while on the train ride to Gettysburg. There are five copies of the Address in Lincolns writing known to exist, though the wording and punctuation differ in all of them, with the official text of the speech generally considered to be that found on a version written well after the Gettysburg event on the only copy of the text that Lincoln signed (known as the Bliss copy). Even the texts of the speech published in newspapers at the time all differed somewhat. The first few words of the speech, Four score and seven years ago, are synonymous with the Gettysburg Address, and it is thanks to this speech that Americans know the meaning of the now disused term score, which Lincoln thought would be more poetic than simply saying eighty-seven years ago. Of the five copies written by Lincoln, the Bliss copy is in the Lincoln Room of the White House, and two are in the Library of Congress. It is not known which of the five, if any, was the copy from which Lincoln actually read the address.

EXCERCISE

1. The writer probably thinks that Europeans have a better knowledge of American history than Americans. 2. The Gettysburg Address

1.

True

False

3. The average American probably thinks that Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address on a train. 4. How many copies of the Gettysburg Address were signed by Lincoln? 5. Why is the word official in quotes? 6. What does the word score in the opening line of the Gettysburg Address mean? 7. People today still use the word score to mean the same thing that Lincoln expressed in his speech. 8. The only copy of the Gettysburg Address signed by Lincoln is in the Library of Congress. 9. Which of the following would be an appropriate title for this passage?

2. a) refers to a physical location in Gettysburg, b) is as famous as the Declaration of Independence, c) lasted just over two minutes, d) was written by Lincoln on the back of an envelope. True False 3. 4. a) 0, b) 1, c) 4, d) 5. 5. ................................................................................. ................................................................................. ................................................................................. 6. a) eighty, b) twenty, c) decade, d) year. 7. True False 8. 9. a) b) c) d) True False

Lincoln and Americas Civil War, The Gettysburg Address: Fact or fiction? How Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address, Lincolns most famous speech.

9 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

10
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

It may seem hard for us to believe in this, the age of heart attacks and cancer, but one of the most common causes of death in prehistoric man was tooth decay. At first this may seem highly improbable; after all, youve likely never heard of anyone dying in the dentists chair. But many thousand years ago, when dental hygiene was non-existent, the same bacteria that cause tooth decay and cavities (caries) today would multiply unchecked (desenfrenado) and spread to the tissues (tejidos) surrounding the mouth, one of those being, of course, the brain. Once there, the bacteria quickly affected brain functions until the victim died of what today is easily preventable by a simple routine of tooth brushing or a visit to the dentist. Contributing to this situation was the generally bad health of our early ancestors, who rarely ate enough high quality food to meet all their nutritional needs. This left their immune systems weakened and less able to fend off the bacteria that ravaged (devastar) their bodies. These bacteria, in a more evolved form, continue to attack us today, though for the most part they go unnoticed, killed by our immune systems or by the many medicines that we have at our disposal. We should not, however, take dental hygiene for granted (dar por sentado). Although the odds (probabilidad) of dying from tooth decay are exceedingly low in first world countries, failing to take care of our teeth can still have some undesirable, and very painful, consequences.

EXCERCISE

1. The first sentence implies that

2. Which of the following does NOT explain why early man died from tooth decay?

3. The passage implies that if we stopped brushing our teeth, we too would probably die from tooth decay just like prehistoric man did. 4. What do you think the phrasal verb fend off (underlined) means? 5. How many reasons does the author give for why the bacteria that attack us today go unnoticed? 6. Better nutrition and the availability of antibiotics means we can ignore dental health. 7. A good title for this passage would be:

1. a) heart disease was a problem in prehistoric man, b) most deaths in modern man are from heart attacks and cancer, c) people still die from tooth decay, d) prehistoric man died from heart attacks, cancer and tooth decay. 2. a) heart disease was a problem in prehistoric man, b) most deaths in modern man are from heart attacks and cancer, c) people still die from tooth decay, d) prehistoric man died from heart attacks, cancer and tooth decay. 3. True False 4. a) b) c) d) 5. a) b) c) d) 6. 7. a) b) c) d) prevent, avoid, fight, detect. 1, 2, 3, 0. True

False

Tooth decay: still a killer, A history of dentistry, Good nutrition: key to dental health, Tooth decay and prehistoric man.

10 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

01
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

I like to go out for a walk every day if possible, but I dont always have the time. Its not that Im busy, sometimes Im simply lazy. When I do go out, though, there is usually one route that I take that takes me about two hours to complete. While I walk I listen to music, or sometimes to an audio book in a foreign language. Its a great way to learn and to pass the time! Sometimes I go to the park and do some people watching, and I suppose some of them watch me too as I walk by listening to music and maybe even singing out loud. I wonder if they think Im crazy? Other times, I head toward the city and lose myself in the streets. Since I dont have a car, this is a good way to get to know the city, though I must admit I still dont know a lot of street names because the signs with the names on them are on the sides of buildings. Ive always thought that wasnt really the best place to put the sign with the streets name on it because its not a very convenient place to look, especially if youre driving. They really should look into a way to make those signs more visible.

EXCERCISE

1. The author goes out for a walk every day. 2. When the author doesnt go for a walk, its because hes too busy. 3. The author has one route that he usually takes. 4. How long does the authors normal route take him to complete? 5. What does the author do while he walks? 6. Why does the author wonder if people think hes crazy? 7. The author always knows where he is when hes walking. 8. Why doesnt the author know the names of the streets he walks on? 9. Why doesnt the author think its a good idea to put the signs there? 10. The they in the last sentence probably refers to drivers. 11. Who do you think the they in the last sentence refers to?

1. 2.

True True

X False X False
False

3. X True

It takes him two hours. 4. .............................................................................. .............................................................................. He listens to music and sometimes to 5. .............................................................................. audio books. .............................................................................. Because he sings out loud. 6. .............................................................................. ..............................................................................
7. True

X False

Because the signs with the names 8. .............................................................................. of the streets are on the sides of .............................................................................. buildings. .............................................................................. Because its not a very convenient 9. .............................................................................. place to look, especially if youre .............................................................................. driving. ..............................................................................
10. True

X False

City authorities or officials. 11. .............................................................................. ..............................................................................

1 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

02
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

In human beings, a rise in the amount of heat generated results in the dilation of blood vessels close to the skin, which causes blushing, that characteristic red color of skin, and facilitates cooling. Another cooling mechanism available to the body is perspiration, which cools the body through the effect of transpiration as the liquid sweat on the skin evaporates. You can get an idea of how this works by putting some alcohol on your skin and letting it evaporate. The energy required for the liquid to turn to vapor is provided by your bodys heat, and thus helps to cool you down. When your body is cold, on the other hand, it wants to preserve heat. It does this by contracting blood vessels, shivering, which makes your body shake to generate heat, and by the raising of body hairs, which increases the insulation provided to the body by the hair.

EXCERCISE

1. This article discusses three main methods the body has for cooling down. 2. What color does blushing cause skin to turn? 3. When you sweat, where does the energy for the sweat to evaporate come from? 4. Sweat uses alcohol to aid in the evaporation process. 5. Blood vessels can expand or contract to help regulate body temperature. 6. Shaking helps regulate the loss of heat by raising body hairs, which insulates the body. 7. How many methods does the article mention for raising body temperature?

1.

True

X False

Red. 2. .............................................................................. .............................................................................. Your own body. 3. .............................................................................. ..............................................................................

4. True

X False
False

5. X True 6. True

X False

3 7. .............................................................................. ..............................................................................

2 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

03
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

The more scientists learn about the world of subatomic particles, the stranger that unseen world becomes. Because the particles being studied are so tiny, scientists have to rely on indirect observations, and a lot of ingenuity and mathematical ability, to try to gain some insight into the world of the impossibly small. And the word impossibly is not there by accident. In fact, some research seems to suggest that electrons, one of the smallest of subatomic particles, may not even exist as matter, that they may just be energy fluctuations in the fabric of space and time. And the particles that reside inside the atomic nucleus may be even stranger still. These infinitesimal bits of matter, called quarks, are supported more by theory than anything else, since they are too small to be seen by even the most powerful detectors. And there are particles, called neutrinos, that are so elusive, that the vast majority of neutrinos that have been created since the Big Bang, the explosion that resulted in the birth of the universe some 13.7 billion years ago, have never interacted with any other type of matter. But thats not all. Incredibly enough, the properties of subatomic particles can have an effect on some of the strangest bodies in the universe, the so-called neutron stars, which are created after the massive supernova explosions that signal the end of certain types of stars. It is believed that if not for an effect called neutron degeneracy, that every supernova would result in the creation of a black hole.

EXCERCISE

1. Which of the following is NOT true?

2. The article raises the possibility that electrons may not even be matter. 3. The next paragraph in this article will probably

1. a) scientists arent really sure what an electron is, b) at least some subatomic particles are not directly observable, c) scientists rely exclusively on indirect observations to learn about subatomic particles, d) there is a connection between particle physics and astrophysics. 2. True False 3. a) explain Einsteins famous E=mc2 equation, b) discuss further connections between subatomic particles and astronomy, c) explain how the sun was created, d) describe the mathematics behind the theory of quarks. 4. True False 5. 6. a) b) c) d) 7. a) True False

4. Quarks have been directly observed in the laboratory. 5. The article provides one possible explanation for the birth of the universe. 6. It may be deduced from the article that

7. Neutrons

8. Every supernova explosion produces a black hole.

neutrinos are smaller than electrons, neutrinos are not matter, neutrinos were only created in the Big Bang, some neutrinos are 13.7 billion years old. cause the supernova explosions that result in neutron stars, b) have a property that keeps neutron stars from collapsing into black holes, c) do not interact with matter, d) result in the creation of black holes. 8. True False

3 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

04
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

The potato is still one of the most important crops in the United States, both in terms of its economy and in terms of land devoted to farming it. Although the potato was first farmed in the mountainous regions of South America there are records of Incas cultivating the potato in Peru as far back as 200 A.D. in the United States it is referred to as the Irish potato. This is probably because of the widespread cultivation of the potato in Ireland in the 1600s, where it supplied practically all of the population with the food they needed for survival. Naturally, the large inflow of Irish immigrants to the United States meant that the potato, too, made the journey back across the Atlantic Ocean, this time to North America. But while the potato was traveling from east to west, the blight disease was going in the other direction, affecting nearly 100% of the potato crop in Ireland in the mid 19th century. The destruction of the crop resulted in the starvation of thousands in Ireland and in the increased prominence of potato farming in the United States.

EXCERCISE

1. This paragraph is mainly about

2. The potato

3. The potato was the primary source of food for the Irish prior to the famine. 4. The paragraph implies that the potato was introduced to the United States after the great potato famine in Ireland. 5. Why is the word back (underlined) used?

1. a) the origins of the potato, b) the introduction of potatoes to Ireland, c) the connection between the Irish and the potato, d) the Irish potato famine. 2. a) is native to Ireland, b) provided most of the calories Americans needed for survival, c) was introduced to the United States by the Incas, d) was first cultivated in the second century after Christ. 3. True False 4. True False

6. The blight disease

7. Concerns about the blight disease caused potato farming to decrease in the United States.

5. a) because the potato had been exported from the United States into Ireland, b) because the potato had originated in the Americas, c) because thousands of Irish immigrants sailed across the Atlantic many times, d) because the famine in Ireland caused potatoes to be re-introduced into the United States. 6. a) affected nearly all of the potato crop in the United States, b) was introduced to Ireland from America, c) infected and killed thousands of Irish, d) forever eliminated potato farming in Ireland. 7. True False

4 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

05
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

As is the case with many inventions, the rst codes were developed for military use, specically as a way of sending secure messages to generals in the eld. But these codes, which relied on a simple substitution of letters, were easy to break. So other schemes were soon developed involving increasingly harder ciphers (cdigos). The mathematical properties of numbers were investigated to give code makers and code breakers alike more sophisticated tools in their efforts to conceal, or to reveal, secrets. It wasnt long before mathematicians became as important to winning wars as generals in the eld. In fact, you could argue that without the pioneering work of Englands code breakers, that England would have eventually fallen to Nazi Germany. You could also argue that it was exactly these same efforts that led to the development of the modern computer. So it is no surprise, then, that the internet, which is no more than a vast network of interconnected computers, relies on ciphers to keep our most vulnerable transactions private. These ciphers, which today are based on prime numbers (numbers that are divisible only by themselves and by one), are absolutely essential to the vast number of electronic transactions that take place every day. But code writers know the history of ciphers very well, and they know that its only a matter of time before even todays ultra-secure communications are compromised. Thats why they are already working on the next generation of codes, which will rely on the properties of subatomic particles to keep our secrets hidden from unwelcome eyes.

EXCERCISE

1. In the rst sentence the author implies that

2. The rst codes took advantage of the mathematical properties of numbers. 3. The rst codes were easy to break. 4. The author probably believes that

1. a) many inventions are developed by generals in the eld, b) the rst combatant to develop an unbreakable code often won the war, c) many inventions arose from military necessity, d) without wars there wouldnt be inventions. 2. X False True 3. X True False 4. a) a good code is as important as a good battle strategy, b) mathematicians should lead troops into battle, c) ciphers and computers are unrelated, d) code breakers are smarter than code writers. 5. a) creating codes only, b) creating and breaking codes, c) designing computers, d) generals in the eld. 6. X True False 7. a) b) c) d) 8. a) b) we wouldnt have computers, there wouldnt be an internet, online banking would be impossible, prime numbers would be useless. will always be secure, are no longer being developed by mathematicians, c) are essential to the proper operation of the internet as we know it, d) were developed during World War II. X False 9. True

5. The mathematical properties of numbers were useful to 6. The author probably believes that the rst code breakers would have been good computer scientists. 7. Without encryption codes,

8. Todays encryption methods

9. Todays codes rely on the properties of subatomic particles.

5 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

06
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

Some inventions are more glamorous than others. There is no denying the convenience of the cellular telephone or portable GPS unit, and while both have certainly made life more comfortable, it can hardly be said that either is absolutely essential to the average person. This is not the case, however, for the common, and definitely unglamorous, toilet. Yes, that unassuming (humilde) little bathroom fixture is a marvel of technology, one that people in the first world would truly be hard pressed to live without. Consider, for a moment, what life must have been like in a large city before the invention of this porcelain wonder. You dont have to go back too far. Although the Romans, Egyptians and Persians are known to have had public toilets, which looked much like they do today, their use, especially in private homes, did not become widespread until the mid-19th century. So, if you were walking down a sidewalk in, say, London in 1750, you might have heard someone cry out leau (from which the modern word loo is derived), an abbreviated form gardez leau, from the French for watch out for the water. This would have been your signal that someone was tossing the contents of their chamber pot (orinal) out the window. Needless to say, local residents were not aiming the water and the other contents at the sewer (alcantarilla), since there wasnt any. Instead, wherever the refuse ended up, there it stayed until rain came along to wash it away, usually into a local river. And whatever didnt get washed away was stepped on by the equine, canine and, not surprisingly, human residents of the city. So the next time youre walking down a relatively clean street talking on your phone about nothing in particular and wondering how you ever lived without it, think about the lowly toilet and how truly essential this invention is to our daily lives.

EXCERCISE

1. A good title for this paragraph might be

2. The author probably believes that neither a cell phone nor a GPS unit has ever saved anyones life. 3. What do you think the expression to be hard pressed means? 4. Toilets from ancient times would be unrecognizable to us today. 5. People yelled leau

1. a) How the word loo originated, b) The cell phone versus the toilet: a study in convenience, c) The birth of modern sewage systems, d) The toilet: A truly indispensable invention. 2. X False True

To have difficulties or trouble: to 3. .............................................................................. have ones back against the wall. .............................................................................. 4. X False True
5. a) so that others in the house would know they were using the bathroom, b) when throwing their waste out the window, c) when someone was about to step in fecal matter, d) only in French cities. 6. a) because London was the most important city in the world in 1750, b) because indoor toilets were first used in London, c) to explain the origins of the word loo, d) because people in other large cities didnt empty their chamber pots out the window. 7. a) dirty, b) pleasant, c) clean, d) crowded. 8. a) the toilet is more essential than the cell phone, b) without cell phones, streets would be cleaner, c) without toilets, streets would be filthy, d) the importance of the toilet is often taken for granted (tomar por entendido).

6. Why do you think the author chose London for his example of life before indoor plumbing (fontanera)?

7. The author probably thinks 18th-century London was 8. Which of the following should NOT be implied from the last sentence?

6 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

07
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

I cant even remember how many times Ive been to San Jose. The first time was when I was in my early 20s. I went there to interview for a job, and even though I didnt get the job, I ended up renting an apartment and staying in the area for about six months. Ive gone back many times since to visit the friends I made during that stay. Of course, these days with the internet its easy to keep in touch, but I prefer to go there in person. My best friends in the area are a married couple, Tom and Cindy. It turns out that they both work at the company I interviewed for, though thats not where I met them. They lived in the same apartment building as me, one on the floor above mine and the other on the floor below. Now they have a beautiful house on the bay, a little girl and another on the way. They dont know whether itll be a boy or a girl, but theyve asked me to be the godfather (padrino), so it looks like Ill be going back to San Jose in a few months.

EXCERCISE

1. In the first sentence, you can substitute recall for remember. 2. In the first sentence, you can substitute remind for remember. 3. in my early 20s probably refers to the time period between 1920 and 1923. 4. The narrator first went to San Jose to visit his friends, Tom and Cindy. 5. The narrators first visit to San Jose lasted about six months. 6. Why was the purpose of the narrators first visit to San Jose? 7. Where do Tom and Cindy work now? 8. Tom, Cindy and the narrator all used to live in the same apartment building. 9. What does the it (underlined, last sentence) refer to? 10. Why will the narrator be going back to San Jose soon?

1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

True True True True True

False False False False False

6. ................................................................................ ................................................................................ 7. ................................................................................. ................................................................................. 8. True False

9. ................................................................................. ................................................................................. 10. ................................................................................. .................................................................................

7 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

08
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

Like most other hobbies, stamp collecting can be exhilarating, time-consuming and, for the uninitiated, overwhelming. Consider this - it is estimated that in the last 100 years alone, close to one billion different stamps have been issued by governments all around the world. Not only that, but some of these stamps are as rare, and as expensive, as Renaissance paintings. The most famous is probably the upside-down airplane stamp, valued at almost 1 million dollars. Also the result of a printing mistake is the worlds most expensive stamp, the Treskilling Yellow, so called because it was originally worth three shillings when issued in Sweden in 1855, and because it was supposed to be printed in green, this being the only known sample in yellow. This stamp was recently sold at auction for 1.7 million pounds, making it the single most expensive item by weight in the world. Of course, amateur philatelists would do well to concentrate on a sub-section of the wonderful world that is philately, such as collecting every stamp issued by a certain government in a year, or collecting every stamp of a particular design, etc. Any other approach to this hobby is a surefire recipe for frustration and perhaps for ruin.

EXCERCISE

1. This article mainly

2. The most famous stamp is also the most expensive. 3. Which of the following adjectives is/are NOT used to describe stamp collecting? 4. The author uses the figure of one billion to prove that stamp collecting can be 5. Both of the stamps mentioned have printing mistakes. 6. How many pieces of advice does the article give to focus the efforts of a new philatelist? 7. The article implies that

1. a) tells hobbyists how to get into stamp collecting, b) warns of the expenses involved, c) describes the history of stamps, d) describes the sale of the most expensive stamp in the world. 2. True False 3. a) b) c) d) 4. a) b) c) d) 5. 6. a) b) c) d) 7. a) stressful, time-consuming, wonderful, uninitiated.. exciting, boring, time-consuming, overwhelming. True False

8. The sale of the worlds most expensive stamp was arranged through a private dealer. 9. The worlds most expensive stamp was originally supposed to be green.

1, 2, 3, 4. only stamps with printing mistakes are valuable, b) stamp collecting is an expensive hobby, c) if you buy a cheap stamp now it could be worth millions in the 22nd century, d) a disorganized approach to stamp collecting will result in disappointment. 8. True False 9. True False

8 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

09
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

While the average European knows more about American history than the average American does about European history, there is one document that every American school child has heard of that not many Europeans know about: the Gettysburg Address (en este contexto, discurso). The address, delivered by Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of a civil war cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, is considered to be one of the greatest speeches in American oratory, both for its duration -it lasted a little over two minutes-, and for the legend that surrounds the writing of the brief speech. Contrary to popular belief, Lincoln did not write the address on the back of an envelope, nor did he write it while on the train ride to Gettysburg. There are five copies of the Address in Lincolns writing known to exist, though the wording and punctuation differ in all of them, with the official text of the speech generally considered to be that found on a version written well after the Gettysburg event on the only copy of the text that Lincoln signed (known as the Bliss copy). Even the texts of the speech published in newspapers at the time all differed somewhat. The first few words of the speech, Four score and seven years ago, are synonymous with the Gettysburg Address, and it is thanks to this speech that Americans know the meaning of the now disused term score, which Lincoln thought would be more poetic than simply saying eighty-seven years ago. Of the five copies written by Lincoln, the Bliss copy is in the Lincoln Room of the White House, and two are in the Library of Congress. It is not known which of the five, if any, was the copy from which Lincoln actually read the address.

EXCERCISE

1. The writer probably thinks that Europeans have a better knowledge of American history than Americans. 2. The Gettysburg Address

1.

True

False

3. The average American probably thinks that Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address on a train. 4. How many copies of the Gettysburg Address were signed by Lincoln? 5. Why is the word official in quotes? 6. What does the word score in the opening line of the Gettysburg Address mean? 7. People today still use the word score to mean the same thing that Lincoln expressed in his speech. 8. The only copy of the Gettysburg Address signed by Lincoln is in the Library of Congress. 9. Which of the following would be an appropriate title for this passage?

2. a) refers to a physical location in Gettysburg, b) is as famous as the Declaration of Independence, c) lasted just over two minutes, d) was written by Lincoln on the back of an envelope. True False 3. 4. a) 0, b) 1, c) 4, d) 5. 5. ................................................................................. ................................................................................. ................................................................................. 6. a) eighty, b) twenty, c) decade, d) year. 7. True False 8. 9. a) b) c) d) True False

Lincoln and Americas Civil War, The Gettysburg Address: Fact or fiction? How Lincoln wrote the Gettysburg Address, Lincolns most famous speech.

9 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO

EXERCISE

10
TEXT

READING COMPREHENSION

It may seem hard for us to believe in this, the age of heart attacks and cancer, but one of the most common causes of death in prehistoric man was tooth decay. At first this may seem highly improbable; after all, youve likely never heard of anyone dying in the dentists chair. But many thousand years ago, when dental hygiene was non-existent, the same bacteria that cause tooth decay and cavities (caries) today would multiply unchecked (desenfrenado) and spread to the tissues (tejidos) surrounding the mouth, one of those being, of course, the brain. Once there, the bacteria quickly affected brain functions until the victim died of what today is easily preventable by a simple routine of tooth brushing or a visit to the dentist. Contributing to this situation was the generally bad health of our early ancestors, who rarely ate enough high quality food to meet all their nutritional needs. This left their immune systems weakened and less able to fend off the bacteria that ravaged (devastar) their bodies. These bacteria, in a more evolved form, continue to attack us today, though for the most part they go unnoticed, killed by our immune systems or by the many medicines that we have at our disposal. We should not, however, take dental hygiene for granted (dar por sentado). Although the odds (probabilidad) of dying from tooth decay are exceedingly low in first world countries, failing to take care of our teeth can still have some undesirable, and very painful, consequences.

EXCERCISE

1. The first sentence implies that

2. Which of the following does NOT explain why early man died from tooth decay?

3. The passage implies that if we stopped brushing our teeth, we too would probably die from tooth decay just like prehistoric man did. 4. What do you think the phrasal verb fend off (underlined) means? 5. How many reasons does the author give for why the bacteria that attack us today go unnoticed? 6. Better nutrition and the availability of antibiotics means we can ignore dental health. 7. A good title for this passage would be:

1. a) heart disease was a problem in prehistoric man, b) most deaths in modern man are from heart attacks and cancer, c) people still die from tooth decay, d) prehistoric man died from heart attacks, cancer and tooth decay. 2. a) heart disease was a problem in prehistoric man, b) most deaths in modern man are from heart attacks and cancer, c) people still die from tooth decay, d) prehistoric man died from heart attacks, cancer and tooth decay. 3. True False 4. a) b) c) d) 5. a) b) c) d) 6. 7. a) b) c) d) prevent, avoid, fight, detect. 1, 2, 3, 0. True

False

Tooth decay: still a killer, A history of dentistry, Good nutrition: key to dental health, Tooth decay and prehistoric man.

10 COMPRENSIN ESCRITA NIVEL INTERMEDIO