Ejercicios de Comprensión Lectora en Inglés: Crocodile Tears, Italia, Desigualdad, Alcohol, Obama y Más

COCODRILE TEARS

1. Edmund Grindal described someone as the crocodile tears because he would not cry with feeling but with a lie.

1. F - line 2-3 (the… century)
2. T - line 5-6 (It… weep)
3. F - line 10-11-12 (And… eating)

2. A.

3. a) zoologist, b) c) sad, d) idea, e) in any case

4. 1. If a zebra comes near a crocodile-infested river, it could be that they eat it.
2. The archbishop wrote that the tears of those men were crocodiles.

ITALIANO? "NEIN"? A PART OF ITALY WANTS OUT

1. A) The people of a certain region speak German because the Austro-Hungarian Empire annexed Italy when the First World War ended.
B) 1. False - line 10-11-12 (Children… Latin)
2. False - line 9-10 (Citizens’… languages)
3. False - line 13-14-15 (Those… Austria)
C) a

2. A) Which is the percentage of taxes collected in Alto Adige for the territory?
B) Several mountain huts have restored the original German names.
C) At the end of the First World War, it was annexed by Italy.
D) I would travel to other cities in Europe.

INCREASED INEQUALITY

1. The IMF doesn’t consider that the recovery has produced the desired effects because only rich people are benefiting; poor people are still poor.

2. a) True
b) False - line 2-3-4 (this… pie)
c) False - line 9-10-11 (Job losses)

3. C

4. A) impossibility, b) contracts, c) construction, d) figure, e)

5. 1. A journalist asked the spokesman whether the gap between rich and poor had diminished.
2. Politicians should consider a redistribution of wealth through subsidies and taxes because their responsibility is to control inequality.

WHY DO TEENAGERS DRINK ALCOHOL?

1. A) Teenagers often take refuge in drinking because they face difficult emotional situations.
B) 1. TRUE: … teenagers want to impress their friends. They want to be cool in front of them.
2. TRUE: … one of the main things which leads teenagers to drink is their parents getting divorced.
C) 1. C
2. A

2. A) The younger a person is when they begin drinking, the greater the risk of becoming an alcoholic.
B) - I used to drink to make me feel more confident around my mates and, as a result, I started getting into fights.
- I used to drink to make me feel more confident around my mates, so I started getting into fights.

3. A) curiosity, B) addiction, C) encourage, D) abusing, E) blame

DEFINING THE OBAMA DOCTRINE

1. A) Barack Obama promised to reduce the abuses of the previous president, restoring the protection of civil rights.
B) 1. TRUE: A few days after being sworn in, he elated progressives by banning torture, beginning the process of closing Guantánamo, and putting military commissions on ice.
2. FALSE: He elated progressives by banning torture… Dismantling the CIA’s enhanced-interrogation program…
C) c1. b, c2. b

2. A) When did Barack Obama travel all over America?
B) Obama is called “Bush lite” by critics on the left.
C) A High Commissioner stated that Dick Cheney hammered him for aiding and comforting / having aided and comforted the enemy.
D) If Obama hadn’t shut Guantánamo, he would have broken his promise.

3. A) campaign, b) banning, c) intact, d) shift, e) combat

LIVESTRONG BRACELET: TO WEAR OR NOT TO WEAR?

1. A) Some people stopped using the bracelet because of the news that came out about Armstrong.
B) 1. False - line 1-2 (Lou Hablas… cáncer)
2. False - line 9-10 (U.S… cycler)
3. True - line 15-16 (Like… fall)
C) b

2. A) How did those who saw Armstrong feel about him as a symbol of hope?
B) Armstrong’s participation in doping as a professional cyclist was found by the US anti-doping agency.
C) If Armstrong had not been accused of doping…
D) That he will continue to wear the bracelet even if Armstrong resigns as president of the charity organization.

3. a) embattled, b) c) volunteered, d) e) shield

LADY GAGA

1. Lady Gaga is well known for her single “Poker Face” after her debut single “Just Dance”.

2. A) T - line 5-6 (she… hits)
B) T - line 18-19-20 (Gaga… world)
C) F - line 7 (Poker… Dance)

3. A

4. A) performance, B) nomination, C) release, D) estimate, E) followers

5. A) What has garnered achievements?
B) She was named both “2010 Artist of the Year” and the top-selling artist of 2010 by Billboard.

A WOMAN MANAGED TO BREAK UP A GANG ATTACK

1. On Wednesday night, Susan Brown suffered an attack near her house.

2. A) T - line 10-11-12 (I… off)
B) F - line 15-16 (Humberside… assault)
C) F - line 1-2 (The… house)

3. A

4. a) fingerprints, b) witness, c) currently, d) thugs, e) prevented

5. a) Who witnessed the attack in Cleethorpes?
b) Someone took the victim to Hull Royal Infirmary.

THE SECRET LIFE OF PASSWORDS

1. A) Our purpose is to use passwords to construct secret lines.
B) 1. T - line 2-3
2. F - line 8-9
3. F - line 11-12
4. T - line 17-18

2. A) Boss’s names are often used in passwords.
B) Someone will discover it.
C) She had been trapped in a toxic relationship when she was very young.
D) Douglas R. Hofstadter, whose opinions I don’t agree with, is a famous professor.

3. A) authorship, B) routinely, C) construct, D) decision, E) silent

BRUSHING OFF A FRENCH STIGMA: THAT DOGGIE BAGS ARE FOR BEGGARS

1. A) Because for them, having their meals out is an enjoyable experience that must happen in the place they have chosen.
B) 1. F - line 1 (Fabrice… bags)
2. F - line 6 (That… behind)
3. T - line 9-10 (And… culture)
4. T - line 14-15 (Dining… microwave)

2. A) didn’t hesitate / are straightforward
C) What have we always been used to letting people take?
D) Mr. Moya emphasized that if you cook with passion, people will eat.

3. A) minded, b) reheated, c) chopping, d) customer, e) consciousness

PETS THAT FIND THEIR WAY HOME

1. A) Because it was able to walk back to its house even when someone had moved its car to a new place.
B) 1. T - line 7 (seabirds… stars)
2. F - line 8-9 (Baby… born)
3. T - line 11 (dogs… fields)
4. T - line 12-13 (the… owner)

2. A) How many miles did a dog walk to get home?
B) That’s a pity; I would explain why I arrived so late the previous day.
C) People believed that seabirds steer mostly by the sun and the stars.
D) I would have searched.

3. A) praiseworthy, b) temperament, c) amazing, d) scent, E) probably