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Reading Comprehension Test II 10 form

V-1

I.                  Read and write if the sentences true (+) or false ( -)

Earthquake is a surprise

          The unexpected disaster was neither the largest nor the deadliest earthquake and tsunami to strike this century. That record goes to the 2004 Banda Aceh earthquake and tsunami in Sumatra, a magnitude-9.1, which killed more than 230,000 people. But Japan's one-two punch proved especially devastating for the earthquake-savy country, because few scientists had predicted the country would experience such a large earthquake and tsunami.

       Japan's scientists had forecast a smaller earthquake would strike the northern region of Honshu, the country's main island. Nor did they expect such a large tsunami. But there had been hints of the disaster to come. The areas flooded in 2011 closely matched those of a tsunami that hit Sendai in 869. In the decade before the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, a handful of Japanese geologists had begun to recognize that a large earthquake and tsunami had struck the northern Honshu region in 869. However, their warnings went unheeded by officials responsible for the country's earthquake hazard assessments. Now, tsunami experts from around the world have been asked to assess the history of past tsunamis in Japan, to better predict the country's future earthquake risk.

"For big earthquakes, the tsunami is going to be the big destructive factor," said Vasil Titov, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Center for Tsunami Research in Seattle, Washington. "But if the nation is prepared, warning and education definitely saves lives. Compare the human lives lost in Sumatra and Japan. It's about 10 times less."

       The 2011 Tohoku earthquake struck offshore of Japan, along a subduction zone where two of Earth's tectonic plates collide. In a subduction zone, one plate slides beneath another into the mantle, the hotter layer beneath the crust. The great plates are rough and stick together, building up energy that is released as earthquakes. East of Japan, the Pacific plate dives beneath the overriding Eurasian plate. The temblor completely released centuries of built up stress between the two tectonic plates, a recent study found.

1.     The disaster in Japan,  2011  was the largest earthquake of the century.

2.     230,000  people died in the result of the  Japanese disaster.

3.     The earthquake had been predicted by the scientists of the country.

4.     The tsunami is the major destructive factor of an earthquake.

5.     Educated and warned nation is prepared to save life.

6.     The cause of an earthquake is the movement of tectonic plates.

II.               Answer the questions

1.     What was the deadliest earthquake of the century?

2.     When was the similar hints of the disaster?

3.     What is the big destructive factor connected to an earthquake?

4.     How many deaths were  caused by the earthquake?

5.     What two tectonic plates collide at Honshu?

6.     What natural disasters have you been the witness to?

Reading Comprehension Test II 10 form

V-2

I.                  Read and write if the sentences are true (+) or false (-)

Leonardo’s Mona Lisa

           Leonardo’s Mona Lisa is one of the most famous paintings in the world.  Today it is in the Louvre in Paris, but it was produced in Florence when Leonardo moved there to live from about 1500-1508.  It is sometimes called La Jaconde in French (or in Italian, La Giaconda) because it is believed to be the portrait of the wife of Francesco del Giocondo, whose name was Lisa (Mona = short for “Madonna” (lady)).  This identification was provided by Vasari in the sixteenth century, but this was later disputed.  It is likely that the uncertainty over the sitter’s identification has added to the mystery and lure surrounding this painting over the years.

           According to Vasari, the painting was not finished over the course of four years, which may have resulted in the difference in the craquelure (level of cracking on the surface) in the face and in the hands.  The portrait shows what appears to be a typical portrait of a woman in which her wealth is not primary thing on display.  She is veiled, her hands are crossed, and she has a faint smile  – or some expression masquerading as a smile – which seems to capture the viewer’s gaze.

          The way Leonardo painted this portrait deviated from the traditional way women were painted like this in Italy.  Mona Lisa looks directly out at us, the viewers, which was something unconventional for a woman in a portrait to do at this time.  She also appears rather content and assured in her demeanor, which reflected more the expectations of the aristocracy among men rather than among women.  Further, until this point in time, portraits of both men and women were typically cut off in the middle of torso and hands were raised so that  the head and face and shoulders occupies more of the panel upon which the paint was applied.  Here, however, the portrait shows not only the woman’s head and upper torso, but much of her body down to just below her waist.  We see all of her arms, which are not raised up but resting comfortably on the armrests of her chair. Leonardo’s approach was innovative and  started a trend in portrait painting which would influence European painting into 1800s.

1.     Mona Lisa is displayed in Florence .

2.     The author of the painting is Leonardo da Vinci.

3.     Mona means “ madonna” or “ lady”.

4.     The picture was painted according to the typical way those times.

5.     The most mysterious thing of the painting is  the Mona Lisa’s eyes.

6.     Leonardo da Vinci started the new innovative way of portraying.

II.               Answer the questions

1.     Where is Mona Lisa kept nowadays?

2.     How is the portrait called sometimes?

3.     How long did the artist paint this picture?

4.     How did painters portray men  and women that time?

5.     What is different in painting Mona Lisa?

6.     What was the influence of this Leonardo’s painting?