Comprehension , Upper Intermediate & Advanced ( 9 )

Comprehension 

9 - ] Upper Intermediate & Advanced 

Read the following passage , then answer the questions below . Do not look back at the passage . Compare your answers to the Answer Key . Check any incorrect answers by reading the passage .

            On a September day in 1991 , two Germans were climbing the mountains between Austria and Italy . High up on a mountain pass , they found the body of a man lying on the ice . At that height ( 3,200 meters ) , the ice is usually permanent . But 1991 had been an especially warm year . The mountain ice had melted ore than usual and so the body had come to the surface .

                 It was lying face downward . The skeleton was in perfect condition , except for a large wound in the head . There was still skin on the bones and the remains of some clothes . The hands were still holding the wooden handle of an axe  . On the feet there were very simple leather and cloth boots . Nearby was a pair of gloves made of tree bark and a holder for arrows .

                 Who was this man ? How and when had he died ? Everybody had a different answer to these questions . The mountain climbers who had found the body said it seemed thousands of years old . But others thought that it might be from this century .Perhaps it was the body of a soldier who died in World War I . In fact , several World War I soldiers had already been found in that area of the mountains . On the other hand , a Swiss woman believed it might be her father . He had died in those mountains 20 years before and his body had never been found .

                   When Italian and Austrian scientists heard about the discovery they rushed to the mountaintop . The body couldn’t possibly be the Swiss woman’s father , they said . The boots , the gloves , and the axe were clearly from further back in the past . For the same reason , they said it couldn’t be a World War I soldier . It had to be at least several centuries old , they said , maybe even five centuries . It could have been one of the soldiers in the army of Frederick , Duke of Austria .

                     Before they could be sure about this guess , however , the scientists needed more data . They needed to bring the body down the mountain so they could study it in their laboratories  . The question was , whom did it belong to ? It was lying almost exactly on the border between Italy and Austria . Naturally , both countries wanted the frozen man for their laboratories and their museums . For two days , the body lay there in the mountains while diplomats argued . Finally , they decided that it lay on Austrian ground . By that time the body was partly unfrozen and somewhat damaged .

                      When the Austrian scientists examined the body more closely , they changed their minds . They did not know yet how he had died , but they did know when : in about 2,700 B.C . This was a very important discovery , they said . It would teach them a great deal about this very distant period of European history . From the clothes and tools they could learn about how men lived in those times .

Do not look at the passage  . Circle the best answer .

1 . This passage is about

( A ) a soldier who died in World War I .

( B ) mountaintop discoveries .

( C ) how men lived in the distant past .

( D ) a frozen body found in the mountains .

2 . The body was found by

( A ) some Austrian scientists .

( B ) a Swiss woman .

( C ) two German mountain climbers .

( D ) soldiers in the army of Frederick of Austria .

3 . The body was in good condition because

( A ) it had always been frozen .

( B ) the scientists took good care of it .

( C ) the air was very dry .

( D ) it had just fallen there .

4 . When the body was first found

( A ) everyone thought it must be 20 years old .

( B ) everyone had a different theory about it .

( C ) no one had any idea about where it came from .

( D ) scientists were sure it was thousands of years old .

5 . When the scientists saw the body , they said it

( A ) might be five centuries old .

( B ) must be from this century .

( C ) was probably the Swiss woman’s father .

( D ) probably was a soldier from World War I .

6 . The body lay on the mountain for two days because  

( A ) the Swiss woman didn’t want anyone to touch it .

( B ) no one could find it .

( C ) the Austrian and Italian governments were fighting over it .

( D ) neither the Austrians not the Italians wanted it .

7 . After examining the body , the scientists said

( A ) the frozen man had died in war .

( B ) it was partly unfrozen .

( C ) the frozen man was almost 5,000 years old .

( D ) they did not know the cause of his death .

8 . We can learn about how people lived in the distant past from

( A ) their feet.

( B ) their clothes and tools .

( C ) their museums .

( D ) the mountains .

Answer Key

1 . D 2 . C 3 . A 4 . B 5 . A 6 . C 7 . C 8 . B