Comprehension - Upper Intermediate , Advanced [ 17 ]

17 - ] Comprehension 

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 .

             The first people to settle in the Hawaiian Islands were the Polynesians.

They came from the Marquesa Islands , many thousands of miles to the southeast . In about 500 A.D. , the Polynesians on the Marquesa Islands were facing many problems . They had lost a war with other Polynesians . On their islands there were too many people and not enough food . So some of them decided they wanted to start a new life somewhere else .

             The Polynesians had learned songs and poems about a wonderful place far to the north . We do not how know this knowledge became a part of their culture . Maybe they had guessed it from the birds that flew to the north and never returned . Or perhaps they had seen bits of wood arrive with the north winds . We do know that the Polynesians were excellent sailors . They

had no instruments to help them . Instead , they used the sun , the stars , the ocean currents , and the wind to guide them . They managed to travel to many distant places in the Pacific Ocean .

              The people from the Marquesa Islands filled their boats for a long journey . They used large double canoes , about 80-100 feet long . In these canoes , they put food , water , goats , pigs , chickens , and plants . They carried everything they needed for their way of life , even statues of their gods. Many of the canoes were probably lost at sea . But a few did find their way to the Hawaiian Islands .

               These early settlers were a very fierce and warlike people . They practiced cannibalism ( eating people ) . However , in Hawaii they lost their violent ways and lived peacefully . Over the next few centuries , more Polynesians joined them in Hawaii . The many different tribes lived together quietly for about 500 years . For a period of several hundred years they had no contact with other people .

                 Then , in about 1200 A.D. , a new group of people arrived from Tahiti . These people introduced a very different way of life . Their religion was full of strict rules and angry gods . Anyone who broke the rules could be put to death . They might be killed and sometimes even eaten by other people . However , the newcomers , too , because less violent after a while .They did continue to fight among themselves ,but they no longer practiced cannibalism.

                  No one knows what happened to the first settlers on the island . They may have mixed in with the invaders . Or they may have died or moved to other islands . For the next 500 years , the people on the islands again had no contact with anyone from the outside world . Each island had its own king and chiefs , and for many centuries no single ruler was successful in controlling all the islands .

                 Then in 1800 , a king - Kamehameha - managed for the first time to gain power over all of the Hawaiian Islands . But this event now seems of little importance in the history of the islands . Another event was much more important in the long run : in 1778 Captain James Cook’s ships landed in Hawaii . With the arrival of the Europeans , Hawaii was changed forever .

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Circle the best answers to the following questions . Do not look back at the passage .

1 . This passage is about

( A) the Polynesian people .

( B ) The Marquesa Islands .

( C ) how people sailed to Hawaii .

( D ) early settlers in Hawaii .

2 . In order to find the way to Hawaii , the Polynesians

( A) took statues of their gods .

( B ) used the sun and the stars .

( C ) watched the birds .

( D ) fought a war with Tahiti .

3 . The Polynesians from Marquesa came to Hawaii with

( A) lots of food and supplies .

( B ) Tahitian gods .

( C ) a peaceful spirit .

( D ) Captain James Cook .

4. You can infer from this passage that

( A) sailing to Hawaii was difficult and dangerous .

( B ) all of the Marquesans arrived safely in Hawaii .

( C ) the Marquesans were better warriors than the Tahitians .

( D ) the Marquesans faced many problems in Hawaii .

5 . When the first Marquesans arrived in Hawaii , they probably found  

( A) many Polynesians .

( B ) a rich , fertile land .

( C ) the first settlers .

( D ) a new god .

6 . The Tahitians who arrived in 1200 A.D.   

( A) lived in peace with the people already in Hawaii .

( B ) became the rulers of the Hawaiian Islands .

( C ) had no gods .

( D ) believed that all people were equal .  

7 . The Original Marquesan settlers in Hawaii

( A) are still living in Honolulu .

( B ) were killed by Captain Cook .

( C ) have disappeared .

( D ) became the rulers of the Tahitians .

8 . The first person to control all of the islands was  

( A) King Kamehameha 1 .

( B ) a Polynesian leader .

( C ) Captain James Cook .

( D ) a European .  

Answer Key

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