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 .
***************
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
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