Multiple-choice Questions
In this unit you will practise:
- understanding longer pieces of text
- answering different types of multiple choice
- identifying a writer's purpose
1. Understanding longer pieces of text
To answer multiple choice questions, you often need to carefully read two or more connected sentences or several connected sentences.
Practice 1.1
Look at this extract from an IELTS Reading passage. Read it quickly to find out the main points and then re-read it more carefully to get a more detailed understanding.
Linguists agree that language is needed during reading, but at which stage language becomes a necessity has come under debate. Past research has shown that animals have the ability to discriminate letters from one another, but previously, experts thought the ability to recognise written words was dependent on an ability to understand language. Findings recently published in the journal Science challenge this long-held notion, showing that despite having no linguistic skills, monkeys are able to tell the difference between sequences of letters that form real English words, and those that do not.
Practice 1.2
Without looking back at the extract, try to explain what it is about, in your own words.
Some multiple-choice questions begin with a direct question and then have four possible answers. Some begin with an incomplete sentence and then have four possible endings.
Practice 1.3
Look at the question below and choose the best answer, A-D.
According to the paragraph, what point do linguists have different views on?
2. Different types of multiple choice
Sometimes you may be asked to choose two correct answers from five options. You will need to read and consider even more text.
Practice 2.1
Skim read the passage to find out the main points.
Spend 45 seconds skim reading this Reading passage to find out the main points.
What do hurricanes mean for dolphins?
Hurricanes are typically associated with loss of life, loss of property and economic devastation. Hurricane Katrina, which blew through the gulf coast of North America in 2005, brought all those things and more. It also brought lots of baby dolphins. Hurricanes tend to be related to increased strandings of marine mammals, so why might a hurricane be associated with more dolphins, rather than fewer?
Scientist Lance J. Miller reasoned that there were probably several related phenomena that, combined, could explain the apparent increase. Firstly, after a female dolphin loses her calf, she can give birth again much sooner than if her calf had matured to adulthood. 'If a large number of calves perished as a result of Hurricane Katrina, this would allow for a greater percentage of females to become reproductively active the following year.' By itself, this didn't seem to adequately explain the increase in dolphin calves. Something else was going on. That something was distinctively human.
When Hurricane Katrina blew through the gulf, the local shrimping, crabbing and fishing industries were ravaged. In Mississippi, according to one estimate, 87% of commercial fishing vessels were damaged or destroyed. This meant a decrease in the amount of seafood brought into shore, of nearly 15%. Despite the common notion that dolphins enjoy playing in the wakes created by boats, there is plenty of evidence that dolphins actually avoid them. Miller deduced that, with a reduction in the number of boats in the water, both commercial and recreational, dolphins may have been able to spend more time eating, and less time travelling or diving in an effort to avoid boats.
Practice 2.2
Look at this task. What information do you need to find in the passage?
Which TWO possible issues did Miller believe may have caused the rise in dolphin numbers?
Choose two answers.
Practice 2.3
Read the passage again and highlight the parts that introduce the idea of a first and second issue. Then decide which two options are correct.
First issue: after a female dolphin loses her calf, she can give birth again much sooner.
Second issue: with fewer boats in the water, dolphins could spend more time eating and less time avoiding boats.
3. Identifying a writer's purpose
Sometimes, multiple-choice questions ask you to consider the writer's purpose or aim. You may be asked to identify:
- why the writer made a particular reference
- what the purpose of a part of the text is
- the opinion or attitude of the writer
Practice 3.1
Look at this extract from a Reading passage to get the main idea and then re-read it more carefully to understand it in detail.
One of the reasons Jurassic Park was so successful - as a novel and a blockbuster film - is that it presented a plausible way to bring dinosaurs back to life. The idea that viable dinosaur DNA might be retrieved from bloodsucking prehistoric insects seemed like a project that could actually succeed. Even though the actual methodology is hopelessly flawed and would never work, the premise was science-ish enough to let us suspend our disbelief and revel in the return of the dinosaurs.
Practice 3.2
Read these questions and consider how you would answer them.
- What is the writer's purpose in this paragraph?
- What is the writer's opinion of Jurassic Park?
To answer these questions, you need to consider more than the surface meaning of the words in the Reading passage. You need to consider the writer's tone or attitude.
Practice 3.3
Scan the extract in 3.1 and find the following words or phrases: blockbuster, hopelessly flawed, revel in.
Scan the extract in 3.1 and decide whether each word or phrase suggests a positive or negative tone.
blockbuster
hopelessly flawed
revel in
Practice 3.4
Answer the questions by choosing the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
What is the writer's purpose in this paragraph?
What is the writer's opinion of Jurassic Park?