Reading 4 Eso

Read the text and do the exercises that follow.
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Ever since I can remember, Ive been fascinated with trains. Three years ago,
my family and I were visiting Hungary when we heard about the Childrens
Railway in Budapest. My father knew about my interest, so when he heard
that children do most of the jobs, he booked tickets for us on the railway.
The Childrens Railway has been a landmark in Budapest for over 60 years.
People first had the idea for a childrens railway in 1947. At first, there were
some people who were against the idea. They thought that children wouldnt
know how to operate something as complicated as a railway. In spite of this,
the Childrens Railway went ahead and the first three kilometres were opened
in 1948.
The train takes passengers on an 11-kilometre journey through the beautiful
Hungarian countryside and it also goes by many tourist attractions. At first, it
was strange to see the children in their railway uniforms carrying out jobs that
are usually done by adults, but we soon got used to it. Children usually work
two days a month at the Childrens Railway. They dont actually drive the
trains, but they sell tickets and give passengers information on the platform
and on the train. They also help to control train traffic, so that there are no
accidents. Of course, adults supervise the work and help the workers if
necessary.
Its not easy to get a job on the Childrens Railway. Before they can work, the
children study for four months and they must pass a difficult exam. Children
need to take off two days from school every month, so only students with
excellent marks can apply to work on the railway. When they have finished
their lessons, they know all about trains and operating a train service.
Watching these children operate the train service was exciting, but I couldnt
help feeling just a little jealous.
1. Complete the sentences.
1. Although some people opposed the idea of the Childrens Railway,
.
2. Passengers on the Childrens Railway can see
.
3. The writers family wasnt used to seeing
.
4. Children do a lot of the work on the railway, but
.
5. If children want to work on the railway, they must
.
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The Paricutn volcano is located about 322 kilometres west of Mexico City.
Paricutn is only around 70 years old, so its the youngest volcano in North
America.
For several weeks before Paricutn first erupted, there were warnings
which people noticed, but no one did anything. For example, there were
no clouds in the sky, but people heard something which sounded like
thunder. Then, on 20th February, 1943, something unusual happened. A
farmer who was working in a field smelled something strange. Then, the
ground in the field started to grow. It grew several metres high, into the
form of a cone. There was smoke coming out of the top of the cone. The
frightened farmer ran home to his family, who were happy to see that he
was safe.
Over the next few days, lava continued to come out of the cone, which
was actually a volcano. When the lava became cold, it turned into rock
and the volcano began to grow. After a week, it was 100 metres high.
Paricutn erupted several times over the years and grew higher and higher.
The last time it erupted was in 1952, when it grew to a height of 440
metres. Places as far away as Mexico City, where volcanic ash fell, were
affected by the eruptions.
The Paricutn volcano destroyed a local village, covering it in lava. The
homeless villagers left the region and built their homes in a place where it
was less dangerous. The smoke from the volcano, which contained a lot of
ash, was also a problem. Many people became ill because they inhaled a
lot of the smoke and thousands of animals died, too.
Scientists from all over the world came to Paricutn to observe the volcano.
This was a good opportunity for them to learn about how volcanoes are
born and how they grow.
1. Paricutn is in .
2. The farmer became frightened when he saw
3. The rock of the volcano was formed from .
4. Many died as a result of the volcano.
5. Observing Paricutn has taught scientists
2. Find the numbers below in the text. What does each one refer
to?
A .70:
B. 1943:
C. 100: .......
D. 1952: ..
E. 440: ..
We think of robots as modern inventions, but people have

imagined and created versions of these machines for
centuries. There were clocks with moving figures in Ancient
Greece. In the late 1400s, Leonardo da Vinci drew plans for a
mechanical humanoid robot, but we dont know if he ever
built one. Complicated mechanical figures were built in the
1700s, and in 1818 a humanoid robotic figure appeared in the
novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
The word robot comes from the Czech word for hard
work. But it wouldnt have become popular if Czech writer
Karel Capek hadnt written a play called Rossums Universal
Robots. First produced in the 1920s, the play was about
artificial people, or robots, that rebel against humans. It was
so successful that the word robot has been used
everywhere since then.
The invention of the microchip in the 1950s helped the
robotics industry continue to develop. By the early 1960s,
there were special robots for factory work, space exploration
and medical interventions. These were not humanoid robots
they were mechanical arms controlled by a computer.
Later, scientists created Shakey, a very special robot. Shakey
was the first moving robot that could interpret and store
information from its environment. That was the beginning of
artificial intelligence, or making a computer think like a
person.
Since Shakeys creation over 40 years ago, robots have
become much more advanced. There are now robotic arms
that are precise enough to be used for delicate medical
operations. There are robots that explore volcanoes and
oceans, and robotic vacuum cleaners and pets. And in Japan,
humanoid robots are being used in classrooms and offices. As
soon as an invention succeeds, it usually becomes popular
around the world.
If the Japanese experience continues to be positive, robots
will probably soon become more common in other countries
as well. If Leonardo da Vinci were here, he would be amazed
by our progress! He would also be thrilled if he knew that
someone finally built the robot that he had designed. In 2002,
Mark Rosheim, a NASA engineer, built a robot based on
Leonardos drawings and it worked perfectly.
. How did the following people contribute to the development of

the robot?
1.The people of Ancient Greece .
2.Leonardo da Vinci .
3.Mary Shelley .
4.Karel Capek .
5.Mark Rosheim .
2. Answer the questions.
1. What does the word robot mean?
2. What happened in the 1950s that helped the robotics
industry develop?
3. In what two ways did Shakey think like a person?
3. Find antonyms in the text for the words below.
1. destroyed (lines 1-6)
2. natural (lines 7-11)
3. fails (lines 19-23)
4. rare (lines 24-28)
If your friend had a problem, you would probably try to help. Did you know
that animals also help each other?
In a recent documentary about animals, a zoologist explained that scientists
5 were learning a lot about the ways that animals behave. He said that when
10 he had studied a group of dolphins he had seen something extraordinary.
Dolphins need air to survive but one of the dolphins in the group was injured
and too weak to swim to the top of the water. So, several dolphins quickly
swam under him and pushed him to the top of the water where he could get
air. Then, they held him there until he was strong enough to swim alone.
15 Another example of animals helping each other was reported by a scientist in
Kenya.
He was watching a local elephant eating some leaves. Suddenly, another
elephant arrived. Animals often attack other animals that enter their territory
and eat their food, so the scientist wondered why the first elephant hadnt
done that. What happened next really surprised the scientist. The second
elephant was hurt and couldnt get its own food, so the first elephant pulled
a small tree from the ground and put it into the injured elephants mouth.
A third scientist told a lovely story about an adult bird that had adopted an
abandoned kitten, saving its life. The tiny kitten couldnt find any food, so the
bird gave it insects to eat. Believe it or not, the hungry kitten was happy to
eat them! The well-meaning bird also defended the kitten when anyone or
anything came near.
Today, scientists agree that animals can be kind and considerate, but they
are not sure why. They know that when animals attack or kill another
creature, they arent being cruel. They do it to survive. However, scientists
wanted to know why animals assisted one another. They wanted to know if it
improved their chances of survival or if they were just being nice. These are
just some of the questions that scientists are still trying to answer.
1. If the other dolphins had not worked hard as a team, the injured
dolphin
.2. The scientist thought that the first elephant would
.3. The bird helped the kitten by
.4. Scientists dont understand why
.5.. Answer the questions.
1. In what way are people and animals similar?

2. How did the first elephant help the injured one?
3. What did the bird do when someone came near the kitten?
4. Why do animals attack other animals?

3. Find words in the text to match the definitions below.
1. a person who studies animals (lines 1-9)

2. what we breathe (lines 1-9)
3. act aggressively (lines 10-16)
4. an area that animals or people think belongs to them (lines 10-16)
5. small creatures with six legs and sometimes wings (lines 17-20)
6. protected from harm (lines 17-20)
7. helped (lines 21-26)
8. made better (lines 21-26)

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Read the text and do the exercises that follow.

We think of robots as modern inventions, but people have

. How did the following people contribute to the development of

1. Complete the sentences.

1. In what way are people and animals similar?

4. Why do animals attack other animals?

1. a person who studies animals (lines 1-9)

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