Reading Comprehension - Comprensión de Lectura

Agatha Christie

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, DBE (September 15, 1890–January 12,
1976), was a British crime fiction writer. She also wrote romances under the
name Mary Westmacott.

Agatha Christie is the world's best-known mystery writer and all-time best selling
author of any genre other than William Shakespeare. Her books have sold over
a billion copies in the English language and another billion in over 45 foreign
languages (as of 2003). As an example of her broad appeal, she is the all-time
best-selling author in France, with over 40 million copies sold in French (as of
2003) versus 22 million for Émile Zola, the nearest contender.

Christie published over eighty novels and stage plays, mainly whodunits and locked room mysteries, many of
these featuring one of her series characters, Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple. She is a major figure in detective
fiction for both her commercial success and her innovations in the genre.

Although she delighted in twisting the established form, she was scrupulous in "playing fair" with the reader by
making sure all necessary information for solving the puzzle was given. One of her early books, The Murder of
Roger Ackroyd, is renowned for its surprise denouement.

Most of her books and short stories have been filmed, some many times over (Murder on the Orient Express,
Death on the Nile, 4.50 from Paddington). The BBC has produced television and radio versions of most of the
Poirot and Marple stories. A later series of Poirot dramatizations starring David Suchet was made by Granada
Television.

In 2004, the Japanese broadcasting company Nippon Housou Kyoukai turned Poirot and Marple into animated
characters in the anime series Agatha Christie's Great Detectives Poirot and Marple, introducing Mabel West
(daughter of Miss Marple's mystery-writer nephew Raymond West, a canonical Christie character) and her
duck Oliver as new characters.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article
"Agatha Christie". You can explore more on the Wikipedia website. The text and the images are used here
only for educational purposes.

Questions about the text

1. Agatha Christie was born in 1890.

True.
False.
We don't know.
2. More than 40 million copies of her books have been sold in France.
True.
False.
We don't know.

3. How many novels and stageplays did she write?

70.
80.
More than 80.

4. "The Murder of Roger" has a surprising ending.

True.
False.
We don't know.

5. There are no films based on her books.

True.
False.
We don't know.

6. There are no TV series based on her books.

True.
False.
We don't know.

7. In Japan there are anime characters based on her books.

True.
False.
We don't know.

Reading Comprehension - Comprensión de Lectura

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Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1727 by the Julian
calendar in use in England at the time; or 4 January 1643 – 31 March 1727
by the Gregorian calendar) was an English physicist, mathematician,
astronomer, philosopher, and alchemist; who wrote the Philosophiae
Naturalis Principia Mathematica (published 5 July 1687), where he
described universal gravitation and, via his laws of motion, laid the
groundwork for classical mechanics. Newton also shares credit with
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz for the development of differential calculus.
However, their work was not a collaboration; they both discovered
calculus separately but nearly contemporaneously.

Newton was the first to promulgate a set of natural laws that could
govern both terrestrial (earthly) motion and celestial motion. He is
associated with the scientific revolution and the advancement of heliocentrism. Newton is also
credited with providing mathematical substantiation for Kepler's laws of planetary motion. He
would expand these laws by arguing that orbits (such as those of comets) were not only elliptic;
but could also be hyperbolic and parabolic.

He is also notable for his arguments that light was composed of particles. He was the first to
realise that the spectrum of colours observed when white light was passed through a prism was
inherent in the white light, and not added by the prism as Roger Bacon had claimed in the 13th
century.

Newton also developed Newton's law of cooling, describing the rate of cooling of objects when
exposed to air; the binomial theorem in its entirety; and the principles of conservation of
momentum and angular momentum. Finally, he studied the speed of sound in air, and voiced a
theory of the origin of stars.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Isaac Newton". You
can explore more on the Wikipedia website. The text and the images are used here only for educational purposes.

Questions about the text

Now, answer the questions about the text.

1. Isaac Newton was born in...

1642.

1687.

1727.

2. He set the basis for classical mechanics.

True.
 False.

We don't know.

3. He worked together with Leibniz to discover differential calculus.

True.

False.

We don't know.

4. Newton discovered that light is composed of particles.

True.

False.

We don't know.

5. He studied the speed of light in air.

True.

False.

We don't know.

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King Arthur

King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th
centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the
defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The
details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary
invention, and his historical existence is debated and disputed by
modern historians. The sparse historical background of Arthur is
gleaned from various sources, including the Annales Cambriae, the
Historia Brittonum, and the writings of Gildas. Arthur's name also
occurs in early poetic sources such as Y Gododdin.

The legendary Arthur developed as a figure of international interest

largely through the popularity of Geoffrey of Monmouth's fanciful and
imaginative 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the
Kings of Britain). Some Welsh and Breton tales and poems relating the story of Arthur date from
earlier than this work; in these works, Arthur appears either as a great warrior defending Britain
from human and supernatural enemies or as a magical figure of folklore, sometimes associated
with the Welsh Otherworld, Annwn. How much of Geoffrey's Historia (completed in 1138) was
adapted from such earlier sources, rather than invented by Geoffrey himself, is unknown.

Although the themes, events and characters of the Arthurian legend varied widely from text to
text, and there is no one canonical version, Geoffrey's version of events often served as the
starting point for later stories. Geoffrey depicted Arthur as a king of Britain who defeated the
Saxons and established an empire over Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Norway and Gaul. Many elements
and incidents that are now an integral part of the Arthurian story appear in Geoffrey's Historia,
including Arthur's father Uther Pendragon, the wizard Merlin, Arthur's wife Guinevere, the sword
Excalibur, Arthur's conception at Tintagel, his final battle against Mordred at Camlann and final
rest in Avalon.

The 12th-century French writer Chrétien de Troyes, who added Lancelot and the Holy Grail to the
story, began the genre of Arthurian romance that became a significant strand of medieval
literature. In these French stories, the narrative focus often shifts from King Arthur himself to
other characters, such as various Knights of the Round Table. Arthurian literature thrived during
the Middle Ages but waned in the centuries that followed until it experienced a major resurgence
in the 19th century. In the 21st century, the legend lives on, not only in literature but also in
adaptations for theatre, film, television, comics and other media.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "King Arthur". You can
explore more on the Wikipedia website. The text and the images are used here only for educational purposes.

Questions about the text

1. King Arthur was a legendary figure that appeared in several ancient books.

True.

False.

We don't know.

2. It appeared for the first time in 'Historia Regum Britanniae'.

True.

False.

We don't know.

3. Geoffrey described Arthur as a king who defeated the Saxons.

True.

False.

We don't know.
4. Chrétien de Troyes began the genre of Arthurian romance.

True.

False.

We don't know.

5. The legend was also adapted for several movies and TV shows.

True.

False.

We don't know.

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Richard the Lionheart

Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death.
He also ruled as Duke of Normandy (as Richard IV), Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of
Cyprus, Count of Poitiers, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of
Brittany at various times during the same period. He was the third of five sons of King Henry II of
England and Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was known as Richard Cœur de Lion, or mainly Richard the
Lionheart, even before his accession, because of his reputation as a great military leader and
warrior. The Muslims called him Melek-Ric (King Richard) or Malek al-Inkitar (King of England). He
was also known in occitan as Oc e No (Yes and No), because of his ability to change his mind.

By the age of 16, Richard the Lionheart had taken command of his own army, putting down
rebellions in Poitou against his father. Richard was a central Christian commander during the
Third Crusade, leading the campaign after the departure of Philip II of France and scoring
considerable victories against his Muslim counterpart, Saladin, although he did not reconquer
Jerusalem from Saladin.

Richard spoke langue d'oïl, a French dialect, and Occitan, a Romance language spoken in southern
France and nearby regions. Born in England, where he spent his childhood, he lived for most of
his adult life before becoming king in his Duchy of Aquitaine in the southwest of France.
Following his accession he spent very little time, perhaps as little as six months, in England,
preferring to use his kingdom as a source of revenue to support his armies. Nevertheless, he was
seen as a pious hero by his subjects, he remains one of the few kings of England remembered by
his epithet, rather than regnal number, and is an enduring iconic figure both in England and in
France.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Richard the Lionheart".
You can explore more on the Wikipedia website. The text and the images are used here only for educational purposes.
Questions about the text

1. Richard was King of England for almost

10 years.

16 years.

21 years.

2. He was known as the Lionheart because

he was in love with England.

he was a military leader and warrior.

he was born in England.

3. Richard was a central commander in the Third Crusade.

True.

False.

We don't know.

4. He lived most of his adult life in England.

True.

False.

We don't know.

5. While being King of England he spent most of his time in France.

True.

False.

We don't know.

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The Beatles
The Beatles were one of the most influential music groups of
the rock era, and many consider them the best musical group
on Earth. Initially they affected the post-war baby boom
generation of Britain and the U.S. during the 1960s, and later
the rest of the world. Certainly they were the most successful
group, with global sales exceeding 1.1 billion records.

While they were originally famous for light-weight pop music

(and the extreme hysterical reaction they received from young
women), their later works achieved a combination of popular
and critical acclaim perhaps unequaled in the 20th century.

Eventually, they became more than recording artists,

branching out into film and — particularly in the case of John
Lennon — political activism. They achieved an iconic status beyond mere celebrity, with far
reaching effects difficult to exaggerate.

The members of the group were John Lennon, (James) Paul McCartney, George Harrison and
Ringo Starr (Richard Starkey), all from Liverpool, Merseyside, England. Original drummer Pete
Best was asked to leave the group just before it started recording. Stuart Sutcliffe was with them
in Hamburg but also left.

Beatlemania began in the UK and exploded following the appearance of the Beatles on The Ed
Sullivan Show in the United States, on February 9, 1964. The pop-music band became a
worldwide phenomenon with worshipful fans, hysterical adulation, and denunciations by culture
commentators and others such as Frank Sinatra.

Some of this was confusion over the sources of their music (a similar confusion was evinced in
1956 over Elvis Presley by commentators who were unaware of the tradition of blues, R&B and
gospel out of which Presley emerged), and some of it was simply an incredulous reaction to the
length of their hair. At any rate, it was regarded by the band members with both awe and
resentment.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Beatles". You can
explore more on the Wikipedia website. The text and the images are used here only for educational purposes.

Questions about the text

1. They were the best selling group in history.

True.

False.

We don't know.

2. All the members were from Liverpool.

True.
 False.

We don't know.

3. They appeared on TV on February 9, 1964.

True.

False.

We don't know.

4. There was some confusion about the sources of their music.

True.

False.

We don't know.

5. Their music was copied by Elvis Presley.

True.

False.

We don't know.

6. Frank Sinatra didn't like the Beatles too much.

True.

False.

We don't know.

Reading Comprehension - Comprensión de Lectura

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The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are a British rock and roll band who rose to prominence during the mid-1960s.

The band was named after a song by Muddy Waters, a leading exponent of hard-rocking blues. In
their music, The Rolling Stones were the embodiment of the idea of importing blues style into
popular music.

Their first recordings were covers or imitations of rhythm and blues music, but they soon greatly
extended the reach of their lyrics and playing, but rarely, if ever, lost their basic blues feel.
The band came into being in 1961 when former school friends Jagger and Richards met Brian
Jones. They named themselves after a song by Muddy Waters, a popular choice of name —at least
two other bands are believed to have called themselves The Rolling Stones before the
Jagger/Richards/Jones band was formed. The original lineup included Mick Jagger (vocals), Brian
Jones (guitar), Keith Richards (guitar), Ian Stewart (piano), Charlie Watts (drums) and Dick Taylor
(bass). Taylor left shortly after to form The Pretty Things, and was replaced by Bill Wyman.

By the time of their first album release Ian Stewart was "officially" not part of the band, though
he continued to record and perform with them. United by their shared interest in rhythm and
blues music the group rehearsed extensively, playing in public only occasionally at Crawdaddy
Club in London, where Alexis Korner's blues band was resident. At first, Jones, a guitarist who
also toyed with numerous other instruments, was their creative leader.

The band rapidly gained a reputation in London for their frantic, highly energetic covers of the
rhythm and blues songs of their idols and, through manager Andrew Loog Oldham, were signed to
Decca Records (who had passed when offered The Beatles). At this time their music was fairly
primitive: Richards had learned much of his guitar playing from the recordings of Chuck Berry,
and had not yet developed a style of his own, and Jagger was not as in control of the idioms as he
would soon become. Already though, the rhythmic interplay between Watts and Richards was
clearly the heart of their music.

The choice of material on their first record, a self-titled EP, reflected their live shows. Similarly,
the album The Rolling Stones (England's Newest Hitmakers) which appeared in April 1964
featured versions of such classics as "Route 66" (originally recorded by Nat King Cole), "Mona" (Bo
Diddley) and "Carol" (Chuck Berry).

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "The Rolling Stones".
You can explore more on the Wikipedia website. The text and the images are used here only for educational purposes.

Questions about the text

1. Their first recordings were based on blues music.

True.

False.

We don't know.

2. The band was created in

1960.

1961.

We don't know.
3. Keith Richards had learned to play the guitar from the recordings of Chuck Berry.

True.

False.

We don't know.

4. The group used to rehearse a lot.

True.

False.

We don't know.

5. They occasionally played in public in London.

True.

False.

We don't know.

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Yosemite: One of the Most Famous National Parks in the US

Yosemite National Park is a place of extremes. Transcript of radio broadcast. Source: VOA

Click aquí para escuchar

VOICE ONE: This is Phoebe Zimmermann.

VOICE TWO: And this is Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special
English. Today, we tell about one of the most famous national parks in
the United States. You can find it high in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of
the western state of California. It is one of the most beautiful places in
the country. Its name is Yosemite.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE: Yosemite National Park is a place of extremes. It has high

mountains. It has valleys formed by ancient ice that cut deep into the
Earth millions of years ago. Water from high in the mountains falls in
many places to the green valley far below. There are thirteen beautiful waterfalls in Yosemite
Valley. One of these waterfalls, Yosemite Falls, is the fifth highest on Earth.
Up in the mountains are clear lakes, quick-moving small rivers, and huge formations of rock. One
huge rock is called Half Dome. It rises more than two thousand seven hundred meters into the
air.

Yosemite has a beautiful slow-moving river and large grassy areas where you can see wild
animals. More than sixty kinds of animals live in the park. Deer are very common. You can see
them almost everywhere. They have little fear of humans. You might even see a large black bear.
You can also see two hundred different kinds of birds.

In a place called the Mariposa Grove, visitors can see some of the largest, tallest and oldest living
things on Earth. These are the giant Sequoia Trees. One of these trees is called Grizzly Giant. It is
more than one thousand eight hundred years old. One tree is almost ninety meters tall. Another
is more than ten meters around. The huge old trees can make you feel very, very small.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO: The story of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the area that is Yosemite National Park
begins about five hundred million years ago. The area then was at the bottom of an ancient sea.

Scientists believe strong earthquakes forced the bottom of the sea to rise above the water. After
millions of years, it was pushed up into the air to form land and mountains. At the same time, hot
liquid rock from deep in the Earth pushed to the surface. This liquid rock slowly cooled. This
cooling liquid formed a very hard rock known as granite.

Many centuries of rain caused huge rivers to move violently through this area. Over time, these
rivers cut deep into the new mountains. During the great Ice Age, millions of tons of ice cut and
shaped the cooled granite to form giant rocks. Millions of years later these would become the
giant rocks called Half Dome and El Capitan in Yosemite Park.

VOICE ONE: Humans have lived in the area of Yosemite for more than four thousand years. The
first people who lived there were hunters. Most were members of a tribe of Native Americans
called the Miwok. They lived in Yosemite Valley near the river.

During the extremely cold winters, these people would move to lower, warmer areas. They would
return when the winter months had passed.

The first white Americans may have been hunters looking for fur animals. A famous American
hunter and explorer named Joseph Walker passed through the area in the eighteen thirties. He
reported about the huge rock formations and said there was no way to reach the valley below.

VOICE TWO: Citizens who had formed a military group were the first real modern explorers of the
valley. They were at war with the local Indians and came into the valley. The white soldiers
called the Indians Yosemites. The valley was named for the Indian tribe. Soon, reports of its great
natural beauty were sent all the way back to Washington, D.C.

In eighteen sixty-four, a United States senator called for legislation to give the Yosemite Valley to
the state of California as a public park. The legislation said the valley should be preserved and
protected. President Abraham Lincoln signed the bill after Congress approved it.

This event was extremely important in the history of the United States. It was the first time that
a government had approved a law to preserve and protect land because of its great beauty. The
land was to be kept for the public to enjoy. Yosemite became the first state park. It was the first
real park in the world. In eighteen ninety, it became a national park. The National Park Service is
responsible for the park today. It is preserved and protected for all people to enjoy.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE: No major roads lead to Yosemite National Park. Visitors must leave the highways and
drive their cars over smaller roads. Yosemite is about three hundred twenty kilometers east of
San Francisco.

It is deep in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The roads leading to the park pass over lower parts of
the huge mountains. Then the road goes lower and lower into the area of the park called
Yosemite Valley.

Visitors can stay in different kinds of places in Yosemite Park. Several beautiful old hotels have
been built on the property. Some are very costly. Others cost less. Many people bring temporary
cloth homes called tents. It costs only a few dollars a day to place a tent in the approved areas.

Visitors can walk through many areas in the beautiful valley and the mountains. These walking
paths are called trails. The National Park Service has improved more than one thousand one
hundred kilometers of trails. It is fun to explore these trails. Some take only a few minutes to
walk. Others can take several days to complete.

VOICE TWO: People come from all over the world to climb one of the huge rock formations at
Yosemite. The most famous of these is called El Capitan. People who climb it call it "El Cap."
Climbing El Cap is only for experts. This activity is called "hard rock climbing." It is extremely
difficult and can be very dangerous.

A climber must have expert skill and great strength. The climb is straight up the face of a rock
wall. Experts say it can take about three days to climb to the top of El Cap. The climbing is very
slow.

Climbers must look for cracks in the rock. They place their hands and feet in the cracks and then
work their way up. They also use ropes and special equipment. From the bottom of the valley to
the top of El Cap is about one thousand one hundred meters.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE: In the summer months, Yosemite Park is filled with visitors. Large buses bring people
from San Francisco to spend the day.

They leave San Francisco very early in the morning and arrive back late at night. They drive from
one place to another to see Yosemite. Other visitors come by car.

Some even come by bicycle. Some visit for just a few hours. Others take several days or weeks to
enjoy the park. Many visitors come to Yosemite again and again. About four million people visit
the park every year.

VOICE TWO: In the winter, heavy snow falls in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and Yosemite. The
snow usually begins to fall in the month of November. Heavy snow forces some of the roads into
Yosemite to close during the winter months. The National Park Service works hard to keep most
of the roads open.

Drivers must use special care because of ice and snow on the roads. They enjoy a special beauty
never seen by the summer visitors. Many winter visitors come to Yosemite to spend their time
skiing at Badger Pass. Badger ski area is the oldest in California. It has a ski school for those who
want to learn the exciting sport.

Many visitors come to enjoy the park with its heavy coat of winter snow. In some areas the snow
is many meters deep. Some of the tall mountains keep their snow until the last hot days of
summer.

VOICE ONE: Whenever visitors come to Yosemite, they experience great natural beauty. A visit to
the park provides lasting memories of what nature has produced. Most people who come to
Yosemite usually bring a camera. They take many of pictures of the huge rocks, the beautiful
Yosemite Valley, the waterfalls and the giant trees.

But you do not really need a photograph to remember its great natural beauty. Yosemite will
leave its image in your memory forever.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO: This program was written by Paul Thompson. It was produced by Mario Ritter. Our
studio engineer was David Bodington. This is Steve Ember.

VOICE ONE: And this is Phoebe Zimmermann. Join us again next week for another EXPLORATIONS
program in VOA Special English.