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READING COMPREHENSION B2

(Par. 1) In spite of his love of theorizing, the prehistorian Louis Leakey took nothing

for granted and always put everything to a practical test. He eca!e an e"pert !aker of stone

tools, and would use the! to skin and chop up ani!als. #ven this was not enough$ to prove

that !an had to e a tool%!aker to survive, he tried unsuccessfully to skin ani!als with histeeth.

(Par. &) Louis could show a!azing patience if necessary, ut y nature he was

i!petuous. His inclination was to get on with the ne"t 'o rather than slag over uninteresting

details. lthough te!pera!entally unsuited to !aking detailed e"cavations and !inute

studies of fossils he did oth successfully he had tre!endous self discipline and would

cheerfully work all night if necessary. He was never good at working with other people,

especially with !en, and always wanted to tackle everything hi!self.

(Par. *) lthough always an individualist and happiest in the ush, he was sti!ulated

y co!pany and losso!ed at conferences. He was very adoptale and, curiously, when helived in +airoi he en'oyed such suuran pursuits as dog shows and reeding tropical fish.

+ot gardening, however$ this would have een too slow, and for rela"ation he preferred to

clean a fossil.

(Par. ) Louis had a great aility to !ake co!plicated su'ect see! straightforward$ he

loved to share his encyclopedic knowledge, and however tired he !ight e, he would respond

to an intelligent -uestion. His finds rought hi! fa!e in scientific circles, ut his way of

talking aout the! !ade the! and hi! known to a !uch wider pulic. His fre-uent

appearances on the lecture platfor! and television screen in the /0, and the articles aout

hi! in popular 'ournals rought hi! an enor!ous fan%!ail.

I Select the best of the four choices a), b), c), d)after each questio!

1. Louis Leakey proved that early !an was dependent on tools ecause he hi!self

a) showed that !odern !an could survive in pri!itive conditions.

) found it unpleasant to skin ani!als with his teeth.

c) !astered the art of !aking pri!itive tools.

d) showed that certain tasks were i!possile without tools.

&. hen it ca!e to the !ore !onotonous side of his work, Leakeya) e"ecuted it to the est of his aility.

) was too i!pulsive to work through it properly.

c) approached it without any !otivation.

d) en'oyed the opportunity for detailed study.

*. 2he phrase 3happiest in the ush4 in the third paragraph !eans that Leakey$

a) did not en'oy the spotlight very !uch.

) was very adoptale.

c) loved to e"plore nature.

d) was very known a!ong his friends.

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. 5uring the ti!e that Leakey lived in +airoi, he

a) carried out research into the fossils of fish.

) found it difficult to separate hi!self fro! his work.

c) led a nor!al kind of e"istence.

d) spent a great deal of ti!e at conferences.

6. Leakey4s popular success was pri!arily due to

a) his e"citing discoveries.

) his vast knowledge.

c) his clear e"planations.

d) his articles in 'ournals.

II As" a questio relati# to the u$erlie$ %art of the follo&i# setece!

7. He eca!e a n e"pert !aker of stone tools.

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9. He was never good at working with other people.

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III 'hich of the &or$s fro( the te)t corres%o$ i (eai# to the follo&i# &or$s or

e)%ressios*

:. a) specialist (par. 1) 888888888888

) oring (par. &) 888888888888

;. a) to deal with (par. &) 888888888888

) leisure (par. *) 888888888888

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