READING TEST
UNIT 3 TEST You have 15 minutes.
Name ______________________________________________________________________ Date ____________
understand new words
Identify the part of speech (verb, noun, adjective, adverb).
Is there a similar word in your language? Does its meaning help you?
Look at the words and sentences before and after the new word.
Guess what the new word might mean and check your idea in the sentence.
First read the text. Then answer the questions. You have 15 minutes. Use the tips in the Remember how to
box to help you.
Child prodigies
A child prodigy is a child who has a very special ability in a particular area. Here are some examples of child prodigies
from the world of music.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Austria in 1756 and is one of history's most famous child prodigies. His father
described him as the “miracle that God let be born in Salzburg.” He started playing the harpsichord (a string
instrument with a keyboard like that of the piano) at the age of four, and started to compose his own pieces of music
at the age of five. When he was just eight years old, he went on a tour of Europe with his father and older sister (who
was also an incredibly talented musician), and he published his first music.
More recently, 12-year-old Russian pianist Evgeny Kissin left his audience astonished when he played with the
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra in 1984. He was not well-known before that performance, but the next morning he
was a star. When he was still a baby, Evgeny enjoyed listening to his older sister playing the piano. At the age of two
he took up the piano, but it wasn't until he went to school that he learned to read music. He gave his first performance
when he was seven years old, and it was his own music that he played.
Five-year-old Chinese-Canadian Ryan Wang caused a sensation when he appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
in the USA in 2013. When the show's host Ellen DeGeneres asked him to explain his remarkable talent for playing
the piano, little Ryan said: “It's just in my memory” and “it just goes to my fingers.” Dorothy Landsay, 101-year-old
grandma, saw him playing on television and became his biggest fan. When the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
heard about this, they asked Ryan to play in person for the elderly lady so that she could hear him playing more
clearly. The two became good friends, and Ryan said, “I like playing for Grandma Dorothy because it makes her
happy.”
Choose the correct option, A, B, C, or D.
1 What word can replace compose in paragraph 2?
A dance B sing C write D read
2 What word can replace astonished in paragraph 3?
A angry B amazed C bored D unhappy
3 The phrase a sensation in paragraph 4 means a feeling of __________ .
A excitement B sadness C fear D boredom
4 The word host in paragraph 4 is someone who __________ .
A looks after small children C plays the piano
B teaches children to play musical instruments D is the main speaker on a TV or radio show
5 The word remarkable in paragraph 4 means __________ .
A unusual and special C happy and excited
B grown up and sensible D friendly and sociable
Write true (T) or false (F).
6 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music first became available for other musicians to play when
he was an adult. ______
7 Evgeny Kissin started learning to read music after he learned to play the piano. ______
8 Ellen DeGeneres told Ryan Wang he had a good memory and special fingers. ______
9 Mozart was performing for the public at an earlier age than both Evgeny Kissin
and Ryan Wang. ______
10 Evgeny Kissin and Mozart were not the only musicians in their families. ______
