The Power of Singing, Marco Polo's Travels, and Pet-Friendly Trends
Singing
F: Each of us with hearing and vocal cords can sing. F: And as adults, we tend to narrow our forms of self-expression even more. ?: According to the text, people do not sing as much as they would like to because of insecurity in their way of singing and embarrassment at what others may think of their imperfect sounds. ?: Paul Winter is mentioned in the text because he is a skilled musician and composer who holds summer singing camps for adults. He is meaningful in this text about singing because he has helped many adults to appreciate their own voices and be confident about their singing skills.
a) gifted c) gratifying
b) performs d) fabric
a) were written—was c) sang
b) who—made d) will—have been told
The Travels of Marco Polo
F: The Travels of Marco Polo was a book conceived in a prison cell in Genoa (Italy) in 1298.
F: But much of what Polo wrote, regarded with suspicion in medieval times, was confirmed by travelers of the 18th and 19th centuries, and most of the detail has since been corroborated by historians and geographers.
?: According to the text, the Middle Ages were not a very prosperous period for Europeans, who had to undergo countless wars. Most of its leaders were unscrupulous and incompetent, and the social conditions they lived in were not very favorable either. Europeans suffered health problems like the Black Death, hunger, and poor hygienic conditions.
?: Marco Polo's attitude was important because, at the time, prejudice towards foreign cultures was common in Europe, and his accounts show how he praised the different races, places, nature, and customs that he came across.
a) account c) alien
b) grim d) prevalent
a) who—was c) with—whose
b) was governed - ruled d) Marco Polo said that he had only told half of what he had seen
Not Without My Dog!
F: Mary Marcus of New York City takes her dog, Pluto, everywhere: to the sushi restaurant down the street, to work, in and out of the neighborhood shops, even on the subway, which has a no-dog policy.
T: With this take-your-dog-everywhere trend growing as quickly as it seems to be, Marcus can't understand why the hotel industry doesn't offer pet and non-pet rooms like smoking and non-smoking rooms.
?: According to the text, Pluto is an eight-year-old French bulldog that weighs eleven kilograms and lives in New York with his owner. Regarding his character, he is very funny, vivacious, and amusing, and that is the reason why everybody likes him.
?: Pets are becoming more important to American families, and so they are being treated differently than a few years ago. Families now want to take their pets everywhere and refuse to leave them at home while they go out to a restaurant or stay at a hotel.
a) inappropriate c) trend
b) vivacious d) realizing
a) so—them c) began - between
b) has admitted—don't like d) leaving—on