| Reading Comprehension 1
The Second Anglo-Afghan War I.
Paragraph 1)
Everything has to have a beginning and like in many other conflicts the spark which eventually led to the Second Anglo-Afghan War occurred far away from the territory of either protagonist. It began in a small remote village in Herzegovina. A rebellion broke out there in 1875 and soon the Balkans were ablaze with revolt.
Paragraph 2)
The initial revolt was caused by the rapacity and greed of local landlords, who were mostly Christian, but Herzegovina was a province of the Ottoman Turkish Empire and as unrest spread it rapidly became a movement seeking the end of Turkish rule. Within a year Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria were affected by anti-Turkish rebellions and the Turkish response was, as always, savage. In May of 1876, bashi-bazouks, fierce Turkish irregular troops, massacred between ten and fifteen thousand Christian in Bulgaria and a storm of protest swept all Europe.
Paragraph 3)
For the British government of Prime Minister Disraeli, this was an extreme embarrassment. A central part of Disraeli's foreign policy was the need to maintain the integrity of the Ottoman Empire as a bulwark against Russian expansion in the eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor. Sitting astride the overland route from Europe to India, it was essential to Britain that the Ottoman Empire not collapse. Should such a collapse occur the Russians would rush in to fill the resulting vacuum and their ability to threaten British interests would be immeasurably enhanced. Disraeli dismissed the first reports of Turkish massacres in the Balkans as 'coffee-house rumours'.
Paragraph 4)
There was no such embarrassment in St. Petersburg. For two centuries the Russians had dreamed of hoisting their flag over Constantinople and replacing the decaying Ottoman Empire with their own. So constant and single-minded was this desire that some have suggested the initial uprisings in the Balkans in 1875 were not spontaneous but the result of Russian machinations. This has never been satisfactorily proved. What is certain is that Tsar Alexander welcomed the chance for the Russians to again take up their self-appointed role as 'protectors' of Balkan Christianity and, riding a wave of popular fury at Turkish barbarism, sent his armies south into Bulgaria in the spring of 1877.
1) What is the main idea of paragraph 1?
a) Everything has a beginning.
b) The war began in Herzrgovina.
c) The origins of the war occurred far away from both Britain and Afghanistan.
d) The war began in 1875.
2) What does the word 'either' in sentence 1 of paragraph 1 refer to?
a) Britain and Afghanistan.
b) Herzegovina and the Balkans.
c) Herzegovina and Britain.
d) Afghanistan and Herzegovina.
3) What does the word 'there' in sentence 3 of paragraph 1 refer to?
a) Britain
b) Herzegovina
c) Afghanistan
d) the Balkans
4) Choose the meaning closest to 'ablaze' in paragraph 2.
a) empty
b) angry
c) burning
d) happy
5) What is the main idea of paragraph 2?
a) The revolt was caused by Christians.
b) The revolt spread quickly.
c) Turkish troops killed lots of people.
d) The revolt was originally directed at mostly Christians but soon became anti-Turkish.
6) What does the word 'it' in sentence 1 of paragraph 2 refer to?
a) Herzegovina
b) the Ottoman Empire
c) the revolt
d) Christianity
7) Choose the meaning closest to 'savage' in paragraph 2.
a) quick
b) cruel and violent
c) complete
d) lenient
8) Choose the meaning closest to 'province' in paragraph 2.
a) a responsibility
b) an area of expertise
c) an administrative unit
d) an area in the south of France
9) Choose the meaning closest to 'irregular' in paragraph 2.
a) professional
b) not disciplined
c) savage
d) dangerous
10) What does the word 'this' in sentence 1 of paragraph 3 refer to?
a) a storm of protest
b) the British government
c) the Ottoman Empire
d) the bashi-bazouks
11) Choose the meaning closest to 'bulwark' in paragraph 3.
a) help
b) complication
c) protective support
d) understanding
12) Choose the meaning closest to 'astride' in paragraph 3.
a) under
b) across
c) beside
d) behind
13) What does the word 'it' in sentence 3 of paragraph 3 refer to?
a) Russia
b) Britain
c) the Ottoman Empire
d) something else
14) What does the word 'their' in sentence 4 of paragraph 3 refer to?
a) the Russians
b) the British
c) the Turks
d) the rebels in Herzegovina
15) What is the main idea of paragraph 4?
a) The Russians were not embarrassed.
b) The Russians had always wanted Constantinople and used the revolt as an excuse to attack Turkey.
c) The Balkan risings were the result of Russian machinations.
d) Tsar Alexander was the protector of Christianity.
16) What does the word 'this' in sentence 3 of paragraph 4 refer to?
a) coffee-house rumours
b) Russian embarrassment
c) St. Petersburg
d) hoisting their flag over Constantinople
17) Choose the meaning closest to 'spontaneous' in paragraph 4.
a) quick
b) slow
c) unplanned
d) planned
18) Choose the meaning closest to 'machinations' in paragraph 4.
a) mechanics
b) schemimg
c) industry
d) aid
19) Choose the meaning closest to 'fury' in sentence 5 paragraph 4.
a) irritation
b) annoyance
c) anger
d) great anger
20) What does the word 'his' in sentence 5 of paragraph 4 refer to?
a) The Tsarina
b) Tsar Alexandra
c) Tsar Nicolas
d) Tsar Alexander
|