BEST IELTS General Reading Test 134

BEST IELTS General Reading Test 134

GENERAL READING TEST 134 – PASSAGE – 1

GENERAL READING TEST – 134

READING PASSAGE – 1

Pubs of England

A. Adam and Eve has records dating back to 1249, when workmen building the nearby Norwich Cathedral were the pub’s first recorded customers as they were housed there and were paid with bread and ale. The pub’s first owners were monks from the Great Hospital, which is located down the road. Adam and Eve has a reputation for being haunted by a medieval French-speaking monk, whose remains were found during a cellar excavation in the 1970s.

B. Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem claims that the pub was established in 1189; however there are no records verifying this date. There is evidence that the earliest parts of the pub’s building only date back to 1650. The pub is famous for its cave rooms, which are part of nearby Castle Rock – these caves were used as a brew house for the castle and date back to when the castle was constructed in 1068.

C. The Royal Standard of England is one of the only pubs which claims it is England’s oldest, to have actual proof of its history going back to at least 1086, because its existence as an alehouse, called the Ship Inn, is documented in the Domesday Book. The pub got its name from King Charles II, who frequently met his mistresses in the rooms above the pub – he granted the pub’s landlord permission to change the name from The Ship to its current name. Like several other old English buildings, The Royal Standard claims that it is haunted by various ghosts.

D. The Bingley Arms, which used to be called The Priests Inn, served as a courthouse from around AD 1000 from which offenders were taken to the pillory across the road; it was also a safe house for persecuted Catholic priests. There is evidence that suggests the pub may be even older than its known history – it may go as far back as 905 and could have been standing before nearby All Hallows Church that was built in 950.

E. The Porch House has been renovated in recent years, but it claims that parts of the building were once a hospice built by order of the Duke of Cornwall 947. In the 1970s, when the pub was receiving renovations, some of the building’s timber was dated to 1000 + 50 years, which backs up the pub’s story of its history.

F. Ye Olde Fighting Cocks also claims it is England’s oldest pub. According to the pub’s own history, it dates back to the 18th Century and the pub’s foundations were part of the Palace of Offa, king of the Mercians, dating back to around 793. Locals believe that there are several tunnels connecting the pub’s beer cellar to St Albans Cathedral, which were used by monks in the past.

G. The Old Ferry Boat Inn claims that it is England’s oldest inn. According to legend, the inn has been serving alcohol on its premises since 560, which would make it the oldest pub in England. No one knows for sure if the Old Ferry Boat Inn is as old as it claims as the building’s age has been hard to date. In addition to its claim as England’s oldest pub and inn, it is reportedly haunted. Local legend says that a young, heartbroken girl named Juliet committed suicide near the town’s church and that the inn was built over her grave.

Questions 1-7

Identify the pub referred to in each of the statements below.

(1). Clerics found refuge in this pub.

(2). The ghost here speaks a foreign language!

(3). The place of Christian worship nearby had underground access to this pub’s offerings.

(4). Parts of this pub’s building were earlier used to look after the old and terminally ill.

(5). This pub has been witness to royal indiscretions.

(6). This one has connections with caves and castles!

(7). Drink to the heartbroken lover here.

Read the text below and answer Questions 8-14.

Pigeons

In many cities around the world, feral pigeons are a dime a dozen. They roost on roofs, they coo from wires, and they peck outside bakeries, waiting for day-old hand-outs. Pigeons that bred for racing are birds of a fancier feather–and one buyer recently shelled out $1.4 million to add a little guy named Armando to their roster of winged competitors.

A Belgian breeder put Armando up for sale on the pigeon auction site PIPA, where several bidders scrambled to nab him. When bidding closed, Armando’s price had inched above €1.2 million (more than $1.4 million, in U.S. dollars). Seven of Armando’s offspring were also up for sale, and they’ll fan out across Belgium, Turkey, Germany, The Netherlands, and China. Armando will head to China, too, where the sport of pigeon racing has boomed in recent years. On the mainland, where most forms of gambling are prohibited, pigeon racing gets a pass, and there are at least 100,000 pigeon breeders in Beijing alone, CNN reported.

Many wildlife groups and rehabilitators are fundamentally opposed to pigeon racing, arguing that the birds face a barrage of challenges before, during, and after the events, which sometimes span hundreds of miles. “We think this is a flawed situation right from the beginning,” says Elizabeth Young, founding director of Palomacy, a pigeon rescue organization in the San Francisco Bay Area. Young’s group works with domestic pigeons who find themselves in the wild, including ones that were grounded during races, often because they were struck by hawks, outmatched by the wind, or ran out of energy.

From a purchaser’s perspective, this bird had several things working in his favour, says Tim Heidrich, secretary of the National Pigeon Association, a bird fanciers’ group. Armando has already soared past the competition in several long-distance races, and delivered sterling performances in Belgium, Heinrich says, where competition is stiff. Selecting a racing pigeon can be similar to selecting champion dogs or thoroughbred race horses, says Deone Roberts, sport development manager at the American Racing Pigeon Union. “Pedigree can be important for the owner who may be hoping for genetic transmission of the most desired qualities,” Roberts says. Armando is also young enough to be bred several times over the years, Heidrich says, “thus maximizing the investment in him.”

While other top birds have sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past-and despite Armando’s bona fides”I think the price got very much out of hand,” Heidrich writes in an email. “You probably had a couple of billionaires bidding with their egos instead of their brains.” Still, Heidrich adds, “Like a great race horse, he’s worth what someone is willing to pay.”

Questions 8-14

Fill in the blanks in the following sentences, using words from the box below.

(8). It is very common to see hordes of ……………. pigeons in many cities around the world.

(9). Some people ….. …….. pigeons for racing as these birds fetch very high prices.

(10). Pigeon racing as a . ….. has greatly increased over the last few years.

(11). In mainland China, many kinds of ………………. are not permitted.

(12). The ……. of a bird is seen to be important when it comes to selecting one for purchase.

(13). In bidding for Armando, people were swayed more by their …………… rather than logic.

(14). There are several bodies that do not …….. pigeon racing as a sport.

ANSWERS ARE BELOW

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ANSWERS

1. D

2. A

3. F

4. E

5. C

6. B

7. G

8. UNTAMED

9. BREED

10. SPORT

11. GAMBLING

12. LINEAGE

13. PRIDE

14. SUPPORT