READING

HOW TO ANSWER

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to

• recognise different types of multiple choice

questions

AND

• choose the right answer to multiple choice

questions.

FORM OF THE QUESTIONS

In most cases you will have

• a question followed by four possible answers

OR

• a sentence which has not been finished. (The

four answers are then four different ways of

ending the sentence, only one of which is

correct.)

TYPES OF QUESTION ASKED

• The questions are usually looking for a detailed

understanding of parts of the passage which you

have to read.

• Some questions may ask you to show a more

general understanding of parts of the passage or

of the whole passage.

USEFUL TIPS1.USE THE PASSAGE TO ANSWER THE

QUESTIONS

Always choose your answer according to what is

written in the passage, even if you disagree with it.

For example, you had the sentence below in a passage

along with the question following:

‘There is no doubt at all that dll dogs are vicious.’

Question: What are we told about dogs?

The answer would have to be that ‘all dogs are vicious’. It

does not matter if you do not agree with the statement

or if you know that it is untrue, you are being asked to

show that you understand what has been written in the

passage.

USEFUL TIPS2. ANSWERING THE QUESTION ASKED

Be careful to answer the question asked.

One of the answers could correctly refer to

something in the passage but it may not answer the

question asked.

Such an answer would obviously be wrong.

You might have the sentence below in a passage with the

question which follows:

‘The old man was delighted with the present his

daughter had given him.’

Question: How do we know the daughter did not see

her father every day?

One of the suggested answers could be: ‘She had given

him a present.’

This is a true statement based on the passage but it

does NOT answer the question asked.

USEFUL TIPS3. DO NOT ASSUME TOO MUCH

Don’t think that a passage tells you more than it

really does when choosing an answer.

Look at the following sentence and question:

‘At the end of his holiday Bob had hardly any money

left.’

Question: What are we told about Bob at the end of

his holiday?

One of the four suggested answers to this question could

be: ‘Bob had spent all his money.’

This answer cannot be correct; if Bob had hardly any

money left, this does mean he had a ittle left and that

he had not spent quite everything.

If the answer was ‘Bob had spent almost all his money’,

this would, of course, be correct.

Practice Exercises

Read the following text:

A 20-year-old soldier was slightly injured last night

when the car in which he was a passenger was in

collision with a lorry on the main road between

Cardiff and Swansea.

Now, answer the questions

Question 1:

The soldier was_______________.

badly hurt.

hurt a little.

not hurt at all.

Question 2:

What do we know about the car?

lt was travelling from Cardiff to Swansea.

lt was being driven by a soldier.

lt hit another vehicle on the road.

Read the following text:

Riches store will re-open for business next Monday

following the fire which last month badly damaged

the ground floor of the building. Repairs and

improvements that have been carried out as a result

of the fire should make shopping here an even more

enjoyable experience than it was before.

Now, answer the questions.

Question 1:

As a result of the fire__________.

the store had to close down for a time.

the ground floor was totally destroyed.

the store was able to open only on Mondays.

Question 2:

What should be the effect of the repairs?

More people are likely to shop here.

People will find them really enjoyable.

lt should be pleasant to shop here.

Read the following text:

Americans were invited to sample the food, the golf

and the heritage of Scotland at a meeting held in

New York yesterday to promote the tourism

opportunities created by films set in Scotland. The

move came as the Scottish Tourist Board announced

a seven per cent growth in tourist spending in

Scotland last year.

American tourism accounts for a quarter of the

overseas visits to Scotland and visitor numbers are

expected to increase substantially this year as a

result of the large number of 'scenic' films shot

there. At the Scottish Travel Fair in Glasgow, it was

predicted that the films could have an effect on

Scottish tourism for the next 15 years

Now, answer the questions.

Question 1:

What was the reason for the meeting in New York?

to advertise films made in Scotland

to make Scottish food more popular

to encourage people to visit Scotland

to persuade people to make films in Scotland

Question 2:

Why might members of the Scottish Tourist Board

be feeling pleased?

More tourists visited Scotland last year.

They had an increase in their salaries.

Visitors spent more money in Scotland last year.

They spent more money on visitors last year.

Question 3:

This year it is expected that__________.

more people will come to visit Scotland.

there will be an increase in 'scenic'films made here.

the films will have little effect on the number of

visitors.

a quarter of all visitors will come from America.

Read the following text:

A 35-year old man from Leeds walked into his hotel

in Keswick in the English Lake District at eight

o'clock last night as the local mountain rescue team

were preparing to mount a search for him. The man,

an inexperienced mountain walker, had had an

argument with his wife that morning and had left the

hotel to go walking despite warnings of severe

weather conditions. He had been reported missing by

his wife late in the afternoon.

ln fact the man had not been in the mountains at all

but, on seeing how bad the weather was, had

changed his mind and had decided to take a bus to

Windermere. He did not think to phone his wife to

tell her of his change of plans. Unfortunately, he

missed the bus which he had planned to catch back

Now, answer the questions.

Question 1:

Why was the mountain rescue team going to search

for the man?

lt was thought that he was lost in the

mountains.

The man was not an experienced mountaineer.

The weather was not going to improve.

The man had left the hotel in a bad temper.

Question 2:

What do we know about the man?

He was not used to walking in the mountains.

He had many arguments with his wife.

He did not know about the bad weather.

He had thought of phoning his wife.

Question 3:

Why do you think the man's wife was worried about

him?

He had changed his plans.

He had gone to Windermere.

He had missed a bus.

He had not returned to the hotel.

Question 4:

Why did the man arrive back at the hotel later

than he had intended?

The bus was held up by the bad weather.

He did not catch the bus he wanted.

He missed the bus to Windermere.

The bus left Windermere early.

Congratulations!

You have reached the end of

the lesson.