Trends1 Test U8 Reading

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Name

Optional Reading

 

Mark

Read the text and answer the questions that follow. The Impact of Unicorns

I

Confucius, a philosopher in ancient China, lived at a time when unicorns were omens of imminent events, both good and bad. Shortly before Confucius’ birth, his mother met a unicorn, which she interpreted as a sign of good luck. Years Years later, when this unicorn died, it was brought to Confucius. Seeing it, he knew that his own death was near.

II

When the acedonian king and con!ueror "le#ander the $reat was a boy boy,, he was the only person to succeed in taming %ucephalus, a vicious horse. "le#ander later rode into many battles on %ucephalus. In some writings and pictures, %ucephalus was depicted as a unicorn, not a horse.

III

In the early &'th century, (ust before the warrior $enghis )han was about to invade India, a unicorn appeared in front of him. )han took this as a warning against invading India and turned his army back.

I*

+he unicorn, of course, is a mythical creature, and these stories are legends. %ut for centuries, people in various cultures believed that unicorns e#isted. +here were also written accounts of unicorn sightings by  people as diverse as an ancient $reek traveller, traveller, the oman general -ulius Caesar and the the Italian e#plorer  arco olo. In addition, as late as the &/00s, unicorns were often included in books about animals. +oday, oday, scholars assume that t hat all of these descriptions were of other, real animals.

*

any myths developed about unicorns. 1ne was that their horns had curative powers. 2nicorn horn was sold as medicine well into the iddle "ges, but it was really the horn of another animal, often of the narwhal, an "rctic whale.

*I

+he unicorn also symbolised strength and royal power, which is why it, along with a lion, is on the oyal Coat of "rms of both the 2nited )ingdom and Scotland.

*I

2nicorns still capture our imagination3 in 40&', the website Craigslist carried an advert for a pair of unicorns available for nearly 54 million. +he seller, claiming to be a unicorn breeder, also offered unicorn eggs. Isn’t that silly6 7veryone knows that real unicorns don’t lay eggs8

I

When he was a child, Alexander the Great ...... . a. began began riding riding into into battle battle on !ceph !cephal!s al!s b. ta"ed ta"ed an an aggre aggressi# ssi#ee horse horse c. !sed !sed #iolen #iolence ce to ta"e ta"e !ce !cepha phal!s l!s d. beca"e beca"e the the $ing $ing o% &ace &acedon donia ia

1. Wh* didn+ didn+tt Genghi Genghiss han in#ad in#adee -ndia -ndia ............................................................................................................... . 2. What is i"plied i"plied b* the the %act that that !nicorns !nicorns were incl!ded incl!ded in boo$s boo$s abo!t abo!t ani"als ani"als ............................................................................................................... . . What did did people people belie#e belie#e !nicorn !nicorn horn had had the abilit* abilit* to do ............................................................................................................... .

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1. Con%!ci!s+ "other belie#ed ..................................................................... ............................................................................................................... . 2. &an* people, incl!ding 4!li!s Caesar, ................................................... ............................................................................................................... . . he !nicorn appears on the /+s Ro*al Coat o% Ar"s beca!se it is ...... ............................................................................................................... .

1. prophetic e#ents or signs (paragraph -) 2. br!tal (paragraph --)

................................................................... ....................................................................

. shown or represented b* drawing (paragraph --) ................................................................... 5. noble (paragraph 9-)

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8. ridic!lo!s (paragraph 9--)

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