I.S.P. "Dr. Joaqun V.

Gonzlez"
Departamento de Ingls
Curso de Consolidacin
Docente a cargo: Lic. Daniela Fiorina
Name: .

Reading Comprehension Exercise # 207

Below the passage, you will find a number of questions or unfinished statements about the
passage, each with four suggested answers or ways of finishing. You must choose the
one which you think fits best. Give one answer only to each question. Show your choice
by circling a letter. Read the passage right through before choosing your answers.

Seeing the wreck for the first time, under the great arc of a sunny sky on that level shore, I
was initially struck by its remoteness. Here was the focus of those weeks of discussions, of
seemingly endless careful planning: a slightly projecting, elongated outline.
The warmth of the day meant that many holidaymakers were about, and our equipment
rapidly attracted them to the site, unmistakeable with its brilliant orange markers, each
attached to a steel post. These posts marked off the four corners of our working area, and
were linked by a rope to keep it clear of curious sightseers.
Many structural features of the wreck which would normally have been visible were
obscured by the sand, which was not only right up to but even above the upper gun deck.
We went to work immediately the first low tide made a start possible, and set up our basic
survey line running down the middle of the wreck from bow to stern. As we set about
measuring the sides of the ship in their relation to the survey line, the Amsterdam
emerged as a vessel of substance, and more so when the members of the team had scoured
her aged timbers free from mussel shells ad seaweed.
All this activity attracted an increasing number of sightseers, whose interest was natural
and welcome, since the more people who were moved to understand what we were about,
the better it was for archaeology in general and for the future preservation of the
Amsterdam in particular. However, there were also predatory souvenir hunters who were
most disappointed by our merely taking elaborate measurements, with no apparent intention
of digging up more objects.

1. When he first saw the wreck of the Amsterdam the author was impressed
A.
B.
C.
D.

its accessibility from the shore.

the crowds of people round it.
the effect of its outline against the sky.
its apparent isolation.

2. The holidaymakers on the beach were

A.
B.
C.
D.

confined within a roped-off area.

discouraged from entering a roped-off area.
confined to the upper part of the wreck.
kept well away from the orange markers.

3. Work on the wreck was made difficult by

A.
B.
C.
D.

the
the
the
the

slope of the beach.

height of the ship.
position of the sand.
strength of the tide.

4. The Amsterdam had been

A.
B.
C.
D.

a
a
a
a

submarine.
warship.
passenger liner.
fishing boat.