Reading Exercises. Multiple choice.

Exercise 1

Read the text and answer the questions below.

Is violence innate?

  In 1983, archaeologists in southern Germany discovered a mass grave containing 34 skeletons. They included 9 adult males, 7 adult females and 16 children.

  All of the skeletons showed signs of fatal trauma, including head wounds. None of them showed any signs of defensive wounds, suggesting they were killed whilst running away.

  The "Talheim Death Pit" dates from the Stone Age, around 7,000 years ago. It offers some of the oldest evidence of organised group violence between two communities: that is, of war.

  Clearly, humans have been fighting wars for thousands of years, and we may not be the only ones. There is growing evidence that several other species also engage in warfare, including our closest relatives the chimpanzees.

  That suggests we have inherited our predilection for warfare from our ape-like ancestors. But not everyone agrees that warfare is inbuilt.



Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.

  1. What did archaeologists in southern Germany discover?
    1. Remains of 34 dead animals
    2. Graveyard containing 34 skeletons
    3. Relics of early civilization
    4. 9 adult males, 7 adult females and 16 children


  2. Why did scientists suggested that those people were killed whilst running away?
    1. Their skeletons showed signs of fatal trauma
    2. There were 16 children
    3. During that period organised group violence was very frequent
    4. Their skeletons didn't show any signs of defensive wounds


  3. Why do human beings fight, according to the article?
    1. Because they have been fighting wars for thousands of years
    2. Because chimpanzees, who are humans' closest relatives, engage in warfare
    3. Because humans inherited predilection for warfare from their ape-like ancestors
    4. Because fighting is their inbuilt instinct


  4. Which of the following phrases best describes the main aim of the Reading Passage?
    1. To describe fighting among different species
    2. To intoduce principles of contemporary archaeology and its application
    3. To introduce some relics of humans' warfare for further discussion whether violence is innate or not
    4. To suggest ways of interperting humans' violence