499C0076
Wen-hsien Wang(王文仙)
Language testing & assessment Class
Peng-ling Nieh
17 Dec. 2012
Reading Evaluation
A. Propose
The goal of reading tests is for assessing students whether can
concentrate their attention on an article or not. Firstly, they need to read
whole passages and comprehend what the article talk about. Second,
after they read the article, they need to speculate on unfamiliar words
form contexts. Last, some test items are after the article. Students would
make better use of understanding to complete all items testing.
B. Level: Suggest for second grade of senior high school students.
C. Time: Roughly 30 minutes
Reading Tests
Name:
Score:
※Please read the article and complete following sections.
While deserts are generally thought of as large expanses of sand
with ludicrously high temperatures, this is only partly true. A desert is
defined as any area which is not suitable for human habitation. Thus,
much of the land designated as “desert” in the world falls into the
category of “desert of the cold,” land near the poles, where lack of heat
makes it difficult for almost all forms of life to survive. And in fact, even
the more well-known deserts, referred to as deserts of dryness, reach
extremely cold temperatures at night; they have an extremely wide
range of temperature. The Sahara desert in Northern Africa can exhibit
an astonishing 100 Fahrenheit degree change in a 24-hour span.
A more important similarity between deserts of dryness and desert
of cold is a lack of moisture, which threatens all forms of life, except
specially adapted plants, classified as xerophytic. In deserts of dryness,
lack of moisture is generally the result of infrequent rainfall. However, a
somewhat cyclical effect exacerbates the condition: because the area is
so dry, when rain does fall, it is quickly absorbed by the ground and lost,
or sometimes, even evaporated before it reaches the ground. Deserts of
cold, on the other hand, lack moisture because water in those areas
exists only in the form of ice for the majority of the year. As with deserts
of dryness, a cyclical effect of extremes occurs. During the period of the
year when the temperature is high enough for water to exist in its liquid
form, the accumulated ice proves to be too great a quantity, melting to
form an excess of water. This actually has the same effect as a lack of
water when there is an excess. Still, some varieties of xerophytic plants
can survive in these conditions.
(A)accumulate (B)exacerbate (C)excess
(F)evaporate (G)ludicrous (H)span
(D)xerophyte (E)moisture
(I)cyclical
(J)habitation
I. Match each word with its definition form the bold box. 50%
(This section just needs to write down codes.)
1.Ludicrous - stupid or unreasonable and deserving to be laughed at
2.Accumula - to collect a large number of things over a long period of
time
3.exacerbat - to make something which is already bad worse
4.evaporate- to cause a liquid to change to a gas, especially by heating
5.Xerophyte- any plant adapted to life in a dry or physiologically dry
habitat.
II. Choose appropriate words from the bold box and fill into blanks to
finish sentences. 50%
6. Julia jogs every morning to get rid of her ssssssssss weight.
7. Changes in the economy have followed a ssssssssss pattern.
8. Over a short ssssssssss of three years a surprising amount has
beenachieved.
9. There was no sign of ssssssssss as far as the eye could see.
10. The sun will take the ssssssssss out of the clothes.
D. Items answers
1. 2. 3. 4.
G
A
B
F
5.
D
6.
7.
8.
9.
10
excess cyclical span habitation moisture
E. Summary
Advantage:
1. This article can let students know more about deserts. Generally,
people talk about “desert” that are associated with hot weather. But
in some high latitude areas, their deserts temperatures are lower and
cold.
2. The test items type is “fill out”. Testers can know students’ learning
state from their respondence. If students can’t choose appropriate
words to complete correct sentences, that means they don’t
understand words definitions.
Disadvantage:
1. Item tests can add some multiple choice that can ask some questions
like, ”what does the passage mainly discuss? ”, ” the main reason for
lack of water in deserts of cold?” Because the test just focuses on
taking vocabulary test, that is quite narrow. Testers also need to know
students whether understand some details about the article.
F. References
Online dictionaries – Yahoo, Cambridge, Longman, Britannica
2007-2009 English Reading 查全淑 著 – Test 19