APTIS Reading Part 4: Sample questions, answers and strategy

This article will help you answer APTIS reading part IV: Long Text Comprehension questions more effectively.

The fourth part of the APTIS reading is called Long Text Comprehension and consists of a reading of approximately 750 words. The text consists of eight paragraphs. With the paragraphs, you have eight headings. The task is to match seven of the headings with seven of the paragraphs that comprise the text.

The object of part 4 is to test your ability to understand long texts and to test if you can summarise the paragraphs by using the headings you are given. To complete the task correctly, you will need to have a good knowledge of how paragraphs are constructed. You will also need a wide vocabulary to match synonyms and similar phrases in the text and the headings.

For the further details please visit British Council website here.

An example of reading part 4 is below.

APTIS Reading Part 4: Example Question #1

Part 4: Read the text. Match the headings (A-I) to the paragraphs. The answer to question 0 is an example. There is one heading that you will not use.

(0) The FIFA World Cup is a highly-anticipated international sporting event that happens every four years. International football players, or soccer as it is called in North America, spend their whole careers training for the opportunity to represent their country. Even citizens who are not the biggest sports fans proudly wear their national colours to cheer on their team. It is quite difficult not to be swept up in the excitement.

(1) The inaugural competition was held in Uruguay in 1930. However, it was far smaller than the present day. Firstly, only thirteen teams participated, with the majority of those being from South America. Moreover, all matches were held in the capital, Montevideo, across the city’s three stadiums. While two of these existed prior to the event, they could only accommodate 10,000 to 20,000 people. Due to this, a third, Estadio Centenario, was built for an audience of 4.5 times the capacity of its predecessors. The tournament culminated in a heated final between the host country and Argentina in front of 68,000 live supporters. On home soil, Uruguay became the first World Cup champion.

(2) The World Cup looks quite different today. Most remarkably, it has expanded to include a thirty-two-team roster, representing all continents. Given this vast increase in participants, it is unrealistic for all matches to be held in a singular city. The past two tournaments, in Brazil and Russia respectively, saw the inclusion of twelve different stadiums, often thousands of miles apart from one another. What’s more, is the size of these venues. Official regulations do not permit the grounds to hold less than 45,000 fans. Unlike its modest origin, the event is widely watched and looked forward to by billions of people worldwide. During the most recent games in Russia 2018, it is estimated that the final match between France and Croatia drew in over a billion viewers.

(3) The tournament has seen participants from every corner of the globe. It has been hosted in 17 different countries on four different continents. The organization embraced its first appearance in Africa in South Africa in 2010, while Qatar is set to become the first Middle-Eastern country to host the tournament in 2022. Under some circumstances, joint countries may co-host as Japan and South Korea did in 2002, and the United States, Canada and Mexico will in 2026. There have also been some notable guests along the way. For instance, the world’s smallest nation to join in on the fun was Iceland, a nation with only 300,000 inhabitants.

(4) What would sports be without superlatives? Brazil is the current titleholder for most World Cups, with a grand total of 5. This South American nation is also the only country to have participated in every single tournament since its inception. If coming in second place had an awards category, Germany would take the lead with eight appearances in the finals, only having won 50% of those matches. Some other important achievements include performances by great athletes including Brazil’s Pele, who won the most World Cup trophies by a single player, and Argentina’s Maradona, who had the most appearances as a captain.

(5) Hosting the event is meant to have several financial benefits, including a boost of tourism and the creation of jobs in the industrial and service sectors. However, economic waste can follow soon after. Let’s consider the 2014 games as an example, where Brazil spent nearly $15 billion on developing infrastructure. Shortly after the event, it was reported that several of the multi-million-dollar stadiums were shut down due to poor construction or have been repurposed as parking lots or unsuccessful party locations. Likewise, poor planning of stadium placement has also caused venues in the Amazon region to sit vacant without the possibility of local teams or musical artists to use them.

(6) Although Qatar has learned from Brazil’s infrastructure problem and vows to donate parts of their unused stadiums to developing countries after the event, the Middle Eastern nation has experienced its own share of criticism. Boiling temperatures reaching 45 degrees Celsius have been the reason for the shift of the traditionally summer-based tournament to a winter one for the first time in history. From a tourism perspective, guests will have to get used to the absence of readily-available alcoholic beverages and fewer attractions than in previous host nations. Furthermore, several human rights complaints such as the treatment of migrant workers, the illegal status of homosexuality and its political disconnection to other Middle Eastern nations are also areas of concern.

(7) The issues in Qatar only scratch the surface of what is to come. In 2026, the tournament format will increase from 32 to 48 teams. This modification will help to diversify the event, granting countries who may not have otherwise qualified the chance to participate. Additionally, as the world continues to grow and change, FIFA should continue to focus more efforts to make the games more sustainable and ethical.

A. Inclusivity of Nations

B. Controversial Issues

C. The Tournament in Modern Day

D. Overall enthusiasm

E. Record Holders

F. Economic Strain

G. An Uncertain Situation

H. The Future of The World Cup

I. Humble Beginnings

0. D

1. _____

2. _____

3. _____

4. _____

5. _____

6. _____

7. _____

Exam Techniques- How to answer the question

· Read the text quickly (scan). You are not trying to understand the whole test but just get a general idea. Remember, if you take too much time reading you will not be able to complete the task.

· Do not worry if you cannot understand a word. Decide what type of word it is. i.e. a verb, adjective, adverb, noun. Ask yourself, is it positive or negative? Then decide if it is important to understanding the sentence/text.

For example:

The inaugural competition was held in Uruguay in 1930.

The word ‘inaugural’ is an adjective (which means ‘first’) but is not important to the overall meaning of the sentence.

Analyse the Headings

· Look at the headings and underline the keywords. Keywords are the words that carry the meaning of the sentence.

The word will probably not be repeated in the text and so you will also need to think of synonyms or expressions that mean the same thing.

Example:

A. Inclusivity of Nations

We can guess that inclusivity is related to the verb ‘include’ (it is the noun form). This is the keyword. The paragraph inclusivity refers to, will talk about including other countries.

B. Controversial Issues

Controversial relates to things which are difficult to accept or which causes people to argue. The paragraph will refer to these problems but may use words which have a similar meaning to ‘controversial’.

Understanding the Text- The Topic Sentence(s)

In a standard piece of non-fiction English, a paragraph normally has a ‘topic sentence’. Sometimes it may cover more than one sentence, but you will find a ‘topic’ and a ‘controlling idea’. This is nor as complicated as it sounds. Look at the example.

Example:

Cats make excellent pets.

Here the topic is ‘cats’ and the controlling idea is that they ‘make excellent pets.’ The rest of the paragraph will discuss why/how/why not? And will give examples, reasons and arguments against this idea. There should not be anything in this paragraph about the history of cats or what they eat (unless it is related to ‘make excellent pets’).

Paragraph 1 begins:

The inaugural competition was held in Uruguay in 1930. However, it was far smaller than the present day.

The topic is the first FIFA World Cup. We see the synonym: ‘competition’.

The controlling idea is ‘it was far smaller than present-day’.

Looking at the list of headings, we can see that letter I- ‘Humble Beginnings’ is the correct answer because it refers to the first World Cup (beginnings) and the fact that it was modest or small (humble).

Paragraph 2 begins:

The World Cup looks quite different today. Most remarkably, it has expanded to include a thirty-two-team roster, representing all continents

Here the topic is again the World Cup and the controlling idea is that it is different today.

Looking at the list of headings, we can see that letter C- ‘The Tournament in the Modern Day’ is the correct answer because it refers to the World Cup (The Tournament) and the fact that it is quite different today.

Paragraph 3 begins:

The tournament has seen participants from every corner of the globe.

The topic is once again the World Cup and the controlling idea is that countries from all around the world play in it.

If we look at headings, we can see that letter A- ‘The Inclusivity of Nations’ is the correct answer because it once again refers to the World Cup (The Tournament) and that countries from all around the world (every corner of the globe) play or are included in it.

The topic sentence is usually at the beginning of the paragraph and you should look at the first one or two sentences carefully because they will give you a strong indication of the correct answer. The rest of the paragraph will give you additional information and it is a good idea to scan it to get an idea of what it says and help confirm that you are correct.

When you have finished, check that you have matched all the paragraphs and headings and that they all look correct. Remember that if one match looks wrong then at least two questions could be incorrect.

APTIS Reading Part 4: Example Question #2

Part 4: Read the text. Match the headings (A-I) to the paragraphs. The answer to question 0 is an example. There is one heading that you will not use.

(0) When you think of pizza, you probably envision a circular pie with tomato sauce, cheese and pepperoni. However, this wasn’t always the form it took. There are references to a bread served with toppings such as cheese and mushrooms dating back to ancient Greece and Rome. A mention of this meal is even mentioned in Virgil’s literary classic, The Aeneid, where the men feast on vegetable-topped bread.

(1) Although people have been enjoying a version of pizza since ancient times, modern pizza has its beginnings in Naples, Italy, dating back to the 18th century. Many people lived in poverty and needed food that was inexpensive to prepare and quick to consume. Tomatoes were a new commodity to Europe, and they were a cheap topping to add on to oven-baked flatbread. Other ingredients included lard, garlic and horse cheese. Due to the population’s on-the-go lifestyle, this food was often sold in the streets and eaten standing up.

(2) Despite this dish being associated with the lower class, a shift in opinion occurred with King Umberto I and Queen Margherita visited the city in 1889. The pair were given an assortment of pizzas to try, but the one that won the Queen over included basil, mozzarella and tomato sauce. She loved it so much that they named the pizza after her- the Margherita. Asides from the delicious combination of flavours, the colours on the pizza represent the green, white and red of the Italian flag. Shortly after the royal couple tried this regional specialty, it became a national dish.

(3) Furthermore, Italian immigrants took this recipe with them to the United States of America in the 20th century. The first pizzeria was said to have opened up in New York in 1905, fewer than 20 years after its fame in Italy. Similar restaurants in Italian-American communities began to pop up shortly after. However, the craving for pizza did not stop there. When American soldiers returned home from World War II, they desired the taste of the European delicacy they had become accustomed to while abroad. Soon, restaurants all over the nation were offering pizza on their menus.

(4) As the world became more globalized, a variety of changes to suit local tastes were introduced, much to the disapproval of the original Neapolitan founders. Moving away from the traditional shape is Chicago’s deep-dish style pizza. This dish resembles a pie, where ingredients are layered in a cake pan and baked for over 30 minutes. Some of these modifications have become internationally recognized. The infamous Hawaiian style pizza, topped with pineapple and ham, was actually invented by a Greek-immigrant in Canada in the 1960s as a unique measure to attract more customers.

(5) In addition to its ingredients, pizza also adapted to modern society. Chain restaurants, such as Pizza Hut and Dominos, began in the early 1960s and have spread around the world. The latter is even associated with the popularization of pizza delivery. It’s no surprise that today, Dominos operates in over 90 countries around the world. Concurrently, the invention of frozen pizza made its debut around this time. Consumers were now able to purchase a box of ready-made pizza from their local supermarket and heat it up at home at their leisure and convenience.

(6) The admiration for pizza did not stop in people’s stomachs. Like its mention in classical literature, it even made it onto the big screen. Who could forget Julia Roberts in Eat, Pray, Love when she tastes pizza in Naples and professes her love for it? Even fictional characters, like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were also quite fond of this meal.

(7) Today, its popularity is undisputed and you can find pizza all over the world. While ordering pineapple on a pizza will be met with disgust in Italy, Naples is making an effort to maintain the original form’s authenticity. In an effort to preserve the sanctity of its beloved dish, Italy has passed some laws claiming what truly qualifies as a Neapolitan pizza. This legislation specifically outlines the type of ingredients, oven and temperatures used to make the dish. Despite this, regional pizzas such as the thin-crust version in the Apulian region, or the square-cut Roman style are still allowed to exist without protest.

A. Protecting a Legacy

B. Modern Origins

C. International Expansion

D. Ancient Versions

E. Pizza in Pop Culture

F. Important Ingredients

G. Flavour Modifications

H. Changed Perspectives

I. Convenient Innovations