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Reading Sample Questions—Level 3

Item Types: (1) Recognizing main ideas; (2) Locating explicit details; (3) Inferring meanings of words

Read the definitions from two different dictionaries.

Radburn layout In town planning and urban studies, a planned urban layout, developed by Clarence Stein, applied in Radburn, New Jersey, USA in 1928, which separates pedestrians from cars and trucks by arranging "superblocks" of housing, shops, offices, schools, etc., around a central green. Each superblock has its outer roads, off which come service cul–de–sacs. The central green or pedestrian space has pedestrian access only, either by underground passages or surface walks.

Adapted from Audrey N. Clark, Longman Dictionary of Geography. ©1985 by Longman, Inc.

Radburn layout A style of residential layout pioneered at Radburn, New Jersey (USA) between 1928 and 1933 and later widely adopted in the planning of postwar housing areas in Britain, particularly in new towns and expanded towns. Its main features include the separation of pedestrian and car traffic, housing facing onto open space and gardens and with car access to the rear, loop roads, and cul-de-sacs. In the British postwar new towns, the Radburn principles were clearly evident in the detailed plans of neighborhood units.

Adapted from John Small and Michael Witherick, A Modern Dictionary of Geography. ©1995 by E. Arnold.

1. Based on the two passages, the most important feature of the Radburn layout is the
empty box A. use of underground passages.
checked box B. separation of car and pedestrian traffic.
empty box C. building of houses so that they face the street.
empty box D. use of cul-de-sacs for pedestrians.

2. Which information appears in both dictionaries?
empty box A. The plan was developed by Clarence Stein.
empty box B. The plan was widely used in Britain.
checked box C. The plan made use of cul-de-sacs.
empty box D. The plan included underground passages.

3. As it is used in the first paragraph, the highlighted word "surface" means
empty box A. the part of something that you can see.
empty box B. a smooth area, like a tabletop.
empty box C. outward appearance.
checked box D. at the level of the ground.