This is a reading comprehension lesson to test
your ability to understand information written in
English. Read the information below
and then answer the 5 test questions.
Hey
if you cannot understand something on this page,
then use the Fun Easy English
dictionary
(opens in a new window)
Holiday:World AIDS Day
World AIDS Day, observed on 1 December every year,
is dedicated to raising awareness of the AIDS pandemic
caused by the spread of HIV infection. Government and health
officials observe the day, often with speeches or forums on
the AIDS topics. Since 1995, the President of the United
States has made an official proclamation on World AIDS Day.
Governments of other nations have followed suit and issued
similar announcements.
AIDS has killed more than 25 million people between 1981 and
2007, and an estimated 33.2 million people worldwide live
with HIV as of 2007, making it one of the most destructive
epidemics in recorded history. Despite recent, improved
access to antiretroviral treatment and care in many regions
of the world, the AIDS epidemic claimed an estimated 2
million lives in 2007, of which about 270,000 were children.
World AIDS Day was first conceived in August 1987 by James
W. Bunn and Thomas Netter, two public information officers
for the Global Programme on AIDS at the World Health
Organization in Geneva, Switzerland. Bunn and Netter took
their idea to Dr. Jonathan Mann, Director of the Global
Programme on AIDS (now known as UNAIDS). Dr. Mann liked the
concept, approved it, and agreed with the recommendation
that the first observance of World AIDS Day should be 1
December 1988.
Some people have referred to AIDS as the plague of the
modern world. In fact AIDS and the Black Death pandemic,
which swept through Europe in the middle of the 14th
century, are completely different except for each
resulting in the deaths of millions of people. Hopefully
this modern day pandemic will be wiped out in the
future.
Test:
Reading Comprehension
World AIDS Day
Read
the information above. In the test questions
below choose which is the best answer for each
question. There are 10 questions. Good luck.
1. World AIDS Day is
dedicated to raising which of the following?
a. awareness
b. money
c. food
d. sympathy
2. The President of the
United States has made an official proclamation on World
AIDS Day since which year?
a. 1995
b. 1985
c. 1975
d. 2005
3. Between 1981 and
2007 AIDS killed how many people?
a. more than 35 million
b. more than 25 million
c. more than 45 million
d. more than 55 million
4. AIDS is one of the
most destructive epidemics in which of the following?
a. last thirty years
b. recorded history
c. last twenty years
d. ancient history
5. The AIDS epidemic
claimed how many lives in 2007?
a. an estimated 1 million
b. an estimated 2 million
c. an estimated 3 million
d. an estimated 4 million
