Reading Comprehension - Pyramids of Egypt and Muhammad Ali

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Passage 1: Pyramids of Egypt

Read the following 2 passages and choose the best answers:

Each correct choice is worth 1 point

The Pyramids of Egypt were built during 2700-2500 B.C in Giza on the west bank of the Nile and are the most ancient of the Wonders of the World. The first three of the ten pyramids at Giza are considered to be the most important. The first pyramid is the largest and is known as the Great Pyramid. It was built for Pharaoh Khufu, also known as Cheops, and is 450 feet high.

Some people believe that the Cheops Pyramid was built by slaves but this is not true. One hundred thousand people worked on it for three months of each year. This was the time of the Nile’s annual flood which made it impossible to farm the land and most of the population was unemployed. Cheops provided good food and clothing for his workers and was kindly remembered in folk tales for many centuries.

The ‘great’ pyramid itself is truly an astonishing work of engineering skill – for over four thousand years, until the modern era, it was the tallest building in the world. The sides are directed towards the four cardinal points of the compass. Limestone blocks weigh on average 2.5 tons each. But some weigh as much as 16 tons. The Cheops Pyramid was constructed using around 2,300,000 limestone blocks.

When were the Pyramids built?

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Where are they situated?

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Why is the claim that slaves built the Cheops Pyramid not valid?

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How are the sides of the pyramids directed?

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How many are the ancient wonders of the world and what are they? ( Do research)

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Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr. – January 17, 1942) was an American professional boxer and activist. He is widely regarded as one of the most significant and important sports figures of the 20th century. From early in his career, Ali was known as an inspiring figure both inside and outside the ring.

Cassius Clay was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, and began training as a non-professional boxer when he was 12 years old. At age 18, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, after which he became professional later that year. At age 22 in 1964, he won the WBA and WBC heavyweight titles from Sonny Liston. Clay then became a Muslim and changed his name from Cassius Clay, which he called his “slave name”, to Muhammad Ali.

Ali is regarded as one of the leading heavyweight boxers of the 20th century. He remains the only three-time lineal heavyweight champion; he won the title in 1964, 1974, and 1978. Between February 25, 1964, and September 19, 1964, Ali was the undisputed heavyweight champion. He is the only boxer to be named The Ring magazine Fighter of the Year six times. He was ranked as the greatest athlete of the 20th century by Sports Illustrated and the Sports Personality of the Century by the BBC.

As a musician, Ali recorded two spoken word albums and a rhythm and blues song, and received two Grammy Award nominations. As an actor, he performed in several films and a Broadway musical. Ali wrote two autobiographies, one during and one after his boxing career.

As a Muslim, Ali devoted his life to religious and charitable work. In 1984, Ali was diagnosed with Parkinson’s syndrome, which his doctors attributed to boxing-related brain injuries. As the condition worsened, Ali made limited public appearances and was cared for by his family until his death on June 3, 2016 in Scottsdale, Arizona.