After inventing dynamite, Swedish-born Alfred Nobel became a very rich man. However, he foresaw its universally destructive powers too late. Nobel preferred not to be remembered as the inventor of dynamite, so in 1985, just two weeks before his death, he created a fund to be used for awarding prizes to people who had made worthwhile contributions to humanity. Originally, there were five awards: literature, physics, chemistry, medicine, and peace. Economics was added in 1968, just sixty-seven years after the first awards ceremony. Nobels original legacy of nine million dollars was invested, and the interest on this sum is used for the awards which vary from $30,000 to $125,000. Every year on 10 December, the anniversary of Nobels death, the awards (gold medal, illuminated diploma, and money) are presented to the winners. Sometimes politics plays an important role in the judges decisions. Americans have won numerous science awards, but relatively few literature prizes. No awards were presented from 1940 to 1942 at the beginning of World War II. Some people have won two prizes, but this is rare; others have shared their prizes.

1) The word foresaw in sentence 2 is nearest in meaning to (i) prevailed

(ii) postponed

(iii) prevented

(iv) predicted

2) The Nobel Prize was established in order to

(i) recognize worthwhile contributions to humanity (ii) resolve political differences

(iii) honour the inventor of dynamite

(iv) spend money

3) In which area have Americans received the most awards? (i) Literature

(ii) Peace

(iii) Economics

(iv) Science

4) All of the following statements are true EXCEPT

(i) awards vary in monetary value

(ii) ceremonies are held on 10 December to commemorate Nobels invention (iii) politics plays an important role in selecting the winners

(iv) a few individuals have won two awards

5) As of now, in how many fields are prizes presented? (i) 2

(ii) 5

(iii) 6

(iv) 10

6) It is implied that Nobels profession was in (i) economics

(ii) medicine

(iii) literature

(iv) science

7) In sentence 3, worthwhile is closest in meaning to (i) economic

(ii) prestigious

(iii) trivial

(iv) valuable

8) How much money did Nobel leave for the prizes? (i) $30,000

(ii) $125,000

(iii) $155,000

(iv) $9,000,000

9) What is the main idea of this passage?

(i) Alfred Nobel became very rich when he invented dynamite.

(ii) Alfred Nobel created awards in six categories for contributions to humanity. (iii) Alfred Nobel left all his money to science.

(iv) Alfred Nobel made a lasting contribution to humanity.

10) The word legacy in sentence 6 means most nearly the same as (i) legend

(ii) bequest (iii) prize (iv) debt