Just short of its 200th birthday, a landmark natural history museum shuts down

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

B2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the questions, then listen before opening the transcript. Notice names, numbers and any corrections the speaker makes.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What happened outside the museum during its closing?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Only former staff members gathered there
   2. People combined celebration, sadness, and protest
   3. Visitors were prevented from entering
   4. University officials announced a reopening
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   People combined celebration, sadness, and protest

   The closing involved both emotional reactions and organized public action.

   Outside the building, the closing created an unusual mixture of celebration, sadness, and public protest.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What did activists distribute?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Tickets and scientific reports
   2. Books and museum maps
   3. Petitions and flyers
   4. Photographs and family records
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Petitions and flyers

   The recording specifically names two materials distributed by activists.

   Visitors waited in line while activists distributed petitions and flyers calling to “Save the Academy.”

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What did former staff members do?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. They organized a new exhibition
   2. They returned to support the campaign
   3. They accepted positions at Drexel
   4. They collected admission revenue
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   They returned to support the campaign

   Former employees returned to show support for the preservation campaign.

   Former staff members also returned to support the campaign.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How successful was the online petition?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It collected fewer than one thousand signatures
   2. It received exactly 20,000 signatures
   3. It collected more than 114,000 signatures
   4. It was rejected before collecting signatures
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It collected more than 114,000 signatures

   Its large number of signatures indicates substantial public support.

   An online petition collected more than 114,000 signatures.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Who took financial responsibility for the Academy in 2011?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The city of Philadelphia
   2. Drexel University
   3. A group of former staff members
   4. The campaign organizers
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Drexel University

   The sentence identifies Drexel University as the responsible institution.

   Drexel University, which took financial responsibility for the Academy in 2011, said that costs had increased after the pandemic while attendance had fallen.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Compared with the previous September, how high was final-month revenue?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Slightly lower
   2. Exactly twice as high
   3. More than 20 times higher
   4. Almost unchanged
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   More than 20 times higher

   The recording gives a specific comparison showing an exceptional increase.

   Attendance rose sharply during the museum’s final weeks, and revenue was more than 20 times higher than in September of the previous year.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why did the increased revenue fail to save the museum?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The museum had already lost its scientific collection
   2. The increase occurred too late
   3. Visitors stopped attending suddenly
   4. The petition required additional funding
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The increase occurred too late

   The financial improvement arrived too late to reverse the closure.

   However, the late surge was not enough to prevent the closure.

What to review next

Listen again to difficult sections, then open the transcript to check what you heard. Repeat a useful phrase aloud and try the recording once more without the text.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Listen for the final information, especially when a speaker corrects or changes an earlier statement.

Example transcript: “Let’s meet at five — actually, half past five would be better.” What is the final suggested time?

The final suggested time is 5:30. Actually signals a correction; the first time is replaced by the later suggestion.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.