More Than $6 Billion in Cryptocurrency Stolen From Binance in Record Cyber Heist

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

C2. 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 passage for its main idea, then return to the relevant sentence or paragraph for each question. Base answers on the passage.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What is the article’s principal purpose?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To explain cryptocurrency trading mechanics in detail
   2. To assess the theft’s scale and the uncertainty surrounding responsibility
   3. To prove North Korea directed the operation
   4. To compare all previous cybercrimes statistically
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To assess the theft’s scale and the uncertainty surrounding responsibility

   It contextualizes the theft’s scale while separating established facts from speculation.

   The distinction between suspicion and proof is therefore central.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does “stands apart” imply about the reported theft?

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   1. It is unusually significant by comparison
   2. It occurred outside cryptocurrency markets
   3. It involved physical currency exclusively
   4. It was caused by ordinary market volatility
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It is unusually significant by comparison

   The phrase marks the theft as exceptional even within a volatile field.

   By the reported value of the assets involved, the theft stands apart even in a field accustomed to sudden and exceptionally large financial movements.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article discuss cryptocurrency price volatility?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To dispute that any assets were stolen
   2. To explain the valuation’s limitations
   3. To identify the attackers’ trading strategy
   4. To show that markets caused the intrusion
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To explain the valuation’s limitations

   Volatility clarifies what the reported dollar amount actually measures.

   Cryptocurrency prices can rise and fall sharply, sometimes within short periods, so a dollar figure expresses the estimated value of the stolen holdings rather than a quantity of physical cash.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What relationship does the fourth paragraph establish?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Digital methods eliminate financial consequences
   2. Unusual methods can still produce concrete economic harm
   3. Conventional robberies always exceed cyber heists
   4. Economic effects determine criminal identity
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Unusual methods can still produce concrete economic harm

   It contrasts digital methods with consequences that remain economically real.

   Yet the economic implications are tangible.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does “that suspicion” refer to?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The belief that prices fluctuate rapidly
   2. The belief that Binance is prominent
   3. The belief that North Korea was involved
   4. The belief that technical traces are reliable
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The belief that North Korea was involved

   The phrase points back to the allegation of North Korean involvement.

   Many suspect the country may be behind the operation, but that suspicion has not been established as fact.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Why does the article mention safeguards?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. To highlight expectations placed on asset-handling institutions
   2. To identify the precise security failure
   3. To recommend replacing digital assets
   4. To establish the attackers’ nationality
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   To highlight expectations placed on asset-handling institutions

   The reference broadens the issue from missing assets to institutional responsibility.

   A loss on this scale can draw attention not only to the missing assets but also to the safeguards expected of institutions that handle them.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   Which conclusion best follows from the article’s final paragraph?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Financial losses are impossible to verify
   2. Attribution may lag behind recognition of harm
   3. Digital finance is inherently illegitimate
   4. North Korea has been formally identified
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Attribution may lag behind recognition of harm

   The ending juxtaposes clear financial damage with uncertain attribution.

   Responsibility, by contrast, remains unresolved.

8. Question 8 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   How is the article organized overall?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Chronologically, from intrusion to prosecution
   2. By presenting scale, interpreting value, then examining responsibility
   3. As a debate between two named investigators
   4. By listing competing cryptocurrency technologies
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   By presenting scale, interpreting value, then examining responsibility

   It moves from scale and valuation to methods, attribution, and broader implications.

   The episode illustrates a broader feature of digital finance: institutions that enable the exchange of virtual assets can become exceptionally important targets, while the attribution of a sophisticated attack may remain uncertain long after the financial impact is clear.

What to review next

Find the words that support each answer. For a mistake, compare the question with the evidence and identify the detail or inference you missed.

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

Look for evidence in the text. Separate what the writer says from what you already know about the topic.

The library normally closes at six, but on Fridays it stays open until eight. When does it close on Friday?

The answer is eight. But introduces an exception to the normal closing time, so the first time mentioned is not the answer.

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.