Academic Reading 8
HOW BORING IS FAKENHAM?
Dictionaries are clear about, the meaning of ‘boring’ — “causing boredom, tedious”. Boring means something so uninteresting and dull that sleep is the only escape. Fakenham in Norfolk, England, is a rural market town with roots in the printing industry and allegedly the most boring place in Britain. A local resident who let his controversial views loose on the Internet has whipped up a storm of protest from the majority of Fakenham’s local people. At the time that the accusation appeared on an Internet page, newspapers and radio stations picked up the story. In retaliation, Fakenham had its own web site designed to explain the town’s many virtues. In view of the information on this page, showing Fakenham as being steeped in history and with a remarkably clean river running through it, it seems an attractive place to visit. The riverside walks pass through wildflower meadows, where rare orchids grow in abundance and wildlife, such as the kingfisher, thrives. The town may lack a night club, which prompted the original accusation, but there is a new cinema, a bowling alley, a race course and plenty of pubs, cafes and antique shops. According to the owner of one of the cafes, The Dancing Goat, Fakenham is a wonderful little town and places are only as interesting or boring as people make them.
1- From the statements given in the passage, it appears that Fakenham’s own web site …….. .
A) hasn’t been much appreciated by most of its residents
B) puts the most emphasis on its cafes in order to attract visitors
C) has been designed by one of its residents who really loves the town
D) has been visited by a lot of curious Internet users
E) has managed to arouse a liking in the author for the town
2- Most residents of Fakenham ………. .
A) disagreed with the creator of the story on the Internet
B) think in the same way as one resident has explained on the radio
C) profited from the publicity of their town so extensively
D) published newspaper articles about the town’s virtues
E) long for cafes, cinemas, pubs and night clubs being opened in their town
3- From the whole of the passage, we can assume that the author ……….. .
A) thinks that Fakenham is the most tedious place in the world
B) has never actually been in Fakenham
C) was the person who originally started the controversy
D) owns a cafe in Fakenham called The Dancing Goat’
E) designed a web site for Fakenham to reveal its virtues
1. E
2. A
3. B