Reading test: The death of the US shopping mall

In this week's reading comprehension activity we are going to read a BBC article by Jonathan Glancey about the decline of shopping malls in US, The death of the US shopping mall. It will help us practise the multiple choice kind of task.

Drop by the BBC website by clicking on this link and read the article The death of the US shopping mall. Say which option a, b or c best completes the sentence or answers the question 1-7. 0 is an example.

Example:

0 Many shopping malls look

a) frightening because they don’t have enough light.

b) like Romero’s film set.

c) sinister after Romero’s film.

1 Which sentence is true, according to the text?

a) Ghost malls are thriving all over the US.

b) Shopping malls are victims of changing shopping patterns.

c) The economic recession is the reason for the decline of the mall.

2 The first US malls

a) had a kitsch design.

b) were intended to be in city centres.

c) were thought to be the heart of new communities.

3 Gruen’s Southdale Center in Edina

a) started a new concept of the shopping centre.

b) was built in a momentous year in  American history.

c) was surrounded by homes, schools, lakes and parks.

4 The Cloverleaf Mall in Chesterfield

a) closed down because it lost its appeal for customers.

b) was closed down for purely economic reasons.

c) was the first one to close down in almost one and half centuries.

5 Many Americans

a) are in favour of knocking down the malls.

b) are worried about abandoned shopping malls.

c) have a hedonistic approach to life.

6 Which sentence is true according to the text?

a) St Peter’s in Rome is bigger than the King of Prussia Mall.

b) The cost of living in the US is higher than in Bangladesh.

c) The location of large malls is unpredictable.

7 Ghost malls

a) are the result of social and economic trends.

b) have been used to set books and films.

c) will be visited by tourists one day.

Source: BBC and architecturalafterlife.com

Key:

1B 2C 3A 4A 5B 6C 7A