6 UNIT TEST NAME: Mark:

Optional Reading
Read the text and answer the questions that follow.

The Khan Academy

I James Brown was a ten-year-old student who had always struggled with maths until one day his teacher introduced
Khan Academy into her maths lesson. Suddenly, James began to succeed at maths.
II So what exactly is Khan Academy? Simply put, Khan Academy is an educational website. It provides users with
short video lessons on a wide variety of topics. Today, the academy boasts more than 3,000 video lessons, which
are watched by millions of users from all over the world. In addition, it is already being used in 23 schools in the
United States.
III Khan Academy began as an act of kindness from one family member to another. In 2004, Sal Khan, who was
living in Boston, heard that his cousin Nadia, a student in New Orleans, was struggling with algebra. He agreed to
tutor her remotely by posting video lessons on YouTube. But then Sal began getting e-mails from total strangers
who had come across the videos and started using them with their children. People claimed that the videos had
managed to teach their children concepts that they had been struggling with for months. Inspired by his success,
Khan decided to quit his job and to begin working on the lessons full-time.
IV Khan hopes that his academy will succeed in changing the way maths is taught. He believes that before dealing
with a particular concept in class, students should first study it at home from a Khan video. Once they have studied
the concept at home, they are able to work on problems which test their understanding in class. In other words,
Khan Academy attempts to “flip” or change the way lessons work. Students do what was traditionally thought of
as “schoolwork” in their own time and what we used to think of as “homework” in school hours.
V It is hard to know whether Khan Academy will succeed in transforming maths education. But one thing is clear, if
Sal Khan has his way, maths lessons will be changing.

1 Choose the correct answer. (2 points)

The writer believes that ...... .
a. Khan Academy may change maths education
b. Sal Khan’s dream will definitely come true
c. Khan Academy won’t be successful in the future
d. “flipping” the classroom is a great idea

2 Decide if the following sentences are true (T) or false (F). Find evidence in the text to justify your answers.
(4 x 3 = 12 points)
...... 1. Khan Academy is only popular in the United States.
........................................................................................................
........................................................................................................
...... 2. Sal and Nadia lived in different cities.
........................................................................................................
........................................................................................................
...... 3. Sal Khan started posting videos on YouTube in order to change the way maths was taught.
........................................................................................................
........................................................................................................
...... 4. Sal Khan doesn’t believe in homework.
........................................................................................................
........................................................................................................

1
 6 UNIT TEST

3 Complete the sentences. (2 x 3 = 6 points)

1. Khan decided to work full-time on Khan Academy because ...................
............................................................................................................... .
2. Khan calls his method “flipping” the classroom because ........................
............................................................................................................... .

4 Find words or expressions in the text that mean the same as: (5 x 1 = 5 points)
1. do well (paragraph I) ...................................................................
2. large (paragraph II) ...................................................................
3. having difficulties (paragraph III) ...................................................................
4. discovered (paragraph III) ...................................................................
5. certain (paragraph V) ...................................................................