Choose the only right answer to the questions.

Name___________                                                                   Form 11 «А»

 

Thursday, the thirtieth of April

Listening Comprehension Test

 

Listen to the interview and for questions 1 - 7, choose the answer (1, 2 or 3) which you think fits best according to the text. Write the appropriate number (1, 2 or 3) on your answer sheet.

 

Catherine mainly gets inspired for her novels from

    1) things that happen in her personal life.

    2) unimportant new stories.

    3) major events in the local area.

 

The example of the shopping centre shows that, before writing, Catherine

    1) interviews a lot of people.

    2) does a lot of background research.

    3) imagines a complete story.

 

Catherine says her characters

    1) can be identified by the people they’re based on.

    2) are exact copies of people she has known.

    3) are only loosely based on real people.

 

Catherine is more likely to create a character based on a real person’s

    1) history.

    2) appearance.

    3) view of the world.

 

There is a chance that

    1) Catherine will give a talk about making films.

    2) a company will buy the film rights to Fire at Dawn.

    3) there will be a film version of Fire at Dawn.

 

Catherine does not want

    1) to be involved in making the film.

    2) someone else to write the screenplay.

    3) the plot to be altered in a major way.

 

Catherine believes that

    1) the stories in the book and film should be the same.

    2) film and literature are extremely different media.

    3) films based on books are usually annoying.

 

Tuesday, the fifth of May

Reading Comprehension Test

Read the text

 

YOU CAN ALWAYS SPOT A TYPICAL AMERICAN.

You can always spot Americans abroad by their toughness. It comes from their sense of individual freedom – their first value and belief.

Americans realize however that individuals must rely on themselves, otherwise they risk to lose their freedom. They must come to both financial and emotional independence from their parents as early as possible, usually by age 18 or 21. So, self-reliance usually is the second trait and moral value supposed to be obligatory to a true American.

It designates the ability of succeeding on one’s own. “Pull yourself up by the bootstraps” is their saying as well as “Life is what you make it” and “Actions speak louder than words”.

The third national value accounts for their confident and unaffected manners. It’s the old belief that everyone in America has equal opportunity to succeed, and equal chance of success. This value is said to be particularly true at the times of settlers’ moving west to make a new beginning, from 1600s to 1890s. The differences in wealth between rich and poor were little at that time, so one’s fortune depended only on one’s industry. But if everybody had chance to better his living conditions, then everybody’s duty was to try, which led to the overall competitions with one another. And up and now people who compete successfully are honored and called “winners”. Those who do not like to compete and are failures are dishonored and called “losers”.

Here we come to the fourth American value – competition. 60% of the Americans believe competition and desire to win are healthy and desirable. So you can hardly see a person wishing to look incapable or a “loser”. But you shouldn’t think their optimistic look is but make believe. In spite of the fact that society can’t consist only of “winners” the Americans are optimistic. That trait proceeded from a “can-do” spirit of earlier settlers which had to be inventive experimentors and had come to believe that every problem has a solution: a difficult problem can be solved immediately – an impossible one can take a little longer. This “can-do” spirit was for all that strengthened by natural abundance and unmeasured territory.

It greatly reduced the conflict between the rich and the poor too. “If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again,” they say here.

As for the greater American dream “from rags to riches” it is still alive by far! It goes on attracting immigrants from all over the world.

The fifth national value is material wealth. Well, wealth but ought to become measure of social status and success in the society which rejected aristocracy with all its privileges. Most Americans believe wealth is a reward for hard work and that it is possible to have a good standard of living if a person works hard. This conviction is believed to stem from the Protestant religion, which holds that gaining wealth goes along with self-improvement of a person. “God helps those who help themselves,” says the proverb.

The sense of humour is the most revealing aspect of a culture. Surely, humour has never been valued more highly in any civilization than in this one.

Humour is the great reliever of tension, the counterbalance to the dash and roar of our fastpaced industrialized life with its whirring machines, traffic snarls and frayed tempers.

American humour, in short, confirms the importance of mating and the family, the high status of women and children, the pace and tension of life.

Americans carry with them an appearance which is more a result of attitude than of clothing.

They love children, animals, gadgets, mother, work, excitement, noise, nature, television, shows, comedy, installment buying, fast motion sports, the flag, Christ jazz, shapely women and muscular men, crowds, beefsteak, coffee, ice-cream, do-it-yourself.

There is of course no typical American. But if you added them all together and the divided by 226000000 they would look something like what this chapter tried to portray.

Choose the only right answer to the questions.

1. You can always sport the American abroad because

1. they are very rough towards other people;
2. they are keen on investigating stereotypes;
3. they are always firm in their deeds and actions;
4. they are very conspicuous persons.

2. Americans are eager to leave people who had brought them up by age 18 or 21, because

1. they believe that a person must earn his living on his own. Where is the will there is a way;
2. alike every day makes a clout on Sunday;
3. their parents are believed to be arrogant and aggressive towards them;
4. he that dares not venture must not complain ill-luck.

3. “Pull yourself up by the bootstraps” means

1. to pull ones chestnuts out of the fire;
2. who chatters with you, will chatter of you;
3. in trouble to be troubled is to have your trouble;
4. to pull yourself up by the hair.

4. Who are the “winners”?

1. they are rich people who, by fair means or foul, tried to be on the winning side;
2. they are people who call a spade a spade;
3. they had a stroke of luck;
4. people, having got the opportunity to make a success in business, have improved their level of life.

5. Who are the “losers”

1. they are cold-blooded, prescient, ruthless opportunists;
2. these are people who do not feel like making themselves apply all their strengths to fulfil their plans;
3. they are people who live beyond their means;
4. these are the members of a prudent middle-class nation, always anxious to meet their liabilities.

6. “Can-do” spirit means

1. every person no matter if he has lost or won finds the way to solve even a puzzle;
2. to assert something confidently;
3. a pompous showing-off way of speaking;
4. it’s easy for a person, being plunged in despair, to win a prize.

7. “From rags to riches” is

1. poverty is not a shame;
2. much gold, much care;
3. from poverty to wealth;
4. big fish in a little pond.

8. In Americans’ opinion wealth is

1. a prise given to elite for the efficiency in every sphere of life;
2. an unrealizable thing for a person who doesn’t make any efforts to make his fortune;
3. sticking to a principle “fools have fortune”;
4. going over the people’s heads to be wealthy.

9. Humour means

1. to express your opinion in a inappropriate manner;
2. to a master of diplomatic wiles;
3. to make a person become cold-blooded and ruthless;
4. a great vehicle to take the person out of despair.

10. American humour

1. to cut a long story short, proves the value of marriage and the necessity of the family’s hearth;
2. expresses so much emotion upon slight an occasion;
3. teaches to pour the emotions out on any occasion;
4. always hurts other people’s feelings.

 

 

Wednesday, the sixth of May

Writing Comprehension Test

 

You have received a letter from your English-speaking pen friend Christine, who writes:

I’ve had an argument with my best friend, Linda, and we’re not talking to each other. I’m really upset about it. What kind of things do you argue with your best friend about? How do you make up after an argument? What do you think I should say to Linda?

Oh, and I visited our local sports centre yesterday, which was interesting!

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