1. Make sure you know these words and expressions:
- choosy
- mild climate
- a disaster
- a heavy snowstorm
- be full of
- deep
- take a car out
- pay
- clear the snow away
- from the path
- gate
- spoil the bushes
- damage the fence
- set to work
- pile on the top of his car
- dig
2. Answer the questions:
- What is the climate in Great Britain?
- What happened last winter?
- What did Mr. White see when he woke up in the morning?
- Why did he pay a man? What was his instruction?
- What did Mr. .White see when he came back? And when he opened the garage?
- Why was he shocked?
3. Complete the sentences.
- You know that the British climate…
- When it begins snowing hard it can become…
- One night there was…
- When Mr. White woke up in the morning he saw…
- Mr. White couldn’t…
- Mr. White paid a man… from the path.
- Don’t throw the snow on that side, because…
- Mr. White was pleased until…
- All the snow from the path was…
- Mr. White had to dig his car out…
TASKS TO THE TEXT “HURRICANES AND TORNADOES”
1. Read the text and put the phrases where they belong.
Hurricanes and Tornadoes
A hurricane (ураган) is a severe storm. To be called a hurricane, a storm must have ____
1. People who live around the Pacific Ocean call hurricanes typhoons (тайфун). People who live on the Indian Ocean call them cyclones (циклоны). Hurricanes begin ____
2. They are like giant spinning (вращающиеся) wheels of storm clouds, wind and rain. The centre of a hurricane is a narrow column of air that spins very slowly. This is ____
3. Here the weather is surprisingly calm with low winds and clear skies.
Tornadoes are terrible windstorms. Most of them happen in North America, but ____
4. If hurricanes are strong winds that build up over the sea, ____
5. They happen when large masses of cloud meet. When a tornado touches the ground, it sucks (втягивает) up anything in its path – trees, houses and people. On the 4 September 1981 a tornado hit Ancona, a place in Italy. It lifted ____
6. into the air set it down safely 100 metes away. The baby was still sleeping soundly.
- the “eye” of hurricane
- over warm tropical oceans
- a baby asleep in its pram (коляска)
- wind speeds at least 75 miles (120 kilometers) an hour
- tornadoes build up over land
- they can occur anywhere in the world
TEST ON LISTENING AND READING
LISTENING COMPREHENSION
TASKS TO THE TEXT “DRIVING TO THE ROYAL HOTEL”
1. Make sure you know these words and word combinations.
- places of interest - достопримечательности
- the rest of the palaces – остальные дворцы
- driving - вождение
- was not afraid – не боялся
- easily find – легко найдет
- to have a look at - взглянуть
- followed the procession- следовал за процессией
- lost his way - потерялся
- a city map – карта города
- got out of the car – вышел из машины
2. Answer the questions.
- Where was Paul from?
- What city did he want to visit?
- How did he want to travel there?
- What was Paul very much interested in?
- What places was he going to see in London?
- What did his friend remind Paul about?
- Was Paul afraid of the driving in the city?
- Where was he going to stay?
- Why did he stop on the way to the Royal Hotel?
- What did he suddenly understand?
- How did he get to his hotel?
- How long did it take him?
3. Put these sentences in the right order.
- Paul was going to stay in the Royal Hotel.
- His friend advised him to visit the British Museum and the Tower of London.
- Paul admired the procession walking along the Mall.
- Paul followed the taxi in his car.
- Paul decided to visit London.
- Paul stopped a taxi.
- Paul lost his way.
- His friend reminded him that driving in London was very difficult.
- The taxi man laughed and drove to the Royal Hotel.
- They got to the hotel in two minutes.
READING COMPREHENSION
1. Read the text and write which statements after the text are true and which of them are false.
The English Castles
One of the few places where kings and lords in the Middle Ages could feel safe was behind the thick stone walls of their castles. There, they and their men could fight off the attacks by bandits and sit out long sieges (осады) by invading armies.
As castles developed, they became larger and more comfortable. A wall-walk ran right around the top and through each tower. Soldiers could run from one point of attack to another without ever showing themselves to the enemies. Castles had rounded towers and square towers and served a dual purpose; any castle was always both a fortress and a private residence, a home to the king or lord, members of the family and their servants. In practice the castle had other functions, too because it was the center of local administration. There was usually at least one chapel, a prison, a treasury and an armoury there.
There are many castles all over Britain. One of them, Windsor castle, is one of the Queen’s official residences. It is situated in Windsor, a town in South England on the River Thames.
- Kings and lords felt safe in their castles.
- Castles had high thick stone walls.
- As time passed castles grew more comfortable.
- All English castles had square towers.
- Any castle was both a fortress and a home.
- Windsor Castle is in the south of London.
TEST ON LISTENING AND READING
LISTENING COMPREHENSION
TASKS TO THE TEXT “HE DIDN’T LIKE SAYING “NO”
1. Make sure you know these words and word combinations.
- hard-working – трудолюбивый
- a loyal friend – верный друг
- a striking contrast – поразительное различие
- a picturesque place – живописное место
2. Answer the questions.
- What kind of a boy was Jim and what about Tim?
- What couldn’t people understand?
- What were they doing once?
- What did Jim have to do?
- Did Tim help him?
- Why didn’t Tim like to say “No” all the time?
3. Write who said it.
- “Here’s some money. Go to the village and buy some meat.”
- “I’m so tired. You go.”
- “Here’s the meat. Could you please cook it?”
- “I’d like you to go and get some water.”
- “I don’t want to get my clothes dirty.”
- “The meal is ready, come and eat it.”
- “I don’t like to say “No” all the time.”
4. Write which of the two friends…
- was hard-working
- was lazy
- found a picturesque place at the foot of the rock
- was tired
- went to the village
- bought some meat and bread
- made a fire
- cooked the meat
- cut the bread
- got the water
- got the meal ready
- didn’t like to say “No” all the time
5. Ask Jim and Tim 5 questions about their camping.
READING COMPREHENSION
6. Read the text and put the phrases where they belong.
FOOD AND DRINK IN BRITAIN
Although Britain is quite a small country, it offers a wide choice of food and drink. The types of food people eat have changed a lot [_____]1 for several reasons. People have come to Britain from different parts of the world, bringing their favourite food with them and often opening restaurants. British people have traveled [_____] 2 and brought new foods back home. And today big supermarkets companies can buy food from all over the world and sell it [_____] 3.
In Britain you can find traditional food like [_____] 4 and vegetarian food for those who do not eat meat. As well as foods from different parts of Britain, you can buy Italian, Mexican and West Indian food. Tea is often described as the [_____] 5 but in Britain’s pubs you can drink beers and wines from many different countries as well as cider from the West Country and whiskey from Scotland.
Many people do not have time to cook traditional food today, so they buy food which is [_____] 6, but visitors to Britain often want to try “typical” British food. The best place to go is usually a pub.
Going to a restaurant for a meal, instead of eating at home, is called [_____] 7. Only a few years ago this was too expensive for most people; today the British do it a lot more often and there are many different kinds of places to go.
- roast beef or fish and chips
- over the years
- ready to eat or quick to make
- while it is still good to eat
- to other countries
- “eating out”
- national drink
TEST ON LISTENING AND READING
LISTENING COMPREHENSION
TASKS TO THE TEXT “THREE ANSWERS”
1. Make sure you know these words and word combinations.
- climbed high rocky mountains – взбираться на высокие скалистые горы
- took part in rescue expeditions – принимать участие в спасательных экспедициях
- crossed rivers and streams – переходить реки и ручьи
- articles - статьи
- strikingly modest – удивительно скромный
- weak point – слабое место, слабость
- realized - осознал
- the correct answer – правильный ответ
2. Answer the questions.
- What kind of journalist was Ed?
- What did he have to do a lot?
- What kind of person was he?
- With whom did he argue and about what?
- What do you know about a man Ed argued with?
- What couldn’t Ed forget about that argument?
3. Complete these sentences.
- Ed was a … and worked for a … .
- He wrote about his travels in his … .
- Ed had one weak point: he liked to … very much.
- Stupid people sometimes said … things.
- Once a man said something which Ed couldn’t … .
- “There are always three answers to every question: … .”
READING COMPREHENSION
4. Read the text and put the phrases where they belong.
WHAT WAS THE FIRST SKYSCRAPER?
All over the world today, wherever big cities have grown up, there are very tall buildings that might be called [____]1. There is no special reason for calling a building a skyscraper. It’s simply a name we have given to very tall buildings.
In fact, [____]2 tells of an attempt to put up a building so tall that it could never be covered by the water of any flood (наводнение). This of course, was the tower of Babel (Вавилонская башня). During the Middle Ages, the people who lived in the cities of northern Europe began [____]3 . For hundreds of years afterwards, these cathedrals stood as the tallest structures in the world. It was simply because no one had discovered [____]4 which could be used to build taller buildings.
In the 19th century, as cities grew more crowded, the value of land there rose. People needed more offices [____]5. It was necessary to construct taller buildings, but the problem was to get new materials to make skyscrapers possible. Architects began to experiment with buildings that had steel frames.
The first skyscraper [____]6 was the Home Insurance Building in Chicago, designed in 1883.
- materials and methods of construction
- the Bible
- in the United States
- skyscrapers
- to build great cathedrals
- on a small piece of land