В настоящее время, в процессе преподавания иностранных языков обычной формой контроля усвоения материала учащимися является тестирование во всем многообразии его форм. С помощью тестов проверяется степень сформированности у учащихся грамматических, лексических навыков и навыков чтения. Кроме того, тест может также служить как источником новой информации, так и отличной опорой для повторения уже изученного материала. Предлагаемый тест по страноведению в большей степени помогает учащимся узнать новые факты о США, а также вспомнить тот материал, который они, несомненно, уже изучали, но успели забыть в силу различных обстоятельств. Ответы на некоторые вопросы предполагают актуализацию полученных ранее знаний, которые помогут найти правильное решение методом сопоставления и исключения заведомо неверных вариантов. На некоторые вопросы учащиеся могут выбирать вариант ответа наугад, в дальнейшем выяснив точный ответ у учителя и, тем самым, узнать новое о стране изучаемого языка. Проверять и анализировать тест лучше сразу после его проведения, так как тест носит скорее изучающий, нежели контролирующий характер. В процессе обсуждения теста будут возникать дополнительные вопросы по различным сферам жизни в США и истории этой страны, что позволит учащимся более подробно вспомнить различные факты страноведческого характера. Оптимальным является использование данного теста для работы со старшеклассниками или для подготовки учеников к олимпиадам или конкурсам, так как у таких учащихся уже накоплен значительный объем страноведческой информации, нуждающейся в актуализации и обновлении. Кроме того, выполнение и анализ теста достаточно затратны по времени, поэтому рекомендуется работать с данным тестом во время парных уроков, либо во время внеаудиторных занятий (например, консультация, кружок и т.д.).
Test on Country Studies (The USA)
1. What are the longest rivers of the USA?
a) Mississippi, Missouri
b) Missouri, Colorado
c) Mississippi, Colorado
2. What is the highest mountain of the US?
a) Mount Washington, New Hampshire
b) Mount McKinley, Alaska
c) Cadillac Mountain, Maine
3. What is the largest state in the US?
a) Alaska
b) California
c) Vermont
d) Texas
4. What is the deepest lake of the US?
a) Lake Ontario
b) Crater Lake, Oregon
c) Lake Michigan
5. What is the largest gorge of the US?
a) Grand Canyon, Colorado River, Arizona
b) Hell’s Canyon, Snake River, Idaho-Oregon
6. What is the deepest gorge of the US?
a) Grand Canyon, Colorado River, Arizona
b) Hell’s Canyon, Snake River, Idaho-Oregon
7. What is the smallest state?
a) Nevada
b) Ohio
c) Rhode Island
d) Alabama
8. What is the highest waterfall?
a) Niagara Falls
b) Yosemite Falls
9. How many stars are there on the flag?
a) 50
b) 51
c) 52
10. What state had the 50th star been added for?
a) Hawaii
b) New Mexico
c) Arizona
d) Alaska
11. What state had the 49th star been added for?
a) Hawaii
b) New Mexico
c) Arizona
d) Alaska
12. What do the thirteen stripes of the flag stand for?
a) 13 states
b) 13 colonies
c) 13 pilgrims
13.What is not the name of the national flag of the US?
a) Old Glory
b) The Star-Spangled Banner
c) The Stars and Stripes
d) Starry Banner e) Starry Flag
14. What is not considered as the national symbol of the US?
a) The Capitol
b) The National Flag
c) Uncle Sam
d) The Liberty Bell
e) The Bald Eagle
f) The Great Seal of the US
g) The Statue of Liberty
h) The National Motto
15. What is written on the Great Seal of the US?
a) E pluribus unum (One out of many)
b) In God We Trust
16. How long has The Statue of Liberty been standing in New York harbor?
a) since 1886
b) since 1776
c) since 1986
d) since 1586
17. What is the combined height of the Statue of Liberty from base of the pedestal to the top of the torch?
a) 100 meters
b) 95.99 meters
c) 92.99 meters
18. What is the official name of the Statue of Liberty?
a) The Statue of Liberty
b) The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World
c) The Statue of Liberty Enlightening the US
19. What is in the left hand of the Statue?
a) a tablet with the date “July 4th, 1776”
b) a tablet with the date “July 14th, 1776”
c) a tablet with the date “1492”
20. Who wrote a poem which was placed on a plaque in the pedestal of the Statue in1903?
a) Emma Lazaurus
b) Francis Scott Key
c) Langston Hughes
d) George Henry Preble
21. Who wrote the words of “The Star-Spangled Banner”, the national anthem of the US in 1814?
a) Emma Lazaurus
b) Francis Scott Key
c) Langston Hughes
d) George Henry Preble
22. Who called the national flag as The Stars and Stripes?
a) Langston Hughes
b) George Henry Preble
c) George Frederick Root
23. Who used the word Starry in describing the American Flag?
a) Langston Hughes
b) George Henry Preble
c) George Frederick Root?
24. When was The Star-Spangled Banner declared the National Anthem by Congress?
a) 1998
b) 1931
c) 1945
d) 1776
25. When did the abbreviation “U.S.” got the meaning “Uncle Sam”?
a) 1776
b) 1931
c) 1812
d) 1886
26. When was the design of the Great Seal finally approved by Congress?
a) June 20, 1782
b) June 4, 1776
c) July 4, 1776
27. What is the USA according to their political system?
a) monarchy
b) democracy
c) autocracy
28. What guarantees individual freedom to all in America?
a) the Constitution
b) the Congress
c) the President
29. How many branches do the political system of the US consist of?
a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 4
30. What is the only branch that can make federal laws, levy federal taxes, declare war or put foreign treaties into effect?
a) the legislative branch
b) the executive branch
c) the judicial branch
31. How long do the members of the House of Representatives serve?
a) 1 year
b) 2 years
c) 3 years
d) 4 years
32. What does each House member represent?
a) a district in his/her own state
b) her/his own town/city
c) her/his state
33. What does the number of representatives from each state depend on?
a) the number of population of a state
b) the size of a state
34. How many senators are there in the Congress from each state?
a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 4
35. How long do the senators serve?
a) 1 year
b) 2 years
c) 4 years
d) 6 years
36. A law begins as a proposal. What is it called?
a) a bill
b) a suggestion
c) an offer
37. What are the groups who try to persuade congressmen to vote for or against a bill known as?
a) protectors
b) lobbies
c) helpers
38. Who should sign a bill for it to become a law?
a) a senator
b) the president
c) a congressman
39. Who represents the executive branch of the US?
a) the Congress
b) the President
c) the Supreme Court
40. What is the President’s term?
a) 1 year
b) 2 years
c) 3 years
d) 4 years
41. How many times can a president be elected according to a Constitution Amendment passed in 1951?
a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
42. What is the number of the departments which make up the president’s cabinet?
a) 10
b) 12
c) 13
d) 16
43. What is the judicial branch headed by?
a) The Congress
b) The President
c) The Supreme Court
44. When was the Bill of Rights adopted?
a) 1791
b) 1776
c) 1777
45. How many amendments do the Bill of Rights consist of?
a) 5
b) 10
c) 15
46. What are the two major political parties in the US?
a) the Democratic and the Republican
b) the Labour and the Conservative
c) the Democratic and the Conservative
47. Who is one of the best known American poets of the 20th century?
a) Langston Hughes
b) Walt Whitman
c) Elvis Presley
48. Who is the most famous American poet of the 19th century?
a) Langston Hughes
b) Walt Whitman
c) Elvis Presley
49. Who was the author of the anti-slavery novel ‘Uncle Tom’s Cabin’ (1852)?
a) Charles Dickens
b) Harriet Beecher Stowe
c) Jane Austen
50. What writer is best known for his stories of American frontier life and pioneer adventures?
a) Harriet Beecher Stowe
b) Walter Scott
c) James Fenimore Cooper
51. What author is best remembered for his three novels of the Great Depression era of the 1930s: Tortilla Flat, Of Mice and Men, The Grapes of Wrath.
a) Virginia Wolf
b) John Steinbeck
c) Zadie Smith
52. What is Thomas Edison famous for?
a) barbed wire
b) electric light bulb
c) cotton gin
53. What is Henry Ford famous for?
a) barbed wire
b) cotton gin
c) automobiles
54. What is Joseph Glidden famous for?
a) barbed wire
b) cotton gin
c) national parks
55. What singer started his career with the protest songs to support the anti-war movement in the 1960s?
a) Elvis Presley
b) Bob Dylan
c) Louis Armstrong
KEYS:
| 1. | A | 12. | B | 23. | C | 34. | B | 45. | B |
| 2. | B | 13. | D | 24. | B | 35. | D | 46. | A |
| 3. | A | 14. | A | 25. | C | 36. | A | 47. | A |
| 4. | B | 15. | A | 26. | A | 37. | B | 48. | B |
| 5. | A | 16. | A | 27. | B | 38. | B | 49. | B |
| 6. | B | 17. | C | 28. | A | 39. | B | 50. | C |
| 7. | C | 18. | B | 29. | C | 40. | D | 51. | B |
| 8. | B | 19. | A | 30. | A | 41. | B | 52. | B |
| 9. | A | 20. | A | 31. | B | 42. | C | 53. | C |
| 10. | A | 21. | B | 32. | A | 43. | C | 54. | A |
| 11. | D | 22. | B | 33. | A | 44. | A | 55. | B |