Банк заданий
ЕГЭ по английскому языку Задание №10 Понимание основного содержания текста

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. A place with a dangerous reputation

2. A unique animal community

3. Protecting the natural treasures

4. A landscape created by water

5. The unusual inhabitants of the desert

6. A forest full of ancient secrets

7. A natural area for relaxation

8. The role of climate in nature

A. Australia is famous for its extraordinary landscapes and remarkable biodiversity. The continent is home to many species that cannot be found anywhere else on Earth. Scientists explain this uniqueness by the fact that Australia was separated from other continents for millions of years. As a result, many animals and plants developed independently and adapted to local conditions. This natural isolation created one of the most unusual ecosystems in the world.

B. The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most impressive natural structures on the planet. It stretches for thousands of kilometres along the coast of Australia and consists of millions of tiny organisms called coral polyps. The reef provides shelter for numerous marine species, including colourful fish and sea turtles. However, rising ocean temperatures and pollution threaten this fragile environment.

C. The Australian desert may seem empty and lifeless at first glance, but it contains many fascinating examples of adaptation. Some animals can survive with very little water and avoid extreme heat by changing their behaviour. For example, certain creatures become active only at night when temperatures are lower. These survival strategies allow them to exist in one of the harshest environments on Earth.

D. Australian forests contain some of the oldest living plants in the world. Certain trees have existed for hundreds of years and have developed special features that help them survive fires and changing weather conditions. Researchers study these forests because they provide important information about climate history and the evolution of plants.

E. Australia has many protected areas created to preserve its natural heritage. National parks and wildlife reserves help scientists monitor endangered species and maintain ecological balance. Government organisations and environmental groups work together to reduce the negative impact of human activity. These efforts are essential because many unique species depend on these protected environments.

F. The Australian climate strongly influences the appearance and behaviour of living organisms. Different regions of the country have completely different weather conditions, from tropical areas in the north to cooler zones in the south. Plants and animals have developed various adaptations that allow them to survive in these diverse environments.

G. Some Australian natural areas attract millions of visitors every year because of their beauty and peaceful atmosphere. Tourists come to enjoy beaches, forests and national parks. These places provide opportunities for outdoor activities and help people relax away from busy city life. At the same time, visitors are encouraged to follow environmental rules to avoid damaging nature.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. The first attempts to record information
2. A new form of reading
3. Books that changed society
4. Protecting valuable examples of the past
5. The people behind modern publishing
6. A place where knowledge is collected
7. The influence of technology on books
8. Reading as a social activity

A. Long before modern books appeared, people searched for ways to preserve important information. Ancient civilisations used different materials, including stone, clay and special plant fibres, to record their ideas. These early examples were not similar to modern books, but they played an essential role in keeping knowledge for future generations. Scientists study these objects to understand how human communication developed over time.

B. Libraries have always been connected with the preservation and organisation of knowledge. In ancient times, they stored valuable manuscripts that contained information about science, history and culture. Today, libraries have changed significantly and offer visitors access to printed books as well as digital resources. Although people can find information online, libraries continue to remain important educational centres.

C. The invention of printing technology transformed the way people received information. Before this development, books were expensive and could only be produced in limited numbers. The creation of printing machines allowed texts to become available to a much wider audience. This change contributed to the spread of education and helped scientific ideas reach more people.

D. Some books have had a remarkable impact on society because they introduced new ideas and influenced people’s opinions. Scientific works, historical texts and literary masterpieces have changed the way people understand the world. Researchers often study famous publications because they reflect important changes in culture and human thinking.

E. Modern publishing involves many specialists who work together to create books. Authors develop ideas and write texts, while editors, designers and other professionals prepare materials for readers. Although digital technologies have changed the industry, human creativity remains a central part of the publishing process.

F. Electronic books have become increasingly popular in recent years. Many readers appreciate digital formats because they allow people to store thousands of texts on a single device. However, some researchers believe that printed books still have advantages because they create a different reading experience and help people concentrate better.

G. Reading has traditionally been considered an individual activity, but it can also bring people together. Book clubs and literary events allow readers to discuss stories, exchange opinions and discover new authors. Such activities demonstrate that books can connect people with similar interests.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. A journey through enormous distances
2. Producing light without electricity
3. An important source of scientific information
4. Dangerous encounters with sea creatures
5. Human activity changes the underwater world
6. A world we still know little about
7. Technology makes the impossible possible
8. Surviving under extreme pressure

A. Oceans cover most of our planet, yet surprisingly little is known about what lies beneath their surface. Scientists have created detailed maps of the Moon and Mars, but large areas of the ocean floor have never been studied directly. One reason is that exploring the deep sea is extremely difficult and expensive. Researchers regularly discover previously unknown species, unusual geological formations and entire ecosystems. For marine scientists, therefore, the ocean remains one of the greatest unexplored regions on Earth.

B. Sunlight cannot reach the deepest parts of the ocean, so these areas are permanently dark. Nevertheless, some of their inhabitants have developed an extraordinary ability called bioluminescence. Chemical reactions inside their bodies allow them to create their own light. Some fish use it to attract prey, while other creatures produce sudden flashes to confuse predators. Although the phenomenon looks almost magical, scientists have discovered that it is a highly efficient biological process.

C. Animals living thousands of metres below the surface face conditions that would be fatal to most familiar species. The weight of the water above them creates tremendous pressure, while temperatures are usually very low. Deep-sea creatures have developed special body structures and chemical processes that enable them to function normally in this hostile environment. Interestingly, bringing some of these animals rapidly to the surface can be harmful because their bodies are adapted to completely different physical conditions.

D. Some marine animals spend their lives moving between regions separated by thousands of kilometres. Whales, sea turtles and certain fish regularly travel across vast areas of the ocean to find food or reproduce. Researchers are particularly interested in how these creatures navigate because there are no roads or visible signs to guide them. Evidence suggests that some species may use the Earth's magnetic field, the position of the Sun and even underwater sounds to determine their direction.

E. For centuries, people assumed that the ocean was too large to be seriously affected by human behaviour. Modern research has shown that this is not true. Plastic waste can travel far from the place where it was thrown away, and tiny particles have been discovered in marine organisms. Fishing and rising water temperatures can also influence entire ecosystems. Scientists stress that changes occurring in one part of the ocean may eventually affect regions located far away.

F. Ocean research can also help scientists understand events that happened long before humans began keeping written records. Layers of material on the seabed contain chemical evidence of previous environmental conditions. By analysing these deposits, specialists can reconstruct changes in temperature and learn about the Earth's climate in earlier periods. In this way, information hidden beneath the waves can contribute to our understanding of both the planet's past and its possible future.

G. Reaching the deepest parts of the sea was once considered almost impossible. Today, researchers use remotely operated vehicles, robotic submarines and sophisticated cameras to investigate places that humans cannot safely visit. Some machines can collect samples from the seabed and transmit images to research vessels above. Improvements in engineering are gradually allowing scientists to examine environments that remained completely inaccessible only a few decades ago.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Necessary Components
2. Important Conclusion
3. Useful Advice
4. Significant Difference
5. Health Risks
6. Moderation Is the Key!
7. Diet and Exercise
8. Benefits of Good Nutrition

A. Developing healthy eating habits is simpler and easier than you might think. You will look and feel better if you make a habit of eating healthfully. You will have more energy and your immune system will be stronger. When you eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, you are lowering your risk of heart disease, cancers and many other serious health ailments. Healthy eating habits are your ticket to a healthier body and mind.

B. A four-week clinical trial that tested the new regimen found that overweight adults who consumed a high-protein, entirely vegan diet were able to lose about the same amount of weight as a comparison group of dieters on a high-carbohydrate, low-fat vegetarian dairy diet. But while those on the high-carbohydrate dairy diet experienced drops of 12 percent in their cholesterol, those on the high-protein vegan diet saw cholesterol reductions of 20 percent.

C. ‘The idea preyed on me for a long time. If the Atkins Diet looks good, and it’s got so much saturated fat and cholesterol in it, suppose we took that out and put vegetarian protein sources in, which may lower cholesterol,’ Dr Jenkins said. ‘We know that nuts lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease, and soy is eaten in the Far East, where they don’t get much heart disease. So we put these foods together as protein and fat sources.’

D. The first official warning about the dangers of the Atkins diet was issued by the government amid concern about the rising number of people opting for the high-fat, high-protein diet. Cutting out starchy foods can be bad for your health because you could be missing out on a range of nutrients. Low-carbohydrate diets tend to be high in fat, and this could increase your chances of developing coronary heart disease.

E. Earlier this year, a large study that compared different kinds of diets — including low-fat and low-carbohydrate plans — found that the method didn’t matter as long as people cut calories. That study also found that after two years, most people had regained at least some of the weight they had lost. Dr Tuttle said that while different weight loss plans offer people different ‘tricks’ and strategies, ultimately, ‘It really comes down to calories in and calories out.’

F. When you think about nutrition, be aware of serving sizes. Many people will eat everything on their plate, regardless of how hungry they actually are. If you know you tend to clean your plate, make an effort to reduce your serving size. If you’re eating out or dining at a friend’s house, don’t be shy about asking for smaller portion sizes. Too much of any one food is a bad thing. There are no bad foods, just bad eating habits.

G. Your body has to stay well hydrated to perform at its best and to properly process all the nutrients in the food you eat. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. You may need even more water if you are in a hot environment or if you are exercising. If you are trying to lose weight, add plenty of ice to each glass of water. Your body will burn energy to warm the water up to body temperature.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Use Silence
2. Gestures and Posture
3. Audience Awareness
4. Sensible Dress
5. Distinct and Audible Speech
6. Consider Context
7. Speaking Through Eyes
8. Strategic Listening

A.The first thing that a good speaker does is look at the audience and take a pause before beginning his speech. This helps to create a good impression on the audience. Throughout the speech, the speaker should maintain eye contact with the listeners, otherwise they will feel that they are being ignored and it is quite likely that they also ignore whatever he is trying to convey.

B.Proper variation in emotion and tempo of the voice improves the quality of performance. Accurate pronunciation of words with due stresses wherever required must be done. One more important thing while communicating is that your voice must be clear and loud enough for the audience to hear it. A loud voice can be a strong point for being an effective speaker.

C.Concentrate on your ideas and do not get distracted by the activities performed by the audience, for example, smiling or whispering. To make your communication successful get the clue about the listeners and their interests. Think over the age, sex and background of the people. See whether the audience is patient enough to handle you for hours. Check out if they are friendly or hostile.

D.Facial expressions reveal what thoughts are running through a person’s mind. So while communicating, make sure that your facial expressions reveal your interest for the subject on which you are communicating. The body movements while speaking must coordinate with your convincing power. They must add to the things which are more effectively caught visually than verbally.

E.If you are trying to improve your own communication, concentrate on ways to make your nonverbal signals match the level of formality necessitated by the situation. Some situations require more formal behaviour that might be interpreted very differently in any other setting. So when you are communicating with others, always take into account the situation in which the communication occurs.

F.Don’t be afraid to pause and breathe. Listeners need time to reflect on what you are saying. Just like we need ‘white space’ and punctuation on the written page, we need pauses when we speak. Talking non-stop is a huge drawback. Having the confidence to pause for a few seconds in between sentences commands attention rather than diverts it.

G.The appearance plays an important role in presenting ourselves to society. The people who wear clothes suitable to their body structure look attractive. A person’s physical appearance creates a definite impact on the communication process. Our clothes should not be too modern for the people whom we are interacting with. However, they should be able to create a positive impression on them.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Exotic Pets
2. Going Back in Time
3. Small Screen Addiction
4. Body Language
5. Massive Destruction
6. Buried Treasure
7. Reason for Extinction
8. Intelligent Enemies

A.The VLT (Very Large Telescope) is the world’s largest telescope and it is taking scientists further back to the Big Bang than they ever thought possible. In other words, the VLT is a kind of a time machine, giving astronomers detailed views of events that took place in the earliest days of the cosmos. One day, we will have a much clearer picture of how our planet was born.

B.The latest development in the debate amongst scientists about what killed the prehistoric dinosaurs is the suggestion that acid rain was the cause. Some geologists suggest that a large meteor hitting the Earth at 65 kilometres per second would have led to strongly acidic rain falling all over the world. This idea is fascinating but it would mean the dinosaurs would all have died within a very short time.

C.In 1948, a British farmer discovered an interesting lump of metal while ploughing his field. At first he thought the metal bits were parts of an old bed. Then more ‘parts of old beds’ turned up and the farmer took them to the local museum. ‘But these bits are priceless!’ exclaimed the keeper of the museum. ‘They are Iron Age jewellery and coins!’ Over the next 40 years, more and more items were found in the same field.

D.Rats may have had a bit of a hard time over the years but these days lots of people are forgetting about guinea-pigs and hamsters and are buying rats instead. Domestic rats aren’t the same as the ones that run around rubbish bins — they’re actually quite cute. They are very intelligent and can be trained like dogs. They come in different colours and — a big bonus — they will eat anything!

E.In Western cultures, people look each other in the eye during a conversation to show interest and trust, but in many Asian countries, it’s rude to look people in the eye, especially a superior such as a teacher. One of the most basic and powerful signals is when a person crosses his or her arms across the chest. This can indicate that a person is putting up an unconscious barrier between themselves and others.

F.Earthquakes happen all the time in all parts of the world but we don’t notice most of them because they are small. However, big earthquakes are really dangerous. They can make buildings fall down, set off landslides and do other deadly things. The highest death toll caused by an earthquake was in China in 1556, when at least 830,000 people died.

G.According to scientists, Americans watch more TV on average than any other nationality. In fact, many people, particularly children, sit for 35 hours or more per week glued to the box. What’s wrong with watching all that TV? Studies have linked it to everything from obesity to aggression in children not to mention that it puts your mind into a sort of sedated state. Habitual television watching, over long periods of time, has been known to cause depression and anger.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Hazardous Waste
2. Invisible Threat
3. Primary Reason
4. Possible Solutions
5. Global Destruction
6. Disastrous Growth
7. Water Shortage
8. Quick Change

A.Acid rain moves easily, affecting locations far beyond those that let out the pollution. As a result, this global pollution issue causes great debates between countries that fight over polluting each other’s environments. The problem is that acid rain, one of the most important environmental problems of all, cannot be seen. Some scientists think that human production is primarily responsible, while others cite natural causes as well.

B.Air pollution has many disastrous effects that need to be curbed. In order to accomplish this, governments, scientists and environmentalists are using or testing a variety of methods aimed at reducing pollution. There are two main types of pollution control. Input controls are usually more effective than output controls. Output controls are also more expensive, making them less desirable to taxpayers and polluting industries.

C.Global warming is called the greenhouse effect because the gases that are gathering above the Earth make the planet comparable to a greenhouse. By trapping heat, the greenhouse effect is warming the planet and threatening the environment. Current fears stem largely from the fact that global warming is occurring at such a rapid pace. Models are predicting that over the next century, the global temperature will rise by several degrees.

D.Individuals often throw out goods without realizing that they could be dangerous for the environment. No matter where people put these materials, there is always a chance that they could find their way into the ground, and eventually into our bodies. Special research is necessary to provide data on the effects of every chemical as well as to learn how combinations of these chemicals affect human health.

E.Only a few factors combine to create the problem of ozone layer depletion. The production and emission of CFCs, chlorofluorocarbons, is by far the leading cause. Many countries have called for the end of CFC production. However, those industries that do use CFCs do not want to discontinue usage of this highly valuable industrial chemical. So it’s important to make people realize the disaster CFCs cause in the stratosphere.

F.Unlike some environmental issues, rainforest depletion has fortunately received significant public and media attention. According to some estimates, 50 million acres of rainforest are cut down every year. Every year, Brazil chops down an area of forest the size of the state of Nebraska. In Indonesia, Zaire, Papua-New Guinea, Malaysia, Burma, the Philippines, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, and Venezuela, rain forests that were once great have been lost.

G.The world’s population has been booming for years. The population is now threatening to reach the stage where there are simply too many people for the planet to support. Greater populations pollute and consume more, ruining the environment and creating or intensifying a variety of problems. Also, with the food supply limited, the increase in population will make shortages in many parts of the world even worse.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. The Best Way of Learning
2. Key Factor in Learning
3. Linguistic Interference
4. Universal Language
5. Online Learning
6. Language Extinction
7. Learning by Imitation
8. Sign Language

A.Young children have a genetic ability to learn language. They come into the world as eager learning machines, and language acquisition is a major aspect of this learning. How children actually learn language is not entirely clear, however. Most linguists believe that they do it primarily by listening to and trying to communicate with adult speakers. Initially, this means that they copy the way adults use words and grammar.

B.Learning a second or third language is easier in early childhood than later. It is particularly important to learn correct pronunciation as young as possible. At any age, learning by constant contact with native speakers in their own society is the quickest and the most effective method. It is superior to taking foreign language classes because it forces you to concentrate on it all of the time.

C.Learning a second language can be affected by the patterns of the first language. There can be some blending of phonemes. For instance, most Americans who learn French in high school or college pronounce French words with a distinctive American accent. Grammar can also be affected. English speakers who learn both French and Spanish sometimes combine grammatical rules of both when speaking either of them.

D.Until just a few years ago, language study was limited to the classroom or personal tutor, or home study by book. In the last few decades technology has given us a much needed audio option — first vinyl records, then cassettes and CDs. Now technology has given us a new format — the Internet. Options to learn a language by Internet are still limited but the potential is not.

E.What is important when learning a language? If you have the desire and persistence, time is the only factor that you may have to work with. How much time you can devote to learning will play a role in how quickly you can learn the language. Just remember how exciting it will be and how rewarding you will feel at the accomplishment.

F.Rather than have businessmen, diplomats, scientists and tourists from every country learning all the major languages that they want to learn or need to learn, Esperantists would have everyone just learn one second language — Esperanto. Then everyone could communicate with everyone, everywhere. The major ‘national’ languages could keep their special characteristics for anyone who wanted to learn them. This is the essence of the ‘Esperanto Movement’.

G.More than half of the world’s 7,000 languages are expected to die out by the end of the century, often taking with them irreplaceable knowledge about the natural world. When a species dies out, sometimes fossils can be found, remains uncovered. But when a human language disappears, there’s rarely any key left behind. Each loss becomes a linguistic black hole, where an entire way of knowing the world disappears.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Harvest
2. Etymology
3. Toxicity
4. Growing Indoors
5. Breeding
6. Cultivation
7. Culinary Uses
8. History

A.The avocado originated in the state of Puebla, Mexico. The native undomesticated variety is small, with dark black skin, and contains a large seed. The oldest evidence of avocado use was found in a cave located in Coxcatlean, Mexico, that dates to around 10,000 BC. The avocado tree also has a long period of cultivation in Central and South America. A water jar shaped like an avocado, dating to AD 900, was discovered in the pre-Incan city of Chan Chan.

B.The word ‘avocado’ comes from the Spanish ‘aguacate’. Avocados were known by the Aztecs as ‘the fertility fruit’. In some countries of South America, such as Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay, the avocado is known by its Quechua name ‘palta’. The fruit is sometimes called an ‘avocado pear’ or ‘alligator pear’ due to its shape and the rough green skin. It is known as ‘Butter Fruit’ in parts of India.

C.The avocado tree does not tolerate freezing temperatures, and can be grown only in subtropical or tropical climates. High winds reduce the humidity, dehydrate the flowers, and affect pollination. When even a mild frost occurs, premature fruit drop may occur, although the Hass cultivar can tolerate temperatures down to 1°C. The trees also need well-aerated soils, ideally more than 1 m deep. Yield is reduced when the irrigation water is highly saline. These soil and climate conditions are available only in a few areas of the world.

D.An average avocado tree produces about 500 avocados annually. Commercial orchards produce an average of seven tonnes per hectare each year, with some orchards achieving 20 tonnes per hectare. The avocado is a climacteric fruit, which means it matures on the tree, but ripens off the tree. Avocados that fall off the tree ripen on the ground. Generally, the fruit is picked once it reaches maturity. Avocados used in commerce are picked hard and green and kept in coolers until they reach their final destination.

E.Avocados are often grown from pits. This is done by removing the pit from a ripe, unrefrigerated avocado. The pit is then stabbed with three or four toothpicks, about one third of the way up. The pit is placed in a jar or vase with tepid water. In four to six weeks, it should split and out should come roots and a sprout. Once the stem has grown a few inches, it is placed in a pot with soil. It should be watered every few days. Avocados have been known to grow large, so owners must be ready to repot the plant several times.

F.The fruit is not sweet, but fatty, and distinctly yet subtly flavoured. It is used in both savoury and sweet dishes, though in many countries not for both. The avocado is very popular in vegetarian cuisine as substitute for meats because of its high fat content. Generally, avocado is served raw, though some cultivars can be cooked for a short time without becoming bitter. In Ethiopia, avocados are made into juice by mixing them with sugar and milk or water. Avocados are also used to make salads.

G.Avocado leaves, bark, skin, or pit are documented to be harmful to animals. Cats, dogs, cattle, goats, rabbits, rats, birds, fish, and horses can be severely harmed or even killed when they consume them. Avocado leaves contain a fatty acid derivative, persin, which in sufficient quantity can cause equine colic and, without veterinary treatment, death. Birds also seem to be particularly sensitive to this compound. Feeding avocados to any animal should be avoided completely. Negative effects in humans seem to be primarily in allergic individuals.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Head-and-Heart Listening
2. Clear Responsibilities
3. Family Discussions
4. Flexibility
5. Balanced Communication
6. Caring and Appreciation
7. Family Roots
8. Encouragement

A. Building a successful family is like building a home. Both need a plan. A successful family based on unity and love takes careful planning, but it’s worth every moment. The best way to be organized as a family is to talk about family matters. By doing this, families enjoy a special closeness and stability. Choosing to spend time with your family sends a message more powerful than words. Memories made together during this time will bond and sustain your family through the years.

B. Family traditions promote feelings of warmth and unity. Trace your family tree and collect all the photographs of your ancestors that you can find. Public libraries and bookstores have books on genealogy for you to get you started. Compile a family oral history. Ask older relatives to talk about their parents and childhood and record their comments. Then transcribe the tapes and send copies to aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins. These stories contain a glimpse of the past that would be lost otherwise.

C. How much time should families spend together? That varies from family to family. Families with young children usually spend most of their time together because young children need a great deal of physical care and guidance. Families with teenagers may spend less time together because teens naturally want to spend more time with their friends. Healthy families keep a good balance between ‘too much’ and ‘not enough’ time together. They spend enough time to satisfy all family members.

D. Strong families take time to talk to one another. They share their hopes and dreams, feelings and concerns. This involves listening beyond words to the meanings and feelings attached to them. A good listener can better understand and respond to the needs and concerns of others. It means laying aside personal views and really trying to understand the other person’s point of view. Even if you don’t agree with their opinion, you can make sure you understand them before responding.

E. Members of successful families feel they really belong in their family. Family members feel accepted for what they are and promote one another’s self-esteem. They celebrate their victories and help each other learn from mistakes. Sometimes life gets rough and we need all the support we can get. A cheering word from a family member can really come in handy. Put the words on sticky notes and stick them in places where they can be easily found.

F. Strong families develop predictable routines, roles, and rules that govern everyday life and provide for continuity and stability. Reasonably stable patterns empower a family to deal with the many challenges inevitable in family life; without such patterns, chaos would result. At the same time, strong families adapt relationships and family rules when needs arise. The varied circumstances of family life may necessitate individual adaptation. Since no family knows what tomorrow will bring, being adaptive is a good trait for family members to develop.

G. Recent studies affirm the importance of love in families. Research shows that expressions of affection towards children reduce problem behaviours and enhance children’s development. Strong families notice and share positive aspects of each member. They notice the talents, skills and achievements, special qualities, and characteristics that make the other person unique. They find ways to be positive even when another family member makes a mistake and make a conscious effort to develop closeness and show love at home.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Remembering the 3D’s
2. Having Self-Belief
3. Taking Action
4. Choosing a Course of Action
5. Staying Focused
6. Investing Money
7. Having Commitment
8. Setting Goals

A. One of the first steps in the process of becoming successful is to make the decision to achieve something. All of us know that nothing can move forward until that first decision to do so is made. The initial action is always the decision to go ahead, which many people tend to overlook. So, decide on moving forward, put your decision down in writing, just to keep it in focus, and then carry on from there.

B. Having clarity of vision and purpose is perhaps one of the most important factors of achieving success. The fact is that most people simply have no idea about what they really want. Clarity means understanding exactly what you want and how it will affect your life. Once you acquire clarity of vision and purpose, the next vital step of becoming successful is determining aims you want to achieve.

C. You should be able to accomplish what you set out to do with unwavering concentration. Life is full of distractions — TV, family, e-mail and telephones — all of which can be completely overwhelming. How can you concentrate on your goals? Willpower is one of the factors although willpower alone will not be sufficient to achieve your aims. One of the best ways is to make a plan and then stick to it.

D. Before beginning any new activity, examine it to see if it will help in moving you nearer to your goals. If a certain activity can be put away for a later time, defer it. If that activity can be done by somebody else, delegate it. And if it does not really need to be done at all, it can be deleted. This kind of close examination of each activity will help in keeping you focused on the things that are really important.

E. Success often involves being willing to pay the price that everything has. The price may not be in monetary terms. It could be sacrifice, effort, time, and also money, or maybe something else. The point is that in order to become successful, you must be ready to work hard and to put all your effort into achieving your purpose. Success takes a lot of dedication.

F. Lack of confidence is one of the biggest hurdles that many people need to get over in order to become successful. People often think they are not good enough or not smart enough, which can actually prevent them from finding the success they seek. It is common knowledge that if you think you can do something, you will, and conversely, if you think that it cannot be done, it will lead to failure.

G. Nothing can be achieved until action is taken to achieve it. After all the above steps of taking a decision, setting goals, making plans and choosing a strategy, you will need to go ahead and act on what you want to achieve. By putting your plan of action into play, you will get to what you set out to achieve — becoming successful!

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Behind the Wheel
2. Pessimistic Predictions
3. Intelligent House
4. New Possibilities for Business
5. Permanent People
6. Greenhouse Effect
7. Easy Shopping
8. Future Entertainment

A. The smart fridge will be connected to the Internet as part of a home network that runs your domestic life, interacting with the barcodes on your food, and re-ordering them on-line as you use them. Virtually all domestic appliances will be linked by computer, so that the fridge can communicate with the cooker and rubbish bin, coordinating complex tasks such as cooking a meal.

B. Children of the future will never be able to complain that there’s no one to play with. Equipped with virtual reality headsets, they will be taking part in global games, for example, in medieval jousting tournaments. Their opponents, selected by the computer, will probably live on the other side of the world.

C. Cars of the future will take much of the strain out of driving. The intelligent navigation system will be able to choose the best route for you by monitoring an online traffic database for hold-ups, while the cruise control keeps a constant distance from the car in front. And if you exceed the speed limit, the speedometer will give a polite warning to you.

D. Holographic conferencing and virtual reality meetings will allow people to interact with colleagues and clients via computer, without needing to leave the comfort of their own homes. This will also mean that a lot more people will either work freelance from home, or on flexible short-term contracts. The old concept ‘jobs for life’ will be a thing of the past.

E. In the future it will become harder to tell the difference between the human and the machine. All body parts will be replaceable. A computer will function like the human brain with the ability to recognise feelings and respond in a feeling way. We will then be able to create a machine duplicate of ourselves and transfer our spirit so we will be able to live for as long as we want.

F. There will be great changes to the environment particularly because of the rising sea levels. Global warming is expected to cause oceans to rise by one meter, which will increase the risk of flooding. It will happen regardless of any future actions to curb greenhouse gases. Projected climate change will also tend to degrade water quality through higher water temperatures.

G. We will not rely so much on cash as we do now. It will mainly be digital money, the inevitable medium of exchange for an increasingly wired world. We will no longer need to carry a wad of bills or fumble for exact change. Supermarkets will have iris recognition systems so the money for our groceries will automatically be transferred from our bank accounts as we’re standing at the checkout.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. The Emblem with an Animal
2. The Cradle of the Tsar Dynasty
3. The City of Brides
4. Carefully Preserved
5. The Oldest Town
6. The Religious Centre
7. The Market Town
8. The Home Town of an Artist

A. Sergiev Posad was built around the Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius. Dating back to 1340, the monastery is one of Russia’s most important historical landmarks. The town possesses a variety of 12–17th century buildings and visitors today still get a real feeling of Medieval Russia. The dominating structure of the monastery is the massive, blue-domed and gold-starred Assumption Cathedral, built in the 16th century. Adjacent is the tomb of Boris Godunov and his family. The monastery is still a place of spiritual pilgrimage.

B. Rostov Velikiy (Rostov the Great) is an ancient Russian town located on the ‘Nero’ Lake. The history of this place started four thousand years ago, when the first tribes stayed next to the lake. Until the 11th century the territory of Rostov was inhabited by the Finn-Ugors ‘Meryans’ people, and the town was founded by them. Rostov was first mentioned in Russian chronicles in 862. It is a sleepy town with some magnificent buildings. The focal point of the town is the kremlin. Its churches are good examples of ancient Russian architecture.

C. The name of Suzdal appeared in the annals for the first time in 1024. The first stone church was built here in the 12th century. In Suzdal there are 33 churches, 5 monasteries, 7 chapels and no modern construction in the centre of the town. Suzdal is officially protected from industry, and the old architecture and buildings are kept intact. Suzdal is the town that was awarded The Golden Apple Prize for preservation of its architectural ensemble and tourist development in the area.

D. Ples is a small town located in a picturesque area on the banks of the River Volga. It is an ideal place for a picnic or a walking tour, fishing or boat trips. There you can take a traditional Russian steam bath (called ‘banya’), have an opportunity to learn the art of Russian cooking or enjoy painting classes. Ivan Levitan lived in Ples and was inspired by the local nature to paint his famous landscapes. Activities in the area include visits to Levitan’s Museum and the Museum of medieval Russian family life.

E. Kostroma, originated in the 12th century, is situated on the left bank of the River Volga. In 1613 Mikhail Romanov came to Kostroma with his mother, a nun, called Marfa. They were hiding from Poles and numerous other groups of outlaws, who were roaming Russia at the time. After daylong talks with his mother, who was against the idea of her son ruling the country, Mikhail finally consented to take the crown and thus became the first Tsar of the Romanov dynasty.

F. Yaroslavl is a large, quiet old town, which is much more metropolitan than the other cities of the Golden Ring. The main place of interest is the monastery, founded in the 12th century. The town itself was founded in 1010. According to legend, Yaroslav the Wise wanted to have a trading town in this area. However, the locals responded by sending a sacred bear to stop him. Yaroslav was not afraid of the bear and killed it with an axe. Then he founded a town on this spot and the symbol of the bear was included in his coat of arms.

G. The village of Ivanovo was first mentioned in Russian chronicles in 1561. The inhabitants were fishing, hunting and trading, but their main occupation was making clothes. The first cloth manufacture was built in the village in 1741 by a peasant who made a fortune from selling home-made cloths. That’s when the glory of Ivanovo took off: the village started to sell its fabrics all over Russia. Ivanovo is still one of the main textile centres of Russia. Interestingly, there are more women than men in the city as they all work in the textile industry.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Circles on the Water
2. Ancient Ancestor
3. Different Explanations
4. Unexpected Invention
5. Solution to the Problem
6. Hidden Menace
7. Artificial Eye
8. Significant Benefits

A. Chocolate chip cookies were actually a mistake! One day in 1903, Ruth Wakefield, while baking a batch of cookies, noticed she was out of bakers’ chocolate! As a substitute she broke some semi-sweetened chocolate into small pieces and put them in the dough. She thought that the chocolate would melt in the dough and the dough would absorb it. When she opened up the oven, she realized she had invented the tasty treat called chocolate chip cookies!

B. Computers originally began as calculators. The first calculator was made by Blaise Pascal. It only had eight buttons, and it could only do addition and subtraction. There was a set of wheels, and all of the wheels had the numbers zero through nine on them. The wheels were connected by gears and each turn of one wheel would turn the next wheel one-tenth of a turn. This machine was completed in 1642 when Blaise was twenty-one years old.

C. A helicopter has a big advantage over an airplane, especially when people might be trapped in a tight place like on a mountain, where there is not much space to land, or on the water. They are also used for rescuing people from burning buildings or from trees when there are floods. Without the helicopter as a rescue vehicle, many people would lose their lives because the rescuers would be unable to reach them if they were in a difficult area.

D. Cars have always caused air pollution. In the past, there was a lot more air pollution created by cars than there is today. In the future, there will probably be even less. Two good ways for pursuing the dream of less air pollution are cars that run on solar energy and cars that run on fuel cells. Solar energy and fuel cells don’t cause pollution because they do not give off any exhaust.

E. Reporter Rob Spence is planning to have a camera embedded in his eye socket and become a ‘bionic reporter’. Spence, who lost one of his eyes when he was young, says he has a prototype in development and that one day the replacement of even healthy eyes with bionic ones may become commonplace. ‘It seems shocking now, but it will become more and more normal,’ he said.

F. Crop circles have been appearing in fields all over the world for the past 30 years. There have been suggestions that they are made by flying saucers landing and flattening the crops, or even that they are messages left by visiting aliens. Others think they are created by microwave beams from satellites orbiting the Earth. Other more rational suggestions are that crop circles are man-made hoaxes, attempting to convince the public of extra-terrestrial life on the Earth.

G. The Egyptian Pyramids have always been surrounded by mystery. When Egyptologists began to open the tombs of the pharaohs, rumours abounded that anyone who raided them would be cursed. Many think a curse was to blame for the death of Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to open King Tutankhamen’s tomb in 1923. He died of pneumonia after being bitten by a mosquito a few weeks after the tomb was opened.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Capital Punishment
2. Shoplifting
3. Crime Prevention
4. Kidnapping
5. Frightening Changes
6. Long-Term Effect
7. Virtual Crime
8. Guilty or Not Guilty?

A. The presumption of innocence is a legal right that the accused in criminal trials has in many modern countries. The burden of proof is thus on the prosecution. It has to collect and present enough compelling evidence to convince the jury of the fact that beyond a reasonable doubt the accused has broken the law. In case of remaining doubts, the accused is to be acquitted.

B. Sarah and Lisa always enjoyed hanging out at the mall. But one Saturday, after shopping for jeans, Sarah pulled a new shirt out of her bag. Lisa didn’t remember seeing her buy it. ‘I didn’t,’ Sarah told her. ‘I lifted it.’ Lisa was upset and puzzled. Stealing didn’t seem like something Sarah would do. Sometimes people do not realize the consequences of this crime.

C. Even families living in so-called ‘safe’ neighbourhoods are concerned. They may feel safe today, but there is always a reminder that violence can intrude at any moment. Polly Klaas and her family no doubt felt safe in Petaluma, California. But on October 1, 1993, she was abducted from her suburban home during a sleepover. If she can be abducted and murdered, so can nearly any other child.

D. The Internet is a great place to find information, make friends, keep in touch with others, and do business. There always are other sides as long as there is a criminal element. As our world becomes more computerized and ever more interconnected, different kinds of computer crimes will continue to grow. These include break-ins of computers to get trade secrets or illegal entry for the thrill and challenge.

E. Movie violence these days is louder and bloodier than ever before. When a bad guy was shot in a black-and-white Western, the most we saw was a puff of smoke and a few drops of fake blood. Now the sights, sounds, and special effects often jar us more than the real thing. Slow motion and pyrotechnics conspire to make movies and TV shows more gruesome than ever.

F. University of Illinois psychologist Leonard Eron studied children at age eight and then again at eighteen. He found that television habits established at the age of eight influenced aggressive behaviour through childhood and adolescent years. The more violent were the programs preferred by boys in the third grade, the more aggressive was their behaviour, both at that time and ten years later.

G. In the debate about execution and human dignity, supporters and opponents of the death penalty have found very little common ground. Since the 18th century, those who wish to abolish the death penalty have stressed the significance of requiring governments to recognize the importance of each individual. However, supporters of this penal practice see nothing wrong with governments deliberately killing terrible people who commit terrible crimes.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Recognize Your Limitations
2. Take a Rest
3. Clear Out Distractions
4. Have Help Handy
5. Plan Your Work
6. Stay Calm Under Pressure
7. Work with Interest
8. Stay Focused

A. The overriding idea is to go for simplicity. A quiet basement, a library table or the ground next to a big tree outside allow you to focus on what you’re doing. Examples of poor locations would include the kitchen table, common areas where you’re likely to encounter friends, or even your own room, as it’s usually stocked with a computer, television, and video games that seem a lot more appealing than what you’re doing. You have to remove yourself far enough from any potential disturbance. This is the key to any successful session of work.

B. Making your work relate to your leisure activities or hobbies eliminates much of the tedium associated with it. Whenever possible, make your schoolwork centre around something you love, and run with it. Essay assignment? Write about your favourite hobby. History report? Write about your favourite historical battle. Just pick anything to make your reports and assignments less mundane. As long as you meet all the requirements of the assignment, the rest is yours to choose.

C. It’s okay to reward a long session of hard work with a quick break here or there. Eat something, watch a TV show, play a bit of your favourite video game, pick up a musical instrument and practise a little bit. Trying to work too long at too hard a pace without a break is only going to spoil your work in the end, as you’ll start to tire, grow apathetic, and make mistakes. Taking semi-frequent breaks proportional to the amount of time you spent working keeps your mind fresh and your spirits up.

D. Ultimately, you are going to have to make executive decisions about the importance of various assignments relative to how much time and effort you’re expending on them. Don’t get bogged down worrying about finishing a small assignment that is worth a negligible fraction of your grade if it means that finishing it will cost you important points on a far more important project or paper for another class. Always rank assignments based on their due date and importance. In the grand scheme of things, it’s always best to do what will get you the best overall average of grade points.

E. If you have multiple assignments to do, don’t try and work on more than one at a time. Pick the most immediately due assignment and stick with it like glue until it’s done. Then move on to the next most pressing assignment. This way, you resist the temptation to bypass hard, looming assignments to jump to easier but less pressing assignments for your sense of accomplishment. Concentrating your efforts on one task is the key to any successful session of work.

F. Often, you’ll be tempted to pull all-nighters simply to get things done and out of your head. This is extremely counterproductive. If you feel very tired, you can just drop off at any moment. If you sense you’re giving less and less effort to your work, then stop. It’s always better to pick it up the next day when you’re focused than to run a marathon all night and wind up with substandard work that you aren’t proud of.

G. It’s not always easy to stay on the ball in college, but if you know how to stay calm, and make your assignments work for you, you can simplify things tremendously. If you have no idea how to even start an assignment, always feel free to contact your professor, campus tutoring office, or even your parents for advice. Don’t let your fears get in the way of your doing well. If asking a professor for assistance is the difference between a C and an A on an assignment, you should not care about your pride, you should care about your college marks.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Health Problem
2. Significant Difference
3. Fashions in Food
4. New Weapon
5. The Price of Success
6. Holiday Regulations
7. Strong Competitor
8. Psychological Barrier

A. Nowadays potatoes are the ‘in’ thing so far as health is concerned. In the 60s and 70s we were told to avoid them at all costs for fear of getting fat, but now they have been reinvented by the dieticians as a source of fibre and vitamins. Sensible people, like you and me, have always eaten them because they taste so good.

B. Organizing a holiday isn’t the easiest task in the world; there are so many things to think about. Let’s keep it simple by assuming that there’s no overseas travel to arrange. That doesn’t mean you can also forget about injections and other health precautions entirely. What about sun blocker? What about regular medication prescribed by your doctor? My point, quite frankly, is that planning a holiday can be a real pain although a well-planned holiday can more than reward the pains you go to before you set out.

C. Symantec, McAfee and Trend Micro have the US market for anti-virus software sewed up between them. But here comes Russia’s Kaspersky Lab trying to gain a foothold. The Moscow-based company opened a sales office outside of Boston in February and has signed up about 40 resellers. Kaspersky reacts quicker than the giants to new viruses and other forms of malware, and gets fixes out fast.

D. Sitting in the office armchairs all day long has become the norm for many of us. Stress and rush make us forget about regular food and stuff our stomachs with cheeseburgers and sodas, which don’t do any good to our bodies. As a result, we rarely find time for exercises, gyms or balanced nutrition and it’s one of the reasons why a lot of people are overweight nowadays. However, it is possible to change your lifestyle and lose your weight if you are willing to.

E. The Internet is a very effective medium for spreading ideas or news. It eliminates geographical boundaries, and Greenpeace is aware of it, and benefits from it. For instance, in 1995, Greenpeace utilised its site to publicise a route that the French use to send nuclear shipments to Japan. They also included the fax number of the French Embassy and of the newspaper Le Monde so that letters of protest could be sent.

F. The biggest problem most people face in learning a new language is their own fear, like Stage Fear. They worry that they won’t say things correctly or that they will look stupid so they don’t talk at all. Don’t do this. Actually, the fastest way to learn anything is to do it — again and again until you get it right. Like anything, learning English requires practice. Don’t let your fear stop you from getting what you want.

G. Fuel cells are similar to a battery except unlike batteries, they don’t need to be recharged. Fuel causes air pollution and noise, while fuel cells do not cause either. Fuel cells don’t cause pollution because they don’t create waste like fuel. Fuel cells are also very efficient, so efficient that fuel cells have been providing energy on spacecrafts for a very long time.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Changing Habits
2. Eating Out
3. Foreign Food
4. Diet Dangers
5. Popular but Useless
6. Plan Your Diet Carefully
7. Eating Together
8. Food Safety

A. A quick look at junk food facts tells us junk food and diets do not go hand in hand. Junk foods are also called ‘empty calorie’ foods and have no nutritional value. Nevertheless, they are enjoyed by lots of people because of their simplicity to manufacture, consume and, of course, their taste. Chocolates, burgers, pizzas, potato wafers and fries will surely find their way into everyone’s heart.

B. Thai cuisine is one of the healthiest foods you can eat. In fact, several Thai dishes, such as Tom Yum Soup, are currently under scientific study for their incredible health benefits. Of course, it’s already known that many of the fresh herbs and spices used in Thai cooking — such as turmeric, galangal, coriander, lemongrass, and fresh chillies — have immune-boosting and disease-fighting power.

C. Vegetarian diets can be very healthy, but eating a balanced diet when you are vegetarian usually requires a little extra attention. Because vegetarians eliminate certain foods from their diets, they often need to work to add foods into their diet that will provide the nutrients found in meat products. If properly planned, vegetarian diets can provide all the nutrients you need.

D. It’s actually easy to make good choices at a fast-food restaurant or the cafeteria. Most cafeterias and fast-food places offer healthy choices that are also tasty, like grilled chicken or salads. Be mindful of portion sizes and high fat add-ons, like dressings, sauces or cheese. Most restaurant portions are larger than the average serving of food at home. Ask for half portions or take half of your dish home.

E. Family meals are making a comeback. Shared family meals are more likely to be nutritious, and kids who eat regularly with their families are less likely to snack on unhealthy foods and more likely to eat fruits and vegetables. Teens who take part in regular family meals are less likely to smoke, drink alcohol, or use drugs. Beyond health and nutrition, family meals provide a valuable opportunity to reconnect.

F. Families are cooking more meals at home, cutting back on take away in the face of the economic downturn. In addition to cutting back on take away and eating out, families have begun cooking more vegetarian meals and are adding vegetables, lentils and baked beans to allow them to cut back on meat quantity. Consumers also indicate that they are likely to prepare meals that can be spread across more than one mealtime.

G. In recent years it has become common practice for celebrities and stars to publicize food products. Businesses take advantage of consumers’ mentality of ‘following the stars’ and invite celebrities and stars to perform ‘false advertising’ so as to mislead or even deceive consumers. The law stipulates that those who publicize ‘faulty food products’ will share responsibility with food producers and sellers.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Gifted Children Always Become Famous
2. Awareness of Giftedness
3. Special Attitude Is Required
4. Lack of Challenge May Cause Problems
5. Contrary to Popular Belief
6. Gifted Children Have no Support
7. Identifying the Gifted Child
8. Being Gifted Is not Always Easy

A. Gifted children’s behaviour differs from that of their age-mates. Many gifted children learn to read early, with better comprehension of the nuances of language. As much as half of the gifted and talented population has learned to read before entering school. They can work independently at an earlier age and can concentrate for longer periods. They like to learn new things, are willing to examine the unusual, and are highly inquisitive.

B. Being academically gifted is a topic laced with myths and fears, many of which are unfounded. Moreover, academically gifted children often face special problems. So do their parents. Schools treat those children differently from those whose talents lie in other areas, like music, art, and sports. Gifted children may also be learning disabled or have another disability while being highly intelligent.

C. Social and emotional difficulties are not directly linked to giftedness. Rather, they result from a lack of understanding by the child of the nature of their intellectual difference. Parents and teachers don’t usually discuss this difference with them because of the concern that they may get a ‘swelled head’. The risk is that gifted children may view their differences as ‘weird’ or ‘bad’ or try to ignore or deny them.

D. Most of the athletes are allowed to develop their special skills at whatever rate best suits them. No one tries to stop them from becoming much better baseball players or swimmers than their classmates. Yet if an academically gifted child tries to do two years of work in one, that’s viewed as potentially harmful. Much of the concern focuses on the non-academic areas of these gifted children’s development.

E. Researchers emphasize that for the vast majority of academically gifted children those concerns are groundless. In fact, these children are more likely to develop social and even academic problems if they don’t feel intellectually challenged. If gifted children don’t go to challenging programs, they may not learn how to learn. Eventually, in college or graduate school, they feel emotionally overwhelmed when they can’t just coast through their courses anymore.

F. Gifted children represent both a challenge and a resource for schools. Educators have a responsibility to provide programs to meet the educational needs of gifted students who are capable of learning at advanced levels. Ideally, schools should have specifically trained teachers for gifted students to create a challenging and supportive learning environment for these children.

G. Gifted children are often viewed as ‘the smart ones’ who should know everything. Yet, being gifted does not mean they possess great abilities in every area. Albert Einstein was 4 years old before he spoke a word. Winston Churchill failed the 6th grade, and Leo Tolstoy flunked out of college. What do these three famous people have in common? In fact, they are all considered gifted, and in some cases, geniuses.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Unexpected Tech Failure
2. Military Use
3. World Without Drivers
4. Health Benefits
5. Saving Time and Money
6. Other Side of the Coin
7. Robotic Future
8. Specialised Vehicles

A. Globally released worldwide, Microsoft Vista hit the markets in early 2007. Its ideology was to enhance the security system of the personal computer. But the security features weren’t all that better than its previous versions’, according to many software critics. Vista is also not compatible on all sorts of PC’s and runs slower compared to Windows XP. All of this prevented Vista from being a better version and it never took off like the company had hoped.

B. A couple centuries ago, if you wanted to record a moment for posterity you sat around for hours or days while someone painted it. Up until ten years ago, you were at the mercy of photo developers charging 20 cents or more to help preserve your memories. Now you can record countless images and store them electronically for all of eternity at virtually no cost per picture.

C. With technology advancing at the pace it is today, we have to believe that by the end of the century we won’t be driving our cars around the city. Rather, we will just be sitting on the then historic driver’s seat and doing some work. While the concept looks futuristic, industrial designer Kubik Petr believes that nothing seems impossible with modern technology at hand.

D. The Kenguru is designed only for the disabled. Previously car manufacturers would design cars for the disabled but not specifically for them. This Hungarian company is taking it to the next step, the disabled will be able to open the rear of the car and just roll in the driving position, secure their wheelchair — without even having to leave their chair.

E. Technology certainly offers us innumerable comforts within our world, especially when it comes to people who have extreme medical conditions and need the help of science and technology to live comfortably within their everyday lives. The creation of robot limbs allows a person to walk again. The introduction of synthetic body parts such as a heart pump can help a person to live longer.

F. Everyone knows that being a soldier is a dangerous job. Walking through minefields, deactivating unexploded bombs or clearing out hostile buildings, for example, are some of the riskiest tasks. What if we could send robots to do these jobs instead of humans? Then, if something went wrong, we’d only lose the money it cost to build the robot instead of losing a human life.

G. Cutting edge technologies offer the hope for a better world, bringing welcome solutions to everything from disease to environmental damage. But these same technologies can also bring danger by aiding criminals and terrorists, invading personal privacy and even potentially creating diseases and damaging the environment. The more powerful and pervasive technology becomes, the more dangerous it becomes as well.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Struggle for Survival
2. Ancient Wonder
3. Great Beginning
4. Important Event
5. Tourist Boom
6. Agriculture Success
7. Practical Invention
8. Living Longer

A. Computers have already revolutionized the way we live and work. But it is early days for computers. We do not know how much they are still changing the world. Already, Internet users can buy things and study holiday offers. It’s much easier to edit and print documents using a PC. More computer wonders are yet to come.

B. Only a few years before men were walking on the Moon, reputable scientists declared that it was impossible. But in 1969 Neil Armstrong stepped out of his space capsule and made his famous statement, ‘That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.’ However, progress in this area is slower now. Not as much money goes into research as in the 1960s.

C. Surely nothing has done more for the comfort and happiness of mankind than the advance of medical knowledge! Lots of people have benefited from the aspirin and lots of lives have been saved by penicillin. Surgeons can perform the most amazing operations. Average life expectancy in Europe has risen dramatically over the last hundred years.

D. In the past, a holiday used to mean simply a day when you did not work. Now millions of holidaymakers travel to all parts of the world. Perhaps, not all people like to see lots of tourists in their countries, but we must admit that a phenomenon which sees the population of Greece treble is a wonder of the world.

E. It is true that the Olympic Games are now commercialized and there is greed and drug abuse. However, it is a competition in which every country of the world takes part. Every four years, for a brief moment, we see these countries come together in peace and friendship. We see people from warring countries shake hands. We feel hope again for the future of mankind.

F. In 1724, Jonathan Swift wrote, ‘Whoever makes two blades of grass or two ears of corn grow where only one grew before serves mankind better than the whole race of politicians’. In Europe farmers have done it and we produce enough food to feed the world. If only politicians could find a way to share it with those parts of the world where there is still famine.

G. The greatest wonder of the modern world is simply that we are still here. We have bombs that could destroy the world but we try our best not to use them. Because of people’s effort no government dares to use such weapons. The year 2001 marked the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize, the most famous attempt to raise awareness of the issues of war and peace.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Unsolved Mystery
2. Meteorological Phenomenon
3. Curious Conclusion
4. Group Builders
5. Clever Camouflage
6. Friendly but Dangerous
7. Animal Diseases
8. Feeding to Death

A. Tree squirrels are quite used to humans and many will come close to people hoping they will be fed. However, squirrels deserve our respectful distance. They have very sharp teeth and sharp claws and defend themselves by biting and scratching if they are startled. However, they are fun to observe. So treat them with gentle respect... and they can be wonderful ‘wild friends’.

B. Elephants display ‘right-handedness’, not in their limbs, but in the tusks. Close examination of an elephant’s tusks will reveal that one tusk has a blunter tip and is thicker than its less favoured counterpart. The reason for this difference is that in their natural habitat elephants use their tusks for gathering food, and digging for water. Consequently the tusk on their favourite side becomes more developed, but blunter.

C. In October 1987, an attempt to find a famous Loch Ness monster was made with 20 cruisers that swept the loch using sonar equipment, electronically recording all contacts. While the cruisers caught enough salmon to feed an army, there was no sign of Nessie. Most scientists would bet that there is no monster, yet they do seem to hedge themselves and keep an open mind as they await conclusive proof in the form of skeletal evidence or the capture of the monster.

D. Birds used for the production of Foie Gras are trapped in tiny cages, where they hardly have any place to move or flap their wings. Mechanized feeders come at regular intervals to feed them and metal pipes are forced down their gullets several times a day. The overfed birds have difficulty breathing and acquire a range of diseases. Once these birds have reached a point of near-death, they are slaughtered, and their livers end up in restaurants!

E. Animals adapt over time to their environments, some so much so that they begin to look like their surroundings — a helpful evolutionary advantage in the face of potential predators (or while stalking prey). There are octopi that blend in perfectly with sandy ocean floors, insects that look just like leaves and fish that resemble oceanic plants. There is even an octopus that can mimic nearly twenty other oceanic species to scare off.

F. Humans work together all the time to build incredible structures we could never have dreamed up, let alone construct, on our own — but some animal architecture is arguably even more impressive. There is a spider web built by a variety of species working together that spans much of a public park, an ant colony that extends for thousands of miles and birds nests built by entire flocks living together under one thatched roof.

G. Raining animals... it sounds ridiculous, right? Nonetheless, it happens — although rarely. Fish, frogs and birds are the most common forms of animal rain. Sometimes the creatures land relatively unscathed but in other cases they are frozen or shredded to pieces. Theories vary in their details but generally it is assumed that certain kinds of strong winds lift up the animals with a volume of water (fish and frogs from ponds, for example) or sweep them out of the sky in the case of birds and then deposit them, often right before a major storm.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Don’t Ignore Warning Signs
2. Use Alternative Medicine
3. Staying in Shape Is Important
4. Threat to Your Eyesight
5. Turn a Bad Habit into a Good Idea
6. Fat People Are at Risk
7. Prevention Is Better Than Cure
8. Choose Proper Nutrition

A. There are numerous problems associated with obesity. It is not just a cosmetic problem but also a health hazard. Doctors generally agree that the more obese a person is, the more likely he or she is to have health problems. This is because obesity has been linked to several serious medical conditions. People who are overweight can gain significant health benefits from losing weight.

B. Hey, couch potato! Don’t feel guilty indulging in serials or reality shows — use the commercials as an excuse to burn calories. There is probably an average of 15 minutes of commercials in an hour-long programme. If you exercised through each commercial break during just two hours of TV, you’d already have met the recommended amount of daily exercise necessary to reduce health risks.

C. Regular checkups are a valuable tool in maintaining good health. Taking proper care of your health at the right time can help avoid a lot of problems in the future. The main aim of a checkup is to detect illness at an early stage. It’s good to find out that you have a health problem before it is too late, so appropriate tests should be done at the right time.

D. Do you mainly exercise for a few weeks in January before you forget your New Year’s resolution, and then again when you realise your summer holiday is around the corner? You’d not be alone, but keeping fit is something you should do all year round. You might not be particularly bothered about your appearance or your weight, but keeping fit is as much about what’s on the inside as it is what’s on the outside.

E. Pain is our body’s means to indicate that something is wrong and requires immediate attention. Pain for a short time can be taken care of by a painkiller but if the soreness is lingering for too long, then it requires proper medical expertise. Sometimes life menacing problems have back pain and joint pain as symptoms and can, if neglected, do permanent damage.

F. Think about your car — the higher the grade of the fuel you put in it, the better it runs. Your body works the same way. If you eat healthy foods, you’ll be healthier and feel better. Eating well is easy if you’re aware of what foods are best for you. But don’t worry! Eating healthy food doesn’t mean eliminating every single thing you love from your diet.

G. Do you spend more than 3 hours a day working or maybe playing on a computer? If so, you are at a higher risk than casual computer users. Researchers warn that watching a computer screen for six or more hours a day might be linked to a progressive eye disease. This does not mean, however, that people who work on a computer for less than 3 hours a day will not suffer eye complications due to computer use.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Space Research
2. A Touch of Magic
3. Great Expectations
4. M-Learning Revolution
5. Wary Birds
6. Viable Alternative
7. Old Custom
8. Attractive Destination

A. The Hebrides, a group of islands off the Scottish Coast, offers tourists a diversity of wildlife and scenery with few equals in the UK. And in the waters around them you can find not only dolphins but whales and the mighty sea eagle as well. In places it is possible to see such marine animals from the shore, but to have the best views you need to be on a boat.

B. Mostly it’s about hot air — for without that, balloons are just big empty bags with baskets on the bottom. The Montgolfier brothers had great hopes when they made the first manned flight. They thought balloons would take off as a viable means of commercial flight. Instead, they have remained the province of sport, adventure and enjoyment. Yet they still retain the essential characteristics which make them so attractive.

C. Many people still think that to get the chance to go to space you have got to try to become an astronaut. Unfortunately, the chances of succeeding are tiny, simply because there are so few astronauts and there is no prospect of a lot more being employed. However, you need not despair because you will be able to go as a visitor. But the first thing you should do is to save up because the demand is expected to be strong and prices will be high.

D. The natural cautiousness is usual in herons. They prefer to spend the day in areas where they can hunt for fish in peace. They seldom allow close approach and are quick to take to the air when they sense humans are about. Such nervousness is understandable, given that they have suffered from persecution from fish farmers.

E. Crop circles are large circular patterns which have been turning up mysteriously in cornfields all over southern England, and in other parts of the world, since the 1980s. Many people believe they could not have been done by human beings — they say only visitors from outer space could have created such circles. Although scientists are trying to solve this mystery, the scientific explanation has not been found yet.

F. Teachers are used to asking students to turn off their mobile phones but soon they could be a major classroom aid for teaching and learning. Three schools in the Richmond area are taking part in an innovative project in which students will use their mobile phones. Students can use the phones to get access to learning materials as more phones nowadays have links to the Internet.

G. Every year, large crowds of people gather at Cooper’s Hill to watch the Cheese Rolling Championship. A group of brave people roll a large cheese down the hill, and then run down after it. In theory, competitors must catch the cheese, but as it can reach speeds of up to 70 miles an hour, this rarely happens. Cheese Rolling has been going on for hundreds of years and nobody knows for sure when it first started.

Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 

Пример ответа: 1234567

1. Shifting responsibilities

2. Fast way of travelling

3. Learning to survive

4. Safer and merrier

5. Changing conditions

6. Difficult incubation

7. Cold-climate companions

8. First important steps

A. Emperor penguins are well-known for their cliff-diving. Normally, young penguins jump only a couple of feet from floating sea ice into the water when they feed. However, this is not always the case. Sometimes juveniles find themselves in a tricky location for a water entry when they become very hungry. Such situations force them to jump from a great height no matter what. This is a true demonstration of the penguins’ fortitude. These fascinating birds have evolved over millions of years to survive on the coldest, windiest, and driest continent on Earth.

B. Emperor penguins can grow up to 45 inches tall and weigh up to 88 pounds. Many of their most amazing traits can be only seen during nesting season, which runs through the most difficult time of year. Female emperor penguins lay a single pear-shaped egg early in the Antarctic winter when temperatures can fall to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit and winds can reach hurricane force. Needing to refill their energy reserves, they quickly shuffle the eggs to their mates to take care while they move to the ocean to feed.

C. Male emperor penguins spend the next two months incubating the eggs balanced on top of their webbed feet and shielded from the cold by a flap of the penguin’s abdominal skin that forms a pocket, or so called “brood pouch”. The soon-to-be fathers will go nearly four months without food, losing roughly half their weight during breeding season. Eggs typically hatch by August, just as the females are returning to provide their young with a first meal. Then the chicks will be fed and warmed by their parents over the next five months.

D. Huddling etiquette is a survival skill all young emperor penguins must learn. The youngsters learn to huddle, but not always neatly. In fact, there is always a big mess about huddling. Instead of waiting for their turn to reach the warm centre, impatient chicks will often jump right in. A few nestle together, then others race up and slam into the pile. As the huddle grows, latecomers try pushing in right in the warm portion of the huddle. Huddled together, the little penguins begin to socialize with each other.

E. By mid-December, as the Antarctic summer approaches, the chicks have started to shed their fluffy down for waterproof plumage. After that, the chicks no longer require parental care – adults leave them in groups of chicks called crèches while they go out to fish. From then on, the juveniles have to fend for themselves. They quickly leave their colony in search of food. To do that, they have to take a literal leap of faith into the sea. It is a very important moment when they begin their life in the ocean, where they’ll spend an average of five years before returning to breed.

F. Emperor penguins settled in the unforgiving climate of Antarctica, hence they have a thicker layer of body fat, scalelike feathers, and clawlike feet especially suited to walking on the ice. However, penguins use more than their feet for movement. On land, where their waddling slows them down, emperor penguins often resort to tobogganing – sliding on their bellies while pushing with their flippers and feet. This transportation allows them to cover vast distances across the icy expanse as they travel to and from the sea.

G. Scientists do not believe that cliff-jumping by young penguins is directly caused by climate change. However, one expert suggests that rising temperatures might push more emperor penguins to breed on permanent ice shelves instead of sea ice. If this happens, young penguins would have to jump from taller heights when leaving the nest, which could increase risks. This case emphasises a harsh reality: under some climate scenarios, scientists predict, 80 percent of Antarctica’s emperor penguin colonies will disappear by the turn of the century.