Прочитайте текст и выполните задания 12–18. В каждом задании запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа. Пример ответа: 1 Edible Gold I like to think of myself as an open-minded person, someone who is tolerant to those with different beliefs, however wacky they may seem to me. Every rule has its exceptions, though. A few years ago while traveling in England, I met a woman who asked me if I’d heard of edible gold. I replied that I had, as I’d seen a TV show about chefs using gold leaves as a decorative but edible garnish on dishes. I assumed that’s what she was talking about. But she seemed very surprised and in a hushed, conspiratorial tone, began excitedly talking about how the ancient Egyptians had discovered that by eating powdered gold, one could become immortal. Very clearly, she believed this too. OK. I felt that all my good intentions of open-mindedness went out the window –– that was just way too strange for me. Later, when I consulted Google to see if I could learn more about this outrageous claim, I was shocked and dismayed to find thousands of Web pages describing, with great seriousness, a miraculous substance usually referred to as white powder gold. Even though I can’t claim the slightest expertise in this esoteric field, I thought I’d make an attempt to distil the essence of these claims for your consideration. Let’s begin with culinary gold. If you walk into your nearest gourmet supply store, you can probably find, for about US$20, a box of gold leaf manufactured expressly to enable you to impress your friends at your next dinner party. These unbelievably thin pieces of nearly pure gold add an impressive touch to chocolates, soups, sushi, or just about anything else you can think of. Because the quantity of gold is so small, the price is reasonable; yet these gold highlights make a meal appear to be extravagant and give restaurants an excuse to charge exorbitant prices. Some purveyors of mineral supplements sell a gold colloid: a suspension of extremely tiny particles of metallic gold in water. In a gold colloid, each particle contains nine atoms of gold. Its daily dose is enough to provide a wide range of health benefits. Here, at least, there is some research behind it. A few studies found the product to be effective in managing rheumatoid arthritis and also, intriguingly, increasing I.Q. scores. These claims are at least plausible. Our next step is one decidedly outside the realm of scientific certainty. David Hudson, a farmer living in Arizona, was trying to extract gold and silver from the tailings of an abandoned mine in the mid-1970s. In the process, he found a mysterious substance that defied analysis, despite years of experimentation by reputable laboratories, undertaken at great personal expense. Hudson eventually concluded the white powder was gold in a monatomic state and it has some amazing properties: when heated it can levitate and has a long list of incredible health benefits. Hudson even received patents in Britain and Australia, though not in the USA. I should interject that the awarding of a patent does not mean that a government agency has successfully reproduced the invention in question, or even that they have validated it as being scientifically sound. Interested in alchemy Hudson became convinced that his white powder gold was the stuff of many legends. He equated it with “the philosopher’s stone”, and “the food of the gods”, among other things. Hudson believed he had rediscovered an ancient alchemical formula. And, naturally, numerous companies sell solid or liquid forms of “white powder gold” supposedly created using variants of Hudson’s recipe. 16. The author refers to the substance found by David Hudson as “mysterious” because … 1) it has unusual properties. 2) its health benefits are magnificent. 3) it was discovered by chance. 4) it can be used for any human need.

Вещество Дэвида Хадсона названо загадочным из-за его необычных свойств, которые якобы невозможно объяснить. Автор пишет: “he found a mysterious substance that defied analysis” и далее упоминает его способность левитировать. Значит, оно кажется загадочным из-за необычных свойств.

Прочитайте текст и выполните задания 12–18. В каждом задании запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа. Пример ответа: 1 Edible Gold I like to think of myself as an open-minded person, someone who is tolerant to those with different beliefs, however wacky they may seem to me. Every rule has its exceptions, though. A few years ago while traveling in England, I met a woman who asked me if I’d heard of edible gold. I replied that I had, as I’d seen a TV show about chefs using gold leaves as a decorative but edible garnish on dishes. I assumed that’s what she was talking about. But she seemed very surprised and in a hushed, conspiratorial tone, began excitedly talking about how the ancient Egyptians had discovered that by eating powdered gold, one could become immortal. Very clearly, she believed this too. OK. I felt that all my good intentions of open-mindedness went out the window –– that was just way too strange for me. Later, when I consulted Google to see if I could learn more about this outrageous claim, I was shocked and dismayed to find thousands of Web pages describing, with great seriousness, a miraculous substance usually referred to as white powder gold. Even though I can’t claim the slightest expertise in this esoteric field, I thought I’d make an attempt to distil the essence of these claims for your consideration. Let’s begin with culinary gold. If you walk into your nearest gourmet supply store, you can probably find, for about US$20, a box of gold leaf manufactured expressly to enable you to impress your friends at your next dinner party. These unbelievably thin pieces of nearly pure gold add an impressive touch to chocolates, soups, sushi, or just about anything else you can think of. Because the quantity of gold is so small, the price is reasonable; yet these gold highlights make a meal appear to be extravagant and give restaurants an excuse to charge exorbitant prices. Some purveyors of mineral supplements sell a gold colloid: a suspension of extremely tiny particles of metallic gold in water. In a gold colloid, each particle contains nine atoms of gold. Its daily dose is enough to provide a wide range of health benefits. Here, at least, there is some research behind it. A few studies found the product to be effective in managing rheumatoid arthritis and also, intriguingly, increasing I.Q. scores. These claims are at least plausible. Our next step is one decidedly outside the realm of scientific certainty. David Hudson, a farmer living in Arizona, was trying to extract gold and silver from the tailings of an abandoned mine in the mid-1970s. In the process, he found a mysterious substance that defied analysis, despite years of experimentation by reputable laboratories, undertaken at great personal expense. Hudson eventually concluded the white powder was gold in a monatomic state and it has some amazing properties: when heated it can levitate and has a long list of incredible health benefits. Hudson even received patents in Britain and Australia, though not in the USA. I should interject that the awarding of a patent does not mean that a government agency has successfully reproduced the invention in question, or even that they have validated it as being scientifically sound. Interested in alchemy Hudson became convinced that his white powder gold was the stuff of many legends. He equated it with “the philosopher’s stone”, and “the food of the gods”, among other things. Hudson believed he had rediscovered an ancient alchemical formula. And, naturally, numerous companies sell solid or liquid forms of “white powder gold” supposedly created using variants of Hudson’s recipe. 17. David Hudson thinks that the substance he discovered … 1) is not gold. 2) is the thing mentioned in legends. 3) doesn’t need a patent. 4) is not for distribution in the USA.

Хадсон считал, что найденное им вещество связано с древними легендами. В тексте говорится: “Hudson became convinced that his white powder gold was the stuff of many legends. He equated it with ‘the philosopher’s stone’, and ‘the food of the gods’.” Значит, он считал, что это вещество из легенд.

Прочитайте текст и выполните задания 12–18. В каждом задании запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа. Пример ответа: 1 Edible Gold I like to think of myself as an open-minded person, someone who is tolerant to those with different beliefs, however wacky they may seem to me. Every rule has its exceptions, though. A few years ago while traveling in England, I met a woman who asked me if I’d heard of edible gold. I replied that I had, as I’d seen a TV show about chefs using gold leaves as a decorative but edible garnish on dishes. I assumed that’s what she was talking about. But she seemed very surprised and in a hushed, conspiratorial tone, began excitedly talking about how the ancient Egyptians had discovered that by eating powdered gold, one could become immortal. Very clearly, she believed this too. OK. I felt that all my good intentions of open-mindedness went out the window –– that was just way too strange for me. Later, when I consulted Google to see if I could learn more about this outrageous claim, I was shocked and dismayed to find thousands of Web pages describing, with great seriousness, a miraculous substance usually referred to as white powder gold. Even though I can’t claim the slightest expertise in this esoteric field, I thought I’d make an attempt to distil the essence of these claims for your consideration. Let’s begin with culinary gold. If you walk into your nearest gourmet supply store, you can probably find, for about US$20, a box of gold leaf manufactured expressly to enable you to impress your friends at your next dinner party. These unbelievably thin pieces of nearly pure gold add an impressive touch to chocolates, soups, sushi, or just about anything else you can think of. Because the quantity of gold is so small, the price is reasonable; yet these gold highlights make a meal appear to be extravagant and give restaurants an excuse to charge exorbitant prices. Some purveyors of mineral supplements sell a gold colloid: a suspension of extremely tiny particles of metallic gold in water. In a gold colloid, each particle contains nine atoms of gold. Its daily dose is enough to provide a wide range of health benefits. Here, at least, there is some research behind it. A few studies found the product to be effective in managing rheumatoid arthritis and also, intriguingly, increasing I.Q. scores. These claims are at least plausible. Our next step is one decidedly outside the realm of scientific certainty. David Hudson, a farmer living in Arizona, was trying to extract gold and silver from the tailings of an abandoned mine in the mid-1970s. In the process, he found a mysterious substance that defied analysis, despite years of experimentation by reputable laboratories, undertaken at great personal expense. Hudson eventually concluded the white powder was gold in a monatomic state and it has some amazing properties: when heated it can levitate and has a long list of incredible health benefits. Hudson even received patents in Britain and Australia, though not in the USA. I should interject that the awarding of a patent does not mean that a government agency has successfully reproduced the invention in question, or even that they have validated it as being scientifically sound. Interested in alchemy Hudson became convinced that his white powder gold was the stuff of many legends. He equated it with “the philosopher’s stone”, and “the food of the gods”, among other things. Hudson believed he had rediscovered an ancient alchemical formula. And, naturally, numerous companies sell solid or liquid forms of “white powder gold” supposedly created using variants of Hudson’s recipe. 18. From the last paragraph it can be implied that … 1) it’s very difficult to get a patent in the USA. 2) Hudson made alchemy popular again. 3) Hudson’s discovery wasn’t scientifically validated. 4) Britain and Australia have similar scientific traditions.

Из последнего абзаца следует, что открытие Хадсона не получило научного подтверждения. Автор подчёркивает: “the awarding of a patent does not mean that a government agency has successfully reproduced the invention… or validated it as being scientifically sound.” Значит, открытие не было доказано с научной точки зрения.

Прочитайте текст и выполните задания 12–18. В каждом задании запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа. Пример ответа: 1 How I learnt Chinese I believe that random chance plays a more significant role in our lives than many people realise. The reason I started learning Chinese was a long string of fairly unlikely coincidences. Looking back, they all combine neatly to form who I am today and what I do, but that certainly wasn’t a strategic goal at the time. To find out about why I started learning Chinese in the first place, we need to wind the clock back almost 20 years. For me, the journey probably started in junior high school, when I started practising martial arts. I found Japanese martial arts to be too rigid with set uniforms, a strict grading system and a training environment with numerous rituals, and switched to a different system. Who knows, if I had stuck to Japanese martial arts, I might have ended up with hacking Japanese instead. That would have been cool, too, but that’s not what happened. My interest for the language came from a deeper interest in the system of thought behind the Eastern philosophy. I started thinking about and reading up on it. I studied translations of Tao Te Ching, listened and read everything I could find by Alan Watts, who has had a great impact on the way I think. In 2006, two good friends of mine told me that there was a new course at the university where you could study the Chinese language and culture intensively for one year. At this point, I had already studied at university for three years, but I felt that this was a good opportunity to take a break from that and learn some Chinese. So I did. I took a study break from the teacher’s program and enrolled in a one-year intensive program. Some lessons focused on general proficiency, including textbook reading, translation and drilling. Most vocabulary learning was done at home and then used and/or tested during lessons. We also had lessons focusing more on translation into Chinese, which were meant to cover the productive aspects of learning, but fell short mostly because of the lack of class time, not because the actual lessons were bad. Since we were around 20 students, there was little one-on-one time with anyone who could actually speak Chinese. My decision to continue studying Chinese in Taiwan was mostly a coincidence. My teacher in Sweden forwarded a note about a scholarship, and I applied for it without really expecting either to get it or to continue studying Chinese. When I actually received the scholarship, I had to go. You don’t turn down an offer of studying a language for one year with most costs covered. Learning in a classroom is not enough, even if the classroom is located in a Chinese-speaking environment. Most language schools are fairly traditional and stay close to the textbook, focusing a lot on reading and vocabulary. Even though I spoke a lot in class, too (small class size is a blessing), that was far from enough. I limited my use of English to about once per week when I played games with a group of other foreigners. The rest of the time I spent with native friends, language exchange partners and foreign classmates whose Chinese was a lot better than mine. I also practised some sports, such as diving, which meant I got to know native speakers who were far from campus, both literally and metaphorically speaking. After that year, I had reached some kind of conversational fluency, but I didn’t think my Chinese was good enough to make a living from. The decision, then, was to stay for another year, which would firmly put me in the advanced category, then go home and continue my teaching education. 12. The author is sure that his learning experience … 1) played a critical role in his life. 2) consisted of random events. 3) went according to his plan. 4) taught him how to set goals.

Автор подчёркивает, что изучение китайского языка началось благодаря цепочке случайностей, а не заранее продуманному плану. Он пишет: “The reason I started learning Chinese was a long string of fairly unlikely coincidences.” Значит, его опыт состоял из случайных событий.

Прочитайте текст и выполните задания 12–18. В каждом задании запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа. Пример ответа: 1 How I learnt Chinese I believe that random chance plays a more significant role in our lives than many people realise. The reason I started learning Chinese was a long string of fairly unlikely coincidences. Looking back, they all combine neatly to form who I am today and what I do, but that certainly wasn’t a strategic goal at the time. To find out about why I started learning Chinese in the first place, we need to wind the clock back almost 20 years. For me, the journey probably started in junior high school, when I started practising martial arts. I found Japanese martial arts to be too rigid with set uniforms, a strict grading system and a training environment with numerous rituals, and switched to a different system. Who knows, if I had stuck to Japanese martial arts, I might have ended up with hacking Japanese instead. That would have been cool, too, but that’s not what happened. My interest for the language came from a deeper interest in the system of thought behind the Eastern philosophy. I started thinking about and reading up on it. I studied translations of Tao Te Ching, listened and read everything I could find by Alan Watts, who has had a great impact on the way I think. In 2006, two good friends of mine told me that there was a new course at the university where you could study the Chinese language and culture intensively for one year. At this point, I had already studied at university for three years, but I felt that this was a good opportunity to take a break from that and learn some Chinese. So I did. I took a study break from the teacher’s program and enrolled in a one-year intensive program. Some lessons focused on general proficiency, including textbook reading, translation and drilling. Most vocabulary learning was done at home and then used and/or tested during lessons. We also had lessons focusing more on translation into Chinese, which were meant to cover the productive aspects of learning, but fell short mostly because of the lack of class time, not because the actual lessons were bad. Since we were around 20 students, there was little one-on-one time with anyone who could actually speak Chinese. My decision to continue studying Chinese in Taiwan was mostly a coincidence. My teacher in Sweden forwarded a note about a scholarship, and I applied for it without really expecting either to get it or to continue studying Chinese. When I actually received the scholarship, I had to go. You don’t turn down an offer of studying a language for one year with most costs covered. Learning in a classroom is not enough, even if the classroom is located in a Chinese-speaking environment. Most language schools are fairly traditional and stay close to the textbook, focusing a lot on reading and vocabulary. Even though I spoke a lot in class, too (small class size is a blessing), that was far from enough. I limited my use of English to about once per week when I played games with a group of other foreigners. The rest of the time I spent with native friends, language exchange partners and foreign classmates whose Chinese was a lot better than mine. I also practised some sports, such as diving, which meant I got to know native speakers who were far from campus, both literally and metaphorically speaking. After that year, I had reached some kind of conversational fluency, but I didn’t think my Chinese was good enough to make a living from. The decision, then, was to stay for another year, which would firmly put me in the advanced category, then go home and continue my teaching education. 13. Rigid in Paragraph 2 (“I found Japanese martial arts to be too rigid …”) most probably means … 1) complicated. 2) agreed. 3) fixed. 4) planned.

Слово “rigid” означает «строгий, неизменный, жёстко установленный». Автор объясняет, что ему не понравились японские боевые искусства из-за правил и ритуалов: “set uniforms, a strict grading system and a training environment with numerous rituals.” Поэтому правильный ответ — fixed.