​Test 2

Task 1

READING

Read the text below. Mach choices (A - H) to (1 – 5). There are three choices you do not need to use.

( 1 ) _________Nicole Kidman spoke of the tension on her marriage to Keith Urban yesterday when he went into rehab months after the pair wed. The Oscar winner told of her upset in an interview with Russell Crowe for Oprah Winfrey Show.

( 2 ) _________Women will earn the same prize money as their male counterparts for the first time at this year’s Wimbledon tournament. In the past Wimbledon officials had argued that the difference in pay was justified by the fact that women play best-of-three set matches while men played best-of-five.

( 3 ) _________Britain’s first entirely green housing estate complete with wind turbines and rainwater harvesting facilities, is to be built in London’s Docklands. Residents in the zero-carbon development will be able to grow their own food in community greenhouse and power their TV sets with tree branches.

( 4 ) _________ Many of England’s most popular universities may risk incurring government penalty this autumn by recruiting more students than they are allowed. Surry University which has seen a 40% increase in applications is considering ignoring a government cap on the number of students it takes in.

( 5 ) _________ Not all the stars will be dripping with diamonds if campaigners have their way. This year Oscar’s ceremony was supposed to be conflict-free, at least in the jewels department. But the film Blood Diamond, which brought Leonardo DiCaprio a new nomination, gave the industry the perfect excuse to develop a conscience about the true origins of the jewels adorning its actresses. Campaigners protest against the fact that the diamonds are the result of hardworking slavery in the African countries just to shine at the neck, fingers or ears of fancy ladies. It remains to be seen what would happen in the end.

A Physical restoration

B Universities risk redundancy.

C A punishment imposed for breaking a law.

D Behind the bling.

E Biggest shoppers

F Being treated equally.

G Environmentally conscious

H Plane penalty.

Task 2

READING

Read the text below. For questions (6 – 11) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

NAMING COLUMBUS’ DISCOVERY

Christopher Columbus never knew why he failed to find Asia. The reason is easy to understand today. Columbus was thousands of miles from Asia. North and South America and the Pacific Ocean lay between him and Asia. He had reached the shores of two continents that Europeans knew nothing about.

One of the first people to realize that Columbus had not reached Asia was Amerigo Vespucci. Vespucci was an Italian trader who lived in Spain. He had sold Columbus many of the things Columbus needed for his trips across the ocean.

Vespucci talked several Spanish sailors into taking him along on their westward voyages. On these trips, he became more certain that the land they saw was not a part of Asia. Many of the plants and animals he saw were unknown in Asia, Europe and Africa. For that reason, he decided this must be a new continent.

Vespucci wrote much about the new continent. Then a German mapmaker made a new map of the world. In it he included the continent Vespucci had described. The mapmaker named it America in honor of Amerigo Vespucci.

As Europeans learned more about America, they found that it was not one continent but two. They named them North and South America.

Why did people keep coming to the two Americas long after everyone knew they were not the part of Asia? Some, like Columbus, were looking for a water route through the Americas to Asia. Others were eager to see if the Americas had treasures too.

6. Christopher Columbus never knew...

A why he succeeded in reached the shores of two continents

B why he did not achieve the desired aim.

C mathematical and geographical calculations.

D Italian traders

7. Columbus was thousands of miles away from Asia...

A because he wanted to find North and South America.

B so he failed to find any land.

C and he knew that.

D so he did not find the water route he was looking for.

8. Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian trader who...

A asked Columbus to take him on his trips.

B realized Asia lay westward.

C the one to provide the necessities to be purchased by sailors

D knew all the animals and plants he saw in America.

9. Vespucci wrote a lot about the new continent...

A but he was never able to visit it.

B and made a new map of the world.

C and finally called it America.

D and gave a detailed account of what he had observed.

10. The new continent was named America because...

A Vespucci knew that the land he saw was not a part of Asia.

B Vespucci was the first to realize that Columbus had not reached Asia.

C Europeans learned more about America.

D Cartographers placed a new land described by Vespucci in their maps

11. Long after everyone knew the two Americas were not a part of Asia...

A people named them America.

B people stopped exploring them.

C people were still seeking new ways to Asia.

D people continued to write about them.

Task 3

READING

Read the text below. Mach choices (A - H) to (12 – 16). There are two choices you do not need to use.

(12)_________ Police investigating the murder of a businessman and the disappearance of his family are preparing to examine evidence taken from a remote field where his body was hidden.

A five-day excavation deep in the Devon countryside came to a halt while police continued to hunt two suspects, thought to have fled the country after killing haulage firm boss Amarjit Chohan.

(13)_________A former Special Branch man is being questioned by detectives investigating the leaking of transcripts of telephone conversations between the Prime Minister’s chief of staff and Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness. Police files, a computer and disks were also seized when officers raided a house in Northern Ireland.

(14)_________Detectives are still trying to identify the body of a woman found on fire at a rural beauty spot.

A post-mortem examination was being carried out in the hope of shedding light on the mystery. A Sussex Police spokesman said it may take some time for a pathologist to say exactly how the woman died.

(15)_________ A four-year-old boy has died in a house fire, police have said.

The youngster’s parents were rescued from the blazing property in Frampton Close, Bransholme, Hull. Neighbours desperately tried to reach the boy but were beaten back by the intense fire and smoke, Humberside Police said.

(16)_________ Thousands of protesters took to the streets of Baghdad yesterday demanding US forces quit Iraq. Fearful of looting and enraged at a lack of basic services, the chanting mob carried banners reading «Leave our country — we want peace» and «No Bush — No Saddam. Yes, Yes for Islam».The huge demo came as it was announced that a £400million Iraqi rebuilding contract had been awarded to a multinational with close links to President Bush’s administration.

A Demonstrators strongly object to political and social unrest.

B Detailed inspecting of the objects from the crime scene

C Interrogation on the matter of disclosing information

D Worker killed in blast at Amman airport

E Fierce burning results in child's death.

F Establishing the cause of mortal upshot.

G The Election to the Northern Ireland Assembly

H A valley in the Alps

Task 4

READING

Read the text below. Choose from (A - H) the one which best fits each space (17-22). There are three choices you do not need to use.

A MISSING CAT

The owner of a missing cat is asking for help. «My baby has been missing for over a month now, and I want him back so badly», said Mrs. Brown, a 56-year-old woman. Mrs. Brown lives by herself in a trailer park near Clovis. She said (17).____________ more than a month ago. The next morning he didn’t appear for breakfast, either. After Clyde missed an extra-special lunch, she called the police.

When the policeman asked her to describe Clyde, she told him (18)___________ but was missing half of his left ear, and was seven years old and completely white. She then told the officer that Clyde was about a foot high.

A bell went off. «Is Clyde your child or your pet?» the officer suspiciously asked. «Well, he’s my cat, of course», Mrs. Brown replied. «Lady, you’re supposed to report missing PERSONS, not missing CATS», said the irritated policeman. «Well, who can I report this to?» she asked. «You can’t. You have to ask around your neighbourhood or put up flyers», replied the officer.

Mrs. Brown figured (19)__________ than apiece of paper on a telephone pole. There was an empty billboard at the end of her street just off the interstate highway. The billboard had a phone number on it. She called that number, and they told her they could blow up (20)________ the billboard for all to see.

«But how can people see it when they whiz by on the interstate?» she asked. «Oh, don’t worry, ma’am, they only whiz by between 2 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. The rest of the day, the interstate is so full of commuters that no one moves». They told her it would cost only $3,000 a month. So she took (21)________ and rented the billboard for a month.

The month has passed, but Clyde has not appeared. Because she has almost no money in savings, Mrs. Brown called the local newspaper (22)__________ for just one more month. She is waiting but, so far, no one has stepped forward.

A the body of a woman

B a picture of Clyde(from Mrs. Brown’s family album) and put it on

C to see if anyone could help her rent the billboard

D that Clyde, her 7-year-old cat, didn’t come home for dinner

E most of the money out of her savings account

F that Clyde had beautiful green eyes, had all his teeth

G an unprecedented attack

H that a billboard would work a lot better

Task 5

USE OF ENGLISH

Read the text below. For questions (23 – 34) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

WHO ELECTS THE PRESIDENT?

November 7 is a very special day in the United States. Voters all across the nation are (23)________ representatives in local and national races. Some people think that they’re (24) _________ for the president of our country too. They’re not! Again, they’re voting for representatives. These representatives are called electors. They are a part of a system called the Electoral College.

In most states the electors are chosen on a (25)_________take all basis. That makes it possible for one candidate to win the most electors while getting less popular votes nationally than his (26)________.

The electors will (27)________ in their respective states and (28)________ their votes for president and vice-president on December 18. The Constitution does not (29)________ the electors to vote for the candidates that they are pledged to, but they almost always do. On January 6, 2001, just two weeks before the new president and vice-president take office, the votes will be counted in Congress.

If no one gets a (30)________ (more than half) of the electoral votes, at least 270 out of 538, the (31)________ will be chosen by Congress. The House of Representatives will choose (one vote per state) the president and the Senate will choose the vice-president. It’s not likely, but we could actually end up with a president from one party and a vice-president from another.

In an extremely close election, all kinds of strange outcomes are (32)________. Will the (33)________ that most voters prefer to be the next (34)________ win? And when will we even know?

Task 6

USE OF ENGLISH

Read the text below. For questions (35 – 46) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

UNCLE FESTER

Last year, Jack Peterson found out that he had come into a small fortune after his uncle Fester (35)________. His uncle had been a heavy smoker for many years and hadn’t been able to cut down on his smoking. Jack (36)________ with his uncle Fester, and often dropped in on him (37)____________ what he (38)________. One summer, uncle Fester promised (39)________ on his cigarette smoking after having taken 3 months (40)________ an extremely bad cough. Jack had to look after him those 3 months and, a number of times, he had told off uncle Fester. Then he came up with a brilliantine a to make uncle Fester (41) _____________ his nasty habit. He had the local cancer society telephone uncle Fester.

When they called, he told them (42)________ and then put uncle Fester through. They proceeded to make out that they were looking for a volunteer to take onto help (43)________ the patients. Well, that frightened uncle Fester and he immediately swore to give up smoking. In fact, uncle Fester (44)________ :jogging in order to help him feel better. He even began to look down on other smokers (although he couldn’t quite give smoking up himself). One day, as he set off on his morning run, he (45)________ a stand in the distance. A new society had turned up that day looking for people willing to bring up young puppies. Uncle Fester immediately went for a cute Dalmatian, and ended up (46)________ this new responsibility. Now, three years later Jack had come into the “small fortune” which reminded him every day of his wonderful, if not wise, uncle Fester.

WRITING

Read the text below. Fill in the each gap with the one word which best fits each space (47-50).

MY OFFICE

Like most offices, my office is a place where I can concentrate (47)________ my work and feel comfortable (48)________ the same time. Of course, I have all the necessary equipment on my desk. My computer is in (49)________ of my desk with the monitor directly in front of me. I have a comfortable office chair to sit on and some pictures of my family between the computer and the telephone. In order to help me read, I also have a lamp near my computer which I use in the evening if I work late. There is plenty of paper in one of the cabinet drawers. There are also staples and a stapler, paper clips, highlighters, pens and erasers in the other (50)________ In the room, there is a comfortable armchair and a sofa to sit on. I also have a low table in front of the sofa on which there are some industry magazines.

Writing

Write a letter to the radio station, applying for a job in the advertising department. List your qualifications for the job in the letter.

Use the plan for this letter.

Dear Sir/Madam

State your reason for writing.

If you are applying for a specific position identify the source of the information (a person, a newspaper...)

Describe your educational background and professional experience.

Say you are enclosing your resume and/or supporting material.

Thank them for their consideration. Say you are looking forward to hear from them.

Yours faithfully, (signature)

Write a letter of at least 100 words. Do not write any dates and addresses

Answers:

1.A; 2.F; 3.G; 4.C; 5.D; 6.B; 7.D; 8.C; 9.D; 10.D; 11.C; 12.B; 13.C; 14.F; 15.E; 16.A; 17.D; 18.F; 19.Н; 20.В; 21.E; 22.C; 23.D; 24.D; 25.B; 26.D; 27.C; 28.A; 29.A; 30.B; ЗІ.В; 32.A; 33.D; 34.D; 35.В; 36.A; 37.C; 38.D; 39.В; 40.С; 41.А; 42.В; 43.В; 44.С; 45.А; 46.D