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Questions:

What is the text about?
What are common colds caused by?
Why is paracetamol generally preferred?
What caused the rise in the price of medicine for colds?
People can get the same relief from just paracetamol. Why do pharmaceutical companies keep on producing more and more new cold medicine?
What is the main idea of the text?

Read the text and say why nobody gave a blind man any money for his playing the violin and what made all the difference when Paganini played. Say if you play any musical instruments or have any other hobby. Speak about your hobby.

“ THE BLIND MAN AND THE GREAT ARTIST”

Every day in one of the streets of Vienna you could see a blind man playing the violin. His dog sat near him with a cap in his mouth. People, who were passing them, dropped coins into the cap.

One day, when the weather was very cold, the man was playing for a long time, but nobody wanted to give him anything. The poor man thought that he would have to go to bed without supper. He was so tired and so weak that he stopped playing.

At that moment a young man came uр to him and asked him why he stopped playing. The blind man said he had played for two hours but nobody had given him anything. "Give me your violin. I shall help you", said the man. And with these words he began to play. He played so well that people began to gather and soon there was a big crowd. Everybody was eager to listen to the fine music and to thank the young man for the pleasure.

Soon the cap was full of money.

"I don't know how to thank you", said the blind man. "Who are you?"

"I am Paganini", was the answer.

Билет № 4

Read the text and answer the questions.

“TOYS”

Toys have formed part of human culture since the earliest times. Every society has provided its children with imitation of human beings or animals, and dolls are probably the oldest form of a toy. No dolls have been found in prehistoric graves, but this may be because they were made of materials like wood or cloth that have perished. Nevertheless, there were certainly dolls in Egypt over six thousand years ago.

Other ancient toys include balls and sticks, and it is clear that most games requiring physical action were originally introduced to train boys in the art of warfare. Sometimes the result went beyond the inventors' intention. Football was banned in England in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I because it became too violent.

Modern technology has made possible the production of sophisticated moving toys like model railways, aircraft controlled by radio, and dolls that can walk.

Children need toys because many adult skills are developed from playing with them. Children who learn to construct model aircraft are using their hands to a purpose; children who solve jigsaw puzzles are using their minds. Above all, children's imagination is stimulated by playing with objects.

Many parents are upset to find that two or three days after Christmas or a child's birthday, the expensive presents they bought have been broken or are lying in a corner of the room, and the child is once again happily building an imaginary castle with a few pieces of wood or playing with an old teddy bear the parents think is ugly and should be thrown away.

Questions:

What is the text about?
What was the purpose of ancient toys like balls or sticks?
Why do children need to play with toys?
Why are many parents upset after Christmas or a child's birthday?
Why do you think children prefer to play with their old toys and don’t play with new expensive toys?
What do you think are the two main functions of toys according to the text?

Read the text and say what helped Amy and her parents to keep their relations so close. Say if your relations with your parents are as good as Amy’s. Speak about your family relations.

“ FAMILY TIES”

My wife and I had the only child. We called her Amy. I see her as my best friend. I think she'd always come to me first if she had a problem. We have the same sense of humor, and share interests. I don't mind animals, but she's completely obsessed with them.

We were closest when she was about four. She must have grown up suddenly when she went to school, because I remember her growing away from her family slightly. There seemed to be an endless stream of strange young men coming through our house. By the time I'd learned their names they'd gone away and I had to start learning a new lot. I remember I told her off once in front of her friends and she didn't talk to me for days afterwards.

I wanted more than anything else for her to be happy in what she was doing. She went to a good school. When she left she took up social work, and finally went to work for a designer and he became her husband. And that's really the story of her life. She must be happy with him—they're always together.

We're very grateful for Amy. She's a good daughter as daughters go.

Билет № 5

Read the text and answer the questions.

“ HALF A GIFT”

I was ten years old then, and my brother Nick was fourteen. For both of us this purchase of gift for our mother on Mother’s Day was an occasion of excitement and great importance.

Our mother worked from early morning till late night, cooking, buying, washing and looking after us in illness.

After careful deliberation I bought for my mother a comb decorated with little shiny stones. Nick came back from the store with a pleased look but wouldn’t tell me about gift.

The next morning when I came back, Mother was on her knees scrubbing the floor. It was the job she hated most in the world. Then Nick came with his present, and Mother sat back on her heels, staring unbelievingly at the gift. Her face went pale with disappointment as she looked at the new scrubbing brush.

“A Mother’s Day gift of a scrubbing brush”, her voice almost broke.

Tears sprang to Nick’s eyes. Without a word he picked up the scrubbing brush and rushed down the stairs. I ran after him.

On the way down we met Father. “It’s a fine gift. A wonderful gift,” I explained.

We all went upstairs where Mother was still scrubbing the floor. Without a word Father took the brush and showed us how to use it. “You didn’t let Nick finish”, he said to Mother. “Part of his gift was that he was going to wash the floor from now on. Isn’t that so Nick?” With a flush of shame Nick understood the lesson. “Yes, yes”, he said in a low eager tone.

Questions:

What is the text about?
What gifts did Nick and his brother buy for their mother?
Why was their mother disappointed when she saw Nick’s gift?
What did the brothers do after they understood that their mother didn’t like Nick’s gift?
What lesson do you think Nick understood?
Why do you think the text is called “HALF A GIFT”?

Read the text and say why the Fullwords decided to educate their children themselves at home and what took them to be successful. Say if home education will develop successfully in Russia. Speak about education in Russia.

“ HOME SCHOOLING”

Elaine and Roy Fullwood had no intention of educating their children themselves until things went badly wrong at school. When a new head teacher took over at the local school, the work of their eldest child, Alex, suffered and she became bored and aimless.

Despite a meeting with the head teacher and other concerned parents nothing changed. At this point Elaine and Roy decided to take Alex, aged 8, and Anna, aged 6, away from school.

A year later Elaine was concerned about whether the girls were making enough progress. «For advice, we took the girls' work to the heads of the schools where they would have been pupils. In both cases they were well ahead for their age. This reassured us that we were on the right way.»

Alex and Anna have now been at home for two years. Roy and Elaine make it quite clear that being at home is not a soft option. They put a lot of emphasis on responsibility and self-discipline. The children themselves will decide whether they want to do «O» and «A» levels. Roy and Elaine certainly won't try to influence them.

Билет № 6

Read the text and answer the questions.

They came to see me off

The porter saw three men who arrived at the railway station at about half past nine in the evening. One of them came up to the porter and wondered at what time the next train was to start for London. The porter told the man that the trains for London went every hour.

The three men decided to go and have a drink. They came to the refreshment room and ordered three drinks. A minute or two after ten o`clock they approached the porter and asked him if the 10 o`clock train had gone. The answer was affirmative. Besides the porter added that the next train was due to start at 11 sharp.

The three men returned to the refreshment room for another drink. They missed the 11 o`clock train in the same way. The porter had to warn them that the next train was the last. If they missed it they would have to spend the night at the railway station.

Twelve o`clock came and the last train was just starting out when the three men came out the refreshment room running as hard as they could. Two of them managed to get into a carriage just when the train was starting off.

The third man could not run so fast and the train went on leaving him behind. The man stood at the platform watching the train disappear in the distance. The porter who saw all that was very sorry for the man.

When he came up to the man, he saw him laughing. The porter couldn’t understand why the man was laughing. He wanted to ask him a question, but at that moment the man said to the porter:

“Did you see those two boys get on the train and leave me behind?”

“Yes, I saw them”, answered the porter.

“They came to see me off,” explained the man to the porter.

Answer the following questions:

Name the main characters of the story.
Where did the action take place?
How often did the trains for London go?
* The three men managed to go to London, didn’t they?
* Why did the porter feel sorry for one of the men?

Read the text and say what sporting activities among teens are typical of Great Britain and Russia.. Say if young people play sports more than a century ago. Speak about sports in Russia.

Sports and games

It is estimated that most young men and about half of young women in Britain either take a passive interest in a sport or actually take part in a sporting activity on a regular basis.

Young people participate in a wide range of activities including indoor and outdoor sports such as football, rugby, cricket, swimming, squash, tennis, running, athletics, pioneering, horse-riding, archery, snooker, pool, ten-pin bowling, darts, chess, backgammon and a great many other social games. Many of these activities are organised through school or through young clubs, teams and groups are formed to compete with other schools and clubs using school and other local authority premises. Large commercial sports and leisure centres also have excellent facilities for sport and fitness development and usually offer discounted membership rates for young people.

Билет № 7

Read the text and answer the questions.

TOO WELL

After O. Henry

Miss Carington was a famous actress. She began her life in a small village named Cranberry. But that was long ago. Now she was to perform the leading part in a new comedy.

A capable young actor Highsmith by name dreamt of being Miss Carington’s partner in the new play. He told it to the manager. The manager explained to the young actor that if he wanted to play the part he must persuade Miss Carington to accept him as a partner.

The young actor knew very well that it was the part of a young farmer. The next day he went to Cranberry where he stayed for three days and gathered much information about the life and the people of that small village. Then he returned to the village and went to one of the restaurants where actors usually gathered after the performance.

He saw a small party sitting at the table. The star of that party was Miss Carington.

She noticed a poorly dressed man enter the restaurant. He approached the famous actress, greeted her and told her much interesting news about her relatives and friends from Cranberry. The way he spoke made her believe every word he said. She was sure he was a farmer.

In the end he told the famous actress that her mother wanted to see her again before she died. Then he gave her a rose he picked up from a bush in front of her house in Cranberry.

Miss Carington was so touched that she couldn’t help crying. She thanked the young man and invited him to see her again at the hotel before he left the city.

The next morning the young actor dressed in the latest fashion went to the hotel. He was sure Miss Carington would agree to take him as her partner in the play if he told her everything.

To his surprise he was told that Miss Carington had left for her native village forever.

Highsmith realized that he had acted too well.

Answer the following questions:

Name the main characters of the story.
Did Highsmith have to play the part of a young farmer or a sailor?
Why didn’t the young actor find Miss Carington at the hotel?
* Why did Miss Carington leave for her native village forever?
* Was Highsmith a good actor? Why?

Read the text and say why classical music is considered to be great. Say if you like listening to classical music and why. What music do you prefer listening to?

ONE MORE OPINION

I love classical music. Maybe, it’s because of nine years inside the musical school; but I’ve found this music the closest to my soul. Most people of my age would think I’m a bit mad to love Strauss, Mozart, Bach in place of psychedelic rock and angry, loud punk bands. My friend often says: “It’s much easier and fun to be with the crowd.” I would agree with her… But why must I be like somebody else and not somebody else be like me?

I find classical music relaxing. As many psychologists say: Bach helps to cope with nervousness; Vivaldi is excellent to make people feel calm and satisfied. Why do many people find it to be dull? Why dull? To talk about classical music as a whole there’s many modern remakes of classics. For example, I like the way Vanessa-Mae plays.

It’s not true that I hate all modern music. I have a few pop or rock songs that I like; but I think all this music can’t be called great.

Olga Doctorova

“English” newspaper

Билет № 8

Read the text and answer the questions.

THE LOST RUBY

There was once a king who was always sad. Nothing could please him. He always looked on the dark side of life.

The king had a large house with a wonderful garden. An old man looked after the garden. He was always singing as he worked.

One day the king was walking in his garden when he heard the old man’s song. He asked him, “Tell me, old man,” said the king, “Why are you always so cheerful?”

The old man said:”Sadness can never enter my heart. I have locked it out.”

“Your heart is not a house! No one can escape sadness.” said the king.

The old man just smiled. The king was angry. He decided to prove that he was right, and the old gardener was wrong.

The next day the king went down into the garden again. He took a large ruby from his pocket and gave it to the old gardener. “I want you to look after it for me,” he said. ”But if you lose the ruby, you’ll lose your life.”

The old man took the ruby home and hid it under his bed. That night the king, dressed as a beggar, went to the gardener’s house and stole the ruby. He took it and threw it into the river.

The next morning the king went down into his garden, called the old man over and said,”I want you to bring the ruby to the palace in two days time. And remember, if you lose it…” The old man got home and looked under his bed. When he saw that the ruby wasn’t there he knew he had only two days to live.

Answer the questions.

What is this text about?
What was the old man’s job?
What did the king decide to do?
Why did the king go to the gardener’s house?
What happened the next morning?

Read the text and prove that pets are wonderful companions. Say if pets abroad are being taken good care of. Speak about your pet and the way you take care of it.

An article in the New Scientist says that cats and dogs are wonderful companions. People ask questions and complain, but pets just listen and seem to understand. They never answer back. People with loving pets don’t get so much cold and headaches. Stroking a cat or walking a dog brings your blood pressure down and makes your heart beat more slowly.

The 747 British Airways flight took off from Houston to London at its usual time. However six hours later the captain had a problem. He could see that the temperature in the hold was too high. There was a five-year-old dog called Louise in there and her life was in danger. An emergency landing would cost ₤20,000 and delay the passengers for three hours. In the end the captain told the passengers about the problem and all of them agreed to save the dog’s life. The plane went back to the USA and landed in Boston, where the dog was put on another flight.

In 1993, the British spent ₤1.6 billion on looking after their pets. Over ₤100 million of this was on animal medicine. The most common injury – a broken leg – costs from ₤300 for a cat to ₤1,000 for a dog. One company in New Zealand now gives ‘pet leave’ – if workers’ pets are ill. They can stay at home to look after them.

Билет № 9

Read the text and answer the questions.

When I (Waris) was a child I lived in Somalia. We moved around from place to place to find water for animals. I looked after them and was quite happy.

When I was thirteen an old man wanted to marry me. He offered my father five camels. Camels are important in the desert, so my father said ‘yes’. I said to my father, ’I’m not going to marry him. That man needs a nurse not a wife.’

That evening I decided to run away and go to my uncle and aunt to Mogadishu. I didn’t tell my father. When I told my mother, she said, ‘You’ll be OK. Do what you want and be happy.’ It took two weeks to walk to Mogadishu. I got a job as a builder. It was hard work, but I earned money and sent food to my mother.

Then I lived with an uncle in Saudi Arabia and worked as a nanny. When I worked there I met another uncle who lived in London. I went there and looked after his children. When I was nineteen, my uncle went back to Somalia but I stayed in London. I had no visa and I didn’t speak English. I worked as a cook and cleaner and learned English quickly.

Then I met a photographer who took photographs of me for the Pirelli calendar. My next job was in a James Bond film and after that I became famous.

In 1995 I went back to Somalia for the first time in fourteen years. It took a month to find my mother. My father has another wife. One day I’m going to build a house for my mother and buy my father some camels. I want to say I’m sorry.

Questions:

What is this text about?
What happened when Waris was thirteen?
Why did she decide to run away?
How long did it take her to walk to Mogadishu?
When she became famous?

Read the text and prove that smoking is unhealthy. What is the consequence of smoking? Speak on healthy life style.

Don’t smoke. It looks smart in old movies, and it seems that everybody does it. But that is just a clever form of advertising. Smoking is unhealthy. It causes a cough and pneumonia. Your reactions will be slow if you smoke. Smoking makes your teeth yellow and your skin grey. You will never look healthy if you smoke.

It is unpleasant and harmful to non-smokers, too, and a serious fire risk. It is offensive in public places like cafes and schools. Any form of addiction is unhealthy, whether it is tobacco, alcohol, drugs, sugary things, or money. It may be a sign of not growing up and not being able to cope.

Do you know that the 16^th of November is the day when people all over the world quit smoking?

Do you know that every year 3 million people die of smoking?

Do you know that your life is 25% shorter if you smoke?

Do you know that only 13% of the population smoke in the USA, but in Russia – more than 76%? 400,000 people die in Russia every year as a result of smoking. Imagine that a whole town like Ufa disappears every year.

In Britain smoking is now forbidden in many public places: on the underground, on stations, in shops, in theatres and in cinemas.

Билет № 10

Read the text and answer the questions.

Danina Petrovska was born in 1885 in Moscow. Her father was an officer in the Litovsky Regiment, and she had four brothers. They were tall and handsome and wore uniforms, and brought her sweets when they came home to visit. The youngest of them was twelve years older than she was. And when they were at home, they sang and played with her, and made lots of noise. She loved being with them when they ran with her, and let her pretend that they were horses. It was obvious to everyone, that her brothers adored her.

Danina remembered that her mother had a lovely face and gentle ways and she sang Danina to sleep at night, after telling her long, wonderful stories about when she was a little girl herself. She used to laugh a lot, and Danina loved her. She died when Danina was five, of typhoid. And after that, everything changed in Danina’s life.

Her father had absolutely no idea what to do about her. He and his sons were in the army, so he hired a woman to take care of her, a string of them, but after two years, he knew he simply couldn’t do it anymore. He had to find another solution for Danina. And he found a perfect one. He went to St.Petersburg to make the arrangements. He was vastly impressed when he spoke to Madame Markova. She was a remarkable woman, and the ballet school and company she ran would provide not only a home for Danina but a useful life, and a future she could rely on.

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