9-11 grades 2014

ATTENTION! It is forbidden to enter into the audience any means of mobile communication (mobile phones, pagers, etc. equipment), players, etc.

The use of dictionaries and reference books is FORBIDDEN!

The participants should be seated in such a way that they do not see the work of other participants.

All instructions for participants before the written competitions are given in Russian.

Prior to the start of the written competitions, a senior jury member provides general instruction in the audience. In the briefing, the following points must be noted:

1. Before the start of the written competition, announce:

• About the duration of the competition.

Listening comprehension: 8 minutes.

Integrated reading and listening: 7 minutes.

Reading comprehension: 25 minutes.

Use of English: 60 minutes.

Writing: 50 minutes.

• It is not recommended to leave the audience during the competition. Access to the toilet is allowed only one at a time. During this time, the participant hands over his work to the members of the jury on duty. The time of absence is recorded on the answer sheet. If during the competition the participant has any questions, you can raise your hand and wait for a member of the jury to come up and answer the participant's question.Jury members cannot answer questions related to the text of the assignment. During the Listening and Integrated reading and listening contests, you cannot leave the audience and ask any questions.

2. After the general introduction, the jury members distribute answer sheets (in the Writing competition, the assignment is written on the answer sheet). The senior member of the jury in the audience gives instructions onthe order of registration of answer sheets:

• The answer sheet indicates: Participant number.
• On the answer sheet categorically it is forbidden to indicate surnames, make drawings or any marks.
• Draft paper is being distributedonly in the Writing competition, in other contests, a sheet with an assignment can be used as a draft.
• Written work is written in black or blue ink only. Red, green, etc. are prohibited. You cannot write with a pencil and make pencil marks in the text.
• You cannot abbreviate anything in writing. All abbreviations will be regarded as spelling errors.
• It should be written legibly, controversial cases (o / a) are not interpreted in favor of the participant.
• No smearing with correction fluid, no erasures should be done. If it is necessary to correct, then you can carefully cross out the wrong answer.

3. After the instructions for filling out the answer sheet, the text with the task is distributed and the start time of the competition is written on the board.

1. 15 and 5 minutes before the end of work:

• Remind about the remaining time and warn about the need for a thorough check of the work.
• Remind that jury members must submit answer sheets, assignment texts / drafts.
• Remind all answers should be transferred to the answer sheets, as the assignment texts / drafts are not checked.
• Strictly follow so that the texts of assignments, answer sheets and drafts are not taken out of the audience.

When handing over the work, carefully check:

• availability of all issued answer sheets.
• availability of all issued assignment texts.
• absence of extraneous marks in the answer sheet.

The English Olympiad consists of 5 parts:

1. Listening Comprehension competition;
2. Competition for understanding written and listened to texts (Integrated Reading and Listening);
3. Reading Comprehension Competition;
4. lexical and grammatical test (Use of English);

4) writing competition (Writing).

For each correct answer, the participant receives one point. The writing competition is worth 20 points (Writing - 20 points).

The maximum number of points is 110.

Students enter their answers on the answer sheets ( Answer sheet ), which are given to each participant of the Olympiad. The task from the Writing section is performed on the form of the task itself. Neither the Answer sheet nor the Writing assignment form the student's last name and first name NOT are written. Each participant enters his identification number, which is assigned to him before writing the Olympiad.

Spelling errors in the tasks are taken into account; if there is a spelling error in the answer sheet, the score for the correct answer is not awarded.

Part 1. Listening Comprehension Competition

When holding a competition for understanding the listened text (section Listening) you need:

1. give participants 1 minute to familiarize themselves with the first task;
2. start recording (track number 1);
3. give participants 1 minute to familiarize themselves with the second task;
4. start recording (track number 2);

Part 2. Competition reading and listening comprehension (Integrated Reading and Listening)

When holding this competition, it is necessary:

1. give the participants 2 minutes to read the text and familiarize themselves with the assignment;
2. start recording (track number 3);
3. give participants 50 seconds to review their answers;
4. start recording (track number 3) a second time;
5. give participants 2 minutes to transfer their answers to the answer sheet.

Part 3. Reading Comprehension Competition

In terms of difficulty, the tasks correspond to the level B2 + (complicated advanced threshold level) and C1 (Advanced - the level of professional proficiency). It is assumed that at this level of language proficiency, the participant of the Olympiad should be able to:

• understand articles and messages on contemporary issues;
• separate information important for understanding the text from secondary information;
• understand the position of the author of the text;
• be able to establish a connection between the previous information and the following.

The texts can contain up to 2-3% of unfamiliar words, ignorance of which should not interfere with understanding the text and completing assignments.

Part 4. Lexico-grammatical test (Use of English)

In all, for each correct answer, the participant receives 1 point.

The maximum score for the lexico-grammar test is 50.

The second part (Use of English) includes tasks that correspond to the difficult advanced threshold level of difficulty B2 + and C1 on the scale of the Council of Europe. The participants of the Olympiad must demonstrate the appropriate level of proficiency in the lexical material and the ability to operate it. The proficiency of grammatical material within the program is also checked. high school and the ability to practically use it not only at the level of an individual sentence, but also in a wider context.

Part 5. Writing competition

In the written tour assignment, students are asked to write an article for a magazine based on a feature film announcement and comments to it in volume 220 - 250 words. To complete the task, you need to be creative and try to write an original article.

The task is assigned 50 minutes.

The proposed genre of writing assignments tests the skills of writing a productive letter, the ability to competently, logically and consistently describe events, while showing originality in creating and building a plot.

When evaluating a written work, the following criteria are taken into account: content, composition, vocabulary, grammar and spelling (see the scale with the criteria for evaluating the "Writing" part).

ATTENTION! Verification of written worksincludes the following steps:

1) frontal check of one (randomly selected and photocopied for all jury members) work;

2) discussion of the assigned marks in order to develop a balanced verification model;

3) individual check of works: each work is checked without fail by two jury members independently of each other (each jury member receives a clean copy of the work without any marks). In the event of a significant discrepancy between the grades (5 points or more), another check is assigned, the "controversial" works are checked and discussed collectively.

In terms of difficulty, the tasks correspond to the threshold level B2 (Upper-Intermediate - Threshold advanced level) and C1 (Advanced - Level of professional proficiency) on the scale of the Council of Europe.

1. It is assumed that at this level of language proficiency, the participant of the Olympiad should be able to:

• write coherent texts of complex structure on various topics;
• describe and explain past or fictional events in a logical and chronological sequence, state clearly and clearly a set of facts or phenomena;
• present and correctly compositionally build a plot;
• create logically connected text in accordance with the specified parameters of the genre and style.

2. In a good article, a small amount of spelling, grammatical or lexical errors is allowed (see the grading criteria).

3. In written work, the originality of the solution to the set communicative task is encouraged.

4. Criteria for evaluating written speech consist of two blocks: grades for content (maximum 10 points) and grades for text design (maximum 10 points).

For exceeding the volume of the essay by no more than 10%, the points are not reduced. In the event that the participant's written work has less than 40% of the volume specified in the assignment, the work is not evaluated, because a communicative task is considered unfulfilled (for more details, see the assessment criteria).

Summarizing:

For each participant, the points received for each competition are summed up (16 + 12 + 12 + 50 + 20 = 110).

The winner is the participant with the most points.

Preview:

Preview:

Municipal stage of the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren in English, 2014

9-11 grades

Part 1. Listening Comprehension

Task 1. You will hear a conversation. For items 1-10 , decide whether the statements marked 1-10 True (A) or False (B) according to the text you hear. You will hear the recording only once.

1. The man was driving home after a party in the small hours.

True

False

1. The man heard a very loud noise.

True

False

1. The flying saucer was about half a kilometer ahead of the man.

True

False

1. At first, the man thought that he had seen an airplane.

True

False

1. The man was so frightened that he drove as far away from the UFO as he could.

True

False

1. The man says he has seen an extraterrestrial.

True

False

1. The beast was huge and hairy.

True

False

1. The beast wanted to take the man to his master.

True

False

1. The alien could speak English.

True

False

1. The flying saucer was diamond-shaped.

True

False

Task 2. Listen to the conversation ‘Healthy Lifestyle’ and choose the best answer A, B or C to questions 11-16 according to what you hear. You will hear the recording only once.

11. Which sentence is not true?

A) The man likes to eat when watching TV.

B) The man is organizing a company basketball team.

C) The man was one of the best basketball players 25 years ago.

12. What is the woman worried about?

A) Her husband is not very healthy.

B) Her husband will spend a lot of time away from home.

C) Her husband will become a fitness freak.

13. What does the woman say?

A) Her husband has once had a heart attack.

B) Her husband needs a check-up.

C) Her husband should give up the idea of ​​playing basketball.

14. What kind of diet does the woman recommend?

A) He should consume fewer fatty foods.

B) He should eat more carbohydrates.

C) He should cut down on eating lots of fruits and vegetables.

15. What doesn’t the woman suggest doing?

A) cycling

B) weight training

C) jogging

16. Why should the man start training?

A) To make the muscles and the heart stronger.

B) To lose weight.

C) To take part in an annual body building contest.

Integrated reading and listening

Task 1. Read the text, then listen to a part of the lecture on the same topic. You will notice that some ideas coincide and some differ in them. Answer questions 1-12 by choosing A if the idea is expressed in both materials, B if it can be found only in the reading text, C if it can be found only in the audio-recording, and D if neither of the materials expresses the idea.

Now you have 2 minutes to read the text.

For many years, scientists have known that music can help soothe babies. Then they discovered that listening to music, Mozart in particular, can help babies in ways they hadn’t imagined before. The phenomenon, called the Mozart Effect, was found to have positive benefits on intelligence and creativity.

In one study, psychologists gave study participants three tests. During each of the tests, the participants of the study listened to either Mozart, relaxation music, or nothing at all. The results of the study showed that all of the participants scored better on the tests after listening to Mozart. On average, the participants added about nine points to their IQ after listening to Mozart.

The Mozart Effect also affects the creativity of babies. In his book, American author Don Campbell described how playing Mozart for babies before they are born can help them become more creative as adults. According to Campbell, the music helped stimulate their mental development. By the time the babies were born, they were already more creative than babies who did not listen to Mozart. His argument was so strong that some hospitals decided to give all new mothers CDs of Mozart's music.

Now listen to a part of the lecture on the same topic and then do the task (questions 1-12), comparing the text above and the lecture. You will hear the lecture twice.

1. Music can calm babies down.

2. The Mozart Effect has a good impact on children’s intelligence and creativity.

3. The study involved three tests.

4. One group of the test-takers did not listen to any music at all.

5. The test-takers were college students.

6. A molecular basis for the Mozart Effect has recently been revealed.

7. The extra nine points, added to the IQs of those who listened to Mozart, disappeared after 15 minutes.

8. Rats, like humans, perform better on learning and memory tests after listening to a Mozart sonata.

9. The Mozart Effect has not been proved scientifically.

10. Don Campbell's book The Mozart Effect has condensed the world’s research on all beneficial effects of certain types of music.

11. Some hospitals gave new mothers CDs of Mozart's music.

12. The theory of the Mozart Effect was a marketing tool.

Reading Comprehension

Task 1. Read the following newspaper article. Five sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the paragraphs the one, which fits each gap(1-5) best of all. There are two extra sentences, which you do not need to use.

Don’t Worry Be Happy

One of my many faults has been my tendency at times to attempt to cross a difficult bridge before I have come to it. 1) ____________ I will tell you of an example of this sort of experience which overtook me many years ago and of which I was reminded just recently.

In the early Sixties, the British India Steam Navigation Company embarked upon a project to offer educational cruises to pupils of secondary and junior schools in Britain, a project which turned out to be very popular, and I was invited to be the Protestant chaplain on the second of the early cruises.

I was pleased to accept since it was during my month "s holiday from my church. 2) ______ I was being regaled by kindly friends with stories of how badly seasick passengers could become if it was stormy - as it often was - when sailing through the Bay of Biscay, which our ship would be navigating on its way to the Mediterranean.

I decided to seek help. 3) _____________ To my surprise and disappointment, he laughed ruefully.

"I" m afraid I can offer you no help at all. I was seasick every single time we left port during my service days! "

My anxieties proved needless. 4) _______________ It was different on our homeward voyage, with a force ten gale through Biscay. Many of my fellow passengers were seasick, but to my surprise and relief I was not in the least upset by the stormy conditions and the violent movements of the ship. 5) ____________ I had tortured myself needlessly, by trying to cross bridges before I came to them.

A Then I began to worry a bit, as I had never yet been to sea.

B People can cause themselves considerable pain and nervous tension by trying to cope in

Advance with the anxiety of an impending serious threat, for instance a major operation

Or some other calamity.

C The weather on our outward voyage was marvellously sunny all the way and the Bay of

Biscay was perfectly calm.

D As a result, I have invariably suffered totally unnecessary stress and strain, of no benefit

Either to myself or to anyone else.

E All my forebodings proved completely unfounded.

F I had a friend who had commanded a frigate in the war, and I asked him to advise me

What measures I might take to prevent seasickness.

G I once had an acquaintance who refused to take out an insurance policy or prepare for the future.

Task 2. Read the following newspaper article and answer questions 6-11 by choosing A, B, C, or D. Give only one answer to each question.

UP Up and AWAY

You may remember King Kong on the Empire State Building in the film, where a comparison is implied between the then highest building in the world (at 380m) and the giant, menacing ape. Ever since the Tower of Babel, man has liked to think big in terms of building. Whether it be by constructing pyramids, ziggurats or palaces (while, perhaps paradoxically, living in huts and hovels), he has had an urge to reach for the sky and it is this that has led to the twentieth / twenty-first century craze for skyscrapers. Indeed, thrusting aggressively into the sky like rockets about to take off, these structures seem to mimic our passion for space exploration.

In order for modern skyscrapers to be a practical possibility, however, something had to happen. That was the invention of the lift, by Elisha Graves Otis, in 1854. Three years later, it was put to commercial use in New York and buildings higher than five storeys became feasible for the first time.

The first high-rise constructions were not skyscrapers as we would recognize them today, but merely taller than average buildings. In 1899, however, the Park Row office block was constructed with a steel frame, and this led to new techniques where the form of the building is skeletal, with the main loading being located in the central core and the external “curtain wall” constructed of lightweight materials, for instance glass and aluminum. This substitution of lighter materials for concrete made it possible for architects to design buildings of 400 to 500m in height. Having said that, it should be borne in mind that the tallest building in the world is currently Petronas Towers, rising 452m above Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and that it is also the tallest concrete structure in the world.

Getting higher and higher with the development of relevant technology, skyscrapers are a fair indication of economic trends, going up during the boom years only to come to a standstill when recessions cut off funds. For this reason, the 1980s heralded a wave of skyscraper building while the less promising 1990s slowed it down. Furthermore, the bulk of the building work has moved from its home in the USA (Chicago being the birthplace of the skyscraper) to Asia, reflecting the new power, prestige and confidence of the growing tiger economies. It is, therefore, no wonder that Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Towers superseded Chicago's Sear's Tower, which at 443m had been the tallest building in the world for 22 years, in 1998.

The New World is, nevertheless, fighting back against this competition from the Pacific Rim, with plans for Chicago South Dearborn project (610m), to be completed by 2003. Europe, on the other hand, seems to have accepted out of the race altogether , the planned London Millennium Tower being scaled down from a projected 486m to 386m because otherwise people would consider it too tall! Europe's current highest building, Commerzbank headquarters in Frankfurt, is, at 261m, no match for the American and Asian giants, and neither is London's Canary Wharf (236m) which was the highest building in Europe until 1997. Asian giants in the pipeline are Tokyo's Millennium Tower at 840m and Hong Kong's Bionic Tower at a staggering 1,128m.

Asia and America may be experiencing an urge to push ever upwards, but there are sound reasons that have nothing to do with economy or lack of ambition, for keeping tall buildings to the 400 to 500m mark. Heights exceeding that present logistical problems, such as how to transport large numbers of people up and down the building, such as how to minimize wind sway (which may be as much as 3 meters (9 ft) in either direction, especially in the home of the skyscraper 'windy city,' Chicago!) and how to find investors to rent space in the middle, assuming that the bottom will fill with shops and the top with hotels and observation towers. Experts, however, are working on two of these problems, experimenting with different kinds of lift and conducting extensive wind tunnel tests to help eliminate wind-induced sway.

In times of economic austerity, though, can we really afford to build these energy-intensive structures? Well, they are in several respects eco-friendly, providing a lot of office space on relatively little land, concentrating several services in one place and reducing overspill into green belts.

Nevertheless, it is no mean feat to equip skyscrapers with renewable sources of energy, as ideas such as covering the facade with photo-voltaic cells to convert light energy into electricity are extremely expensive. Street-level winds, however, may be utilized to power turbines which generate electricity within the buildings, and there specific plans for a citygate ecotower in London (456m), which would derive half its energy sources from solar and wind power.

So, what will the future hold for skyscrapers? Will they change the face and the skyline of our cities just to make a point, as it were? Who knows? Even today, though, King Kong would be spoiled for choice.

6. Why does the author mention King Kong?

A. To remind the reader of the famous film.

B. To show the size of the building.

C. To prove that today King Kong would not be a good choice.

D. Because King Kong was a menacing ape.

7. The author states that people like to build big because

A it compensates for their inability to travel in space.

In it is rooted in our history.

WITH it seems to be an innate desire.

D they like to live in pyramids and palaces.

8. The modern skyscraper was first made possible by

A a device invented in the nineteenth century.

V buildings more than 5 storeys high.

WITH the steel-frame building technique.

D a commercial building in New York.

9. Skyscrapers are a mirror of

A the tiger economies.

The Asian power.

With building trends.

D economic tendencies.

10. What is the European attitude towards very high buildings?

A More enthusiastic than American and Asian ones.

In Competitive and aggressive.

With a lack of ambition.

D Not particularly enthusiastic.

11. Why are so many skyscrapers no more than 400 - 500m tall?

A Because people like them that way.

V Because investors don "t want them taller.

WITH Because taller buildings present specific problems.

D Because the middle floors cannot be let easily.

12. In ecological terms, skyscrapers today

A are too expensive and energy-intensive.

The are always eco-friendly.

WITH cannot be heated by alternative energy.

D are of some benefit to the environment.

USE OF ENGLISH

Task 1. For questions 1-15 read the text about school calendars in America. Solve the crossword puzzle by replacing the underlined words or word combinations with their synonyms. The (0 down) and (00 across ) in the beginning of the text have been done as examples to help you.

Today we continue our discussion of school calendars as a new American school year(0 down) starts.

Some people say the (00 across) conventional calendar of one hundred eighty days no longer meets the(1 down) requirements of American society. They point out that students in most other industrial countries are in school more hours a day and more days a year.

Critics also say a long summer vacation causes students to forget much of what they learned.

Schools are under pressure to raise test scores. Some have changed their calendars to try to improve students' results. They have(2 across) extended the school day or added days to the year or both.

This can be (3 down) expensive if schools need air conditioning on hot days and school(4 across) staff need to be paid for the extra time.

Local businesses may object to a longer school year because students are unable to work long in summer jobs.

Some schools have a year-round(5 down) program ... The school year is extended over twelve months. Instead of a long vacation, there are many short ones.

The National Association of Year-Round Education says almost five percent of public school students(6 down) go to year-round schools. It says almost all of the states have some public schools that are open all year.

Some parts of the country had year-round programs in the nineteenth century, mostly for economic reasons. They felt it wasted money to use school(7 down) buildings for only part of the year. Some(8 across) teachers think year-round education gives(9 across) help and encouragement to students from poor families who(10 down) do not have much financial assistance at home as their parents might not have permanent(11 across) work.

Year-round (12 across) education can also (13 across) decrease crowding in schools. In one version, students attend school for nine weeks and then have three weeks off. The students are in groups that are not all in school at the same time.

Another year-round calendar has all students in school together for nine weeks and off for three. This is meant to(14 across) supply the continuous learning that can be lost over a long break. And the main purpose of schools is to improve students'(15 across) achievements.

But year-round schooling has opponents. They say it can cause problems for families when they want to make summer plans. And they say it interferes with activities outside school - including summer employment.

Some experts say no really good studies have been done to measure the effect of school calendars on performance.

						00 t
										12 s
14
			15

Task 2.For questions16-30 , complete the text with the words from the box. You may use one word more than once. Write the letterA-Mfor the word you choose in the box below the text.

AeggBomeletCpoisonDgrainEmilkFbaconGeatHeggshellsIsardinesJteaKsaltLmustardMcoffee

My mother always told us “there is no use crying over spilt16) ____. " That means you should not get angry when something bad happens and cannot be changed.

People said my mother was “a good17) _____. " She would always help anyone in need.

We never had to “walk on18) ______ ”around her - we did not have to be careful about what we said or did because she never got angry with us.

She also told us “you have to break some eggs to make an19) _____. " This means you have to do what is necessary to move forward.

My mother believed “you are what you20) _____ "- a good diet is important for good health. She would always give us nutritious food. She liked serving us meat and potatoes for dinner. “Meat and potatoes” can also mean the most important part of something. It describes someone who likes simple things.

Here is another expression about meat: “one man’s meat is another man’s21) ____. " In other words, one person might like something very much while another person might hate the same thing.

My father was also a good and honest person. People said he was “the22) ____ of the earth. " He would never “pour23) ____ on a wound ”- or make someone feel worse about something that was already a painful experience.

However, sometimes he told us a story that seemed bigger than life. So we had to “take it with a24) ____ of salt ”- that is, we could not believe everything he told us.

My husband has a good job. He makes enough money to support our family. So we say “he brings home the25) _____.”

He can “cut the26) _____ ”- or do what is expected of him at work.

It is easy to find my husband in a crowd. He stands almost two meters tall. He is "a tall drink of water."

I take the train to work. It is not a pleasant ride because the train can be full of people. It is so crowded that we are “packed like27) _____ "- just like small fish in a can.

When we fail to see problems at work, my supervisor tells us to “wake up and smell the28) ____ "- we need to pay more attention and fix the problem.

I once made a big mistake at the office and felt foolish. I had “29) ____ on my face. "

Over the weekend, my friend invited me to watch a football game on television. But I do not like football. It is “not my cup of30) ____.”

We hope we have given you “food for thought” - that is, something to think about.

16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30

Task 3.For tasks31-40 , change the word given in capitals on the right in such a way that it can fit the text lexically and grammatically.

Cheryl Kuit pressed play and Latin music filled the room. As Cheryl started practicing her Zumba dance moves, her 16-year-old daughter Amber let out a groan. ‘Come on,’ said Cheryl. ‘Don’t you feel like31) __________?’ But while her mum boogied across the room, Amber just rolled her eyes and32) _______________________ on texting her friends. Cheryl couldn’t understand it. She’d loved PE at school, enjoyed squash in her 20s and33) ___________________________ a dress size since becoming a Zumba Fitness teacher. Her seven-year-old Catherine, loved running and gymnastics, but there34) ______________________ no way of getting her big sister35) _______________________ some exercise. Cheryl said, 'I want to encourage Amber to have a break from her books and computer screen. I’d love her to go to the gym. ’ But Amber said that having piles of homework stopped her from getting fit. ‘I’m at school from 8am to 4pm,’ she explained. 'Then I come home and do three hours of homework. I just36) ______________ time for sport. ’ She admitted she’d rather spend her free time hanging out with friends - and it was no help that her school didn’t see PE a priority. She said, 'Because we37) ________________ exams now, our year group has just one hour a week for sport. There are clubs but you have to be the very best to get in. They38) ___________________ just for fun. ' Cheryl, 46, of Dennan Road, Surbiton, Greater London,39) _____________________ up hope yet. She thinks everything will be all right. She says, ‘I’ll be a very happy lady when one day Amber40) ____________________, “Come on, Mum. Let’s go Zumba! ” ’

DANCE CARRY DROP BE TAKE NOT HAVE DO NOT BE NOT GIVE SAY

Task 4.For questions41-50 , think ofone wordonly which can be used appropriatelyin all three sentences.

41. ● I need more …………………………. …… at using this computer program.

● I am worried about my interview because I’m a bit out of ………… .. ……….

● The ………… .. ……… of dumping the waste into the river has to be stopped.

42. ● Her teeth were …………… .... after she’d worn braces on them for two years.

● He managed to speak with a steady, ……. ……… voice, despite the fact that he was furious with them.

● Make sure the surface is …………… ..… .. before you put up the wall paper.

43. ● The ……………… ..… with him is that he doesn’t have any patience.

● She went to a lot of ……………… ..… to prepare the meal.

● She’s had a lot of back …………… ..…. lately and will have to have an operation.

44. ● He is very ………………… .. with money.

● That’s a …………………. thing to do.

● The ……………… .... annual temperature is 25ºC.

45. ● She began to …………………. …… the milk into the sauce.

● He was in a deep sleep and didn’t ………………… ..… .. once all night.

● The book seemed to …………………… ..… .. him profoundly.

46. ​​● You can carry this box; it’s ……………………………. ...

● She bought a beautiful …………………………. blue dress.

● There was a …………………… ..…. knock at the door.

47. ● Her house was very close to the local rubbish …………………… ..…. ...

● Let me give you a ………………… ....: you need to get some legal advice.

● She left a ………………….…. on the table for the waiter.

48. ● He ………………………… ... on you for support.

● She …………………………. Angela as one of her closest friends.

● It’s a person’s character that ……………………… not their appearance.

49. ● They haven’t ……… .. a date for the wedding, but it will be sometime next spring.

● His arm isn’t straight because the doctor didn’t ……………….…. it properly.

● If you make the salad, I’ll ………………………… ..… the table.

50. ● Too much criticism is hard to ………………… .. …… ...

● Oh, you know how silly he is. He’ll …………… ..…. any old story, no matter how unbelievable it is.

● The cost of private education will …………….…. up your savings in no time.

Writing

Task 1.The editor of a student magazine, publishing a series of articles on different cultural events at your school, has asked you to contribute an article to it. You have decided to write about the filmThe Identicalyou saw last week with your family.

Read the film advertisement and handwritten notes prepared for the article. Then, using the information appropriately, write your article for the magazine.

Remember to:

● include a title;

● use an appropriate style;

● make a critical evaluation and analysis of the event;

● recommend what should be done to make this kind of event better and more acceptable for school children and their families.

Write220-250 words.

The text of the advertisement or any of its parts should not be copied in your article, USE YOUR OWN WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS.

Time: 50 minutes

Film Advertisement

Started much laterBrilliant actingGood choice

Sunday4 p.m.A family film!The Identical, a drama and musical, which will please everyone, is a captivating journey about the restoration and the reconciliation of a family broken apart by culture, devotion, creed and tradition.The plot is funny and enjoyable.Twin brothers are unknowingly separated at birth; one of them becomes an iconic rock "n" roll star, while the other struggles to balance his love for music and pleasing his father. The fabulously named Blake Rayneplays two brothersin this story based on the life ofElvis presleyand his brother who died in childbirth. There are manyfunny and enjoyable scenes.Running time - 107 minutes, witha short intervalfor people to buy refreshments andice-cream... Tickets400 RUB.

No ice-creamToo muchToo shortInteresting, but not dynamic enough

Some songs are sillyNo Elvis music is heard

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YOU CAN USE THE REVERSE SIDE

Preview:

Task 1.

Police Officer: Hello. 24th Precinct. Officer Jones speaking.

Man: Help. Yeah, uh, it was wild, I mean really bizarre.

Police Officer: Calm down sir! Now, what do you want to report?

Man: Well, I "d like to report a UFO sighting.

Police Officer: A what?

Man: What do you mean "what?" An unidentified flying object!

Police Officer: Wait, tell me exactly what you saw.

Man: Well, I was driving home from a party about three hours ago, so it was about 2:00 AM, when I saw this bright light overhead.

Police Officer: Okay. And then what happened?

Man: Oh, man. Well, it was out of this world. I stopped to watch the light when it disappeared behind a hill about a kilometer ahead of me.

Police Officer: Alright. Then what?

Man: Well, I got back in my car and I started driving toward where the UFO landed.

Police Officer: Now, how do you know it was a UFO? Perhaps you only saw the lights of an airplane, or the headlights of an approaching car. Things like that happen, you know.

Man: Well if it was that, how do you explain "the BEAST"?

Police Officer: What do you mean, "the BEAST"?

Man: Okay. I kept driving for about five minutes when all of a sudden, this giant, hairy creature jumped out in front of my car.

Police Officer: Oh, yeah.Then what?

Man: Well, then, the beast picked up the front of my car and said, "Get out of the car. I" m taking you to my master! "Something like that.

Police Officer: Wow? A hairy alien who can speak English! Come on!

Man: I "m not making this up, if that" s what you "re suggesting. Then, when I didn" t get out of the car, the beast opened the car door, carried me on his shoulders to this round-shaped flying saucer, and well, that "s when I woke up along side the road. The beast must have knocked me out and left me there.

Police Officer: Well, that "s the best story I" ve heard all night, sir. Now, have you been taking any medication, drugs, or alcohol in the last 24 hours? You mentioned you went to a party.

Man: What? Well, I did have a few beers, but I "m telling the truth.

Police Officer: Okay, okay. We have a great therapist that deals with THESE kinds of cases.

Man: "Humph" What do you mean "Humph." I was the star player in high school.

Woman: Yeah, twenty-five years ago. Look, I just don "t want you having a heart attack running up and down the court.

Man: So, what are you suggesting? Should I justabandon the idea? I "m not thatout of shape .

Woman: Well. ... ... you ought to at least have aphysical before you begin. I mean, it HAS been at least five years since you played at all.

Man: Well, okay, but. ... ...

Woman: And you need to watch your diet andcut back on the fatty foods, like ice cream. And you should try eating more fresh fruits and vegetables.

Man: Yeah, you "re probably right.

Woman: And you shouldtake up a little weight training to strengthen your muscles or perhaps try cycling to build up yourcardiovascular system ... Oh, and you need to go to bed early instead of watching TV half the night.

Man: Hey, you "re starting to sound like my personal fitness instructor!

Woman: No, I just love you, and I want you to be around for a long, long time.

Task 3. Integrated reading and listening

Today let’s talk about the effect of music on babies. There’s the theory about the so-called Mozart Effect, which refers to the supposed increased performance of babies after listening to Mozart. But the claims made in the book have been challenged and disproved by a number of other studies. Let me tell you about them.

First, let’s talk about a study often referred to that supports the Mozart Effect where the participants took three different tests. While the test-takers were completing the test, they listened to either Mozart, relaxation music, or nothing at all. Well, what is often left out is that the test-takers in the study were not babies at all - they were college students. Which explains why they were able to take the tests in the first place, right? Anyway, even if we decide to overlook the fact that we're talking about college students, the effects mentioned in the study were also not long-lasting. The extra nine points that were added to their IQs after listening to Mozart went away after about 15 minutes.

Another claim made is that listening to Mozart makes children more creative. It even says that if you play Mozart for babies before they are born, they will be born more creative than babies who did not listen to Mozart. But there is no actual scientific proof of any of this. Since the theory of the Mozart Effect became popular, claims like this have been made over and over again, mostly to help sell expecting parents CDs of classical music. But, until some proof is reported, we have to consider such claims as nothing more than marketing tools.

UMK line by M.V. Verbitskaya. English "Forward" (5-9)

English

All-Russian Olympiad in English for schoolchildren. Writing Challenges

Corporation "Russian Textbook" in a series of webinars presents the analysis of the Olympiad tasks in the English language. As you know, the Olympiad consists of five competitions: Listening (understanding the oral text), Reading (understanding the written text), Use of English (lexical and grammatical test), Writing (written speech), Speaking (oral speech). Yulia Kurasovskaya, chairman of the Central Methodological Commission of the All-Russian Olympiad for Schoolchildren in English, presented examples of Writing tasks and examples of their successful implementation, talked about typical mistakes at the Olympiads, noted what should be paid special attention to during preparation.

For these stages, the Central Commission does not provide assignments, but only gives recommendations on their preparation. One of the main recommendations is to offer students non-genre writing tasks: “express your opinion”, “comment on the quote”, “recommend a book for the school library”, etc. The task turns out to be similar to task number 40 of the exam, but it should not repeat it completely. The number of words can be 100-120 or more.

Example

Time: 30 minutes. Comment on the following problem: Elderly people who live alone should be taken care of. In your comment use information from the article below:

Elderly people who live alone can be monitored by new technology that analyzes household sounds to ensure their safety. The new sound monitoring system, developed by Fujitsu, the Japanese electronics company, examines noises in homes via a microphone connected to a data center. The technology is refined enough to differentiate between the sound of a falling object or a collapsing human and can instantly alert family members or security firms if any abnormality is detected. From breathing and coughing to sleeping, all noises made by the resident can be detected by the technology, in addition to analysis of daily routines, heat and humidity levels.

Write 100-120 words. Remember to: make an introduction, express your personal opinion on the problem and give reasons for your opinion, express your attitude towards the information from the article, make a conclusion. Write in your own words.

Explanation: The student is required to express his point of view on the proposed problem, give reasoning and express his attitude to the information presented in the article. The problem is partly familiar from the task number 40 of the exam, so it does not cause any difficulty. It is very important to teach students to read the assignment in full and fulfill it strictly according to the criteria.

Typical mistakes:

• Inattention when reading the assignment.
• Inconsistency with the specified volume.
• Lack of introduction and conclusion.
• Elementary grammatical, lexical, punctuation errors.

Writing: school and municipal stages

The tasks for these stages are drawn up by the Central Subject-Methodological Commission. Pupils are already working with genre writing. The same genres are given as in international exams: story, article, report / report, review, personal and business letter (letter). The tasks are also modified USE tasks.

Typical mistakes (regardless of genre):

• Lack of understanding of the format of the statement, genre.
• Genre replacement.
• Incomplete or inaccurate disclosure of the topic.
• Violation of logic (absence or improper use of logical communication means, abrupt transitions, lack of introduction and conclusion).
• Lexico-grammatical, spelling, punctuation errors.

Let's take a closer look at the most common creative tasks in the genres of story and report.

Story

Story is a small literary form with a plot (storyline). Text in this genre must meet the following requirements:

• An original dynamic plot.
• Natural tone of the story.
• The use of such techniques as description, narration, reasoning.
• The presence of an individual author's assessment of events and factors, the expression of feelings and emotions of the author and his characters.
• The presence of elements of dialogical speech.
• A clear composition (beginning, main part with a climax, denouement).
• The presence of a title.
• Variety of linguistic means.

• Before you start writing a story, think over the storyline, the characteristics of the characters, make a plan and jot down the keywords for the points of the plan.
• Note that the dynamics of events in the story is very important, it can be emphasized using the words at first, before, until, while, during, after, finally, when, etc., as well as the verbs happen, realize, start, run, appear, disappear , occur, exclaim, sigh, mutter, say, wonder, etc.
• Use adjectives and adverbs to describe the characters' feelings and actions. At the same time, instead of the boring words: big, small, good, bad, very, use their synonyms and equivalents: enormous, tiny, terrific, horrible, extremely, etc.
• Be careful with your grammatical tenses. For example, Past Continuous is suitable for describing the weather at the moment of action, Past Simple - for basic actions, Past Perfect - for events preceding history.
• Please note that the story often describes characters, places, objects, events.
• Remember that the beginning and the end are very important in the story.

Example 1

Write a short story. Choose any subject but use in your story the following words at least once (underline the word from the list when using it for the first time): Fluffy, Ignorant, Board, Cord, Traffic.

Title your story using a word from the list. Include description of feelings and emotions. Include direct and indirect speech. Make an unexpected ending. Write 200-250 words. Time: 1 hour 15 minutes.

Explanation: The student is required to write a story using specific words. The main difficulty is in using these words correctly. At the Olympiad, there were many difficulties with Ignorant - the participants confused its meaning with the Russian word “ignoring” and used it in incorrect constructions. However, some participants, on the contrary, successfully played with this ambiguous word.

Evaluation criteria

• The story is written, all 5 words indicated in the assignment are correctly used in it. The words are underlined.
• There is a plot of the story, it is original, understandable, dynamic and interesting.
• There is a title corresponding to the content of the story, one of the given words is used in the title.
• The story includes elements of direct and indirect speech, which organically fits into the plot.
• The story conveys the feelings and emotions of the author and / or characters.
• The end of the story is unexpected, but at the same time it fully fits into the plot and corresponds to the given genre and style.
• The volume of work either corresponds to the given, or deviates from the given by no more than 10% in the direction of increasing or decreasing (180-275 words). If the volume of work deviates from the specified by more than 10% in the direction of increase (more than 275 words), only the first 250 words are subject to verification.

Organization of the text (2 points):

• The logic of the story is not broken.
• The means of logical connection are present and correctly used.

Vocabulary (3 points):

• The participant demonstrates a rich vocabulary necessary for the disclosure of a topic, an accurate choice of words and an adequate mastery of lexical compatibility.
• The work has no errors in terms of lexical compatibility.

Grammar (3 points):

• The participant demonstrates competent and appropriate use of grammatical structures.

Spelling and punctuation (2 points):

• The participant demonstrates proficiency in spelling and punctuation skills.

The story with the most points:

A fluffy tail

Once upon a time, I was sitting in my office and observing my ignorant colleagues. I glanced at the watch and discovered that it was time to go home. So, I unplugged all the cords from my laptop, put a note on the board and left my workplace. Bob told me: "Have a nice day!" I told him to have a nice day too.

I left the office building, found my car in the car park and headed off to my home place. The way home usually takes an hour. It's a boring trip, because while covering the distance I have to stay in an enormous traffic jam. Not to feel bored I switched on the radio and started waiting for the cars in front of me to move. Suddenly I saw something strange in front of my car. It looked like a roll of a newspaper. Then I understood that it was something fluffy and alive. I left the car and took the fluffy ball in my hands. It turned out to be a small cat with a fluffy tail. It looked miserable and was shivering with cold.

I decided to take it home just to feed it, because my wife would never let it live with us. A year ago our cat left home and didn’t come back. After this incident Monica couldn’t see any other cats. Well, this time she was about throwing the poor kitten away, when she suddenly found a necklace on the cat with the cat’s owner’s address. The address was ours! It was our cat that we had lost. How happy we were!

Example 2

A photograph is given showing a children's tent camp and a bear emerging from the forest.

Write your own version of the story based on the picture. Remember to: include a title, describe events in an entertaining way, include elements of direct speech, description of feelings and emotions, make an unexpected ending. Write 220-250 words.

Explanation: The student is required to write a story from a picture (a story with a plot, not just a description of the presented situation).

Report

Report- detailed informational message. Text in this genre must meet the following requirements:

• If necessary, have a heading and subheadings before paragraphs.
• Description of the purpose in the introduction.
• Data on how the information was collected.
• Analysis of facts, assessment of opinions, comparison, comparison, clarification of the reasons in the main part.
• Final assessment and recommendations in the conclusion.
• Compliance with formal style (as opposed to emotional storytelling). Using the expressions "The aim of this report is to assess ...", "The majority said that they ...", "while, whereas" (comparison), "The following conclusions can be drawn ...", "As can be seen from the findings of this report, the only ... ".

Example

There are graphs with information on passing exams in various subjects in 2015/2016.

Write a report to your school administration based on the chart below. Give recommendations what should be done to increase students ’interest and success in some subjects. Use the following words in your report: Affect, Fluctuate, Percent, Percentage, Trend. Underline the required words when used in your report. Time: 1 hour 15 minutes.

Remember to: make an introduction, summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features (2 or more), make comparisons where relevant (2 or more), give recommendations (2 or more), make a conclusion, USE YOUR OWN WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS in your report. Write 300-350 words.

Explanation: The student is required to write a report to the school administration using specific words. Chart Report: Compare data and provide recommendations on how to generate interest in less popular subjects.

Evaluation criteria

• The report is written in a neutral (or formal) style appropriate to the assignment.
• The report contains graphical descriptions of two or more trends.
• The report contains a comparison of graphs for two or more items.
• The report contains recommendations for the school - two or more.
• All words specified in the assignment are correctly used in the report.

Organization of speech (4 points):

• The text is logical.
• The text is correctly divided into paragraphs.
• Various means of logical connection are present and correctly used in the text.
• The text contains all the necessary structural components: introduction, main part, conclusion.

Language design (6 points):

• The work has no lexical errors.
• The work has no grammatical errors.
• The work has no errors in terms of spelling and punctuation.

Report with the highest score:

The aim of this report is to recommend what should be done in order to make students interested and successful in some school subjects. The chart was used to analyze the information. The biggest number of both boys and girls has passed state exams in computer science, mathematics and foreign languages. The percentage of them is higher than 40. The choice of chemistry, physics and geography appears to be a little bit lower - its data fluctuates from 30 to 40 percent. History is the least popular subject students have passed state exam in.

Computer science exam was the most popular one among girls. It is because of the fact that the IT development greatly affected the demand for programmers. However, in 2015-2016 academic year most boys passed mathematics exam, following the trend of being more interested in mathematical sciences than practical areas. Speaking about less popular subjects, it should be stressed that only 14 percent of girls succeeded in passing state exam in chemistry, whereas 20 percent of boys managed to pass geography exam.

Judging by our research, me can give the following recommendations. On the one hand, to raise students' interest in unpopular subjects such as chemistry, history and geography teachers should use modern technology such as computers and eboards during the lesson. On the other hand, group work and school projects may make them more interested in the subject. In conclusion, we can make a point that both interests and success of students do not depend on what kind of science a particular subject refers to. It is all about the education progress which can be improved by the use of special equipment and another way of studying.

The workbook is a part of the educational-methodological set "Forward" for grade 10 and supplements the textbook with a system of tasks that provide a comprehensive development of skills in listening, speaking, reading and writing. Self-assessment tests with keys and audio texts are included in the notebook. EMC "Forward" for grade 10 is included in the system of educational and methodological kits "Algorithm of Success". Complies with the Federal State Standard of Secondary (Complete) General Education (2012).

Combined tasks

Combined tasks in the Writing competition are rare, but they pose very interesting tasks for students that they perform with great pleasure. The point is in combining genres, different tasks from the exam.

Example

Imagine that you are a teacher of English at school and you have given your students the writing assignment: Comment on the following statement. When you are studying away from home, the best choice for you is to live with your acquaintances. What is your opinion? Do you agree with this statement? Write 200-250 words. Use the following plan: make an introduction (state the problem), express your personal opinion and give 2-3 reasons for it, express an opposing opinion and 1-2 reasons for it, explain why you don't agree with the opposing opinion , make a conclusion restating your position One of your students has sent you her essay by e-mail.

Task A. Find and correct the mistakes. The first one has been corrected as an example. Find 5 more mistakes (grammar, vocabulary or spelling) and correct them.

Task B. Playing the role of a school teacher, write an email to your student, expressing your opinion on her work. Do not comment on the grammar, vocabulary or spelling mistakes in your letter. Comment on the composition and general idea of ​​the essay. Observe the rules of letter writing, except for the address. Do not write your real name! (use 100-140 words).

Student's Essay When you are studying away from home, the best choice for you is to live with your acquaintances.

I disagree to this statement. If you are thinking of going away to study, your choice of accommodation will be very important. You may be lucky enough to have the chance of staying with somebody your parents know, for example, your distant relatives or your parents ’friends. However, this can bring problems as well as advantages. Family life may well distract you of your studies, and there will also be the question of what you should pay to your hosts. No matter how carring they may be and no matter how much they want you with them, they won’t expect to keep you for nothing. Paying too much or too little can easily lead to feeling awkward but setting the right amount can be tricky and embarrassed. You will also have to adjust with your hosts’way of life and put up with their habits. They will also have to do their best to make you feel at home. In other words, it is wrong to believe that if you are living with somebody you know it will be costing nothing either for you or for them. Living in a dormitory can often be the best arrangement after all.

Ann applewood

Explanation: The student is required to imagine himself as an English teacher, who asked the students the well-known task "to express a point of view on the proposed problem," check the essay of one of the students, find 5 errors in it, comment on this essay in a letter. That is, the student is dealing with the essay genre, but at the same time he must write an answer in the form of a letter.

The answer with the most points:

Dear Ann,

On the whole, your essay is very well done. Your point of view is clearly stated and supported by several arguments. Unfortunately, the opposing opinion is not mentioned in your work and is not commented upon. I am afraid there is no introduction in your essay. Try to add two sentences at the beginning where you paraphrase the statement and show that there are different views on the problem. I would also make two more paragraphs, starting with the words "Family life" and "In other words".

With best wishes,

Mr. Brown

In general, Olympiad tasks are characterized by the complication of standard tasks, an orientation towards the creativity of students, and an appeal to interdisciplinary connections. When training for the Olympiad, in addition to thematic manuals, it is also worth using manuals for preparing for international exams.

The workshop is designed to prepare students in grades 10-11 for the oral part of the USE in English and includes a detailed analysis of the tasks of the oral exam and the criteria for their assessment, as well as a system of practical exercises that form strategies for working on the exam. The workshop includes 10 typical training options for the oral part of the exam, which are designed to teach oral speech and control speaking skills, as well as to simulate the situation of the oral exam. Sample oral responses, a phonetics guide, and an audio application offered in the workshop can be used in the course of independent work for self-control. The workshop is recommended for use in grades 10-11 of general education organizations in the study of English at both the basic and advanced levels.

Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher education

Tula State

Pedagogical University named after L.N. Tolstoy

(FGBOU VO "TGPU named after Leo Tolstoy")

Tasks municipal stage All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren_2017/2018 academic year

in English language

Tula 2 O 17

Developer list

1. Andreev V.N. - Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor, Head of the Department of English Philology

2. Ignatova I.V. - Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of English Philology, Tolstoy State Pedagogical University

3. Traikovskaya N.P. - Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of English Philology, Tolstoy State Pedagogical University

4. Uvarova E.A. - Candidate of Philological Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of English Philology, Tolstoy State Pedagogical University

5. Bolushevskaya I.N. - Senior Lecturer at the Department of English Philology, Tolstoy State Pedagogical University

6. Kalinina E.V. - Senior Lecturer of the Department of English Language, TSPU named after L.N. Tolstoy

7. Konisterova E.A. - Senior Lecturer of the Department of English Language, TSPU named after L.N. Tolstoy

List of used literature

1.Virginia Evans, Jenny Dooley. Upstream. Level B1 +. Student's Book. Express Publishing, 2006

2. V. Evans Round-up 4. English Grammar Practice. - Longman: Pearson Education, 2009

3. R. Murphy English grammar in use. - London: Cambridge University Press, 2009

4.Listening Extra - CUP, 2007

5.Reading Extra- CUP, 2004

6. Cochrane S., Nicholas R., Aravanis R. Code Red B2 Student Book. - Macmillan, 2010

7.Spencer D. Gateway 2nd Edition B2 + Student's Book Premium Pack. - Macmillan, 2016

8.Busyteacher.org - educational site

Assignments for grades 9-11

Listening (Listening)

Time: 15 minutes

You will hear people talking in ten different situations. For questions 1-10, choose the best answer (A, B or C). You will hear the recording once.

1 You hear a person speaking about the clothes suitable for some occasion. Where does the occasion take place?

A a wedding

B a friend’s birthday party

C a classical ballet

2 The speaker is discussing a person’s style. What is wrong with it?

A It is untidy.

B It is too informal.

C It is too formal.

3 You hear two people talking about a friend of theirs. What does the woman say about the friend?

A He talks a lot about his lifestyle.

B He leads a comfortable lifestyle.

C He may change his lifestyle.

4 You overhear a man talking to a friend on his mobile phone. Why is he phoning?

A to persuade his friend to do something

B to ask for some information

C to change an arrangement

5 You hear a woman talking about her family’s financial situation. What is she going to do?

A ask someone to help her

B try to find a job

C sell something valuable

6 You overhear a man and a woman talking about their morning routine. How does the man feel about his mornings?

A He hates traveling to work.

B He does not like getting up early.

C He finds it difficult to talk to other people.

7 You hear a woman on the radio talking about her experiences in a foreign country. What surprised her about the people?

A the importance they give to clothes

B the type of food they eat

C their attitude to work

8 You turn on the radio and hear the following. What is it?

A a review

B a news report

C an advertisement

9 You hear two people talking about the village they both live in. What does the woman think of the village?

A People are not always very friendly.

B Some of the roads are dangerous.

C There are not enough children.

10 You hear a man talking about his job. Who is the man?

A a hotel doorman

B a hotel receptionist

C a hotel manager

Reading (Reading)

Time:3 0 minutes

1. For questions 1-10, read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of the lines to form a word that fits in the gap in the same line. Write your answers in CAPITAL LETTERS.

Good neighbors

According to a recent survey, most people are (1) _____with
their neighbors and think they deserve better! It’s not that they want to have a close (2) _____with them, but they would
like them to be more (3) _____. The ideal neighbor is
apparently ‘friendly, but not too (4) _____, easygoing and
dependable. 'Noise is one of the biggest problems, with loud music and barking dogs at the top of the list. (5) _____between neighbors are becoming more and more
common. Take the recent case of a man in the United Kingdom who was (6) _____ to control his fury when his
neighbor started mowing his lawn at seven o'clock one Sunday morning. Still dressed in his pyjamas, the man climbed over the garden fence and grabbed the lawnmower. Then, while his neighbor watched in (7) _____, he threw
the lawnmower into the garden pond! ‘I’m usually a (8) _____
person, 'the man later said. 'The (9) _____ is I was tired and I
wanted to have a lie-in. ’Fortunately, most people don’t go to these extremes, even if they aren’t always in (10) _____ with their neighbors about everything!

2. Read the text and answer the questions that follow (only one answer can be correct)

Pyramid legends

There are persistent legends that the Great Pyramid was used as some sort of sacred initiation center. According to one legend, students who had first undergone years of preparation, meditation and metaphysical instruction in an esoteric school (the mythic "Hall of Records" hidden deep beneath the desert sands somewhere near the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx) were placed in the granite coffer of the main chamber and left alone throughout an entire night. The coffer was the focal point of the energies gathered, concentrated, aimed, and directed at the main chamber by virtue of the precise mathematical location, alignment, and construction of the pyramid. These energies, considered to be especially potent at certain precisely calculated periods when the earth was in a particular geometric alignment with solar, lunar, and stellar objects, were conducive to the awakening, stimulation, and acceleration of spiritual consciousness in the suitably prepared adept. While it is now nearly impossible to spend an evening alone in the coffer of the main chamber, it is interesting to read the reports of those persons who have done so in the past. Mention will be made of experiences both terribly frightening (perhaps because of the lack of any appropriate training on the part of the experimenter) and also deeply peaceful, even spiritually illuminating. Napoleon himself spent a night alone in the chamber. Emerging pale and dazed, he would not speak of his powerful experiences, only saying, "You would not believe me if I told you."

A second matter needing further inquiry from the scientific community studying the Great Pyramid - and one that might help explain the subject just discussed - concerns the matter of unexplained energetic anomalies frequently noticed and recorded in the main chamber. In the 1920s, a Frenchman named Antoine Bovis made the surprising discovery that, despite the heat and high humidity of the main chamber, the dead bodies of animals left in the chamber did not decay but completely dehydrated. Thinking that there might be some relationship between this phenomena and the position of the main chamber in the pyramid, Bovis constructed a small-scale model of the pyramid, oriented it to the same direction as the Great Pyramid, and placed the body of a dead cat at the approximate level of the main chamber. The result was the same. As he had observed in the Great Pyramid, the cat "s body did not decay. In the 1960s, researchers in Czechoslovakia and the US, conducting limited studies of the geometry of the pyramid, repeated this experiment with the same results. They also found that the form of the pyramid somehow mysteriously kept foods preserved without spoiling, sharpened dull razor blades, induced plants to germinate and grow more quickly, and hastened the healing of animals "wounds. Other scientists, in consideration of the high quartz content of the granite in the main chamber and the incredible pressures those blocks are subjected to, theorized that the main chamber may have been the focal point of a powerful piezoelectric field; magnetometer measurements inside the chamber indeed showed higher levels than the normal background geomagnetic field.

Although much research remains to be done in these areas, legend, archeology, mathematics, and earth sciences seem to indicate that the Great Pyramid was a monumental device for gathering, amplifying, and focusing a mysterious energy field for the spiritual benefit of human beings. We do not know exactly how the pyramid and its main chamber were used, and the geometric structure of the pyramid has been subtly altered by the removal of the casing stones and the cap-stone. None-the-less, the Great Pyramid of the Giza plateau still emanates great power as a transformational power place. It has done so for uncounted thousands of years and seems destined to continue for ages to come.

11 Why were the ancient meditation students placed inside the Great Pyramid?

1) to practice meditation skills

2) to be taught there

3) to learn more about there inner balance

4) To gain physical and spiritual power

12 It’s impossible to spend a night in the Pyramid because

1) it's too scary

2) it's forbidden by law

3) the admittance is not allowed

4) there are too many people there

13 The potential energy of the Pyramid could be experienced

1) at night only

3) when the Earth is in balance with solar system

4) when stellar objects are close to the Earth

14 Which energetic anomalies were not registered in the Pyramid?

1) it kept water fresh

2) it kept the dead bodies from decay

3) the injuries were healed quicker

4) it made the plants grow faster

15 What helped to keep food fresh in the Pyramid?

1) the form of the Pyramid

2) sharpened dull razor blades

3) the geomagnetic field

4) a powerful piezoelectric field

Lexico-grammar test (UseofEnglish)

Time: 15 minutes

I. Read and complete the following sentences (only one answer can be correct)

1. "What ...?" "I'm a student."

a. do you b. do you do

c. you d. you do

2. ... I have a table for two please? " "Sure."

a. Would b. Must

c. Could d. Do

3. That isn’t your umbrella. It's….

a. her b. my

c. him d. mine

4. His English is very good. He speaks Italian…, too.

a. badly b. bad

c. good d. well

5. My cousin… for my birthday.

a. gave me a camera b. gave to me a camera

c. gave a camera me d. me gave a camera

6. The woman ... came yesterday is very rich.

a. she b. who

c. which d. than

7. "Please be patient." He told me….

a. to be patient b. be patient

c. that be patient d. that I be patient

Read the text and choose the right alternative.

How I got my dream job

Andy collins, 46 : “ As a student , I earned $ 295 a week in cash working in a beach café . At the time , it was my 8 (job dream / dream job / job of dream)! Later I became a 9 (cooker / waiter / chef). It was hard work , I was 10 (never / rarely / often) in a hot kitchen for twelve hours a day , six days a week . But you 11 (might / could / have to) know the meaning of hard work if you want to 12 (achieve / deliver / pass) your goals . I now own five restaurants around the U . S . My best advice 13 (was / is / were) to find 14 (in / out / on) what your skills and talents are . Talent is something you’re born with . Skills are something you’ve learned to do . People like doing things that come 15 (nature / natural / naturally) to them , so work and enjoy !”

For questions 16-25, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap.

Sales of George Orwell "s 1984 surge after Kellyanne Conway" s

"alternative facts"

Sales of George Orwell’s dystopian drama 1984 have soared after Kellyanne Conway, adviser to the reality-TV-star-turned-president, Donald Trump, used the (16) ________ “alternative facts” in an interview. As of Tuesday, the book was the sixth (17) ______ book on Amazon.

Comparisons were made with the term “newspeak” used in the 1949 novel, which was used to signal a fictional language that aims at (18) ______ personal thought and also “doublethink”. In the book Orwell writes that it “means the power of (19) _____ two contradictory beliefs in one’s mind (20) _______, and accepting both of them”.

The connection was initially made on CNN's Reliable Sources. “Alternative facts is a George Orwell phrase,” said Washington Post reporter Karen Tumulty.

Conway’s use of the term was in reference to White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s comments about last week’s inauguration (21) ______ “the largest audience ever”. Her interview was widely criticized and she was sub-tweeted by Merriam-Webster dictionary with a definition of the word fact. On last night’s Late Night with Seth Meyers, the host joked: “Kellyanne Conway is like someone trying to do a Jedi mind (22) ____ after only a week of Jedi training.”

In 1984, a superstate wields extreme control (23) ____ the people and persecutes any form (24) ___ independent (25) _____thought.

				D simultaneously

24. A. of B. to C. forward to D. up to

25. A. idea B. thought C. country D. frame

Time: 45 minutes

You are to write a letter of application. Read the job advertisement below

SAFE-JOURNEY TOURS

TOUR GUIDES

We are looking for cheerful, enthusiastic, sociable people who

Speak two or more languages

Have traveled a lot and are interested in other countries and cultures

Are ready to explore the world

Can motivate and engage people

Please apply to

Anne Jackson, Personnel Manager

Safe-Journey Tours, Victoria Street, London SW16VC, UK

Write your letter of application for SAFE JOURNEY TOURS

Task 1

For items 1–10 listen to a passage from a lecture and decide whether the statements (1–10) are TRUE (A), or FALSE (B) according to the text you hear. You will hear the text twice.
Audio recording

1. Some time ago the speaker went to buy a new bicycle.
   • A) True
   • B) False
2. The speaker left the shop without buying anything.
   • A) True
   • B) False
3. The speaker promised the shopkeeper to come back later.
   • A) True
   • B) False
4. The speaker didn’t want to offend the shopkeeper.
   • A) True
   • B) False
5. The speaker thinks that his behavior in the shop was tactful.
   • A) True
   • B) False
6. The speaker disagrees with the Collins Dictionary definition of tact.
   • A) True
   • B) False
7. The speaker wants to find words that would make people feel better.
   • A) True
   • B) False
8. The speaker doesn’t refer to the situations when one needs to compliment somebody.
   • A) True
   • B) False
9. The speaker calls the behavior when one is trying to help people avoid feeling bad negative behavior.
   • A) True
   • B) False
10. The speaker thinks that only positive behavior is important.
    • A) True
    • B) False

Task 2

For items 11–15 A, B or C) to answer questions 11–15 ... You will hear the text only once.

1. How does Patrick describe the Isle of Collett?
   • A) As a place with bad weather conditions.
   • B) As a very distant place.
   • C) As a stony island.
2. What helped Patrick pass the time?
   • A) Work on his university thesis.
   • B) Weather research.
   • C) Birdwatching.
3. When Patrick says ‘It took me less than 20 minutes’ he means that…
   • A) he couldn’t leave his work for longer.
   • B) the island is very small.
   • C) he doesn't like long walks.
4. What does Patrick say about his PhD thesis?
   • A) He still has a year to work on it.
   • B) It was rejected by the university.
   • C) He has finished it.
5. Where does Patrick plan to spend his short holiday?
   • A) In London.
   • B) In the Mediterranean.
   • C) Back on the Isle of Collett.

READING

Time: 45 minutes (40 scores)

Task 1

For items 1–10 , read the passage below and choose option A, B, C or D which best fits according to the text.

Duncan phyfe

Duncan Phyfe made some of the most beautiful furniture found in America. His family name was originally Fife, and he was born in Scotland in 1768. In 1784, the Fife family immigrated to Albany, New York where Duncan's father opened a cabinet making shop. Duncan followed in his father's footsteps and was apprenticed to a cabinetmaker. After completing his training, Duncan moved to New York City. Duncan Fife was first mentioned in the 1792 NYC Directory as a furniture “joiner” in business at 2 Broad Street. Two years later, he moved, expanded his business, and changed his name to Phyfe. He was a quiet-living, God-fearing young man who felt his new name would probably appeal to potential customers who were definitely anti-British in this post-Revolutionary War period. Duncan Phyfe's name distinguished him from his contemporaries. Although the new spelling helped him better compete with French émigré craftsmen, his new name had more to do with hanging it on a sign over his door stoop.
The artisans and merchants who came to America discovered a unique kind of freedom. They were no longer restricted by class and guild traditions of Europe. For the first time in history, a man learned that by working hard, he could build his business based on his own name and reputation and quality of work. Phyfe's workshop apparently took off immediately. At the peak of his success, Phyfe employed 100 craftsmen. Some economic historians point to Phyfe as having employed division of labor and an assembly line. What his workshop produced shows Phyfe's absolute dedication to quality in workmanship. Each piece of furniture was made of the best available materials. He was reported to have paid $ 1,000 for a single Santo Domingo mahogany log.

Phyfe did not create new designs. Rather, he borrowed from a broad range of the period’s classical styles, Empire, Sheraton, Regency, and French Classical among them. Nevertheless, Phyfe's high quality craftsmanship established him as America's patriotic interpreter of European design in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Although the number of pieces produced by Duncan Phyfe's workshop is enormous, comparatively few marked or labeled pieces have been found extant. In antiques shops and auctions, collectors have paid $ 11,000 for a card table, $ 24,200 for a tea table, and $ 93,500 for a sewing table.

1. Based on the information in the passage, what can be inferred about Duncan Phyfe?
   • A) He regretted that Great Britain no longer governed New York City.
   • B) He was an excellent businessman with a good sense of craftsmanship and design.
   • C) He built all his furniture by himself in a workshop in Santo Domingo.
   • D) He joined the cabinetmakers ’guild after he moved to Scotland in 1792.
2. According to the passage, which of the following does the author imply?
   • A) Duncan Fife and his father had the same first name.
   • B) Duncan Fife worked for his father in Scotland.
   • C) Duncan Phyfe made over 100 different kinds of tables.
   • D) Duncan Fife and his father were in the same business.
3. Which sentence in paragraph 2 explains Duncan’s name change?
   • A) The third sentence.
   • B) The second sentence.
   • C) The first sentence.
   • D) None of the above.
4. Which choice does the word ‘it’ refer to in the second paragraph?
   • A) His spelling.
   • B) His chair.
   • C) His name.
   • D) His French.
5. Which of the following does the word ‘freedom’ refer to?
   • A) Restricted.
   • B) No longer restricted.
   • C) By working hard.
   • D) Took off.
6. Which choice is closest in meaning to the word ‘guild’ in the third paragraph?
   • A) Organization of craftsmen.
   • B) Verdict of a jury.
   • C) Political party of émigrés.
   • D) Immigrants' club.
7. Where in the passage could the following sentence be added to the passage? Every joint was tight, and the carved elements were beautifully executed.
   • A) After the word “workmanship” in paragraph 3.
   • B) After the word “cabinetmaker” in paragraph 1.
   • C) After the word “stoop” in paragraph 2.
   • D) After the words “sewing table” in the last paragraph.
8. In his business, Duncan Phyfe used all of the following EXCEPT:
   • A) division of labor.
   • B) an assembly line.
   • C) continental designs.
   • D) inexpensive materials.
9. Based on information in the passage, what can be inferred about Duncan Phyfe's death?
   • A) He died in the eighteenth century.
   • B) He died in England.
   • C) He died in the nineteenth century.
   • D) He died in Scotland.
10. The author implies that furniture from Duncan Phyfe's work-shop
    • A) no longer exists.
    • B) costs a lot of money today.
    • C) was ignored by New Yorkers.
    • D) was made by his father.

Task 2

For items 11–20, read the passage below and choose which of the sentences A – K fit into the numbered gaps in the text. There is one extra sentence which does not fit in any of the gaps. Write the correct letter in boxes 11–20 on your answer sheet.

Ever since the 1910s, when film-makers first set up shops in Hollywood, mapmakers have been making quite unusual and even unique things: maps showing the locations of the fabulous homes of the stars. Collectively, they form an unofficial version of the Oscars, showing who’s in and who’s out in the film world. ‘Each one looks different,’ says Linda Welton, whose grandfather and mother pioneered these maps. eleven ________. Former film stars vanish from them, new ones appear on them, and some of the truly greats are permanent fixtures on them.
In 1933, noticing the steady stream of tourists going westward to follow the stars from Hollywood to Beverly Hills (the nearby district where most of the stars went to live), Linda's grandfather, Wesley Lake, got a copyright for his Guide to Starland: Estates and Mansions. 12 ________. For 40 years Linda’s mother, Vivienne, sold maps just down the road from Cary Cooper’s place at 200, Baroda *. The asterisk indicates that it was the actor's final home, as opposed to a plus sign (denoting an ex-home) or a zero (for no view from the street).
‘My grandfather asked Mom to talk to the gardeners to find out where the stars lived,’ Linda recalls. ‘She would come up to them and say:“ 13 ________ ”Who would suspect a little girl?’ Linda Welton and her team now sell about 10,000 maps a year from a folding chair parked curbside six days a week. fourteen ________.

The evolution of the maps mirrors both the Hollywood publicity machine and real estate and tourism development. 15 ________. The first celebrity home belonged to the artist Paul de Longpre. 16 ________.

Although it is not known for certain who published the first map, by the mid-1920s all sorts of people were producing them. 17 ________.
One of the most famous of the early maps was produced to show the location of Pickfair, the home of the newly married stars Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks, and the homes of some of their star friends. During World War I, they opened their home to serve refreshments to soldiers. As Vivienne Welton once explained in an interview, to a map and cartography magazine, ‘She asked a few friends to do the same. eighteen ________.'

For over 40 years, people have marched toward the corner of Sunset and Baroda with hand-painted yellow signs saying: ‘Star Maps, 2 blocks’, ‘Star Maps, 1 block’, ‘Star Maps here’. The maps reflect the shifting geography of stardom as celebrities, looking for escape from over-enthusiastic fans, some with quite unhealthy intentions, have moved out to various districts in Malibu. 19 ________. Legendary stars - Garbo, Monroe, Chaplin - remain on them. twenty ________.

• A. As they do so, they give advice to the tourists on star safaris through the lime green landscape of Beverly Hills.
• B. Studios like Paramount published the names and addresses of its stars on theirs, and businesses distributed them as a promotional gimmick.
• C. Others, however, say that the star maps are still an essential part of Hollywood and the film world.
• D. More profoundly, perhaps, the maps suggest the temporary nature of fame.
• E. Early film stars like Lillian Gish lived in modest, somewhat grubby rooming houses, taking street cars to and from the studio.
• F. Updated regularly, they are still for sale at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Baroda Drive.
• G. And so a map was needed.
• H. It is the oldest continuously published star map and one of a half-dozen or so maps of varying degrees of accuracy and spelling correctness sold today.
• I. Oh, this is a beautiful garden, but who lives here?
• J. Others, however, hang on for about a decade and then vanish.
• K. He had a luxuriously-landscaped house at Cahuenga Avenue and Hollywood and real estate agents would take prospective clients past it on tours.

USE OF ENGLISH

Time: 60 minutes, (50 scores)

Task 1. Questions 1-15

For Questions 1-15, read the text below and look carefully at each line. Some of the lines are correct, and some have a word which should not be there. If a line is correct, put a tick. If a line has a word which should not be there, write the word on your answer sheet. There are two examples at the beginning ( 0 and 00).

Example:

0	V
00	far

The Plaza hotel

0	The Plaza is situated close to the center of town and only
00	20 minutes' drive far from the airport. There are 605 guest
1	rooms providing a luxurious accommodation for tourists
2	and business people alike. Each room it is equipped with
3	a color television, a mini bar and an individually-controlled
4	air conditioning. Guests have the choice of five superb
5	restaurants. Why not to sample local specialties in the Bistro
6	on the ground floor or enjoy yourself the finest international
7	cuisine in the fabulous Starlight Room with its panoramic
8	view of the city? There is a wide range of facilities for
9	relaxation and enjoyment including of a swimming pool,
10	health club, beauty salon and karaoke bar. In addition,
11	our modern conference center which has been
12	designed to meet all your business needs. Why should you not stay
13	elsewhere when you can be sure of a warm welcome
14	and excellent service at the Plaza? For reservations
15	and information please to call 010 534 766 (24 hours).

Task 2. Questions 16–25

Example: 0 ... The pool isn’t deep enough to swim in.
too
The pool ……………………. swim in.

0	is too shallow to

1. Laura had to pay a fine of 50 dollars because she didn’t have a ticket.

dollar
Laura had to pay …………………… because she didn’t have a ticket.

1. The concert wasn’t as good as we had expected.

live
The concert didn’t ……… .. our expectations.

1. I've been too busy to answer my emails, but I'll do it soon.

round
I haven’t ………… my emails yet, but I’ll do it soon.

1. It’s nearly lunchtime, so would you like to eat something?

feel
It’s nearly lunchtime, so do ……………………………… something to eat?

1. Complaints about the food! That’s all I ever hear from you!

always
You …………………………… the food!

1. They took advantage of the day-off at work and went to the seaside!

most
They ………………… of the day-off at work and went to the seaside!

1. Two detectives investigating the robbery questioned us for over an hour.

inquiries
Two detectives ……………… .. the robbery questioned us for over an hour.

1. Jake was the person who started my interest in collecting pottery.

got
It was Jake ………… in collecting pottery.

1. He really wanted to impress the interviewers.

desperate
He ………………………. the interviewers a good impression.

1. Because he was injured he couldn’t play in the next game.

prevented
His ……….…. in the next game.

Task 3. Questions 26–30

Informal English	Neutral Equivalents
26. Oh well, don’t let it get you down	A) to borrow sth for a short time
27. I wish you’d stop going on about it for hours on end.	B) to change one’s mind
28. It really bugs me when people don’t return my pen after they’ve borrowed it.	C) to fool sb
29. My bicycle's been nicked	D) to annoy sb
30. He flipped his lid	E) to upset sb
	F) to steal sth
	G) to argue
	H) to lose one’s temper
	I) to speak steadily
	J) to surprise sb

Task 4. Questions 31–40

31 ... The Trail of Tears	A) the artist who made his masterpieces by putting the painting on the floor and then walking around it, letting the paint drip from sticks
32 ... John bull	B) a figure who stands for the USA sometimes represented by the figure of a man with a white beard and tall hat
33 ... The great gatsby	C) This book deals with a poor Cockney girl who is taught how to speak and behave like an upper class lady as a scientific experiment.
34 ... Prohibition	D) the period from 1919 to 1933 in the US when the production and sale of alcoholic drinks was illegal
35 ... Louisiana Purchase	E) an English filmmaker of the 20-th century who specialized in thrillers
36 ... Pygmalion	F) the massive area of ​​land bought from France in 1803 which doubled the US size
37 ... The great depression	G) a figure who stands for England in literary and political satire
38 ... Jackson pollock	H) a group of eight old and respected universities in the Northeastern US
39 ... The ivy league	I) the path that the Cherokees, forced to move away from their homes, traveled in the autumn and winter of 1838 to 1839
40 ... Alfred hitchcock	J) the severe economic problems that followed the Wall Street Crash of 1929 and resulted in the failure of many banks and businesses
	K) This novel describes the rise and fall of the main character, who extravagantly lives from bootlegging. He loves a beautiful woman who is the cause of his downfall.
	L) an English animator of the 20-th century who is famous for inventing some of the best-known cartoons
	M) Oxford and Cambridge together

WRITING

Time: 60 minutes, (30 scores)

Comment on the following quotation.

"All that glisters is not gold."

Write 200-250 words.

Use the following plan:

• explain how you understand the author's point of view;
• express your personal opinion and give 2–3 reasons in its support;
• give examples to illustrate your reasons, using your personal experience, literature or background knowledge;
• make a conclusion.

Attention!

If the volume is exceeded by more than 10% of the specified (276 words or more), the first 250 words are checked... If the volume is exceeded by less than 10% of the specified, the points for the content are not reduced.

Audioscript

Listening comprehension

For items 1-10 listen to a passage from a lecture and decide whether the statements (1-10) are TRUE (a), or FALSE (b) according to the text you hear. You will hear the text twice.
You have 20 seconds to study the statements.
(pause 20 seconds)

Now we begin.

Some time ago, I was in a bicycle shop looking for a new lock for my bicycle. The shopkeeper showed me several, patiently explaining their advantages and disadvantages. None of them was quite what I wanted and eventually I said to the shopkeeper, “I’ll think about it. Thanks very much ”, and left the shop. Why did I say, “I’ll think about it”? Not something more straightforward like, “None of these is right”, “They’re too big”, “They are too small”, “They’re too expensive”, “I’ll go elsewhere”? I think, there are two reasons why I chose to say “I’ll think about it”. The first is that I didn’t want the shopkeeper to feel that his products were not valued or that his time had been wasted and second is that I didn’t want to be the object of his possible annoyance or irritation. In other words, I didn’t want him to feel bad. And I didn’t want me to feel bad. We have words for this general behavior pattern of not wanting ourselves or other people to feel bad as a result of the interactions that we have… have with other people. We talk about tact, which is defined in the Collins Concise Dictionary as ‘the sense of what is fitting and considerate in dealing with others so as to avoid giving offence’, or we might equally call this, as many people do, politeness behavior. Now notice that the definition of tact talks about avoiding giving offence. It is not talking about something positive that we do in order to make people feel better than they otherwise would. So, here we are not talking about the kind of behavior we get into when, for example, we console a friend whose cat has just been run over or compliment our partner on a very well-cooked meal. We are not trying here to positively make people feel better, but trying to avoid them feeling bad. So, this is a negative kind of behavior that I'm talking about. But the fact that it’s negative doesn’t mean that it’s not terribly important. It is extremely important. It is essential to our self-preservation and to social cohesion. And for this reason avoidance behavior is of great interest to many different kinds of scholars.

(pause 20 seconds)

Now listen to the text again.

(text repeated)

You have 20 seconds to check your answers.

(pause 20 seconds)

For items 11–15 listen to the dialogue. Choose the correct answer ( A, B or C) to answer questions 11–15 ... You will hear the text only once.
You now have 25 seconds to study the questions.

(pause 25 seconds)

Now we begin.

A lonely job

Jane: Wherever have you been, Patrick? I haven’t seen you for months. Someone said you’d emigrated.

Patrick: Whoever told you that? I've been working on a weather research station on the Isle of Collett.

Jane: Where on earth is that?

Patrick: It’s a lump of rock about 100 miles north-west of Ireland.

Jane: Whatever did you do to pass the time?

Patrick: Fortunately I had my university thesis to work on. If I hadn’t had a pile of work to do, I’d have gone off my head.

Jane: Was there anything else to do?

Patrick: Well, if you were a bird watcher, it would be a paradise; but whenever I got tired of studying, I could only walk round the island - and that took me less than twenty minutes.

Jane: However did you stand it? If I’d been in your shoes I’d have taken the first boat back to civilization.

Patrick: Well, I needed some information for my research there, and they paid me, so I saved some money. Now I can have a short holiday before I start looking for a job.

Jane: Have you finished your PhD already? I thought you had another year to do.
Patrick: No, time flies, you know. As long as they don’t reject my thesis, I’ll be leaving for London next week.

Jane: If I were you, I’d go off to the Mediterranean or somewhere before starting work.

Patrick: No thanks, I’ll stay in London. I’ve had enough of the sea for a while. This is the end of the listening comprehension part. You have 1 minute to complete your answer.

Keys

Use of English
Item	Answer
1	a
2	it
3	an
4	V
5	to
6	yourself
7	V
8	V
9	of
10	V
11	which
12	not
13	V
14	V
15	to
16	a 50-dollar fine
17	live up to
18	got round to answering
19	you feel like having
20	are always complaining about
21	made the most
22	making inquiries into / about
23	who / that got me interested
24	was desperate to give
25	injury prevented him from playing
26	E
27	I
28	D
29	F
30	H
31	I
32	G
33	K
34	D
35	F
36	C
37	J
38	A
39	H
40	E

Scoring for all competitions

Listening- the maximum number of points is 30. The task is checked by keys. Each correct answer is worth 1 point. For an incorrect answer or no answer, 0 points are given. Then the resulting number of points is multiplied by two.

Reading- the maximum number of points is 40. The task is checked by keys. Each correct answer is worth 1 point. For an incorrect answer or no answer, 0 points are given. Then the resulting number of points is multiplied by two.

Use of English- the maximum number of points is 50. The task is checked by keys. In tasks 1, 3, 4, each correct answer is estimated at 1 point. For an incorrect answer or no answer, 0 points are given. In task 1, spelling is not taken into account. In task 2, each correct answer is estimated at 2 points. For an incorrect answer or no answer, 0 points are given. Spelling is taken into account. If a grammatically correct answer is given, but spelling errors were made in the answer, the answer is estimated at 1 point.

Writing- the maximum number of points is 30. The task is evaluated according to the Evaluation Criteria. Then the resulting number of points is multiplied by two. When summarizing the results, the points for all competitions are summed up. The maximum number of points for all competitions is 30 + 40+ 50 +30 = 150.

Practice shows that often Olympiads are terra incognita for both students and their parents. And teachers do not always have complete information. The purpose of this article is to briefly tell what Olympiads are, how they are held and what they are for.

The main differences between the All-Russian Olympiad and the browsers are the schemes and benefits.

All-Russian Olympiad

• Held by the Ministry of Education
• Consists of four stages (SHE, ME, RE and ZE)
• Gives admission benefits
• There is no need to confirm the benefits
• The diploma is valid for 4 years

Brown Olympiads

• Held by universities
• Consist of two stages (selection and final)
• Give benefits upon admission
• Benefits must be confirmed by USE points
• Diplomas are valid for 4 years in theory and 1 year in practice

All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren

All-Russia is the most prestigious event of the Olympic season. They usually know more about this Olympiad than about the others. The reason is simple: the first stage of the general education school is carried out in all schools, so it's almost impossible not to hear about her. The school stage is followed by the municipal, regional and final... Anyone can participate in the school stage, and to participate in each subsequent stage, it is necessary to collect the established passing score.

Prize-winners and winners final stage Of the All-Russian Olympiad, they receive various benefits for admission to universities: BVI (admission without exams), 100 points in the Unified State Exam, points for personal achievements. These benefits do not require confirmation USE results.

Prize-winning and victory at the All-Russian race is a very difficult task, often with an unpredictable ending (“I bothered for two years, and even failed to qualify for the GE”). Therefore, you cannot bet on this one Olympiad only. Be sure to insure yourself with the help of brownies (especially in the 11th grade).

Brown (university) olympiads

The Browning Olympiads, unlike the All-Russian Olympiads, have nothing to do with schools. They are conducted by universities (therefore, peer-to-peer olympiads are often referred to as university ones). For example, the Higher Test Olympiad is held by the Higher School of Economics, the Eurasian Olympiad is held by the Moscow State Linguistic University, the RANEPA Olympiad is held, as you might guess, by the RANEPA. Since schools do not deal with the issue of university Olympiads, it is necessary to track all events related to them independently.

First, you need to know which Olympiads are pending... Each year, the Russian Council of Olympiads for Schoolchildren (RSOSH) draws up a list of Olympiads, and the Ministry of Education approves it. This list is the list. If the Olympiad is on this list, then it is an enumeration. If it is absent, then it is not listing, and no introductory benefits are provided for it. The English Olympiads included in the list of the current year are collected on the corresponding page of the Upwego website.

Each peer-to-peer Olympiad is assigned a certain level: from I to III. In the 2017/18 academic year, for example, there were four Level I English Olympiads, 7 Level II Olympiads and 2 Level III Olympiads (one of which was not held all over Russia). Knowing the level of the Olympiad is necessary to determine what kind of benefit you will get.

The set of benefits for brown-out Olympiads is the same as for the All-Russia: BVI, 100 points in the USE standings or several points of personal achievements. However, unlike the benefits of the All-Russian Olympiad, any incentives for peer-to-peer olympiads need to be confirmed by the USE results: you need to pass the exam for 75 points or higher (the number of points may differ in different universities, but usually it is exactly 75).

Having decided which Olympiads are on the list, you need to go to the sites of these Olympiads and study the rules for their holding. The general scheme is the same for everyone: first, the qualifying round takes place (usually online), then the final (full-time) follows... The exact dates are published on the websites of the Olympiads.

An important point: to participate in any peer-to-peer olympiad, registration is required, which opens at different times for different olympiads. This should be monitored by looking at the Olympiad sites starting in October. At some Olympiads (for example, at the "Highest Test"), registration ends earlier than the qualifying round begins. Therefore, the issue of registration should be taken care of in advance, not postponing until the last moment. For registration, as a rule, a certain set of documents is required: parental consent, a certificate from the school. A complete list of requirements is indicated on the websites of the Olympiads. Be sure to study them when planning to participate.

Information about when and how the qualifying round is held is also published on the websites of the Olympiads. Having found out the date and time of the competition, you must independently go to the website of the Olympiad and go through the qualifying round within the allotted time frame. After gaining a passing point at the qualifying round, you go to the finals.

The finals of the brown olympiads are held in person. Most of them have several venues in different cities. It is necessary to search for a suitable city for holding the Olympiad, as well as go there on your own. Some Olympiads provide hostels for nonresident participants and pay for travel expenses.

Attention! Browsing Olympiads are the personal responsibility of the participant. No one will remind you to register, go through the qualifying round, see your scores, or go to the final round. If you forgot, did not keep track of, did not have time - you are to blame.

How to understand what benefits are due for the Olympiad?

The decision about what benefits to give to the Olympiads is made by the universities. Therefore, in order to find out what benefits you are entitled to, you need to go to the website of the university that interests you, and look there for documents entitled "Special rights granted to winners and prize-winners of the All-Russian Olympiad for schoolchildren" (if you have a VOSh diploma) and "Special rights, provided to the winners and prize-winners of the Olympiads for schoolchildren included in the List of Olympiads ”(if you have a diploma of the Brown Olympiad). These documents describe in detail which Olympiad diplomas are accepted at which faculties.

note that different faculties of the same university establish different benefits... For example, in 2018, the HSE Faculty of Foreign Languages ​​and Intercultural Communication accepted only winners of the Highest Test Olympiad without entrance exams, and the Faculty of Language and Literature of Iran at the same university gave BVI to the winners and prize-winners of any level I Olympiad, as well as winners of any level II Olympiad. Also note that the published list of benefits may change without notice during the year, both in the direction of expansion and in the direction of narrowing. Watch this carefully and check it often.

Terms of validity of olympiad diplomas

All-Russian Olympiad diplomas are valid for 4 years. This means that having won the All-Russian in the 9th grade, when you enter the university after the 11th grade, you can take advantage of all the benefits that your diploma gives.

Theoretically, the period of validity of the diplomas of the peer-to-peer olympiads is also 4 years. However, here, unlike All-Russia, universities have the right to specify the class in which the diploma was received, and in most cases require that it be received in the 11th grade. Thus, a diploma obtained, for example, in the 9th grade, is formally valid (4 years have not expired), but practically useless (it is not accepted anywhere). The exact information about which classes are taken into account can be found on the websites of universities, in the same documents on special rights.

Come study!

Group lessons

I prepare for olympiads in mini-groups (from 2 to 6 people). In the classroom, the main focus is on expanding vocabulary, working on idioms, regional studies and other olympiad tricks. Classes are conducted entirely in English. Homework is an obligatory component.

Studying programs

When preparing on your own, it's easy to overlook something important. To prevent this from happening, I offer you special Olympiad programs. Throughout the program, you regularly receive an organized set of exercises. Unlike group lessons, the programs are held on-line, therefore they are available for any region.

Courses

Unlike programs that cover several areas at once, each course is devoted to a separate area. For example, the course "Olympiad Assorted" will give you the opportunity to taste different formats of Olympiad writing, and the course "Olympiad Report" elaborates the Report format in detail. A complete list of available courses can be found on the Courses, Grammar, Regional Studies, Speaking page. Also solve the options of the past. You need to practice every day, devoting at least an hour to preparation. will help in this difficult matter :)