К содержанию

Анатолий
Анатольевич
Eфремов

Card 3 - Reading

Раздел 2 (задания по Чтению)

9 Прочитайте тексты и установите соответствие между текстами и их заголовками: к каждому тексту, обозначенному буквами А-G, подберите соответствующий заголовок, обозначенный цифрами 1-8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании есть один лишний заголовок.
1. The symbols of London5. On the road
2. Means of travelling6. A healthy but difficult choice
3. World record holder7. An unusual hobby
4. A sweet in the street8. Conflict over roads
A The British are enthusiastic about mobility. They think that the ability to travel far and frequently is their right. People can spend up to two or three hours commuting to London or another big city and arrive back at their homes in the countryside only late in the evening. They put up with the long journey because they want their families to avoid the unhealthy lifestyle of big cities.
B Most journeys to work are made by private road transport. It leads to the pollution so familiar to many big cities, and to traffic jams. Congestion is especially high in Britain because the British do not welcome the idea of building new roads. They don’t like living close to them. Each proposal to build a new road is criticised, so it’s not easy to improve the road situation.
C Perhaps because the trains were the first means of transport in Britain many people still have a romantic outlook on them. Thousands of train-lovers spend a lot of time looking for information about trains, especially old steam engines. Many enthusiasts spend their free time restoring and repairing old trains. They even earn some money by offering rides to tourists.
D It is possible to travel between any two towns or cities by either road or rail. In some parts of the country there is a very good rail network but most commercially successful trains run between London and the largest cities in the country. By modern European standards British trains are not fast. Coach services are generally even slower than trains but are much cheaper. It explains why they are still in use.
E Britain is one of the few countries in Europe where double-decker buses are a common sight. Although single-deckers have been in use since 1960s, London still has many double-deckers in operation. They are world-famous, an image associated with the city. Another London icon is the black taxi. Normally, these traditional taxis cannot be hired by phone. You simply have to find one on the street.
F In 1953, most schoolchildren walked to school. For this reason, school crossing patrols were introduced. This ‘patrol’ consists of an adult wearing a bright waterproof coat and carrying a stick with a circle on top of it, which reads ‘STOP’. Armed with this ‘lollipop’, the adult walks out into the middle of the road, stops the traffic and allows the children to cross.
G On 9 January 2013, the London Underground (or the Tube) celebrated 150 years since the first underground journey. It is both the world's oldest underground railway and the oldest rapid transit system. It was also the first underground railway to operate electric trains. The Underground has 268 stations and 400 km of track, making it the longest metro system in the world by route length.

Запишите в таблицу выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами

Текст A B C D E F G
Место действия 6 8 7 2 1 4 3

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Прочитайте текст. Определите, какие из приведённых утверждений 10-17 соответствуют содержанию текста (1 - True), какие не соответствуют (2 - False) и о чём в тексте не сказано, то есть на основании текста нельзя дать ни положительного, ни отрицательного ответа (3 - Not stated). В поле ответа запишите одну цифру, которая соответствует номеру правильного ответа.

Halloween

Halloween dates back to an ancient Celtic festival. The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area of Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on 1st November. This day showed that the summer was over and winter had come. Because of the cold and darkness, winter was associated with human death.

Celts believed that on Halloween night the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. With their help, the Druids or Celtic priests, could predict the future. It was important because people depended on the natural world which was dangerous and changeable. They wanted to know what their life would be like in the next year.

For this event the Druids built big bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals. It was a gift to the Celtic gods. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes made of animal heads and skins. They sang, danced and listened to the stories the Druids told them. When the celebration was over, they went home and brought burning pieces of wood with them. They lit their fires and hoped it would ensure good fortune and protect the family during the winter.

The first celebrations of Halloween in America were public events. Neighbours got together to celebrate the harvest and tell each other stories of the dead. They also sang and danced. By the middle of the nineteenth century, these autumn festivals were common, but Halloween was not yet celebrated everywhere in the country.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, lots of immigrants started coming to America. They helped to make the celebration of Halloween a popular national event. Americans began to dress up in frightening costumes and go from house to house asking for food or money. The most popular characters were witches, ghosts, and vampires. Everyone tried to look as ugly and scary as possible.

Halloween is closely associated with the Jack-o’-lantern, a pumpkin with a candle inside that shines through the holes to make a horrible face. Most people think that the Jack-o’-lantern is an American tradition. However, the original Jack-o’-lantern was not a pumpkin but a man who, according to the old Irish legend, played a trick on the devil himself. He was punished for that and was accepted neither to heaven nor to hell. The Irish people shared the legend with the Americans and showed them how to make Jack-o’-lantern out of the pumpkin.

By the 1930s, Halloween had been celebrated with parades, town-wide parties and lots of other entertainment. Later a new tendency appeared. By the 1950s, Halloween had changed into a holiday directed mainly at children. On that evening children in costumes travel from house to house in order to ask for treats (such as some sweets, a small present or a few coins) with the question “Trick or treat?” The trick is a threat (usually not working) to perform mischief on the owner of the house if no treat is given. “Trick or treat?” has become a traditional practice on Halloween in many countries.

10 For the Celts Halloween was associated with the change of the seasons.
  • 1) True
  • 2) False
  • 3) Not stated
Ответ: 1
11 The Celts paid the priests for their predictions.
  • 1) True
  • 2) False
  • 3) Not stated
Ответ: 3
12 In ancient times fires were prohibited on Halloween night.
  • 1) True
  • 2) False
  • 3) Not stated
Ответ: 2
13 The church strongly disapproved of Halloween celebration in America.
  • 1) True
  • 2) False
  • 3) Not stated
Ответ: 3
14 Halloween came to the USA only in the 20th century.
  • 1) True
  • 2) False
  • 3) Not stated
Ответ: 2
15 The Irish immigrants taught Americans how to use pumpkins for Halloween ceremonies.
  • 1) True
  • 2) False
  • 3) Not stated
Ответ: 1
16 From the middle of the 20th century, children have taken an active part in Halloween celebrations.
  • 1) True
  • 2) False
  • 3) Not stated
Ответ: 1
17 “Trick or treat” means “we wish you good luck”.
  • 1) True
  • 2) False
  • 3) Not stated
Ответ: 2

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