Dear Colleagues!
Our column “Preparation for the OGE: questions and answers” continues to work. In it you will find useful tips and tests, publications in the media and links to webinars, information on manuals for preparing for the final certification.
The results of the OGE for the 2013-2014 academic year showed that the “Speaking” section was the most difficult. Therefore, the new section will be devoted to issues of student preparation, strategies and successful completion of tasks from the oral part of the OGE. “English in Focus” textbooks have great potential for developing speaking skills.
Sincerely, teacher-methodologist, head of the IMO of English language teachers of the Khimki City District, Honored Teacher of Russia, Winner of the PNPO 2006, Winner of the personal award of the Governor of the Moscow Region 2005, 2012, expert of the OGE and the Unified State Exam.
Teaching oral speech when preparing students for the Unified State Exam based on materials from the educational complex “English in Focus”
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How to teach hearing and listening: problems of teaching listening when preparing students to complete listening tasks in the State Academy of Arts
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A good knowledge of vocabulary and grammar contributes to the development of writing skills. Preparing students for the State Examination. Vocabulary, grammar and writing.
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What is a support sentence and how to search for keywords: preparing students to complete reading assignments in the State Academy of Sciences
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Technologies for preparing students for successfully passing the State Examination in English (in a new format)
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State final certification in English (in a new form) 2013
View link
English language.
State final certification.
Training tasks
(with keys). 9th grade
Authors: V. Evans, E. A. Gashimov, A. E. Kurovskaya.
Distinctive features of the manual:
Variable tasks corresponding to the demo version of 2013;
Texts of various genres for listening and reading;
Keys to all tasks in the manual and audio scripts.
Modern grammar
in English
to prepare for the State Examination
Authors: Jenny Dooley
Virginia Evans
Author's program
Collections of training
exercises in the format
GIA
for grades 5-9
Authors Yu. E. Vaulina,
O. E. Podolyako
The collection offers a system of tasks for the development of reading, writing, lexical and grammatical skills as the basis of speech skills. The collection not only solves the problem of training established formats of examination tasks, but also serves to develop universal educational activities according to the requirements of the Federal State Educational Standard for basic general education. The materials in the manual can be used in English lessons and at home independently.
Collection
oral topics
for the preparation of
to GIA.
5–9 grades
Author Yu. A. Smirnov
After studying the materials in the collection, the “Speaking” section of the GIA in English in grade 9 will not be difficult for students. In addition, the materials in the collection can be used in preparation for tests and exams in English in grades 5–9.
Buy
PET for
Schools
Practice
Tests
Publishing house
Express Publishing
I. V. Tofel.
English language.
Collection
training
tasks.
9th grade
Buy
Practice Exam Papers
Secondary School
GIA
Training tasks
Authors: E. Gashimov,
V. Evans, A. Kurovskaya
Distinctive features of the manual:
Variable tasks corresponding to the demo version of the GIA 2011;
Samples of completing tasks for all types of speech activity;
Detailed answers to all tasks.
Diagnostic work on English for 11th grade students
As part of state certification
Target: conducting intermediate knowledge control.
Test structure:
Part 1: 1 listening task.
Part 2: two reading tasks.
Part 3: two tasks on knowledge of grammar and vocabulary.
Criteria for assessing test takers:
The maximum number of points is 32.
1 option
- Listening
Listen twice (1-5) A-F . Every letter is usedone extra statement.
- He hasn’t seen his parents more than a week.
- I wish I had prepared better for my exams.
- I want to have my car repaired.
- My father wants me to help him.
- I have never read such an exiting book.
- My flat will be redecorated.
2. Reading
1 task
Read the texts 1-5 A-F only once.
Lyrics
2. For those who love opera the place to be on Sept.23 is the Kremlin Palace where Jose Carreras will Give a concert. The Spanish Tenor will be here for one night only to sing pieces from his last two albums. 3. The government’s pride and joy- a deficit-free budget for 2010-hasn`t turned out to be to everyone’s taste. 4. Verizon Wireless, the No. 1 U.S. cellphone carrier, on Monday awarded a three-year, $5 billion supply contract to telecoms equipment maker Lucent Technologies Inc. 5. Though it opened only six months ago, Slim has become popular with show-biz bohemians and the business elite for a it’s quiet and comfortable atmosphere, so atypical for a city like Moscow. |
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2 task
1-5, choosing number 1,2,3 or 4 , corresponding to the answer that seems to you most faithful.
One of the greatest advances in modern technology has been the invention of computers. They help us, fascinate us and occasionally scare us. The latest fear concerns children and computers. Some experts claim that brothers and sisters are starting to play more with computers than with one another, and that computers are distancing children from their parents.
Walking round a toyshop you find a home computer game to satisfy any child's violent imagination. Adult computer addicts are familiar figures: pale people who sit in front of green screens hour after hour. That is their choice. But the idea of a child living in front of a flashing green screen is somehow less acceptable. Canadian child psychologist Jams-Norton explains: These are children with few friends, afraid of making conversation. They are children who are usually allowed to do what they want. They cannot concentrate for long periods of time except in front of the screen. If the computer games they play are violent," she adds, "they become indifferent to violence faster than they would through watching violent videos."
A frightening picture starts to appear. Jams-Norton sees a good number of troubled children. They usually persuade their parents to buy them a computer by saying it "will help their education." Computers, after all, are a central part of education today. Some educationalists enthusiastically look forward to the day when every child will have a personal computer in the class room and the class teacher will be nothing but a technician. That is not particularly appealing either, although with the current lack of teachers someone may soon decide it makes good economic sense. Janis-Norton disapproves of such an attitude, it is relationships with the teacher and the other students that make you learn."
We may be at a sort of crossroads. It is a question of whether we use the machines wisely or stupidly in bringing up children. "The computer," says the child psychologist, "is only a surface problem but the real problem is not computers. It is parents who have forgotten how to be parents, or don"t have the confidence. I wish they"d start noticing and worrying about what is happening a bit sooner.
1 . People are worried that children's dependence on computers may result in
- serious learning difficulties.
- serious problems with health.
- families having communication problems.
- permanent anxieties.
2 . The idea of computer-dependent adults is acceptable because
- They can control their violent imaginations easily.
- They are old enough to make their own decisions.
- They can't stop looking at the flashing screen.
- They don't only use the computers for game.
3. Computer-dependent children
1. concentrate on the screen for short periods only.
- become violent or aggressive
- find it difficult to communicate with other children.
- stammer more often than other children
4 . Some experts believe that in the future
- Every teacher will have a PC in the classroom
- It will be too expensive to give each schoolchild a computer.
- Children will be educated at home using computers.
- Most teaching will be done by computers
5 . What is the real problem behind children's dependence on computers, according to the child psychologist?
- Children's learning can be slowed down.
- Parents do not participate in their children's education.
- Children regard computers as toys not tools.
- Parents do not have confidence when using computers.
3. Grammar and vocabulary
1 task
Read the text and fill in the blanks indicated by numbers 1-11. these numbers correspond to tasks 1-11, which present possible options answers. Select the number of answers that seems most correct to you.
Sindy had a bad year, particularly after she (1) her job in summer. She (2) both physically and mentally. She(3) forward to her holidays. She (4) a hotel in a quite place because she (5) to relax. She couldn’t stand crowded tourist resort. It (6) to be the holiday of the lifetime. But it wasn't. Her plane (7) for seven hours. When she (8) at the hotel she found out that her room (9). The hotel owners (10) her another accommodation. She(11) the offer, though it was in a noisy resort.
1. 1) lost 1) has lost 3) had lost 4) was lost
2. 1) was exhausted 2) exhausted 3) was being exhausted 4) exhausted
3. 1) looks 2) is looking 3) was looking 4) look
4. 1)has booked 2)book 3)booked 4)had booked
5. 1) wanted 2) wants 3) has wanted 4) to want
6. 1)suppose 2)was supposed 3) is supposed 4) supposed
7. 1) was delayed 2) delayed 3) delays 4) is delayed
8. 1) would arrive 2) will arrive 3) arrives 4) arrived
9. 1) has been double booked 2) had been double booked
3) was double booked 4) had double booked
10. 1) offered 2) offers 3) had offered 4) did offer
11. 1) had to accept 2) did to accept 3) have to accept 4) accepted
2 task
1-6 1-6.
1 Albert Einstein was not a _________________________REMARK
2 child. He didn’t seem to be____________________PARTICULAR
3 _____________________________________________ . TALENT
4 Didn't like_________________________________ . DAY-DREAM
5 Albert didn't have_________________________________EXCITE
6 ________________________________________________CHILD
but he appeared to have a vivid memory of it.
Option 2
1. Listening
Listen twice 5 sayings. Match the statements of each speaker(1-5) with the statements given in the list A-F . Every letter is used just one time . The assignment contains one extra statement.
- I feel hurt.
- I feel deeply depressed.
- I advise you to confess.
- I feel embarrassed.
- I'm absent-minded.
2. Reading
1 task
Read the texts 1-5 and establish their correspondence to the headings A-F to which they can be classified. Record your answers in the table. Use every letter just one time . There is one extra section in the assignment.
Lyrics
| A. BUSINESS NEWS B. READER`S LETTERS TO A MAGAZINE C. POLITICAL NEWS D. COOC'S CORNER E. SPORTS F. E-BUSINESS |
2 task
Read the text and complete the tasks 1-5, selecting the number 1,2, 3, 4, 5, relevant I will answer whichever seems most correct to you.
Helen was a very successful businesswoman. She had always liked nice clothes, and when she had left school she had gone and worked in a shop which sold them, not far from her home. After a few experiments she showed that she was very successful at designing the sorts of things that women want to buy, so after a few years the owner of the shop, who was an oldish lady, offered to make her a partner. “It's something I should have done long ago,” she told Helen with a smile.
Helen was very pleased, of course, and when the old lady retired, Helen bought her share and became the sole owner of the shop. Now she had her independence.
Ever since she had started in the shop she had to travel around to see what attractive things her rivals in the clothes trade were producing, to attend fashion shows and so on. She had always stayed at small cheap hotels, because she dared not spend too much money when she was saving up to buy a shop of her own.
But when she at last became the owner of the shop, and it was making good profits, she found that she had plenty of money, and she felt she should now stay in the best hotels whenever she traveled. Then the people who buy good clothes can see that your business is successful," she said to herself, "and therefore more of them think they should buy the clothes you make."
So when she had to go to the next fashion show, which was in Rome, she stayed at a very good hotel. She bad a nice big room with beautiful furniture in which she could entertain customers, and there were also fine public room where she could, with her great pride; hold small fashion shows of her own. The room service was excellent, and so was the dining-room, which had a band every evening for dancing. Helen had never before dared to stay in such a splendid place.
She could see from the bills she signed for everything that the prices in the hotel were high, but she was rather surprised when just before she left, she was given a bill of several pages, written on beautiful headed paper.
1. Why did the lady who owned the shop where Helen worked offer to make her a partner?
1)Because it was something she should have done long before.
2)Because she was too old and needed a partner.
3)Because Helen was a clever businesswoman.
4) Because Helen was a very successful designer.
2. Helen had to travel around:
1)to hold fashion shows of her own;
2)to find out what her competitors were doing;
3)to look for new customers;
4)to make new contracts.
3. Why did Helen start staying in the best hotels?
1)Because she was a famous fashion designer.
2)Because she liked comfort and pleasure.
3)To attend fashion shows.
4)To attract rich customers.
4. In what other ways did a big hotel help her business?
1)She could sell her clothes there.
2)She could show rich customers that her clothes were fashionable.
3)People could see her collection of clothes.
4)She could have meals in the room and dance every evening.
5. What surprised Helen when she was given a bill?
1)The high prices.
2)The cheap paper.
3)The length of her bill.
5)The hotel service.
3. Grammar and vocabulary
1 task
Read the text and fill in the blanks indicated by numbers 1-11 . these numbers correspond to tasks 1-11 , which present possible answer options. Select the answer number that you think is correctthe most faithful.
If you (1) a holiday, remember the safest way to carry money(2) to take traveler’s checks. If you (3)or they (4) replacement checks are provided by the bank. Such checks are valid all over the world.
Take driver's checks and you can (5) certain you (6) without funds.
Sterling and dollar checks (7) available at most banks. You (8) prepared for the worst: taken out insurance to cover any loss of the luggage; travel delays and medical expenses. Not all insurance policies (9) injuries caused by sporting activities, so check your policy. Some companies (10) a helpline to provide assistance and advice, which (11) .
1. 1)were planning 2)will plan 3)are planning 4)plan
2. 1)is being 2)was 3)is 4)have been
3. 1) loses 2) will lose 3) have lost 4) lose
4. 1) are stolen 2) have stolen 3) will be stolen 4) are stolen
5. 1)to be 2)have been 3)being 4)be
6. 1)will not be left 2)will not leave 3)are not left 4)don’t leave
7. 1)are 2)have 3)are being 4)will be
8. 1)are being 2)are 3)will be 4)should be
9. 1)to cover 2) have covered 3) cover 4)are covering
10. 1)are having 2)have 3)have had 4)has
11. have to be 2) are being 3) could be 4) has to be
2 task
Read the text below. Convert words printed in capital letters after numbers 1-6 so that they grammatically and lexically correspond to the content of the text. Fill in the blanks with the given words. Each pass corresponds to a separate task from the group 1-6.
1 ________________________________________________CYCLE
2 is probably the__________________________________________CHEAP
3 and_________________________________________________HEALTH
4 ways of getting in our city centers, although it is convenient
and__________________________________________ENVIROMENT
5 _____________________________________________________, DESIRE
6 it can not be the most_________________________________COMFORT
means of traveling on a cold windy morning.
English answer sheet
Student______________________________________________
Class________________________________________________
Option _____________________________________________
- Listening
Speaking | |||||
statement |
- Reading
1 task
Text | |||||
2 task
Exercise | |||||
Answer |
- Grammar and vocabulary
1 task
Exercise | |||||||||||
Answer |
2 task
1_______________________________
2___________________________
3___________________________
4___________________________
5___________________________
6___________________________
Standard for test tasks
Option 2:
1. Listening
Speaking | |||||
statement |
- Reading
1 task
Text | |||||
2 task
Exercise | |||||
Answer |
- Grammar and vocabulary
1 task
Exercise | |||||||||||
Answer |
2 task
1 cycle
2 cheapest
3 healthiest
4 environmentally
5 desirable
6 comfortable
Standard for test tasks
1 option
1. Listening
1Answer
2 task
2 particularly
3 talented
4 days-dreaming
5 exciting
6 childhood
Grade
Listening texts
1 option
Listen twice 5 sayings. Match the statements of each speaker(1-5) with the statements given in the list A-F . Every letter is used just one time . The assignment contains one extra statement.
Interviewer - What are you going to do this weekend?
1 - I hope to visit my grandparents. I planned to see them last weekend but they suggested putting it off for a weekend.
2 - My friend wants me to join his basketball team. He has offered to help me repair my car if I agree to play for them this weekend.
3 - I"m not going out until I have finished redecorating my flat.
4 - I "ve failed one of my exams. That means I have to spend all the weekend at home preparing for it.
5 - I don"t know yet what exactly I"m going to do. I may probably have no time even to phone you back. Some old friends of my father"s are coming to visit him so my father wants me to meet them at the airport.
Option 2
Listen twice 5 sayings. Match the statements of each speaker(1-5) with the statements given in the list A-F . Every letter is used just one time . The assignment contains one extra statement.
1- You"d better go and see your mother and say what you"ve done if you put off explaining it to her, she"ll only be more annoyed.
2 - Oh, no! I"ve forgotten my papers at home. Sorry, but I"ll have to go back for them.
3 - Please, stop interrupting me when I"m explaining something to you. You can ask questions when the lecture is over.
4 - I"ll never speak to him again after all the lies he had told me last weekend.
5 - I never know what to say to people when they pay me a compliment.
We wish you success!
You will hear 6 statements. Match between |
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in the list 1–7. | Use | statement, | designated |
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the corresponding letter, |
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to the table. Texts and tasks are played for 25 minutes, the remaining 5 minutes |
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The art exhibition is worth visiting. | ||||||||||
Those who love ballet will definitely enjoy it. | ||||||||||
This book fair is a really popular place. | ||||||||||
The concert didn’t appeal to the speaker. | ||||||||||
This rock group’s new DVD is popular with teenagers. | ||||||||||
Despite some drawbacks the opera was enjoyable. | ||||||||||
The play really took my breath away. | ||||||||||
Speaking | ||||||||||
Statement | ||||||||||
You will hear a conversation between two friends. Determine which of the given statements A1–A7 correspond to the content of the text (1), which do not correspond (2) and what is not said in the text, that is, based on the text, neither a positive nor a negative answer can be given (3). Circle the number of the answer option you selected. You will hear the recording twice.
Mrs. Murphy has been invited to speak on the program because she’s an |
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expert on nutrition. | ||
She believes that bad eating habits start from birth.
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated She thinks that grandparents often harm children without intending to.
As a child, her son was allowed a limited quantity of sugar. | |||||
Mrs. Murphy believes that vitamins make children grow taller. |
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When Declan was a teenager, his food intake was controlled by his mother.
1) True 2) False 3) Not stated Declan has now changed his eating habits.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE | OPTION 1 |
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recording twice. | ||||
The findings of the research | ||||
prove what most people think. | ||||
According to the research | ||||
driving is more environmentally friendly than cycling. | ||||
if you want to be environmentally friendly, you should become a cyclist. |
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cycling is good for your health. | ||||
Jane has doubts about the research because | ||||
Duncan was involved in carrying out the research. | ||||
the research was carried out inaccurately. | ||||
it was initiated by an interested organization. | ||||
Duncan believes that the findings are objective because | ||||
the figures could be even lower in reality. | ||||
they were confirmed by an independent expert. | ||||
a lot of people took part in the research. | ||||
Jane claims that cars are worse for people’s health because | ||||
people don't have enough exercise if they drive. | ||||
breathing problems are made worse by car fumes. | ||||
traffic jams are very stressful. | ||||
The Clean Air Campaign (CAC) suggests | ||||
stopping the use of cars in cities. | ||||
not using cars for short journeys. | ||||
promoting the idea of car sharing. | ||||
Duncan and Jane were invited to speak on the program because | ||||
they don’t share the same opinion. | ||||
they were involved in the research. | ||||
both of them are very supportive. | ||||
*Listening activities provided by Pearson Education.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE | Section 2. Reading | OPTION 1 |
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Match headings 1–8 with texts A–G. |
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Record your answers in the table. Use each digit only |
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once. There is one extra heading in the task. | ||||||
Home-cooked Food | ||||||
We are What We Eat | ||||||
Definition of Food | ||||||
A. Food is any substance or materials eaten or drunk to provide nutritional support for the body and/or for pleasure. It usually consists of plant or animal origin that contains essential ingredients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins and is ingested and assimilated by an organism to produce energy, stimulate growth and maintain life. The right to food is a human right derived from the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
B. Packaged foods are manufactured outside the home for purchase. Early food processing techniques were limited by available food preservation, packaging and transportation. This is mainly involved salting, drying, pickling, curdling, fermentation and smoking. Food manufacturing arose during the industrial revolution in the 19 th century. This development took advantage of new mass markets and emerging new technologies such as milling, preservation, packaging, labeling and transportation.
C. People who have busy work or social schedules don’t have much time for cooking at home. Takeout meals from restaurants, pizza parlors and delicatessens have become a regular part of everyday life. Food can be picked up at a café, or people call in orders by phone and the takeaway meal is delivered to their homes. Ready-to-eat and instant processed foods that are quick to prepare are very popular. Snacks and junk food like donuts, popcorn, cookies, or potato chips are also easy to prepare.
D. The expression “as American as an apple pie” means something that is typically American, but even apple pie came from somewhere else. The only true American foods are those that the Native Americans gave the first settlers, including corn, squash, pumpkin, turkey, sweet potatoes, and pumpkin pie which are still eaten at Thanksgiving. Immigrants have brought all kinds of dishes with them from their home countries. A typical family may eat tacos (originally from Mexico), pizza (from Italy), or apple pie (from England).
ENGLISH LANGUAGE | OPTION 1 |
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How much food do you think you will eat by the time you are seventy-nine? |
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The average Frenchwoman, for example, will eat 25 cows, 40 sheep, 35 |
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pigs, 1200 chickens, 2.07 tones of fish, 5.05 tones of potatoes, 13,000 eggs, |
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50,000 loaves of bread, 1.37 tones of apples, 768 kg of oranges, 430 bags of |
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carrots, 720 kg of tomatoes, 1300 lettuces, hundreds of packages of coffee, |
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sugar, spaghetti, and 8 kg of dirt. | |||||||||||
How many cows and pigs have you swallowed already? | |||||||||||
Although Britain is quite a small country, it offers a wide choice of food and |
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drink. The types of food people eat have changed a lot over the years for |
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for several reasons. People have come to Britain from different parts of the |
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world, bringing their favorite food with them and often opening restaurants. |
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In Britain you can find traditional food like roast beef or fish and chips and |
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vegetarian food for those who do not eat meat. As well as foods from |
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different parts of Britain, you can buy Italian, Mexican and West Indian |
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Cakes, chocolate ice-cream… The British love them all. A meal is not a |
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meal without some kind of dessert and sweet things are very popular as a |
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snack too. Chocolate is the most popular sweet snack and the British eat |
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more than 8 kg per person per year of it. Chocolate is almost eaten |
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anywhere, any time but is very popular at Christmas and Easter. Ice-cream is |
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eaten as a snack, a dessert, or with another dessert (like a piece of hot apple |
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B3 Read the text and fill in the gaps A–F with parts of the sentences,
indicated by numbers 1–7. One of the parts in list 1–7 is redundant.
Enter the number indicating the corresponding part of the sentence in the table.
Can You Alter Your Memory?
Is it possible to permanently change your memories? A group of experts thinks so. And their new techniques for altering memories are raising possibilities of one day treating people A _______________________ and other anxiety-related conditions.
Some researchers are working with combat veterans, car-accident survivors and rape victims to replace their memories with less fear-filled ones using a familiar hypertension drug. Other doctors are studying whether behavioral therapy can one day be used to modify memories of peopleB _______________________. A person bitten by a dog as a child, for instance, might be able to overcome a canine phobia if the old memory can be replaced with a less scary one.
ENGLISH OPTION 1
The goal of the research isn"t to erase memory outright, as depicted in popular movies over the years. That would raise ethical issues and questions of what would happen to associated memories, researchers say. Instead, "reducing or eliminating the fear accompanying the memory...that would be the ideal scenario," says Roger Pitman, a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School C _______________________.
The latest research is based on a radical rethinking of how memories are stored in the brain. Experts used to believe memories are like snapshots on which the details are fixed once they are recorded. Now, many experts accept the view D _______________________; each time they are pulled down for viewing, they can be altered before being put back into storage. Altering a memory during the time it is off the shelf can create an updated memory E _______________________, scientists believe.
Sometimes a traumatic incident can trigger an enduring response of fear whenever the incident is remembered, even indirectly. A car backfiring, for instance, can set off an emotional response in a combat veteran if the loud noise becomes associated in his mind with a wartime experience.
A common therapy currently for trauma and phobias is called exposure treatment. It involves repetitive exposure in a nonthreatening way to help patients confront their fears and gradually weaken the fear response, a process known as extinction. But with extinction, the fearful memories don"t disappear or get altered, and relapse is common, says Edna Foa, an expert on post-traumatic stress disorder at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. If extinction could be enhanced,F _______________________ , she says.
Researchers are hoping new techniques will weaken the fear response for a longer period, or perhaps permanently.
1. that memories are stored like individual files on a shelf
2. that include a speeded-up heart rate
3. that could mean more efficient treatment with less relapse
4. that can be saved in place of the old one
5. who has done extensive work in this area
6. who suffers from phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder
7. who reacts with fear to common anxiety-producing events
ENGLISH LANGUAGE | OPTION 1 |
Read the text and complete tasks A15–A21. For each question, circle the number 1, 2, 3, or 4 that corresponds to the answer you chose.
Vacation at Home
(Life with Father by Clarence Day)
Father, Mother and my brothers went out to the World’s Fair in Chicago in 1893. I was finishing my freshman year at Yale, and by the time I got home they had gone. Father had written me that I had better follow on and join them, but I couldn’t. I had spent all my allowance. It wasn’t this that bothered me, however, or not going out to Chicago. It was the fact that I owed Warner Hall and other tradesmen nearly three hundred dollars, and I didn’t see how I could be so reckless, or when I could ever pay up. Worst of all, my creditors too had become pessimistic.
I borrowed a nickel for carfare from old Margaret and went down at once to Father’s office to ask for a job. They didn’t have any work for me down there and didn’t want me around, but it was lucky I went, because while I was there one of my creditors entered. He had come down to New York with a bundle of overdue bills to see whether he could collect any of them by calling upon his customers’ parents. It had never occurred to me that anyone would come to Father’s office like this. If Father had been there and I hadn’t I’d have been in serious trouble for Father had warned me repeatedly not to borrow money. I was frightened. The creditor said, as he left, that since my father was out, he would have to call on him again the next time he came to New York.
I didn't know what to do. But one thing was clear. I saw I must stick around Father’s office for the rest of that summer. So as soon as my parents got back from the Fair, I begged my Father to give me a job. I didn’t need any vacation, I told him, and I would be getting a lot of valuable experience if he would let me go to work.
After thinking it over, he said that perhaps I could make myself useful as an office boy while his clerks were taking turns going on their vacations. I started the very next day at four dollars a week.
I might have got slightly better wages elsewhere, but I couldn't have made enough anyway to pay much on my bills, and the most important thing was not to make a few dollars extra but to stand on guard at the door of Father's office to keep my creditors out. When I was sent out on an errand, I ran all the way there and back. When I was in the office, I always kept one eye on the gratified window where the cashier sat in his counter, to make sure that no creditors from New Haven were coming in to see Father.
But late in the summer I got into trouble again. The cashier told Father that I had taken hold better than he had expected, and that although I was not very accurate I was punctual and quick and seemed to be especially interested in getting down early. Father was so pleased that he sent for me to come into his inner office and told me that he had decided I had earned a vacation.
I said that honestly and truly a vacation was the last thing I wanted.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE | OPTION 1 |
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He explained that he wanted me to have some rest and recreation before |
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college opened, and he added that he would advise me to go to Chicago and see |
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the World's Fair. I said I didn’t care about seeing the Fair. | |||
Father didn't quite like this. “I have just told you, Clarence,” he said, “that I |
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would advise you to go.” | |||
I uncomfortably made a confession. I said I couldn’t afford to go to Chicago. |
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I didn't have any money. | |||
Father was surprised. “What about your allowance?” he asked. | |||
“I’m sorry to say I’ve spent it all, Father.” | |||
“That was very imprudent of you,” he observed. | |||
I said in a low voice that I knew it. | |||
The narrator didn't go to Chicago because | |||
he didn't want to. | |||
he was busy at the office. | |||
he had no money. | |||
his parents didn’t want him to join them. | |||
The reporter was worried because he | |||
couldn't go to Chicago. | |||
missed his parents. | |||
The narrator came to his father’s office because he | |||
wanted to see his father. | |||
was looking for a job. | |||
wanted to borrow some money. | |||
was looking for his creditor. | |||
A18 The creditor he met in his father’s office lived in
1) New Haven.
2) Chicago.
3) New York.
4) London.
A19 The main reason why the narrator’s father gave him a job was that
1) his wife asked him to do it.
2) he needed people while his clerks were on holiday.
3) he had a vacancy.
4) he wanted to see his son more often.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE | OPTION 1 |
The phrase “But late in the summer I got into trouble again” implies that
1) Clarence's father wanted him to have a rest.
2) his father had met one of his creditors.
3) the cashier was displeased with his work.
4) the narrator had lost his job.
At last the narrator decided
1) to go to the World Fair.
2) to lie again.
3) to tell the truth.
4) to return to Yale.
Section 3. Grammar and vocabulary
Read the texts below. Convert if necessary words printed in capital letters at the end of lines numbered B4–B10, so that they are grammatically consistent with the content of the texts. Fill in the blanks with the given words. Each pass corresponds to a separate task from the group B4–B10.
Rome Universities | |||||||
Rome has numerous universities and colleges. | |||||||
University La Sapienza is the largest | |||||||
university in Europe with more than 150,000 students | |||||||
La Sapienza currently ranks amongst Europe’s 50 and the | |||||||
world's 150 __________________ universities. | |||||||
At the end of the 20th century two new universitiesTor Vergata | |||||||
and Roma Tre __________________. | |||||||
The Moscow State Circus | |||||||
The Moscow circus is one of the most popular forms of | |||||||
always_________________ the circus. | |||||||
In the 18th | and 19th | centuries troupes traveled round the | |||||
country_________________ | mostly satirical shows. | ||||||
Circus__________________ its permanent home in Moscow. | |||||||
If your friend __________________ to Moscow with his/ her | |||||||
children, let him/her visit the Old Circus and enjoy its clowns, | |||||||
the breathtaking stunts of its acrobats and its trapeze artists. | |||||||
ENGLISH LANGUAGE | OPTION 1 |
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Read the text below. Convert if necessary |
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words printed in capital letters at the end of lines indicated |
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numbers B11–B16, so that they are grammatically and lexically |
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corresponded to the content of the text. Fill in the blanks with the received |
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words. Each pass corresponds to a separate task from the group |
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B11–B16. | |||
Woman without fear | |||
It was in 2007 when I first heard of Grace Wiley. Dr. Mann, | |||
former director of the ___________________ Zoological | |||
Park in Washington, D.C., handed me a picture of a tiny | |||
woman with a gigantic cobra. | |||
The snake had __________________ spread his hood and | |||
was staring right into the camera while his owner stroked his | |||
head to quiet him. Looking at the picture of that awful | |||
creature, I knew what a well-known writer meant when he | |||
described a snake as a “running brook of horror”. | |||
Dr. Mann told me, “Grace lives in a small house full of | |||
Snakes, imported from all over the | |||
Grace has one of the world’s finest __________________ of | |||
Perhaps, she is one of the few people who knows the real | |||
secrets of this curious business. She is a courageous woman | |||
and a talented_________________. Everyone respects | |||
I was impressed. I made it a point to call on that | |||
Woman. And so I did. | |||
ENGLISH LANGUAGE | OPTION 1 |
Read the text with gaps indicated by numbers A22–A28. These numbers correspond to tasks A22–A28, in which possible answers are presented. Circle the number of the answer option you selected.
Doctor Sadao Hoki was a highly skilled Japanese doctor. He was young and ambitious. His low, square stone house was set A22 ____ rocks well above a narrow beach that was outlined with bent pines. He liked his house very much and missed it when he was away. Sadao had been sent at twenty-two to America to study. He had come back at thirty,A23 _____ not only as a surgeon but as a scientist. Because of his medical research, he had not been sent abroad with theA24 ____. Also, he knew, there was some slight danger that the old General might need an operation for a condition for which he was now being treated medically, and for this possibility, Sadao was being kept in Japan.
A25_____ at the fog coming in over the beach, Sadao thought of his wife. He had met Hana in America, but he had waited toA26 _____ in love with her until he was sure she believed in traditional Japanese values. She was slender, beautiful and very kind. He oftenA27_ _____ whom he would have married if he had not met Hana.
It was at this moment that he saw something black come out of the mist. It was a man. The man was on his hands and knees, crawling. Then he saw him fall on his face and A28 ____ there.
When completing tasks C1 and C2, pay special attention to |
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that your answers will be judged only on the entries made in |
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answer form No. 2. No entries in the draft will be taken into account. |
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expert. Please also note the need |
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compliance | the specified amount of text. Texts of insufficient |
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volume, and | also, part of the text exceeding the required volume is not |
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are assessed. First write down the task number (C1, C2), | and then the answer |
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on him. If one side | the form is not enough | You can |
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use its other side. | |||
You have 20 minutes to do this task.
You have received a letter from your English-speaking pen-friend Ned who writes:
… I am going to make a report on Russian painting. Could you tell me what Russian painters are the most popular in your country? Do you and your friends often visit museums and art galleries? What are your favorite pictures and why?
As for the latest news, my elder brother has just won a prize…
Write a letter to Ned.
− answer his questions
− ask3 questions about his elder brother’s prize.
Write 100 – 140 words.
Remember the rules of letter writing.
You have 40 minutes to do this task.
Comment on the following statement.
Some people think that extreme sports should be banned.
What is your opinion?
Write 200 – 250 words.
Use the following plan:
− make an introduction (state the problem)
− express your personal opinion and give reasons for it
− give arguments for the other point of view and explain why you don’t agree with it
− draw a conclusion
ENGLISH LANGUAGE | OPTION 2 |
Instructions for performing the work
The English language examination paper consists of four sections, including 46 tasks.
Section 1 (“Listening”) includes 15 tasks, of which the first is to establish correspondence and 14 tasks with the choice of one correct answer from three proposed. The recommended time to complete section 1 is 30 minutes.
Section 2 (“Reading”) includes 9 tasks, of which 2 matching tasks and 7 tasks with choosing one correct answer out of four proposed. The recommended time to complete section 2 is 30 minutes.
Section 3 (“Grammar and Vocabulary”) includes 20 tasks, of which 13 tasks with a short answer and 7 tasks with a choice of one correct answer out of four proposed. When completing tasks with a short answer, you must write down the answer yourself in the appropriate place of work. The recommended time to complete section 3 is 40 minutes.
After completing the tasks in each of these sections, do not forget to transfer your answers to answer form No. 1.
Section 4 (“Writing”) consists of two tasks and is a short written work (writing a personal letter and a written statement with elements of reasoning). The recommended time to complete this section of work is 60 minutes. Draft notes are made directly on the assignment sheet (they are not graded), and only the full answer is entered on answer form No. 2.
The total exam time is 160 minutes.
We wish you success!
ENGLISH LANGUAGE | Section 1. Listening | OPTION 2 |
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You will hear 6 statements. Match between |
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each speaker's utterances A–F and the statements given |
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1–7. | Use | statement, | designated |
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the corresponding letter, just one time. There is one extra thing in the task |
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statement. You will hear the recording twice. Enter | ||||||||||||||
to the table. | Texts and tasks are played for 25 minutes, the remaining 5 minutes |
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use to transfer answers to the answer sheet. | ||||||||||||||
Using computers does not always have a positive effect. | ||||||||||||||
Using computers made the speaker’s work longer hours in the end. | ||||||||||||||
Using computers is not as scary as it might seem. | ||||||||||||||
Using computers can be frustrating. | ||||||||||||||
Using computers does not necessarily help you save time. | ||||||||||||||
Using computers is really effective if you have a proper training course. |
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Using computers means you have to face unexpected challenges. | ||||||||||||||
Speaking | ||||||||||||||
Statement | ||||||||||||||
You will hear a conversation between a journalist and the founder of an eco-commune. Determine which of the given statements A1–A7 correspond to the content of the text (1), which do not correspond (2) and what is not said in the text, that is, based on the text, neither a positive nor a negative answer can be given (3). Circle the number of the answer option you selected. You will hear the recording twice.
Electricity for the community is generated from water, the wind and the sun. |
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The community has a special room for their daily communal meal. |
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The community produces all the food they eat. | |||||||||
The inspiration for the community came from the green press. |
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There are 25 people living in the community.. | |||||||||
The round house is warm and dry in winter. | |||||||||
You will hear an interview. In tasks A8–A14, circle the number 1, 2 or 3, |
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corresponding to the answer option you chose. You will hear |
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recording twice. | |||||||||
The first-ever single currency in Europe was | |||||||||
the pound sterling. | |||||||||
This currency was introduced into Europe | |||||||||
about 1200 years ago. | |||||||||
To show that the coin was genuine | |||||||||
it was cut up into 240 pieces. | |||||||||
it had a number on it. | |||||||||
it was specially stamped. | |||||||||
Halfpennies and farthings were introduced because | |||||||||
silver pennies were not useful in everyday life. | |||||||||
workers were not allowed to be paid in silver. | |||||||||
King Edward I did not like to have his head on pennies. | |||||||||
In the reign of Henry VII | |||||||||
paper money appeared. | |||||||||
the pound was replaced by the sovereign. | |||||||||
the pound took on a real form. | |||||||||
What happened in the 20th century? | |||||||||
The Bank of England started issuing mostly paper money. | |||||||||
Precious metals were eliminated from coins. | |||||||||
The Bank of England didn't produce coins during the Second World |
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The radio program was about | |||||||||
the importance of having a single currency in Europe. | |||||||||
the history of the British currency. | |||||||||
the pound as a national currency. | |||||||||
B2 Match headings 1–8 with texts A–G. Record your answers in the table. Use each number only once. There is one extra heading in the task.
Sports as Pastimes for Gentlemen | Professional Sport |
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Popular Sports in Britain |
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Definition of Sport | Popular Sports in the USA |
A. In the USA the three main sports are baseball and American football, followed closely by basketball. Baseball developed from the British game of “rounders” (which is still played by children in Britain) in the early 19 th century. American football developed from the football played by British colonists in the 17th century. In the early 19th century it was taken up by college students and at first it was a rough, tough game with variable rules. In 1880 the standard number of 11 men and new rules were adopted.
B. Extreme sports are dangerous but they are becoming more and more popular with teenagers. They say they go in for extreme kinds of sports because extreme sport is exciting and gives them an adrenalin rush. Every year in the USA, over 700,000 young people go to hospital because of sporting injuries. Most injuries are from extreme sports like baseball, skydiving, bungee jumping, BMX biking, surfing, white-water rafting, rugby, etc.
C. Sport is a physical activity done for exercise and amusement. It is usually played in a special area and according to special rules. It is very often used instead of the words “game” or “pastime.” Among popular team sports are football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, hockey, athletics, etc. People play different sports at different times of the year, so they go skiing in winter and swimming in summer..
D. Over a century ago, the novelist Anthony Trollope listed the sports “essentially dear to the English nature”. These included hunting, shooting, rowing and horse racing. He was, of course, referring to the “gentleman class”, which through the public school system established football, rugby and cricket as national games. But hunting, rowing, yachting and horse racing, because of the expense involved, have remained primarily upper class pastimes. Attendance at Henley Regatta, the high point of rowing season, and Royal Ascot, for horse racing, remain the pinnacles of the upper class summer season.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE | OPTION 2 |
E. Many sports that are most famous internationally originated in Britain. Football known officially as “association football” and sometimes called “soccer” is said to have been played as early as the 12 th century. The present form of the game was laid down by the Football Association in 1863. Rugby football (informally called “rugger”) arose from the game played at Rugby School, Warwickshire, in 1823 and subsequently developed into two distinct games: Rugby Union and Rugby League.
F. Organized sport for athletes with a disability is generally divided into three broad disability groups: the deaf, people with physical disabilities and people with intellectual disability. Each group has a distinct history, organization, competition program and approach to sport. Formal international competition in deaf sport began with 1924 Paris Silent Games. These games have evolved into the modernDeaflympics. Currently, Paralympic sport is popular all over the world.
G. Sports have many affinities with art. For example, figure skating, skateboarding, gymnastics, dance sport can be considered artistic spectacles. Perhaps the best example is bull fight, which is reported in Spain in the arts pages of newspapers. Arts and sports were clearly linked at the time of Ancient Greece when gymnastics and calisthenics evoked admiration and athletic appreciation for the physical build, skill and grace displayed by participants.