Прочитайте тексты и установите соответствие между текстами А–G и заголовками 1–8. В ответ запишите цифры, в порядке, соответствующем буквам. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании есть один лишний заголовок.

1. A new language was born

2. It's difficult to communicate across the centuries

3. English is a pass to the world community

4. English was taught by armies and politicians

5. What comes to life — comes to the language

6. The oldest English words are not at all English

7. Modern English has many faces

8. Who'll be speaking English in the next century

A. The Celts, who lived on the current territory of Britain in 500BC — 43BC, are believed to be the first inhabitants of the British Isles. The Celtic vocabulary was almost wiped out but a few words, mainly the names of places, survived. The two most well-known British place names — London and the Thames — are of Celtic origin. The Romans, who invaded the Isles in 43BC, contributed to the language too. We still use some of their words, such as candle and wine.

B. However, most scholars believe that the history of the English language starts from the 5th or 6th century AD, when Germanic tribes — Angles, Saxons and Jutes started to arrive in the Isles. The settlers spoke a' Germanic language which is now called Old English. A considerable part of their vocabulary has survived up to now. We still use words like house, food, dog, night, think and sleep and lots of other basic words.

C. Though almost all of the words from the list of 100 most commonly used English words originate from Old English, the latter and Modern English differ from each other like two separate languages. Even for well-educated people, including most scholars and linguists, reading Old English texts in the original is a problem — the language has changed out of recognition over fifteen centuries.

D. It keeps changing nowadays too and the process is getting more and more rapid due to globalization and technological progress. The vocabulary is constantly acquiring new words like website and computer geek. The words transfer easily from one language to another. There's no need to translate Italian words like pizzeria and cappuccino or the Japanese sudoku and karaoke, is there? They are used just like the original word and don't sound at all foreign to the new generation.

E. It's difficult to believe that only about two million people used English a thousand years ago. However, the English actively and sometimes aggressively explored the world spreading their empire and their language around the globe. Due to colonization and overseas trade English became widely spoken in all continents and only Mandarin Chinese speakers outnumber English speakers.

F. English is most often taught as a foreign language and the reason is obvious: it's become the main language of international and cross-cultural communication — it is the language of science, business and politics. The vast majority of scientific articles, business reports and political documents are written in English though their authors do not necessarily live in English-speaking countries.

G. Spoken in different parts of the globe, English is certainly not the same everywhere. It may sound and be spelt differently; it may differ in vocabulary and grammar. The variants of English are called dialects and accents. There is British, American, Canadian and Australian English, Cockney and Geordie as well as many kinds of pidgin English. So called Standard English is far from Shakespeare's language too. It has been seriously standardised and simplified for international use.

Прочитайте тексты и установите соответствие между текстами А–G и заголовками 1–8. В ответ запишите цифры, в порядке, соответствующем буквам. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании есть один лишний заголовок.

1. Coffee in the New World

2. The original taste of coffee

3. A chance discovery

4. A place for communication

5. An illegal drink

6. A long journey to Europe

7. Growing coffee plants

8. Different recipes

A. Coffee was first found in Eastern Africa in the area we know today as Ethiopia. A popular legend says that one day a man called Kaldi was watching his goats eating grass and leaves. He noticed that after eating berries from a certain bush the goats became very active. Curious, Kaldi tried the berries himself. He found that these berries gave him additional energy. The story quickly spread throughout the region.

B. The first coffee berries were transported from Ethiopia to Arabian countries and then they were cultivated in Yemen. From there, coffee travelled to Turkey where coffee beans were roasted for the first time over open fires. The roasted beans were crushed and then boiled in water, creating the drink we enjoy today. Finally, in the seventeenth century coffee arrived in France, Britain and Italy.

C. The first coffeehouses opened in Mecca and quickly became popular centres of social and political activity. The government believed that coffee stimulated radical thinking, and the governor even thought it might unite his opposition. As a result, coffee was forbidden in Mecca. The same thing happened in Turkey a century later, when coffee drinkers were severely punished.

D. They say, in 1776 the thirteen American colonies adopted coffee as their national drink instead of tea. When the British tried to raise the tax on tea, Americans refused to buy it and switched to coffee. In fact, by drinking coffee Americans demonstrated their political views and their dislike for the British – the famous tea-lovers.

E. The Italians drink their espresso with sugar, the Germans and Swiss add an equal part of hot chocolate, the Mexicans prefer it with cinnamon, and the Belgians – with chocolate. Coffee drinkers in the Middle East usually add cardamom and spices. The Egyptians, on the other hand, are extremely fond of pure, strong coffee. They add neither milk nor cream.

F. Plain and simple, nothing else. People discovered that if they drank coffee slowly they could taste bitterness, sourness, sweetness and saltiness. For a long time such a taste was new and more than enough. It needed no improvement. Only later did they start experimenting with coffee by adding milk, chocolate, and other flavors. However, nothing can hide the taste of real coffee.

G. When the first European coffeehouses opened, they quickly grew into places where people played chess, exchanged gossip, sang and danced. Coffeehouses were very popular because anyone could go and enjoy a cup of the drink. The price of a cup of coffee was reasonable. European coffee houses became meeting points for intellectuals, writers and businessmen.

Прочитайте тексты и установите соответствие между текстами А–G и заголовками 1–8. В ответ запишите цифры, в порядке, соответствующем буквам. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании есть один лишний заголовок.

1. Is there any risk-free alternative to tattoo?

2. What equipment is used?

3. What are the motives for getting a tattoo?

4. What is tattoo ink made from?

5. Is getting a tattoo dangerous?

6. What are the most popular tattoo designs?

7. How old is the tattooing tradition?

8. Can tattoos be removed?

A. Tattoos are surprisingly popular in different parts of the globe. The oldest tattooed person, the so-called Iceman, is a frozen mummy found in the Alps in 1991. The frozen man, aged more than 5000 years, has 57 tattoos! The scientists think that they were created with some sharp instruments like thorns, and ash from fireplace was used instead of ink. There's also a theory that Iceman's tattoos were made for medical reasons rather than for any other, reason.

B. Medical tattoos mark the places where acupuncture needles need to be used, however, that reason for getting a tattoo is rare. Tattooing for religious and spiritual reasons happens much more often. Soldiers and sailors get tattoos in memory of their battles and journeys. Some people tattoo the names of those they love, and some get tattoos for no reason at all, just because they think it's cool.

C. There are lots of tattooing techniques. Some tribes in Africa make cuts on the body and rub ash into them. Tattooists may also work with sharpened sticks or animal bones — the procedure is painful and not at all hygienic. In modern studios electric machines are usually used. They have one or more needles that quickly go in and out of the skin. The machine has ink containers and the ink gets into the skin via the needles. For safety reasons the needles should only be used once.

D. In the past, tattoo ink was made from tree bark, ash and coal dust. Later, pen ink was often used. Today, the inks produced by factories are usually made of metal salts and metal oxides. Heavy metals are used for colouring too: cadmium gives red and orange shades, aluminum — green and violet, cobalt — blue, titanium — white. There's no need to say that heavy metals may cause allergies and some far more serious diseases, cancer included.

E. Parents may get outraged by their children's desire for tattoos and they've got good reasons to get panicky  — apart from ink related risks, getting tattoos is associated with the risk of infection. Anything from skin infections to tuberculosis and even AIDS can be transmitted via the instruments. If the tattooist ignores strict hygienic requirements, like using fresh ink for each session, changing gloves after each stage of tattooing or disinfecting the furniture, the client may catch a very serious disease.

F. Another reason against permanent tattoos is... their permanent character. You may like it now but people tend to change their preferences. A safe alternative is a temporary tattoo which lasts for only a few weeks. Their main advantage is that the skin is not damaged — the tattoo artist just applies henna on it. This type of tattoos is popular with fashion models who care for their bodies and don't want them to get damaged.

G. The actress Amy Taylor says that she got her tattoo when she was sixteen. She thought it was cool, but several years later the tattoo became a nuisance. Amy wanted to get it removed. She believed that modern technologies like laser treatment could do it easily but the doctors warned her that the tattoo wouldn't be fully removed anyway. The treatment is usually long, expensive and rather painful — getting the tattoo is much easier.

Прочитайте тексты и установите соответствие между текстами А–G и заголовками 1–8. В ответ запишите цифры, в порядке, соответствующем буквам. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании есть один лишний заголовок.

1. A risky place to live in

2. In the past

3. Night guards

4. The miracle of water

5. United but varied

6. An important food producer

7. A dream state

8. Attractive to IT specialists

A. The United States is so big that there are six time zones. If you want to phone from Washington to Hawaii or central Alaska, there is a six-hour time difference. The geography and climate of the United States are extremely diverse. While people go to the beach in Florida, California and Hawaii, others, in Alaska and the Midwest, are wearing thick coats and trying to keep warm.

B. California seems to have everything – a beautiful coastline on the Pacific with beaches and a warm climate, rocky national parks and amazing skiing and snowboarding opportunities. Its largest cities, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and the state capital, Sacramento, offer cultural variety and excitement. Southern California is home to such popular attractions as Disneyland and Hollywood.

C. There are many reasons for Americans to move to California, but there are also reasons to stay away. Some people say it’s a great place to visit, but they wouldn’t want to live there. In recent years, there has been drought followed by flooding and thousands of people have become homeless, and the crops were ruined. Frequent forest fires have burnt the land and destroyed people’s homes.

D. California produces more farming products than any other American state. All kinds of fruit and vegetables grow well in the moderate climate. It is especially known for its avocados and grapes. California is not technically a "breadbasket" and it is not a top five American producer of any grain product, but it is, surprisingly, the nation's largest dairy provider.

E. The most famous children’s attraction in the world is in California. Disneyland occupies 85 acres, and lots of people are busy keeping it in order. Аnd not only people. After the park closes, an army of four-legged “workers” go out to do their job. It’s not common knowledge that Disneyland “employs” 200 wild cats that roam the grounds after sunset. Their job is to keep rats and mice away from the park. And during daylight hours the cats have a rest, hiding on the territory.

F. It is the hottest place on Earth. Yet here you can find dry lands and snowcovered peaks, beautiful sand dunes and rocky canyons. For five months of the year there is severe heat in Death Valley, and for the next seven the temperature goes down slightly. Rain rarely gets past the mountains that guard the valley. However, even this small amount of rain turns the desert into a vast colourful garden. Despite the high temperature, more than 1000 kinds of plants live within the valley.

G. South of San Francisco is Santa Clara Valley. It is famous because it has so many companies that specialize in computer technology. In fact the valley is better known as Silicon Valley, named after the material that computer chips are made of. There are also many research centers for computer hardware and software. Thousands of people from the US and abroad have moved to California to work in the computer industry.

Прочитайте тексты и установите соответствие между текстами А–G и заголовками 1–8. В ответ запишите цифры, в порядке, соответствующем буквам. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании есть один лишний заголовок.

1. Our never sleeping part

2. Influence on academic results

3. Advantages of bedtime routine

4. Good sleeping conditions

5. Pre-sleep activities

6. Sleeping classes

7. A negative effect on health

8. The mechanism of dreaming

A. Recent research shows that lots of teenagers are suffering from lack of sleep which is causing problems with their behaviour and learning. As a result schools have introduced a new lesson where students are given more of an idea of the importance of sleep. According to medical data, they should get at least nine hours' sleep a night. Young people should realise that sleep is very important if they want to do well at school and enjoy life.

B. It’s common knowledge that people sleep best in a dark room that is slightly cool. It's important to close your blinds or curtains and make sure they're heavy enough to block out the light. You can add extra blankets or wear pyjamas if you're cold. Note that an uncomfortable bed, heat and noise can ruin a good night's sleep. A TV is also a distraction.

C. If you don’t sleep enough or have a disturbed sleep you can get heart disease, high blood pressure and even diabetes. People who don't sleep enough get colds and flu more often than those who do. Moreover, recent research proves that poor sleepers gain weight more easily than people who sleep well. Extra kilos are the reaction of the body to the stressful sleepless situation.

D. Think twice before watching a movie late at night. Don’t spend sleeping time on endless computer games. The thing is that by getting up and going to bed at the same time every day, even on weekends, you teach your body to follow a healthy regime. You'll quickly fall asleep, will have a good night’s sleep and will wake up at the expected time feeling fresh and active.

E. Some easy steps can prepare your body for going to sleep. You probably have some regular bedtime habits, even if you don’t realise it. Brushing your teeth, taking a shower, reading a book and setting your alarm clock may all be part of your evening routine. Remember that you should perform these activities in the same manner and in the same order every night.

F. Sleepless nights at exam time are very bad for students. If you prepare for your exam late at night, it will not improve your performance during the exam. On the contrary, it will affect your ability to concentrate, to react quickly and to analyse information. Recent research shows that the results of the tests written after sleepless nights are lower than usual grades.

G. If you think that during sleep, the brain rests, you're mistaken. It's a common myth about sleep. Sleep is definitely needed – but it's not your brain that needs to rest, it's your body that needs to relax. Your brain is still working when you're asleep, controlling physical functions like breathing and your heart beat. However, because the brain does not have to go through the constant stress of thinking, you get up refreshed and recharged.

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1. Traditional delivery

2. Loss of popularity

3. Money above privacy

4. The best-known newspapers

5. Focus on different readers

6. The successful competitor

7. Size makes a difference

8. Weekend reading

A. As in many other European countries, Britain’s main newspapers are losing their readers. Fewer and fewer people are buying broadsheets and tabloids at the newsagent’s. In the last quarter of the twentieth century people became richer and now they can choose other forms of leisure activity. Also, there is the Internet which is a convenient and inexpensive alternative source of news.

B. The ‘Sunday papers’ are so called because that is the only day on which they are published. Sunday papers are usually thicker than the dailies and many of them have six or more sections. Some of them are ‘sisters’ of the daily newspapers. It means they are published by the same company but not on week days.

C. Another proof of the importance of ‘the papers’ is the morning ‘paper round’. Most newsagents organise these. It has become common that more than half of the country’s readers get their morning paper brought to their door by a teenager. The boy or girl usually gets up at around 5:30 a.m. every day including Sunday to earn a bit of pocket money.

D. The quality papers or broadsheets are for the better educated readers. They devote much space to politics and other ‘serious’ news. The popular papers, or tabloids, sell to a much larger readership. They contain less text and a lot more pictures. They use bigger headlines and write in a simpler style of English. They concentrate on ‘human interest stories’ which often means scandal.

E. Not so long ago in Britain if you saw someone reading a newspaper you could tell what kind it was without even checking the name. It was because the quality papers were printed on very large pages called ‘broadsheet’. You had to have expert turning skills to be able to read more than one page. The tabloids were printed on much smaller pages which were much easier to turn.

F. The desire to attract more readers has meant that in the twentieth century sometimes even the broadsheets in Britain look rather ‘popular’. They give a lot of coverage to scandal and details of people’s private lives. The reason is simple. What matters most for all newspaper publishers is making a profit. They would do anything to sell more copies.

G. If you go into any newsagent’s shop in Britain you will not find only newspapers. You will also see rows and rows of magazines for almost every imaginable taste. There are specialist magazines for many popular pastimes. There are around 3,000 of them published in the country and they are widely read, especially by women. Magazines usually list all the TV and radio programmes for the coming week and many British readers prefer them to newspapers.

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1. The symbols of London

2. Means of travelling

3. World record holder

4. A sweet in the street

5. On the road

6. A healthy but difficult choice

7. An unusual hobby

8. 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.

Прочитайте тексты и установите соответствие между текстами А–G и заголовками 1–8. В ответ запишите цифры, в порядке, соответствующем буквам. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании есть один лишний заголовок.

1. How flashmobs are prepared

2. What the performers did

3. Who can join the movement

4. Where the action took place and who took part in it

5. Why flashmob events are arranged

6. What peoples attitude is

7. What a flashmob is

8. What the word means

A. It was a nice spring day. The city centre looked busy: cars sped by and people hurried across the square in front of an impressive bank building. There were business people, couriers, tourists and lots of clerks. There were probably too many clerks. And they kept coming from the adjoining streets and side streets. They were young and seemed strikingly similar — all of them were wearing black trousers and white shirts with a little daisy pinned to their black ties.

B. All of a sudden the people in office uniform stood still, facing the bank. They paid no attention to other passersby bumping into them. Something weird was going on but nobody could say what exactly was wrong. And... the clerks started to dance. They danced to the music nobody could hear — that looked odd but captivating. The strange performance lasted for only a minute, after which all the black-and-white clerks rearranged their ties and instantly dispersed. The square was spotted with daisies.

C. The new phenomenon when lots of people get together in a public place and perform some action is called a flashmob. The participants may dance or perform mock fighting or put up similar umbrellas on a bright cloudless day and pretend they are hiding from the rain or something else. The performance is very brief — it lasts only one or two minutes. Then the flash mobbers disperse, as if nothing has been happening, leaving the passersby surprised and puzzled.

D. To surprise and puzzle is probable the main aim of the flash mobbers. It's difficult to find another motivation for their actions which often seem pointless and strange. Unlike demonstrators or protestors, flash mobbers do not demand anything. They don't get violent and they don't normally have any problems with the police, though the latter don't approve of flash mobbers as, in their opinion, crowds are potentially dangerous whatever their intentions are.

E. Like the phenomenon itself the word flashmob is very young but it has already been included in all contemporary dictionaries. It is formed with two words: flash, which means a bright light that shines for a short time and then stops shining, and mob — a crowd of people. The two words joined together connote the brisk and striking character of the action performed by those who at first looked like a simple crowd of people.

F. It's difficult, however, to call them a simple crowd — flash mobbers are well-organized. The information about the coming flashmob spreads via the internet and mobiles — modern technology like blogs and social nets makes instant information exchange very easy. The place and the time of the coming flash mob event are usually kept secret till the very last moment. The participants are informed by text messages where they should head to and it's amazing how quickly they get together.

G. Most people who have witnessed a flashmob say that they felt surprised and puzzled, but when the brief event was over, they started feeling more cheerful and relaxed than before the action. One of probable reasons is that people always welcome some unexpected event that makes their life less monotonous and ordinary. It's important that flash mobbers sustain their positive image and never allow any violent behaviour to spoil it.