Подготовка к ЕГЭ. Аудирование В1 (с предтекстовыми заданиями) на основе Демонстрационного варианта контрольных измерительных материалов единого государственного экзамена 2013 года по АНГЛИЙСКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ

B1   Вы услышите шесть высказываний. Установите соответствие между высказываниями каждого говорящего A–F и утверждениями, данными  в списке 1–7. Используйте каждое утверждение, обозначенное соответствующей цифрой, только один раз. В задании есть одно лишнее утверждение. 

Текст можно прослушать по ссылке http://kostyurasvetlana.podomatic.com/

1. Writing Valentines has a very long history. 
2. It’s another time to spend money. 
3. Valentines make a big business.
4. There’s always something against the Day.
5. It’s a traditional Valentine’s Day present and no one should spare money for it.  
6. Its traditions tend to fade.  
7. Even journalists need information about Valentine’s Day.   

1. Look at the statements and guess the topic of the speeches.
2. What is St Valentine’s day associated with? Make a list of nouns.

(sweets, cards, doves, cupids, flowers…)

3. Do all people support the idea of celebrating the Day?

KEY WORDS

a survey - a general description or report about a particular subject or situation

save money on - to spend less money on something than you would normally

Charles, Duke of Orleans (24 November 1394, Paris – 5 January 1465, Amboise) was one of the earliest creators of valentines, called "poetical or amorous addresses." From his confinement in the Tower of London after the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, he sent several poems or rhymed love letters or "valentines" to his wife in France.

trace the roots - to discover the origin of something

the Roman times – a period of Roman Empire ruling

pagan - relating to an ancient religion that had many gods and praised nature

medieval times - relating to the period of European history between about the year 1000 ad and the year 1500

Hallmark - largest greeting card manufacturer in the world

in- store observations - observations within a large shop

a sell-out - a product that is no longer available, because all those that were available have been sold:

strike from (here)- to remove words from a document, for example by drawing a line through them

forbidden - not allowed according to a rule, law, or custom

angle – point of view

celebrities – very famous people, especially in entertainment or sport

Now we are ready to start.

Speaker A  Can you imagine it – the average American spends more than $ 100 on Valentine’s Day! And men spend almost twice as much on Valentine’s Day as women do! A survey I read shows that more than one-third of men would prefer not receiving a gift. At the same time just less than 20 percent of women feel the same way. The reason for this is partly that the holiday seems just too expensive. 

Speaker B As far as I know on Valentine’s Day no one saves money on flowers. No wonder flowers may cost up to 30 percent more that day! Some people even buy and send flowers to themselves on Valentine’s Day. The most popular flower is still the rose followed by lilies and violets. The colours of flowers are very important as they speak about your feelings and emotions, but many people just don’t pay attention to that and buy whatever they find nice and suitable.

  Speaker C I was surprised to learn that Valentine cards have a very long history. Some scientists believe that the tradition was probably started by Charles, Duke of Orleans, because the oldest surviving Valentine dates back to him, to the year of 1415. It was a beautiful poem written by the Duke to his wife. However some historians trace the roots of the holiday back to the Roman times and their pagan celebrations or early medieval times.  

Speaker D Do you know, that one billion Valentine cards are sent each year worldwide, making it the second largest card-sending holiday of the year behind Christmas? I’ve heard Hallmark, a big card producer, even employs research staff to analyze the sales pattern of previous Valentines. They analyze customer interviews and in- store observations to find out which cards’ve been a sell-out this or that year and which age group chooses which type of cards and which is the best poem on the card and so on.

 Speaker E  BBC reports that India has spoken out against Valentine’s Day calling it “an attack on local culture for commercial purposes”. So I guess they do take it seriously and there’re people not in favor of this holiday. The Catholic Church, for instance, struck St. Valentine’s Day from its official calendar in 1969. There even have been times when Valentine’s Day was close to being forbidden.  

Speaker F  The University of Maryland has a team of academic experts educating the media about Valentine’s Day no matter what angle they wish to cover. There I’ve read that many people choose Valentine’s Day for getting married. Can you imagine? The list of celebrities who’ve done this includes Elton John and Meg Ryan. And quite a lot of famous people have been born on that day!