Олимпиада по английскому языку 9-11 классы
олимпиадные задания (английский язык, 11 класс) по теме

Use of English

Time: 45 minutes

Task 1

For questions 1-15 complete the following text by writing each missing word in the correct box on your answer sheet. Use only one word for each space.

The Changing Face of Beauty

Certainly, images of beautiful women or men are all (1)… us. You can find them in fashion magazines, (2) … TV, in movies… We all know what beautiful people look (3) …, even if we are (4) … beautiful ourselves. Yet, (5) … in the modern world, what we see as “beautiful” is constantly changing. In the 1890s the actress Lillian Russell was (6) … “the most beautiful woman in the world”. She was 165 pounds/75 kilos. In 1967 (7) … fashion model Twiggy was (8) … as the perfection of beauty – and she weighed just 91 pounds/41 kilos. (9) … big change (10) … our perception of beauty, in quite a short time. In the desire to be perfect many people decide to change their appearance (11) … surgery. Cosmetic surgery, which started (12)  … long ago as 1910, aims to “improve” our physical appearance. Then it (13) … an expensive luxury. Now, it’s almost routine. … The problem is not the size of your stomach or the amount of hair on your head – the problem is that today, more than in (14) … other time in history, we choose to identify ourselves (15) … our appearance.

Task 2

For questions 16 - 20 choose the best alternative A or B.

16. I couldn’t find out (A) / discover (B) what the word meant as it wasn’t in my dictionary.

17. She has her clothes especially (A) / specially (B) made in Paris.

18. It began as just an ordinary (A) / commonplace (B) Saturday, but soon became a day I would never forget.

19. This trip (A) / journey (B) takes about 45 minutes.

20. The groom and his near (A) / close (B) family took their places.

Task 3

For questions 21 - 25 replace the words in italics with a suitable phrasal verb  from the box below. There are three extra phrasal verbs, which you do not need to use.

21. Continue this job until I give you something else to do.

22. If someone faints, splash him or her with cold water to regain consciousness.

23. My car stopped working on the motorway and I had to walk to a garage.

24. The football match was canceled because it was raining cats and dogs that day.

25. It's a pity I can't reach my friend by phone. I'll have to call him later.

Task 4

For questions 26-30 use the word given in capitals at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the space in the same line.

Romans and Saxons were less (26)_____ at invading the far north and far western parts of Britain and the (27)_____ people and their language persisted in these places despite the spread of Roman, Saxon and later (28)______. The result is that in the north, (Scotland), west, (Wales and Cornwall) and the far west, (Ireland) the ancient Gaelic tongue survived and although through the centuries it (29)_____ into the Scotts Gaelic, Irish Gaelic, Welsh and Cornish languages all four are still (30)______ from the same root speech.

TRANSFER ALL YOUR ANSWERS TO YOUR ANSWER SHEET

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ORIGIN

INVADE

VARY

RECOGNIZE

Reading Comprehension

Time: 45 minutes

Part 1

For questions 1-10, read the article about American music and decide which of the items from the list  A-H suits the description given in the question. Some of the items may be chosen more than once.

AMERICA'S MUSIC

Considering the forbidding aspect of their new land, it is not surprising that the music of the early settlers was essentially prayer set to song. The first music published in the Colonies appeared in the 1698 edition of the Bay Psalm Book.

In the early 1700s the well-to-do imported manuscripts of music from Europe to play for dancing and concerts. In the early 1800s more people had time and money for the pursuit of culture, and the music of European courts and concert halls was widely heard.

By the mid- 1800s European romantic melodies were the favorite music. Into this "sea" of romanticism sailed American first great songwriter, Stephen Foster, who became famous in the 1850s for "My Old Kentucky Home" and other "plantation songs", as he called them.

With the wave of German immigration in the mid-19th century came many trained musicians who spread an enthusiasm for that romantic instrument, the piano. The already growing piano business increased tremendously. One of the chief manufacturers was Henry Steinweg, a German immigrant, who changed his name to Steinway.

The Civil War brought martial music, and this music, in its turn, accelerated the development of the bright sound of the brass band, which became one of America's most popular musical institutions for the next half century. Enthusiasm for martial ensembles spread so rapidly that by the turn of the century more than 20000 amateur and professional brass bands were giving regular concerts in towns and villages throughout the country.

At the turn of the 20th century the music most widely representative of this country was gaining a fast-growing audience. This appealing new freewheeling sound was called jazz. Rooted in the field hollers and work songs of the plantations, levees, turpentine camps, and prisons, early jazz and the blues had haunting echoes of an American past. This music, in all its cultural and ethnic permutations, has perhaps done as much to create understanding and respect among all races as any other single force in American history.

The popular song, that tuneful product of Tin Pan Alley, and country Western music are two other American creations that have struck responsive chords around the world.

Until the early 1900s most classical music and most of the conductors and soloists came from Europe. Then a few American musicians, such as Charles Ives and Henry Cowell, began to create new sounds in their own way inspiring interest in contemporary music. Encouraged by outstanding schools of music, this interest has made the United States a leader in musical experimentation and innovation. Classical music composed in the US today is as American as folk music and jazz.

Part 2

For items 11-20 read two texts about face language. Fill the gaps (11-20) in the texts choosing from the list A – L the one which fits each gap. There are two extra sentences which you do not need to use.

FACE EXPRESSIONS

We rely on our facial signals constantly, yet we cannot define them. We are reading a language we cannot articulate and may not consciously notice. Good face-reading can provide an insight into a person’s true feelings. (11) We have twenty-two facial muscles on each side, more than any animal on earth. In common with most muscles, they anchor in bone. (12) These muscles form a complex skein, but some stand in particular. The zygomatic major is the smile-maker. It runs across the cheek to the corner of the mouth, which it pulls upwards. The corrugator  knits the eyebrows together, causing vertical furrows in between. (13) 

The smile and surprise appear at birth, disgust and distress or sadness between zero and three months, the “social smile” at one and half to three months, anger at three to seven months, and fear at five to nine months. Anger is a dark look of concentration. The eyebrows descent and the lips tighten. An angry face is a warning. Fear has almost the opposite characteristics. (14) Surprise resembles fear and often precedes it. Both the eyes and mouth fly open and the eyebrows rise and arch. Disgust centres on the nose, not otherwise a very expressive facial feature. (15)

What about telling lies? (16) Even individuals one would expect to be skilled – judges, policemen and psychiatrists-fail here and score only slightly above average. Prisoners spot lies fairly well, possibly because they live in a world of deceit and must become adapted.

FACE THE FACTS

When two pedestrian collide, there’s none of that anger we see when motorists cross one another’s path. The experts say that they don’t see aggression when people collide because they’re liable to exchange little signs of apology, which you are unable to do when you’re trapped inside a car. (17) The style of an e-mail is terse but informal, so people get annoyed where no rudeness is intended, because they can’t see the expression on the face of the person they’re communicating with. If they could, the problem would instantly disappear.

(18) The single head nod indicates that the nodder has understood what is being said and wishes to speak. Eye contact is also vital, and we spend up to 75 per cent of the time looking at the person we’re talking to. We can underline the points we are making by raising our eyebrows or pursing our lips. The eyebrows can also be raised in a kind of visual question mark at the end of a sentence.

Most children learn to express themselves naturally through face-to face communication with their parents and their peers.  (19) Instead of playing football and fighting, children are spending increasing amount of time in front computers. (20). Without the feedback of another’s emotions, children risk becoming withdrawn and depressed.

Numerous studies have shown that this case cause relationship problems later in life.

But in the modern world this kind of contact is diminishing.

On the whole we are not good at detecting them.

It may partly turn up, winkle and contract, as we sense a bad smell.

The same kind of misunderstandings can easily happen on e-mail.

Eye contact and heads are crucial to our conversations.

Most pleasant expressions involve the zygomatic major, most unpleasant ones the corrugators.

As always, real skill demands practice but anyone can learn a few basics.

The liar shows fewer genuine smiles and more masking smiles.

The eyes widen and the eyebrows rise.

Embarrassment on the face is equivalent of apologizing.

Unlike most, they attach to skin, making the face more mobile than the skin on other parts of body.

 TRANSFER ALL YOUR ANSWERS TO YOUR ANSWER SHEET

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READING COMPREHENSION

ANSWER SHEET

WRITING

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Discursive Composition

You have 40 minutes to do this task.

Comment on the following statement.

Which would you choose: a high-paying job with long hours that would give you little time with family and friends or a lower-paying job with shorter hours that would give you more time with family and friends? Explain your choice, using specific reasons and details.

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

draw a conclusion

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