Олимпиадные задания по английскому языку(9-11 классы).
олимпиадные задания по английскому языку (11 класс) на тему

Задания муниципального этапа всероссийской олимпиады школьников 2012-2013 учебного года

9-11 классы

Reading Comprehension

PART 1

Task 1.

You are going to read a newspaper article about sport. Choose the most suitable heading from the list A-l for each part (1-7) of the article. There is one extra heading which you do not need to use. There is an example at the beginning (0).

A        A healthy option.

В        Government funding for the future?

С        Always play to win.

D        On the other hand....

E        Experiments in the past.

F        A useful way to control violence.

G        Too many expectations can lead to problems.

H        A question of sport.

I        Key question remains unanswered.

Sporting excellence: a worthwhile goal?

1. What is the point of sport? Whenever certain sporting stories are brought to our attention, we talk about them for days. Should we force children to do sport at school? Should the government spend more on sport? Is a famous football player's broken leg a matter of importance?

2. The answer to the initial question is not easy to find. First we have to decide why we do sport. Fitness is the one benefit on which most people agree. Healthy people are happier and more capable of looking after themselves. Children who take plenty of exercise are more likely to become healthy adults

3. Traditionally, sport is considered a useful way of teaching people to contain aggressive feelings. In team sports, it also teaches people to work together. Sport helps to make society safer by teaching people to obey rules. It also prepares them for success at work, where it is necessary to compete.

4. Others have argued that sport encourages aggression and does nothing to control it. Children, therefore, should be taught to co-operate rather than compete. They should not have to compare themselves to others at school or on the sports field.

5. Many of these beliefs, popular in the 1960s, were put into practice with little success. Many countries that wanted to discourage children playing against each other did the opposite. Others produced "super athletes" with the help of drugs and money. They tried to create sportsmen who were unbeatable.

6. There are lessons to be learnt from this. Many of these "super athletes" faced problems. Too much pressure led to rained health. So, doing well at sport isn't to do with how much effort an individual country puts in. A country should support its athletes, but achievement should not always be expected

7. But this still doesn't answer the opening question. Is sport valuable to a child's development? Is it a good way to relax or is it just a way of getting fit?

8. General agreement on these questions is unlikely because everyone's experience of sports at school is different. Some feel their schooldays were ruined by sports lessons. Others feel they could not have survived without them. The government should perhaps concentrate on providing better opportunities for those who want them. Maybe this will prevent the sporting failures Britain is familiar with.

Task 2. You are going to read an article about an ice-skater. Seven sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences (A-H) the one that fits each gap (9-14). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use. There is an example at the beginning (0).

We've given up everything to make our daughter a star

June and Malcolm Harding spent their life savings on their first home, and thought they were set for life. But just over a year later, June handed the keys back to the estate agent. Since then they've also sold most of their furniture.

What started as a way to stop Kelly being bored in the summer holiday has become the focus of all their lives. She won her first competition after only 10 weeks of skating lessons. Soon after, Kelly's coach left Britain for Canada and her parting words changed the Harding's lives for ever. "Find the money to keep Kelly on the ice," she urged. "She'll go all the way to the top." From then on, there was no question - whatever it cost to make Kelly a winner, they'd find a way. 0 –D                        

9 -                           "I started skating when I was 10," June said. "I saved all the money I could for lessons by doing errands for neighbours. But Mum and Dad were poor and when Mum saved to buy me boots, Dad said that was it... I never skated again. I wasn't going to let that happen to Kelly." They had to take Kelly out of school so she could practice more. As she was still only fourteen, they had to guarantee the local authorities she'd continue her studies until she was seventeen.

10        

"I worked out we only got £500 for £5,000 worth of furniture - but at least it paid for some more lessons," said June. "The only things we kept were the TV and video because we can never afford to go out. Luckily, our new accommodation is furnished. We took our car off the road because we can't afford to run it. We haven't had a phone for four months, or a holiday in six years.

11 -                  
Despite being permanently poor, June and Malcolm have no doubt they're doing the right thing. "Just seeing Kelly on the ice, smiling and happy, makes it all worthwhile," her father said.

12-

Kelly, now seventeen, was placed 13th in last year's junior championship and has won nearly thirty competitions so far. "I know I'm very lucky," she admits.

13  

Her coach, a former British champion, is convinced she'll go far. "I think she'll make the Olympic squad in 1998," she said. "Kelly is an exceptional girl - gifted and very hardworking."

   14                                          It's unlikely that her mum will ever see her win, though, because she gets too nervous to watch. "People think we're mad giving up everything," continues June, "but we believe in our daughter ... I'd do it all over again tomorrow."

A     "Mum and Dad have given up their own lives just for me and I'm determined not to let them down."

В     That meant the added cost of a private tutor at £140 a month.

С     Kelly now hopes to make the final three in the British Ice Skating Championship.

D     All to give their daughter Kelly the chance to become a world champion ice-skater.

E     The last time I bought a dress was for my son John's wedding last year.

F     June has her own reasons for wanting Kelly's success.

G     However, all these sacrifices have not been enough.

H     "Even if she doesn't make it, she'll have had the opportunity thousands of girls haven't."

Task 3. Choose the best answer to each question.

It has been documented that, almost twelve million years ago at the beginning of the Pliocene Age, a horse, about midway through its evolutionary development, crossed a land bridge where the Bering Straits are now located, from Alaska into the grasslands of Europe. The horse was the hipparion, about the size of a modern-day pony with three toes and specialized cheek teeth for grazing. In Europe the hipparion    encountered another less advanced horse called the anchitheres, which had previously invaded Europe by the same route, probably during the Miocene Period. Less developed and smaller than the hipparion, the anchitheres was completely    replaced by it. By the end of the Pleistocene Age both the anchitheres and the hipparion had become extinct in  North America, where they had originated. In Europe they had evolved into an animal very similar to the horse as we know it today.  It was the descendant of this horse that was brought by the European colonists to the Americas.

15. Both the hipparion and the anchitheres

   (A) were the size of a modern pony

   (B) were the native to North America

   (C) migrated to Europe in the Pliocene Period

   (D) had unspecialized teeth

16. According to this passage, the hipparions were

1. five-toed animals
2. not as highly developed as the anchitheres
3. larger than the anchitheres
4. about the size of a small dog

17. The author suggests that the hipparion and the anchitheres migrated to Europe

1. by means of a land route which is now non-existent
2. on the ships of European colonists
3. because of a very cold climate in North America
4. during the Miocene Period

18. This passage is mainly about

1. the evolution of the horse
2. the migration of horses
3. the modern-day pony
4. the replacement of the anchitheres by the hipparion

19. It can be concluded from this passage that the

1. Miocene Period was prior to the Pliocene
2. Pleistocene Period was prior to the Miocene
3. Pleistocene Period was prior to the Pliocene
4. Pliocene Period was prior to the Miocene

        TRANSFER ALL YOUR ANSWERS TO YOUR ANSWER SHEET

Participant’s ID number

READING COMPREHENSION

ANSWER SHEET

Use of English

Task 1

1. Fill in the blanks. Use one word only in each space.

Alan wanted to know whether Mary 1 __________ enjoyed her visit to India the 2 __________ month, and whether she 3 __________ planning to go again the 4 __________ summer. Mary told him that India 5 _________ such a vast country that it 6 _________ impossible to see it all in one trip. David 7 _________ if Mary had 8 __________ the Taj Mahal and she answered that she 9 _________. Mary 10 __________ Alan 11 ________ stop interrupting her while she was 12 _________ and added that she 13 _________ answer all his questions one by one. David 14 __________ what she 15 _________ of Indian food and she said it 16 _________ delicious. Alan wondered 17 _________ Mary thought Indian girls 18 _________ prettier than European girls. David asked how much the trip 19 _________ cost and 20 __________ that they all save up money and 21 _________ together as a group the following summer. He asked Mary 22 __________ let him see all her slides of India and said that they 23 _________ meet at 24 _________ house for a slide show the next evening. Mary said she 25 _________ sum up India with a few slides because there 26 _________ so many facets to the “Indian Experience”, and she explained 27 __________ she had only 28 __________ there for five weeks. She said she 29 __________ be going again some time in the future, but that she 30 _________ know exactly when.

2. Choose the correct answer.

31. I wish you ____ so fast. I feel quite sick!

a. wouldn’t drive                b. haven’t driven        c. aren’t driving

32. This is the young man ____ won a promotion recently.

a. which                        b. whom                c. who

33. I have visited many European capitals, ____, Rome, London, Paris and Vienna.

a. such                        b. like                        c. for example

34. Alan asked whether ____ a table for two.

a. did I reserve                b. had I reserved        c. I had reserved

35. You should fix the brakes on that bicycle, ____ your son may have an accident.

a. otherwise                b. in case                c. suppose that

36. If you ____ my help, ___ me!

a. will need, call                b. need, will call        c. need, call

37. Never once ____ Paul lose his temper.

a. have I seen                b. I didn’t see                c. I saw

38. Tom told his mother that he ____ help organise the school party.

a. will have to                 b. would have to         c. must have

39. Seldom ____ her these days. I am so busy.

a. I see                        b. do I see                c. I’m seeing

40. The government ____ your request for a passport ____ you have been resident for at least five years.

a. won’t consider, unless                b. considered, if                c. considers, unless

41. That’s the building ____ we lived when I was a child.

a. that                        b. where                c. which

42. ____ you drive carefully, you may borrow the car.

a. In case                        b. As long as                c. Suppose

43. I can recommend several restaurants in London, many of ____ offer gourmet food at very reasonable prices.

a. which                        b. them                c. these

44. If you ____ this way madam, the waiter will show you to your table.

a. had just gone                b. would just come        c. have just come

45. What ____ if you ____ a millionaire?

a. will you do, were         b. would you do, were        c. did you do, will be

46. No sooner ____ my house than she ____ criticizing everything.

a. she entered, started         b. had she entered, started            c. did she enter, start

47. Daniel says he ____ his new job.

a. loves                        b. loved                c. would love

48. I wouldn’t force you to go to this play if you really ____.

a. won’t want to                b. wanted to                 c. didn’t want to

49. I don’t understand ____ he behaves so rudely.

a. that                        b. which                c. why

50. The city council ____ the new sports centre as soon as the building ____ checked by a safety expert.

a. will open, has been           b. are opening, will be        c. will open, will be

3. Underline word or phrase that should be corrected or rewritten

51. She wishes that we DIDN'T SEND HER[1] THE CANDY[2] yesterday     BECAUSE[3] she’s ON[4] a diet.

52. Today was SUCH BEAUTIFUL DAY[1] that I couldn’t BRING[2] myself   TO COMPLETE[3] all MY CHORES[4].

53. WHILE[1] THEY[2] were away at the beach, they allowed THEIR       NEIGHBORS[3] USE[4] their barbeque grill.

54. The artist tried STIMULATE[1] INTEREST[2] in painting   BY TAKING[3] his students TO THE[4] museums.

55. The harder he TRIED[1], the WORST[2] he DANCED[3] before the   LARGE[4] audience.

56. Mumps ARE[1] a very COMMON DISEASE[2] WHICH[3] USUALLY[4] affects    children.

57. Nancy said THAT[1] she WENT[2] TO[3] the supermarket BEFORE    COMING[4] home

58. BEFORE[1] she moved here, Arlene had BEEN[2] president OF THE[3]   organization SINCE[4] four years.

59. Each OF THE[1] nurses REPORT[2] to the operating room when his or  HER NAME[3] IS CALLED[4].

60. The ATHLETE[1], together WITH[2] HIS COACH[3] and several  relatives, ARE[4] traveling to the Olympic Games.

61. Professor Duncan TEACHES[1] BOTH[2] ANTHROPOLOGY[3] as well as     sociology EACH FALL[4].

62. My brother is IN[1] California ON[2] vacation, but I wish he   WAS[3] here so that he could help ME REPAIR MY CAR[4].

63. I CERTAINLY[1] appreciate HIM[2] TELLING[3] us about the delay in DELIVERING[4] the materials because we had planned to begin work tomorrow.

64. The chemistry instructor explained the experiment IN[1] SUCH OF[2] A WAY[3] that it WAS EASILY UNDERSTOOD[4].

65. Rudolph Nureyev HAS BECOME[1] one of THE GREATEST[2] DANCER[3]  that the ballet world has EVER KNOWN[4].

66. He has LESS[1] friends in HIS[2] classes now THAN[3] he had LAST YEAR[4].

67. The town we visited WAS[1] a FOUR-DAYS[2] journey from our hotel,   so we TOOK[3] the train instead OF THE BUS[4].

68. The influence of the NATION'S[1] Literature, art, and SCIENCE[2] HAVE[3] captured WIDESPREAD[4] attention.

69. The leader emphasized THE NEED[1] FOR JUSTICE[2] and equality BETWEEN[3] his PEOPLE[4].

70. MANY[1] of the population in the RURAL AREAS[2]  is  COMPOSED[3] of manual LABORERS[4].

4. Choose the one word or phrase that BEST KEEPS THE MEANING of the original sentence

71. The landscape can change abruptly after a rainstorm in the desert Southwest.

    (1) quickly

    (2) sharply

    (3) favorably

    (4) slightly

 72. Travel agents will confirm your reservations for you free.

    (1) purchase

    (2) verify

    (3) exchange

    (4) obtain

 73. J.P.Morgan had a reputation for being a prudent businessman.

    (1) clever

    (2) wealthy

    (3) careful

    (4) dishonest

 74. Discretionary funds are included in most budgets to cover expenses that the contractor might run into during the work.

    (1) forget to do

    (2) pay for

    (3) meet unexpectedly

    (4) add on

75. The audience applauded enthusiastically after the performance at the Grand Old Opera.

    (1) clapped

    (2) chatted

    (3) laughed

    (4) contributed

 76. A legal combination of United States Airways, Inc., and the Intercontinental Airlines Company was approved at a joint board of directors meeting.

    (1) reconciliation

    (2) strike

    (3) merger

    (4) memorandum

 77. News commentator, Eric Sevareid, had to yell to be heard about the hubbub.

    (1) noise and confusion

    (2) loud music

    (3) argument

    (4) sports activity

 78. John Dewey loathed the idea that children should not participate in activities as part of their educational experience.

    (1) encouraged

    (2) noticed

    (3) hated

    (4) began

 79. The pact has been in effect for twenty years.

    (1) monarchy

    (2) treaty

    (3) trend

    (4) lease

80. The remnants of the Roman Empire can be found in many countries in Asia, Europe, and Africa.

    (1) effects

    (2) small pieces

    (3) buildings

    (4) destruction

TRANSFER ALL YOUR ANSWERS TO YOUR ANSWER SHEET

Participant’s ID number

USE OF ENGLISH

ANSWER SHEET

Writing

Participant’s ID number

You have decided to enter a short story competition . The rule states that the story must begin with the following words:

Jonsy is staying in hospital for another couple of days. She is doing much better now. Coming back from lunch she sees somebody leave her room. “Who can it be? And what has he been doing there in my absence?”

        She enters the room and sees…

Write your story. Mind that sentences with direct speech may be written in informal style while the whole story should be more formal. Entitle your story.

Finish the story.  You should write 120  words in an appropriate style.

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YOU CAN USE THE OPPOSITE SIDE