Олимпиадные задания по английскому языку. 9-11 класс

Section 1

Reading Comprehension

Time: 40 minutes

Task 1

Read Jane’s story. For questions 1 -7 and choose the correct answer A, B, C or D./  Прочитайте рассказ Джейн и выберите к  вопросам 1-7 правильные варианты  ответов.

During the baking hot months of the summer holidays my mother and I used to escape to one of the scattered lakes north of Prince Albert. In its magic surroundings we used to spend the long summer days in the open air, swimming and canoeing or just lying dreaming in the sun. In the evening the lake was always a bright, luminous grey after the unbelievable sunset colors had faded.

The last summer before we returned to England was particularly enchanted. For one thing, I was in love for the first time. No one will ever convince me that one cannot be in love at fifteen. I loved then as never since, with all my heart and without doubts or reservations or pretence.

My boyfriend Don worked in Saskatoon, but the lake was ''his place'' – the strange and beautiful wilderness drew him with an obsessive urgency, so I suspected it was not to see me that he got on his motor-cycle as many Fridays as he possibly could, and drove three hundred-odd miles along the pitted prairie roads to spend the weekends at our place.

Sometimes he couldn't come, and the joy would go out of everything until Monday, when I could start looking forward to Friday again. He could never let us know in advance, as we were too far from civilization to have a phone or even a telegraph service. Three hundred miles in those conditions is quite a journey. Besides, Don was hard up, and sometimes worked overtime at weekends.

One Friday night a storm broke out. I lay in bed and listened to the thunder and the rain beating on the roof. Once I got up and stood looking out over the treetops, shivering. I tried not to expect Don that night hoping he would have enough sense to wait until the storm ended. Yet in my frightened thoughts I couldn't help imagining Don fighting the storm. His motorbike, which had always looked to me so heavy and solid, seemed in my thoughts frail enough to be blown onto its side by the first gust that struck it. I thought of Don pinned under it, his face pressed into the mud.

I crawled back into bed, trying to close my throat against the tears. But when my mother, prompted by the deep sympathy and understanding between us, came in to me, she kissed my cheek and found it wet.

"Don't get upset, Jane,'' she said softly. ''He may still come.''

When she had tucked me in and gone, I lay thinking about Don, about the danger of the roads. You couldn't ride or walk along them safely after heavy rain; your feet would slip from under you. The roads in Northern Canada are not like the friendly well-populated English ones, where there are always farmhouses within walking distance and cars driving along them day and night.

It was hours later, that I suddenly realized the sound of the roaring engine were real. The storm was dying.

1. Every summer Jane used to spend

1. in the camp
2. by the sea side
3. near the lake
4. in the village

2. The last summer was particularly fascinating for Jane because she

1. spent it in the magic surroundings.
2. had a lot of fun in the open air.
3. enjoyed unbelievable sunsets by the lake.
4. fell in love for the first time.

3. Jane believes that love at fifteen is

1. a sincere deep feeling.
2. associated with doubts.
3. full of reservations.
4. connected with pretence.

4. Don traveled three hundred-odd miles every weekend because he was

A. desperate to see the author before she left.

B. fond of riding his motorcycle.

C. attracted by the beauty of the lake.

D. fond of spending weekends with his friends.

5. Sometimes Don didn't come to see Jane and her mother on Friday because he

A. thought they were too far from civilization.

B. had given up hope of seeing the author.

C. worked to make some extra money.

D. hated traveling in exhausting conditions.

6. Mother came into Jane's room during the storm because she

A. felt Jane was afraid of the thunder.

B. felt Jane was worried about Don.

C. heard Jane walking in the room.

D. heard Jane crying in her bed.

7. According to the author the roads in Northern Canada were

1. slippery.
2. muddy.
3. lonely.

            D. busy.

 Transfer all your answers to your answer sheet.

(7 scores)

Task 2

Choose from the sentences A-H the one which fits each gap (8-14). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use./Заполните пропуски 8-14, выбрав правильный ответ из предложений A-H, из которых одно лишнее.

A        Mr. Paul became ill very suddenly.

B        ‘Would you like a cup of tea?’ I asked.

C                Mr. Paul was in his eighties and I remember him going for his nightly walk accompanied by his walking stick and a small dog.

D        Late into the night I could hear him coughing.

E        However, I could not believe what had happened.

F        I can still remember the view from the window and the constant changes in the sea.

G        I heard him occasionally in his own room.

H        Neither was there any steam coming out of the old kettle normally kept hot by the fire.

(7 scores)

Task 3. Read the extract from the text and complete the sentences with the correct forms of the verbs in brackets./Прочитайте отрывок из текста и заполните пропуски глаголами из скобок  в правильной форме.

     When Mr. Hiram B. Otis, the American Minister, 1____________ (decide) to buy Canterville Chase, everyone 2____________ (tell) him that it 3___________ (be) a foolish thing to do. There 4__________ (be) no doubt that a ghost 5___________ (live) in the house. Indeed, Lord Canterville himself 6__________ (mention) the feat to Mr. Otis when they 7____________ (discuss) the sale.

     ‘We 8___________ (not live) in the place ourselves, 9_____________ (say) Lord Canterville, ‘since the day when my grand-aunt 10____________ (frighten) by the ghost. It 11_____________ (happen) many years ago. My grand-aunt 12_____________ (dress) for dinner when she suddenly 13____________ (feel) two skeleton hands being placed on her shoulders. The fright 14_____________ (make) her very ill and she never really recovered.’

     ‘I 15____________ (not believe) in ghosts,’ 16______________ (say) Mr. Otis.

(16 scores)

Section 2

Use of English

Time: 40 minutes

Task 1.

For questions 1–10, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D)

best fits each space./Заполните пропуски 1-10 подходящими ответами (A, B, C or D)

                                               Gender gap in education

For many years now, British girls have 0 much better in exams than boys. Most theories about the causes of this gap 1_________ the sexes have blamed the education 2 ______. However, new research suggests that boys’ poor performance has nothing to do 3______ internal practices at schools. Instead external factors, such as different learning styles and how children are 4 _____up, have to be considered. For this 5 ________, many educationalists are now studying how boys and girls learn to read. They believe that, since reading is 6 ______taught either by mothers or by female primary school teachers, many boys 7_____ reading as a woman’s activity and this puts them 8 _______it.

Another factor could be that boys are generally more 9 ________than girls. When they can’t be the best, they would rather 10_____ up on education than be considered average. Girls seem much happier to be second best.

0           A acted               B behaved                  C performed                   D succeeded

1            A among            B between                  C beside                         D beyond

2           A method            B style                        C technique                   D system

3           A by                    B from                        C at                                D with

4           A brought            B raised                      C given                         D grown

5           A cause               B purpose                   C reason                        D objective

6           A hardly              B generally                 C rarely                         D lately

7           A look                  B notice                     C see                              D watch

8           A off                    B on                           C across                          D through

9           A determined       B optimistic               C possessive                   D competitive

10         A give                  B take                         C break                           D turn

(10 scores)

Task 2.

Choose the right option from a), b), c), d)/ Выберите правильный вариант ответа

1.I... glasses since I was a child,

a) wear, b) wore, c) am wearing, d) have been wearing.

2. When the phone rang, I... dinner.

a) cook, b) was cooking, c) had been cooking, d) have been cooking.

3. He usually had dinner at 4 p.m., ... ?

a) had he, b) hadn't he, c) did he, d) didn't he.

4. He works ... and makes good progress.

a) hard, b) hardly, c) good, d) badly.

5. He reminds me ... someone I knew in the army.

a) of, b) to, c) from, d) about.

6. Mary is here. Where are ... ?

a) other, b) others, c) the others, d) another.

7. What ... bad weather we are having today!

a) the, b) a, c) an, d) — .

8. Did you read ... English books at school?

a) some, b) many, c) much, d) none.

9. I want to know what ...,

a) are you doing, b) were you doing, c) will you do, d) you are doing.    

10. I've made ... mistakes now than I made last time.

a) few, b) a few, c) fewer, d) less.

(10 scores)

Task 3. For Questions 1-5; answer the following questions about English-speaking countries/Ответьте на вопросы  об англо- говорящих странах.

1. What is the ancient and poetic name for England or Great Britain?
2. What is the national bird of the UK?
3. What is “the Derby”?
4. What is the Woolsack?
5. Who had the longest reign of many British monarchs?

(5  scores)        

Section 3

Writing

Time: 40 minutes

 С1. This is part of a letter from your English-speaking pen-friend. 

...Do you often have arguments with your parents? I do. My mother thinks that I spend too much time hanging around with my friends. Do you often meet your friends? 
What do you usually do together? And what do you do when you disagree with your parents about how you spend your free time? 
Write back soon. 
Love, 
Ann 

Write back to Ann. 
In your letter 
• answer her questions 
• ask 3 questions about her relations with her younger sister 

Write 100-140 words. Remember the rules of the letter writing.

С2.  Comment on the following statement.

 A person who is fluent in a foreign language can easily work as an interpreter.

What is your opinion? Do you agree with this statement? Write 200–250 words.

Use the following plan:  

make an introduction (state the problem)

−  express your personal opinion and give 2–3 reasons for your opinion

−  express an opposing opinion and give 1–2 reasons for this opposing opinion

−  explain why you don’t agree with the opposing opinion

−  make a conclusion restating your position−

Section 4

Speaking

 Time: 10-15 minutes

Monologue;

Give a 2-minute talk about a person you admire.

Remember to say:

• What this person looks  like;
• What his/her profession is;
• Why you admire him/her;
• What you can do to become like him/her.

Dialogue

You and your flat mate are thinking of getting a pet. Discuss with him/her which pet you would like to have and choose one pet you both want.

Here is the list of possible pets:

• a  dog
• a  cat
• a  bird
• a goldfish

(20 scores)

ANSWER KEYS

SECTION 1. READING COMPREHENSION

Task 1.

                                                                                                7 scores

Task 2

Конец формы

II. 8 - F, 19 - C, 10 - G, 11 - A, 12 - D, 13 - H, 14 – B

7 scores

Task 3

I     1. decided; 2. told; 3.was; 4. was; 5.lived; 6. mentioned/had mentioned; 7. were discussing; 8. haven’t       lived; 9. said; 10. was frightened; 11. happened; 12. was dressing; 13. felt; 14. made; 15. don’t believe; 16. said.

     16 scores

SECTION 2 Use of English

Task 1

1 B

2 D

3 D

4 A

5 C

6 B

7 C

8 A

9 D

10 A

10 scores

Task 2

10 scores

     1- d, 2- b, 3- d, 4- a, 5- a, 6- c, 7- d, 8-b, 9- d, 10-c. 

10 scores

5 scores

Task 3

1. Albion (from the Latin word albius (white) having in mind the white cliffs of Dover)

2. The national bird of the UK is the robin.

3. The annual horse race in Surrey/England.

4. It is a special seat for the Lord Chancellor in the House of Lords. /The Woolsack is a cushion stuffed with wool to symbolize what was once England’s chief source of wealth.

5. Queen Victoria reigned for 64 years