Task 9

Прочитайте тексты и установите соответствие между текстами и их заголовками: к каждому тексту, обозначенному буквами A–G, подберите соответствующий заголовок, обозначенный цифрами. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании есть один лишний заголовок.

1. Why did people start the postal service?
2. What is snail mail?
3. Where did the first delivery system appear?
4. What are the advantages of e-mail?
5. What was the first stamp like?
6. How were the letters paid for?

1. For as long as humans have existed there has been a need to keep in touch and to transfer important information between people in different places. Before the invention of writing, oral messages were carried from one person to another between towns. Writing made it much easier to send longer messages; however, it was still difficult to make sure that your message got to the right place.
2. It was used by the Roman officials to transfer information throughout the Empire. Staging posts and a system with horses and carriages meant that messages could move quickly, by using many riders instead of one. It was very important for business and military reasons that good communication system existed. However, the Romans were not the first to realize this. The Chinese and Persian empires used systems of horses and riders more than 500 years before the Romans.
3. Before the invention of the postage stamps, letters were «franked». It was marked on the letter that delivery had been paid for. This could have been either written or stamped. A post-mark was also stamped on the letter. Invented in 1660 in England, this was a mark that showed where and when the letter had been posted. It was used to see how long it took to deliver the letter – to make sure the service was reliable.
4. It is the humorous term used by e-mail users for the old-fashioned letters-in-envelopes postal system. It means that such letters travel very slowly, which actually is rather unfair. In Britain you can send letters first or second class; the first class ones normally get to their destination, anywhere in the country, the next morning. The postal service is called the Royal mail, and all the British stamps have the head of the Queen.
5. They were invented in Great Britain. It was a British man called Rowland Hill who proposed a stamp to be stuck on the letter to identify that postage had been paid. The first stamp was issued in 1840. It was called the Penny Black and the profile of Queen Victoria’s head was depicted there. The stamp cost 1 pence and was darkly coloured. About 65 million Penny Blacks were issued, and nowadays it is not a very rare stamp.

Task 10-17

Прочитайте текст. Определите, какие из приведённых утверждений 10–17 соответствуют содержанию текста (1 – True), какие не соответствуют (2 – False) и о чём в тексте не сказано, то есть на основании текста нельзя дать ни положительного, ни отрицательного ответа (3 – Not stated).

The Best Job in the World

Have you ever heard of the Great Barrier Reef? It is the world's largest coral reef system along the eastern coast of Australia. In February 2009 an extraordinary position was advertised by the Australian Tourism Office. The advertisement ran that the Great Barrier Reef needed a caretaker for half a year. It was for a special person who would look after the Reef.

The job offered a large salary, free accommodation in a luxury villa, and transportation there and around the islands. All expenses would be paid: the winner wouldn't need to spend any extra money on anything.

The job's duties were pretty simple. You could only dream of such requirements. First, the person had to speak English and swim well. Second, on the island his responsibility included writing a weekly Internet blog. That's right, weekly, not even daily! The job description also required the successful applicant to explore the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, swim, make friends with the locals and generally enjoy the tropical climate and lifestyle. A real dream!

Within the first 2 days of the contest, the tourism office received more than seven thousand online applications. All told, 34,000 people of all different nationalities applied. Each made and presented a 60-second video resume. They had to be creative and they were. In the end 16 people were chosen, who flew to Australia for the final selection. The candidates were interviewed and the winner was Ben Southall from the UK.

Ben greatly enjoyed the dream job he had got. He realised that people knew very little about the Earth and its treasures. Living in big cities, they forgot how important the flora and fauna of this world were. Every time Ben went outdoors, he could discover something new. «Every time I dived or went underwater, I forgot about all the troubles above water and concentrated on living in the moment. It was a good way to clean the mind and build respect for the natural world», Ben said.

Ben's life on the island was not just fun. It was very busy, busier than most people imagined, and certainly busier than Ben himself had imagined. He worked seven days a week and up to 19 hours a day. The Best Job included travelling to over 60 islands of the Reef almost every day. It was not just looking after the Reef, Ben had a lot of meetings, press conferences and interviews. He was getting a lot of attention all the time and he couldn't get away from it. That was probably the hardest part of the job.

Moreover, any adventure has a certain degree of risk. Swimming and diving on the Great Barrier Reef was not different. Ben had to deal with whales, sharks and other huge sea creatures. Surprisingly, the most dangerous thing was a small jellyfish about the size of a little finger. It's considered to be extremely poisonous and Ben was stung by it. He had to spend a couple of days in hospital but luckily recovered after a course of antibiotics.

Ben often says that the project has taught him a few valuable lessons. Working with the Internet is one of those jobs you can do 24 hours a day. Ben realised it was hard to separate life and work, but this he had to do. He also said: «I've learned that we get one life on earth so we have to use it. There'll always be other countries to visit, other people to meet and other adventures to meet. This is what I wish to do. I'm planning to go to Asia in a few years time».

10. The Australian Tourism Office employs a new caretaker twice a year.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

11. There was no Internet on the islands of the Great Barrier Reef.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

12. People from different countries applied for the job.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

13. Ben Southall was a good swimmer.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

14. While working as a caretaker Ben Southall had lots of free time.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

15. To do his job Ben Southall had to communicate with journalists.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

16. Ben Southhall was taken to hospital after a shark attack.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

17. Ben Southall is going to make a film about his work on the islands.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

Задание 9:        A1        B3        C6        D2        E5

10.        1 (TRUE)

11.         2 (FALSE)

12.        1 (TRUE)

13.        3 (NOT STATED)

14.        2 (FALSE)

15.        1 (TRUE)

16.        2 (FALSE)

17.        3 (NOT STATED)