Олимпиада по английскому языку для учащихся 9-11кл (школьный этап)
олимпиадные задания по английскому языку (9, 10, 11 класс)

Олимпиада по английскому языку

Первый(школьный) этап

г.Советский 2015-2016 уч.год

LISTENING

You will hear  five different people talking about their use of modern communications technology. For Questions 1 –5 choose from the list (A-F) the opinion each person expresses. Use the letters only once. There is one extra letter which you do not need to use. You will hear the recording twice.

Losing Weight

You will hear  an interview with a teenager called Alice. For Questions a –i, FILL IN THE GAPS IN THE FORM OR TICK THE CORRECT OPTION. You will hear the recording twice.

TRANSFER ALL YOUR ANSWERS TO YOUR ANSWER SHEET

READING

Task 1. In each of the following paragraphs, there is one sentence which must be omitted because it destroys paragraph unity in one way or another. So for questions 1-5 mark the sentence which must be omitted to make the paragraph unified and coherent.

1        A. Growing numbers of critics are demanding that research in nuclear power come to a halt.

        B. The critics maintain that nuclear power plants have not developed sufficient safeguards against mechanical failures.

        C. Those opposed to continued research insist that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), which was formed to supervise research in nuclear power, is actually biased in favour of the production of nuclear power.

        D. NRC safety requirements are quite stringent.

        E. Those opposed to the use of nuclear power maintain that research will cost billions.

2        A. English is now almost an international language.

        B. It is spoken by pilots and airport control operators on all the airways of the world.

        C. However, it takes years to master this international language.

        D. More than 70 per cent of the world’s mail is written in English, and in international business English is used more than any other language.

        E. Moreover, all the major international conferences are conducted in English.

3        A.  Substances that exist in one state of matter will under certain conditions change into another state.

        B.  Substances are found in three states.

        C. Thus, ice can be melted and water can be frozen.

        D. Dry ice changes to a gas when it is heated.

        E. Rubbing alcohol and nail polish also change to a gas and evaporate from open bottles.

4        A. For most people, the distinction between vegetables and fruits is fairly clear.

        B. Scientists, however, have varied opinions in this regard.

        C. For example, horticulturists categorize a watermelon as a vegetable despite its general acceptance as a fruit.

        D. These differences stem from the ways fruits and vegetables are classified.

        E. Botanists identify a tomato as a fruit even though it is commonly used as a vegetable.

5        A. Plant breeders’ main aims are the same throughout the world.

        B. Apart from evolving varieties with higher yield potentials, the usual main objectives are greater cultural reliability, greater resistance to diseases and pests, adaptation to the special requirements of different types of cultural practices, and improvement of quality, both nutritional and industrial.

        C. Most of the scientific methods developed are equally applicable everywhere.

        D. In fact, plant breeding work is already in progress in most developing countries, and has been begun in some instances by local workers on their own initiative, or with the assistance of international bodies such as FAO.

        E. The destruction of tropical forests should be stopped; otherwise many species of plants will be lost forever.

Task 2. For questions 6-10 choose the alternative which most logically completes the given sentence.

6 Jake’s parents had promised to buy him a camera if his grades were good. Yet, ________ .

A his grades were good, so they bought him a new camera.

B his grades were good. Consequently, they are going to buy him a new camera.

C his grades were not good. Consequently, they are not going to buy him a new camera.

D his grades were poor. He is confident that they are still going to buy him a new camera.

7 While conceding the importance of freedom of speech, _______________ .

A freedom of expression is crucial.

B thus, many people attach great importance to it.

C I believe it must be exercised with sensitivity and responsibility.

D I think it is the essence of democracy.

8 Despite the shortage of steel, _________________ .

A a sharp fall has been observed in industrial output.

B no increase can be made in industrial output without adequate supplies of steel.

C industry has been adversely affected.

D industrial output has increased by 5 per cent.

9 The student failed to get any of the jobs that he wanted. There were several reasons for his lack of success. First, he had little experience in the type of work which he wanted to do. ___________ .

A Also, he was able to give some evidence of an ability to learn quickly.

B Moreover, his qualifications were satisfactory.

C In addition, he lacked the necessary training.

D Besides, his university grades were all excellent.

10 For anthropologists, culture refers to the various aspects of life, that is ______________ .

A it refers to the quality we acquire by attending a sufficient number of plays and reading several books.

B every society has its own culture, no matter how simple.

C it includes the behaviour, beliefs and attitudes of a society or population.

D we share our customary behaviour and attitude with other people in the society.

For Questions 11-19, choose the answer (A, B, C or D )which  you think fits best according to the text.

Write the appropriate letters A-D in boxes 11—19 on your answer sheet.

As viewed from space, the Earth's distinguishing characteristics are its blue waters and white clouds. Enveloped by an ocean of air consisting of 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen, the planet is the only one in our solar system known to harbor life. Circling the Sun at an average distance of 149 million km (93 million miles), the Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the fifth largest planet in the solar system.

Its rapid spin and molten nickel-iron core give rise to an extensive magnetic field which, coupled with the atmosphere, shields us from nearly all of the harmful radiation coming from the Sun and other stars. Most meteors burn up in the Earth's atmosphere before they can strike the surface. The planet's active geological processes have left no evidence of the ancient pelting it almost certainly received soon after it was formed.

The Earth has a single natural satellite—the Moon.

11Approximately how much of the Earth's atmosphere is nitrogen?

A   One-fourth

B   One-half

C   Three-fourths

D   All of it

12.    Which of the following helps to create the Earth's magnetic fields?

A   Its blue waters

B   Its nitrogen atmosphere

C   Its molten metal core

D   The Moon

13.    What two factors help protect the Earth from radiation?

A   Magnetic field and atmosphere

B   Rapid spin and molten iron-nickel core

C The Sun and the Moon

D   Blue waters and white clouds

14.    In line 2, "consisting" most nearly means

A   hardening.

B   containing.

C withholding.

D   shortening

15.    Why  does the Earth show almost no signs of having been hit by numerous meteors in the past?

A   Humans  have built over most of the craters.

B   Most meteors fell into the ocean and not on land.

C the Earth's magnetic field repelled most meteors.

D   the Earth's natural geologic activity has eliminated most traces.

16.    The main idea of this passage is that

A      there are life-supporting characteristics on the Earth.

B   the Earth is predominantly water.

C the Earth has no common characteristics with other planets.

D   the Earth is the only planet with a moon.

17.    The  word "distinguishing" as it is used in this text means

A   elevating in nature.

B   devastating in nature.

C characteristics like all other planets.

D   characteristics that set it apart from other planets.

18.    As used in this text, the word "harbor" is synonymous with

A   support

B   surround

C   water

D   include

19.   This text leads one to believe that

A   the Earth never gets hit by meteors.

B   the Earth always gets hit by meteors.

C the Earth was hit by meteors in some past time period.

D   the Earth may be bombarded by meteors in the near future.

TRANSFER ALL YOUR ANSWERS TO YOUR ANSWER SHEET

Use of English

Time: 30

minutes

Task 1

For questions 1-7, read the text below and choose A, B or C to fill in the gaps.

How to stay famous by using the press

• Read all the tabloids and the (1) ____ magazines? Can you find something about you that isn’t quite true? If you can, (2)____ a press conference and tell people how hurt you are by what has been written about you. And then announce your intention to (3)_____ for libel.
• It’s almost always good to hit the headlines, but you don’t want to make the (4)___ page too often. The public will become bored if you receive too much (5)_______.
• Make a large and ‘anonymous’ charitable donation. And then make sure the tabloids run a story about you being the ‘anonymous’ donor. (6)____ a press release immediately, saying that you wish no one knew about it. After all, you say, never seek (7)____.

1        A. sparkly                        B. shiny                C. glossy

2        A. grab                        B. hold                 C. take

3        A. charge                        B. arrest                C. sue

4        A. face                                           B. front                 C. first

5        A. treatment                                  B. coverage                    C. reporting

6        A Issue                           B Provide                C Give out

7        A fame                           B familiarity                   C publicity        

Task 2

For questions 8-12 complete the sentences below using the CORRECT GRAMMAR FORM of the phrasal verbs in the box. There are three odd phrasal verbs which you do not need to use.  There is an example (0) done for you.

1. Ronaldo was sent off during yesterday’s football match.

8. If you ___________ my glasses, please let me know as I can’t see anything without them!
9. Train fares ______________ twice already this year. It’s really outrageous.
10. Please _____________ what you just said and apologize to Jack.
11. Don’t believe anything Alison says. She’s always _______________ stories.
12. The doctors managed to _______________ David ______________ after the accident, but he had to stay in hospital for a while to recover from the consequences.

Task 3

For questions 13-22 solve the clues and complete the puzzle. Sentence (0) has been done for you as an example.

1. Erupting volcano has discharged massive quantities of dust, steam and gases into the atmosphere. 

13. The ozone ____________ prevents harmful ultraviolet light from the sun from reaching the Earth.
14. If you wear a fur coat in public you risk coming under attack from ___________ right activists.
15. Rain which contains large amounts of harmful chemicals as a result of burning substances such as coal and oil is known as ___________ rain.
16. A long period when there is little or no rain is called ___________ .
17. ___________ is a large amount of water covering an area that is usually dry.
18. An increase in the amount of waste gases in the atmosphere which is believed to be the cause of a gradual warming of the surface of the Earth is called the _____________ effect.
19. The general weather conditions usually found in a particular place is called ___________.
20. The scientific study of the relationships between the air, land, water, animals and plants is known as ___________.
21. If you don’t do more to protect pandas or any other endangered species they’ll soon be ____________ .
22. Damage caused to water, air, soil and biosphere by harmful substances or waste is called ___________.

TRANSFER ALL YOUR ANSWERS TO YOUR ANSWER SHEET

Writing

                                Time: 45 min.

               Participant's ID number

                                                Time: 45 min

   Alison closed the door of the small flat. It had been another exhausting day at the travel agency where she worked, and she was looking forward to being alone. There was an interesting programme she wanted to watch on TV later in the evening. She had just started preparing her dinner when there was a knock at her door.                                    . ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

                         YOU CAN USE THE OPPOSITE SIDE

Speaking. (total score – 20 points)

Give a 2-2.5 minute talk on travel Task 1 (3-3.5 minutes) Give a 2-2.5 minute talk on travelling. Remember to say:

• what makes people go travelling
• what the most popular places people go to are
• what good and bad experiences of travelling you have had

Give a 2-minute talk on learning English.

Remember to discuss:

• whether it is easy or difficult to learn English, why?
• Which is most important – grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, why?
• What you prefer doing – listening, speaking, writing, reading, why?
• What you could do to improve your English?

SECTION 1. LISTENING

ANSWER SHEET

Reading

ANSWER SHEET

Use of English

ANSWER SHEET

ID NUMBER

        SECTION 1. LISTENING           KEYS

READING

KEYS

Use of English

KEYS

LISTENING TAPESCRIPT

1

Can you believe that I didn’t even have an email address before I started my latest job a few months ago? I suppose I’m suspicious of technology in general – and I’ve never owned a computer. Now that I’ve got email at work, I’m just starting to get a few personal emails from friends that I’ve given my address to. I really don’t like it when I get a message that’s been copied to lots of other friends – it seems as  if they’re saying ‘this is important information, but I can’t be bothered to contact you all personally’. It’s like sending a photocopied letter to lots of different friends at the same time – who would ever do that? Sure, it would be easier – but so impersonal.

2

Sending text messages can be really addictive – especially if, like me, you always want to have the last word. Now that we use text, my friends and I hardly ever send emails to each other. What’s the point? They just sit there, waiting for you to access your email account. Text messages are instant, and you can receive them anywhere. They aren’t too expensive either – mind you, if you send enough messages, the bill really starts to add up. I reckon I spent about £on my mobile last month, and only about £0f that was on voice calls. The rest went on text messages.

3

I know it isn’t fashionable these days, but I really like sending letters. Emails are great for work, or for keeping in touch with people, but they don’t have the same personal feel as letters. Which would you rather receive: a love letter or a love email? If you get a letter, you know that somebody has taken the trouble to write it by hand, address the envelope, buy a stamp and then post it. You can type a quick email in a few seconds and click ’send’ without any effort at all. These days, most people never write anything linger than a postcard – and you’re lucky if you get one of those rather than just a text message saying ‘I’m on holiday’.

4

I like to visit chat rooms whenever I’m on the Internet. It’s a great way to find people who have similar tastes in music and who want to swap tracks. I tend to come across the same people quite often, and I suppose I think of them as my friends now, even though we’ve never actually met face to face. And in some ways, I’m more open and honest in a chat room than I am when, for example, I send an email. I reckon it’s easier to really be yourself when you don’t know the other person, and you don’t have to  worry about what they’ll think of you. So whatever I’m worried about, I share it with other people in that chat room. It’s reassuring.

5

I used to send a lot of text messages, but recently, I’ve completely switched to instant messaging. My friends and I have all got the same software on our mobiles, and it lets us swap messages with each other instantly, and not just two people at once$ three or four of us can all take part in the same conversation. Whenever I have to use text messages now – if I want to get in touch with somebody who hasn’t got the instant messaging software – it seems so slow! I don’t know how we used to put up with it! Maybe something even faster than instant messaging will come along soon, and then the software we’ve got now will seem really old-fashioned.

Losing Weight