Олимпиада по английскому языку 7-8 классы
олимпиадные задания на тему

Writing

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You have received a letter from your English pen-friend Mike who writes:

Dear N…..

I am going to spend my holidays in Russia! Travelling is so exciting, you know! But I have not decided which cities to visit. What are the most beautiful cities of Russia, which are really worth visiting? And, of course, I am anxious to see you. What kind of place is your city/town? What is it famous for?  

Write back soon.

Best wishes,

Mike

Write a letter to Mike. Answer his questions.

You should write 100-140 words.

Remember the rules of letter-writing.

Time: 20 minutes

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YOU CAN USE THE OPPOSITE SIDE        

Listening Comprehension

Eye on the world

1. You are going to listen to people talking about the way they spend their free time. Write each free-time activity you hear in the correct space in the table.

2. Mark the statements  with T  (true)  or F (false )

The conversation takes place in a TV-studio.

The name of the TV program is "Eye on the World"

People in Japan are not very hard-working.

Eating out is the most popular free time activity in Japan.

Japanese people can't sing very well.

Many people in Japan listen to rock music.

Visiting museums is as popular as trips to zoos.

Japanese people enjoy going to bars.

Many people in Japan have gardens.

The Japanese like money.

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Listening   Comprehension

READING COMPREHENSION

Use of English

Use of English

Task 1. 

For Questions 1-14, read the text below and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits each space.

The Fox and the Goat

One hot summer day a fox was very thirsty. He was _____1_____ some water to drink. At last he ran up to ____2_____ old well. The water was out of his reach. When he was trying to get the water he ____3_____ into the well. The water was not deep and he began to drink _____4_____ once. When he had drunk enough, he tried to get _____5____. But the sides of the well were high, and he ____6______ not ____7_____ the top.

        After the fox ____8_____ there for a long time he heard a noise. That was a goat ____9____ came to the well. The goat saw the fox and asked, “What ___10___ down there?” “Oh, I ___11___ the water. It’s ___12____ fresh. Come down here.” The goat was _____13____ to listen to the fox, and jumped down. After the goat had got into the well, the fox climbed ____14____ the goat’s back and got out of the well. Then he turned round and went away.

A) looking after

B) looking for

C) looking at

D) looking into

A) a

B) an

C) the

D) any

A) fell

B) had fallen

C) falled

D) was falling

A) by

B) at

C) to

D) on

A) from

B) out of

C) off

D) out

A) might

B) could

C) should

D) ought

A) get

B) approach to

C) reach

D) come up

A) was being

B) has been

C) is

D) had been

A) who

B) whose

C) when

D) how

A) you are doing

B) do you do

C) did you do

D) are you doing

A) drink

B) drank

C) am drinking

D) am drunk

A) so

B) enough

C) such

D) much

A) silly enough

B) enough silly

C) silly very much

D) so silly

A) on

B) to

C) up

D) down

Task 2

For questions 15 – 24, read the text below. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that fits in the space provided.

        Kim had always been the 15) ………. (bright) student in her class and had never worried before her exams.

        But the week before the finals she felt 16) ………………….. (nerve) and 17) ………………… (easy).

        18) …………………… (unfortunate) for her, the first exam she was taking was Physics – the subject she didn’t feel very good at. Some 19) ……………. (study) in her class thought that it was a very 20) …………………. (importance) subject but she didn’t see any 21) …………………….. (practice) use in it.

        Since her 22) ……………… (child), reading was Kim’s hobby. Kim preferred literature to other subjects and wanted to become a 23) ………………. (write) or a journalist, not a 24) ………………. (science). And journalists don’t need Physics, do they?

Task 3

For questions 25 – 30, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use only one word in each space.

“Hands off my Lunch!” says young inventor

        The 12-year-old school boy 25) _________ New Zealand invented a special lunchbox alarm to catch the thieves red handed!

        Nic put a small siren and a radio transmitter into his drink carton 26) ______________ placed the carton inside his lunchbox. 27) ____________ anyone opens the lunchbox, the siren goes off and gives the thief a nasty shock. Nic also carries a small radio 28) __________ him, so he can hear the alarm wherever he is!

        Nic 29) _________ awarded a prize in the “Bright Sparks” competition for inventors last year. He has been on TV and radio shows in his home country as well as 30) _________ Britain and the US.

TRANSFER ALL YOUR ANSWERS TO YOUR ANSWER SHEET

ID NUMBER

Use of English Answer Sheet

Reading Comprehension

Time: 45 minutes

Part 1

Here you see the jumbled parts of the Irish legend of Finn MacCool.  Put the parts in order so that you can tell this legend to your friends after the competition.  Use the table bellow for your convenience.

The other was an Irish Giant named Finn MacCool, who at 16 metres tall was rather small for a giant but he was very strong and very clever and he was not afraid of anyone. (a)

But the Scottish giant was too fast for MacCool and the earth fell into the sea where you can see it to this very day because it became the Isle of Man. And as for the huge hole in the earth left behind, that became Lough Neagh, the largest lake in Ireland. (b)

One day Finn MacCool, tired of this constant arguing, decided to build a path of stone across the sea from Ireland to Staffa. (c)

Once upon a time there were two giants. One was a Scotsman and his name was Benandonner and he lived in the legendary Fingal’s cave on the Isle of Staffa off the coast of Scotland. (d)

MacCool worked long and hard until he was so exhausted that he lay down on one of the giant stones on causeway and fell asleep. (e)

When night fell, MacCool’s giant wife, Oonagh, went to look for her husband. No sooner had she found him fast asleep on the causeway than she heard the sound of giant’s footsteps. (f)

Now Benandonner was a really huge giant, much bigger than Finn. Realising that her husband would be no match for the huge Scot, Oonagh covered the sleeping MacCool with a coat.(g)

“Where is Finn MacCool?” shouted Benandonner. “Be quiet,” said Oonagh to the Scotsman, pointing at her sleeping husband, ”or you will wake the baby.”(h)

For a long time the two giants stand everyday and shout across the sea to each other. They would take turns challenging the other to a fight. (i)

She looked up and saw Benandonner coming across the causeway from Scotland in search of his enemy.(j)

Seeing this enormous baby, Benandonner had second thoughts. If the baby was this big, how big must the father be? He turned round and ran back to Scotland as fast as his legs would carry him. (k)

All of a sudden Finn MacCool woke up and saw what was happening. He scooped up a great handful of dirt, leaving a huge hole in the earth, and threw it at Benandonner. (l)

And as for the rocky path that MacCool built, well as Benandonner ran, he broke the stones and that became the Giant’s Causeway in County Ramagh. And as for Benandonner, well, although he had only one shoe on he ran all the way back to his home in Fingal’s Cave on the Isle of Staffa. And to this very day, when you walk along the Giant’s Causeway you can see, if you look long enough, a rock that look just like a giant shoe. (m)

As he ran his shoe came off but he was too scared to stop and pick it up so he just went on running. (n)

Part 2

Read the article about sheep and fill the gaps with the sentences from the box following the text. There are two extra sentences that you do not need to use.

Sheep are found all over the world. Most of them are domesticated, but some of them live in the wild. ______________________(15). Domesticated sheep may live on small farms or on large ranges. They like to graze and eat grass, but farmers may also give them hay and grain to eat. It is very important that they have lots of water to drink and shelter in very hot or very cold weather.

For starters,you may be interested to know that sheep are born with long tails.________________(16). In some parts of the world, tails are left undocked. The short tails are less likely to become soiled with manure and are therefore, less likely to promote local infections and fly strike.

__________________(17). The hooves grow like fingernails and need to be trimmed every few months to maintain normal conformation.

Sheep are ruminants. This means that they have four parts to their upper digestive tract (people only have one: the stomach) and they chew their cud. _________________(18). Yuck!

Chewing cud is important, however, because it allows them to digest grass and hay. Do you know what other kinds of animals are ruminants? Answer: Cows, goats, deer, buffalo and even reindeer.

There are many different breeds of sheep. They are classified by what kind of wool they produce. Merino and Rambouillet have fine wool. Some sheep have coarse or long wool like Cotswold, Romney, and the Barbado. But most breeds of sheep fall under the category of medium wool. Examples of sheep in this category include Columbia, Suffolk, Hampshire, Dorset, Southdown, Cheviot and Finn.

When sheep receive a haircut, it is called shearing.  The wool that is cut off is washed to get dirt, insects, and straw that may have stuck to the sheep's fur out. ___________________(19). The wool is combed and spun into yarn. The wool from sheep is often used to make sweaters, hats, socks, scarves and other types of clothing. Sheep's wool may also be stuffed inside quilts and comforters.

____________________(20). Did you know that sheep can be milked just like cows? Sheep's milk is often used to make gourmet cheeses. Mutton, or the meat of sheep, is another food product for which the animals may be raised.

One thing that you may not know is that the fat from sheep also known as tallow, can be used to make both candles and soap. The tallow is cooked to purify it, and then molded into candles or further prepared into blocks of soap.

Female sheep are called ewes, male sheep are called rams, and baby sheep are called lambs. Lambs typically weigh about nine pounds when they are born. Did you know that sheep can have twins or even triplets? A lamb drinks its mother's milk for about 4 months and then it eats grass, hay and grain.

A sheep usually lives to be about eight years old but can sometimes live to be as old as twenty.

Finally, sheep make wonderful pets to many people all over the world. While they may require different care and housing than dogs and cats, they still need love and attention.

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Participant’s ID number

READING COMPREHENSION

ANSWER SHEET