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. Languages spoken in Britain
2. The origin of English
3. Modern language tendencies
4. Regional varieties of English
5. English in Australia
6. Global English

1. English is basically a Germanic language with a lot of Latin words in it. In simple terms, that means that the grammar and many of the most frequent words are Germanic, and the more formal or technical vocabulary is Latinate. The linguistic mixture is a result of historical events. But the simple historical facts appear not to explain everything about the development of the language. One interesting question is why the British did not learn Latin from the Romans.
2. It came as a surprise to many people when a survey showed that 172 languages were spoken by children in London schools: Chinese, Turkish, Italian, Spanish, Punjabi and others. Some of these, like the West African language Ga, only have a couple of speakers. But others, like Punjabi, are quite significant linguistic community, with their own radio programmes and newspapers, and classes for children – to ensure that they don’t forget the language of their grandparents.
3. A nasty shock awaits many visitors to Britain. Imagine you have learnt English for years, you can read newspapers and you have no problem following the television, but when you go into a shop in Newcastle you can’t understand a word they are saying. It is the accent, mostly the vowels, which gives the visitor a problem in the shop. Some accents are so strong that they present problems for British people, too. Intonation patterns also differ between regions.
4. Billions of people speak English, two-thirds of the planet’s scientists write in English, and over 80% of the world’s electronic information is stored in English. But not all the British are really self-satisfied about the status of their language. But they are quite well aware that today it is out of their hands: the reasons for the popularity of English are either lost in history, or something to do with the superpower on the other side of the Atlantic.
5. Let’s look at the speech of young people in Britain. Here we can find several interesting developments. One is a spread of a light London accent over much of the country. Another is an openness, through the media, to American and Australian influences. The Australian effect is quite recent, and the results from the huge popularity of Australian TV soap operas. It is the phrases, idioms and grammatical forms which are catching.

Tasks 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).

Shakira

Shakira Ripoll was born on February 2, 1977, in Colombia. She was the only daughter of a well-respected jeweller and his wife. In naming the newborn daughter, her mother chose from several names, containing the letter K. She thought about Karime and Katiuska but finally chose Shakira. It’s an Arabic name which comes from the word Shukram meaning Grace. So Shakira’s full name is translated as a woman of Grace.

When Shakira was a child, her mother discovered that the girl had a gift for learning. Shakira knew the alphabet by the age of eighteen months and at three she knew how to read. By the time she was four, she was ready for school. School was not just a place where little Shakira learnt her arithmetic and geography. There she began to understand such great things as kindness, love, trust, and other human ideals. She realized what real friendship was and how much her family meant to her. Later it helped her to decide what to do with the big money she earned.

Shakira loved attention and wished to find a way to get it. She sang a lot for her schoolmates and teachers. However, the music teacher told her that she sounded like a goat. Shakira wasn’t too upset about it and soon found a more original way to become the centre of attention. It was dancing. It helped her to express herself and become famous in school. What is interesting is that no one had ever taught her to dance.

In school Shakira was disciplined, but absent-minded. She was usually writing lyrics for her songs on the back of her notebooks. However, Shakira was a good student because she was a quick learner and could understand her teachers’ explanations faster than others.

As soon as the bell rang after class, Shakira was the first one to run and get in line for the cafeteria. She usually bought a Pepsi, a hamburger and something sweet, like a muffin or a piece of cake. She seldom took a packed lunch from home. Though Shakira was a lover of fast food, she had no weight problems, as she loved dancing.

When she was eight, Shakira's father lost all his money because his business went bankrupt. For a while Shakira had to stay with her relatives in Los Angeles. When the girl returned, she was shocked to see almost everything that her family had had been sold. She later said: «In my childish head, this was the end of the world. »

To show her that things could be worse, her father took her to a local park to see the homeless children. What she saw shocked her deeply and she said to herself: «One day I’m going to help these poor kids when I become a famous singer or dancer».

Between the ages of ten and thirteen Shakira was invited to various dance events and became very popular in the area. It was at this time that Shakira met a local theatre producer, who was impressed with her performance and as a result tried to help her career. This woman organized a meeting with the managers of the Sony company. After Shakira sang, they decided to sign a contract for three albums with the talented girl.

10. Shakira’s name was chosen by her father.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

11. Shakira went to one of the most well-known schools in Columbia.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

12. At school Shakira was more successful in dancing than in singing.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

13. Shakira published her first lyrics in a youth magazine.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

14. At school Shakira was careful to eat only healthy food.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

15. Shakira was upset when she learnt about the family’s financial problems.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

16. When Shakira became a famous singer, she set up a charity fund to help homeless children.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

17. The meeting with Sony managers went successfully.

        1) TRUE                        2) FALSE                        3) NOT STATED

Задание 9:        A2        B1        C4        D6        E3

10.        2 (FALSE)

11.         3 (NOT STATED)

12.        1 (TRUE)

13.        3 (NOT STATED)

14.        2 (FALSE)

15.        1 (TRUE)

16.        3 (NOT STATED)

17.        1 (TRUE)