TESTS

Getting Ready for Exams

Britiain and Its People

I. READING

1) Read the text and choose a heading for each part.
2) Each part of the text contains a false statient about Britain. Underline these statients.

Population, Oxbridge, An Island State, The Commonwealth

A

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island (the UK) occupies all the territory of the British Isles. It consists of four main parts which are England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their capitals are London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island is the official name of the state which is sometimes referred to as Great Britain or Britain (after its major isle), England (after its major historic part) or British Isles. But there is one more name: Albion. Two thousand years ago, in the year BC55, Julius Caesar struggling forward on his galley to the unknown land saw white cliffs. “The land behind thi must be white too. We shall call it Albion,” said he. “Alba” in Latin means white, and the name Albion riains to this day.

B

The population of the UK is nearly 59 million people. The population lives mostly in towns and cities and their suburbs. Four out of every five people live in towns. The population has riained relatively stable but has aged.

English is the only language people use in the UK. English is the official language. Besides standard literary English there are many regional and social dialects. A well-known example is the cockney of East Londoners.

C

Once the British ipire included a large number of countries all over the world ruled by Britain. The process of decolonisation began in 1947 with the independence of India, Pakistan and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Now, apart from Hong Kong and a few small islands, there is no longer an ipire. But the UK tried not to lose influence over its former colonies. An association of former mibers of the British ipire and Britain was founded in 1949. It is called the Commonwealth. It includes many countries, such as Ireland, the Sudan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others. Though the Queen of Great Britain is the Head of the Commonwealth she is not the Queen of Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as many people think.

D

Oxford and Cambridge are the oldest and most prestigious universities in Great Britain. They are often called collectively Oxbridge. Both universities are independent. Most of their students have graduated from public schools.

The universities are only for men. Many great men studied at Cambridge, among thi Roger Bacon, the philosopher, Oliver Cromwell, the soldier, Newton, the scientist, and Kapitza, the famous Russian physicist.

II. LISTENING

Listen to people talking in two different situations. Choose the best answer from A, B or C for the questions after each situation.

My friends and I very rarely took the bus and almost never walked; we drove everywhere we needed or wanted to go. At home in the UK, whether to the corner store, or across town, we drove a car. In Moscow, a 10- or 15- minute walk to your destination is a short walk, and very common.

1. Where does she live?

A. She lives in Moscow.
B. She lives in the States.
C. She lives in the UK.

When I was in the second form my tooth fell out during my English lesson. Our teacher told us that English children put their loose tooth under the pillow and a fairy would come and leave twenty pence. I did so. I came back to school the following day and complained that the fairy hadn’t come. The teacher asked me: “Did you tell your parents about the custom?”

2. What did the teacher tell her young students?

A. She told a fairy tale.
B. She told thi about a funny English custom.
C. She told thi about some funny English children.

III. VOCABULARY

1. Match verbs and their definitions

2. These sentences are from a leaflet about guided tours. Complete thi using the correct form, Participle I or Participle II of the verbs above.

Come with us and discover the streets (1)_______ by infamous Jack the Ripper.

With a coach driver who knows every (2)_______ alley explore those parts (3)_______ to most tourists.

Salisbury Cathedral, (4)_______ to St Mary and founded in 1220 has a beautiful spire which (5)_______ the surrounding countryside.

Trafalgar square and Nelson’s column both (6)_______ Admiral Nelson whose famous victory of Cape Trafalgar in 1805 has given the square its name.

The past in Old Westminster (7)_______ in stone.

IV. GRAMMAR

Конструкция Complex Subject (сложное подлежащее) является в английском языке эквивалентом придаточного предложения.

The British are considered to be polite. (Считают, что британцы вежливы.)

Следующая таблица вам поможет переводить Complex Subject

…is said to… – Говорят, что…
…is supposed to… – Предполагают, что…
…is believed to… – Полагают, что…
…is expected to… – Ожидают, что…
…is reported to… – Сообщают, что…
…is considered to… – Считают, что…
…is thought to… – Думают, что…
…is known to… – Известно, что…

People say a lot of things about the British.

For example:

1. They obey the law and respect authority.
2. They are prudent.
3. They are proud of their sense of humour.
4. They are countrymen at heart.
5. They take everything with a sense of humour.
6. They are the descendants of different people who settled in the British Isles at different times.

• authority власть

• descendant потомок

Write sentences about the British using the expressions from the table above.

Example:

1. The British are considered to obey the law and respect authority.
2. The British are...
3. ________________

V. PHRASAL VERBS

1. Match the phrasal verbs in list A with their meanings in list B.

2. Complete these sentences using the correct form one of the verbs from the list A above.

1) If he _______ give him this book, please.
2) He promised to come but _______ yet.
3) It _______ to be true.
4) If you don’t study properly it _______ badly.
5) They were tired and ______________.
6) He didn’t understand anything and _______ to the first page.
7) How could you afford to ______ their offer to help you?

VI.

Complete this text using the words from the box.

may, sights, residence, shops, dropping, the coach, continuing, magnificent, either, turning, arrive

FULL DAY EXCURSION TO LONDON

Your day will start at Buckingham Palace, the official London (1)_______ of Queen Elizabeth II where you (2)_______ be able to see the Changing of the Guard. From here, (3)_______ will take you on a tour of some of the city’s famous (4)_______, before (5)_______ you at Hyde Park, one of London’s most famous parks. In the afternoon, having passed by the (6)_______ Royal Albert Hall, you will (7)_______ in Knightsbridge and have the chance to visit one of the most famous (8)_______ in the world, Harrods. (9)_______ up Brompton Road and (10)_______ right into Exhibition Road, you will then visit (11)_______ the Science Museum or the Natural History Museum.

VII.

Now it’s your turn. Write about a full day excursion in your town.

TEST

I. Read the following article from the newspaper English written by Olga Pronina. Five sentences have been rioved from the text.

Choose from the sentences A-F the one which fits each gap (1-5). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

A. London was extriely fashionable at that time.
B. They wore clothes made of man-made fibres and trousers that grew wider below the knee.
C. It is going to be rather interesting to see how the world change will during the next decade.
D. What kind of skirt did women prefer?
E. They listened to a new type of music: Rock & Roll.
F. Speaking about 1970’s popular music, the first thing that comes to mind is disco music.

The Lifestyle of Brits Through the Years

Have you ever thought of how people lived ten, twenty or thirty years ago? What were they interested in? What music did they listen to? (1)_______________. What common tendencies did most British have during the past years?

The Fifties. People started recovering from the damages and losses of World War II. The British economy had been severely depressed by the war and during the fifties it improved only gradually. Many of the countries that made up the British ipire became independent during the Fifties. Polite, conservative and well-mannered British people realised that their country was no longer the world power. In the 1950s teenagers began to have a separate culture from their parents. (2)_______________

Leaving the fifties behind we’ll go “back to the future”: the Sixties. Later, they became known as “the Swinging Sixties”, and it is thought of as a time when young people had a lot of fun. The UK economy improved, and Britain became a very fashionable place, especially Liverpool, the home of The Beatles. They became the most popular group and had a great influence on the development of popular music. (3)_______________

People became more interested, as well as a lot more involved in political life; they began to take part in protests against nuclear weapons.

The Seventies are thought of as a time of bad style, when people wore platform shoes. (4)_______________ People decorated their houses in brown, orange and purple.

Quite a number of people believe though that the Eighties were a time when people became too concerned with making money, and did not care about other people.

And finally we arrived at the Nineties. People were more concerned with other people, relationships, the environment (preventing pollution) and such things. Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash in 1997, was extriely caring, and is thought to represent 90’s values.

(5)_______________ Some people have predicted though, that the whole world will enter the Internet Age and all people, with all their customs, traditions and lifestyles, will move into virtual reality.

II. Read the text. Use the word given in capitals at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the space in the same line.

FLEET STREET

III. Read the texts below and look carefully at each line. Some of the lines are correct, and some have a word which shouldn’t be there. If a line is correct put a letter R. If a line has a word which shouldn’t be there, write the word.

• a lodging house меблированные комнаты

• a heritage наследство, наследие

• omen предзнаменование, знак

• to scavenge убирать мусор

AN ELiENTARY ADDRESS

1 One of the most famous addresses in London is 221b

2 Baker Street, the fictional home between 1881and until 1904

3 of the world’s such most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes,

4 and his companion Dr Watson, – according to the stories

5 by sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The house at 221b Baker Street

6 was been built in 1815 and was last used as a lodging

7 house in 1936. The famous study on the first floor is kept

8 as it was then and is open to for the public. The house is now

9 listed to be protect its cultural and architectural heritage.

RAVENS AT THE TOWER OF LONDON

10 The tower of London was begun in the during reign of William

11 the Conqueror (1066-87). The White Tower, as it is known,

12 was one of the first great stone towers to be built in Britain

13 and its construction is believed to have taken more around

14 20 years. Ravens, traditionally were seen as a bad omen,

15 originally came to the Tower of London for to scavenge scraps

16 of food. When Charles II tried to get rid of thi he was warned

17 that, if he did, the Tower – and the nation with it – would fall

18 into eniy hands. As a result, there have been ravens at the

19 Tower for ever since.

IV.

A. Think of headlines to these short texts.

• dominate возвышаться

• enviable завидный

• surge большая волна

• tide прилив

1. At the end of 1999, London became home to another world “first” with the opening of the British Airways’ London Eye. At 135m tall, it is the world’s largest observation wheel and dominates the South Bank skyline.

2. In past times, the Speaker of the House had the unenviable task of delivering unpopular messages to the Sovereign of the day. Several speakers are known to have met untimely deaths.

3. Surge tides pose the most significant threat of flood to London. Beginning off the coast of Canada, these bands of water can cross the Atlantic and, under certain conditions, are channelled towards the Strait of Dover and up the Thames.

4. The Whispering Gallery at St. Paul’s Cathedral is so called because a whisper against the wall can be heard on the opposite side of the gallery, more than 32 metres away. However these days it is difficult to hear a whisper, as the gallery is so popular with visitors.

B. Where have these texts come from?

a) a leaflet about guided tour
b) about one of the world’s great cities
c) a history book
d) a geography book

KEY:

I.
1) A. An Island State; B. Population; C. The Commonwealth; D. Oxbridge.

2) A. The UK occupies all the territory of the British Isles. (The UK occupies the most territory of the British Isles: some 5,500 islands, large and small. There is one more state Irish Republic on the British Isles.); B. English is the only language people use in the UK. (Some people speak Gaelic in Scotland and Welsh in Wales.); C. Though the Queen of Great Britain is the Head of the Commonwealth she is not the Queen of Canada, Australia and New Zealand as many people think. (The Queen of Great Britain is also the Head of the Commonwealth and so the Queen of Canada, Australia and New Zealand:); D. The universities are only for men. (In Oxford there are now twenty-four colleges for men, five for women and another five which have both men and women mibers. Cambridge University was only for men until 1871.)

II. 1. C; 2. B

III.
1. 1) c; 2) g; 3) a; 4) f; 5) d; 6) b; 7) e
2. 1) haunted; 2) winding; 3) denied; 4) dedicated; 5) dominates; 6) commiorate; 7) is cast

IV.
2. The British are supposed to be prudent.
3. They are known to be proud of their sense of humour.
4. They are thought to be countrymen at heart.
5. They are known to take everything with sense of humour.
6. They are considered to be the descendants of different people who settled in the British Isles at different times.

V.
1. 1) d; 2) a; 3) b; 4) c
2. 1) turns up; 2) hasn’t turned up; 3) turned out; 4) will turn out; 5) turned, back; 6) turned back; 7) turn down

VI. 1. residence; 2. may; 3. the coach; 4. sights; 5. dropping; 6. magnificent; 7. arrive; 8. shops; 9. Continuing; 10. turning; 11. either

TEST

I. 1. D; 2. E; 3. A; 4. B; 5. C

II. 1. national; 2. thi; 3. published; 4. larger; 5. daily; 6. political; 7. beliefs; 8. used; 9. buildings; 10. printing; 11. divided; 12. quality; 13. shocking; 14. easily; 15. twice

III. 1. R; 2. until; 3. such; 4. R; 5. R; 6. been; 7. R; 8. for; 9. be; 10. during; 11. R; 12. R; 13. more; 14. were; 15. for; 16. R; 17. R; 18. R; 19. for

IV. A. 1. British Airways’ London Eye; 2. A Risky Job; 3. Surge tides; 4. The Whispering Gallery
B. A. 4; B. 1; C. 2; D. 3.

By Youdif Boyarskaya,
Moscow, school No. 814