«Reading»
Time: 20 minutes (20 points)
Task 1
Read the passage about Lake Vostok. There are seven words with a letter and an asterisk (*) beside them. This symbol is used in scientific texts to provide explanations for non-scientific readers. Match each explanation below (1–7) with the correct letter A–G from the passage.
*_____An inspection or investigation of an area, often used for making maps.
*_____Causing harmful effect and damaging the purity of something.
*_____A machine that is automatically programmed to perform a number of tasks, often dangerous or boring ones.
*_____A way of using radio signals on a screen to look at things that cannot normally be seen.
*___Very small organisms that live in the air, water, soil, plants and animals.
*_____A settlement in a distant part of a country, used for trading, military or scientific purposes.
*_____A tool or machine used to make holes in something
Lake Vostok lies about 1,500 kilometres east of the South Pole, near Russia’s Vostok station, a scientific outpost* (A) that has experienced the lowest temperatures ever recorded on Earth: minus 89.2̊ C.
What is unique about this lake is that nobody has ever set foot on its shores. Like the oceans of the planet Jupiter’s moon Europa, it is completely covered by ice.
The first person to realise the existence of Lake Vostok was the Russian geographer, Andrei Kapitsa. While flying over this frozen region in 1960, he noticed an unusually flat area and thought there might be a lake under the ice. However, his suggestions were not taken seriously at the time and it was only after a British-led survey* (B) used radar* (C), that it became clear that there was water there.
Lake Vostok’s ice covering is 4 kilometres thick, its water is up to 500 metres deep and it has been completely covered in this way for at least one million years. In 1988 special hot-water drills* (D) were used to get through the ice to within 120 metres of the lake. Work then stopped to avoid pollution* (E). Samples were taken from the ice and found to contain living bacteria* (F) and even some grains.
Scientists now want to send a robot*(G) down to explore and search for signs of life. If life can exist in this lake covered by ice, maybe it can also exist in the icecovered oceans of Jupiter’s moon.
Now choose the best way a–d of completing each sentence 8–10 according to the information in the passage.
8. What makes Lake Vostok different from other lakes is that it is
a) so near the South Pole.
b) on Jupiter’s moon, Europa.
c) being explored by robots.
d) completely covered by ice.
9. Nobody has yet got through to the waters of the lake because
a) the ice is too thick.
b) they are afraid of polluting it.
c) they are worried about disease from the bacteria.
d) you can only see the lake on radar.
10. Lake Vostok could be a very important scientific discovery as it could show
a) how life can survive in extreme conditions.
b) how long Earth has existed.
c) how robots work.
d) how scientists write reports on their discoveries.
Task 2
Read the text and then match the beginnings 11–20 with the endings A–L according to the text. There are two extra endings.
You’re Welcome
Bill Bryson, an American writer who had lived in Britain for ten years, returned to the USA to rediscover his homeland. He borrowed his mother’s old Chevrolet and drove 13,978 miles through 38 states, keeping mainly to side roads and small towns. This is Bryson’s description of a meal in a town called Littleton in New Hampshire.
It was the friendliest little place I had ever seen. I went into the Topic of the Town restaurant. The other customers smiled at me, the lady at the cash register showed me where to put my jacket, and the waitress, a plump little lady, couldn’t do enough for me.
She brought me a menu and I made the mistake of saying thank you. “You’re welcome,” she said. Once you start this there’s no stopping. She came and wiped the table with a damp cloth. “Thank you,” I said. “You’re welcome,” she said. She brought me some cutlery wrapped in a paper napkin. I hesitated but I couldn’t stop myself. “Thank you,” I said. “You’re welcome,” she said.
I ordered the fried chicken special. As I waited I became uncomfortably aware that the people at the next table were watching me and smiling at me in a slightly crazy way. The waitress was watching me too. Every few minutes she came over and asked if everything was all right. Then she filled my glass with iced water and told me my food would only be a minute.
“Thank you,” I said.
“You’re welcome,” she said.
Finally the waitress came out of the kitchen with a tray the size of a table-top and started putting plates of food in front of me – soup, a salad, a plate of chicken, a basket of hot bread rolls. It all looked delicious. Suddenly I realized I was starving.
The waitress wanted to know if she could get me anything else.
“No, this is just fine, thank you.” I answered with my knife and fork ready to attack the food.
“Would you like some ketchup?”
“No, thank you.”
“Would you like some more dressing for your salad?”
“No, thank you.”
“Have you got enough gravy?”
There was enough gravy to drown a horse. “Yes, plenty of gravy, thank you.”
“How about a cup of coffee?”
“Really I’m fine.”
“You’re sure there’s nothing I can do for you?”
“Well, you might just push off and let me eat my dinner,” I wanted to say, but I didn’t of course. I just smiled sweetly and said no thank you.
| 11 | After living abroad for a long time, Bryson wanted to | A | bring him some coffee. |
| 12 | He feels that once you’ve started saying thank you, you | B | looked at him. |
| 13 | He was uncomfortable about the way people | C | like some ketchup. |
| 14 | When the food came he wanted to | D | got enough gravy. |
| 15 | The waitress asked if he would | E | ask for some more. |
| 16 | She wanted to know if he | F | could do for him. |
| 17 | She asked if he had | G | go away. |
| 18 | She wondered if she could | H | have to continue. |
| 19 | Bryson was sure there was nothing the waitress | I | eat, not talk. |
| 20 | He didn’t really tell the waitress to | J | like some more chicken. |
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| K | get to know the USA again. |
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| L | would like some more dressing. |
«Use of English»
Time: 30 minutes (40 points)
Task 1
For questions 1–8, read the text below. 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. There is an example at the beginning (0).
Nothing to Match It!
| There’s nothing to match the (0)__warmth__and cosiness of a genuine log-fire. The luxury and sheer (1)_____ of sitting back and watching the progress of fire and flame is almost (2)_____. | WARM |
| RELAX |
| BELIEVE |
| A log-fire appeals to all the senses. Yes, you can (3)_____ taste and smell the (4)_____ of newly cut timber – and then enjoy the sight and sound of the minor (5)_____ as it burns. | ACTUAL |
| FRESH |
| EXPLODE |
| All of this is very (6)_____, and the thing that makes it more (7)_____ than ever is that one’s feet are up and one’s whole body is being bathed in tropical heat. It’s a (8)_____ experience! | DRAMA |
| ENJOY |
| MARVEL |
Task 2
For questions 9–35, read the text below. Open the brackets and use the right form of the verb. There is an example at the beginning (0).
Isaac Newton (0 – so interest)_was so interested__ in different problems that he became quite absent-minded. One day a gentleman (9 – come) _______________ to see him, but he (10 – tell) _______________ that Isaak Newton was busy in his study and that nobody (11 – allow) _______________ to disturb him.
As it (12 – be) ____________ dinner time, the visitor (13 – sit) ____________down
in the dining room (14 – wait) for the scientist. The servant came in and (15 – place) _______________ on the table a boiled chicken under a cover. An hour (16 – pass) _______________ but Newton (17 – not appear) _______________. The gentleman (18 – feel) _______________ really hungry. After he (19 – eat) _______________ the chicken, he (20 – cover) _______________ up the skeleton. He (21 – ask) _______________ the servant to prepare another one for his master. Before the second chicken (22 – cook) _______________, however, the scientist (23 – enter) _______________ the room and (24 – apologize) _______________ for his delay. Then he added, “As I (25 – feel) _______________ rather tired and hungry, I (26 – hope) _______________ you (27 – excuse) _______________ me a little longer, while I (28 – take) _______________ my dinner, then I (29 – be) _______________ at your service.” With these words he (30 – lift) _______________ the cover, and without emotion (31 – turn) _______________ round to the gentleman and (32 – say) _____________, “See how strange scientists (33 – be) _____________. I quite (34 – forget) that I (35 – dine) _______________ already.”
Task 3
Match two halves of Mark Twain’s quotes from his world-known stories 36–40 and A–F. There is an example for you.
Example: _0_ – B
| 0 | Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: | |
|
| 36 | If you tell the truth, | A | you don’t have to remember anything. |
| 37 | ′Classic′ – a book which people praise | B | this is the ideal life. |
| 38 | A lie can travel half way around the world | C | the man who cannot read. |
| 39 | Never put off till tomorrow | D | what may be done the day after tomorrow just as well. |
| 40 | The man who does not read has no advantage over | E | and don’t read. |
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| F | while the truth is putting on its shoes. |
«Writing»
Time: 30 minutes (15 points)
At your Literature lessons, you’ve learnt a lot about legends and myths of ancient Russia. Imagine you are preparing a school conference project on the topic “Legends of our Motherland Influence our Character Greatly”. Write a few paragraphs to your teacher to give her/him general information about your work.
Remember:
to explain your choice of the topic
to describe your favourite legend
to prove that legends are important in building our character and give an example (from literature or your personal experience) that people get a lesson from legends
to make a conclusion
Write 100 – 140 words.
1 915
32 912 
