Тест для чтения 7-8 класс.

He climbed up on to a stool by the window and looked out. There was a large, interesting garden below, with a small pond and several trees which looked good for climbing. Beyond the trees he could see some more houses stretching away into the distance. He decided it must be wonderful living in a house like this all the time. He stayed where he was, thinking about it, until the window became steamed up and he couldn’t see out any more. Then he tried writing his name on the cloudy part with his paws. He began to wish it wasn’t quite so long, as he soon ran out of cloud and it was rather difficult to spell.

“All the same” – he climbed on to the dressing-table and looked at himself in the mirror – “it’s a very important name. And I don’t expect there are many bears in the world called Paddington!”

If he’d only known, Judy was saying exactly the same thing to Mr Brown at that very moment. The Browns were holding a council of war in the dining-room, and Mr Brown was fighting a losing battle. It had been Judy’s idea in the first place to keep Paddington. In this she not only had Jonathan on her side but also her mother. Jonathan had yet to meet Paddington but the idea of having a bear in the family appealed to him. It sounded very important.

“After all, Henry,” argued Mrs Brown, “you can’t turn him out now. It wouldn’t be right.”

Mr Brown sighed. He knew when he was beaten. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the idea of keeping Paddington. Secretly he was just as keen as anyone. But as head of the Brown household he felt he ought to consider the matter from every angle.

“I’m sure we ought to report the matter to someone first,” he said.

“I don’t see why, Dad,” cried Jonathan. “Besides, he might get arrested for having come illegally from another country if we do that.”

Mrs Brown put down her knitting. “Jonathan’s right, Henry. We can’t let that happen. It’s not as if he’s done anything wrong. I’m sure he didn’t harm anyone travelling in a lifeboat like that.”

“Then there’s the question of pocket money,” said Mr Brown, weakening. “I’m not sure how much pocket money to give a bear.”

“He can have a pound a week, the same as the other children,” replied Mrs Brown.

Mr Brown lit his pipe carefully before replying.

“Well,” he said, “we’ll have to see what Mrs Bird has to say about it first, of course.” There was a triumphant chorus from the rest of the family.

“You’d better ask her then,” said Mrs Brown, when the noise had died down. “It was your idea.”

Mr Brown coughed. He was a little bit afraid of Mrs Bird and he wasn’t at all sure how she would take it. He was about to suggest they left it for a little while when the door opened and Mrs Bird herself came in with the tea things. She paused for a moment and looked round at the sea of expectant faces.

“I suppose,” she said, “you want to tell me you’ve decided to keep that young Paddington.”

“May we, Mrs Bird?” pleaded Judy. “Please! I’m sure he’ll be very good.”

“Humph!” Mrs Bird put the tray down on the table. “That remains to be seen. Different people have different ideas about being good. All the same,” she hesitated at the door, “he looks the sort of bear that means well.”

“Then you don’t mind, Mrs Bird?” Mr Brown asked her.

Mrs Bird thought for a moment. “No. No, I don’t mind at all. I’ve always had a soft spot for bears myself. It’ll be nice to have one about the house.”

1. Paddington …

1/ had lived in the house long.

2/ would like to live in the house.

3/ liked to climb the trees in the garden.

2. … said that they wanted to keep Paddington.

1/ All the Browns

2/ Everyone except Mr Brown

3/ Only the children

3. Jonathan …

1/ had seen Paddington and liked him.

2/ had come up with the idea of keeping Paddington.

3/ thought it would be great to keep Paddington.

4. Mr Brown …

1/ didn’t like the idea of keeping Paddington at all.

2/ had to think about keeping Paddington very carefully.

3/ said that he was as keen on the idea of keeping Paddington as everyone else.

5. Mrs Brown …

1/ came up with the idea of giving Paddington pocket money every week.

2/ didn’t want Paddington to be taken away from them.

3/ thought that Paddington had had a good time travelling in a lifeboat.

6. When Mrs Bird entered the room …

1/ she could understand that Mr Brown was a little afraid of her.

2/ she felt what the Browns wanted to ask her.

3/ she was sure that the bear would be very good.

7. Mrs Bird said that …

1/ she wasn’t against keeping Paddington.

2/ it remained to be seen if they could keep Paddington.

3/ she liked bears because they were soft.

PART 1

You know how you’re supposed to come up with a list of resolutions 4 ____________ the beginning of the year to make yourself a better person?

Well, the problem is that it’s not easy 5 ____________ me to think of ways to improve myself, because I’m already pretty much one of the best people I know.

So this year my resolution is to try to help OTHER people improve. But the thing I’m finding 6 ____________ is that some people don’t really appreciate it when you’re trying to be helpful.

One thing I noticed 7 ____________ once is that people in my family are not keeping their New Year’s resolutions.

Mom said she was going to start going to the gym today, 8 ____________ she spent the whole afternoon watching TV.

PART 2

(9) Well, after spending the last two weeks walking to school, I was really looking forward to not doing nothing for two days. (10) The problem of watching TV on a Saturday is that the only thing that’s on is both bowling or golf. (11) Plus, the sun comes through our sliding glass window and you can barely to see the TV anyway. (12) Today I wanted to change the channel, but the remote was on top of the coffee table and as I was all comfortable, with my bowl of cereal in my lap, I very didn’t want to get up. (13) I tried hardly to use the power of my brain to make the remote fly to me, although I had tried it a million times and it had never worked before.

PART 3

MARK TWAIN

Mark Twain, 14 ____________ lived from 1835 to 1910, is one of America’s most famous authors. He wrote many books, 15 ____________ The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain’s own life was 16 ____________ enough to be a book.

Twain was born in the state of Missouri, near the Mississippi River. He 17 ____________ from a poor family. His father died when he was twelve, 18 ____________ he had to leave school. While he was still a boy, he worked as a riverboat pilot. He steered boats up and down the long Mississippi River.

The Civil War, which started in 1861, made traveling on the Mississippi impossible. Twain then went west to Nevada. There he worked with a newspaper. In 1864 he went to California to find gold. Twain did not have much 19 ____________ as a gold miner. He left California to travel in Europe. Twain wrote a book about his trips around Europe.

But the most important influence on Twain and his books was the Mississippi River. When Twain finally settled down, he lived in a house with a porch that 20 ____________ like the deck of a riverboat. Huckleberry Finn, Twain’s greatest book, is about the adventures of a boy on the Mississippi River. 21 ____________ of Twain’s books is called Life on the Mississippi.

In fact, even the name of Mark Twain comes from the Mississippi. Mark Twain’s 22 ____________ name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. On the river Samuel Clemens often heard the boatmen shout “Mark Twain”. This 23 ____________ the water was twelve feet deep. When Samuel Clemens began to write he chose for himself the name Mark Twain.

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