Олимпиада по английскому языку для 9-11 классов с ключами

ВСЕРОССИЙСКАЯ ОЛИМПИАДА ШКОЛЬНИКОВ АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК. 2025–2026 уч. г.

ШКОЛЬНЫЙ ЭТАП. 9–11 КЛАССЫ ОТВЕТЫ

Максимальный балл за работу – 55.

Time: 15 minutes

(7 points)

Listen to a radio interview with a member of a sporting association and choose the best answer for the following questions. You will hear the text twice.

Задание 1. Where did the sport originate?

A) South Africa В) Britain

С) Ireland

Задание 2. What does he say about the ball?

A) It’s made from leather.

В) It’s made from wood.

С) It’s the same as a tennis ball.

Задание 3. How many points is a goal scored past the goalkeeper worth?

A) three В) two С) one

Задание 4. How many kilometres an hour can the ball travel?

A) 115

С) 110

Задание 5. One of the rules of the game is that you

A) cannot hold the ball in your hand.

В) can only carry the ball using the hurley.

С) must use the hurley to pick the ball up from the ground.

Задание 6. What does Sean say about the best hurling players?

A) They earn too much money.

В) They earn no money.

С) They aren’t as skilful as they were in the past.

Задание 7. What does he say about the fans of the game?

A) They are aggressive.

В) Rival fans sit together.

С) They come from the nobility.

Time: 25 minutes

(8 points)

Read an interview in which an Irish-Australian writer called Patrick O'Reilly is talking about the Irish-Gaelic language, and answer questions 8–15 choosing option A, B, C or D which best fits according to the text.

Interviewer: Good evening, everyone. With me in the studio today is Patrick O'Reilly, a third-generation Irish-Australian who is a writer and broadcaster and passionate supporter of the Irish-Gaelic language. Welcome, Patrick.

Patrick: Thank you, Sinead.

Interviewer: Tell me Patrick, what significance does Irish have for you?

Patrick: Well, as you said, I'm an Irish-Australian. Irish is my second language; I didn't learn it in Ireland, but here in Australia. In the 18th century it was the first language of many of the Irish people who settled here.

Interviewer: And didn't it almost slip away at one point?

Patrick: That's right, but it never quite vanished. So to me, Irish is a language of this country. It's in the streets of a Melbourne suburb, the heat of Australian summers. It's the language in which I speak to my daughter, in which I broadcast and in which I write. I'm conscious of its history here.

Interviewer: How do you feel about the language itself?

Patrick: Well, Irish is a language of passionate songs, and it has one of the oldest literatures in western Europe.

It's descended from the language of those Celts who arrived in the British Isles at the end of the Bronze Age, so it dates back thousands of years. But for me, what is truly remarkable is that when Ireland finally became independent early in the last century, the Irish language acquired renewed importance as a vehicle of scholarship. Now it has a television network and has achieved something inconceivable, even 30 years ago: it has also become trendy and positively cool today.

Interviewer: And what made you want to learn Irish as a language?

Patrick: You may well ask! When I began learning the language my enthusiasm was viewed as eccentric.

Interviewer: Why?

Patrick: Well, some people thought that Irish-Gaelic was dead, like Latin, although in fact it was still spoken as a first language by a few thousand people on the west coast of Ireland. So why did I learn it? Ireland wasn't a part of my childhood in any significant way. My great- grandparents had come here from Southern Ireland during the Gold Rush, and we had become solidly Australian. But I liked languages and the worlds they could reveal. Irish promised me a world of my own. I was conscious, I think, that my

people's past lay elsewhere.

Interviewer: And your Irish ancestry has played a big part in your writing too, I believe?

Patrick: That's right. The stories I write in Irish are published only in Ireland, yet they deal with the peculiar situation of the language here in Australia. If I write in English, I use a language which has had time to adapt to a new history, a new society. It has its own accent, its own everyday language. This has also happened with Italian, but Italian is the first or second language of a whole community. Irish in this country is the language of scattered individuals, so it hasn't adapted to modern needs. As an Australian who writes in Irish, I must bring about the linguistic adaptation which has taken 200 years to accomplish in English.

Interviewer: And yet you implied earlier that Irish had become fashionable. Is that the case in Australia?

Patrick: Well, yes, here it actually means that every year a number of people go to Irish language classes, and that a minority eventually become fluent. Irish has become a new trend because Ireland itself is now a major draw for tourists. Thousands of Australians visit Ireland every year to seek the house their great-grandmother was born in, Irish relatives. Others want to see the green landscape of old legends. For some, the Irish language is part of all this. I once interviewed a young woman from Melbourne who became so fascinated by traditional Irish singing that she learned Irish and now works in the Aran Islands off the coast of Ireland!

Interviewer: And what other motivation would Australians have for learning Irish? Patrick: Well, many will tell you that it's something to do with their interest in languages. But I would say that other motives are concealed in this phrase - motives as various as the individuals. It's also true, surely, that it allows the expression of an aspect of identity long suppressed, yet felt to be vital. Few people can bear to be rootless. We must all come from somewhere, and language is a fundamental part of identity. Not many feel the need to explore their past by learning Irish, but that even a few should do so, is significant.

Interviewer: Thank you, Patrick, it's been interesting talking to you.

Patrick: Thank you.

Задание 8. Patrick’s offspring DOESN’T speak the Irish-Gaelic language.

1. TRUE

2. FALSE

С) NOT STATED

Задание 9. There are TV channels in Australia that broadcast in Irish.

1. TRUE

2. FALSE

С) NOT STATED

Задание 10. Why is the Irish language significant to Patrick?

1. It was spoken to him when he was a child.

2. It evokes city life in a particular era.

3. It came close to disappearing at one time.

4. It is a major part of his cultural heritage.

Задание 11. Which aspect of Irish has particularly impressed Patrick?

1. its age as a language

2. its suitability for song lyrics

3. its success in the modern world

4. its role in broadcasting

Задание 12. Why was Patrick keen to learn Irish?

1. He lacked a strong identity as an Australian.

2. He was reacting against other people's views.

3. He was aware that it would broaden his horizons.

4. He wanted to be actively involved in its revival.

Задание 13. According to Patrick, what makes Irish different from other languages in Australia?

1. It is impossible to show how it sounds.

2. It is not a language published in Australia.

3. It is used as a second language.

4. It has not gone through a process of evolution.

Задание 14. What reason does Patrick give for Irish becoming fashionable?

1. Speaking languages fluently has become a status symbol.

2. It is associated with the popularity of the country.

3. It is seen as the language of well-known fairy tales.

4. Many Irish-Australians now aspire to live in Ireland.

Задание 15. What does Patrick say about other people's explanations of why they are learning Irish?

1. They may not reveal the whole truth.

2. They show they are trying to reassure themselves.

3. They reveal a lack of self-awareness.

4. They indicate that people feel little need to justify themselves.

Time: 50 minutes

(40 points)

Задание 16.

Task 1.

Example:

Moscow City Break

Are you tired of (0) (DAY) routine? Would you like to have a short break in one of the European cities? Have you thought of Moscow city break? Maybe it is time to get acquainted with a long and fascinating history of Russia and its cultural heritage? It is high time you visited Moscow, the city with

(1) (FABLE) history, (2) (NUMBER) museums and turbulent nightlife!

How far is Moscow?

Moscow is not so far from Europe. It'll take you only a few hours to get from London, Paris or any other European capitals. A Moscow city break can be easily included in your European trip itinerary.

When to come?

That's the first question many people ask. To give an unambiguous answer is tough. The most experienced would reply the best season is summer. Russian "summer" usually comes in May and stays up to mid-September. The average July temperature is around

25 C (76 F). Warm weather and short nights favor long walks around Moscow. Planning your Moscow city break keep in mind that summer is also the busiest tourist season. Why not come in a quieter time of the year? Moscow is so charming in the early May, when the nature is waking up and lilac, cherry, chestnut trees are blossoming. Early autumn is also majestic; October brings the stunning colors of falling leaves. The most (3) (COURAGE) are welcomed in winter time.

(4) (PICTURE) snowy scenery will make your city break to Moscow the most (5) (MEMORY). Yes, it's cold (around – 16 C in January), but you'll enjoy this season if you've prepared well. Just pack enough of

(6) (LAY), as it's usually very cold outside and hot inside. Museums are empty and hotels and air companies usually offer good

(7) (COUNT). Winter (8) (AMUSE) like skiing,

skating (on Red Square!), playing snowballs, sleighing (or may be ice-swimming :) will give you an (9) (NORM) joy.

Is it expensive?

Moscow is not a common Cheap City Breaks destination. It is often voted as one of the most expensive cities in the world. But this is not always true. A budget hotel will cost you around 80 EUR per night; a dorm bed in hostel can be only 12 EUR, a meal in a local restaurant can be under 10 EUR. Public transport (metro) in Moscow is convenient and (10) (EXPENSE). Most of the museum

(11) (ENTER) cost 5-7 EUR and there're a lot of free

(12) (ATTRACT) to keep a traveler busy. A Moscow City break can appear a good value for money and there're many ways to do the capital of Russia on a budget.

Задание 17.

Task 2.

Задание 18.

Task 3.

Задание 19.

Task 4.

Example:

Spelling

Spelling (0) a major problem to many students - and, indeed, native speakers - of English. This is (1) surprising when you consider just how illogical the English spelling (2) is. The spelling of such basic words as right, through, once, and who seems to (3) no relation to their (4) . And how can the words go, sew, and though all rhyme with (5) other?

There have been attempts in the (6) to reform English spelling. The playwright George Bernard Shaw was an enthusiastic (7) for a more phonetic approach. In a

clever illustration of the absurdity of English spelling he suggested that the word fish be

(8) by the letters 'ghoti': the gh from enough, the o from women, and the ti from nation. When he died in 1950, he (9) a large part of his estate to promote spelling reform.

So why do we (10) in spelling words the way we do, (11) the efforts of reformers like Shaw? One reason is that we are too (12) with the words as they are currently spelled. It is certain that any change in the rules (13) be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to (14) . Another is that there is (15) a variety of regional accents within the English speaking world that it would be unfair to select just one as the standard model for spelling.