Раздел 2. Чтение

10. Установите соответствие между текстами A—G и заголовками 1—8. Занесите свои ответы в таблицу. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний.

A. The VLT (Very Large Telescope) is the world’s largest telescope and it is taking scientists further back to the Big Bang than they ever thought possible. In other words, the VLT is a kind of a time machine, giving astronomers detailed views of events that took place in the earliest days of the cosmos. One day, we will have a much clearer picture of how our planet was born.

B. The latest development in the debate amongst scientists about what killed the prehistoric dinosaurs is the suggestion that acid rain was the cause. Some geologists suggest that a large meteor hitting the earth at 65 kilometres per second would have led to strongly acidic rain falling all over the world. This idea is fascinating but it would mean the dinosaurs would all have died within a very short time.

C. In 1948, a British farmer discovered an interesting lump of metal while ploughing his field. At first he thought the metal bits were parts of an old bed. Then more «parts of old beds’ turned up and the farmer took them to the local museum. «But these bits are priceless!» exclaimed the keeper of the museum. «They are Iron Age jewellery and coins!» Over the next 40 years, more and more items were found in the same field.

D. Rats may have had a bit of a hard time over the years but these days lots of people are forgetting about guinea-pigs and hamsters and are buying rats instead. Domestic rats aren’t the same as the ones that run around rubbish bins – they’re actually quite cute. They are very intelligent and can be trained like dogs. They come in different colours and – a big bonus – they will eat anything!

E. In Western cultures, people look each other in the eye during a conversation to show interest and trust, but in many Asian countries, it’s rude to look people in the eye, especially a superior such as a teacher. One of the most basic and powerful signals is when a person crosses his or her arms across the chest. This can indicate that a person is putting up an unconscious barrier between themselves and others.

F. Earthquakes happen all the time in all parts of the world but we don’t notice most of them because they are small. However, big earthquakes are really dangerous. They can make buildings fall down, set off landslides and do other deadly things. The highest death toll caused by an earthquake was in China in 1556, when at least 830,000 people died.

G. According to scientists, Americans watch more TV on average than any other nationality. In fact, many people, particularly children, sit for 35 hours or more per week glued to the box. What’s wrong with watching all that TV? Studies have linked it to everything from obesity to aggression in children not to mention that it puts your mind into a sort of sedated state. Habitual television watching, over long periods of time, has been known to cause depression, and anger.

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11. Прочитайте текст и заполните пропуски A—F частями предложений, обозначенными цифрами 1—7. Одна из частей в списке 1—7 лишняя. Занесите цифры, обозначающие соответствующие части предложений, в таблицу.

The Man Booker Prize

The Man Booker Prize for Fiction is awarded every year for the best original full-length novel written by a writer from the Commonwealth or the Republic of Ireland. It aims to represent the greatest in contemporary literature and promotes the finest in fiction by rewarding the best book of the year. The prize was originally called the Booker-McConnell Prize, ___ (A). However, it was better-known as simply the «Booker Prize’. In 2002, the Man Group became the sponsor and they chose the new name, keeping «Booker’.

Publishers can submit books for consideration for the prize, but the judges can also ask for books to be submitted ___ (B). Firstly, the Advisory Committee gives advice if there have been any changes to the rules for the prize. Then it selects the people ___ (C). The judging panel changes every year and usually a person is only a judge once.

Great efforts are made to ensure that the judging panel is balanced in terms of gender and professions within the industry. A writer, a critic, an editor and an academic are chosen along with a well-known person from wider society. However, when the panel of judges has been finalized, they are left to make their own decisions ___ (D). The Man Booker judges include critics, writers and academics ___ (E). The influence of the prize is so great that the winner will almost certainly see the considerable sales increase, in addition to the £50,000 ___ (F). In 1992, a Booker Russian Novel Prize was introduced.

1. without any further interference from the prize sponsor

2. so as to maintain the consistent quality of the prize

3. who will judge the books

4. so as to sell them

5. which was the name of the company that sponsored it

6. that comes with the prize

7. they think should be included

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Прочитайте текст и выполните задания 12—18. В каждом задании запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.

His Own Medicine

After graduating from medical school, Eugene Alford built a lucrative career as an ear, nose, and throat specialist and a facial plastic surgeon at Methodist Hospital. In the summers, he and his wife Mary, a dentist and former pediatric nurse, would join a church-sponsored medical mission to Honduras, where he operated on the needy in a rural clinic.

At home, Alford treated many prominent Houston residents, but he also waived his fee for less fortunate patients. Carolyn Thomas, for instance, went to see him with a large gauze bandage over a cavity in her face. She had been shot by her boyfriend, who had also killed her mother. The bullet had blown away Thomas’s nose, upper jaw, and right eye. Reconstruction would have cost a million dollars, but Alford, his medical team, and his hospital did it for free.

Whenever Alford needed to relax after a particularly gruelling period of work, he’d drive to his ranch in Bellville and lose himself in farm chores. He didn’t make it out there as often as he would have liked. As a plastic surgeon at Methodist Hospital, he had performed 800 operations over the previous year and was booked solid for months ahead.

So on a chilly Sunday a few days after Christmas, Alford headed out through the pine bush, intending to clear a trail for deer hunting. As he cut through underbrush in the south pasture, Alford brought the tractor to a halt in front of a dead white oak standing in his path. He nudged the trunk with the tractor’s front-end loader, expecting the tree to topple neatly to the ground. Instead the top half of the oak swayed towards him. In seconds, more than a ton of hardwood slammed down on him, crushing his spine.

Pinned to the steering wheel, Alford could barely breathe. He tried to hit the brakes, but his legs failed to respond. When he found he could move his hands, he turned off the ignition, then with great effort pulled his cell phone from his shirt pocket and called his wife on speed dial. «Mary,» he gasped, «a tree fell on me. I’m going to die.» «Don’t quit!» she shouted. «We’re coming to get you!» Alford was still conscious when his neighbours Kevin and Snuffy, alerted by Mary, hauled the tree off him. A rescue helicopter touched down minutes later, and Alford advised the paramedics on which drugs to administer to him. Then he blacked out.

He was flown to the trauma unit at Medical Centre in Houston, then quickly transferred to Methodist. The operation was successful, but the patient was still in danger. After almost two weeks in the ICU, Alford awoke, and his condition improved enough for him to be taken to a rehabilitation unit, where he began physical therapy and learned to use a wheelchair. In February 2008, six weeks after the accident, Alford returned to his 100-year-old home in Houston. At first, he was so weak that he could sit up only when strapped into a wheelchair.

Before the accident, Alford had been a solidly built six-footer and was used to being in charge. Now, entirely dependent on others, he fell into despair. «If it weren’t for my wife and kids, I would have killed myself,» he says. But then the love started pouring in. Alford’s brother maintained a blog to provide updates about Alford’s recovery. Over the next three months, he received 40,000 messages from colleagues, former patients, acquaintances, even strangers. The outpouring raised his spirits. It also gave Mary a new perspective on him. For years, Alford’s schedule of 15-hour days hadn’t left him much time for her and the kids. «I’d just about decided you liked work more than us,» Mary told him one day over lunch. «But now I realize you didn’t want to leave the hospital because there were so many folks that needed you. You couldn’t just abandon them.»

The couple refurbished their house with ramps, a wheelchair-accessible bathroom, and an elevator. They bought an extended-cab pickup truck and fitted it with a wheelchair hoist, a swivelling driver’s seat, and hand controls so Alford could drive himself.

But Alford’s goal was to make such adjustments temporary. After a month of physical therapy, he graduated from an electric to a manual wheelchair. The daily workouts built strength in his back and abdominal muscles, improving his ability to hold himself upright. Soon he was able to stand with the aid of a tubular steel frame; seated in his chair, he could now draw his legs toward his chest.

In May, Alford began the next phase of treatment. By putting a paralyzed patient through his paces, therapists hoped to grow new neuromuscular connections. After three months of this routine, Alford’s coordination had improved markedly. He felt ready to pick up a scalpel again, with the hospital’s approval. Alford still goes for four hours of rehab every morning and spends his evenings stretching and riding a motorized stationary bike to keep muscle spasms at bay. But in the hours between, he sees patients or performs surgeries – as many as five a week.

He’s eager to do more complex surgeries and plans to increase his workload. Walking remains uncertain. «I always tell him if I had a crystal ball, I’d be a millionaire,» says Marcie Kern, one of his physical therapists. Still, the doctor considers himself a lucky man.

12 Eugene Alford…

1) treated only prominent Houston residents.

2) did some charity work.

3) had fixed fees.

4) often visited his ranch in Bellville.

Ответ:

13 In paragraph 3 «gruelling’ means…

1) extremely boring.

2) quite exciting.

3) very tiring.

4) highly uncomfortable.

Ответ:

14 As a result of the accident, the oak broke Alford’s…

1) neck.

2) legs.

3) back.

4) chest.

Ответ:

15 Before the accident, Alford…

1) was in charge of the hospital.

2) liked his work more than his family.

3) worked 15 hours a week.

4) could not spend much time with his wife and children.

Ответ:

16 To make Alford feel more comfortable…

1) the family equipped their house with necessary facilities.

2) his 100-year-old house was redecorated.

3) the family bought a new house.

4) his old pickup truck was fitted with a wheelchair hoist.

Ответ:

17 After physical therapy and daily workouts…

1) Alford didn’t need a wheelchair.

2) Alford’s stamina came back.

3) Alford started to perform simple operations.

4) Alford‘s coordination improved markedly.

Ответ:

18 At present Alford…

1) feels sorry for himself.

2) is planning to practise medicine as well as he used to.

3) is going to start walking.

4) wants to become a millionaire.

Ответ:

По окончании выполнения заданий 10—18 не забудьте перенести свои ответы в БЛАНК ОТВЕТОВ №1! Запишите ответ справа от номера соответствующего задания, начиная с первой клеточки. При переносе ответов на задания 10 и 11 цифры записываются без пробелов, запятых и других дополнительных символов. Каждую цифру пишите в отдельной клеточке в соответствии с приведёнными в бланке образцами.