Контроль читання учнів 7 кл.

Cornelia Funke

Sometimes regarded as the German J. K. Rowling, Cornelia Funke finished the University of Hamburg and after graduation studied book illustration at a design college. She began a career as a book illustrator and game designer, but lost interest in the work after a few years. As a young girl, Funke had been a lover of fantasy — the works of J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and J. M. Barrie — and decided, at the age of 28, to write her own books. During the 1980s and early 1990s, she became a rather well­known author of children’s books in her native Germany, but her success came in 1997 when «Dragonrider» and later «The Thief Lord», both huge successes in Germany, were met with international attention. In fact, as soon as «The Thief Lord» reached the United States, it hit the «New York Times» bestseller list and remained there for 25 weeks.

Task. Mark the following statements as true (T) or false (F).

1. Cornelia Funke and J. K. Rowling are friends.  

2. Cornelia Funke got her education in her native country.  

3. She began a career as a storyteller.  

4. She was always interested in her work of a designer.  

5. She read the famous fantasy books at the age of 28.  

6. The author’s first success came in 1997 when her books became bestsellers in the USA.

The Story About The Christmas Tree

Long, long ago, on one Christmas Eve, spiders were banished from homes while people cleaned the houses and broke their webs. They had to move to the farthest corner of the attic. Young spiders wanted to see the decorated Christmas trees and the little Christ child. The elders tried to tell the younger spiders that they were not allowed inside the rooms but the young spiders were quite curious. When the house was dark and silent and everybody was asleep, the spiders crept out of their hiding place and slowly reached the Christmas tree. They spent all night in the tree, examining its beautiful ornaments. They left pretty and delicate spider webs all over the tree. In the early hours of the morning, the little Christ child came to bless the house. He was surprised to find little spiders and their webs on the tree. The Christ child gently touched the spider webs and made them sparkling and shining in silver and golden colours. The Christmas tree looked even more beautiful than before.

Task. For sentences (1—6) choose and circle the correct answer (a, b, c or d).

1. When were spiders driven out of people’s homes?

a) at Christmas time                b) on Christmas morning

c) at the weekend                    d) on the 24th of December

2. Where did the spiders live?

a) in the bathroom                    b) under the roof

c) in the kitchen                       d) under the floor

3. Who wanted to see the decorated Christmas trees and the little Christ child?

a) the huge spiders                  b) the young spiders

c) the oldest spiders                d) the cleverest spiders

4. When did the spiders go to look at the Christmas tree?

a) When the family was having dinner.         b) When everybody was dancing.

c) When the family was in bed.                     d) When the little Christ child arrived.

5. The spiders left pretty and delicate spider webs ... .

a) all over the house                    b) all over the attic

c) all over the tree                       d) all over the bedroom

6. The Christ child ... .

a) transformed the Christmas tree into gold  

b) changed the colours of the spider webs                                                           

c) did nothing in the room               d) removed the webs from the Christmas tree