Семестрова контрольна робота "Читання"

READING          THE SECOND TERM       Form 10

“The lost gold piece”

Once a rich merchant arranged dinner for poor people, ex-soldiers. Mr. Lebeau was among the guests. After dinner Grandin, the host, showed his guests a large gold coin. Each man examined it with interest as it passed around the long table. However, talking and drinking the men soon forgot all about the coin. Later on the guests were about to leave the house, Grandin thought of the coin and asked for it. But the coin was gone. The village lawyer being one of the guests suggested that everybody should be searched. All at once agreed but Lebeau. His friends looked at him with surprise. “I cannot allow it”, he said. “I did not steal the coin. I will not allow anybody to search me”, he repeated. One by one the rest turned out their pockets but the coin was not found. Lebeau would not turn out his pocket though his friends were persuading him to. It seemed suspicious to everybody. From that day on nobody respected Lebeau.

A few years passed. When this episode had become almost legendary, Grandin decided to rebuild his house. A workman found the gold coin between two planks of the floor of the room in which the dinner had taken place. Grandin hurried to Lebeau’s poor home and told him that he had found the coin and apologized for having suspected him. “But why did you not allow us to search you if you had not taken the coin?” he asked. Lebeau answered, “Because I was a thief all the same. For weeks my family and I had not enough to eat and my pockets were full of food that I had taken from the table to carry home for my wife and hungry children”.

1. Write if the sentences are “True” or “False”:

1. Once a merchant made dinner for people who were not rich. 

2) After dinner the host showed a large gold piece of money. 

3) Everybody examined it with a great interest. 

4) Mr. Lebeau gave the coin to the host. 

5) Grandin decided to search everybody. 

6) Friends persuaded Lebeau to turn out his pockets. 

7) Nobody respected Lebeau from that day. 

8) The gold coin was found between two planks of the floor. 

9) Grandin didn’t tell to anybody about the coin. 

10) Lebeau was the thief all the same.

2. Answer the questions to the text:

1. Who was Grandin? 

2)  What did he show to his guests? 

3) Who suggested searching everybody? 

4) Where was the coin? 

5) What was Lebeau’s crime?

3. Find in the text the antonyms to the following words:

1. poor 

2) guest 

3) small 

4) short 

5) to remember 

6) to arrive 

7) to answer 

8) to refuse  

9) to lose

10) enemies  

11) the ceiling  

12) everybody  

13) empty  

14) husband  

15) obvious

4. Write another variant of the text if Mr. Lebeau had taken the coin.