Test.Listening, Reading, Writing, Speaking.

Listening Comprehension

Listening Tasks – 8th Form -  A Conversation With My Father by Grace Paley

Glossary: potassium — калій; despise —  зневажати; junkie —наркоман.

My father is eighty-six years old and in bed. His heart, that blood motor, is equally old and will not do certain jobs any more. It still floods his head with brainy light. But it won't let his legs carry the weight of his body around the house. Despite my metaphors, this muscle failure is not due to his old heart, he says, but to a potassium shortage. Sitting on one pillow, leaning on three, he offers last-minute advice and makes a request.

"I would like you to write a simple story just once more", he says, "the kind de Maupassant wrote, or Chekhov, the kind you used to write. Just recognizable people and then write down what happened to them next".

I say, "Yes, why not? That's possible". I want to please him, though I don't remember writing that way. 1 would like to try to tell such story, if he means the kind that begins: "There was a woman..".followed by plot, absolute line between two points which I've always despised. Not for literary reasons, but because it takes all hope away. Everyone, real or invented, deserves the open destiny of life.

Finally I thought of a story that had been happening for a couple of years right across the street. I wrote it down, then read it aloud. "Pa", I said, "how about this? Do you mean something like this?"

Once in my time there was a woman and she had a son. They lived nicely in a small apartment in Manhattan. This boy at about fifteen became a junkie, which is not unusual in our neighborhood.

In order to maintain her close friendship with him, she became a junkie too. She said it was part of the youth culture, with which she felt very much at home. After a while, for a number of reasons, the boy gave it all up and left the city and his mother in disgust. Hopeless and alone, she grieved. We all visit her.

Section 1. True or False Statements (+/-). Listen to the story and decide which of these statements are true and which of them are false. Mark your answers on the Answer Sheet.

1. My father is an energetic 68-year-old man.
2. He has a weak heart and a potassium shortage.
3. He wants his daughter to write a complex epic novel.
4. He likes complex characters and mysterious plots.
5. I will write him a simple story.
6. I prefer to write stories that leave room for hope.
7. I wrote of a recent event.

Section 2. Multiple choice.  Listen to the story and decide which of these statements are true and which of them are false. Mark your answers on the An­swer Sheet.

8. My father spends his time in:

a)   bed; b)   church;

c)   cafes; d)   pain and suffering.

9. His heart is weak but has not reduced the flow of blood:

a)   to his legs; b)   to his strong arms and shoulders;

c)   to his head; d)   to his liver.

10. His heart is weakened due to:

a)   lack of exercise; b)   excessive smoking;

c)   failure to rest; d)   a potassium shortage.

11. He thinks I write simple stories like:

a)   Shultz and Dilbert; b)   Bulgakov and Shevchenko;

c)   Chekov or de Maupassant; d)   Chekov and Marquis de Sade.

12. I don't write simple stories because:

a)   they take away all hope; b)   are boring;

c)   dislike easy work; d)   they are too hard to compose.

13. I … simple stories.

a) always write;                  b) cherish;

c) despise;                           d) find it difficult to write.

Reading Comprehension Test for 8  Form

Directions:

In this Test you will read four texts. Each text is followed by 5-10 tasks. You should do the tasks following a text on the basis of what is stated or implied in that text. For each task you will choose the best possible answer from four possible answers (A, B, C, or D), or two symbols (+ or -) as specified prior to each task.. Choose the best answer and mark the letter or symbol of your choice on the Answer Sheet.

Questions 1 through 5 refer to Text 1.

Text 1: (From: "Free At Last!" by Michael Stutz)

Glossary

Caveat: клопотання, застереження, попередження.

Move over Coke (and Pepsi), there's a new player in the cola wars. Meet OpenCola. Okay, that may be a bit of an overstatement, but the new soft drink is different from others in one key respect: It's the world's first "open-source" consumer product, writes Graham Lawton in the British magazine New Scientist (Feb. 2, 2002). While Coca-Cola and Pepsi guard their secret formulas, the makers of OpenCola give their recipe away on their Web site, www.opencola.org. Not only that, they encourage people to make the stuff at home, and to modify and improve the recipe at will. There's one caveat: The modified formulas must also be freely available to the public. Why? Because as the open-source argument goes, if you let your customer play with the formula for your product, whether it's software code or a soft drink recipe, they'll find and fix flaws. And they will do it quicker and cheaper, and think up more creative improvements, than you ever could on your own, even with a huge R&D (Research and Development) budget and a team of engineers. In the end, everybody benefits from better software or better cola, as the case may be.

Questions (on your answer sheet circle the correct letter A, B, C, or D)

1. OpenCola is a kind of:

A. soft drink.

B. software.

C. fruit juice.

D. soft ice cream.

2. The list of ingredients for OpenCola is:

A. available to people who pay for it.

B. a heavily guarded secret.

C. free to anyone who wants it.

D. all natural.

3. The recipe for OpenCola is found on:

A. the bottom of all their bottles.

B. billboards across Europe.

C. the Internet.

D. packages of sugar.

4. The creators of OpenCola:

A. encourage people to make it by themselves.

B. discourage people from making it at home.

C. do not want people to change anything about their product.

D. live in fear of people discovering their recipe.

5. If you let people play with the formula of your product:

A. they will steal money from you.

B. they will find and correct imperfections.

C. they will think of uncreative changes.

4. they will put you out of business

Questions 6 through 10 refer to Text 2.

Text 2: (from A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway)

Glossary

pebbles: галька, камінь boulders: валун, брила

In the late summer of that year we lived in a house in a village that looked across the river and the plain to the mountains. In the bed of the river there were pebbles and boulders, dry and white in the sun, and the water was clear and swiftly moving and blue in the channels. Troops went by the house and down the road and the dust they raised powdered the leaves of the trees. The trunks of the trees too were dusty and the leaves fell early that year. We saw the troops marching along the road and the dust rising and leaves, stirred by the breeze, falling and the soldiers marching and afterward the road bare and white except for the leaves.

The plain was rich with crops; there were many orchards of fruit trees and beyond the plain the mountains were brown and bare. There was fighting in the mountains and at night we could see the flashes from the artillery. In the dark it was like summer lightning, but the nights were cool and there was not the feeling of a storm coming.

Questions (on your answer sheet circle the correct letter A, B, C, or D)

6. The pebbles and boulders in the river were:

A. green and smelly.

B. grey and dry.

C. white and dry.

D. brown and muddy.

7. After the troops left, the road was:

A. bare and white with the exception of falling leaves.

B. brown and damp because of the leaves.

C. beautiful and magnificent.

D. blue beside the river.

8. The house on the river was within sight of:

A. a dry valley.

B. a lake and a large forest.

C. a market and a hotel.

D. the mountains.

1. was confusing in the rain.
2. was scary in the fog.
3. was entertaining beside the hotel.

D. looked like lightning.

10. In the plains there were many:

                      A. old farmers.

B. crops and orchards.

C. lakes.

D. rivers.

Questions 11 through 20 refer to Text 3.

Text 3: ("The Ant and the Grasshopper" from Aesop's Fables)

While a grasshopper was taking it easy in the shade of a willow tree one ho summer's day, an ant struggled in the sun with a grain of rice that he was carrying out to his nest. "Hey, Mister Ant", the grasshopper said. "Why don't you take it easy, like me? You can work tomorrow".

The ant paused. "I'm saving up food now for the cold winter ahead, and i you know what's good for you, you'll do the same", he said.

The grasshopper looked at the ant and laughed. "Cold winter? But Mr. Ant, i is sunny and hot right now. It won't be winter for a long time. There is always tint, to gather food, there's no need to spend your time in this beautiful weather doing work. Come sit down with me and have some lemonade". But the ant refused an spent the rest of the day gathering food and storing it in his nest.

As the days went by the ant continued to collect food, while the grasshopper  continued to rest underneath the shade of the willow tree. Three or four months later, winter came and it was very cold. While the ant was snug in his nest, the starving grasshopper shivered under a pile of dead leaves and wished that he' paid attention to the ant's advice.

Questions (on your answer sheet circle + if the statement is true, — if it is false)

11.   The grasshopper wasn't working because he had hurt his back.

 12.The ant gathered food all summer.

13.The ant invited the grasshopper to come live with him during the winter.

14.The grasshopper was a hard worker.

15.The ant took a rest with the grasshopper underneath the willow tree.

16.The ant was comfortable during the winter.

17.It was easy for the ant to carry food back to his nest.

18.The  moral of the story is working hard will benefit you more than being lazy.

19.The grasshopper was drinking lemonade underneath the willow tree.

  20. The grasshopper had plenty of food to eat during the winter.

 

Questions 21 through 30 refer to Text 4.

Text 4: (Taken from the European Central Bank Advertisement)

      On the I st of January 2002, 300 million Europeans in twelve countries woke up to a new currency: the euro. The euro is not new: it had been used in electronic transfers and by banks in international businesses since January 1999. But with the launch of euro banknotes and coins, anyone who lives, does business or travels in any of the twelve countries will benefit from deal­ing in just one currency.

There are seven euro banknotes denominations, which can be recognized easily by their look and feel: the larger banknote the higher the value. There are also 8 denominations of euro coins, each having a common side a national side. The common side always shows the value of the coin. The national side differs from country to country.

Euro banknotes and coins may be used in each of the participating countries. For the first time in the history of Europe twelve currencies have been traded in for just one.

Questions (on your answer sheet circle + if the statement is true, — if it is false)

21.The Euro was first used on January 1, 2002.

22.Twelve countries use the euro as their only currency.

23.The  euro will be convenient only for travellers and businessmen.

24.A five hundred euro banknote will be larger than a two hundred euro banknote.

25.Each country has different euro coins, which can only be used in that country.

26.There are seven different euro banknotes and seven different coins.

27.The national side of each coin shows how much it is worth.

28.Thirty million people have used the euro since January 1, 2002.

29.Banknotes are easily recognized by their look and colour.

30.The Euro is the first currency in history to be used by twelve countries  in Europe.

Writing Comprehension

Each person is gifted in his or her own way. Some of us are excellent musicians while others are superior mathematicians or gifted communicators. If you could choose a special talent for yourself, what would you choose? Why would you choose this talent? How would you use this talent? How would it change your life or the lives of others?

 

Speaking

Comprehension

•      Explain why you would visit this location.
•      What will you see when you are there?
• Imagine you just got back from this vacation; tell one of your colleagues a funny story about something that happened while you were there.

2. Choose a favorite holiday.

•      Explain why you like this holiday so much.
•      Tell a story from your life that illustrates what this holiday means to you.
•      Explain how your family's traditions are typical, or not, for Ukraine.

3. You meet your future self on a park bench.        

•      What will you ask him/her?
•      What do you think he/she will tell you?
•      What do you want to tell him/her?

4. Do you like to keep pets?

•      What kinds of animals are best as pets? Why?
•      Are there some animals that should not be kept as pets?
•      Why do you think so many people like to keep pets?

•      Why did you choose this item? Why is it so irreplaceable?
•      Think of one item you left behind. Why did you leave it behind?
•      Is the object of monetary or emotional value? Explain why it is replaceable?

•      Ask your parents whether you can stay out later than usual.
•      Explain what you will do to ensure you will be safe.
•      Explain to them why they should relax their rules on this occasion.

7. You are about to leave on a journey to another country for a year. You  have enough room in your bag to bring three mementos: two that represent Ukraine and one that represents your family and will remind  you of home.

•      What objects do you choose?
•      Explain how each of these objects represents Ukraine
• Explain what the importance of the third item is, and how it remind you of home and your family.

8. You find a magical mirror that can show you anything in the world.

•      What do you want to see?
•      Why do you want to see it?
•      What will you do with this information?

9. If you could have lunch with any person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be?

•      What questions would you ask this person?
•      What would you tell this person about yourself?
•      What would you suggest you do for lunch?

10. A close friend of yours asks you to help him/her with a test. You know the teacher specifically forbade this.

•      What do you choose to do? Why do you make this decision?
• If you don't help your friend in the way he/she wants, what will you do to help him/her succeed?
•      Your teacher talks to you and accuses you of cheating. How do you respond?

11. Your local newspaper is interviewing you because you are the representative from your town for the Regional Olympiad.

•      Tell a little about yourself.
•      Explain how your academic achievements have lead you to this competition.
• Explain what you will do while you are visiting Lutsk that would make the people of your hometown proud of you.

12. You are a famous artist that has just completed your best painting.

•      What does your painting look like?
•      What does this painting convey to others?
•      What does this painting tell others about you?

13. If you could have any talent that you don't already possess, what would it be?

•      Why is this talent so important for you to have?
•      How would you use it?
• Do you feel it is more important to gain talents through hard work or through natural ability?

14. Do you think that money can buy happiness?

•      When has money made your life easier?
•      When has money made your life more difficult?
• There are some who say that it is impossible to be both rich and to have morals. Do you agree or disagree? Explain.

15. What is the most important quality a friend can have?

•      Why is this quality so important?
•      Do your closest friends have this quality? Do you?
•      How can you work to improve on this quality?

16. You are about to take part in a weeklong survival course in the mountains.

•      What three objects would you take along with you?
•      Why do you think these objects are so important for your survival?
•      What are you scared of most before leaving for your journey?

17. Imagine you are transported to another/fantasy world.

•      What does your fantasy world look like?
•      What makes it strange and interesting?
•      How does it differ from our world?

18. What activities do you find enjoyable when you are by yourself?

•      Why is this activity so enjoyable to you?
• How often do you spend time by yourself? Do you feel it is important to have time alone? Why?
•      Have you ever been afraid to spend time by yourself?

19. You know that today is the last day in history.

•      How will you spend this day?
•      Who will you spend this day with? Why?

20. Discuss your favorite actor/actress.

•      What plays, films or television shows have you seen this person in?
•       Explain why they are your favorite actor/actress.
•      Compare this person with another actor/actress and explain why your choice is best