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Додано: 12 травня 2020
Предмет: Англійська мова, 11 клас
Тест виконано: 85 разів
14 запитань
Запитання 1

The history of zombies

Zombies are everywhere these days – on television, in movies and in books. The current image of the terrifying flesh-eating zombie comes from George Romero’s 1968 classic film Night of the Living Dead. Nowadays many people like to frighten themselves with the idea of the ‘Zombie Apocalypse’, and enjoy learning how to destroy zombies by decapitation or shooting them in the head.

However zombies are not new. The term, from the Kongo word nzambi which means ‘spirit of a dead person’, has been long associated with the Vodou religion of Haiti (popularly known as Voodoo). As with West African Vodun, from which it is descended, Vodou has strong ties to the supernatural and magic practised by witch doctors called bokors.

In Haitian culture zombies are not evil creatures but victims. They are said to be people who have been killed by poisoning, then reanimated and controlled by bokors with magic potions for some specific purpose, usually to work as slave labour. The bokors were widely feared and respected. It is said that they used to be in the service of the secret police and those who defied the authorities were threatened with being turned into the living dead.

For a long time most people assumed that zombies were nothing more than mythical figures, like werewolves and vampires. However this changed in the 1980s when a man called Clairvius Narcisse claimed that he had been turned into a zombie by means of drugs and forced to work on a sugar plantation for two years before escaping. Wade Davis, a Harvard scientist, investigated the claim and obtained something called ‘zombie powder’ from Haitian bokors. The main active ingredient was a neurotoxin found in puffer fish which could be used to simulate death. The bokors also explained to Davis that a second poison, made from the datura plant, known as the zombie cucumber, was given to victims after they were revived from their death-like state. This kept the ‘zombies’ in a submissive state so that it was easy to force them to work. Davis wrote several books on the topic, including The Serpent and the Rainbow, later made into a horror film by director Wes Craven.

Although the book was very popular with the public, some scientists were sceptical of Davis’s claims. They said the amounts of toxin in the powder samples he found were inconsistent and not high enough to produce zombifying effects. Although many people in Haiti still believe in zombies, there have been no publicised cases in the last few decades and Davis’s theory remains controversial. The Zombie Apocalypse seems unlikely to take place soon.



1. According to the text … 

варіанти відповідей

zombies are represented in different ways in different TV programmes, films and books

our current understanding of what a zombie is comes from a seminal sixties film.

people do not find zombies as frightening now as they did in the past.

people like zombies because they show us the dark side of humankind. 

Запитання 2

‘Zombie’ …

варіанти відповідей

is a Haitian and West African religion.

is a witch doctor who practises magic.

comes from the Kongo word ‘nzambi’.

means ‘victim’.

Запитання 3

In Haitian culture, zombies are … 

варіанти відповідей

a. living people who are kept in a death-like state by poisoning.

. dead people who have been brought back to life by poisoning.

people who are being punished for disloyalty to the secret police. 

 witch doctors who have poisoned themselves with their own medicine.

Запитання 4

Clairvius Narcisse … 

варіанти відповідей

claimed he was a real-life zombie.

said working on a sugar plantation turned people into zombies

took ‘zombie powder’ to appear dead in order to escape the plantation where he worked.

told a Harvard scientist that he knew how to turn people into zombies.

Запитання 5

Wade Davis …

варіанти відповідей

identified the poisons in Clairvius Narcisse’s blood.

experimented with different substances naturally available where Clairvius Narcisse lived.

. thought Clairvius Narcisse’s condition was psychological.

asked local witch doctors how to make a zombie. 

Запитання 6

The Serpent and the Rainbow …

варіанти відповідей

proved Narcisse’s theory with rigorous scientific evidence.

presented the case with scepticism.

was popular with zombie fans but not scientists.

was a fictional account based on the real-life story

Запитання 7

In Haitian culture, zombies are victims, rather than _______________ (morally bad or wrong) creatures. 

варіанти відповідей

evil 

widely

horror

mythical

Запитання 8

In Haiti, the ‘bokors’ were _______________ (by a large number of people) feared and respected. 

варіанти відповідей

sceptical

widely

controversial

submissive

Запитання 9

Many people think that zombies are _______________ (based on a traditional or legendary story) creatures, like vampires or werewolves. 4. The ‘bokors’ told Wade Davis that poison 

варіанти відповідей

horror

mythical

inconsistent

submissive

Запитання 10

The ‘bokors’ told Wade Davis that poison was used to keep the ‘zombies’ in a (obedient and unresisting) _______________ state.

варіанти відповідей

controversial

widely

sceptical 

submissive

Запитання 11

The Serpent and the Rainbow was made into a _______________ (a genre made to cause fear in the audience) film.

варіанти відповідей

horror

evil

submissive

inconsistent

Запитання 12

Some scientists were _______________ (not convinced) about Davis’s claims.

варіанти відповідей

controversial

submissive

inconsistent

sceptical 

Запитання 13

They said the amounts of toxin in the powder sample were _______________ (not always the same) and not enough to cause zombifying effects.

варіанти відповідей

inconsistent

evil

controversial 

widely

Запитання 14

Many people still believe in zombies in Haiti, but Davis’s theory remains _______________ (causing public disagreement).

варіанти відповідей

evil 

submissive

controversial

mythical

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