ЗАВДАННЯ ДЛЯ ПІДГОТОВКИ ДО ВСЕУКРАЇНСЬКОЇ УЧНІВСЬКОЇ ОЛІМПІАДИ З АНГЛІЙСЬКОЇ МОВИ 9 клас

Listening Comprehension Test for 9th Form Students

Scientists have shown that Mozart has a positive effect on many things, but the great composer himself might be surprised that his music helps bananas ripen. A Japanese fruit company, Toyoka Chuo Seika, claims its bananas taste better after being exposed to Mozart’s music for a week. The company has special “ripening chambers” that play wall-to-wall Mozart to its Philippine bananas non-stop for a week. Company officials say "String Quartet No. 17" and "Piano Concerto No. 5 in D major" are particularly good at sweetening the fruit. The company is very confident its methods work. It has started selling its fruit as "Mozart Bananas" in local supermarkets. 

A spokesperson believes the bananas will become a hit throughout the rest of Japan once word gets out. Toyoka Chuo Seika is not the first Japanese company to experiment with classical music to produce better tasting food. The “Japan Times” newspaper reports this is the latest in a trend spanning ten years. It writes: “Over the past few decades, a wide variety of foods and beverages have been exposed to classical vibrations — soy sauce in Kyoto, udon noodles in Tokyo, miso in Yamagata, maitake mushrooms in Ishikawa and "Beethoven Bread" in Nagoya, to name a few.” The paper reports on a 1973 study into music and plants by botanist Dorothy Retallack. It says: “After playing various kinds of music to plants for three hours daily, she found they "preferred" soothing classical, which made them flourish. Rock and country, on the other hand, had either a debilitating effect or none at all.”

Task1.  Choose whether the statements are True or False.

1. Beethoven’s music helps bananas ripen.
2. A Japanese fruit company bananas taste better after listening to Mozart.
3. The Japanese company has ripening chambers for its bananas.
4. The company has started selling bananas as “Musical Bananas.”
5. Playing music to bananas is the first experiment of its kind.
6. The Japan Times reported that soy sauce was the only sauce to be tested.
7. Dorothy Retallack’s study says that plants like classical music.
8. Rock and country music sometimes had an effect. 

Task2.  Choose the best answer. 

1. Mozart might 
   1. like classical music.
   2. be surprised his music helps ripen bananas.
   3. like apples.
2. Bananas taste better
   1. after being exposed to Mozart for a week
   2. with chocolate.
   3. when they are fresh. 
3. The Japanese company is 
   1. always very hungry.
   2. very confident its methods work. 
   3. sad that experiments didn’t work.
4. A spokesperson believes 
   1. bananas will become popular in Japan soon.
   2. bananas are bad for you.
   3. that people like other fruit better than bananas.
   4. there will be a larger population of monkeys in Japan soon.
5. The “Japan Times” reports this is the latest in a trend spanning  
   1. 1 year
   2. 5 years
   3. 10 years
   4. 20 years
6. One of the foods tested is now called:
   1. Davinci pizza
   2. Franklin burgers
   3. Shevchenko salad
   4. Beethoven bread
7. A report from 1973 found that plants prefer:
   1. Classical music
   2. Rock music
   3. Punk music
   4. Disco music

Reading Comprehension Test for 9th Form Students

Snail Mail Vs E-mail

By Kimelia Sachs, eHow Contributor

We live in a fast-paced society that is accustomed to things happening quickly. The Internet and e-mail are just two of the inventions in the past few decades that illustrate this point. There is no doubt that e-mail makes life easier in many ways. It's inexpensive and fast - two things we like. However, while e-mail has its positive aspects, snail mail (mail sent through the postal system) has a more personal feel to it and is much more private than e-mail.

The Facts: There is no doubt e-mail is faster than snail mail. When communicating with someone in another state or country, e-mail is the practical route because most of the time email is immediate. Snail mail takes days and can be costly and sometimes impractical. Mailing a document that is several pages long costs more than one stamp; e-mailing that same document costs very little, if anything.

History: Benjamin Franklin appointed the first Postmaster General in 1775 and stamps were first issued in 1847. Mail has been delivered Monday through Saturday in the United States since 1863. Rural delivery for mail did not begin until 1896. E-mail emerged shortly after the Internet became a medium for public consumption. E-mail can be traced back to the 1960s, when those working with computer networks discovered a way to communicate with one another. In the 1980s, those with personal computers were among the first to communicate with other users on the same server.

Considerations: A piece of snail mail, handwritten notes and cards still carry some weight in society. Some events require a little more effort than needed to send an e-mail. For example, holiday greetings, birthdays, invitations to special events, thank-you notes and other special occasions may deserve more formality than an e-mail. One of the most important aspects to consider when deciding on the proper medium is the recipient of the e-mail. If he spends very little time online, it may take him awhile to get this e-mail message. If she doesn't like computers, it's best to avoid electronic communications.

Benefits

The most obvious benefit of e-mail is that it is immediate. In an office setting, it is much easier to send an e-mail to an entire department. E-mail is also relatively cheap if not free in most cases. However, while snail mail is slower than e-mail, it is more personal. Though you can say the same things in an e-mail that you can say in a letter, a letter is something someone can touch and keep. Cards and letters can be filed away and saved as mementos.

Warnings

While we like to think of our e-mail accounts as belonging to us, they don't. E-mail accounts can be hacked; individuals e-mailing sensitive material are somewhat at the mercy of hackers. E-mails can also be forwarded to literally hundreds of thousands of people. Many have suggested that when sending an e-mail it is best to think of it as a postcard rather than a letter in a sealed envelope. Moreover, e-mails sent from work do not actually belong to the sender. In fact, employees can break company laws regarding e-mail if they don't know what they are.  The moral of the story - think carefully before choosing your mode of communication!

http://www.ehow.com/about_5463282_snail-mail-vs-email.html

Task 1: Chose the multiple-choice item that makes the sentence correct.

1. The Internet and e-mail emerged in the past
   1. ten years
   2. twenty years
   3. few decades
   4. century

2. E-mail makes life
   1. more interesting
   2. less difficult
   3. faster
   4. happier

3. Among other things, e-mail is
   1. efficient and professional
   2. cheap and slow
   3. revolutionary and educational
   4. fast and inexpensive

4. Snail mail is
   1. Mail delivered by snails
   2. Mail delivered electronically over the Internet
   3. Traditional mail
   4. The mail of the future

5. A typical snail mail letter takes ______ to arrive.
   1. a couple of days
   2. a day or two
   3. a couple of weeks
   4. a very long time

6. The first stamps were issued in
   1. 1775
   2. 1847
   3. 1863
   4. 1896

Task 2: Decide if the statements are true or false.

7. E-mail traces its origins back to the 1970s.
8. Electronic mail has few positive aspects.
9. Snail mail is no longer needed, not even for special occasions.
10.                    E-mail is generally less personal than snail mail.
11.                    Hackers can easily hack our snail mail accounts, but not our e-mail accounts.
12.                    E-mails can be compared to a letter in a sealed envelope.
13.                    If an employee sends an e-mail from work, that e-mail may not belong to him.
14.                    Benjamin Franklin was the first Postmaster General of the United States.
15.                    Snail mail can be filed away and saved as mementos.

Writing for 9th Form Students

1.  Write an informal letter to a friend in another country. She wants to know about popular holidays in Ukraine. What is your favorite holiday? How do you celebrate this holiday? Be sure to include food, customs, important traditions and the history of this holiday. Are there holidays that are more popular among teenagers than among adults? 

2. Some people say that the Internet provides people with a lot of valuable information. Others think access to so much information causes problems. Which opinion do you agree with? Use specific examples to justify your opinion.

 3. Woodrow Wilson once said, “Friendship is the only cement that will hold the world together.” Do you agree? Why or why not? How can this be applied to global politics? How can this be applied to your personal life? What personal qualities do you think will help to form a deep and lasting friendship?

1. In secondary schools certain subjects are compulsory for all pupils.

• Should students choose which subjects are compulsory? Please explain.
• Do you believe students should be able to choose a subject different from their classmates? Why?
• Discuss what subjects you would choose to take or not to take and why?

2. Imagine you are lost in the woods

• What five things would you like to have in your backpack?
• If you could have one other person with you, who would it be and why?
• What is the first thing you would do when you got out of the woods?

3.Imagine you are the owner of a new museum

• What type of museum would you like to own?
• From which time period would most of your materials be from?
• Who would be interested in visiting your museum?

4. Some people argue that a film is never as good as its book version

• Do you agree with this statement?
• What differences generally exist between books and their film adaptations?
• If you could make any one book into a film, which would you choose and why?

5. Your best friend is having a birthday soon. You are going to plan a surprise party.

• How would you surprise your friend?
• Describe the party's theme and decorations?
• What kinds of food and entertainment will you prepare? Why?