The word robot appeared in the 1920s and it was first used in a science

You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud.

A robot is a machine that does work for people. The word ‘robot’ appeared in the 1920s and it was first used in a science fiction story. In real life, the robot was invented later, in 1954. There are different kinds of robots which are used in different industries. Most of them are operated with the help of a computer program. Instead of humans, robots do hard and boring work in unpleasant or dangerous environments. They usually work faster and more accurately than people. They never get tired and do not make mistakes. Nowadays robots are often used for domestic needs – to clean houses or to look after sick and elderly people. Scientists say that soon robots will become a normal part of our life, like mobiles and computers today.

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1

1-1

Recycling is a technology that helps protect the environment and cut
down on usage of raw materials. The steel, paper and glass industries recycle a
lot. The largest recycler is the steel industry. It recovers more than 70 per
cent of its original materials. For example, since 1988 they have produced the
majority of new metal cans from old ones. Metal parts for cars and planes are
other examples of recycling steel. Fragments of waste glass are widely used in
construction. For producing writing paper and pens, used packing boxes are an
ideal material. They are cheap and easy to recycle. Nowadays more and more
recycling centres are appearing in our towns and cities.

1-2

Nowadays solar energy is
widely used as an alternative form of power. Solar panels transform the energy
from the sun into electricity. The first plane that does not need fuel was
constructed in France in 2015. It uses only the sun’s energy. The panels are
placed on the huge wings of the plane. It doesn’t fly very fast. Solar energy
can make the plane move at only 140 miles an hour. However, the plane is able
to travel round the world. It is safe and can successfully cross areas of bad
weather. In the future, engineers hope to construct a model that people can fly
in. Our dream of environmentally friendly transport may come true very soon.
Would you like to take a flight on the solar plane?

1-3

We are always told that we should clean our teeth regularly to keep
them healthy and to have fresh breath. It is believed that people started using
a kind of paste to clean their teeth around 5000 years ago. However, the
ingredients of these tooth powders were very different from ours. For example,
the people of ancient Egypt used salt, mint, dried flowers and pepper to create
tooth powder. Later, in the 18th century, in some countries in Europe, people
brushed their teeth with burnt bread. The first toothpaste appeared in 1890, in
Great Britain. At first it was sold in jars. Then special tubes were designed
to make the toothpaste more comfortable to use.

1-4

Do you know why it is hot in the summer and cold in the winter? Most
people believe that it is because the Earth is closer to the Sun in the summer
and farther from it in the winter. But it is not like this at all! In fact, the
distance between the Earth and the Sun is largest in July and smallest in
January! Scientists suggest that the reason for different summer and winter
temperatures is the angle of the Sun’s rays. In the summer, the rays reach the
Earth almost at a right angle. Due to this, the rays are not spread out and a
smaller area of the planet’s surface gets the energy. In the winter, the angle
changes and the Sun’s rays are spread out over a larger area. Besides this, the
long nights and short days do not give enough time for the land to warm up.

1-5

A robot is a machine that does work for people. The word ‘robot’
appeared in the 1920s and it was first used in a science fiction story. In real
life, the robot was invented later, in 1954. There are different kinds of
robots which are used in different industries. Most of them are operated with
the help of a computer program. Instead of humans, robots do hard and boring
work in unpleasant or dangerous environments. They usually work faster and more
accurately than people. They never get tired and do not make mistakes. Nowadays
robots are often used for domestic needs – to clean
houses or to look after sick and elderly people. Scientists say that soon
robots will become a normal part of our life, like mobiles and computers today.

1-6

Nowadays people can’t imagine their kitchen without a refrigerator.
The first refrigerators appeared at the end of the 18th century. They looked
different: they were just iceboxes. The refrigerators of the past were just
wooden boxes, sometimes lined inside with metal. People put ice into the box
and then placed the food inside to keep it cool. The refrigerator, similar to
the one that we have now, was produced by General Electric in
1911, in France. It was very expensive. In those days, with the same money you
could buy two cars. Today, in developed countries almost every family has
enough money to buy a refrigerator for their kitchen. It’s hard to imagine how
difficult and uncomfortable our lives would be without a refrigerator.

1-7

Without the energy from the Sun, the Earth would have no life at all.
Nowadays everyone knows that the Sun is a star. Like all stars, the Sun is a
great burning ball of gases. To us, it seems large and red. The other stars
look white or light blue because they are much farther from us than the Sun. In
the past, many people believed that the Earth was the centre of the universe.
They thought that the Sun and the stars went round it. Only in 1543, a great
Polish scientist published a book in which he tried to prove a different point
of view. According to him, the Earth and the other planets moved round the Sun.
Those people who supported the scientist were often imprisoned and even killed.

1-8

The carrot is a root vegetable which
consists mostly of water and sugar. The carrots that we eat today originated
from the wild ones which grew in Europe and Asia. The vegetable tasted sweet
and the people began to use it as food.

There are two main types of carrots. There
are eastern carrots that have dark purple roots and western carrots with orange
roots. In fact, orange carrots first appeared in Europe in 1721. Dutch farmers
selected orange carrots because orange is the colour of the Dutch Royal Family.
Now orange carrots are widely grown all over the world. In modern households
carrots are cooked and eaten in different ways. The vegetable is boiled, fried,
baked and eaten raw. People also make juice from it.

1-9

Since 2007 high-speed trains have become a common type of transport in
Europe. They make it possible to cut travel times by hours. The trains travel
at 350 kilometres an hour, and this is not the limit! The only problem for the
engineers is the loud noise the trains produce. People living in the areas the
trains travel through suffer from the noise greatly. For the passengers, the
situation is different. For their comfort, all the carriages are made
sound-proof from the inside. Travelling on high-speed trains is comfortable and
pleasant. In the future, a high-speed railroad network could cover most of
Europe. For example, a trip from Paris to Rome could take only 3 hours!

1-10

Venus is one of the hottest planets in the Solar system. The
temperature on its surface is 482 degrees. This unfriendly place looks much the
same as the Earth 4 billion years ago. Both planets were formed from the same
gas cloud, but Venus lost most of its water and atmosphere. This happened
because the planet turns very slowly. As a result, now it has no magnetic field
to protect it from the Sun’s winds. The planet has turned into a lifeless
desert. Most space modules that were sent to Venus, could not work on the
planet more than two hours. The acidic clouds and high pressure quickly made
them absolutely useless.

2

2-1

Studies of the atmosphere first received technical support in 1912.
Equipment to measure temperature and pressure was invented in Germany. But the
question was how to raise it high into the air. In 1921, Russian engineers suggested
using planes. The special equipment was put on planes that made regular
flights. Thanks to this, scientists got a lot of new information about the
structure of the atmosphere. Nowadays scientists use modern flying laboratories
to study the structure of clouds at different levels. Unlike the first planes,
these laboratories can work in any weather and are able to predict climate
changes.

2-2

Wombats are exotic animals that only live in Australia. They have
become an unofficial symbol of the country. In 1974 a wombat appeared on an
Australian stamp for the first time. Since then it has been regularly used on
different Australian stamps and coins. Wombats look like little bears and
prefer grass to meat. They also love eating berries, plant roots and mushrooms.
Like camels, wombats drink little water because there is enough water in fresh
grass. Wombats spend most of their life in holes under the ground. With their
strong arms and long nails they are able to dig very long and complex tunnels.
Fortunately, wombats have few enemies in the animal world. Most wombats live
around 15 years.

2-3

The word ‘tsunami’ can be translated from Japanese as ‘big wave’. It
describes a natural process that can be dangerous for people and their homes.
Most of the huge waves appear after earthquakes. Most waves are born in the
Indian and the Pacific Oceans where volcanoes are active. The mass of water
rises from the bottom of the ocean and moves to the shore. It moves at a speed
of a plane and can be up to 40 meters high. The wave is very powerful and
dangerous. In 2004, a tsunami happened in the Indian Ocean. It was one of most
terrible natural disasters in history. It hit 14 countries bordering the Indian
Ocean. Thousands of people were killed or went missing.

2-4

Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales. It is located in a national
park. It stands at 1085 metres above sea level, and it is often described as
the busiest mountain in Great Britain. Snowdon is very popular with tourists.
If you are strong and brave enough to get to the top, you can enjoy wonderful
views from there. On a clear day, you can see as far as Ireland! During the
summer months there is a café at the top. There, tourists can get a welcome cup
of tea, or soup if the weather is cold. If you feel too tired to walk back, you
can always take the train down the mountain. The mountain railway was built in
1896. It is safe, and there have never been any accidents on this route.

2-5

Most people enjoy watching the night sky.
And the brightest object in the sky is the Moon. Every night the Moon rises in
the East and sets in the West. It takes about 27 days to go around the Earth,
and it’s an interesting fact that we always see the same side of the Moon. The
Moon is the closest object to the Earth. It would take us only 13 hours to get
to the Moon by rocket. If we were able to travel at the speed of light, it
would take a bit less than two seconds.

There is a very thin atmosphere on the
Moon. Life is not possible there. In spite of this, the Moon can be used as a base
for space exploration and even for space tourism. Some space companies say that
they will be able to take tourists to the Moon as soon as in 2020.

2-6

People have always wanted to discover new things and new worlds. We
have built spaceships to go to other planets and are planning to visit other
galaxies one day. Meanwhile, we know very little about our own planet. The
oceans, which cover 70 percent of the planet, are an unknown world to us. The
Pacific Ocean is the largest one. The lowest point on the Earth is also there.
It is called Challenger Deep and it was discovered in 1875. The Pacific Ocean
stretches from the Arctic Ocean to the coast of Antarctica, but most of its
water is in the warm tropics, which makes it warm. A lot of fish and animals live
in the Pacific Ocean. The place is still waiting for researchers to discover
its secrets for us.

2-7

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean of the world. It covers the
northern polar region of the Earth. The Arctic region is a very cold place. The
lowest recorded temperature there is minus 68 degrees. In spite of the cold, a
lot of animals live on the Arctic ice. The polar bear is one of them. Now, due
to global warming, the polar bear is in a serious trouble. The thing is that
polar bears hunt seals and they need ice to do this. The bears wait for seals
on the ice, hunt them in the water and go back to the shore. If the ice is too
thin, it breaks under the bears’ heavy bodies and they may drown. The situation
is getting worse and some researchers say the ocean may become ice-free as soon
as 2050.

2-8

In 1642 a French student invented the
first mechanical calculator. He was only 18 and the counting machine was a
present for his father. The father worked as a tax collector and the young man
wanted to make his job easier.

The talented inventor made several
machines, but nobody was interested. The young man was ahead of his time. Many
years passed before people realized how useful these machines could be and
started mass producing them.

Today most mechanical calculators have
been replaced with electronic models. These small devices can perform a lot of
mathematical operations. You just need to enter the numbers by pressing the
keys and you’ll see the final result on the screen in no time.

2-9

One
day a young man who lived near the lake in a small American town asked himself,
“Why can’t people ski on water if they can ski on snow?” With his brother’s
help he constructed several models of skis to test his ideas. He experimented
on the local lake for a few days and created skis suitable for the water. This
happened in 1922. The young man, who was only 18 at that time, didn’t patent
his invention. However, he performed a lot of shows across the country that
made him and the sport of water skiing popular. Later, he was recognized as the
creator of a new sport – water skiing.

Water skiing equipment has been greatly
improved since that time, and the number of people who enjoy this sport is
growing in many countries.

2-10

The ninth planet of the solar system was discovered not long ago. It
happened in 1930. Scientists had been hunting for the planet for a long time.
They had calculated its probable position, but there was no proof that the
planet really existed. It was too far away for the telescopes of that time to
find it. It’s worth mentioning that the first photos of the planet were taken
by a very young researcher. He was only twenty-four and had no formal education
in astronomy. However he was deeply involved in the search for the ninth
planet. The planet at the edge of the solar system was called Pluto, after the
Roman god. The name for the planet was suggested by an 11-year-old British
girl.

3

3-1

The first vacuum cleaner was designed in 1869. Since then, vacuum
cleaners have changed a lot. Nowadays the robot vacuum cleaner is getting more
and more popular. This device cleans a house automatically. Following a
programme, the robot drives slowly around the house and makes it cleaner. It
operates with brushes and a tube. The robot is so flexible that it can get
under a table or sofa or reach dust in corners. Some advanced models can also
wash floors of all kinds. These functions are provided by a complicated
electronic system and sensors inside. The vacuum cleaner looks like a plate and
can be kept in the corner. It is friendly to children and animals and works on
electricity.

3-2

It’s hard to find a more popular Russian symbol than the traditional
Russian doll, or Matryoshka. It is well-known all over the world. The first set
of dolls appeared in Moscow in 1890. It consisted of eight dolls. All of them
were children: seven girls, one boy, and a baby. In those times, Matryoshkas
were not meant as toys for children as their price was very high. Mostly,
adults bought them as presents or home decorations. There was a belief that if
you put a note with a wish into Matryoshka, it would come true. At the
beginning of the 20^th century, Russia started to export their
national dolls abroad.

3-3

Global warming is a result of human activity. In 1985 there was a big
conference in Austria where 89 climate researchers from different countries
took part. After long discussions the scientists declared that the climate of
the planet had changed. Indeed, it is warmer now than it was years ago. It
can be clearly seen in the north. In the Arctic some places are ice-free now
and polar bears have lost the place where they lived. The sea level has risen
as well. The situation is getting more and more serious. Global warming is a
great problem which needs to be solved in the near future.

3-4

English is the third most-spoken language in the world after Chinese
and Spanish. Over 840 million people speak English as a first or second language.
It is an official language of 67 countries. 80 percent of information stored on
all computers in the world is in English. The vocabulary of the English
language is the biggest in the world. A new word is added into English almost
every two hours. The English language is said to be one of the happiest
languages in the world. The word happy is used more often than
the word sad! That’s a good reason to learn this language, isn’t
it?

3-5

The human brain is the most complex and remarkable organ of the body.
It controls everything we do – thinking, learning, and even heart rate.
Though the brain makes up only 2 percent of the body’s weight, it uses around
20 percent of its energy. It works 24 hours a day. Even when a person is
sleeping, the brain is working hard to keep other organs functioning. Most
people think that our brain is more active during the daytime because it needs
to deal with a great amount of information. In fact, that’s not true. The brain
is far more active when a person is sleeping! However, scientists don’t yet
have any explanation for this fact.

3-6

We don’t realize how lucky we are to have clean water whenever we
want. A lot of people around the world do not have such an opportunity. Did you
know that more than 750 million people on the Earth do not have clean water to
drink? Meanwhile, a lot of water is wasted and polluted. In 1993 the United
Nations decided to celebrate the World Day for Water. Nowadays a lot of special
events are organized in different countries. Their aim is to make people
understand how important clean water is for their health, environment and
agriculture. Water is essential for our life. We should think about saving it,
as the fresh water supplies are limited. We need to keep it clean for ourselves
and for future generations.

4

4-1

Earth Hour is an event that encourages people around the world to
switch off electricity at the same time for one hour. Of course, switching off
the lights for an hour makes a small difference to the amount of energy we use.
But the aim of the event is not to save energy but to get people to think about
the planet they live on. Earth Hour started in Australia in 2007. More and more
countries join the ecological movement every year. Now, millions of people from
178 countries switch off their lights for 60 minutes at the end of March.
People in Russia participate in this event too – large
office buildings and small private houses go dark for Earth Hour.

4-2

Our planet is the only planet in the Solar System where rainbows are
possible. They are not visible in big cities, due to pollution and smog. But if
you are travelling after rain has fallen in the countryside or walking on the
beach, you have a good chance to see a rainbow. The rainbow is a multi-coloured
arc which appears in the sky. When you see a rainbow, the sun is always behind
you and it is raining in front of you. It is impossible to get to the end of
the rainbow and to touch it. When you move, the rainbow moves too. We have
always learned that rainbows have 7 colours. However, until the 17th century,
people used to think there were only 5 colours in the rainbow.

4-3

Though most people believe that the tomato is a vegetable, this plant
is actually a fruit. Tomato is a fruit because it has seeds inside like apples,
oranges, lemons, and all other types of fruit. The tomato comes from Central
and South America. When tomatoes were brought to England in the 17^th century,
people thought that they were poisonous and refused to eat them. Only in 1820,
Robert Johnson proved that tomatoes were absolutely safe and would not affect
people’s health. He ate a basket of tomatoes in public. Nowadays, the tomato is
widely used in all types of food. There are many different kinds of
tomatoes – over 7,500! They differ in size, shape, colour
and taste.

4-4

The Channel Tunnel is a rail tunnel beneath the English Channel which
links Great Britain and France. It is considered to be one of the most amazing
engineering constructions in Europe. The second longest undersea tunnel in the world
was opened in 1994. It is said that 13,000 workers and engineers participated
in the construction project. The Channel Tunnel contains three tunnels. The
south tunnel is for people who are travelling from France to the UK, the north
tunnel takes passengers from the UK to France. Nowadays it takes 35 minutes to
go from Paris to London in the Channel Tunnel. The third tunnel is a service
tunnel. It is not used by passengers.

4-5

The construction of the longest and the deepest railroad tunnel was
finished in Europe. The tunnel runs through the Alps and links the north and
south of Europe. The length of the tunnel is 57 kilometres. It runs straight
from beginning to end. It will allow passenger trains to travel more quickly
through the mountains. Modern technologies ensure safety and security when the
trains go through the tunnel. The great project started in 2009 and it took 17
years to complete. It is considered to be one of the most amazing engineering
constructions in Europe.

4-6

Bicycles or bikes are an important means of transportation in many
parts of the world. The first bicycles turned up in Europe in the first half of
the19^th century but the word ‘bicycle’ only appeared later, in
1868. There are more bicycles in the world than cars. About 100 million
bicycles are produced worldwide each year. A lot of people have realized that
cycling is an easy way to get around and a great way to cut down on pollution.
More and more cities have special places where people can borrow a bike and
ride around the city. Over the past few years, a bicycle infrastructure has
been created in Moscow. Cycling in the centre of Moscow in summer is one of the
most pleasant and quickest ways of seeing the city.

4-7

Great Britain is home to the world’s oldest school. The King’s
School was established in 1567 and it is still open. It has a long
history. Many famous people have been educated at this old school.
Nowadays The King’s School is an independent secondary school
for boys and girls from 13 to 18. More than 800 pupils study at the school.
Though The King’s School is located in old buildings, it has
up-to-date technical equipment and provides a full modern education. The
King’s School is also famous for its festival of music, drama and
arts. It is held during the last week of the summer term and attracts a lot of
people from different parts of the country.

4-8

Human activity creates waste. The problem isn’t new and space is no
exception to the rule. Dead satellites, rocket stages and other things are
littering our planet’s orbit. They are getting dangerously close to space
stations and there is a great possibility of an accident. Space stations could
be completely destroyed by the rubbish. In 1983, a tiny piece of paint from a
satellite made a big hole in the side window of a spaceship. There is a great
need to “clean up” space and to take away 3,000 tons of space rubbish. To solve
the problem, scientists and engineers are designing special spaceships that
will collect and recycle space rubbish.

4-9

The mobile phone has become an important part of our everyday life. We
can’t imagine our lives without it now. Thanks to the mobile phone we can keep
in contact with our relatives and friends at any time. We use them to text and
to send emails, to share photos and videos. We can use the Internet and listen
to music and do lots of other things. However, according to surveys, mobile
phone users mostly spend their time on games and social networking. Around 80
percent of the world’s population has a mobile phone. The mobile phone industry
is the fastest growing industry in the world. From 1983 to 2016, worldwide
mobile phone subscriptions grew to over 7 billion.

4-10

Netball is played by over 20 million people in more than 70 countries
of the world. It was invented in 1892 as women’s basketball. However, netball
is different from basketball in many ways. For example, the ball and the basket
are smaller and the court is bigger. The players cannot run with the ball. They
are not allowed to touch the players who they are playing with. Netball has
seven players in each team (not five as in basketball). During the 20^th century,
the game became very popular in English-speaking countries. Traditionally, only
girls and women have played netball. Nowadays, netball is the number one
women’s sport in the world but boys and men are starting to play it too.

5

5-1

Table tennis is the third most played sport in the world after
football and cricket. It is considered to be an indoor version of Lawn Tennis.
However, they have a lot of differences. Table tennis has a different scoring
system, a smaller ball, smaller rackets, and a smaller playing area. Modern
table tennis was invented at the end of the 19^th century in
England. Very soon the new sport became popular all over the world. In 1901,
competitions with over 300 participants were already being held. According to
numerous studies, table tennis has great effects on human health. It keeps the
brain sharp and improves the player’s coordination. Since 1988, table tennis has been an Olympic
sport.

5-2

A zoo, also known as a zoological park or a zoological garden, gives
people the opportunity to watch animals from different continents. There are
hundreds of zoos all over the world. However, most of them are located in major
cities. The first zoo in Russia was opened in 1864, in Moscow. It was a small
zoological garden. On the opening day, only 287 animals were on display.
Nowadays, the Moscow Zoo is one of the largest in Europe. The unique collection
of the Zoo includes over 8000 kinds of animals and birds. Scientists study the
animals’ behavior and reproduction. They also breed rare animals there to stop
them dying out.

5-3

Oxford University is the oldest university in the English-speaking
world. It is also the second oldest university in the world. The University of
Oxford is believed to have started in 1133. It is located in Oxford City on the
Thames River, not far from London. Oxford University is one of the world’s most
impressive centres of education. There are students from different countries
there. In fact, there is no building in Oxford called Oxford University. The
University includes 38 colleges and related buildings. Over 22,000 students
study English language and literature, geography, history, law, modern
languages and other subjects there.

5-4

The rainforest can be described as a thick and very tall jungle. The
term rain comes from the great quantity of water that these forests get
throughout the year. The rainforests are the world’s greatest natural
resources. They are called the lungs of our planet. Half of all the kinds of
plants and animals that exist on the planet live in the rainforests.
Unfortunately, the area with rainforests is being reduced due to global
warming. 100 years ago, the rainforests covered 14 per cent of the earth’s surface.
Now, it is only 6 per cent. Scientists say that if the process continues
at this rate, the rainforests will have disappeared in 40 years.

5-5

The Caspian Sea is one of the world’s natural wonders. It shares the
characteristics of both a sea and a lake. In the past it was called a sea
because of its great size and salty water. However, the Caspian Sea is listed
as the largest lake in the world. There are about 130 rivers which bring their
water to the Caspian Sea. But it is not a freshwater lake – its water
is very salty. The Caspian Sea is famous for its wildlife. More than 850 kinds
of animals and 500 different plants can be found in this unique sea. The
Caspian Sea region is also one of the oldest oil-producing areas in the world. It is also rich in other natural resources.

МБОУ «Гимназия п.Нижний Куранах»

Олизаренко Ю.В.

Упражнения для подготовки к ОГЭ по английскому языку

Устная часть

ЧТЕНИЕ ТЕКСТА ВСЛУХ

1

Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

Nowadays solar energy is widely used as an alternative form of power. Solar panels transform the energy from the sun into electricity. The first plane that does not need fuel was constructed in France, in 2015. It uses only the sun’s energy. The panels are placed on the huge wings of the plane. It doesn’t fly very fast. Solar energy can make the plane move at only 140 miles an hour. However, the plane is able to travel round the world. It is safe and can successfully cross areas of bad weather. In the future, engineers hope to construct a model that people can fly in. Our dream of environmentally friendly transport may come true very soon. Would you like to take a flight on the solar plane?

2

Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

We are always told that we should clean our teeth regularly to keep them healthy and to have fresh breath. It is believed that people started using a kind of paste to clean their teeth around 5000 years ago. However, the ingredients of these tooth powders were very different from ours. For example, the people of ancient Egypt used salt, mint, dried flowers and pepper to create tooth powder. Later, in the 18th century, in some countries in Europe, people brushed their teeth with burnt bread. The first toothpaste appeared in 1890, in Great Britain. At first it was sold in jars. Then special tubes were designed to make the toothpaste more comfortable to use.

3

Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud.

Do you know why it is hot in the summer and cold in the winter? Most people believe that it is because the Earth is closer to the Sun in the summer and farther from it in the winter. But it is not like this at all! In fact, the distance between the Earth and the Sun is largest in July and smallest in January! Scientists suggest that the reason for different summer and winter temperatures is the angle of the Sun’s rays. In the summer, the rays reach the Earth almost at a right angle. Due to this, the rays are not spread out and a smaller area of the planet’s surface gets the energy. In the winter, the angle changes and the Sun’s rays are spread out over a larger area. Besides this, the long nights and short days do not give enough time for the land to warm up.

4

Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud.

 A robot is a machine that does work for people. The word ‘robot’ appeared in the 1920s and it was first used in a science fiction story. In real life, the robot was invented later, in 1954. There are different kinds of robots which are used in different industries. Most of them are operated with the help of a computer program. Instead of humans, robots do hard and boring work in unpleasant or dangerous environments. They usually work faster and more accurately than people. They never get tired and do not make mistakes. Nowadays robots are often used for domestic needs – to clean houses or to look after sick and elderly people. Scientists say that soon robots will become a normal part of our life, like mobiles and computers today.

5

Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud.

  Nowadays people can’t imagine their kitchen without a refrigerator. The first refrigerators appeared at the end of the 18th century. They looked different: they were just iceboxes. The refrigerators of the past were just wooden boxes, sometimes lined inside with metal. People put ice into the box and then placed the food inside to keep it cool. The refrigerator, similar to the one that we have now, was produced by General Electric in 1911, in France. It was very expensive. In those days, with the same money you could buy two cars. Today, in developed countries almost every family has enough money to buy a refrigerator for their kitchen. It’s hard to imagine how difficult and uncomfortable our lives would be without a refrigerator.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud.

 Without the energy from the Sun, the Earth would have no life at all. Nowadays everyone knows that the Sun is a star. Like all stars, the Sun is a great burning ball of gases. To us, it seems large and red. The other stars look white or light blue because they are much farther from us than the Sun. In the past, many people believed that the Earth was the centre of the universe. They thought that the Sun and the stars went round it. Only in 1543, a great Polish scientist published a book in which he tried to prove a different point of view. According to him, the Earth and the other planets moved round the Sun. Those people who supported the scientist were often imprisoned and even killed.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud.

The carrot is a root vegetable which consists mostly of water and sugar. The carrots that we eat today originated from the wild ones which grew in Europe and Asia. The vegetable tasted sweet and the people began to use it as food.

There are two main types of carrots. There are eastern carrots that have dark purple roots and western carrots with orange roots. In fact, orange carrots first appeared in Europe in 1721. Dutch farmers selected orange carrots because orange is the colour of the Dutch Royal Family. Now orange carrots are widely grown all over the world. In modern households carrots are cooked and eaten in different ways. The vegetable is boiled, fried, baked and eaten raw. People also make juice from it.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud.

Since 2007 high-speed trains have become a common type of transport in Europe. They make it possible to cut travel times by hours. The trains travel at 350 kilometres an hour, and this is not the limit! The only problem for the engineers is the loud noise the trains produce. People living in the areas the trains travel through suffer from the noise greatly. For the passengers, the situation is different. For their comfort, all the carriages are made sound-proof from the inside. Travelling on high-speed trains is comfortable and pleasant. In the future, a high-speed railroad network could cover most of Europe. For example, a trip from Paris to Rome could take only 3 hours!

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

Venus is one of the hottest planets in the Solar system. The temperature on its surface is 482 degrees. This unfriendly place looks much the same as the Earth 4 billion years ago. Both planets were formed from the same gas cloud but Venus lost most of its water and atmosphere. This happened because the planet turns very slowly. As a result, now it has no magnetic field to protect it from the Sun’s winds. The planet has turned into a lifeless desert. Most space modules that were sent to Venus, could not work on the planet more than two hours. The acidic clouds and high pressure quickly made them absolutely useless.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud.

Studies of the atmosphere first received technical support in 1912. Equipment to measure temperature and pressure was invented in Germany. But the question was how to raise it high into the air. In 1921, Russian engineers suggested using planes. The special equipment was put on planes that made regular flights. Thanks to this, scientists got a lot of new information about the structure of the atmosphere. Nowadays scientists use modern flying laboratories to study the structure of clouds at different levels. Unlike the first planes, these laboratories can work in any weather and are able to predict climate changes.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

Wombats are exotic animals that only live in Australia. They have become an unofficial symbol of the country. In 1974 a wombat appeared on an Australian stamp for the first time. Since then it has been regularly used on different Australian stamps and coins. Wombats look like little bears and prefer grass to meat. They also love eating berries, plant roots and mushrooms. Like camels, wombats drink little water because there is enough water in fresh grass. Wombats spend most of their life in holes under the ground. With their strong arms and long nails they are able to dig very long and complex tunnels. Fortunately, wombats have few enemies in the animal world. Most wombats live around 15 years.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

The word ‘tsunami’ can be translated from Japanese as ‘big wave’. It describes a natural process that can be dangerous for people and their homes. Most of the huge waves appear after earthquakes. Most waves are born in the Indian and the Pacific Oceans where volcanoes are active. The mass of water rises from the bottom of the ocean and moves to the shore. It moves at the speed of a plane and can be up to 40 meters high. The wave is very powerful and dangerous. In 2004, a tsunami happened in the Indian Ocean. It was one of most terrible natural disasters in history. It hit 14 countries bordering the Indian Ocean. Thousands of people were killed or went missing.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales. It is located in a national park. It stands at 1085 metres above sea level, and it is often described as the busiest mountain in Great Britain. Snowdon is very popular with tourists. If you are strong and brave enough to get to the top, you can enjoy wonderful views from there. On a clear day, you can see as far as Ireland! During the summer months there is a café at the top. There, tourists can get a welcome cup of tea, or soup if the weather is cold. If you feel too tired to walk back, you can always take the train down the mountain. The mountain railway was built in 1896. It is safe, and there have never been any accidents on this route.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

Most people enjoy watching the night sky. And the brightest object in the sky is the Moon. Every night the Moon rises in the East and sets in the West. It takes about 27 days to go around the Earth, and it’s an interesting fact that we always see the same side of the Moon. The Moon is the closest object to the Earth. It would take us only 13 hours to get to the Moon by rocket. If we were able to travel at the speed of light, it would take a bit less than two seconds.

There is a very thin atmosphere on the Moon. Life is not possible there. In spite of this, the Moon can be used as a base for space exploration and even for space tourism. Some space companies say that they will be able to take tourists to the Moon as soon as in 2020.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

People have always wanted to discover new things and new worlds. We have built spaceships to go to other planets and are planning to visit other galaxies one day. Meanwhile, we know very little about our own planet. The oceans, which cover 70 percent of the planet, are an unknown world to us. The Pacific Ocean is the largest one. The lowest point on the Earth is also there. It is called Challenger Deep and it was discovered in 1875. The Pacific Ocean stretches from the Arctic Ocean to the coast of Antarctica, but most of its water is in the warm tropics, which makes it warm. A lot of fish and animals live in the Pacific Ocean. The place is still waiting for researchers to discover its secrets for us.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

The Arctic Ocean is the smallest ocean of the world. It covers the northern polar region of the Earth. The Arctic region is a very cold place. The lowest recorded temperature there is minus 68 degrees. In spite of the cold, a lot of animals live on the Arctic ice. The polar bear is one of them. Now, due to global warming, the polar bear is in a serious trouble. The thing is that polar bears hunt seals and they need ice to do this. The bears wait for seals on the ice, hunt them in the water and go back to the shore. If the ice is too thin, it breaks under the bears’ heavy bodies and they may drown. The situation is getting worse and some researchers say the ocean may become ice-free as soon as 2050.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

In 1642 a French student invented the first mechanical calculator. He was only 18 and the counting machine was a present for his father. The father worked as a tax collector and the young man wanted to make his job easier.

The talented inventor made several machines but nobody was interested. The young man was ahead of his time. Many years passed before people realized how useful these machines could be and started mass producing them.

Today most mechanical calculators have been replaced with electronic models. These small devices can perform a lot of mathematical operations. You just need to enter the numbers by pressing the keys and you’ll see the final result on the screen in no time.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

One day a young man who lived near the lake in a small American town asked himself, “Why can’t people ski on water if they can ski on snow?” With his brother’s help he constructed several models of skis to test his ideas. He experimented on the local lake for a few days and created skis suitable for the water. This happened in 1922. The young man, who was only 18 at that time, didn’t patent his invention. However, he performed a lot of shows across the country that made him and the sport of water skiing popular. Later, he was recognized as the creator of a new sport – water skiing.

Water skiing equipment has been greatly improved since that time, and the number of people who enjoy this sport is growing in many countries.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

The ninth planet of the solar system was discovered not long ago. It happened in 1930. Scientists had been hunting for the planet for a long time. They had calculated its probable position but there was no proof that the planet really existed. It was too far away for the telescopes of that time to find it. It’s worth mentioning that the first photos of the planet were taken by a very young researcher. He was only twenty-four and had no formal education in astronomy. However he was deeply involved in the search for the ninth planet. The planet at the edge of the solar system was called Pluto, after the Roman god. The name for the planet was suggested by an 11-year-old British girl.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

Whether we realise it or not, TV plays a very important part in our lives. It’s the main source of information and a cheap form of entertainment for millions of people. It gives us an opportunity to «travel» all over the world, to «meet» different people and learn about their customs and traditions.It helps us to relax after a hard day’s work and escape from reality. Some people argue that television is a terrible waste of time. It makes us lazier. We stay at home instead of going out. We read less. We think less. We even talk less. It’s true that some TV addicts spend hours in front of the «box» watching whatever’s on — from second-rate Mexican soap operas to silly commercials. The trick is to learn to control television and use it intelligently. The ideal is to turn on the TV-set only when there’s a really interesting programme. Violence on TV is another problem that worries people. But the same can be said about computer games and many films and books.

And if you don’t like a certain programme, why watch it?

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

Films and science fiction books often played with the idea of reproducing exact copies of people. Today, science fiction has become science fact. The revolution began in 1997, when British scientists produced the first cloned sheep, Dolly. Since then scientists have cloned mice, cows, dogs and pigs. Cloning animals opens exciting medical possibilities, for example cloning organs for transplantation. Scientists can create animals which produce more milk, meat and wool, or animals which don’t catch certain diseases. This can save the lives of starving people.

Cloning is a controversial issue. Some people are ready to eat cloned fruits and vegetables, but many people are against cloning animals. The question of human cloning is even more controversial. Suppose we cloned a man. Are we really sure he will be a man? Who will be responsible for him? Who will bring him up? Will he be happy? Will he have the same rights as we have? Nevertheless, the idea of human cloning seems very exciting.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

Physical fitness is a general state of good health, usually as a result of exercise and nutrition. Physical fitness can also be described as a condition that allows us to look, feel and do our best. Being fit helps us have more energy for work or school, and enough energy to enjoy our leisure time activities. Fitness is an individual quality. It is influenced by age, sex, heredity, personal habits, habits, exercise and eating practices. You can’t do anything about the first three factors. However, it is within your power to change and improve the others where needed. The level of physical fitness can be influenced by regular, systematic exercise. How often, how long and how hard you exercise, and what kinds of exercises you do should be determined by what you are trying to get. For example, an athlete training for high-level competition would follow a different program than a person whose goals are good health and active life.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

With its architecturally defined profile, this is one of London’s most popular historical buildings. Buckingham Palace was built in 1703 for the Duke of Buckingham. When the Queen is here, the royal standard flut­ters over the palace. The Buckingham Palace is open to the public on Wednesday and Thursday. The Queen’s Gallery has especial exhibitions from the Royal collection and may be visited every day except Monday. The Palace and the beautiful gardens which surround it occupy an area of approximately 40 acres. Altogether this is one of the most interesting places in London for the tourists.

The ceremony of the Changing of the Guard takes place daily at eleven o’clock in the morning. Every day a large crowd of people gather to see this famous and traditional ceremony. Buckingham Palace is not only the royal residence: it’s a small city under one roof. It has a cinema, a post-office, some cafés and a restaurant, a hospital and even a night club. More than 700 people work here every day. 

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

The school system in the UK may seem rather confusing for people from other countries. There are two types of schools in the UK. Most of schools are state schools where education is free. But there are also private schools where you have to pay. Such schools are often very expensive. It may seem strange, but private schools in Britain are called public. A long time ago when education was a privilege of the rich, the only schools where poor people could go got the money from charity organizations. As it was public money, the schools for the poor were called public schools. Some of these public schools were very successful and later they became expensive private schools for rich people. But the conservative British continued to call them public schools. The first thing you need to have is money as studying at some public schools costs up to 20 000 pounds a year. There are some grants for bright pupils from poor families but the places are few and the competition is very strong. It’s not surprising that only six percent of the people in the UK can study at public schools.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

This is one of the nerve- centres of London. It was named Trafalgar Square to commemorate the historical naval victory won on the 21st of October 1805 by the British fleet under the command of Horatio Nelson over the French-Spanish fleet. The battle took place at Cape Trafalgar in the mouth of the Straits of Gibraltar and lasted several hours. Nelson was fatally wounded by a shot which broke his backbone. He died on board his flagship the Victory, but not before being told that he had won the battle. Nelson’s Column, with the statue of Admiral Lord Nelson on top, rises in the centre of Trafalgar Square. This most impressive monument is 170 feet (about 52 m) tall. The statue of Nelson, placed facing towards the sea he loved, measures 17 feet (more than 5 m) in height.

To the north-east of Trafalgar Square there is the building that houses the National Gallery of Art — one of the most important Art Galleries in the world — and behind is the National Portrait Gallery. There are many pigeons in the square and Londoners like to feed them. Everybody knows that the dove is the symbol of peace all over the world.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

The National gallery in London stands to the north of the Trafalgar Square. It houses one of the richest and most extensive collections of painting in the world. The collection covers all schools and periods of painting, but is a specially famous for its examples of Rembrandt and Rubents. The British school is only moderately represented as the national collections are shared with the Tate gallery. The National gallery was founded in 1824 when the government bought the collection of John Angerstein which included 38 paintings.

The Tate gallery houses the national collection of British painting from the 16-th century to the present day. It is also the national gallery for modern art, including painting and sculpture made in Britain, Europe, America and other countries. It was opened in 1897 as the national gallery of British art. It was opened due to Suie Henritate who built the gallery and gave his own collection of 65 painting.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

Money has played an important role in every civilization. It has taken various forms and has changed many times over the centuries. The first form of payment was the exchange of goods. People usually exchanged animal skins and meat, fruit and vegetables, cloth and precious stones. In the 7 century BC the first coins appeared. They were usually made of silver or gold and their value depended on the amount of metal in each coin. With time, coins became very popular and many countries produced their own currency. The introduction of paper money – banknotes – in the seventeenth century was the beginning of banking systems in many European countries. Since then, banks have offered a wide range of services like loans, bank accounts and many others. Today, people pay for things in many different ways: they pay in cash, by cheque, or by credit card. The last one, it seems, is the most convenient form of payment. Many people believe that one day money in the form of coins, banknotes, cheques and magnetic cards will totally disappear and that all buying and selling will be done via the Internet.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

There are about ninety Universities in Great Britain, the biggest one being London University, and the oldest ones Oxford and Cambridge. Oxford was founded in the 12th century as an aristocratic University: the cost of studies is comparatively high. Students have to pay for using libraries and laboratories, as well as for taking examinations. Oxford’s organization is very complicated. In fact, the University is a collection of 35 Colleges: two for women only, the rest taking both men and women. Each college is a world of its own which gives its students a specialized training in arts, law, medicine and science. The largest college has over 500 students; the smallest college has 100 students. The tutorial system of education used both in Oxford and Cambridge is one of the ways in which Oxbridge differs from other English Universities. Every student has a tutor in charge of planning his work and discussing its results with the student; the student’s duty is to see his tutor regularly and submit papers and essays. The academic year in England has three terms; each term lasts from eight to ten weeks. Examinations take place at the end of autumn, spring and summer terms. Final examinations take place at the end of the course of studies. If a student fails in an examination, he may be allowed to take the exam again, only two re-examinations being usually allowed.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

Scientists have noticed that the weather is getting worse and worse and so-called extreme weather events are becoming more and more frequent. The explanation is short: the reason is global warming. What is global warming? Greenhouse effect is a natural feature of our atmosphere without which the life on our planet would be impossible. Certain atmospheric gases work as a kind of a blanket, keeping the Earth warm. The amount of these ‘greenhouse’ gases used to be more or less the same for centuries. But the industrial revolution broke this balance. Climate experts predict that by 2050 the global average temperature will rise by 2-3 degrees. What would happen then? Northern regions will be wetter and warmer, southern regions will be drier and hotter. Snow will melt in the Alps and other mountains and the water will cause floods. Sea levels will rise and lots of areas will disappear under the water. So will some species of animals and plants.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

With the development of technology in the twenty-first century, it would be really difficult to imagine life without computers. They are a source of information, education and entertainment, but today’s world of computers can also be quite frightening and dangerous. This is because of people who use computers for illegal purposes. They are called hackers. Hackers spend their time playing with computer data in all parts of cyberspace. They are getting into computer systems and stealing or destroying information. Sometimes their activities break the law. They are especially interested in breaking through the security of military websites. Hackers know how to trick people just using their programs. They use a ‘Trojan Horse’, a program that looks perfectly safe, but actually contains something destructive. The only way of not getting into trouble is not to open it. Although they can get serious punishment if they are caught, most hackers still think that what they do is a game. Recently, hacking has started to increase. It is certain that there will be a lot more of this high-tech crime in the twenty-first century.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

Scientists believe that the horse first appeared in North America. But it was not the horse we know today. It was a fox-sized animal only about a foot high at the shoulder. About 50,000 years ago man established a relationship with the horse. At first people hunted horses, which wasn’t very easy, then they learned to herd these animals. The horse was becoming a worker — a source of help to man — not just a meal on the hoof. It took people many years to learn how to ride. Most scientists think that the first horses were used to pull carts, not for riding. But people finally mounted the horse. When people tamed horses, they could travel long distances, explore unknown lands and conquer them. Horse races were popular in ancient Greece and they are no less popular at present. Even now we use the term ‘horsepower’ — coined by the English engineer James Watt — to measure how much work is done by an engine. This term shows just how much respect the horses have earned People quickly realized how useful the horse could be.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud. 

We all like chocolate. But what exactly is chocolate and where does it come from? And is it good for us or bad for us? Perhaps you know the history of chocolate. Like the potato, it comes from South America. The Spanish people brought it to Europe as a drink. It was so expensive that only rich people could buy it. The idea of making it into bars came later so it became popular as a sweet only in the 1850s.Why do we like chocolate so much? Of course, it tastes good, but there are other reasons. There is something in chocolate which makes us happy. And it gives us a lot of energy. But it’s also so rich in calories that you can put on weight if you eat it all the time. Is it good or bad for us? Well, some scientists say that chocolate is very healthy, that it isn’t bad for your heart or your skin and that’s it even good for your teeth. Other people think that you shouldn’t eat it at all.The truth is somewhere in the middle. You shouldn’t eat chocolate all the time but it’s too tasty to say no!

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud.

Shopping hours in Britain are changing. A few years ago, shops opened at nine o’clock in the morning and closed at six o’clock in the evening. Some shops also closed for an hour for lunch. On Sundays nothing was open.But now many shops are open longer hours. Some big shops and many supermarkets never close! If you want some milk or some bread at midnight, you can easily buy it. It’s very good for people who often work late at night or early in the morning. If someone finishes work at five o’clock in the morning, they can go to the supermarket on their way home and buy some breakfast or a newspaper or anything else they want. There are people who don’t think it’s good. They say that Sunday is a holiday for all people — who wants to work in a supermarket on a Sunday? But shops are very busy at the weekend and they will work to make people’s life easier.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud.

It all started more than a hundred years ago, when women in poor English families had to work in factories. There was no time to shop and cook so they bought fast food in the street, on the way back from work. The most popular was fried fish with a piece of bread. The first chips came from France. The ‘chipped’ potatoes, as they were called, were also sold in the streets and soon became very popular. But at first, no one thought of selling fish and chips together. The idea to sell them together first came to a Londoner Joseph Malin. In 1860, he opened the first fish-and-chip shop in Cleveland Street in London’s East End. Soon such shops were everywhere in working-class areas. At first they put a fish and chips in an old newspaper with a lot of salt and vinegar on top. Today fish and chips are still very popular in Britain. More than 250 million portions are eaten in the country every year. But now they are sold in clean white paper bags. You can eat them just on spot or you can take them home and eat watching TV.

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Task 1. You are going to read the text aloud. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, and then be ready to read it aloud. Remember that you will not have more than 2 minutes for reading aloud.

Rose is the national flower of England and its symbol. It all started during the time of civil wars (1455-1485) known as the Wars of the Roses. It was the war between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose). At the end of the war the two roses were combined in the Tudor rose. During the Tudor period, hundreds of inns were named the Rose — to show loyalty to the royal family. There are still many pubs and hotels all over the country named after this flower. In 1871, the newly formed Rugby Football Union selected an England team to play the first ever international match against Scotland. The committee chose a red rose as the team’s badge. Although England lost the match, held in Edinburgh, the country’s rugby teams have worn red roses ever since.