Английский язык 9-11 классы, школьный (первый) этап, г. Москва, 2016 год

Part 1 «Listening» (10 scores)

Audioscript ↓

Time: 10 minutes

1. Mike has returned from a game of golf.
2. Mike is going to Shaldon.
3. The clock is slow.
4. The clock is very old.
5. Mike likes the smell of egg and ham pie.
6. It will take more than thirty minutes to have the egg and ham pie ready.
7. Mike asks for a mushroom omelette.
8. The mother offers some pork pie.
9. Mike didn’t like the taste of cheese and tomatoes.
10. Mike’s last phrase is a joke.

Part 2 «READING»

Time: 40 minutes
(15 scores)

WERE DINOSAURS A FAILURE?

There is a strong tendency among many people to think of the dinosaur as a failure. It’s true, of course, that the species did die out. And, in relation to the long existence of the earth, the disappearance of the dinosaur was a rather sudden one. No one is quite sure why they disappeared; and since they haven’t been around for some 75 million years, it’s a little difficult to come up with an explanation that is any more than partially acceptable. One of the most commonly-held theories is that the dinosaur couldn’t adapt. The question very few seem to ask, however, is, “Couldn’t adapt to what?”

The dinosaur was the dominant earth species for over one hundred million years. Surely within any period of such great length there had to be considerable adaptation. One of the yardsticks we can use as a basis for judgment is to examine the number of dinosaur extremes. How many orders and sub-orders were there within the dinosaur species? Without going into statistics, I can assure you that there were plenty. They ran from the chicken-sized Compsognathus on up to the more familiar — and much bigger — Brontosaurus.

Now let’s apply this same yardstick to man. In the one million years or so that we’ve been around, only four racial extremes have finally evolved; and I think you’ll agree that they can hardly be considered ‘extremes’. When it comes to pure biological differences, the distinctions among the Australoid, Mongoloid, Caucasoid and Negroid races are rather superficial. On the basis of the number of extremes, it appears that man, not the dinosaur, has shown the least variety in adapting.

As a matter of fact, man is not nearly the perfect creature he likes to imagine he is. Evolution, in fact, has played a couple of nasty tricks on us. To begin with, it has left us with an appendix that in other animals serves a definite digestive purpose but which, in man, seems to do nothing other than catch a stray orange pit or something, become inflamed, and need surgical removal.

Our sinuses serve the important function of eliminating unnecessary bone structure and thereby making one’s head light enough so that it can be easily supported by the rest of the body. In man, however, the sinuses frequently become infected due to improper drainage, thus causing annoying medical problems. Some specialists point out that if man did not insist upon walking only on his hind legs instead of on all four like other animals, his sinuses would drain properly because that is the way they are built to drain.

And finally we come to the great affliction of mankind, the common aching back. Man is born with a straight, unstressed (that is, not under pressure) spine; and if he never learned to walk upright, his spine would remain that way and he probably wouldn’t have any backaches. But once man does begin to walk, his spine, in order to permit the upright position, becomes stressed with an inward curve. Sometimes the stresses prove too great, and injuries are the result.

Of course, as a species, man is still undergoing a variety of evolutionary changes. We are becoming taller, growing less hair and fewer teeth, and developing larger skulls, and we may eventually lose one or more toes and an equal number of fingers. In fact, we are becoming more and more specialized and, if anything, less able to adapt. If these trends continue, the people of the future will be a most unattractive group, at least by today’s standards. However, attractiveness isn’t particularly important to racial success or failure. As unpleasant as the Tyranosaurus might have looked to us, or we to him, he probably looked fine to another Tyranosaurus.

What is most important, though, is this inability of ours to adapt from within. A while ago, a ‘scientific theory’ which was really a joke, claimed that man had come from some place other than earth and had arrived here fairly well along in his development. It was, of course, nonsense and never meant to be otherwise, but some of the ‘proofs’ were rather interesting. To state them briefly: (1) man can’t breathe under water, so he can’t survive without artificial aid on most of the earth’s surface; (2) extreme exposure to this atmosphere’s natural radiation (sunlight) will kill him; (3) without protection man cannot survive the earth’s normal temperature changes; and (4) normal earth gravity severely limits his activities. Hence, the ‘theory’ claimed, man couldn’t possibly have developed in a place so naturally unsuited to the way he is made. If you stop to think about it, you’ll see that all of these environmental limitations — and more — do really exist, and that man cannot survive outside rather narrow environmental limits.

It’s this inability to adapt that may provide the causes for our own racial extinction. If we cannot adapt enough to fit our environment, then we must, as we are doing, keep changing our environment to make it fit us; and it is that changing that is creating serious problems.

For example, it’s all very good to develop a light, portable cave called a tent; but tents have a way of becoming less portable and turning into more permanent structures called houses. And not being content to let well enough alone, we must then begin to control the climate in these houses. So far so good, but when you extend this idea of changing and controlling nature to include your total environment — and we are headed in this direction — how many delicate balances are you disturbing? And, more important, what will be the long-range effect of these disturbances? We’re all aware, I think, of the terrible dangers in the polluting of air and water. But aren’t we also taking a great risk when we set out to destroy a particular species of annoying insect or to bring in an animal new to the area in order to destroy another species of animal? Perhaps, thus far, we’ve been fortunate and haven’t quite completed the destruction of our own ecology, but each time we upset the balance, no matter in how small a way, we increase the risk. And sooner or later we are going to make that one all-important mistake.

Incidentally, it may well be that we’ve made the mistake already. We are now discovering that our survival may well depend upon the solution of several problems all related to the same question: Will man kill himself through overpopulation? We have more people being born, more babies and children staying alive and growing up (because of better feeding and medical care), more adults living longer than ever before. We have reduced the death rate tremendously — but not the birth rate.

At the present rate of population growth, scientists tell us, the earth (which already has millions of people living in crowded conditions that most Americans can’t begin to imagine and which already has millions of people starving to death) will eventually not have enough living space or food for anyone.

To get back to my original question, “Were Dinosaurs a Failure?”, considering the fact that they were around for something over a hundred million years and we’ve been here for only slightly more than one million, I think that any answer is at least 99 million years too early. In the long run, it may be that the dinosaur, compared with man, was a great, glowing success.

Task 1 Questions 1-7

1. Dinosaurs’ dying out is frequently put down to their inability to get adjusted to the new conditions on the earth.
2. The presence of a wide range of various dinosaur types proves that this species went through a considerable adjustment period.
3. On the basis of the number of extremes, it appears that the dinosaur has shown the least variety in adapting in comparison with man.
4. An appendix in man serves a definite digestive purpose.
5. As a species, man is becoming more and more attractive as a result of numerous evolutionary changes.
6. Since people are unable to get adjusted to their natural habitat, they are desperately trying to make it fit them, which invariably leads to grave consequences.
7. Of all the delicate balances man is disturbing, the air pollution seems the most long-lasting and thus the most dangerous.

Task 2. Questions 8-15

Choose option A, B, C which best fits according to the text. Circle the correct letter in boxes 8-15 on your answer sheet.

8. There … about the reason for the disappearance of the dinosaur.

• A. are many theories
• B. is general agreement
• C. is no information

9. Dinosaurs lived on the earth … man has existed so far.

• A. about half the length of time that
• B. about 100 times longer than
• C. for an unknown but longer period than

10. Every time we change the balance of nature, we increase … .

• A. the population
• B. a particular species
• C. the risk to ourselves

11. According to experts, unless the earth’s birth rate is reduced considerably there
will not be . .

• A. enough food
• B. enough living space
• C. enough living space or food

12. There were … extremes in the types and sizes of dinosaurs.

• A. a great many
• B. very few
• C. only four

13. In comparison with the racial extremes of the dinosaurs, the differences among
the races of mankind . .

• A. are very great
• B. amount to practically nothing
• C. don’t exist at all

14. Many of mankind’s aches and pains are thought to be caused by … .

• A. our mental attitudes
• B. our upright position
• C. our lack of sleep

15. The more civilized people become, the … they adapt to their environment.

• A. less
• B. more
• C. more intelligently

Part 3 «USE OF ENGLISH»

Time: 30 minutes (20 scores)

Task 1. Questions 1-10

HOME GYM

Task 2. Questions 11–20

Example: 0. The pool isn’t deep enough to swim in.
too
The pool……………………. swim in.

11. It won’t help if you worry about it.
point
There is ………………… about it.

12. I just can’t decide where to go on holiday.
mind
I just can’t …………………. where to go on holiday.

13. Make sure you kill all the germs by boiling the water.
so
The water must ………………………to kill all the germs.

14. I can’t believe you stayed so calm.
temper
I’d ……….…. if I’d been in your shoes.

15. I hope you haven’t got flu coming on.
down
I hope you’re ………………. the flu.

16. He’s really keen to start his new job.
forward
He’s really …………………………….his new job.

17. Could you move up so that we can sit down too?
room
Could you ……………….……….. to sit down too?

18. There will have to be a change in his attitude or he won’t continue to work here.
order
There will have to be a change in his attitude …………………………to work here.

19. Although it was snowing heavily, they decided to go for a ride.
spite
They decided to go for a ride ………….. the snow.

20. I didn’t realize your office was so far from the bus stop.
such
I didn’t realize your office ………………………………way from the bus stop.

Part 4 «WRITING»

Time: 40 minutes (15 scores)

Remember to mention in your review:

• why you like the play;
• which character in the play you would most like to meet and why;
• why you should stage the play at your school theatre.

Write 100 – 140 words.

Keys

LISTENING

READING

USE OF ENGLISH

Подсчёт баллов за все конкурсы

Listening. Максимальное количество баллов — 10. Задание проверяется по ключам. Каждый правильный ответ оце­нивается в 1 балл. За неверный ответ или отсутствие ответа выставляется 0 баллов.

Reading. Максимальное количество баллов — 15. Задание проверяется по ключам. Каждый правильный ответ оце­нивается в 1 балл. За неверный ответ или отсутствие ответа выставляется 0 баллов.

Use of English. Максимальное количество баллов — 20. Задание проверяется по ключам. Каждый правильный ответ оценивается в 1 балл. За неверный ответ или отсутствие ответа выставляется 0 баллов. Орфография учитыва­ется.

Writing. Максимальное количество баллов — 15. Задание оценивается по Критериям оценивания.

Audioscript

Look at Part 1 ↑

Listening comprehension

Variant 2

(pause 20 seconds)

Now we begin

Service, Please

Mike: Mum, I’m in a terrible hurry. Can I have my lunch right away? We’re going to Shaldon for a game of golf. The boys are picking me up at one o’clock, and I’ve promised to be ready on time. Gosh, it’s twenty to one already! Is that clock right?

Mum: No, it’s ten minutes fast. It’s not quite half past twelve yet. But it doesn’t make any difference — I’ve just put our lunch in the oven and it won’t be ready for more than half an hour.

Mike: Mmm! It smells marvelous! Is it ham and egg pie? I can’t wait for that now though. Put some by for me and I’ll have it this evening. What can I have straight away? I’m starving.

Mum: I can make you a mushroom omelette in five minutes or you can have what’s left of this pork pie. It looks a bit stale, though — try a bit first.

Mike: It doesn’t taste too bad. I’ll have this with some cheese and tomatoes. It’s not much of a lunch but at least I’ll be ready in time.

Mum: I’m used to your racing in and out and expecting a meal within five minutes, but this is not a restaurant with a 24 hour service and I’m not a magician. You just have to take pot luck, if you can’t make your arrangements in advance and give me some warning of your movements.

Mike: Well, it’s a rotten restaurant and I’m going to complain to the manager. If I die of food poisoning, they’ll put you in prison for years.

You have 20 seconds to check your answers.

(pause 20 seconds)

Now listen to the text again.

(text repeated)

This is the end of the listening comprehension task.

Дополнительные материалы