Задание 4. Прочитайте отрывок из романа и выполните задания 1 – 7, выбирая букву A, B, C или D. Установите соответствие номера задания выбранному вами варианту ответа.

The London Marathon celebrates its 23^rd birthday. That is 23 years of stresses and strains, blisters and sore bits, and incredible tales. Somehow, yours truly has managed to run four of them. And I have medals to prove it. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I watched the inaugural London Marathon on March 29^th, 1981. It seemed extraordinary that normal people would want to run 26 miles and 385 yards. And, it must be said, they looked strange and not quite steady at the end of it all. There are, indeed, terrible tales of people losing consciousness by the time they reach that glorious finishing line. But I was captivated. I knew I had to do it.

Three years later I was living in London, not far from Greenwich where the event begins, and it seemed the perfect opportunity to give it a go. I was only a short train ride from the starting line, but more than 26 miles from the finish. “Who cares?” I thought. By the end I did. The moment I crossed that finishing line, and had that medal placed around my neck, was one of the finest in my life. The sense of achievement was immense. It was a mad thing to do, and ultimately pointless. But knowing that I’d run a Marathon – that most historic of all distant races – felt incredible.

London provides one of the easiest of all the officially sanctioned marathons because most of it is flat. Yes, there are the cobblestones while running through the Tower of London, and there are the quiet patches where crowds are thin and you are crying out for some encouragement – those things matter to the alleged “fun” runners like myself, the serious runners don’t think of such things.

This year London will attract unprecedented number of athletes, a lot of title holders among them. It is set to witness what is probably the greatest field ever for a marathon. In the men’s race, for example, among numerous applicants there’s the holder of the world’s best time, Khalid Khannouchi of the USA; the defending champion El Mouriz of Morocco; Ethiopia’s Olympic bronze-medallist Tesfaye Tola. And, making his marathon debut, is one of the finest long distance runners of all time Haile Gebrselassie.

Since 1981, almost half a million people have completed the London Marathon, raising more than $125 million for charity. For the majority of the runners, this is what it is all about. It is for charity, for fun, for self-development. It is a wonderful day. I have run it with poor training, with proper training. And I have always loved it.

It’s crazy, and it’s one of the greatest things I’ve ever done. If you want to feel as though you’ve achieved something, run a marathon.

1. Participation in the London Marathon resulted for the author in

A) stresses and strains.

B) blisters and sore bits.

C) memorable medals.

D) incredible tales.

2. When the author watched the end of the first marathon he saw people who were

A) extraordinary steady.

B) feeling weak and exhausted.

C) losing consciousness.

D) having a glorious time.

3. The reason for the author’s participation in the marathon was the fact that he

A) was fascinated by it.

B) lived not far from its finishing line.

C) wanted to receive a medal.

D) wanted to do something incredible.

4. “By the end I did” means that the author

A) found the distance suitable.

B) found the distance challenging.

C) decided to take part in the marathon.

D) eventually took a train to the finish.

5. According to the author, the London Marathon is one of the easiest because

A) it goes through the Tower of London.

B) there are quiet patches without crowds.

C) many “fun” runners participate in it.

D) its course does not slope up or down.

6. “… the greatest field ever for a marathon” means that the marathon

A) will take place on a big field.

B) is to be run by the famous runners only.

C) will be witnessed by more people.

D) will welcome a huge number of sportsmen.

7. According to the author, one should run the London Marathon to

A) raise money for charity.

B) get some training.

C) feel self-fulfillment.

D) have fun in a crazy way.

Задание 5. Прочитайте отрывок из романа и выполните задания 1 – 7, выбирая букву A, B, C или D. Установите соответствие номера задания выбранному вами варианту ответа.

Harry had come to Canada from Poland at the age of eight. The family was sent to a Jewish farming village in Manitoba. His father had been a merchant in the old country, but he was allowed into Canada on condition that he took up agriculture. In the village, they lived in a small wooden house.

When he was sixteen Harry moved to Winnipeg to work for his cousin Albert in the fur business. He was paid fifteen dollars a week for sixty or seventy hours of work. This arrangement continued for two years, and then Harry asked for a raise or a reduction in working time. His cousin said no; that was when Harry began his own family fur business. After his parents sold their farm and moved into the city, he operated out of their North Winnipeg basement.

I was introduced to Harry through a friend of mine, a local city planner. Harry now owned properties in the exchange district, so named because it was where the grain and fur exchanges started. My friend had been encouraging Harry to renovate these buildings. The city was trying to save its architectural past. Much remained that would have been torn down in other Canadian cities.

The three of us walked to a restaurant called Bottles. Looking at the menu, Harry said he didn’t want anything rich. He had had problems with his stomach since he was eighteen. “Poor eating,” he explained. There had not been enough money for decent food.

“I don’t know what’s happened to Winnipeg,” Harry said. “Thirty years ago Portage Avenue was full of life. Now in the evening the whole downtown is dead.”

Harry had bought his first raw pelts in 1952. There had been a thousand people employed in the fur trade when he began. Now he thought there might be a hundred. The fur manufactures in Montreal and Toronto, many of them Greek immigrants, had taken over the business. “We used to work like dogs. One of my parents’ neighbours reported us – we weren’t supposed to work out of a house – so we had to rent space downtown. People said we’d be broke very soon. But slowly we expanded.”

Harry was among the inter-war immigrants who had given Winnipeg’s north end its special character. Then North Winnipeg had been a seat of political ferment and of Jewish immigrant culture. Its history had acquired a patina because so many talented people had escaped its poverty and gone into business or the arts professions. But Harry was one of the last. Many of the old Jewish families had moved across the river into more expensive neighbourhoods. There was a new underclass made up of Filipinos, Vietnamese, and Canadian Indians.

1. Harry’s father was permitted to come to Canada if he

A) didn’t work in agriculture.

B) became a farmer.

C) remained a merchant.

D) returned to Poland after some years.

2. Harry stopped working for his cousin Albert because

A) he returned to his father’s farm.

B) he went to Poland to start his own business.

C) his cousin refused to pay him more money.

D) his cousin wanted to increase working hours.

3. A local city planner wanted Harry to

A) tear down the old buildings.

B) own the buildings.

C) exchange the buildings for fur.

D) restore the buildings.

4. Harry had some problems with his stomach because in his childhood he

A) had eaten too much.

B) had not been able to eat proper food.

C) used to starve.

D) had liked rich food.

5. One of Harry’s parents’ neighbours told the police about them because they

A) used to work like dogs.

B) rented a place downtown.

C) ran their business at home.

D) had expanded their business.

6. “People said we’d be broke very soon” means that people expected them to

A) go bankrupt soon.

B) destroy their house.

C) have a breakthrough in business.

D) break their back due to hard work.

7. “Last” in “Harry was one of the last” refers to

A) the political figures who gave Manitoba its special character.

B) those who had moved into more expensive neighbourhood.

C) successful immigrants who still lived in North Winnipeg.

D) those who had chosen the profession of the arts.

Задание 6. Прочитайте отрывок из романа и выполните задания 1 – 7, выбирая букву A, B, C или D. Установите соответствие номера задания выбранному вами варианту ответа.

I wanted to find my niche. I wanted to fit so badly with some group, any group in high school. Sports didn’t really work for me. In fact, I dreaded those times in PE when the captains picked teams. Fights sometimes happened between captains about who would have the misfortune of ending up with me on their team. But one day, I saw a girl I liked go into the marching band office to sign up. Okay, sure, the uniforms looked stupid and being in the band didn’t exactly give you the best reputation at school, but there was Jaclyn. I would later learn that many of the greatest musicians of our time were motivated to music by some girl whose name they most likely don’t remember anymore.

The first thing to learn was how to hold the drum and play it. Holding the drum and playing it is not as easy as it might look. I did, after several private lessons, learn the rhythm. Next, as if that weren’t difficult enough, I had to learn how to play it while not only walking, but marching. At the end of the summer, our uniforms arrived. The band uniform is a sacred attire. It is not only carefully sized to fit the individual, long-sleeved and hand sewn, acquired through a lot of fund raising activities, and cleaned after each use. It is worn with pride. It is also 100 percent wool.

I forgot to mention something. In addition to an inability to play sports, I was also not so good at marching. If you were not in step, the band director would yell in a loud and embarrassingly annoyed voice, “OUT OF STEP!” It was at that point that I began to question my decision to join the band. How do playing music and marching around in silly formations, all “in step”, go together?

The day of our first competition finally arrived. Although it didn’t start until 9 a.m., we had to meet at 6 a.m. to get our uniforms from the “band boosters” – those selfless, dedicated parents who provided comfort and assistance to the members of the band. I was not really in existence. I could walk and talk, but inside my brain was fast asleep. I was standing around waiting for my hat to be cleaned when I noticed a big container of coffee. I poured myself a cup – my first-ever cup of coffee. It tasted pretty bitter, but I had to wake up.

Finally, they lined us all up and off we went. I had had my coffee, so I marched and beat the rhythm out with all my heart. Then, suddenly all my energy drained away. I began to feel sleepy and I fell “OUT OF STEP.” No one noticed at first and I tried to skip back into step. But nothing worked. Then I saw one of the band boosters talking to another one and pointing at me. Then they motioned for me to leave the formation. I walked over to them as the band marched on. They told me what I already knew, I was “OUT OF STEP”, and would have to stay out of the formation until the band passed the judging stand.

I couldn’t believe it. Now I had to climb over the lawn chairs, popcorn and arms and legs of my fellow townspeople for the next mile to keep up with the band, carrying my drum and wearing my uniform. This was the most humiliating moment of my life.

1. When the narrator was in high school he

A) wanted badly to belong to some sports team.

B) looked forward to PE classes.

C) sometimes had fights with team captains picking teams.

D) longed to have something in common with other students.

2. The reason why the narrator decided to sign up for the band was his

A) dream to become a musician.

B) wish to get a better reputation.

C) attraction to a girl.

D) liking the band uniform.

3. “The band uniform is a sacred attire” means it is

A) carefully sized to fit the individual.

B) long-sleeved hand sewn pure wool.

C) cleaned after each use.

D) highly respected and symbolic.

4. The narrator began to question his decision to join the band because he

A) saw no connection between playing music and marching.

B) suddenly found out that he was not so good at marching.

C) had a bad ear for music.

D) got frightened by the yells of the band director.

5. The narrator had a cup of coffee before marching because he

A) sometimes liked to have some.

B) didn't want to feel sleepy.

C) had got tired of waiting.

D) liked its bitter taste.

6. When the narrator fell “OUT OF STEP” he

A) just kept on marching.

B) expected the band boosters to encourage him.

C) worked hard to improve the situation.

D) looked forward to leaving the formation.

7. When the narrator was told to leave the formation he felt

A) frightened that the band director would scold him.

B) miserable because he knew he would be a laughing stock.

C) relieved because he did not have to march any more.

D) happy that he could join his fellow townspeople.

Ответы к заданиям по чтению ( высокий уровень)

 4. 1-C; 2-B; 3-A; 4-B; 5-D; 6-D; 7-C

5.1-B; 2-C; 3-D; 4-B; 5-C; 6-A; 7-C

6.1-D; 2-C; 3-D; 4-A; 5-B;6-C; 7-B