1 Вопрос

THE STORY OF RUBBER

Rubber was brought from South America by travellers. At first people knew just one way to use it. They would use balls of rubber to rub out pencil marks on paper. And that's how rubber got its name! In those days rubber was shipped in pieces shaped like bottles. Workers would make cuts in the rubber trees. Then they would catch the rubber juice in glass bottles. Soon the juice would get hard. Then workers would break the glass. The hard rubber would stay in the bottle shape. A man came up with good ideas about how to use rubber. His name was Macintosh. He found a way to melt hard rubber back into rubber juice. He would pour the rubber juice onto some cloth. He would spread it very thin and let it dry. This cloth did not get wet. Macintosh named this cloth after himself. Soon everyone was using mackintosh cloth. People used it to make raincoats and boots. People poured rubber juice into new shapes. Then it got hard again. In this way people made things like water hoses and bicycle tires. They even made parts of machines. Rubber became very important. In just twenty years it changed everyone's life.

1.What is the main idea of the text?

2. How did rubber get its name?

3. Who came up with good ideas about how to use rubber?

4. Rubber became very important, didn’t it?

5. What do you think about this story?

БИЛЕТ 7

1 Вопрос

THE LUCKIEST SANDWICH IN THE WORLD

Mr Freidman was in a shopping centre in Birmingham the other day when he suddenly felt very hungry. He decided to buy himself a sandwich, but when he took his wallet out he discovered that he only had a $50 note. It was six o'clock in the evening, he was really hungry and nowhere else was open. Then he had a crazy idea! He'd buy some lottery tickets and the sandwich. He never did stupid things like that and in fact he never bought lottery tickets. It was the first time in his life. Mr Freidman was a cleaner and his wife was a secretary and they didn't have much money, so when he got home his wife was very angry. "We look after our money," she said, "and you go throw it away on lottery tickets! We're saving for holiday in Brighton!" That Saturday they watched the results on TV. They won millions. It's going to change their lives. Mr Freidman says that it was the luckiest sandwich in the world, and it was the luckiest crazy decision! And Mrs Freidman has forgiven him for wasting their money. They're going to go on that holiday, but not to Brighton.

1.What is the main idea of the text?

2. Why did Mr.Freidman decide to buy a sandwich?

3. What idea did he have?

4. Why did Mr.Freidman say that it was the luckiest sandwich in the world?

5. What do you think about this story?

БИЛЕТ 8

1 Вопрос

RACE AGAINST DEATH

The temperature was about thirty degrees below zero. Sharp winds whipped the city. Thick snow made it impossible to see. January of 1925 was a cruel month in Nome, Alaska. The weather wasn't the only problem in Nome that winter. Diphtheria was spreading through the city. Diphtheria is a terrible disease that people rarely get today. But in 1925 many children had caught it, and some had even died. Somehow doctors had to get some medicine to stop this disease. There was none in Nome. The nearest place to get it was Anchorage, far away in another part of the state. In those days no railroads led to Nome. The only way to travel in winter was in sled pulled by big dogs. Officials had no choice. Quickly they made a plan. The medicine would go by train from Anchorage to the town of Nenanna. Dogs and sleds would have to take it from there to Nome. When the medicine reached Nenanna, a sled team was ready to leave for Nome. The team stopped along the way to change dogs and drivers. After 500 miles, the team was met by another team that had started out from Nome. Now the going got rough. It took three teams to cover the last lap. Finally the last brave team pulled into Nome. The sick children were saved.