For questions 1-5 decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F). For questions 6-10 decide which ending fits the sentences.

Variant I

I. Read the text.

For questions 1-5 decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F). For questions 6-10 decide which ending fits the sentences.

 

The European Union

The European Union began in 1952 when Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Luxemburg formed the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). This agreement meant that the coal and steel companies in all six countries were controlled by the same organization.

In 1957, the same six countries formed the EEC (European Economic Community). The agreement, called the Treaty of Rome, made trade much easier and cheaper between these countries and with the USA.

By the end of the 1990s, the EEC had changed its name to the European Union and there were fifteen member countries. Trade between members is cheap and easy. They also have more power as a group when they trade with larger countries like the USA. Some people worry that the EU takes a lot of political power away from the government of each country. There is now a new kind of money in Europe – the euro. Not all EU countries have begun to use euros. Some people want their country to keep its own money and make its own economic decisions.

 

1 The abbreviation EU appeared in the 2^nd half of the 20^th century. T F

2 Steel, coal and chemicals producers initiated a new trade agreement. T F

3 Six European countries and the USA made an agreement in 1957. T F

4 The European Union membership helps develop national economies. T F

5 There are problems which the EU countries have not solved yet. T F

 

6 France and Luxemburg a was signed in 1957.

7 The Treaty of Rome b by the same organization.

8 The main idea of the EU is c about their political and economic

independence.

9 People in the EU countries worry d belong to the EU oldest members.

10 In the EU countries trade is controlled e to make trade easier and cheaper.

 

II. Read the text. and choose the phrase (a, b or c) that best completes the sentences 11-15.

Walt Disney

There is no one who has never heard of Walt Disney; he is without doubt one of the most famous figures in the twentieth century and yet most people know hardly anything about him. Although he became one of the most successful men in the history, he left school at the age of sixteen and then studied art for a short time. By the early years of the 20^th century, he had already started to produce cartoons in Hollywood in partnership with his brother Roy, who, for some reason, never managed to become as famous as Walt.

Disney is perhaps most well known on account of his lovable cartoon character, Mickey Mouse, who first appeared in 1928 in a film called Steamboat Willie. One of the most popular cartoon films of all time is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which, when it was released in 1937, was the first full-length cartoon in the history of the cinema.

By the 1950s, Walt Disney had become one of the world’s major producers of films for cinema and television. As Disney Productions grew, its founder retained complete artistic control of the films and he also went on to publish books for children and cartoon strips in newspapers, featuring such characters as Donald Duck and Pluto the dog.

 

11 Everybody knows the most popular cartoon by W. Disney

a) Snow White and the Seventeen Dwarfs b) Snow White and the Seven Brothers

c) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

12 Walt Disney’s characters could be seen

a) in the newspapers and TV programs b) in the newspapers and books

c) in the films, newspapers, books and on TV

13 As for Walt Disney’s educational background,

a) he got some professional skills b) he did not get any artistic education

c) his brother Roy taught him to make films

14 By now Mickey Mouse

a) is younger than 80 b) is older than 80 c) has celebrated his 85^th birthday

15 The cartoon Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is known in the history of the cinema

a) because of its characters b) because of its special effects

c) because it was as long as a feature film

 

 

IV For questions 91-100 decide to which part of speech each of the given words belongs. Circle the letter corresponding to the appropriate part of speech.

 

NOUN	Verb	Adjective
n	v	a

 

91 inspiration n v a

92 carelessness n v a

93 qualify n v a

94 spacious n v a

95 irritate n v a

96 dryer n v a

97 cervical n v a

98 resistance n v a

99 tin-opener n v a

100 applicable n v a

 

Variant II

I Read the text.

For questions 1-5 decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F). For questions 6-10 decide which ending fits the sentences.

 

Money

Before money, people could not buy or sell. They had to exchange goods. With money, buying and selling could happen at different times with different people. A person could sell food to somebody on one day and get money for it; a week later, he or she could use the money to buy clothes from a third person.

There have been metal coins for thousands of years. But this caused problems. Thousands years ago the Greeks used coins made of silver. Their money drachma was the most common kind of money for trade in Europe and parts of Asia. The Romans also used silver and gold coins.

In the late 18^th and early 19^th centuries people did not want to carry large bags of coins with them, so they left the coins with traders. The traders gave them ‘notes’ which were just pieces of paper with a promise to pay back the gold and silver coins.

In 1950, the first credit card was made. Today, most shops, hotels and restaurants in the world take credit cards and people do not have to carry a lot of coins and notes with them when they travel.

1 Money could make a selling/buying process longer.

2 With money fewer people could buy and sell.

3 Ancient people did not use silver and gold for money production.

4 The traders’ business was to produce special written documents.

5 Having a credit card is quite risky and dangerous.

6 Primitive people a) when having coins and notes on them.

7 With money people got b) had to exchange goods.

8 With time metal coins c) has celebrated its 55^th birthday.

9 People do not feel comfortable d) more choices to buy and to sell

10 The credit card e) became smaller in size.

 

 

II. Read the text. For questions 11-15 choose the appropriate ending for each sentence.

Strasbourg

Strasbourg has always been an important city. Thanks to a favourable geographical position – at the crossroads of waterways and overland routes- the area on which Strasbourg now stands has been inhabited since the Bronze Age. In the Middle Ages, it was an important economic center and it gradually grew so strong that by the fifteenth century it had become a free republic. It grew richer and richer in the sixteenth century and welcomed free thinkers and refugees from Switzerland, Italy and France. These newcomers greatly enriched the city’s cultural life. In 1697, Strasbourg became a part of France. Germany conquered it in 1870 and it was only returned to France after the end of the First World War. It was again occupied by Germany in the Second World War and suffered great destruction. In 1949, the city was chosen to be the headquarters of the Council of Europe, and since 1979 it has been the seat of the European Parliament to which countries send their representatives.

 

11 Strasbourg is mostly known

a) as the main office of the Council of Europe b) for its history

c) for its specific geographical position

 

12 Today Strasbourg belongs to

a) Germany b) France c) neither of them

 

13 The culture of Strasbourg became especially rich in the 16^th century because

a) Germany and France fought for this territory b) talented foreigners

came to the city

c) the city was close to Switzerland and Italy

 

14 Strasbourg is important for European countries because

a) many basic decisions are made in it b) its cultural life is very rich

c) it is the seat of the European Parliament

 

15 Strasbourg suffered

a) in World War I b) in World War II c) in both

 

IV For points 91-100 decide to which part of speech each of the given words belongs. Circle the letter corresponding to the appropriate part of speech.

 

NOUN	Verb	Adjective
n	v	a

91 imitate n v a

92 repetitive n v a

93 visualize n v a

94 improvement n v a

95 courageous n v a

96 typify n v a

97 abolition n v a

98 brightness n v a

99 capable n v a

100 senseless n v a

 

 

Variant III

I Read the text.

For questions 1-5 decide whether the given statements are true (T) or false (F). For questions 6-10 decide which ending fits the sentences.

 

Building a global brand

Coca-Cola is the most recognized brand in the world. When the company began, it was very small. For the first year, it sold only nine drinks a day. Today, it sells about 7,000 products every second.

John Pemberton invented Coca-Cola in 1886. He made it at home and brought to a shop where he sold it for five cents a glass. He worked with a man called Frank Robinson who invented the name Coca-Cola. It is still used on the bottles today. In 1891 the Coca-Cola company was bought for 2,300 dollars. In 1919, the company was sold for 25 million dollars. Robert Woodruff who became the president of the Coca-Cola company in 1923, stayed in the job for more than thirty years and helped Coca-Cola to become one of the largest companies in the world. By 1945, there were 64 Coca-Cola factories across the world.

A global brand must look the same everywhere in the world. All the Coca-Cola factories use the same bottles. The colours red and white have been an important part of the brand since those days.

1 Coca-Cola sends more than 40,000 products a minute. T ______ F ____

2 Coca-cola is more than 100 years old. T ______ F ____

3 J. Pemberton invented a new drink and its name in 1886. T ______ F ____

4 J. Pemberton sold the Coca-Cola company in 1919. T ______ F ____

5 All the Coca-Cola products are the same in form and colour. T ______ F ____

 

6 John Pemberton started a thanks to its colours.

7 The new product got its name b not once.

8 The Coca-Cola company got its world popularity c thanks to Robert Woodruff.

9 The company was resold d with the price of five cents a glass.

10 The drink can be recognized easily e thanks to Frank Robinson.

Michelangelo

Michelangelo, one of the greatest artists of all times, was born on 6^th March 1475 in Caprese, where his father, Lodovico Buonarotti, served as a magistrate for six months. Lodovico was not a wealthy man but he claimed he descended from an aristocratic family and he was very proud of this connection. Michelangelo grew up in Settignano, a little mountain town just outside Florence. One of the first sights Michelangelo must have become familiar with was the dome of the beautiful Cathedral in Florence, which dominated the city then as it still does today. At school, Michelangelo was by no means an outstanding pupil; lessons did not appeal to him at all. The only thing he wanted to do was to draw and ‘waste his time; as his elders probably called it, in the workshops of various painters and sculptors in the city. One can imagine the eager boy, for whom art was the most important thing in his whole life, watching the wonderful pictures and statues which filled the beautiful churches of Florence. His best friend while he was still a schoolboy was Francesco Granacci, who, although six years older than Michelangelo, seems to have taken an interest in the boy and helped him to draw and paint. Michelangelo’s choice of profession didn`t please his father at all. Only the most successful of artists in Florence could make any money.

 

11 When at school, Michelangelo

a) did well b)did not belong to the best pupils c) missed classes very often

12 Michelangelo was born in

a) an aristocratic family b) a rich family c) a rather poor family

13 Michelangelo spent a lot of time

a) in the beautiful cathedral in Florence b) with the painters and sculptors

c) with his best friend

14 Lodovico Buonarotti was not happy about his son’s profession because

a) there were a lot of artists in Florence b) not many artists made money

c) he did not consider his son talented enough.

15 The Cathedral dominates Florence because

a) it is very beautiful b) attracts people’s attention

c) it is the highest building in the city

 

 

Variant IV

I Read the text.

The Story of Jeans

The first jeans came from Genoa in Italy. The name jeans comes from the French name for Genoa, Genes. Sailors in the Genoese navy wore jeans because they are strong and you can wear them wet or dry. The sailors washed their jeans by putting them in a large bag and dropping them in the sea.

Modern jeans were invented by Levi Strauss. Strauss moved to America from Germany, and he started making jeans in the 1870s. He originally made them for miners in California. He made them blue so they wouldn’t look dirty.

In the 1950s, pop and movie stars like James Dean and Elvis Presley wore jeans, and they became fashionable with teenagers and young adults. At that time, wearing jeans was a symbol of independence for young people. However, in the 60s and 70s, jeans became a fashion for all ages. Today, the average American person owns seven pairs of jeans.

 

11 When washing their trousers, the Italian seamen used

a) a washing machine b) seawater c) washing powder

12 Levi Strauss was an emigrant from

a) Italy b) Germany c) California

13 Levi Strauss is known for designing clothes

a) for pop stars b) for teenagers c) for workers

14 The production of jeans started

a) in the second half of the 19^th century b) in the first half of the 20^th century

c) in the 1950s

15 Today people wear jeans

a) to feel independent b)to look younger c) to look fashionable

 

Variant V

I. Read the text.

The future of commerce

Information technology and the Internet have changed the way people do business over the past twenty years, and they will continue to be important in the future. However, information technology is not the only thing which can change business. The way we live our lives at home and at work, and the hobbies we do in our free time, all have an effect on the world of business. To plan for the future, companies need to know how the world is changing.

By 2030, more than half a million of the people in the USA will be fifty or older. Many of them will stop working and have more free time. This is good news for companies who run hotels, cinemas and other leisure centers.

In richer countries fewer people are getting married and more people are living alone. This is good news for companies which build, buy and sell houses.

One thing is certain: the world of business will continue to change quickly. The most successful companies will be the ones which can change with it.

1 Prediction is very important for business.

2 The experts say that most Americans under fifty will stop working in the future.

3 Only information technology can change business.

4 Construction and entertainment businesses will be successful.

5 The richer people become, the more children they have.

6 The Internet has changed a the better for people who buy and sell houses.

7 To plan, companies need to know b is getting older.

8 The American nation c the future of the world.

9 The more lonely people, d never stop changing.

10 The main rule in running business is e the way we live and work.

II Read the text and choose the phrase (a, b or c) that best completes the sentences 11-15.

Marks and Spencer

Marks and Spenser is a well-known chain of shops with a world-wide reputation for quality and style. The whole empire was founded by Michael Marks due to his ability to work hard, to learn and develop.

Michael Marks was a Polish Jew. He immigrated to England in the 1880s. At that time he could not speak English. In the beginning he made his money as a door-to-door salesman. As he didn’t know much about the English language, he carried a special sign with the words, ’Don’t ask the price, it’s a penny.’ Very soon this phrase became an advertising slogan. People could buy things from Michael easily and fast. Two years later he managed to start his own selling business. He sold things of a better quality than those offered by other sellers. That built his customer’s trust, and soon he opened his first store in Manchester. By that time Michael Marks had found a business partner, Tom Spencer, who joined him in 1894. Marks was traveling in search of goods and visiting the stores while Spencer was running the administrative side of the business. In 1903 they officially founded the company of Marks and Spencer Limited. The capital was 30,000 pounds including forty stores all over England. Soon after the company was registered, Tom Spencer decided to retire. Michael Marks was working hard on both managing and expanding his company. That was too much for his health, and in 1907 Michael died of a heart attack. For the next sixteen years his son Simon had to fight for the presidency of the company. Then he became Marks and Spencer’s chairman for fifty years.

 

11 Marks and Spencer empire was founded by

a)Michael Spencer b) Michael Marks c) Michael Spencer and Tom Marks

12 M.Marks became a successful seller because

a) he had got good education b) he couldn’t speak English

c) buying things from him was fast and easy

13 Tom Spencer’s main business was

a) to visit the stores b) administration c) to find goods

14 In 1903 the company of Marks and Spencer Limited included

a) about forty stores all over the world b)forty stores in London

c) forty stories all over the country

15 Michael Marks died because

a) he worked too hard b) the company had problems c)Spencer did not let him retire

 

 

Variant VI

I. Read the text.

Variant VII

I. Read the text.

The history of dieting

The world ‘diet’ originally meant ‘things that usually eat’, but, these days, it means eating pattern to change something. There are diets for avoiding certain chemicals, like salt, and there are diets to increase amounts of certain things. There are even diets to help people put on weight. However, we usually say ‘diet’ about losing weight.

But when did it all start? There is a story that in 1087, William the Conqueror, King of England, had become so fat that he could no longer ride his horse. He stayed in bed and drank alcohol instead of eating food to try and lose weight.

What’s important is the kinds of food you eat, because different foods contain different things our bodies need. But it has taken a long time to find out exactly what these are. When it became possible to build ships that could go on long voyages, sailors started to spend many months at sea. They also started getting a strange disease called ‘scurvy’. It became clear that they needed fruit or vegetables to survive. Today, we know that Vitamin C is the reason. Although the discovery helped their lives, nobody knew why some people got fat and others didn’t, or what to do about it. Then in the 1890s, a chemist called Wilbur Atwater began investigating how foods consisted of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates. He measured the heat value of these by burning them and called a unit of this heating a ‘calorie’. This measurement he created can be seen as the start of modern food science and dieting.

 

11 Today when we discuss dieting, we mean

a) way of life b) special medicines c) overweight problems

12 People might get scurvy when

a) they lack Vitamin C b) stay at the sea for a long time c) do not exercise for long

13 The term ‘calorie’ was introduced by

a) King of England b) sailors c) a chemist

14 W. Atwater managed to measure

a) a unit of Vitamin C b) the heat value c) a unit of weight

15 To be physically fit and healthy, one should know

a) what his food consists of b) why some people get fat c) chemistry

Variant VIII

I Read the text.

The Internet

Internet users can be anywhere in the world; they just need a computer and a telephone. For this reason, it is often difficult to control what happens on the Internet. As computers become more powerful, the Internet becomes easier to use.

In January 1999, an American University student Shawn Fanning invented a piece of software that could copy music. In May of the same year, he started a company called Napster. Internet users could visit Napster and copy their favourite music. They did not need to buy CDs. Of course, the music companies were not very happy about this. A lot of musicians were also unhappy, because people could get their music free. In the end, Napster agreed to pay money to the music companies and musicians.

Today, almost every company in the world has got a website on the Internet. Each site has got a special name(a web address) and you use this to visit the site. But the Internet is not only important for business. It is also a cheap way to make contacts with people from all over the world. A lot of people visit ‘chat rooms: in a chat room, you can ‘talk’ to other Internet users and read their answers on your computer immediately. There is even a special kind of language which people use to save time.

1 The Internet has both advantages and disadvantages. T F

2 Internet users buy CDs to copy the music they like. T F

3 Shawn Napstar designed the software for music copying. T F

4 A chat room cannot be locked or unlocked by the key. T F

5 It is clear that the Internet world needs good legislation. T F

 

6 Today having a website a when the Nepstar company was started.

7 Not everybody was happy b the world is really getting smaller.

8 The more powerful to computers are, c to have music free.

9 Lots of people would like d the easier the Internet is.

10 With the Internet e is not a problem at all.

 

II. Read the text. and choose the phrase (a, b or c) that best completes the sentences 11-15.

The Exxon Valdez oil-spill

On the southern coast of Alaska is the port of Valdez, and from here most of Alaska’s oil is taken to California and other parts of the USA.

On the 24^th of March 1989, Captain Jeff Hazelwood was in command of an oil tanker which had the same name as the port of Valdez. The tanker was owned by the Exxon oil company, so it was usually called the Exxon Valdez. Just after midnight, the Exxon Valdez hit a group of rocks called Bligh Reef. The tanker had five holes in its side – one of the holes was two metres wide by six metres long. Fifty million litres of oil started to flow out of the ship and into the sea.

Unfortunately, the clean up operation did not begin immediately. A special boat was supposed to be ready for emergences, but it had been damaged by a storm. The clean-up began fifteen hours after the oil-spill was first reported. By the time all the necessary equipment was in place, the weather had turned stormy and strong winds quickly moved the oil into the sea.

The oil from the Valdez disaster covered 4,800 square kilometers of water. Millions of fish and thousands of sea birds and sea-otters died. Some animals and birds died from cold, others died from hunger, because 25% of the plankton in the sea was destroyed in the disaster, leaving many animals, birds with nothing to eat.

The Exxon Valdez disaster was one of the first huge oil-spill in history.

 

11 Most of oil in the USA is brought

a) to Alaska from California b) from California to Canada

c) from Valdez to various parts of the USA

12 The disaster was called the Exxon Valdez oil-spill because

a) the state and the tanker had the same name

b) the captain and the tanker had the same name

c)the tanker and the port had the same name

13 After the hit the Exxon Valdez got a hole with the size of

a) ten square meters b) twenty square meters c) twelve square meters

14 The oil spot from the Valdez disaster was

a) larger than 4,500 square kilometers b) smaller than 4,500 square kilometers c) 4,500 square kilometers

15 The destroyed plankton resulted in

a) the oil-spill b) the death of sea birds c) the stormy and strong winds

Variant IX

I Read the text.

Getting the message

Although the first email message was sent in 1971, electronic messages began nearly two hundred years earlier. Telegraph machines used electricity to send messages along wires from one place to another. The first telegraph machine was built in 1774. But for the next sixty years, the machines were very large and difficult to use, and each one needed twenty-six wires –one for each letter of the alphabet. In the 1840s, an American inventor Samuel Morse built a better kind of telegraph which only needed one wire. He also invented a special code for messages – Morse Code.

Immediately, telegraphs became an important way for people to communicate. During the next twelve years, American telegraph companies put up 36,000 miles of telegraph wires to send messages all over the USA.

In the 1920, a new kind of electronic message was invented – the telex. A telex machine could send a message to any other telex machine in the world. They did not use the telephone or telegraph wires – they used telex lines. These lines were quite expensive, and the machine were not easy to use. It was not a perfect system - but it worked. Companies continued to use telex until the 1980s and many companies still have telex machines today.

 

1 S. Morse made the telegraph simpler. T F

2 A lot of Americans used the telegraph in the 1850s. T F

3 The Morse code and the telex are examples of electronic messages. T F

4 Both the wires and telex lines can be used to send messages. T F

5 Today telex is considered as old-fashioned and out of use. T F

 

6 One should use electricity a in the English alphabet.

7 American telegraph business b belong to the means of communication.

8 High price and complexity c grew up within twelve years.

9 There are twenty six letters d to send message along wires.

10 Both the telegraph and the telex e are main disadvantages of the telex.

 

II Read the text and choose the phrase (a, b or c) that best completes the sentences 11-15.

Muhammad Ali’s life story

Muhammad Ali was probably the most famous athlete and one of the best-known people in the world. What is actually known about his life?

He was the first three-time heavyweight boxing champion of the world. He was known for his powerful fists as well as for his poetry. His ability to compose rhymes on the run could qualify him as the first rapper. He won an Olympic gold medal and later threw it into the river in protest against racism in America.

Ali’s interest in boxing began when he was 12. He lived in a poor black neighbourhood in Louisville, together with his parents and brother Rudy. Ali passionately devoted himself to amateur boxing. He trained hard and soon became a celebrity in his hometown. Within the next few years, he won 100 of his 108 matches. At 18, he became Olympic gold medallist and signed a professional contract.

In the 1960, Ali became one of the most controversial figures in the country. He refused to serve in the American army in Vietnam for religious reasons and, as a result, he lost his championship belt. He was also sentenced to five years in prison, but later the sentence was cancelled by the Supreme Court.

Muhammad Ali retired from boxing in 1981. In 1999, he was named Sportsman of the century by one of the biggest sports magazine.

 

11 Muhammad Ali started his boxing career as

a) a celebrity b) an amateur c) as a rapper

 

12 The reasons that made Ali not to go to the army were

a) controversial b) professional c) religious

 

13 Muhammad Ali won

a) most of his matches b) more than the half of his matches

c) more than 100 matches

 

14 After Ali won an Olympic medal he

a) gave it to his brother Rudy b) showed it to his neighbours

c) threw it into the water

 

15 In the late 1990s Muhammad Ali became the Sportsman

a) of the 20^th century b) of the USA c) of the sports magazine

 

Variant X

I Read the text.

Computer games

In the early 1960s, the computer company DEC made a computer called a PDP-1. This type of computers was very large and expensive (120,000 dollars), so only companies and universities bought them. Steve Russell, a student at one of these universities wrote a piece of software for the PDP-1. It was a game for two players, and he called it Spacewar. The two players controlled spaceships which fought against each other. Users of the PDP-1 liked the game, and the other programmers made the software better.

In the late 1960s, a programmer Donald Woods invented a game called Adventure. This was a different kind of game from Spacewar because it did not have any pictures and it was for one player only. The computer told a story; the player took part in the story, and gave the computer instructions, like ‘Go south’, or ‘Get the box’.Together, Spacewar and Adventure started the two most important kinds of computer games: games with speed and action, and games with stories and imagination.

In 1971, a student Nolan Bushnell tried to make money from the game Spacewar. People did not have PCs then, so he built a machine for bars, shopping centers, and other places where people meet. To play the game, people had to put money in the machine. A company bought Nolan Bushnell’s idea for 500 dollars and made 1,500 machines. But nobody wanted to play the game.

1 The computer company PDP is known for production of a computer DEC-1.

2 Nolan Bushnell installed personal computers at the bars and shops.

3 Two students contributed a lot to the development of the computer games software.

4 Adventure and Spacestar were the two most popular computer games.

5 Adventure could be played by two players.

6 Nolan Bushnell a) made the software for Spacewar.

 

7 Steve Russell wanted b) to make money from the game

Spacewar.

 

8 People in business and higher education c) were fighting against each other.

 

9 Speed and action are typical d) for one kind of computer games.

 

10 People playing Spacewar e) could buy the first computers.

Globalization

In November 1999, a collection of 50,000 environmentalists, students, anarchists, and ordinary members of the public gathered in Seattle, USA, to protest against a meeting there of the World Trade Organization. The demonstration began peacefully, but by the end of the day, protestors had smashed shop windows and destroyed property. The police had fired plastic bullets and gas into the crowd, and a state of civil emergency had been declared. The ‘Battle of Seattle’ is now seen as the start of a world-wide anti-globalization movement.

Similar demonstrations have now become common in cities that host global monetary meeting. In London’s financial district, anti-globalization demonstrations take place annually every 1^st of May. The largest protests so far took place in Genoa, Italy, in 2001, where 300,000 demonstrators clashed with police in a violent conflict: one person died and hundreds were injured.

Anti-globalization protestors are protesting about the dominance in the world economy of large (usually American) multi-national companies. They consider that these companies spread their western culture at the expense of other countries, and that they exploit developing countries and the environment in general. Targets for violence and vandalism are often American companies such as McDonald’s, GAP and Starbucks.

 

11 In 1999, 50,000 protesters gathered in Seattle

a) to declare a state of emergency b) to destroy shop windows and property

c) to demonstrate their disagreement with the WTO policy

 

12 The anti-globalization started its global level with

a) the ‘Fighting of Seattle’ b) the ‘Battle of Seattle’ c) the ‘Clash of Seattle’

 

13 Hundreds of demonstrators suffered in a conflict which took place

a) in London b) in Seattle c) in Genoa

 

14 In most cases anti-globalization demonstrators direct their protest against such producers as

a) Gap b) Levi Strauss c) Kelvin Klein

 

15 People gather for anti-globalization protests because they

a) want more people to join them

b) don’t like the quality of goods produced by multi-national companies

c) are against the domination of the western culture and way of life

 

 

Variant I

I. Read the text.

For questions 1-5 decide whether the statements are true (T) or false (F). For questions 6-10 decide which ending fits the sentences.

 

The European Union

The European Union began in 1952 when Germany, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland and Luxemburg formed the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). This agreement meant that the coal and steel companies in all six countries were controlled by the same organization.

In 1957, the same six countries formed the EEC (European Economic Community). The agreement, called the Treaty of Rome, made trade much easier and cheaper between these countries and with the USA.

By the end of the 1990s, the EEC had changed its name to the European Union and there were fifteen member countries. Trade between members is cheap and easy. They also have more power as a group when they trade with larger countries like the USA. Some people worry that the EU takes a lot of political power away from the government of each country. There is now a new kind of money in Europe – the euro. Not all EU countries have begun to use euros. Some people want their country to keep its own money and make its own economic decisions.

 

1 The abbreviation EU appeared in the 2^nd half of the 20^th century. T F

2 Steel, coal and chemicals producers initiated a new trade agreement. T F

3 Six European countries and the USA made an agreement in 1957. T F

4 The European Union membership helps develop national economies. T F

5 There are problems which the EU countries have not solved yet. T F

 

6 France and Luxemburg a was signed in 1957.

7 The Treaty of Rome b by the same organization.

8 The main idea of the EU is c about their political and economic

independence.

9 People in the EU countries worry d belong to the EU oldest members.

10 In the EU countries trade is controlled e to make trade easier and cheaper.

 

II. Read the text. and choose the phrase (a, b or c) that best completes the sentences 11-15.

Walt Disney

There is no one who has never heard of Walt Disney; he is without doubt one of the most famous figures in the twentieth century and yet most people know hardly anything about him. Although he became one of the most successful men in the history, he left school at the age of sixteen and then studied art for a short time. By the early years of the 20^th century, he had already started to produce cartoons in Hollywood in partnership with his brother Roy, who, for some reason, never managed to become as famous as Walt.

Disney is perhaps most well known on account of his lovable cartoon character, Mickey Mouse, who first appeared in 1928 in a film called Steamboat Willie. One of the most popular cartoon films of all time is Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which, when it was released in 1937, was the first full-length cartoon in the history of the cinema.

By the 1950s, Walt Disney had become one of the world’s major producers of films for cinema and television. As Disney Productions grew, its founder retained complete artistic control of the films and he also went on to publish books for children and cartoon strips in newspapers, featuring such characters as Donald Duck and Pluto the dog.

 

11 Everybody knows the most popular cartoon by W. Disney

a) Snow White and the Seventeen Dwarfs b) Snow White and the Seven Brothers

c) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

12 Walt Disney’s characters could be seen

a) in the newspapers and TV programs b) in the newspapers and books

c) in the films, newspapers, books and on TV

13 As for Walt Disney’s educational background,

a) he got some professional skills b) he did not get any artistic education

c) his brother Roy taught him to make films

14 By now Mickey Mouse

a) is younger than 80 b) is older than 80 c) has celebrated his 85^th birthday

15 The cartoon Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is known in the history of the cinema

a) because of its characters b) because of its special effects

c) because it was as long as a feature film