How the Internet has changed buying and selling

As the world population gets larger and technology keeps (6) __, more people are able to do more things that they couldn't do before. The Internet is an excellent example of this. You can buy and sell just about anything over the Internet.

Anyone with a computer can sell stuff, and anyone else with a computer can buy that stuff. The Internet knows no geographic (7) __. It's probably not practical to buy oil and gasoline over the Internet, but you can buy a car that way.

People are selling (8) __: stuff they don't want, stuff they would normally throw away. You can almost anything you need (and plenty of stuff you don't) on these online auctions sites.

Many people buy books, CDs, movies, furniture, cars, and (9) __ houses online. The sites that are selling these things are not necessarily auction sites. They are online shops.

Amazon.com is a good example of a business that is totally Internet-driven. You can buy or sell all kinds of things using Amazon.com, and you'll never (10) __ in a store. Amazon has warehouses where they store the goods they sell, and they have offices where their (11) __ work and where their servers rest. But you won't see an Amazon.com `store' around the corner from where you live.

(12) __ businesses have websites to help their traditional sales. You can go to the store in person, or you can check out the store's website. (Some stores use their websites only to showcase their merchandise; others allow you to buy online.)

(13) __, it seems, can sell anything, as long as they can get their hands on enough supply to make the business work. For example, you could live nowhere near the things you're selling and still be successful, provided that you can guarantee the shipment of whatever it is you're selling to the people or companies that are buying from you.

If you lived in the middle of Ukraine and you really wanted to buy and sell African alligator eggs, you could do it using a computer. You'd just need to guarantee yourself a supply and a demand and make all the necessary (14) __ using your computer and the Internet. Computers are constantly changing the way people do business in very exciting ways. Stay (15) __!

 

	A	B	C	D
	advancing	moving	going	improving
	borders	boundaries	lines	edges
	anything	something	nothing	everything
	also	too	even	as well
	set foot	set feet	sit foot	sat feet
	employers	employees	employs	employments
	Others	Another	Other	The others
	Someone	No one	None	Anyone
	deals	arrangements	works	steps
	turned	tune	turn	tuned

Read the text about flood and put the events (A-F) in the right order.

 

FLOOD

Flood is a body of water that covers normally dry land. Most floods are harmful. They may destroy homes and other property and even carry off the topsoil, leaving the land bar­ren. Sudden and violent floods, which leave people little time to prepare, may bring huge losses. Rivers, lakes, or seas may flood the land. River floods are more common, though lake and seacoast floods can be more serious.

However, sometimes floods may be helpful. For example, the yearly floods of the Nile River built up the plains of Egypt and made the Nile Valley one of the most fertile regions in the world. These floods brought fertile soil from lands far to the south and deposited the soil on the Egyptian plains.

Most rivers overflow their normal channels about once every two years. When a river overflows land where people live, it causes a flood. Common causes of river floods include two much rain at one time and sudden melting of snow and ice.

Under such conditions, rivers may receive more than 10 times as much water as their beds can hold. Heavy rains, sometimes from thunderstorms, can produce flash floods if small rivers or streams rise suddenly and overflow. Flash floods occur chiefly in moun­tainous areas and do not allow much time for people to be warned of danger.

A flash flood at Rapid City, South Dakota, in 1972 killed 238 people along the Rapid Creek. Minor causes of flooding include bridges, piers, filled land, sand bars, and other obstacles to river waters.

In 1993 heavy rains in Midwest for about two months resulted in flooding along the upper Mississippi and the Missouri river system. The flood caused about 15 billion USD worth of damage and forced about 75,000 people from their homes.

The Huang He (Yellow River) in China is known for its tendency to overflow its banks. The river has been called 'China's sorrow' because its floods cause such a great destruc­tion. The worst Huang He flood ever recorded occurred in 1887. Nearly a million of people died in China after the river overflowed its banks.

 

A Flash floods occur chiefly in mountainous areas and do not allow much time for people to be warned of danger.

В The yearly floods of the Nile River made the Nile Valley one of the most fertile regions in the world.

С Flood is water that covers dry land.

D The Huang He in China overflows its banks causing a great destruction.

E Much rain and sudden melting of snow and ice cause river floods.

F Heavy rain for about two months in Midwest resulted in flooding and 15 billion USD worth of damage.

 

Read the text below. For questions (6—17) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

 

THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT!

One day Columbus was at a dinner which a Spanish gentleman (7) __ in his honour, and several persons (8) __ who were jealous of the great (9) __ success. They were proud, conceited fellows, and they very soon (10) __ to try to make Columbus uncomfortable.

«You (11) __ strange lands beyond the seas»,' they said, «but what of that? We do not see (12) __. There should be so much said about it. Anybody can sail (14) __ „ the ocean; and anybody can coast along the islands on the other side, just as you have done. It is (15) __ thing in the world».'Columbus (16) __ no answer; but after a while he took an egg from a dish and said to the company: «Who among you, gentlemen, can make this egg stand on its end?»

One by one those at the table tried the experiment. When the egg (17) __ entirely around and none had succeeded, everybody said that it could not be done.

Then Columbus took the egg and struck its small end gently upon the table so as to break the shell a little. After that there was no trouble in (18) __ it stand upright.

«Gentlemen», he said, «what is easier than to do this which you said was impossible? It is the sim­plest thing in the world. Anybody can do it, — after it (19)__ how!»

 

	A	B	C	D
	has given	had given	been given	had been given
	are present	were present	was present	had been present
	admiral's	admirals	admirals'	admiral
	begin	to begin	has begun	began
	discovered	have discovered	had discovered	be discovered
	when	why	how	what
	along	towards	across	behind
	the most simple	simpler	simplest	the simplest
	make	makes	made	has made
	went	has gone	had gone	was gone
	make	making	to make	made
	have been shown	was shown	has been shown	had been shown

 

Read the text and decide if the statements (1-5) are true (T) or false (F).

OSCAR

It's been called 'the Academy statuette', 'the golden trophy' and 'the statue of merit'. The entertainment trade paper. Weekly Variety, even attempted to popularize 'the iron man'. Thankfully, the term never stuck. Born in 1928, the Academy Award of Merit -which we know as simply 'the Oscar' - depicts a knight holding a crusader's sword, stand­ing on a reel of film with five spokes, signifying the original branches of the Academy: Actors, Writers, Directors, Producers and Technicians.

Weighing 3.5 pounds and standing 13.5 inches tall, the statuette was designed by a chief art director Cedric Gibbons. Frederic Hope, the Gibbons' assistant, created the original Belgian black marble base; an artist George Stanley sculpted the design; and the California Bronze Foundry hand cast the first statuette in bronze plated with 24-karat gold.

A popular story has been that the nickname caught on after the Academy librarian and eventual executive director Margaret Herrick said that the statuette resembled her uncle Oscar. Its first documented mention came after the sixth Awards Presentation in 1934 when the Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky used it in reference to Katharine Hepburn's first Best Actress win. The Academy itself didn't use the nickname officially until 1939.

Oscar has changed his look on occasion. From the 1930s through the 1950s, juvenile players received miniature replicas of the statuette: the ventriloquist Edgar Bergen was presented with a wooden statuette with a movable mouth; and Walt Disney was honoured with one full-size and seven miniature statuettes on behalf of his animated feature Snow White and Seven Dwarfs.

In support of the World War II effort between 1942 and 1944, Oscars were made of plaster, to be traded in for golden statuettes after the war. Additionally, the base was raised and changed from marble to metal in 1945. And in 1949, the Academy Award statuettes began to be numbered, starting with No. 501.

 

1. Five spokes of the Merit signify the original branches of the Academy.

2. The first statuette was made of gold.

3. The Academy did not use the nickname Oscar officially until 1939.

4. Walt Disney was honoured with seven miniature statuettes on behalf of his ani­mated film Snow White and Seven Dwarfs,

5. Oscars were made of plaster between 1942 and 1944 in support of the World War II.

 

Read the text below. For questions (6—17) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

 

THE FROG IN THE WELL

There was a frog that (6) __ in a shallow well.

«Look how well off I am here!» he (7) __ a big turtle from the Eastern Ocean. «I can (8) __ along the coping of the well when I go (9) __, and rest by a crevice in the bricks on my return. I can wallow to my heart's content with only my head above water, or (10) __ ankle deep through soft mud. No crabs or tadpoles can compare with me. I am the master of the water and the lord of this shallow well. (11) __ more can a fellow ask? Why don't you come here more often to have a good time?».

Before the turtle from the Eastern Ocean could get his left foot into the well, (12) __, he (13) __ his right claw on something. So he halted and stepped back, then began (14) __ the ocean to the frog.

«It's more than a thousand miles across and more than ten thousand feet deep. In ancient times there were floods nine years out of ten, yet the water in the ocean (15) __».

And later there were droughts seven years out of eight, yet the water in the ocean has never grown less. It remained quite constant throughout the ages. That is why I'd (16) __ live in the Eastern Ocean».

Then the frog in the shallow well was silent and felt a little (17) __.

 

	A	B	C	D
	live	lived	living	lives
	tell	told	telling	has told
	hop	to hop	hopping	hopped
	in	out	from	behind
	to stroll	stroll	strolling	strolled
	Which	Who	Why	What
	however	furthermore	moreover	thus
	catch	catched	caught	caughted
	describe	description	to describe	described
	have never increased	has never increased	is never increased	never increased
	rather	rather to	prefer	like
	shame	ashame	ashamed	ashaming