8. Significant Difference
A. «When men first flew in space, they were amazed to discover that the only men-made object visible from orbit was the Great Wall of China.» This is a nice idea, but it’s not true. The Great Wall is mostly grey stone in a grey landscape and, in fact, is very difficult to see even from an aeroplane flying at a mere 15 kilometres above. What can be seen when orbiting the earth are the fires of African desert people and the lights of fishing boats off Japan.
В. The term «Mayday’ is an internationally recognized radio signal which is only used when a ship is in great danger and needs help immediately. The signal is transmitted on a wavelength of 2.182 kHz, which is permanently monitored by rescue services on the shore. The use of this expression has a very straightforward explanation. It came from the French phrase «m’aidez’, which means «help me’.
С. In 1700, Henri Misson, a Frenchman visiting Britain, asked villagers why they had horseshoes nailed above their doors. They said it was to keep witches away. Horseshoes are made of iron and the strength of the iron was thought to protect from evil. Still today they are thought to bring good luck and many brides carry silver ones at their weddings. The position of the horseshoe is very important. It must point upwards like a cup so that the luck cannot fall out.
D. Women generally live about six years longer than men. Evidence suggests that boys are the weaker sex at birth, which means that more die in infancy. Also, women do not have as much heart disease as men. In terms of lifestyle, men smoke more than women and thus more die of smoking-related diseases. Also, they generally have more dangerous occupations, such as building work.
E. Scientists say that rats can help look for earthquake survivors buried in the ruined buildings. Dogs are already used to search for people, but rats can be even more useful. Like dogs they’ve got a great sense of smell, but scientists still need to train rats to sniff out people and to carry special radio transmitters to let them know when the survivor is found. Rats may also be trained to find bombs or explosives.
F. Dinosaurs roared for about 150 million years before they disappeared. We humans have only been around for about 2 million years. But cockroaches are 350 million years old and still going strong! Cockroaches can survive in extreme conditions. They can be frozen, then thawed, and walk away as if nothing had happened. They can go for incredibly long time without eating anything. And that is the secret of their success!
G. Founded in 1980, BASE jumping grew out of skydiving. But BASE jumping is much more dangerous than skydiving that is why it is banned in many countries. Legal jumps now happen on specific days and from approved structures. However, like other extreme sports, it’s the risk of disaster that makes BASE jumping so exciting.
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11. Прочитайте текст и заполните пропуски A—F частями предложений, обозначенными цифрами 1—7. Одна из частей в списке 1—7 лишняя. Занесите цифры, обозначающие соответствующие части предложений, в таблицу.
Clothing
Clothing is a distinctly human artefact. Even more than the use of tools, it distinguishes humans from the other creatures on this planet. The basic purpose of clothing was originally practical. By putting on a skin, humans were able to move into regions ___ (A). An example of this use of clothing can be seen among the Eskimos, and other people who live with extreme cold. However, clothing was not only used for protection, but has also been a means of displaying one’s status. Thus, clothing also developed in countries ___ (B).
Clothing tells us many things about the wearer. It can be used to indicate ___ (C). The most extreme example of this type of clothing is a uniform.
A dress code is very important in business. It is a rare businessman ___ (D).
Most politicians also try to be neat and well-dressed.
The significance of what we wear is becoming more important ___ (E). There have been cases on holiday islands where the locals have been outraged by foreign visitors – especially female visitors – who wear far less than the minimum that the locals consider decent. Actually, the signals given by clothing as worn by men and women have decreased ___ (F). For example, today most women are very comfortable wearing jeans. Yet the sight of a man in a dress would raise eyebrows in most western cultures.
Clothing is very important in our society. So it is highly unlikely that there will be no use for clothing in the future, unless humanity evolves into a completely new species.
1. where there is no real practical need for it
2. because more people started to follow fashion
3. who does not feel the need to wear a suit and tie
4. where they otherwise would have been unable to cope with the climate
5. because many women now wear what were once «men’s’ clothes
6. as the cultures of the world mix
7. whether a person is a member of a particular group or organisation
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Прочитайте текст и выполните задания 12—18. В каждом задании запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.
The Open Window
«My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel,» said a very self-possessed young lady of fifteen; «in the meantime you must try and put up with me.»
Framton Nuttel endeavoured to say the correct something which should duly flatter the niece of the moment without unduly discounting the aunt that was to come. Privately he doubted more than ever whether these formal visits on a succession of total strangers would do much towards helping the nerve cure which he was supposed to be undergoing.
«I know how it will be,» his sister had said when he was preparing to migrate to this rural retreat; «you will bury yourself down there and not speak to a living soul, and your nerves will be worse than ever from moping. I shall just give you letters of introduction to all the people I know there. Some of them, as far as I can remember, were quite nice.»
Framton wondered whether Mrs. Sappleton, the lady to whom he was presenting one of the letters of introduction came into the nice division.
«Do you know many of the people round here?» asked the niece, when she judged that they had had sufficient silent communion.
«Hardly a soul,» said Framton. «My sister was staying here, at the rectory, you know, some four years ago, and she gave me letters of introduction to some of the people here.»
He made the last statement in a tone of distinct regret.
«Then you know practically nothing about my aunt?» pursued the self-possessed young lady.
«Only her name and address,» admitted the caller. He was wondering whether Mrs. Sappleton was in the married or widowed state. An indefinable something about the room seemed to suggest masculine habitation.
«Her great tragedy happened just three years ago; that would be since your sister’s time. You may wonder why we keep that window wide open on an October afternoon,» said the niece, indicating a large French window that opened on to a lawn.
«It is quite warm for the time of the year,» said Framton; «but has that window got anything to do with the tragedy?»
«Out through that window, three years ago to a day, her husband and her two young brothers went off for their day’s shooting. They never came back. In crossing the moor to their favourite snipe-shooting ground they were all three engulfed in a treacherous piece of bog. It had been that dreadful wet summer, you know, and places that were safe in other years gave way suddenly without warning. Their bodies were never recovered. That was the dreadful part of it.»
Here the child’s voice lost its self-possessed note and became falteringly human. «Poor aunt always thinks that they will come back someday, they and the little brown spaniel that was lost with them, and walk in at that window just as they used to do. That is why the window is kept open every evening till it is quite dusk. Poor dear aunt, she has often told me how they went out, her husband with his white waterproof coat over his arm, and Ronnie, her youngest brother, singing «Bertie, why do you bound?» as he always did to tease her, because she said it got on her nerves. Do you know, sometimes on still, quiet evenings like this, I almost get a creepy feeling that they will all walk in through that window’
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