1 Venus, one of the
planets in the solar system, is the second in distance from the Sun. Except for
the Sun and the Moon, Venus is the brightest object in the sky. The planet is
called the morning star when it appears in the east at sunrise, and the evening
star when it is in the west at sunset. Venus is never visible more than three
hours before sunrise and three hours after sunset. The surface temperature is
the hottest of any planet - about 477C.
2 Jupiter is the largest
planet in the solar system. It is the fourth brightest object in Earth’s sky,
after the Sun, the Moon, and Venus. The Romans named the planet for their chief
god, Jupiter, because of its prominence in the sky. Jupiter is a ball of gas
and has no solid surface.
3 Pluto is farther from
the Sun than the other planets in the solar system. The small, rocky, and cold
planet takes 247,7 years to revolve around the Sun. It was discovered in 1930.
Pluto is the most distant planet in the solar system and it is very difficult
to be detected.
4 Uranus is a major planet
in the solar system. Uranus has 11 known rings and 27 moons. Uranus was the
first planet that people discovered by using a telescope. Sir William Herschel,
a German-born British musician and astronomer, discovered the planet in 1781.
5 Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. Mercury is
surprisingly dense because it has a very large iron core. Mercury’s surface is
similar to the Moon’s because many asteroids constantly fall on it
6 Saturn is the second largest planet in the solar
system. Saturn has its own ring system which was first seen by the Italian scientist
Galileo in 1610. He did not understand that the rings were separate from the
body of the planet. Later the rings were described correctly.
2. Прочитайте статью и установите
соответствие заголовков A-F разделам статьи 1-5. Один заголовок лишний. Занесите свои ответы в таблицу.
WARMING WARNING FOR ANTARCTICA
The face of Antarctica will change in the next 100 years as
ice melts, penguins move south and green plants begin to colonize bare rocks of
the Antarctic, researchers warned.
1. Climate has
always changed. But the change now is really fast and could lead to unexpected
consequences, warns the British Antarctic Survey. In 100 years’ time the
Southern ocean atmosphere will be warmer, with much less ice and snow on the
peninsula. Green plants are already five or even ten times more common now than
when explorers built the first bases.
2. Seals and
whales will change the places where they feed. The penguins are already moving
south to breed (have their young), perhaps because warmer air means more snow.
The penguin doesn’t want to sit on a nest and have a meter of snow above it.
3. Many
Antarctic organisms are sensitive to very small changes in temperature, so if
some of the more extreme changes of temperature in the sea occur, it is likely
that we will have some extinctions.
4. Antarctic is the world’s last remaining
wilderness region. It is larger than the US and drier than the Sahara. Parts of
it are covered by up to 3000 meters of
ice and snow,
and the continent stores nine tenths of the world’s fresh water.
5. The mainland is still unspoiled,
but the Southern ocean has been exploited for 200 years by whalers, sealers,
commercial fishermen, and most recently, tourists. Last year 13500 tourists
visited the region in cruise ships. This season the number could reach 27000.
3. Read the text “William
Shakespeare” and do the tasks below.
William Shakespeare, the greatest
English writer of drama, was born in 1564 in Stratford-on-Avon. We do not know
everything about Shakespeare’s early life. But we know that he studied at the
Grammar School in Stratford, and that he became interested in the theatre when
he was still a boy.
In 1586 Shakespeare went to London,
where he worked in the theatre for some years before he began to write his own
plays.
Shakespeare soon became well-known
in London literary circles. Every play that he wrote was good news to the
people of the capital. Queen Elizabeth liked Shakespeare's plays, and the
actors were often invited to play before the Queen and later before King James
- a great honor in those days. By the end of the 16th century, Shakespeare and
his friends had enough money to build their own theatre - the famous Globe
Theatre.
But we must not think that
Shakespeare had no difficulties in his life. Less talented writers, whose plays
were worse than his, often quarrelled with Shakespeare and attacked him, the
actors in his own theatre sometimes turned against him.
People in our Country love and honour
Shakespeare. Many say that they love him for his wonderful optimism: in his
light comedies and even in his tragedies lie seems to promise a better and
brighter future for all mankind.
I. The text is about ...
1) Shakespeare's life. 2) The life of English people in
Shakespeare's time.
3) The queen's and king's life. 4) The writers who lived in
England in the 16th century.
II. Complete the sentence.
Shakespeare was especially good at...
III. Find the wrong statement.
1) In his childhood Shakespeare got interested in the theatre.
2) The King and the Queen of England liked his plays.
3) Shakespeare was widely known only for his Globe Theatre.
4) Shakespeare had difficulties in his life.
IV. Answer the question.
What kind of man was Shakespeare?
1) He was a man who liked to quarrel with people.
2) He was a man who was fond of saving money.
3) He was a man who tried to perform only in the king's
palace.
4) He was a man who had wonderful optimism.
V. Why do you think Shakespeare is well-known throughout the
world?
1) He was an English writer. 2) His actors disliked him.
3) He built his own theatre. 4) He wrote a lot of brilliant
plays.
VI. Choose the synonym to the underlined word.
People in our country love and honor Shakespeare.
1) envy 2) respect 3) read 4) remember
KEY 1. B C A F D E
2. E A F B D
3. 1 4 3 4 4 2
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