Олимпиада для 8 класса

MOSCOW SCHOOL OLIMPIAD

8th FORM

Your name_________________

__________________________

Result

Maximum

50

Your teacher’s

name ______________________________________

Your

school _____________

Part I

Listening.

1. Listen to 5 different situations and choose the correct answer

(A, B, C or D) to complete them.

1. The highest temperature we can expect tomorrow is … degrees Fahrenheit.

1. 19

2. 90

3. Between 80-90

4. 9

2. Our house is not yet … years old.

1. 88

2. 18

3. 75

4. 80

3. The passenger’s seat number is … .

1. 13

2. 33

3. 30

4. 3

4. The speaker spent ….. days in Rome

A. 14

B. 40

C. 44

D. 4

5. The silk dress is …. pounds.

A. 80 C.8

B. 18 D. 88

Your answers:

1

2

3

4

5

Max

5

Points

Part II

Reading

1. Read the article about computer technology and choose from

sentences A-F the one which fits each gap (1-5). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

Computer technology: a mixed blessing?

Everybody knows that computers have completely changed our lives. People often say that today it would be impossible to live without them. (1)… I don’t think so. Computers have obvious strength, but they also have some weakness.

One popular argument is that computers make our life easier because they do a lot of jobs: they count, write, speak and even think for us. True enough, but is that really a good thing? (2)… Instead, they just learn to type and let the computer do the hard job for calculating sums and checking their spelling.

The work today demand that everything be done as fast as possible and computers do speed things up. Without them, some people argue, it would take us ages to solve certain problems. (3)… I certainly hope that one day soon this obsession with speed will die out, and we’ll get back to the old ideals of a happy, slow life – like in the famous Slow Food campaign against eating too fast.

Computer enthusiasts often say that computers are immensely helpful in every area of our life, an almost perfect tool created to serve humankind, the key to technological heaven. But is it heaven or hell? Stop to think for a second and you’ll realize that computers have gradually taken control of our existence, from health and family life to work and money. They have also created new and dangerous types of crime. (4) …

To conclude, it’s impossible to disagree with anybody who talks about the importance of computers in the world today. (5)… But we should not believe that computers are like gods that can solve all our problems. There is more to life than hard disks and gigabytes, there is our humanity too. Let’s not forget that.

A. And I must confess I find my notebook quite helpful from time to time.

B. Computers, the greatest inventions of the 20^th century have greatly changed our life and today we cannot do without them.

C. But does this mean that computers have made our world a better place to live in and made us better people?

D. However, the faster we live, the more often we suffer from stress.

E. Specialists complain that young people today can’t do maths and don’t know how to write by hand.

F. In fact, in some ways, they have become not our friends, but our enemies.

Your answers. Reading A.

1

2

3

4

5

2. Look through the article again, read the given sentence and choose the second part of the sentence (from A, B, C or D), so that it corresponds to the article.

1. In the text, the author…

1. explains why he’s fascinated with computers.

2. only looks at the advantages of computers

3. gives reasons why he’s critical of computers.

4. writes about his own strength and weakness

2. As a result of computers doing so much thinking for us, young people…

1. depend on them to solve basic problems.

2. don’t practice writing at all.

3. have learnt to type better.

4. begin to lose computer skills.

3. If we didn’t do everything so fast, …

1. computers would be much more useful.

2. we wouldn’t need to work too much.

3. we would be much happier.

4. things we eat would taste much better.

4. The fact that computers are present everywhere means they…

1. are difficult to control.

2. control too much of our lives.

3. influence moral standards.

4. can turn friends into enemies.

5. The author mentions his notebook to show that

1. he’s aware of the usefulness of computers.

2. it’s dangerous to follow other people advice.

3. computers should be treated with some respect.

4. he can’t decide if computers are useful or not.

Your answers. Reading B.

1

2

3

4

5

MAX

10

POINTS

Part III.

Use of English

1. Fill in the gaps with the correct form of the words in brackets.There is an example at the beginning.

The Reverview is an (0) … expensive … (expense) hotel on the shore of (1)………………. (peace) Lake Bead. The hotel is very attractive and is set in beautiful surroundings. It has over a hundred (2)………….. (space) rooms which are very(3)……… (luxury). Lots of (4) ……………(fame) people have stayed there in order to enjoy the privacy that the hotel offers them, since there are (5)…………….. (secure) guards to keep photographers and reporters out.

Your answers. Use of English A.

1

2

3

4

5

2. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate forms of the verbs. Tere is an example at the beginning.

One morning, a man (0)…was fishing… (fish) in a river. The sun (1)…………….. (shine) and the man (2)………………(sit) on the river bank. Everything was very quiet and peaceful. The man (3)……………(wait) patiently for several hours when suddenly he (4)………… (feel) something pulling on the fishing line. He (5)……………(stand up) quickly and (6)…………(begin) to take in the line. He (7)……………(just/lift) the huge fish he had caught out of the water when there was a loud splash and it fell back into the river. At first, the man didn’t know what (8)………(happen). Then, he looked carefully at his fishing line. It (9)………( snap). The poor man was so disappointed that he (10)…………. (pack) away all his things and went home.

Your answers. Use of English B.

1

6

2

7

3

8

4

9

5

10

MAX

15

POINTS

Part IV.

Quiz

Choose the right answer.

1. He sits on the Woolsack and presides over the House of Lords.

a) the Lord Chancellor

b) the Speaker

c) the Prime Minister

d) the MP

2. MPs sit here.

1. the Chamber of the House of Lords

2. The Chamber of the House of Commons

3. Westminster Hall

4. The Houses of Parliament

3. How do MPS vote?

a) by pushing a button

b) with the feet

c) with their hands

d) by standing

4. When is Boxing Day ?

a) on December 25^th

b) on December 26^th

c) on January 1^st

d) on January 7^th

5. What is wrong?

a) Great Britain consists of three parts: England, Scotland and Wales.

b) Britain consists of four parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

c) The United Kingdom consists of all the members of the British Commonwealth.

d) The United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

6. What is the real name of Mark Twain?

a) John Griffith

b) Samuel Langhorne Clemens

c) William Sydney Porter

d) James Madison

7. When is the official birthday of Queen Elizabeth II?

a) in April

b) in June

c) in July

d) in May

8. A Scottish name for New Year’s Eve.

a) Hogmanay

b) Christmas

c) Eisteddfod

d) First Foot

9. The name for a dummy made of straw and old clothes which are burned on the 5^th of November.

a) Boy

b) Guy

c) Robin

d) Garrick

10. Choose the correct ending of the proverb? An Englishman’s home is his ……. .

1. security

2. palace

3. castle

4. house

11. The center of lawn tennis.

a) Wembley

b) Highland

c) Wimbledon

d) Australia

12. A land of mountains and valleys.

1. Wales

2. Scotland

3. Ireland

4. England

13. In America a biscuit is a cookie; city centre is downtown; the underground is subway. Americans eat French fries. What do the British eat?

a) fish and chips

b) chips

c) fish

d) toast

14. The British Flag is called:

a) Stars and Stripes b) The Union Jack

c) The Crossed One d) Star Spangled Banner

15. The Crown Jewels are kept in ……

a) The Tower of London b) Buckingham Palace

c) Westminster Palace d) St. Paul’s Cathedral

Your answers:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

MAX

15

POINTS

Part V

Writing

You have received a letter from your English-speaking pen friend Bill who writes …We were exhausted when we arrived in Sydney. My Mum and Dad thought it would be good for me to learn about this country. I’ve lived in the UK my whole life but I’d really love to travel to other countries.

I know that you are fond of travelling. What kind of holiday did you have last year? Where did you go on holidays? What impressed you greatly? Why? ...

Write a letter to Bill. In your letter

- answer his questions;

- ask 3 questions about his plans for travelling next year;

- suggest spending your holidays together.

Remember the rules of letter writing

Dear Bill,

Thanks for your letter. Sorry I’ve taken so long to write. I’ll do my best to answer your questions.

Well, first of all, …

Anyway, ….

One last thing. ….

That’s all for now. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Lots of love,

…

MAX

5

POINTS

For Teachers.

RECORDING SCRIPT

Запись каждого задания на диске предъявляется 2 раза подряд (допускается техническая пауза в 10-15 секунд). Пауза между прослушиваниями Задания 1 и Задания 2 должна составить 30 секунд, необходимых для ознакомления учащихся с формулировкой второго задания.

Speaker 1: Tomorrow we can expect sunny weather and temperatures between 80-90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Speaker 2: I thought our house was at least 88 years old, but dad says it will be that old only after another 18 years.

Speaker 3: I don’t remember whether my train is due out at 3.13 or 3.30. All I remember is that I have seat number 33 in car number 13.

Speaker 4: I’ve been travelling a lot recently. On the 24^th of may I went to Paris. I returned on the 4^th of June, only to leave 14 days later for Rome, where I stayed for 40 days.

Speaker 5: Here we have a wide selection of dresses. This extraordinary silk dress is on sale for only 80 pounds and you can have this comfortable summer skirt as little as 18 pounds.

Keys.

Part I

1. B

2. C

3. B

4. B

5. A

Part II

1. 1. C B. 1. A

2. E 2. A

3. D 3. C

4. F 4. B

5. A 5. A

Part III

1. 1. Peaceful

2. Spacious

3. Luxurious

4. Famous

5. Security

B. 1. was shining 6. began

2. was sitting 7. had just lifted/ was just lifting

3. had been waiting 8. had happened

4. felt 9. had snapped

5. stood up 10. Packed

Part IV

1. A. 11. C

2. B 12. A

3. B 13. B

4. B 14. B

5. C 15. A

6. B

7. B

8. A

9. B

10. C