Олимпиада по страноведению (Американская и английская литература) 8 класс

Country Study 8 grade

Task I. You should know them! Look at the portraits of these poets and writers, known as the classics of literature of the English-speaking world and write their names in English.

Choose from the following list: William Shakespeare; Henry W. Longfellow; Charles Dickens; Charlotte Bronte; Herman Melville; Lewis Carroll; Mark Twain; Oscar Wilde; Arthur Conan Doyle; Herbert G. Wells; Jack London; Alan A. Milne; Agatha Christie; John Ronald Reuel Tolkien; Ernest Hemingway; Margaret Munnerlyn Mitchell; Ray Douglas Bradbury; Stephen Edwin King; Joanne Rowling

№ 1	№ 2	№ 3
№ 4	№ 5	№ 6
№ 7	№ 8	№ 9
№ 10	№ 11	№ 12

Task II. Great writers’ lives

Read the fragments of biographies of great English-speaking writers. Find out their names. As the answers write the numbers.

1. The greatest novelist of the Victorian era. Enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime. Buried in the Poet’s Corner in Westminster Abbey.

2. Pen names: Lord Charles Albert, Florian Wellesley, Currer Bell. Travelled to Brussels to study, later worked there as a teacher. Suffered from tuberculosis and died early.

3. Studied medicine at University of Edinburgh. Was a supporter of compulsory vaccination. Was interested in spiritualism and freemasonry.

4. Attended Los Angeles High School and was active in the drama club. Often roller-skated through Hollywood in hopes of meeting celebrities. Never obtained a driving license, used public transport or bicycle.  Wrote 27 novels and over 600 short stories.

5. Was a Southerner from a wealthy and politically prominent family. Worked as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal. Was a volunteer for the American Red Cross during WW II. Was struck by a speeding automobile and died as a result of the accident.

6. Served in the Army during WWI, was an ambulance driver in Italy, was seriously wounded. Worked as a foreign correspondent in Paris. Travelled much, lived in Paris, Genoa, Constantinople, Germany, the Bahamas, Cuba, Spain, in Africa.

7. His parents were successful Anglo-Irish, Dublin intellectuals. Became fluent in French and German early in life. Knew ancient Greek and Latin. Studied at Trinity College, Dublin; Oxford, England

8. Both of his grandfathers were heroes of the Revolutionary War. Became a sailor aboard the merchant ship St. Lawrence which cruised from New York to Liverpool. Was a teacher, a sailor, a writer, a poet, a lecturer.

9. Was from a religious family. Was a mathematician at Christ Church, Oxford, a writer, a logician, an Anglican deacon, a photographer, an artist. Queen Victoria enjoyed the book of this writer and commanded to dedicate the next book to her.

10. Moved to Porto to teach English as a foreign language. Had a daughter, divorced, returned to England. Lived in Edinburgh. Listened to Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concert while working. Is richer than the Queen.

11. The father of science fiction. Graduated from London University. Was a pharmacist, a teacher, a journalist. Visited Russia three times, met V. I. Lenin and I.V. Stalin

12. An author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, science fiction, and fantasy. Attended Durham Elementary School and graduated from Lisbon Falls High School, in Lisbon Falls, Maine. Is a fan of the Ramones (a music band) and baseball.

Task III. А list of authors and books

Look at the table and match the names of the author and his book (as your answers match the numbers with the letters)

1	Mary Shelley	A	The Hound of the Baskervilles
2	Charlotte Brontë	B	The Picture of Dorian Gray
3	Herman Melville	C	Three Men in a Boat
4	Jane Austen	D	The Old Man and the Sea
5	William Golding	E	Frankenstein
6	J. R. R. Tolkien	F	Moby-Dick
7	Ernest Hemingway	G	Emma
8	Jack London	H	Lord of the Flies
9	Edgar Burroughs	I	Great Expectations
10	Oscar Wilde	J	Jane Eyre
11	Jerome K. Jerome	K	The Call of the Wild
12	Charles Dickens	L	Ten Little Negroes
13	Agatha Christie	M	To Kill A Mockingbird
14	Arthur Conan Doyle	N	Tarzan
15	Harper Lee	O	The Lord of Rings

Task IV Listening

Listen to the first chapter from the book “The Lost World” and answer the questions (write not more than nine words):

Chapter One Gladys Hungerton

1. What did Mr. Hungerton talk to Edward about?
2. Why did Edward listen to him?
3. Why did Gladys know what Edward was going to talk to her about?
4. What sort of man did she want to marry?
5. What was Edward’s profession?
6. What did he ask his boss Mr. McArdle about?
7. Who did Mr. McArdle advise Edward to talk to?
8. What did Edward know about Professor Challenger?
9. What had Professor Challenger done?
10. What did he bring from South America?
11.  Who did Professor Challenger dislike?
12. What did Edward Malone decide to do to meet the professor?
13.  What did he write about his interests?
14. What time was he going to visit the professor?

Task V. I know these quotations! Match the two parts of the famous quotations. Guess who they belong to: a) W. Shakespeare, b) M. Twain or c) O. Wilde. As your answers, write the letters. Give the translation of each quotation.

1	Cowards die many times	A	and the death of fear is certain.
2	No man is rich enough	B	is not gold.
3	Better three hour too soon	C	has no advantage over one who can't read.
4	When the gods wish to punish us,	D	is getting started.
5	Experience is simply the name	E	before their deaths.
6	All that glisters	F	which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
7	The secret of getting ahead	G	we give our mistakes.
8	Kindness is the language	H	to buy back his past.
9	Do the thing you fear	I	they answer our prayers.
10	A person who won't read	J	than a minute too late.

Task VI. Congratulations in verse and prose. As your answer write a poem (or a piece of prose).

Choose one author from the list: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 27.02.1807; Charles John Huffam Dickens 07.02.1812; Lewis Carroll - Charles Lutwidge Dodgson 27.01.1832; Alan Alexander Milne 18/01.1882; John Ronald Reuel Tolkien 03.01.1892; Stephen Edwin King 21.09.1947; Jonathan Swift 30.11.1667; Mary Shelley 30.08.1797; O’Henry – William Sydney Porter 11.09. 1862

In 2017, the world celebrates several anniversaries of the great British and American writers. Choose one of them and write a greeting birthday poem (or a piece of prose) to this remarkable author in English. Your work should be no less than 8 lines (or 5 extended sentences). Try to be original, mention the author’s age and demonstrate your knowledge of the author’s books.

Task VII Reflection

Write about your impressions of the work you’ve done. Answer the questions:

1. Have you learnt any new information? Was it interesting?
2. Which tasks were the easiest/the most difficult? Why?
3. Would you like to take part in the next Country Study Contest? Why?