READING
Task
1. Read and questions 1-5 below. For each question, mark the correct letter A,
B, C or D.
William
Shakespeare
William
Shakespeare is not only England’s most famous poet and playwright, but perhaps
also the greatest writer the world has ever known. Even today, his works are
read more widely than those of any other writer.
He was
born on 23rd April 1564 in Stratford- upon- Avon, where he grew up
and went to school. At the age of 18 he married Anne Hathaway, who was then 26.
At some time around 1588 he went to London, joined a theatre company as an
actor and began writing plays.
His
plays were soon very popular and he became quite a rich man. He bought New
Place, one of the largest houses in Stratford, and in 1599 the Globe theatre in
London was built. It burned down in 1613 and it was rebuilt in 1614. It stood
on the bank of the river Thames in Southwark district, near several other
famous theatres of the time. In those days, people from all levels of society,
rich and poor, used to go to the theatre. The poorer people stood near the
stage, with no covering against the sun or rain, while wealthier people sat in
rows of seats around the inside of the walls. Plays were performed in the
daytime, because there was no artificial lightning. The stage had no curtains,
and the scenery was not often used, but the actors wore colourful costumes. In
Shakespeare’s times, women were not allowed on stage, so the women’s parts were
played by boys dressed up in women’s costumes.
King
James I enjoyed watching Shakespeare’s plays, and he chose Shakespeare’s
company of actors to be his official entertainers. It was around this time that
many of Shakespeare’s greatest plays were written.
W.
Shakespeare died in Stratford on 23rd April, 1616- his 52nd
birthday.
1. What
is the author telling us about?
A.The
author is comparing Shakespeare’s life with the other writers’ lives.
B. He
is describing Stratford- upon- Avon of those times.
C. The
author is telling us a short biography of a great writer.
D. He
is describing the Globe theatre in London.
2. What
does the author say about Shakespeare’s popularity?
A. Shakespeare’s
plays weren’t really popular, he couldn’t earn any money.
B. His
plays were successful and he became really wide known.
C. Shakespeare’s
plays became popular after his death in 1616.
D. Shakespeare
wrote some plays, but it didn’t bring him any popularity.
3. King
James I enjoyed
A. meeting
with Shakespeare’s actors.
B. watching
Shakespeare’s plays.
C. watching
rehearsals.
D. acting
in Shakespeare’s plays.
4. What
were the conditions in the theatre for the poorer people?
A.The
conditions were really perfect.
B.The
poorer people couldn’t come to the theatre at all.
C.The
poor and the rich people had the same conditions.
D.The
poor people didn’t have the same conditions as the rich people did.
5. What
would the visitors from the 17th century say if they saw the Globe
Theatre now?
A.The
Globe Theatre has changed a lot.
B.The
theatre still has no covering against the sun and rain.
C.There
are no women on the stage.
D.The
theatre welcomes only very rich people.
Task
2. Read the text and mark statements 6-15 below as T (true) or F (false).
Police
Spell Out Graffiti Mania Fears
A
secret police report has built up a profile of the typical graffiti vandal. It
seems that the average vandal is usually a male, aged 15 to 19, from poor
family.
His
“addictive habit” costs million of pounds every year, according to the report
by British Transport Police anti – graffiti squad. They estimate that more than
2 million pounds is spent cleaning trains in London alone.
The
report suggests that graffiti is the work of small groups. They are motivated
by the need to get attention by making some form of statement. More than a
third of the vandals who are caught do it again, which suggests that graffiti
is addictive.
The
survey of 150 graffiti vandals arrested last year showed that 40 per sent of
offenders are university students or still at school – and 99 per sent are
male. Just over 17 per sent are unemployed.
The
report says graffiti is dangerous – four youngsters have been killed while
trying to paint trains in the Underground.
The
police have been visiting schools and writing to parents to try and prevent
young people becoming vandals. They are also using handwriting experts to identify
the “tags” of graffiti artists. In London alone there were over 150 graffiti
arrests last year, but police recognize the vandals will continue unless they
are stopped, because graffiti writing is so addictive.
6. Most
graffiti vandals are men.___________
7. The
police do not use handwriting experts. _______________
8. The
majority of graffiti vandals are students. ______________
9. It
is easy for graffiti vandals to stop. _________________
10.
Graffiti writing can be dangerous._____________
11.
Graffiti writing is against the law._________________
12
.Graffiti artists act in big groups. _____________________
13.
Graffiti is a form of statement.____________
14.
There were 150 graffiti arrests last year. _______________
15.
Forty per cent of 150 arrested vandals are unemployed. ______________
Task
3. Read the text and choose the missing sentences (16-20). There is one
sentence that you won't need.
"Sasser"
- a computer virus.
On the
evening of his 18th birthday, a teenager from a tiny village in northern
Germany clicked "send" on his computer.
(16)_________________________________,
computers in hospitals and banks in Hong Kong had crashed, and trains in
Australia and the USA had stopped.
In
court a few months later, the teenager, Sven Jaschan, was charged with criminal
damage. He was found guilty of putting the terrible "Sasser" computer
virus on the Internet and received a 21-month suspended sentence. He avoided
the prison. (17)__________________________________ . The virus infected millions
of computer systems across the world, and caused millions of dollars of damage.
Sven
admitted his guilt to the detectives who came to his home last year. He had
spent an enormous amount of time creating the Sasser virus on the computer in
his bedroom. He often spent ten hours a day in front of the computer.
(18)__________________________________________________ .
When he
released the virus on the Internet, he didn't realize it would cause so much
damage. He was just delighted that it had worked. "I felt as if I had
written a first- class essay", said Sven."I told my classmates- they
thought it was terrific". (19)____________________________________ . He
was terrified when he saw a TV news report about the virus and the damage it
had caused.
Detectives
arrested Sven after one of his classmates contacted Microsoft and told them
about him. As for Sven's teachers, they were astonished that Sven had created
the virus. (20)_______________________________________. "There are others
in the class who are better than him", one teacher said.
He now
works for a computer company, making "firewalls" - vital pieces of
software that protect computers from viruses.
A. The
police offered $ 250, 000 reward.
B. Just
because he was only eighteen when he committed the crime.
C. They
said that he wasn't a brilliant computer student.
D.
Within three hours a postal service in Taiwan was in chaos.
E. But
his feelings changed very quickly.
F.
Unfortunately his parents hadn't known what he was doing at that time.
Reading
Task1
Task 2
6
|
True
|
7
|
False
|
8
|
True
|
9
|
False
|
10
|
True
|
11
|
True
|
12
|
False
|
13
|
True
|
14
|
True
|
15
|
False
|
Task 3
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