Олімпіади

Tasks of the olimpiads 2017

8^th form

The White House

In Washington, DC, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue is a very special address. It is the address of the White House, the home of the president of the United States. Originally the White House was gray and was called the Presidential Palace. It was built from 1792 to 1800. At this time, the city of Washington itself was being built. It was to be the nation's new capital city. George Washington, the first president, and Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French engineer, chose the place for the new city. L'Enfant then planned the city. The president's home was an important part of the plan. A contest was held to pick a design for the president's home. An architect named James Hoban won. He designed a large three-story house of gray stone. President Washington never lived in the Presidential Palace. The first president to live there was John Adams, the second president of the United States, and his wife. Mrs. Adams did not really like her new house. In her letters, she often complained about the cold. Fifty fireplaces were not enough to keep the house warm! In 1812 the United States and Britain went to war. In 1814 the British invaded Washington. They burned many buildings, including the Presidential Palace. After the war James Hoban, the original architect, partially rebuilt the president's home. To cover the marks of the fire, the building was painted white. Before long it became known as the White House. The White House is one of the most popular tourist attractions in the United States. Every year more than 1.5 million visitors go through the five rooms that are open to the public.

8^th form

Listen to the text and chose the correct statement as T (true) or F(false)

1   The white house was originally gray.

2. James Hoban was a French Engineer.

3. It took ten years to build the Presidential Palace.

4. George Washington lived in the White House first.

5. Mrs. Adams complained about the cold.

6. The United States and Britain used to be enemies.

7. Pierre Charles L'Enfant won the design contest.

8. Britain invaded Washington.

9. After the war, not all of the White House needed to be rebuilt, but it did need to be partially rebuilt.

10.All of the White House is open to the public to visit.

9^th form

Nothing prepares you for standing on stagein front of the hundreds of thousands of people, not even three years at drama college. Being able to get to the end of a play without forgetting the words or making any mistakes is something that can only come with experience. So why do actors bother with drama college?

Despite the hard work, a formal course offers a number of benefits. First of all, going to drama college is a great way to learn and practice acting techniques. There are many different ways to approach to a role, and drama college introduces young actors to all those ways while allowing them to be creative. Another reason for attending drama college is to meet people. Young actors can share ideas and even ask for advice from other students that they meet. They may also come across people who can help them get work when they leave.

It isn’t easy being a new graduate from drama college with no experience and with very little money. This is why the most drama school graduates have to find themselves a part-time job until they manage to secure their first role. Drama college can be very expensive but it gives young actors far more opportunities tan if they didn’t attend. The college I attended holds a showcase every summer  where students have their performances reviewed by experts. These reviews are published in the national papers and this is a useful way of making a name for yourself.

I really enjoyed my time at drama college and I learnt a lot from it. But I think in terms of training, it never really ends, and a good actor is always looking at how he or she can do better the next time. Even world famous actors with tons of experience never feel they have given enough of themselves in a role. I’m still new to acting; I’ve had a couple of stage roles so far but I’m doing a film at the moment. It’s not the same when you act in front of the camera – you need to come over as more natural and less dramatic than you would in the theatre. Getting it right is quite a challenge for me!

9^th form

Listen to the text and chose the correct statement as T (true) or F(false)

1.      Actors, who go to drama college are better at remembering their lines………………..

2.      According to Dylan, going to drama college is worth the effort

3.      There is usually more than one way to play a part

4.      Drama college is a poor place to make contacts

5.      Life gets easier for actors when they graduate from drama college

6.      Graduates usually find acting work soon after leaving  school

7.      Drama colleges tend to charge high fees (are expensive )

8.      Performance reviews help new actors become known

9.      Dylan thinks that good actors are never satisfied with their work

10.  Theatre and film acting require different techniques

10^th form

Adapted from «A Climb That Wasn't Fun»

by William Underbill (Newsweek, Jen. 12)

Word list:

delirium - марення, маячіння;

crevasse - розколина, глибока тріщина (в льодовику)

awesome - жахливий; заляканий;  

Imagine a snowstorm close to the summit of a 6,000-meter peak in the Andes. On the descent, your climbing partner slips in dangerous conditions. His leg is badly broken. For hours you struggle to lower him down the mountainside. The cold is unbearable, and you must battle fatigue and dehydration. Then disaster strikes afresh: tied to the rope, your friend slips over an unseen cliff. The sound of his cries is lost in the blizzard. As he dangles below, you cannot know whether he is alive or dead, but his weight is pulling you, certainly to the edge. Without promptaction, you will die. Do you cut the rope?

It's the staff of nightmares - and now a powerful film as well. The British-made documentary, «Touching the Void»,  recreates the ordeal of two young British climbers, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, who were trapped on the side of a forbidding Peruvian peak, back in 1985. So how was the moral crisis resolved? The thousands who read Simpson's best-selling book, also called «Touching the Void», will already know: Yates cut the rope .

But the full force of both the book and the movie lies in the sequel to that decision. Against all odds, Simpson survived a 50-meter plunge into a crevasse. Unable to climb out, he crawled down into the depths in search of a route back to the daylight. His luck held. Driven by stubborn determination, he hopped and crawled down the mountainside for two agonizing days, reaching base camp in a state of delirium just as Yates was preparing to leave.

Actors and stuntmen play out the story on the mountainside. But most of the narrative comes from Simpson and Yates themselves, speaking directly to the camera against a neutral background. Simpson, in particular, tells an articulate tale - but don't expect tortured self-analysis or lyrical description. Mountaineers, especially British ones, are shy of gut-spilling.

So much the better. The dispassionate style throws into relief the horror of the events describe and the awesome savagery of the Andes backdrop. Yet the calm delivery is deceiving; neither man has quite escaped psychological scarring. Simpson has told how he suffered posttraumatic stress after revisiting the Andes with the film crew. And since filming ended, Yates has broken off all contact with the director. He's reportedly unhappy with the film.

Simpson survived, but what about his friendship with Yates? The relationship between the two main characters did survive their ordeal. As the movie makes clear, Simpson never questions Yates's decision to cut the rope. Indeed, among his first actions on regaining base camp is to thank Yates for his help after the original accident. One reason Simpson chose to publish his memoir was to remove the blame from Yates, who came under attack for breaking a taboo of the mountaineering brotherhood. As a climber, Simpson'understood the need for realism in moments of crisis. He summarizes his own attitude with heroic understatement. Climbing was «fun,» he says. «But sometimes things went wrong; then it wasn't fun». For proof, just watch «Touching the Void».

10^th form

Listen to the text and chose the correct statement as T (true) or F(false)

1. This story was first told as a movie and was later written as a book.

2. Yates was faced with the decision to try to save his friend or to save himself.

3. Yates continued down the mountainside to base camp after cutting the rope bound to Simpson.

4. Simpson, with a broken leg, fell into a crevasse but managed to crawl to safety.

5. Simpson blamed Yates for leaving him in the crevasse (canyon)

6. The mountaineering community believes that climbing partners should not abandon each other.

7. Yates understood the need to think practically and realistically in a crisis situation.

8. This story proves that you should always be there to help your friends, no matter what

happens.

9.         No matter what happens, Simpson still believes that mountain climbing is fun.

10. This story proves that there are times when a person cannot expect a friend to save him

11^th form

Di-Di's   story

from Wildlife Magazine

"Mrs. Chang has looked after Di-Di like her own daughter for more than six years," explained Marcus Phipps, of the Taiwan Orangutan Foundation. When we rang the doorbell of the apartment, the door was opened, not by Mrs. Chang, but by the orang-utan, Di-Di. It was my introduction to an extraordinary story of love and sadness.

Di-Di, like all orang-utans, is very intelligent. "Go to the toilet," said Mrs. Chang. "Take off your nappy first. Di-Di responded immediately by taking off her nappy, running into the bathroom and going to the loo. I watched amazed. "Now flush the toilet and wash your hands." Di-Di responded to everything that Mrs. Chang said. "She understands about 75 per cent of our daily conversation," explains Mrs. Chang. That's about 500 words. I think she's very special and I love her very much."

It's a touching sight, but it hides a story of death and destruction which has brought one of our nearest relatives close to extinction. Most of the world's remaining 30,000 orang-utans live in Indonesia. In the 1980s their numbers began to fall rapidly, as the forests where they lived were destroyed. At the same in Taiwan a children's soap opera, called The Naughty Family, was becoming very popular. The star of the programme was a young orang-utan called Shylie. It created a demand for baby orang-utans as pets. When the adult orang-utans were hunted and killed in Indonesia, the young apes were captured and smuggled into Taiwan where they were sold $2,000-$5,000 each.

Di-Di is one of about 1.000 baby orang-utans that found their way into Taiwanese homes. Only about 280 have survived. But survival has brought its own problems, for while a baby orang-utan may be cute and cuddly, an adolescent ape is not. Many of them were taken to Taipei zoo, or simply abandoned onto the streets of the city. Eventually a Dutch scientist, Dr. Willie Smits, established a centre at Wanariset in Indonesia to return the orang-utans to the wild. It was this that we had come to observe, for now it was Di-Di's turn to go home.

Three months later Di-Di and eleven other orang-utans were flown to Indonesia and taken to the Wanariset Centre. Mrs. Chang went with us. Di-Di was not very happy. Mrs. Chang and Dr Smits got her to go into the large new cage where she would learn to live with other orang-utans. But then Mrs. Chang had to say goodbye. "This is a much better place for you. You'll be much happier here, Di-Di. I love you. You be a good girl now. Mummy is going now."

It was a sad moment but three days later Di-Di was getting used to her new home. She couldn't climb very well at first, but she learnt quickly. The biggest problem for the Wanariset Centre is preserving the forests to provide homes for the apes. The timber industry is very powerful in Indonesia, and the government provides very little money to protect the forests. To date more than 50 apes have been released, but there are still 200 more at the Wanariset Centre. Dr. Smits and his team are looking for new areas of forest where they can be released and protected.

Now the big day has arrived when Di-Di and the other orang-utans are going to be released. It
seems strange when we look at her to think that a year ago she was wearing children's clothes and playing the piano. The cage has been taken deep into the forest and as we watch from a tree house, the cage door is opened. Di-Di comes over to the tree house. She knows that Mrs. Chang is with us.
But we can't let her come in. She has to forget Mrs. Chang and go to her friends. Di-Di pushes her finger through a hole in the door and Mrs Chang touches it. It is their last good-bye. Then Di-Di is gone. When we leave, the thirteen orangutans are playing in the forest - playing as if they had never been away.

 11^th form

Listen to the text and chose the correct statement as T (true) or F(false)

1.   Di-Di was born in Taiwan.

2.   Orang-utans are generally very clever animals.

3.   Di-Di understands more than 50 percent of what Mrs. Chang says.

4.   Orang-utans are very close to extinction because many people hunt and kill baby orang­utans.

5.   Most pet orang-utans do not survive.

6.   Many people who buy babyorang-utans no longer want them when they are older.

7.   Dr. Smits thinks it's a good idea to keep orang-utans as pets.

8.   Mrs. Chang gave Di-Di to the Wanariset Centre because she didn't love Di-Di anymore.

9.   After living at the Wanariset Centre, Di-Di forgot who Mrs. Chang was.

10.The biggest problem Dr. Smits faces is that the orang-utans don't want to return to the forest.

7  form

Round I – Listening Comprehension

Section 1

Directions: Listen to the story, The Statue of Liberty, and mark True (+) or False (-) next to the number.

1.) Twelve people can stand inside the torch of the Statue of Liberty.

2.) The United States helped France gain its independence in 1776.

3.) Alexander Eiffel was among the guests at Laboulaye’s house.

4.) Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was a French engineer.

5.) Alexander Eiffel figured out how to make the statue stand.

6.) Americans designed the pedestal for the statue.

7.) The Statue of Liberty stands in a park in downtown New York City.

8.) New immigrants to America saw the statue when they arrived at the harbor in New York.

9.) The Statue of Liberty is a woman who holds a book up high.

10.) The French wanted to do something special for America’s 100th birthday

Shopping in America at the Mall

Malls are popular places for Americans to go shopping. Some people spend so much time at malls that they are called "mall rats." Mall rats "shop until they drop" in the hundreds of stores under one roof. People like malls for many reasons. They feel safe because malls have police stations or private security guards. Parking is usually free and the weather inside is always fine. The newest malls have beautiful rest areas with waterfalls and palm trees. The largest mall in the United States is the Mall of America in Minnesota. It covers 4.2 million square feet. It has 350 stores, eight nightclubs, and a seven-acre amusement park! There are parking spaces for 12,750 cars. About 750,000 people shop there every week. The first indoor mall in the United States was built in 1965 in Edina, Minnesota.

People loved doing their shopping all in one place. Many more malls were built over the country. Now, malls are like town centers where people come to do many things. They shop, of course. They also eat in food courts that have food from all over the world. They see movies at multiplex theaters. Some people even get their daily exercise by doing the new sport of "mall walking." Others go to malls to meet friends. In some malls, people can see a doctor or a dentist and even attend church. In other words, people can do just about anything in malls. The latest trend is condo-malls.

Now residents can actually live in their favorite shopping center. For a mall rat this is a dream come true.

Circle the correct letter A, B, C, or D.

1. A place where there are big machines to ride on and games for people to play is...

A. a town center. B. an amusement park. C. a rest area. D. a casino.

2. ... are places where you can find tables and chairs and many open restaurants.

A. Food courts B. Theaters C. Nightclubs D. Discos

3. Water falling straight down over large stones often creates the sound and beauty of...

A. rain. B. palm trees. C. fish ponds. D. waterfalls.

4. People who live in a certain place are its ...

A. shoppers. B. guards. C. residents. D. neighbors.

5. A ... has several theaters all in one building or part of a building.

A. mall B. multiplex C.condo D. stadium

MARK TWAIN

Mark Twain, 14  ____________ lived from 1835 to 1910, is one of America’s most famous authors. He wrote many books, 15  ____________ The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Mark Twain’s own life was 16  ____________ enough to be a book.

  Twain was born in the state of Missouri, near the Mississippi River. He 17  ____________ from a poor family. His father died when he was twelve, 18  ____________ he had to leave school. While he was still a boy, he worked as a riverboat pilot. He steered boats up and down the long Mississippi River.

  The Civil War, which started in 1861, made traveling on the Mississippi impossible. Twain then went west to Nevada. There he worked with a newspaper. In 1864 he went to California to find gold. Twain did not have much 19  ____________ as a gold miner. He left California to travel in Europe. Twain wrote a book about his trips around Europe. 

  But the most important influence on Twain and his books was the Mississippi River. When Twain finally settled down, he lived in a house with a porch that 20  ____________ like the deck of a riverboat. Huckleberry Finn, Twain’s greatest book, is about the adventures of a boy on the Mississippi River.                  21  ____________ of Twain’s books is called Life on the Mississippi.

  In fact, even the name of Mark Twain comes from the Mississippi. Mark Twain’s 22  ____________ name was Samuel Langhorne Clemens. On the river Samuel Clemens often heard the boatmen shout “Mark Twain”. This 23  ____________ the water was twelve feet deep. When Samuel Clemens began to write he chose for himself the name Mark Twain. 

14.	A. who	B. what	C. which	D. whom
15.	A. comprising	B. as	C. with	D. including
16.	A. very interesting	B. interested	C. interesting	D. interest
17.	A. went	B. came	C. was born	D. as
18.	A. but	B. so	C. because	D. as
19.	A. successful	B. luck	C. happiness	D. chances
20.	A. looked	B. saw	C. watched	D. showed
21.	A. other	B.  the other	C. another	D. some
22.	A. real	B. honest	C. truthful	D. first
23.	A. told	B. meant	C. understood	D. explained

Write a short story which begins with the words That evening Mike was thinking about why he had no friends. Word limit – 15 sentences

LISTENING COMPREHENSION TEST FOR 11^TH FORM STUDENTS

Directions:

In this test you will carefully listen to a text read aloud twice.  The text is followed by 10 true/false statements and 10 multiple-choice questions. You should do the first 10 tasks following the first reading of the text on the basis of what is stated or implied in the text.  The text will be read a second time and you should do tasks 11 to 20 following the second reading of the text on the basis of what is stated or implied in the text. 

TEXT

Listen to the text “A Review of the New Museum in My Neighborhood” by Sophie Pollitt-Cohen.

On your answer sheet put T if the statement is true, and F if it is false.

Statements 1 to 10

 1. Furniture is the primary focus of the museum.

2.  Guests are allowed to sit on the museum furniture.

3.  The visitor’s only favourite part of the museum is the ham collection.

4.  The furniture was not out of the ordinary.

5.  The museum was exhausting and crowded.

6.  “How I Help Cook Chicken Soup” is a drawing scribbled in pencil.

7.  Security at this museum was a nightmare.

8.  People are permitted to carry drinks inside this museum.

9.  The museum features people shouting in their pajamas.

10. This museum is located down the street from the visitor’s home.

READING COMPREHENSION TEST FOR 11^TH FORM STUDENTS

Directions:

In this Test you will read five texts. Each text is followed by 8 – 15 tasks. You should do the tasks following a text on the basis of what is stated or implied in that text. For each task you will choose the best possible answer and mark your choice on the Answer Sheet.

TEXT 1

Read the text below and choose the correct word for each space. For each question, mark the correct letter A, B, C or D.

THE TRUTH ABOUT LOVE

This week we celebrated Valentine's Day incurable or rather romantics and those of us who are a bit soft in the head did! The fourteenth of February always gives everyone who's anyone a chance to cast a few pearls of (1) …… before their fellow sufferers about the nature of 'the universal migraine' – love. Francis Farnsworth is a case in point. I'm sure the poor old fellow has a heart of (2) …… but he really does talk a (3) …… of rubbish sometimes! His appearance last night on BBC 1's 'Let's Talk It Over' was no exception. He started off by having what I will politely call a (4) …… of opinion with Tania Di Monte, author of 'Tell me the Truth about Love'. Ms Di Monte always expresses the most extraordinary views without any apparent (5) …… of contradiction. Last night she was boldly setting out her rules for a perfect relationship when poor old Farnsworth accidentally called her Tina. Tina is of course the name of her ex-husband Darren's second wife and we all know that any mention of him - or her - is like (6) …… to Tania. Farnsworth kept apologising and saying that it had been a (7) …… of the tongue brought about by a momentary (8) …… of concentration, but it took all presenter Greg Lazarre's skills to calm our Tania down again. Francis then started calling her 'darling', which only succeeded in making her even more furious. '(9) …… of endearment,’ he stammered as she glared at him. She had been vehemently denying that there was even a (10) …… of truth in rumours about her forthcoming engagement to football star Nick Perez. Nevertheless, I'm sure it is only a(n) (11) …… of time before we see Tania and Nick on the cover of 'Hi There!' celebrating 'the wedding of the century'. If marrying someone like Tania is what happens to you, if you're incredibly successful, as Perez undoubtedly is, I shudder to think what the (12) ….. of failure might be!

1	A	knowledge	B	wisdom	C	intelligence	D	sense
2	A	gold	B	silver	C	brass	D	steel
3	A	mound	B	load	C	pile	D	stack
4	A	disagreement	B	conflict	C	contrast	D	difference
5	A	worry	B	anxiety	C	concern	D	fear
6	A	a bull in a china shop	B	the bull by the horns	C	a red rag to a bull	D	a bull market
7	A	mistake	B	slip	C	error	D	lapse
8	A	lapse	B	error	C	mistake	D	slip
9	A	Expression	B	Idiom	C	Term	D	Phrase
10	A	grain	B	fragment	C	particle	D	pellet
11	A	issue	B	question	C	problem	D	topic
12	A	payment	B	expense	C	price	D	sum

   TEXT 2

Read the text below to decide if each sentence is correct or incorrect. If it is correct, mark T. If it is not correct, mark F.

TV REVIEWS

Brat Camp returns as a brand new group of teenage girls, who are having problems at home, experience life in a camp in the Arizona desert. In this series, their mothers come with them to try to mend their broken relationships with their daughters.

Both mother and daughter receive a form of therapy called Anasazi, an approach that uses peace, love and understanding rather than strict rules and hard work.

Each week the programme concentrates on just one family, following their story from the moment they leave the UK to the time they return.

Will Anasazi’s focus on spiritual health and independence have a positive effect? Can Dr Fred Dodini change the parenting habits of these desperate mothers and the behaviour of their difficult teenage daughters? Watch and find out.

The Arbinger Institute, whose philosophy and material are used as the basis of the Anasazi programme shown in ‘Brat Camp’, run free events. Their best-selling book, ‘The Anatomy of Peace’, tells the story of a family at the camp of Arizona.

The World’s Strictest Parents. The World’s Strictest Parents send British teenagers to different countries around the world to live with strict families. This is an experiment to see if being strict is the right way to bring up a child and to find out whether strict parenting can change the relationship that problem teenagers have with their own parents.

The teenagers, aged between sixteen and nineteen, spend up to two weeks experiencing life with a family from a totally different culture. They can be sent anywhere from Jamaica to Jaipur and are expected to live under the strict rules of their host family, exactly as if they were the family’s own child, and do as the host family’s children do, both at school and at home.

Getting these teenagers to respect the rules isn’t easy. But time away from home gives the teenagers an opportunity to compare their way of life to see the value of having some order and discipline in their lives. From culture shock to self-discovery, these teenagers experience for the first time what it’s like to live with strict parents – and to understand the benefits.

1. This is the first series of Brat Camp.

2. The aim of the series is to help mothers and daughters to get on better.

3. Mothers and daughters are dealt with kindly at the camp.

4. Each programme in the series shows the progress all the mothers and daughters are making.

5. It is possible to receive a copy of ‘The Anatomy of Peace’ for free.

6. In The World’s Strictest Parents, the teenagers are all from the same country.

7. The programme wants to prove that being strict is the best way to be a parent.

8. The teen agers stay with more than one host family.

9. The teen agers attend school while they are staying with the family.

10. During their stay with the host families, the teenagers learn why having rules is important.

WRITING COMPREHENSION TEST FOR 11^TH FORM STUDENTS

1.                               Different languages are spoken throughout the world everyday.  There are many people in the world who can understand or speak more than one language.  There are also many people who can speak only their native language.  Why do you think some people don’t want to learn another language? Do you think it is important to understand more than just your native language?  Explain.  How would the world be different if more people were multilingual? 

LISTENING COMPREHENSION TEST FOR 10^TH FORM STUDENTS

“A Review of the New Museum in My Neighborhood” by Sophie Pollitt-Cohen

One of the best things about living in New York City is all the museums. Just last night I stumbled upon one I'd never been to before. I know a lot about art, so I am confident in my assertion that I had a lot of fun there, and it is probably better than any museum I have ever been to. 

The museum was mainly focused on furniture. It was kind of like those colonial rooms at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, except it was more than one room, and it didn't have such low ceilings for short, malnourished colonists. Also, the furniture wasn't from the 17th century. It was more modern, like in the Museum of Modern Art. Except it wasn't fancy or artsy—the attempt was to convey a sense of everyday life, like Colonial Williamsburg, except again, not colonial.

You were allowed to sit on the furniture, which brings me to my first favorite part of the museum—their lax policy about sitting on the furniture. I also enjoyed being able to listen to “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler while eating the ham from the Make-Your-Own-Sandwich Room, which was structured much like an ordinary kitchen. That reminds me: my second and third favorite parts were the CD collection and the ham collection.

I believe the curators wanted you to touch the art and eat the art so as to feel as one with the art and allow it to become a part of you. The everyday style of construction—the furniture being in the vernacular, as we say—was an attempt to force the observer to question the very nature of art. It reminded me of a painting I saw at the Met once. It looked like a canvas smeared with moldy Fruit Loops by a drunk baby. I didn't think that could be real art, but actually it was, since Hello, I found it in a museum. Remembering this past experience helped me while in the museum last night, since there were a lot of things that looked like that painting—particularly a bowl of old Fruit Loops on a simple coffee table. Or was it so simple?

Museums can be exhausting when they are crowded. It's like, Hey, Lady from Wherever They Let You Wear Light Colored Jeans in Public, can you move away so I can see the picture, too? I loved how empty this place was. I believe they keep most people out so as to allow you to immerse yourself in the museum's spatiality. Also, I was there at night, when tourists are jetlagged and regular people are kind of tired.

The art was linked thematically, with many variations on the central motif of family life in the modern era. There were photos of the same subjects, and many of the drawings were by the same artist. They were of a unique style, one harkening back to a primitive age. My favorites were “My Family,” “How I Help Cook Chicken Soup,” and an untitled scribble in the medium of magic marker.

Security at museums can be a nightmare, am I right? You can't bring in certain stuff, like cameras or drinks. But I brought my drink in (how I left The Gin Mill still holding my rum and Diet Coke, I haven't a clue) and the one security guard downstairs didn't care. He even knew my name already!

Museums are full of surprises, and this museum certainly did not disappoint. For instance, the final room had— surprise!—two people wearing pajamas. Not sure why they were yelling at me, though. This brings me to another thing museums are full of: mystery.

My final favorite thing about the museum was how close it was to my apartment. It was actually just down the hall. That's the beauty of New York—those hidden gems that only real New Yorkers know how to find. Well, New Yorkers and the doorman who kindly escorted me out and back to my own apartment. I'm pretty sure he was from Poland.

 Listening Comprehension Test for 7-8^th Form Students    Text

Great- Granddad’s Last Battle by Robert Froman

            I will never forget the Saturday I took my great-grandfather to his first movie. I was nine. Granddad was over 90 years old.

            The movie was a Wild West show. And that Saturday afternoon in 1920 turned out to be

a wild one too!

            We were a little late when we got to the movie. The lights were already turned low. The girl at the piano had started to play. In those days, the movies had no sound. The only sounds that went with them came from a piano. I helped Granddad find a seat in the first row. He sat back just as Hoot Gibson came riding across the screen on his horse. I looked at Granddad. His eyes were fixed on the screen and his lips were moving. I saw that he was riding right along with Hoot Gibson!

            Hoot was running away from outlaws. Faster and faster the horses ran. The girl at the piano played louder and louder.  Suddenly Granddad jumped to his feet and yelled at Hoot. “Look out!” he cried. “Run for it, Hoot! They are getting closer!”

            The girl at the piano turned around. Right behind her she saw a tall old man with arms stretched wide. It was my granddad. She thought he had gone crazy. With a scream she climbed to the top of the piano. Then she jumped through the movie screen, making a big hole in it. She ran out the back door of the movie, yelling.

            There were about 40 people at the movie that afternoon. Granddad was the only one there over 12 years old. All the excitement made us boys feel we should do something. But what? Hoot showed us! He was shot from his house right into the hole in the screen!

            A friend of mine named Sammy climbed up to see what had become of Hoot. Three or four others followed Sammy. Soon about 12 yelling boys were crowded around the screen. What noise! The ticket-taker came running. “Stop the show!” he yelled. “Turn on the lights!” But no one seemed to hear him. At that moment, Sammy shot his cap gun. Someone saw the smoke from the cap gun and screamed “Fire!”

            Granddad was still standing. He called out, “Get the firemen! Where is the fire?”

Just then several men came in through the back door. The girl who played the piano had told them about the crazy man. They were coming to get Granddad!

            Before they got to him, a fireman came in the front door. He was carrying a hose. “Water!” he shouted to the firemen behind him. Then he turned his hose on the screen full force. The hole in the screen became larger and larger. Now we could see only the top of Hoot’s head and his horse’s tail.

            “I’m getting out of here!” Granddad said to me. “I’ve been in many a battle, but this is the worst of all.” We pushed past the firemen and got to the street at last. By this time there was a big crowd of people. “What’s happened? Where’s the fire?” everyone wanted to know.

            But we did not wait to talk. Granddad took me to his little house and gave me some ice-cream. “I am sorry you didn’t get to see the whole show, Granddad,” I said. “Will you go with me next Saturday?” Granddad shook his head. “No, Robert,” he said. “I don’t like movies. They are too noisy. My first movie will be my last!”

Listening Comprehension Test for 7-8^th Form Students    Assignments

Task 1. Put  (+) if the statement is true, and (-) if the statement is false.

1. They came to the movie in time.
2. The movie they watched was soundless.
3. They were sitting in the first row.
4. There was  a back door behind the movie screen.
5. Hoot Gibson was chasing the outlaws.
6. Hoot Gibson made a big hole in the screen.
7. The cap gun caused a fire.
8. The piano girl brought the firemen with her.
9. The water made the hole larger.
10. Granddad did not like his first movie.

Task 2. Circle the right answer A, B, C, or D

11. The grandson’s name was...

 A.  Sammy     B.    Hoot      C. Gibson     D. Robert

12.. How old was the boy?

A. 19       B. 12       C. 9        D. 90

13. Why did the girl play the piano?

            A.  to help people understand the movie.

            B.  to add sound to the movie

            C.  to  help people find their seats.

            D.  to entertain the audience.

14. Hoot Gibson was...

            A. The name of the actor.

            B. The name of the film

            C. The name of the author

            D. The name of Granddad

15. The Granddad jumped and ...

            A. cried        B. yelled     C. shouted     D. screamed

16 How many people were there at the cinema?

            A. 40       B.  12     C. 14     D. 20

17. Sammy shot his...

            A. pistol     B. fire gun     C. cap gun        D. petard

18. The fireman brought..

            A. a house       B. a hose       C. a horse     D. a hole

19. A lot of events happen that afternoon EXCEPT...

            A. The girl broke the screen

            B. The boys did shooting

            C. The old man got crazy

            D. The fireman put out the fire

20. Why the Granddad did not want to go to the movie again?

            A. He did not like fire.

            B. He did not like noise

            C. He did not like Wild West show

            D. He did not like shooting