9-th Form
Listening Comprehension
POTATOES
In the reign of Queen Elizabeth two plants
were brought to England for the first time by Sir Walter Raleigh - the
tobacco-plant and the potato. Sir Walter had sailed across the seas to America
in search of new lands; and he brought back both these plants with him.
At first people did not like the potato at
all. Nobody wished to eat it. Yet Sir Walter told them how useful it would be.
He said that when the corn- harvest was not good, people did not need to starve
if they had a lot of potatoes.
Queen Elizabeth listened to what Sir Walter
said, and had potatoes served up at her own table. The people who dined with
her majesty were obliged to eat them. But they said that the potato was
poisonous, because it belongs to many other poisonous plants. So nobody wanted
to eat potatoes, and they were left for the pigs.
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The people did not find out their mistake
till many years afterwards. The poor potato was forgotten till the reign of the
French King Louis XVI, when there lived a Frenchman who grew plants for food.
He was sure that he could make the potato a great help to the country. People
laughed at him at first and did not want to take any notice of what he said.
But he went on growing the potato till it was very good. Even then no one
wanted to taste it till the king said that potatoes were good to eat. The king
had large pieces of ground planted with potatoes, and he went about with the
flower of the potato in his button-hole. Soon people began to find out how good
wholesome potatoes were, and they liked them more and more. Now there is
hardly any vegetable that is more loved by people.
Vocabulary:
reign - the period of time during which
someone is king or queen; Walter Raleigh-Вальтер Ролі, аншійський
мореплавець (1552-1618); in search of- to examine carefully in order to
find a person or thing; to starve - to
suffer or die from hunger; to serve up - to supply,
give food to people at a meal; to be obliged to do sth - to do
something as a favour or in answer to a request;
to take any notice - to pay attention to something or
someone; wholesome - healthy, suggesting good health.
Post-listening I. Mark true (+) or false (-) statements.
1. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth
two books were brought to England.
2.
Sir Walter had sailed across the seas to America in search of new lands.
3. At first people did not like the
potato at all.
4. Everybody wanted to eat it.
5. The people who dined with her
majesty were obliged to eat potatoes.
6. Nobody wanted to eat potatoes.
7. There lived a Frenchman who grew
plants for food.
8. He went on growing the potato
till it was very good.
9. The king had large pieces of
ground planted with potatoes.
10. Now there is hardly any vegetable
that is more loved by pigs.
11. Find out what the main idea of the text is.
III. Fill in the blanks.
1. In the___ of Queen Elizabeth two plants were brought
to England.
2. Sir Walter had___ across the seas to America______ of new lands.
3. At first people did not like the___ at all.
4. The people who dined with her
majesty______ to eat them.
5. So nobody wanted to___ potatoes, and they were left for
the pigs.
6. The poor potato was__ till the reign of French King
Louis XVI.
7. People laughed at him at first
and did not want to take any of
what
he said.
8. The king had large pieces of
ground___ with potatoes.
9. He went about with the___ of the potato in his button-hole.
10. Now there is hardly any___ that is more loved by people.
Reading
Comprehension
2. Text 1.
CHRISTOPHER
COLUMBUS
In the fifteenth century people knew only
three continents: Europe, Asia, and Africa. They knew nothing about such a big
continent as America.
The man who was thought to be the discoverer
of America was born in 1451 in Italy. His name was Christopher Columbus. He became a sailor at an
early age. Knowing that the Earth was round, he decided to reach India by
sailing to the west. It was very difficult for him to organise his expedition
as nobody wanted to help him. Many years after the Spanish government gave him
some money for his expedition. He was able to set sail only in 1492, on the 3rd of August.
The voyage was very dangerous and difficult.
His men insisted on returning home, but Columbus did everything he could to
make them continue their westward voyage. On the 12th of October,
his ships reached land. When they landed, they saw strange trees and flowers.
Men and women with olive-coloured skins gathered around them and looked at them
with great surprise. It was one of the Bahama Islands. But Christopher Columbus
thought it was one of the islands which lie off the coast of Asia and called it
San Salvador.
Columbus's second voyage to America took
place in 1493. This time
he discovered some other islands of the West Indies and made some settlements
there.
On the third voyage he came to South
America.
In 1502 he made his
last voyage. This time he coasted along the shores of Central America. In 1506 he died in Spain being sure that
he had reached Asia and knowing nothing of his great discovery of the New
World.
discoverer - a person who has made a discovery;
to be able to - to have the power, means or opportunity;
to insist - to urge strongly against opposition; to
declare that a purpose cannot be changed;
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Bahama Islands - Багамські острови;
settlement - a group of houses and buildings
where people live, in an area where no group lived before;
discovery - the act of discovering
something.
I. Comprehension check. Make the choice.
1. In the ... century people knew
only three continents.
a) thirteenth;
b) fifteenth;
c) seventeenth.
2. In the fifteenth century people
knew only ...
a) three continents;
b) four continents;
c) five continents.
3. The man who was thought to be the
discoverer of America was born in 1451 in...
a) Italy;
b) Austria;
c) Japan.
4. His name was ...
a) Christopher Columbus;
b) Marco Polo;
c) Yuriy Gagarin.
5. Knowing that the Earth was round,
he decided to reach India ...
a) by train;
b) by sailing;
c) by plane.
6. Many years after the ...
government gave him some money for his expedition.
a) Spanish;
b) Italian;
c) Greek.
7. On the ... his ships reached
land.
a) 25th of September;
b) 12th of October;
c) 20th of October.
8. Men and women with ... skins
gathered around them and looked at them with great surprise.
3.
red-coloured;
4.
olive-coloured;
5. black-coloured.
9. It was one of the...
1.
Aland Islands;
2.
Bahama Islands;
3.
Aleutian Islands.
10. In ... he made his last voyage.
4.
1502;
5.
1493;
6.
1602.
TEXT 2.
A FILM STAR
Pauline loved the cinema and
wanted to become a film star. When she was twelve, she said to her parents,
"I want to be a film star".
But it was not an easy task.
After she left school, she got into films - not as a star - she became one of
the people in a crowd scene.
One evening the man at the agency
called her up and said, "There's a job for you tomorrow, Pauline. Come at
eight o'clock. You'll be a secretary".
Pauline reached the studios at a
quarter to eight. She waited three hours before they came to her scene. The
scene was very short: the star, a famous American actor, came and stopped in
front of where Pauline was sitting.
"I want you to look at Harry
when he comes in," explained the director, "and say, 'Mr Marlowe,
there's a call for you!' Can you say that?"
Pauline said that she could and
did everything the director told her to do.
The director was very pleased,
and the star smiled at her. "That's great," said the director,
"Thanks". Pauline was very happy that evening.
Some months later she booked two seats for
the premiere and went to see her film with Michael, her boy friend. It was a
good film but there was no Pauline in it. Her scene together with many other
unimportant scenes had been cut out.
Choose the right answers to the questions.
1. What did Pauline love?
a) the theatre;
b) the cinema;
c) the circus.
2. What did she want to be?
a) a ballet dancer;
b)
an announcer;
c) a film star.
3. How old was she when she told her
parents about her wish?
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a) thirteen;
Reading
Comprehension
b)
twenty;
c) twelve.
4. What did she become after leaving
school?
a) one of the people in a crowd
scene;
b)
one of the assistant producers;
c) one of the film directors.
5. Who told Pauline about the job?
a) her friend;
b) the director of school;
c) the man at the agency.
6. When did Pauline come to the
studios?
a) at a quarter to eight;
b) at a quarter to nine;
c) at a quarter to ten.
7. What was her part in the scene?
a) to say, 'Mr Marlowe, there's a
call for you!'
b) to say, 'Mrs Marlowe, there's a
call for you!'
c) to say, 'Mr Marlowe, there's a
present for you!'
8. How did she act?
a) very well;
b) terribly;
c) awfully.
9. How did Pauline feel that
evening?
a) she was very sad;
b)
she was very happy;
c) she was very unhappy.
10. What happened finally?
a) Pauline's scene had been cut out.
b) Pauline had ruined her part.
c) Pauline didn't go to see the
film.
4.
1502;
5.
1493;
6.
1602.
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