Examination texts 19-21 (11th form)

№ 19

  I.  1. Read the book review and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

Book Review

The Guinness Books of World Records¹ have certainly changed a lot in the last 60 years. The first Guinness Book was published in August 1955 in London, in Britain. Most editions were small paperbacks printed in black­and­white and contained more text than photographs. Now, there are colour pictures on every page — and the book also includes 3­D images.

This fascinating collection of records is divided into chapters on Space, The Living Planet, Being Human, Human Achievements, Spirit of Adventure, Modern Life, Science & Engineering, Entertainment, Sports, and the Gazetteer².

Here you will see and read about extremes: for example, the world’s tallest, oldest, shortest, and tiniest — people, plants, animals, buildings. Some have set records for pulling buses, kissing, swimming, ironing clothes, running, and for having the longest legs, the smallest waist, etc.

Some images are a bit strange to look at for too long — check out the woman with the longest fingernails in the world. Also, one man had 14 operations to make himself look like a cat.

There’s a wide range of amazing facts contained on these pages. What is the world’s most expensive hamburger? — It is available in a New York restaurant for $120. Who had the most hit singles on the US music charts? — Elvis Presley, of course, with 151 between 1956 and 2003 (and he died in 1977!). One of the most colourful sections shows records related to space, including some fantastic photographs of Jupiter. Take a look at the top movies such as the first summer blockbuster of all time, the first movie with Dolby sound, and the first to be more expensive than $100 million.

As always, there’s a helpful index in the back of the book, in which you can find subjects of interest in alphabetical order.

Please note that some stunts³ in this book would be quite dangerous — or at least terribly painful — for you to attempt to meet or beat them. Therefore, please don’t attempt to set any world records that would cause risk to you or to others!

¹ the Guinness [ˈɡɪnɪs] Books of World Records [ˈrekɔ:dz] Книга рекордов Гиннесса

² Gazetteer [ˌɡæzəˈtɪə] географический справочник

³ a stunt [stʌnt] опасный трюк

2.  The author describes how The Guinness Books of  World Records changed with time. Find this extract and read it aloud.

3.  What information will you find in this book?

4.  Why can this book be interesting for the reader?

№ 20

  I.  1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

ARE YOU READY TO BE INDEPENDENT?

Angela Rowlands recently tested her teenage children’s ability to do basic household jobs in the house. When Angela and her husband Ben went to Spain for a few weeks’ holiday on the Costa Brava, their son Mark, aged 18, and daughter Frances, aged 16, stayed at home to look after the house. The parents wanted to see how Mark and Frances would manage in the house on their own.

So when they left the house, they did not tell the children that they had prepared a few tests for them. “We took the plug¹ off the microwave and took out some good light bulbs² and put in light bulbs that did not work. We also made sure that there were other problems in the house: with an Italian coffee machine and one of the taps³ in the bathroom,” says Dr Rowlands.

When Dr Rowlands returned from her holiday, she found, as she had expected, that her children had failed the independence test. Mark and Frances had asked an electrician to change the plug on the microwave and to change the light bulbs. They also paid a specialist for repairing the bathroom tap. When they saw that the coffee maker was broken, they went to buy a new one. They even did not think to look for the missing part in the cupboard.

Dr Rowlands was not surprised by the results of her experiment. “A lot of young people today are not able to solve simple problems in the house,” she says. “They often throw things away when they are broken. This is wrong because it shows that young people do not understand how things work or are made. It can also be very expensive because you have to pay other people to do the work for you.”

But repairing broken things is only part of the problem. A lot of young people cannot cook at all. If there is no ready­made meal in the fridge, or if there is nothing to warm up in the microwave, then there is no food. This can cause health problems.

The truth is that many young people do not want to learn basic household skills as they find them boring. Though, if people want to be prepared for independent life they should learn how to do simple jobs about the house.

¹ a plug [plʌɡ] штепсельная вилка

² a light bulb [ˈlaɪt bʌlb] лампочка

³ a tap [tæp] кран

2.  Why did Dr Rowlands decide to test her children? Read aloud the extract which says about it.

3.  What did the parents prepare for their children?

4.  Do you think the children passed the test? Why do you think so?

№ 21

  I.  1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

Technology

Technology is everywhere. We see it any place we go to and, in fact, almost all of us carry some piece of technology with us every time we leave the house. We can’t imagine our life without them. But what we always forget, though, is just how useful and powerful technology can be when we want to help others.

There is not a single room in my house that does not have some gadget lying around in it. Whenever I am at home, providing that I am not sleeping, I am almost always using at least one electronic device. If you walked into my living room on any given day, you would find that, first, I have the television on (along with the other related appliances, such as the DVD player or my current favourite games console¹). At the same time, even though multi­tasking is definitely not my strong point, I usually have my laptop resting on my knee, or I will be using my tablet or mobile phone. In the background, the technology that I am not using will most likely be on charge somewhere in the house. Even when I’m not at home I am constantly using my phone. At work or in cafés, I sit down and connect to the local wireless network on my laptop. I must admit that I waste a lot of time on the computer. Instead I could spend it doing some online volunteering.

The technology we carry about everywhere can have a great power to do good for the world and to help others and recently I discovered just how much online volunteering there is to do in the world. From using your language skills to do translations, to developing and managing projects and helping with IT work, there is so much that so many people can do to help people in their own countries and across the world. The United Nations, in fact, has a huge page on its website designed for recruiting volunteers.

This work can support the poor and help charities who otherwise would not have the funding to pay for staff. Many organisations only require you to work an hour a week — some even less. And the support provided by online volunteers can really help make a difference to those in need.

¹ games console [ˈɡeɪmz  ˈkɒnˈsəʊl] игровая приставка

2.  The author disapproves of the way people use electronic devices. Find this extract and read it aloud.

3.  What electronic devices does the author often use?

4.  How can online volunteering help people?