Read the text and do the tasks.
Read the questions and choose the correct answer. The first drawings on walls appeared in caves thousands of years ago. Later the Ancient Romans and Greeks wrote their names and protest poems on buildings. Modern graffiti seems to have appeared in Philadelphia in the early 1960s, and by the late sixties it had reached New York. The new art form really took off in the 1970s, when people began writing their names, or ‘tags’, on buildings all over the city. In the mid seventies it was sometimes hard to see out of a subway car window, because the trains were completely covered in spray paintings known as ‘masterpieces’. In the early days, the ‘taggers’ were part of street gangs who were concerned with marking their territory. They worked in groups called ‘crews’, and called what they did ‘writing’ – the term ‘graffiti’ was first used by The New York Times and the novelist Norman Mailer. Art galleries in New York began buying graffiti in the early seventies. But at the same time that it began to be regarded as an art form, John Lindsay, the then mayor of New York, declared the first war on graffiti. By the 1980s it became much harder to write on subway trains without being caught, and instead many of the more established graffiti artists began using roofs of buildings or canvases. The debate over whether graffiti is art or vandalism is still going on. Peter Vallone, a New York city councillor, thinks that graffiti done with permission can be art, but if it is on someone else’s property it becomes a crime. ‘I have a message for the graffiti vandals out there,’ he said recently. ‘Your freedom of expression ends where my property begins.’ On the other hand, Felix, a member of the Berlin-based group Reclaim Your City, says that artists are reclaiming cities for the public from advertisers, and that graffiti represents freedom and makes cities more vibrant. For decades graffiti has been a springboard to international fame for a few. Jean-Michel Basquiat began spraying on the street in the 1970s before becoming a respected artist in the ’80s. The Frenchman Blek le Rat and the British artist Banksy have achieved international fame by producing complex works with stencils, often making political or humorous points. Works by Banksy have been sold for over £100,000. Graffiti is now sometimes big business.
Varieties of "Make". Choose the correct preposition.
Choose the correct option. Do you make ... the meaning of this poem?
Choose the correct option. My grandmother used to make ... fairy tales.
Choose the correct option. She's made ... Tom after the quarrel.
Choose the correct option. I couldn't make ... what he was saying.
Choose the correct option. Won't you make it ... her?
Choose the correct option. It's no true. She's made ... this story.
Choose the correct option. Children make ... stories about ghosts and witches.
Choose the correct option. I can’t make ... what it says here.
Choose the correct option. I can't make ... your writing.
Choose the correct option. He heard their voices but couldn't make ... the words.
Read the text and choose the correct answer.
Read the text and mark True or False. You've always wanted to be popular in school. You've dreamt a thousand times what it would be like to be the star of your school's football team or that tall blonde girl who everyone fancies. "Cool" people are attractive, confident and always wear stylish outfits. Everyone wants to hang out with them. But often "cool" people aren't very nice! They can be selfish and bossy. At times they get impatient with people who might be shy or a bit quiet. If you really want to make some true friends, here are some tips. Don’t choose friends based on looks. What really matters in a friend is not being slim and beautiful but reliable and generous. Choose friends who are humorous, talkative and who never treat others badly. In fact, these are the people who are truly cool! Try to choose friends that you can actually benefit from. Those who are creative and have interests other than fashion and parties. Be flexible but don't say or do things that make you feel uncomfortable just to make "cool" people like you. Always speak your mind. Those who really care for you will still be your friends - even if at times you drive them crazy. Remember: real friends are those you can open up to. Those who will hold their tongue and will never give away your secrets. Take a minute and think. What really matters? Making friends that count or counting friends?
Read the text and match. Two teenagers, Joe and Kate, ar standing in front of their mirrors getting ready for school. Joe thinks to himself: I’m too skinny. Why aren’t I tall and muscular? It’s not fair. And look at those spots - I look really awful!’ A little inner voice tells Kate: ‘You’re fat and ugly in these jeans. Your legs should be longer. And you hair’s horrible - all curly and frizzy. No one will look at you twice!’ If these thoughts sound familiar, that’s because Joe and Kate are far from being alone. It’s very common for teenagers to have a negative image of their own bodies. They insist they are hopelessly ugly, no matter how much their parents and friends tell them otherwise! Magazine problem pages and Internet blogs are full of agonised accounts. The young people who write them are convinced they are unattractive and therefore unloved and rejected by others. Why do teenagers see themselves in an unflattering way? The fact is, puberty has a lot to do with it. During your early teens, the body is preparing itself for adulthood. New chemicals are moving around the body as it adjusts to adult hormone levels. The body alters its shape, sometimes resulting in puppy fat. Skin problems such as acne are also common. Teens are affected psychologically too. They become confused and anxious about their changing appearance. This in turn can lead to feelings of insecurity and low self-esteem. Nor is the situation helped by the media. Young people are bombarded with images of the ideal body. Top fashion models in glossy magazines are all far taller and skinnier than the average woman. They have their hair and make-up done professionally. After a fashion shoot, magazine editors have the photographs airbrushed before they are published to give the models a flawless complexion. Male actors in epic films flex beautifully toned rippling muscles. But more than likely, they have had them digitally enhanced, or ‘photoshopped’, as they call it in the trade. Not to mention the fact that many celebrities choose to have cosmetic surgery done to enhance their appearance. None of this reflects a realistic body image, so it’s no wonder adolescents are made to feel inadequate and unsure of themselves. The good news is that, however dissatisfied you are with your looks, the chances are it’s only temporary! Those extra kilos and that spotty skin usually disappear by themselves in time. While your body is sorting itself out and ‘settling into’ its final form, you need to ride out the change! Resist the temptation to compare yourself with your peers. This is easier said than done when you are the tallest girl in your class or the only boy who has started growing a beard. You tend to feel the odd one out and may even get teased or bullied. Just remember that although teens’ bodies change at different speeds, everyone ends up at more or less the same place in the end! It’s important to realise what things you can change about yourself and what things you can’t. Correct diet and exercise can do wonders for your appearance. Having your hair restyled, your nails manicured or your teeth whitened will also help boost your self-confidence. The things you can’t alter, like your height or your shoe size, should be seen as strengths and not weaknesses. They are, after all, the features that make you a unique individual! Stop worrying so much about the way you look and learn to accept yourself as you are. Tell yourself you are just as attractive, intelligent and cool as the next person. If you feel good about yourself, the chances are other people will feel good about you too!
Advanced level Read the text and choose the correct option. When I Grow Up When I was in kindergarten, my class was asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Colorful crayons danced across sheets of paper to illustrate our dream occupations and cherished jobs. Our drawings were hung in the school hallway for our parents to see at Back to School Night. I remember looking down the line and seeing pictures of pretty ballerinas dancing, brave firefighters putting out a blaze, and fearless astronauts leaping across the moon – admirable careers that were seen as typical dreams of five-year-old kids. My picture showed a stick figure with brown disheveled hair holding a carton of orange juice over a large rectangle that was supposed to be a counter. Underneath was my barely legible handwriting: “When I grow up, I want to work at the Market Basket because it would be fun to swipe orange juice across the scanner and talk to customers.” To this day my parents won’t let me forget that out of everything I could have aspired to be, my five-year-old self wished to work at the local grocery store. When we are young, questions of what we want to be when we grow up are common. Yet we are not expected to respond with an answer that is likely to come true. However, when we become teenagers, we are asked the very same question twice as often. The difference is, now we are supposed to answer with confidence. Teenagers are expected to know exactly what they want to be and how they are going to achieve that goal. Not all of us can be so sure at this age. Even though I am in high school, I cannot answer convincingly. But I don’t consider that a bad thing. How am I supposed to know what I will want to spend my time doing at the age of thirty or forty? When I think about the future, I definitely don’t see myself working at the counter of the Market Basket, but in reality, if that was what would make me happy, I would do it. So, the next time someone asks me what I want to be when I grow up, I will simply say, “I want to be happy.” And it is hope that drives us in this direction. “Hope is not a grain of sand,” the Gambian poet, Lenrie Peters, echoes, but no matter how tiny it is, it would still be sufficient to keep the youth alive and sane in most extreme circumstances. It is hope that spurs the youth on, to be up and doing. It is hope that keeps the youth going no matter how hard it is. Nelson Mandela as a youth hoped against all hope for the liberation of his people and he actually lived to see his hope being fulfilled. Robinson Crusoe, cast away on an uninhabited island, hoped against all hope for survival and this propelled him to start from scratch and build a compound and large farm single-handedly. Far away in “Another Country: the Land of Literature,” Sister Eileen Sweeney sums up through her writings that Hope is the anchor that keeps “the ship” called “youth” steadfastly held together no matter the high and stormy sea of passion, pain, distress or tribulation that batter against it. Happiness is a destination for everyone. We may want to walk different paths in life, narrow or wide, crooked or straight, but we all want to be happy wherever we end up. Choose your path, but don’t worry too much about choosing wisely. Make a mistake or two and try new things. But always remember, if you’re not happy, you’re not at the end of your journey yet.
Read the text and choose the correct options. The In-front-of-the-camera job, Behind-the-scenes Work ... Have you ever dreamed of a varied job which would involve presenting the Olympics on TV or interviewing celebrity figures like Paris Hilton or Jude Law? You do? Then why not become a TV or radio presenter? As a presenter, you’ll be working on a wide variety of projects. You may be interviewing guests on chat shows, hosting quiz and game shows, introducing sports or music programs, or presenting specialist programs like travel or gardening. If you prefer the serious stuff, you can specialize in current affairs or make documentaries. Although a presenter’s main job is done in front of the cameras, there’s a lot to do behind the scenes as well. You’ll be expected to plan each show with the producer or director, do research and rehearse the script. You may get to write your own material, and you’ll probably be involved in online broadcasting, too. Personality is important in this profession. You’ve got to be confident and outgoing and be able to interact with the audience. Ambition and motivation are very important too, along with excellent presentation skills and a good voice. Problems are bound to arise while you’re on air and quick decisions will be called for. You’ll need to think on your feet and stay calm under pressure. Life as a presenter can have its downsides. If you’re on a short contract, as is normal, you’ll be in and out of work quite frequently. Hours are sometimes unsociable, too. Getting up at 4 a.m. is tough, as is working late at night while your friends are out partying! And working conditions can be trying at times: while most TV studios are comfortable, working outside often involves spending time in all kinds of weather and situations. But these are minor worries, according to presenter Emma Johnson. "I host a radio breakfast show and it’s really exciting", she says. "I never know what to expect. I leave for work with my day planned out, but often something big will have happened by the time I get to the studio. I just say, Ok, I’ll change my plan and report on that instead. There are some nerve-racking situations but it’s what I like best about the job". She meets plenty of celebrities, too. "I’m interviewing a top boy band later today and this time tomorrow I’ll be flying to Hollywood to meet actor Russel Crowe," she explains. Although Emma loves her job, her big ambition is to work in TV. "My present contract runs out next month," she says. I’m going to have a holiday, and then I’ll be knocking on the door of my local TV company". Emma got into presenting through her acting background, but there is no set route into the profession. Some presenters have university qualifications, while music show hosts have often been performers themselves, or may have worked as DJs in clubs. For entertainment shows, presenters often have an acting background and audition to present the show. Competition is stiff in this field, so if you’re starting out and you want to get noticed ahead of other applicants, proof of practical work experience is essential. Producing a student newspaper is one way to get experience, as is volunteer work on a hospital or student radio station. Specializing in a certain area, like sport or music, can be useful, too. It looks good on your CV and marks you from the rest of the crowd. Want to know more? GetFamous.com is running a one-day TV presenter course next month. Experts will teach you all about the world of TV presenting while you try out your skills in front of the cameras.
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Занесите свои ответы в таблицу. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. 1. Don't forget to rest 2. Write down and revise 3. Information and technology 4. Never put off till tomorrow 5. Set realistic targets 6. Study plans per week 7. Find a place to your liking 8. More important at college A. Today’s young generation will also need to master a new skill – digital literacy. Digital literacy can be defined as “the ability to find, evaluate, utilize, share, and create content using information technologies and the Internet”. Digital literacy, by this definition, encompasses a wide range of skills, all of which are necessary to succeed in an increasingly digital world. Students who lack digital literacy skills may soon find themselves at a disadvantage. As technology changes, students also need to keep updated. B. The key to becoming an effective student is learning how to study smarter, not harder. This becomes more and more true as you advance in your education. An hour or two of studying a day is usually sufficient to make it through high school with satisfactory grades, but when college arrives, there aren’t enough hours in the day to squeeze all your studying in if you don’t know how to make your study efficient without skipping sleep or meals. The vast majority of successful college students achieve their success by developing and applying effective study habits. C. Ever find yourself up late at night expending more energy trying to keep your eyelids open than you are studying? If so, it’s time for a change. Successful students typically space their work out over shorter periods of time and rarely try to cram all of their studying into just one or two sessions. If you want to become a successful student, then you need to learn to be consistent in your studies and to have regular, yet shorter, study sessions, with periods of rest in between. That will give your brain time to process the new information. D. Successful students schedule specific times throughout the week when they are going to study – and then they stick with their schedule. Students who study sporadically and whimsically typically do not perform as well as students who have a set study schedule. Сreating a weekly routine, where you set aside a period of time a few days a week, to review your courses will ensure you develop habits that will enable you to succeed in your education long term. You won’t get stressed or overwhelmed by portioning your workload. E. It is very easy, and common, to put off your study session because of lack of interest in the subject, because you have other things you need to get done, or just because the assignment is hard and needs effort and perseverance. Successful students do not procrastinate studying. If you procrastinate your study session, your studying will become less effective and you may not get everything accomplished that you need to. Procrastination also leads to rushing, and rushing is the number one cause of errors. F. Always make sure to take good notes in class. Before you start each study session, and before you start a particular assignment, review your notes thoroughly to make sure you know how to complete the assignment correctly. Reviewing before each study session will help you remember important subject matter learned during the day, and make sure your studying is targeted and effective. Successful students also look through what they have written down at their lectures and seminars during the week over the weekend. G. Everyone gets distracted by something: TV, or maybe family. Some people actually study better with a little background noise. When you’re distracted while studying you lose your train of thought and are unable to focus – both of which will lead to very ineffective studying. Before you start, find a place where you won’t be disturbed. For some people this is a quiet cubical in the recesses of the library. For others it is in a common area where there is little background noise. For some it may be a park or a garden – there are so many options to choose from!
Read the text and choose the correct items.
Read the text and choose the correct items. Start of college life: how I coped with fear For the last two years I’ve been working really hard to pass all my exams successfully and to get accepted to college. And yet college seemed to be the scariest thing that I could think of. Whenever I thought about it, my stomach would immediately begin to spin in circles. Although I was ready to go off and be by myself and meet new people, I was scared to death at the same time. I pictured hard classes that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with, people that wouldn’t like me, long hikes to get to my classes, and horrible food. I couldn’t imagine leaving the security of my own room, my own stuff where I want it, my friends that I’ve spent practically my whole life with my family who put up with all my little quirks. Everyone else that I talked to, however, didn’t seem to have this problem. They all were thrilled at the thought of being on their own and not having to worry about their parents telling them what to do or not to do all the time. And, sure, the thought was extremely exciting to me as well, but how would I survive without my family and friends and the things that had taken me eighteen years to get used to? The summer before I came to college was probably the most fun my friends and I ever had. We all knew that in September things would never be the same again and we had to make the most of it while we still could. As the end of August rolled around, we knew that it was time to say goodbye and be on our way to our own independence. I packed up the memories of the last eighteen years of my life into about five suitcases and was ready to go. I still didn’t feel like I was just as mature as my older college friends, and I thought that I still looked like I was twelve years old. We finally made it to the doors and began unloading my clothes and the eight million bags of food that my mom had packed for me. I still was unsure about sharing my room and not being able to have the privacy that I had back home. I was worried that the little habits that I had might annoy my roommate and that my roommate might have just as many annoying little habits that I might not be able to handle as well. After I had all my things unpacked and put exactly where I wanted, my roommate and I decided to go around our hall and see whom we would be living with for the next two semesters. As we went around to different rooms and met different people my nervousness seemed to diminish. I began to realize that not everyone here knew everyone else, and most were just as anxious and nervous about being here as I was. It worked. I started to feel better and was actually kind of excited about living here all by myself. I still miss the security of living at home (and I wonder who would blame me for this feeling) and, most of all, home-cooked meals that are nonexistent here and the friends that I grew up with. But I know that we’ve all changed, and those memories are just that – memories, no matter how pleasant they might be. And when times get too tough, my mom is just a phone call away. But I’m not too quick to call her and have her solve my problems. I’ve learned that I can usually work things out by myself. I’m glad that I’ve gone through these changes in myself, and it makes me realize that I don’t need to fear change, that it’s just a part of life that everyone has to go through sometime.
Read the text and choose the correct option. A cat’s adventures When we first got our cat Gina, I thought taking care other would be a rather leisurely activity. But Gina has the most peculiar of behaviours, and I’m not just referring to her tendency to chase after the occasional trapped house fly or her love of licking drips from the sink tap. She does something that I imagine few other cats in the world would do. If you can believe this, she commutes by bus every single day to the zoo to gaze at wild animals. Gina’s story is so incredible she’s even been featured on the national TV news. She’s been filmed hopping onto the bus, which comes like clockwork every day to the stop two blocks down the street from our house. It doesn’t even pass by our house; I can’t imagine how she found the stop. Actually, there are many things I can’t imagine about this scenario, such as how she knows the bus schedule or where the stop for the zoo is. Were never even taken her to the zoo. Why on earth would we? And surely we would have gone by car rather than by bus if we had. It’s anyone’s guess how long she had been doing it before we realised what was going on. She’d scratch at the door in the morning for us to let her out. I would see her trot out of the garden and down the street, but I never thought anything of it. After a while, I began to notice that she’d be gone for several hours, but would always return at 4 pm, hungry. I started to suspect something when it occurred to me that she was leaving the house at exactly the same time every day. I decided to investigate this odd routine. One day I waited until she was just out of sight. I snuck out of the house, careful not to make any noise to disturb her. I left the property from the same place as she did. I spotted her a block down, her tail fluffing up in the air as she looked both ways before crossing to the next block. ‘We teach our kids that, not our cats!’ I thought to myself. At any rate, when she got a bit further ahead, I saw her arrive at the bus stop. I stood very still, not taking my eyes off her for a second. Then the bus came, the doors opened, and she just jumped right in. I couldn’t believe it! Standing there dumbfounded, I realised something that made my eyes widen and my eyebrows rise - there were no passengers waiting at the stop. Why did the bus even stop? So, in my distressed state, my knee-jerk reaction was to, well, run after the bus! I ran like an Olympic sprinter, and luckily there was little traffic at the junctions. I finally caught up with the bus at a red light. I banged on the door, the driver opened it and there was Gina, perched on the dashboard. She saw me and miaowed. ‘My cat! I shrieked. ‘How is this possible?’ The driver said she had been doing it for months, getting off at the zoo, and getting back on later in the day. I grabbed her, took her home and apologised for my frantic behaviour, but the next day she was off again, so I decided to pay a visit to the zoo, to see just exactly what she was getting up to on the next stage of her daily adventure... 2. Which of the following is true about Gina’s zoo trips?