THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF UKRAINE
STAGE IV NATIONAL STUDENTS OLYMPIAD IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
ROUND I
Reading Comprehension Test
For 9th Form Students
DO NOT OPEN THIS BOOKLET
UNTIL ADVISED BY THE TEACHER
DICTIONARIES ARE NOT ALLOWED
Directions:
In this test you will read five texts. Each text is followed by either
10 true/false statements or 5 multiple-choice questions. You should do the
tasks that follow a text on the basis of what is stated or implied in that text.
For each task you will choose the best possible answer from two symbols (+
or –) or four possible answers (A, B, C, or D), as specified prior to each task.
Choose the best answer and circle the symbol or letter of your choice on the
answer sheet.
STUDENT NUMBER: ____________
МІНІСТЕРСТВО ОСВІТИ І НАУКИ, МОЛОДІ ТА СПОРТУ УКРАЙНИ
TEXT 1: From “About Coming of Age”
Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/humanplanetexplorer/life_events/coming_of_age
Coming of age is the transition from child to adult, boy to man, girl to woman. But when exactly
that happens – and how you celebrate or action the change - may depend entirely on where in the
world you live.
In the UK, depending on your point of view, people come of age when they reach 16, 18 or
21 years old. At 16 you can get married without parental consent in England and Scotland, but you
have to wait until you are 18 before you are allowed to vote, drink alcohol, or buy cigarettes.
Turning 21, in comparison, has few legal effects but may be even more strenuously celebrated.
In other cultures, the graduation into adulthood may not depend on age so much as on
experience and development. Young Hamar boys of Ethiopia, for instance, becoming a man is
marked when they can run four times over the backs of their cattle, while the boys of Brazil’s
Xavante tribe come of age through a series of tasks including spending fifteen days immersed in
water.
Only allowed to leave the water for the occasional sleep, the men-in-waiting are taken to the
point of complete exhaustion under the watchful eyes and instruction of the village elders. Once
their skin is sufficiently softened, the boys are then ritually scarred and their ears pierced with the
bone of a jaguar. Having proved their stamina, they are finally painted with red dye as a sign of
their transition to manhood.
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS BOOKLET.
Statements 1 through 10 (on your answer sheet circle + if the statement is true, - if it is false)
1. “Strenuously celebrated” means “celebrated all over the world.”
2. In the USA people can get married at age 16 without parental consent.
3. “Stamina” has the same meaning as “endurance.”
4. Hamar boys have their ears pierced by the bone of a jaguar.
5. Hamar boys of Ethiopia and boys of Brazil’s Xavante tribe come of age based on experience and
development.
6. The girls of the Xavante tribe must spend 15 days immersed in water.
7. The coming of age ritual is more complex for the Xavante tribe than the Hamar boys of Ethiopia.
8. The coming of age ritual for the Xavante tribe is devoid of adult supervision and guidance.
9. Being painted red can be seen as a badge of merit for the Xavante boys.
10. Coming of age is celebrated differently depending on where you live in the world.
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МІНІСТЕРСТВО ОСВІТИ І НАУКИ, МОЛОДІ ТА СПОРТУ УКРАЙНИ
TEXT 2: From “Giant Dreams, Midget Abilities” Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris, 2000
My father loves jazz and has an extensive collection of records and reel-to-reel tapes he used to
enjoy after returning home from work. He might have entered the house in a foul mood, but once he
had his Dexter Gordon and a vodka martini, the stress melted away and everything was “beautiful,
baby, just beautiful.” The instant the needle hit that record, he’d loosen his tie and become
something other than the conservative engineer with a pocketful of IBM pencils embossed with the
command THINK.
Due to his ear and his almost maniacal sense of discipline, I always thought my father would
have made an excellent musician. He might have studied the saxophone had he not been born to
immigrant parents who considered even pot holders an extravagance. They themselves listened only
to Greek music, an oxymoron as far as the rest of the world is concerned. Slam its tail in the door of
the milk truck, and a stray cat could easily yowl out a single certain to top the charts back in Sparta
or Thessaloníki. Jazz was my father’s only form of rebellion. It was forbidden in his home, and he
appreciated it as though it were his own private discovery. As a young man he hid his 78s under the
sofa bed and regularly snuck off to New York City, where he’d haunt the clubs and consort with
Negroes. It was a good life while it lasted. He was in his early forties when the company transferred
our family to North Carolina.
“You expect me to live where?” he’d asked.
The Raleigh winters agreed with him, but he would have gladly traded the temperate climate
for a decent radio station. Since he was limited to his record and tape collection, it became his
dream that his family might fill the musical void by someday forming a jazz combo.
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS BOOKLET.
Questions 11 through 15 (on your answer sheet circle the correct letter A, B, C, or D)
11. Jazz music:
A. Helped the narrator’s father think.
B. Made the narrator’s father work.
C. Gave the narrator’s father a reason to
live.
D. Improved the narrator’s father’s
mood.
12. The narrator’s father felt
moving to North Carolina.
A. Anxious
B. Scared
C. Displeased
D. Stressed
14. An ‘oxymoron’ is:
A. A horrible and cruel thing that hurts
many people.
B. A strange thing that shouldn’t exist.
C. A combination of words that are
contradictory.
D. A stupid person, or something
created by a stupid person.
about
15. As it is used in this passage, “foul” means:
A. Sad
B. Horrible
C. Violent
D. Drunk
13. According to the narrator, Greek music is:
A. Very popular
B. Difficult to create
C. Enjoyable for few people.
D. Dependent on cats.
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МІНІСТЕРСТВО ОСВІТИ І НАУКИ, МОЛОДІ ТА СПОРТУ УКРАЙНИ
TEXT 3: from “Conflict Diamonds”
Source: http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/issues/business-and-human-rights/oil-gas-andmining-industries/conflict-diamonds
Some diamonds have helped fund devastating civil wars in Africa, destroying the lives of millions.
Conflict diamonds are those sold in order to fund armed conflict and civil war. Profits from the
trade in conflict diamonds, worth billions of dollars, were used by warlords and rebels to buy arms
during the devastating wars in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sierra Leone.
Wars that have cost an estimated 3.7 million lives.
While the wars in Angola and Sierra Leone are now over, and fighting in the DRC has
decreased, the problem of conflict diamonds hasn't gone away. Diamonds mined in rebel-held areas
in Côte d'Ivoire, a West African country in the midst of a volatile conflict, are reaching the
international diamond market. Conflict diamonds from Liberia are also being smuggled into
neighboring countries and exported as part of the legitimate diamond trade.
A major milestone occurred in 2003, when a government-run initiative known as the
Kimberley Process was introduced to stem the flow of conflict diamonds. The Kimberley Process
Certification Scheme (KPCS) imposes requirements on participants to certify that shipments of
rough diamonds are conflict-free.
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS BOOKLET.
Questions 16 through 20 (on your answer sheet circle the correct letter A, B, C, or D)
16. What is the main consequence of
conflict diamonds?
A. International relationships
B. Financial gain
C. Loss of human life
D. Access to weapons
19. What is the purpose of the Kimberly
Process Certification Scheme?
A. To increase the value of conflict
diamonds
B. To verify that diamonds are
conflict-free
C. To create a trading collaborative
for conflict diamonds
D. To ensure that the conflict
diamond market continues to
prosper
17. The profits from conflict diamonds
fall into the hands of all the following,
EXCEPT:
A. Warlords
B. Rebels
C. Citizens
D. Insurgents
20. What is NOT included in the reasons
for the mining of conflict diamonds?
A. To provide employment
B. To fund civil war
C. To buy weapons
D. To trade illegally
18. “Devastating civil wars” are:
A. Destructive civil wars
B. Civil wars in foreign countries
C. Wars that are necessary for
progress to occur
D. Democratic Republic of Congo
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МІНІСТЕРСТВО ОСВІТИ І НАУКИ, МОЛОДІ ТА СПОРТУ УКРАЙНИ
TEXT 4: “Reef Rehab: Rechargeable Battery Project – Vanuatu”
Source: www.pcukraine.org
Rechargeable batteries are restoring coral reefs in the tropical island of Vanuatu. The tiny
Pacific Island of Vanuatu has no main supply of electricity – inhabitants rely on batteries for their
electrical energy. Batteries are expensive and account for a large proportion of most families’
monthly income. They are also difficult to dispose of as they release acids and toxic chemicals as
they decompose (decay, rot).
In Vanuatu, most households solved this problem by dumping used batteries into the sea.
This was severely damaging to the island’s finest asset (benefit): its coral reefs. Chemicals seeping
from the sunken batteries were poisoning fish and killing the coral.
Vanuatu’s Marine Protected Area Group decided to tackle the problem by encouraging the
use of rechargeable batteries. The “Nguna-Pele” Rechargeable Battery Project purchased a powerful
600W solar panel, a battery charger, and 900 rechargeable batteries. In the tropical sunshine, this
array is capable of recharging around 60 batteries per day. Charged batteries are rented to the
population at a fraction of the cost of new ones.
The benefits to the coral reef are already being seen. Dead batteries are no longer being
found within the Marine Protected Area and the fish populations appear to be returning.
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Questions 21 through 25 (on your answer sheet circle the correct letter A, B, C, or D)
21. The phrase “to tackle the problem”
A. To fight each other
B. To solve an issue
C. To create a conflict
D. To wrestle with an opponent
24. Which of the following is the best
synonym for the word ‘seep’:
A. Charging
B. Dripping
C. Leaking
D. Poisoning
22. In the text, the word ‘array’ refers to:
A. Rays from the sun
B. 900 rechargeable batteries
C. Batteries and a solar panel
D. A solar panel and charger
25. In the text, the phrase ‘appear to be
returning’ best indicates that the fish
populations:
A. May be in the process of returning
B. Have already returned
C. Are in the process of returning
D. May return in time
23. Vanuatu’s finest quality is its:
A. Working animals
B. Beautiful birds
C. Rare pigs
D. Coral reefs
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МІНІСТЕРСТВО ОСВІТИ І НАУКИ, МОЛОДІ ТА СПОРТУ УКРАЙНИ
TEXT 5: “Lucky Birds: Organic Farming and Nature, Spain”
Source: www.pcukraine.org
Bird-friendly farming in Spain has taken off and it is benefiting the “Great Bustard” bird.
“Riet Vell” is a program that was set up in 2001 by SEO Birdlife, the oldest conservation charity in
Spain. It aims to demonstrate the feasibility of bird-friendly farming in areas of ecological
significance where farmland is an important habitat for endangered species.
The project began by producing organic rice in the Ebro Delta district in Catalonia, Spain.
Rice paddies are essentially man-made wetlands, and if farmed organically, they can provide an
ideal feeding and reproductive habitat for rare species of birds. The Purple Gallinule, the Purple
Heron, the Squacco Heron, and the Whisked Tern are a few of the birds they are trying to save.
Following the success of its rice brand, “Riet Vell” has begun producing organic pasta from
wheat grown in the Ebro Valley in Aragon, Spain. Small-scale farmers are encouraged to uphold
traditional agricultural practices, which protect the species – among them the Great Bustard, the
Stone Curlew and the Black-Bellied Sandgrouse – and participating farmers themselves, who
receive more now for their wheat from the “Reit Vell” program than they would on the open
market.
DO NOT WRITE IN THIS BOOKLET.
Questions 26 through 30 (on your answer sheet circle the correct letter A, B, C, or D)
26. In this context, the phrase ‘taken off’
means:
A. Has become a law
B. Is absent
C. Has left
D. Has become very popular
30. According to the text, organic pasta is
made from:
A. Rice
B. Wheat
C. Oats
D. All of the above
27. “Habitat” is best defined as:
A. A place where an organism lives
B. A routine of an organism
C. A traditional farm
D. An organism’s diet
28. Small scale farmers are encouraged to
A. Use man-made rice paddies
B. Grow wheat
C. Uphold traditional agricultural
practices
D. All of the above
29. What is a likely outcome of the
continuation of this project?
A. An increase in bird population
B. An adverse impact on farmers’
income
C. The birds will become extinct
D. An increase in popularity of
organic farming
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