READING
Part 1 St. Paul’s Cathedral
St. Paul’s Cathedral is situated in the City of London. It was designed by Sir Christopher Wren (1632s 1723) who was not only an architect but also one of the best geometers of his day, a mathematician and astronomer.
It took Wren 35 years to build the Cathedral which is the greatest of English Churches. It is considered to
be a fine specimen of Renaissance architecture.
The Cathedral is 515 ft long and 180 ft wide. Its famous dome is the largest church dome in the world after
St. Peter’s in Rome.
The Cathedral is Gothic in plan but the details are classic Renaissance. In one of the twin baroque towers
there is one of the largest bells in the world, Great Paul, weighting 17, 5 tons.
Inside there is a wonderful mixture of architectural work, paintings, mosaics and statues which are
monuments to generals and admirals who are buried there and among them admiral Nelson and the Duke of
Wellington (under his command the army of the allies defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815).
When Christopher Wren was 90 he was carried here once a year so that he could see his beautiful work. He
himself is buried in the Cathedral. There is no monument to Christopher Wren but on his tomb in the centre of the
Cathedral there is an inscription which reads: “If you seek a monument, look around”. The inscription is in Latin.
St. Paul’s Cathedral was partly destroyed in 1941 by a direct hit from bombs. After the war it was restored.
I. The text is about …
1) the interior of St. Paul’s Cathedral.
2) Sir Christopher Wren.
3) Renaissance architecture.
4) Christopher Wren’s masterpiece.
II. Complete the sentence according to the text.
In one of the towers of St. Paul’s Cathedral one can see …
1) one of the largest bells in the world.
2) the monument to Christopher Wren.
3) the tombs of Nelson and Wellington.
4) the largest church dome in the world.
III. Choose the right sentence.
1) St. Paul’s Cathedral was designed by Sir Christopher Wren who was not only an architect but also one
of the best writers of his day.
2) The dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral is the largest church dome in the world after St. Peter’s.
3) The Cathedral is Gothic in plan but the details are baroque and classic Renaissance.
4) Christopher Wren is buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral, where there is a beautiful monument to him with an
inscription in Latin.
IV. What explain the inscription: “IF you seek a monument, look around”?
1) Christopher Wren needed no monument but his beautiful work - St. Paul’s Cathedral.
2) Christopher Wren is buried there (there is a grave of his in St. Paul’s Cathedral).
3) There are many remarkable things in the Cathedral to look at.
4) In the Cathedral there are many monuments to famous people.
V. Arrange the sentences according to the text.
1) Christopher Wren was carried here once a year.
2) St. Paul’s Cathedral was restored after World War II.
3) It took Wren 35 years to build the Cathedral.
4) Great Paul weight about 17, 5 tons.
1) 4, 3, 2, 1
2) 3, 1, 2, 4
3) 3, 4, 1, 2
4) 1, 4, 3, 2
VI. Which word is different?
1) church
3) monastery
4) residence
2) cathedral
Task 2 Fill in the gaps by changing the word in brackets.
The Environment: Our Responsibility
These days it is 1) ……….. (possible) to open a newspaper without reading about the damage we are doing to the
environment. The earth is being 2)………… (threat). And the future looks 3)……. (horror). What can each of us
do?
We cannot clean up our 4)……….. (pollute) rivers and seas overnight. Nor can we stop the 5)………….(appear) of
plants and animals. But we can stop adding to the problem while
6) ………….(science) search for
answers and laws are passed in nature’s 7)………… (defend). It may not be so easy to change your lifestyle and
habits 8)………… (complete) but some steps are easy to take: cut down the amount of 9)……….. (drive) you do or
use as little plastic as possible. It is also easy to save energy, which also reduces 10) ………… (house) bills.
We must all make a personal 11)…………(decide) to work for the future of our planet if we want to 12)……….
(sure) a better world for our grandchildren.
Task 4 Read the text. Use the word given in capitals at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the space in
the same line. Write words in the boxes provided.
Theatre
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Theatre is one of the ___ forms of entertainment.
In the Middle Ages, early dramas were often___
and ___in churches. For instance, mystery plays
told Bible stories in a ___ colourful way.
The first___ theatres were built in the times of
Shakespeare. These theatres were ___, it wasn’t
until the late 1600s that theatres were____.
Many early plays were set in exotic ___. But in
the last 100 years, ____ have written more about
ordinary characters and ___. In the 1960s, many
plays were kitchen sink dramas___ life in very
ordinary homes.
old
religion
stage
drama
England
cover
roof
locate
play
situated
show
Task 6 Use of English
QUESTIONS 1-15
Read the text below and choose the correct word for each space. For questions 1-15, choose the answer A,
B, C or D which you think fits best according to the text. There is an example at the beginning (0).
Example:
(0) A concern
B fear
C worry
D doubt
Canada is a massive country full of wide-open spaces. With scenery that is truly magnificent, it is without
(0) D one of the great unspoilt areas of the world. If you have the (1) .…, make sure you go to Niagara
Falls, which are the top attraction in North America and one of the most spectacular (2) .... anywhere.
Visitors who are not easily (3) .... can take a boat ride to the edge of the roaring falls, almost right (4) ....
the massive torrent of white water. Or walk through rock-cut tunnels for a terrific close-up look from
behind the falls, a view familiar from the many film (5) .... taken there.
These tunnels are as near as anyone is likely to want to (6) .... to Niagara Falls. In 1960 a seven-year-old
boy (7) .... holiday a little way upstream was playing happily in the water when he suddenly found
himself (8) .... difficulties. There had been (9) .... rain and the river was very full, but nobody noticed that
he was (10) .... danger until it was too late. Onlookers watched helplessly as he was swept (11) .... the
Horseshoe fall. But despite being thrown down the 48-metre drop he miraculously came through the
experience with no (12) .... at all. Such (13) .... escapes are the exception rather (14) .... the rule, however,
and visitors are (15) .... not to try this for themselves!
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
A occasion
A visions
A scared
A down
A pictures
A get
A in
A with
A hard
A in
A straight
A injury
A slim
A than
A suggested
B chance
B sights
B feared
B beneath
B photos
B arrive
B on
B in
B strong
B on
B towards
B hurt
B narrow
B of
B warned
Task 8 Writing
Comment on the following statement.
C success
C looks
C thrown
C low
C images
C reach
C at
C by
C deep
C into
C for
C blow
C tight
C that
C informed
D fortune
D scenes
D shocked
D further
D shots
D land
D of
D on
D heavy
D with
D in
D wound
D close
D by
D demanded
It is believed that young people today are not as healthy as they were twenty years ago.
What is your opinion? Do you agree or disagree?
Write 100-150 words.
Use the following plan:
- Make an introduction (state the problem)
- Express your personal opinion and give reasons for it
- Give arguments for the other point of view and explain why you don’t agree with it
- Draw a conclusion