ОГЭ пробный тест 4

Nora

 is having a birthday party tonight.
 had a birthday party some time ago.
 is going to have a birthday party later.

Nora

 has passed her Maths exam.
 has failed her Maths exam.
 is going to take her Maths exam later.

Nora

 has chosen her future career already.
 is choosing between two careers at the moment.
 has no idea what to do in the future.

Next year Nora is going to

 start working.
 enter university.
 continue her school education.

In the summer Nora wants to

 go to Italy.
 go to France.
 stay at home.

Nora can speak

 Italian and French.
 Spanish and French.
 Spanish and Italian.

1. What is the favourite sports entertainment on Thanksgiving Day in the USA?
2. What happens to the turkeys which are chosen by the President?
3. Why was it decided to celebrate Thanksgiving at the end of November?
4. How can people make the house ready for the autumn holiday?
5. Why did the turkey become the main dish for the Thanksgiving dinner?
6. What is the day after Thanksgiving known for?
7. Why is Thanksgiving celebrated on different dates in different countries?

A. The people of Canada celebrate Thanksgiving Day on the second Monday of October every year. It is celebrated to thank God for the past harvest and pray for the coming year. The United States, however, celebrates Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year. The reason behind the difference is geographical: autumn starts earlier in Canada than in the USA.

B. Thanksgiving is the right time to decorate homes. You can add some autumn-colored pillows to the sofa, light a candle and arrange some yellow or orange flowers in a vase. Special message boards have become very popular recently. As guests arrive for Thanksgiving, let them write what they are thankful for on a paper leaf and pin it up on the board. Paper leaves can be cut from scrapbooks and painted in autumn colours.

C. Lots of Americans cannot imagine Thanksgiving afternoon without watching TV. This tradition began in 1934. The reason was a great match between two football teams – the Detroit Lions and the Chicago Bears. That game turned out to be really exciting. Since that time, matches have been held every year (except the years of World War II) on Thanksgiving Day and have become very popular.

D. Once, President Truman chose a turkey on Thanksgiving Day and sent it back to the farm. That happened in 1947. Since that time it has become a tradition. Nowadays the President selects two turkeys and frees them in front of a large crowd. Then the turkeys are sent to a farm house to let them live in peace.

E. Some people use Thanksgiving Day and the day after to visit their families or friends. Others use this day to go shopping. The Americans call the day after Thanksgiving ‘Black Friday’. It first got its name in 1960 in Philadelphia. Many people visited the city for shopping. It was overcrowded and the local people considered it a bad black day. Nowadays ‘Black Friday’ means the beginning of the Christmas shopping season.

F. In 1863 Sara Hale, an editor and writer, wrote a letter to President Lincoln and advised him to proclaim a national day of Thanksgiving. She selected the last Thursday in November because, as she said, the harvests were finished, the elections were over and people were back from their summer vacations. She even suggested a list of dishes for the traditional holiday menu. President Lincoln liked her idea and declared a national holiday, Thanksgiving Day.

Halloween

Halloween dates back to an ancient Celtic festival. The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area of Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France, celebrated their new year on 1st November. This day showed that the summer was over and winter had come. Because of the cold and darkness, winter was associated with human death.

Celts believed that on Halloween night the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. With their help, the Druids or Celtic priests, could predict the future. It was important because people depended on the natural world which was dangerous and changeable. They wanted to know what their life would be like in the next year.

For this event the Druids built big bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals. It was a gift to the Celtic gods. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes made of animal heads and skins. They sang, danced and listened to the stories the Druids told them. When the celebration was over, they went home and brought burning pieces of wood with them. They lit their fires and hoped it would ensure good fortune and protect the family during the winter.

The first celebrations of Halloween in America were public events. Neighbours got together to celebrate the harvest and tell each other stories of the dead. They also sang and danced. By the middle of the nineteenth century, these autumn festivals were common, but Halloween was not yet celebrated everywhere in the country.

In the second half of the nineteenth century, lots of immigrants started coming to America. They helped to make the celebration of Halloween a popular national event. Americans began to dress up in frightening costumes and go from house to house asking for food or money. The most popular characters were witches, ghosts, and vampires. Everyone tried to look as ugly and scary as possible.

Halloween is closely associated with the Jack-o’-lantern, a pumpkin with a candle inside that shines through the holes to make a horrible face. Most people think that the Jack-o’-lantern is an American tradition. However, the original Jack-o’-lantern was not a pumpkin but a man who, according to the old Irish legend, played a trick on the devil himself. He was punished for that and was accepted neither to heaven nor to hell. The Irish people shared the legend with the Americans and showed them how to make Jack-o’-lantern out of the pumpkin.

By the 1930s, Halloween had been celebrated with parades, town-wide parties and lots of other entertainment. Later a new tendency appeared. By the 1950s, Halloween had changed into a holiday directed mainly at children. On that evening children in costumes travel from house to house in order to ask for treats (such as some sweets, a small present or a few coins) with the question “Trick or treat?” The trick is a threat (usually not working) to perform mischief on the owner of the house if no treat is given. “Trick or treat?” has become a traditional practice on Halloween in many countries.

For the Celts Halloween was associated with the change of the seasons.

 True
 False
 Not stated

The Celts paid the priests for their predictions.

 True
 False
 Not stated

In ancient times fires were prohibited on Halloween night.

 True
 False
 Not stated

The church strongly disapproved of Halloween celebration in America.

 True
 False
 Not stated

Halloween came to the USA only in the 20th century.

 True
 False
 Not stated

The Irish immigrants taught Americans how to use pumpkins for Halloween ceremonies.

 True
 False
 Not stated

From the middle of the 20th century, children have taken an active part in Halloween celebrations.

 True
 False
 Not stated

“Trick or treat” means “we wish you good luck”.

 True
 False
 Not stated

When I came into the room, my computer was on. It worried me since I ***  switching it on. [NOT/REMEMBER]

I looked around - there ***  nobody in my room and everything was in its usual place. [BE]

Suddenly I ***  - the book had gone! I had left it on the table but it wasn’t there any more. [UNDERSTAND]

I checked the window - it *** . [CLOSE]

That meant that someone had come into the room through the door. My ***  impulse was to call the police but I called Jim instead. [ONE]

“What *** ?” Jim sounded sleepy. [HAPPEN]

I explained that someone **  the book.“Oh, no!” Jim sounded unhappy. “Do you have any idea how valuable it is?”

“There’s another thing I ***  understand,” I interrupted Jim. “My computer’s on but I always switch it off before leaving home.” [NOT/CAN]

“Ok, stay at home. I’ll be at ***  place in half an hour,” he said and the phone went dead. [YOU]

Learning languages is becoming a popular hobby with children and adults. It’s not only interesting but very *** , too. [USE]

Foreign languages improve memory and develop*** . [IMAGINE]

People who are able to speak two or more languages ***  are usually more successful than their monolingual colleagues. [FLUENT]

They are better in making business and ***  contacts. [PERSON]

They are more ***  and they are better in solving conflicts as they are able to accept new ideas and different points of view. [CREATE]

Foreign languages make life more ***  and colourful. [INTEREST]