Examination Card № 9

Name, surname _________________________ Class ________________

Examination Card № 9

I.  Reading

Read the text about flood and put the events (A-F) in the right order.

FLOOD

         Flood is a body of water that covers normally dry land. Most floods are harmful. They may destroy homes and other property and even carry off the topsoil, leaving the land bar­ren. Sudden and violent floods, which leave people little time to prepare, may bring huge losses. Rivers, lakes, or seas may flood the land. River floods are more common, though lake and seacoast floods can be more serious.

         However, sometimes floods may be helpful. For example, the yearly floods of the Nile River built up the plains of Egypt and made the Nile Valley one of the most fertile regions in the world. These floods brought fertile soil from lands far to the south and deposited the soil on the Egyptian plains.

         Most rivers overflow their normal channels about once every two years. When a river overflows land where people live, it causes a flood. Common causes of river floods include two much rain at one time and sudden melting of snow and ice.

         Under such conditions, rivers may receive more than 10 times as much water as their beds can hold. Heavy rains, sometimes from thunderstorms, can produce flash floods if small rivers or streams rise suddenly and overflow. Flash floods occur chiefly in moun­tainous areas and do not allow much time for people to be warned of danger.

         A flash flood at Rapid City, South Dakota, in 1972 killed 238 people along the Rapid Creek. Minor causes of flooding include bridges, piers, filled land, sand bars, and other obstacles to river waters.

         In 1993 heavy rains in Midwest for about two months resulted in flooding along the upper Mississippi and the Missouri river system. The flood caused about 15 billion USD worth of damage and forced about 75,000 people from their homes.

         The Huang He (Yellow River) in China is known for its tendency to overflow its banks. The river has been called 'China's sorrow' because its floods cause such a great destruc­tion. The worst Huang He flood ever recorded occurred in 1887. Nearly a million of people died in China after the river overflowed its banks.

        

A Flash floods occur chiefly in mountainous areas and do not allow much time for people to be warned of danger.

В The yearly floods of the Nile River made the Nile Valley one of the most fertile regions in the world.

С Flood is water that covers dry land.

D The Huang He in China overflows its banks causing a great destruction.

E Much rain and sudden melting of snow and ice cause river floods.

F Heavy rain for about two months in Midwest resulted in flooding and 15 billion USD worth of damage.

1	2	3	4	5	6

II. USE OF ENGLISH

              Read the text below. For questions (6—17) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).

THAT'S THE WHOLE POINT!

One day Columbus was at a dinner which a Spanish gentleman (7) __ in his honour, and several persons (8) __ who were jealous of the great (9) __ success. They were proud, conceited fellows, and they very soon (10) __ to try to make Columbus uncomfortable.

« You (11) __ strange lands beyond the seas»,' they said, «but what of that? We do not see (12) __ .There should be so much said about it. Anybody can sail (14) __ „ the ocean; and anybody can coast along the islands on the other side, just as you have done. It is (15) __thing in the world».'Columbus (16) __ no answer; but after a while he took an egg from a dish and said to the company: «Who among you, gentlemen, can make this egg stand on its end?»

One by one those at the table tried the experiment. When the egg (17) __ entirely around and none had succeeded, everybody said that it could not be done.

Then Columbus took the egg and struck its small end gently upon the table so as to break the shell a little. After that there was no trouble in (18) __ it stand upright.

«Gentlemen», he said, «what is easier than to do this which you said was impossible? It is the sim­plest thing in the world. Anybody can do it, — after it(19)__how!»

	A	B	C	D
7	has given	had given	been given	had been given
8	are present	were present	was present	had been present
9	admiral's	admirals	admirals'	admiral
10	begin	to begin	has begun	began
11	discovered	have discovered	had discovered	be discovered
12	when	why	how	what
13	along	towards	across	behind
14	the most simple	simpler	simplest	the simplest
15	make	makes	made	has made
16	went	has gone	had gone	was gone
17	make	making	to make	made
18	have been shown	was shown	has been shown	had been shown

III. WRITING

You’re going on holidays to another city / town and have decided to ask your friend to

look after your flat. Write an email (80–120 words) in which you:

• thank your friend for help;

• give instructions on how often to water the flowers;

• give instructions on how often to feed the cat;

• inform when you come back and where to leave the keys for you.