Life is made up of little things: some unimportant memories from childhood that, in fact, shaped your character. I 1 ______ on Third Avenue in midtown Manhattan during the 1950s-60s where family life was centred around old 2 ______ of flats and small stores. Third Avenue was my old neighbourhood and it had character. It was 3 ______ with working families of Italian, German and Irish origin. We shopped together with all those people and their kids played together. Third Avenue influenced the way our family lived. I absorbed the street life. It gave me an 4 ______ that I could not have received in any other place. To me, it was home.
In a recent walk around Third Avenue my eyes 5 ______ signs of the old neighbourhood but couldn’t find any. If I hadn't been born here and someone described the area, it would be 6 ______ to believe. It wasn't because a few buildings had changed – everything had changed. The transformation began in the late 1950s and 60s when corporations replaced the old neighbourhood. In the early 1960s, the houses were pulled down. Families were forced to 7 ______, the small stores went out of business and the old neighbourhood was changed forever. And now there is a lack of character in the transformed neighbourhood.
1. A) brought up B) grew up C) went up D) got up
2. A) blocks B) houses C) groups D) sets
3. A) covered B) held C) loaded D) filled
4. A) knowledge B) information C) education D) training
5. A) looked after B) looked for C) looked through D) looked at
6. A) hard B) easy C) strange D) heavy
7. A) stay out B) take out C) move out D) go out
Ответы: 1B 2A 3D 4C 5B 6A 7C
O Hear A Child
I believe in patience. I live as a volunteer residential counselor in a small group home. These boys have brought joy and happiness into my life; they have made me laugh and made me proud. However, they have also challenged me, made me angry and tested my patience.
Each day we start anew, going about a 1 ______ routine. I drive them to school, pick them up, cook for them and help with homework. We spend the evenings 2 ______ about what happened during the day. I meet their teachers and study for tests with them. They are the last people I see each night and the first ones I hear in the morning. They have become a 3 ______ of my life. I am twenty-two and am beginning to understand the love of a parent.
I could not have come this far without patience. They do not think like miniature adults and it is not fair to expect them to. 4 ______ my expectations of them are high, I must remember that so much of what they see and understand is for the first time. First loves, first failed test, first time feeling the need to break away from the nest. I must have patience with them, because there is still a child within that comes out when I least expect it.
This world is a fast-paced, fast food, fast-internet place. 5 ______, no matter how fast things move, children will be children. I believe they will mature quicker and with more tools if I am patient. I see it in their eyes. Over time, sad eyes can glisten again, but only if I am 6 ______ of the fact that it takes them longer to get somewhere.
I see around them a world that expects too much of them. They come 7 ______ too many things that give them too much sadness. They listen to me, respect me and understand reason but not always when I want them to. This opportunity has given me wisdom but only when I was patient enough to hear a child.
1. A) daily B) common C) average D) traditional
2. A) discussing B) debating C) talking D) saying
3. A) bit B) part C) parcel D) piece
4. A) also B) altogether C) although D) thus
5. A) nevertheless B) nevermore C) although D) therefore
6. A) common B) familiar C) aware D) acquainted
7. A) through B) along C) upon D) across
Ответы:1A 2C 3B 4C 5A 6C 7D
Bo
It was raining. The rain started early in the morning and it seemed, that it would never stop. Looking out of the window, Bo was thinking about his telephone conversation. Raindrops spattered the windshield as the taxi sliced through 1 ______ traffic on Park Avenue. There were too many cars as usual. When it had skidded to a halt at the curb, Bo gave a ten-dollar bill to the driver. That included a very generous tip. He 2 ______ his point of destination and was ready to take on Frank Ramsey. He had called Ramsey that morning from the Yale club and demanded the meeting. Ramsey had tried to avoid it but Bo insisted and Ramsey gave 3 ______.
At the building’s revolving doors, Bo glanced back over his shoulder through the rain and noticed a woman standing on the sidewalk a short distance away. In the dim light he could not get a clear picture. She 4 ______ so much like Tiffany. She was wearing a yellow top and had long blond hair. Standing absolutely 5 ______ beneath her umbrella while everything around her moved, she seemed to be gazing sraight at him. His heart 6 ______, the way it always did when he saw her. He couldn’t help it. Bo strained to 7 ______ sight of her as he was jostled into the doorway. When he cleared the doors, the woman had already disappeared.
1. A) solid B) heavy C) hard D) difficult
2. A) achieved B) arrived C) entered D) reached
3. A) to B) on C) in D) off
4. A) stared B) gazed C) looked D) glanced
5. A) inert B) static C) quiet D) still
6. A) set B) sank C) moved D) dropped
7. A) keep B) hold C) take D) give
Ответы: 1B 2D 3C 4C 5D 6B 7A