Зачёт по английскому языку (7 класс)
Тематика монологических высказываний:
1. Англия – как часть Соединённого королевства
2. Шотландия – как часть Соединённого королевства
3. Республика Ирландия
4. Уэльс – как часть Соединённого королевства
5. Знаменитые люди
6. Школы в Британии
7. Лондонский музей транспорта
8. Удивительный мир (на примере наскальных рисунков или работы художника-мультипликатора)
9. Олимпийские игры
10. Достопримечательности Лондона
England
The symbol of England is a red rose, and English people are crazy about gardening. Everywhere in England you will see gardens, large and small. The English are so famous for their love of animals. A lot of families have pets, especially cats and dogs.
English football is famous of course, but there is another national sport too – cricket. Many English people love cricket, but it is not so popular in Wales, Scotland or Ireland. Some cricket matches continue for five days, and often there isn’t even a winner!
In the south of England you will find some beautiful villages. Some of the houses and cottages have thatched roofs. ‘Thatcher’ is an English surname. Many English surnames are the names of jobs, for example Butcher, Baker, Wheeler, Farmer, Potter.
The two oldest and most famous universities in England are in Oxford and Cambridge. If you visit these cities, you will see amazing old buildings, beautiful gardens, rivers and punts. Punts are long boats. You have to stand up at one end of the punt, put a pole in the water and push. It’s very difficult!
Some of the wildest and most beautiful countryside in England is in the north. It is very popular with walkers, campers and climbers. If you go to the northeast, near Newcastle, you will be able to see Hadrian’s Wall. Roman soldiers built it two thousands years ago. You can still walk along parts of it – just like the Roman soldiers did.
Scotland
Scotland is very famous for its beautiful scenery. There are mountains, valleys, lakes and hundreds of islands. The most famous lake is called Lock Ness. It is very deep and some people believe that a mysterious creature lives at the bottom. This monster is often called ‘Nessie’. Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Great Britain (it is over one thousand metres).
An important symbol of Scotland is a special kind of material called ‘tartan’. Traditional tartan skirts are called kilts and many Scots wear them – women and men! Another Scottish symbol is a thistle. It is a plant. It is beautiful but very sharp. An ancient story says that enemies from across the sea hurt their feet on Scottish thistles. They quickly jumped back into their ships and sailed away.
The ancient language of Scotland is called Gaelic. Some people in Scotland still speak it and they also use Gaelic words when they speak English. For example, loch means lake and ben means mountain.
The capital of Scotland is Edinburgh. Every summer it has a huge festival, and artists, poets, musicians and actors from all over the world go there. There is also a special military show called a ‘tattoo’ at the castle. Military bands play some very unusual musical instruments called bagpipes. There is always a lot of music, dancing and fun at ‘Hogmanay’ – that’s the Scottish word for New Year’s Eve.
Ireland
Ireland is the name of an island. It is next to the island of Britain. There are two parts of Ireland: Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom, its capital is Belfast, and the Republic of Ireland is a different country, its capital is Dublin.
Everywhere in Ireland you will see green, in fact Ireland’s other name is “the Emerald Isle”.
Green is one of the symbols of Ireland and everybody wears green on Saint Patrick’s Day, the Irish national holiday.
The most famous symbol of Ireland is the shamrock. It became a symbol because it grows in many places – and it has 3 leaves. The number 3 is very special for Irish people – some even believe it is magic.
Another Irish symbol is the harp, and 2 other traditional instruments are the bagpipes and the fiddle (‘fiddle’ is another word for ‘violin’). The Irish are famous for their playing, singing and dancing.
Leprechauns are Irish fairies. They are shoemakers, and they are not very friendly. They also have secret pots of gold. If you find a leprechaun, you can look for his gold, but don’t look away from the leprechaun. If you do, he will disappear – and so will the gold! Of course, this is only a superstition.
If you sailed west from Ireland you would come to the USA. A hundred years ago, thousands of Irish families left Ireland to look for work. Many of them went to the USA. Today there are many people in the USA with Irish surnames and Irish relatives.
Wales
A red dragon is probably the oldest symbol of Wales. If you go to Wales, you will see red dragons everywhere - on signs, in souvenir shops and on flags. Another symbol of Wales is a vegetable called a leek. Welsh people wear them on their coats on St David's Day, the Welsh national holiday, although some people wear another symbol of Wales - the daffodil. There are two official languages in Wales, Welsh and English, although English is usually spoken. Children study Welsh at school and some people speak it all the time. Signs are usually in Welsh and English. The Welsh language has some very long place names. Holidaymakers love the beautiful Welsh beaches, and the mountains of Snowdonia are popular too. The ancient castles are also big tourist attractions. Welsh people are famous for their singing and their music festivals. A musical instrument, the harp, is one of the symbols of Wales. There is a fantastic new sports stadium in Cardiff. The Welsh are crazy about rugby. It's their national sport.
Bill Gates
William Henry Gates III or just Bill Gates was born in Seattle, the USA. He is a very interesting person. When he was 20 years old, he became interested in computers, and a few years later he changed the world! And he didn’t even finish his university course because in 1975 he left university early and formed his own company. He called it Microsoft. That was the beginning of the ‘personal computer’. Before that, most people didn’t have computers in their homes. And so he became a multi – billionaire! His company was incredibly successful. In 1998 he moved into his ‘dream house’. It’s fantastic. It cost ninety – seven million dollars and it’s got an underground theatre and a huge swimming pool. It’s even got heated paths in the gardens!
Of course, he gives a lot of money to charity. He’s very generous. A long time ago he promised ninety per cent of all his money to charity and he still keeps his promise. He’s a really fascinating person in our history.
Schools in Britain
There are primary and secondary school in a British typical school. At the age of five children go to primary school. At the age of eleven pupils in Britain leave primary school and go to a secondary school. In Year 11, they will take national exams called GCSEs (General Certificate in Secondary Education). Pupils will take exams in at least six subjects although they might take more perhaps as many as nine or ten. Then they might stay at school for two more years and study for two or more A level exams. However, they might leave school after their GCSEs. British schools break up for the summer in the middle of July and the new school year starts in September. Secondary schools often have 'speech days ' at the end of term. Celebrities usually make speeches and some pupils are awarded prizes.
London’s transport museum
The first buses appeared on the streets of London in 1829. They didn’t have engines – horses used to pull them – and they were only for rich people. The ordinary people used to walk everywhere. The fares slowly got cheaper and more and more people started to use them. The buses were double – deckers, just like we have today, but they used to be open at the top. They had a driver, of course, and a conductor. These men used to look after the horses as well as the passengers.
Before they had trains, most Londoners didn’t use to go out of the city very often. When the first trains appeared, they could afford to go by train to the countryside for day trips. Some people went to live in the suburbs - they used to travel by train to their jobs in the city centre every day.
The first underground line opened in 1863. It went through tunnels about 25 metres below the ground. The trains were wooden, not metal like today’s trains – and they were steam trains with very tall funnels. They were very different from our electric trains. The stations were very different too. There weren’t any escalators and the stairs were wooden – so there was always the danger of fire.
The work of an animator
An animator works in an animation studio. Actually he does the drawings. In fact, twenty – four drawings are needed for every second of film. It takes a very, very long time to make a complete cartoon film. First of all, the storyboards are made. A storyboard is drawings of the story. They’re pinned up on a big board. Then, the script is written. After that the dialogue is recorded. The storyboard and the dialogue are matched – the words match the pictures. Then the animations are made – hundreds and thousands of pictures for each scene. Models are needed to make animations. Small changes are made to them each time. For example, the arms or legs are moved, or parts of the face are changed. The models are made of plasticine, or something similar, so they are flexible.
The Nasca lines
The Nasca lines are huge drawings of birds, animals and insects. They were cut into the ground. They are called so because they were made by the Nascan people. They used to live in Peru thousands of years ago. The drawings were made over a period of a thousand years, from about 500 BC to AD 500. The Nascans buried the drawings in sand and they weren’t found for thousands of years. You can’t see them very well from the ground because they are so big – you have to go up to a height of several hundred metres. They were first discovered by pilots in the 1920s. They saw them from their planes. The Nasca lines weren’t drawn for humans. They were made for the sky gods. The Nascans wanted to please them. So the sky gods could see them but the Nascans couldn’t!
The Olympic Games
Athletes in ancient Greece used to compete in the Olympic Games thousands of years ago. The man who ran the first marathon was Greek. Then about a hundred years ago the modern Games were founded. The person that founded them was French. It was Pierre de Coubertin. The city which held the first modern Olympic Games was Athens. Since that time the Olympic Games are held every four years. There are winter and summer Olympics. The country that held the first Winter Olympics was France. The last Olympic Games were held in 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. They were winter Olympics. The next Olympic Games will be this year in London, England. And they will be held in summer.
Before the Olympics start there is a tradition of carrying a torch. It's a special flame which is brought from Greece. It symbolizes the Games, of course, and they light it at the ceremony which opens the Games. It's a great honour for the person who lights it. An athlete who comes from the host country carries a special torch into the arena and lights the flame. In fact there are several runners who carry the flame. They bring the torch all the way from Greece and it mustn't go out. So they're athletes that comes from many different countries. They run one kilometer each. They take the flame on ships or even aeroplanes. They don't swim!
The Paralympics are Games which are held after the main Olympics. There are for people who have special problems (for example, they can’t walk, or they can’t see very well). Although there are other athletes who are more famous, these competitors are just as fit and strong as them. There are races which are held for people in wheelchairs. Tanni Grey-Thompson is a British athlete who won four Olympic gold medals in the same Games. She has become famous in Britain, and she is one of the athletes that have made the Paralympics popular. In the end of the Olympic Games best athletes usually receive medals.
Sights of London
London is the capital of England. It has got a lot of places of interest: beautiful green parks, for example, Hyde Park, old churches, for example, Westminster Abbey, famous places like Buckingham Palace where the queen and the royal family of England live.
The London Eye is in London, of course and it was designed by British architects. However, it wasn't made in Great Britain at all! The main parts of the Eye were built in Holland. Other parts were made in the Czech Republic, France, Germany and Italy. The parts were carried to Great Britain by ship. Then they were put together in London. It was opened to the public on February 1st 2000.
The Millennium Bridge is a new bridge across the River Thames in London. It was opened in 2000 by the Queen. However, it was closed again two days later because it was wobbling too much! Two years later, on February 22nd, it was opened again. Now it is used by thousands of people every day.
Piccadilly Circus is also one of the famous places in London, where a lot of tourists come every year. It is in the centre of London. It is an old place. In 1905 there were a lot of buildings in Piccadilly Circus. There were also lots of shops, restaurants and office blocks because Piccadilly Circus is in the centre of the city. In those days there wasn’t a lot of traffic in Piccadilly. There weren’t any zebra crossings or traffic lights and the traffic was very slow because Piccadilly is a roundabout. Also there were horse – drawn carriages and there weren’t many cars or buses. The buses were double – deckers with open tops. There are some open top buses now but they’re only for tourists to see the sights – and the rain. At present Piccadilly Circus is famous for its neon lights and the big wide screen. There are a lot of cafes, restaurants, some cinemas and a lot of people.