Examination Card № 1

I. Reading

Read the text and choose the best answer (A–D) to complete the sentences (1–4).

As you walk in New York City towards Times Square, the streets become even more

packed with pedestrians. People bump into you, talking with each other or on cell

phones. You walk by clean, modern stores with expensive clothes and shoe stores filled

with the newest styles of running shoe. Cheap fast-food restaurants are noisy and full

of customers. As you get closer, more and more people hold cameras and look up at the

tall buildings around them, preparing to see the spectacle of Times Square.

Then you hit Times Square. This section of Manhattan (the main part of New York

City, where many big financial companies operate) is one of New York’s oldest tourist

attractions. With its tall buildings and massive lit-up advertisements, Times Square

has come to symbolize New York itself. And as New York changes over time, so does

Times Square. Today, Times Square is mainly about advertising and 21st-century commerce.

Traffic is too busy to make it a good place to walk around and enjoy the afternoon.

In the past, however, Times Square was a cultural centre in New York.

Once a year, though, Times Square is the site for a special celebration. On New

Year’s Eve, enormous crowds gather in Times Square. As people count down to midnight

together, a gigantic ball made of crystal and lights descends along a pole. When

midnight strikes, the ball reaches the bottom, and the crowds hug and kiss and cheer,

thinking of the year that has passed and the year to come. It is a celebration that has

become famous all over the world, and it is one of the traditions that keep New York

in touch with its past.

1. What is the first paragraph about?

A Times Square in the past.

B The things you can do in New York.

C How to get to Times Square on foot.

D What it’s like to walk toward Times Square.

2. What is the difference between Times Square now and in the past?

A It is now based on modern business.

B It was not popular in the past.

C Its buildings were quite small in the past.

D The traffic is now slower and calmer.

3. In the past, Times Square was ... .

A quiet place

B a centre of cultural life

C a huge square with a lot of skyscrapers around

D a financial and business centre

4. On New Year’s Eve, people in Times Square ... .

A destroy a ball

B throw balls at each other

C watch the ball drop

D raise a ball high into the sky

1.	2.	3.	4.

II. Use of English.

Long, long ago, 1._____ one Christmas Eve, spiders 2 _____ banished from homes while people

cleaned the houses and broke their webs. They 3._____ to move to the farthest corner of

the attic. Young spiders 4_____ to see the decorated Christmas trees and the little

Christ child. 5___ elders tried to tell the younger spiders that they were not allowed

inside the rooms but the young spiders were quite curious.

When the house was dark and silent and everybody was asleep, the spiders crept out

6____their hiding place and slowly reached the Christmas tree. They left pretty and delicate spider webs allover the tree. In the early hours of the morning, the little Christ child came 7____ the

house. He was surprised to find little spiders and their webs on the tree. The Christ

child gently 8 ____ the spider webs and made them sparkling and shining in silver

and golden colours. The Christmas tree looked even more beautiful than before.

	A	B	C	D
1	on	in	at	with
2	are	were	was	be
3	has	have	had	are
4	wanted	wants	want	wanting
5	a	the	an	at
6	at	on	to	of
7	are blessing	to bless	is blessed	are blessed
8	to touch	had touched	touched	touch

1.	2.	3.	4.	5.	6.	7.	8.