III. Writing

Write a letter (60–80 words) to your English-speaking friend about your hometown. Use the prompts given below.

• What is your hometown known for?

• Would you move away from your hometown?

• Do you think you could be happy anywhere?

Examination card № 29

I. Reading

Read an article and fill in the missing sentences (A-G). There is one extra sentence that you do not need to use.

Is there anyone out there?

Strange lights in the sky – could they be UFO's, or are they something much more ordinary? 1. __________

Nowadays, more and more people are asking the question, is there anybody out there? Many people believe that we are not alone. 2. __________

Other people think UFO's and aliens exist only in science fiction. They believe that hundreds of claims of sightings are just nonsense. 3. __________

It is true that many reported sightings can be easily explained. They often turn out to be military aircraft, weather balloons or meteors. 4. __________

For example, Glen Campbell gave up his job as a computer programmer to chase flying saucers in the Nevada Desert, where top security teams closely guard an old Air

Force base known as Area 51. Glen has kept a close eye on the base after hearing that the US military were testing nine captured flying saucers there. 5. __________

The UK, too, has its share of UFO mysteries. In 1980, in Rendelsham Forest, witnesses reported seeing a triangular metal object in the sky that shone red and blue lights down onto the forest. 6. __________ Nobody could give any explanation other than it was a UFO.

Until UFO sightings are seriously investigated we can never know for sure whether aliens are visiting us, or not. I would like to believe that we are not alone and that one day we will know the truth. Until then, what do you think? Is there anyone out there?

A So far, there is no evidence to prove that this true, but he is dedicated to investigating this

claim and others like it.

В We've all read, seen or heard stories about UFO sightings and aliens, but how much of it is

fact and how much is fiction?

C They also claim that many photographs of UFO's are nothing but clever fakes.

D Nevertheless, UFO's continue to fascinate us and, for some people, hunting them down has

become a serious hobby.

E At first, Glen thought that the meteor was a space ship.

F When they investigated, they found that the trees had been burned and the object had left

strange marks on the ground.

G In fact, 13 million people around the world claim to have seen something!

II. Use of english

You are going to read a text taken from a book on literature. Some words are missing from the text. Choose the most appropriate word from the list (A-O) for each gap (1-12) in the text. There are two extra words that you do not need to use.

Character

One of the great pleasures of reading fiction is getting acquainted with new people. We can meet in fiction a wider range and variety of people than we could ever know in life, and often the characters in fiction are more interesting than the people we meet in life. They are more interesting because we can know them better. Fiction, for two (1) ..... , allows us to see more deeply into the inner nature of a character than we usually can in life. First, it (2) ..... its characters in crucial situations, which test them and expose their nature more clearly than would ordinary situations. Second, the author can, when he wishes, take us inside a character and let us (3) ..... at first-hand inner thoughts and feelings which in life we could only (4) ..... at from outward actions. Of course, fictional characters are imaginary people and have only imaginary existence. Yet if their author has drawn them (5) ..... , we can, by understanding them, gain a better appreciation of real people. Indeed, we may come to understand (6) .....

better by reading about characters who are like us in certain ways.

If fiction is to give us these benefits, however, it must be written by an author who is

deeply interested in (7) ..... nature. Not all fiction is. Some writers are (8) ..... to engage our momentary interest in following the adventures of a brave, resourceful hero or in sharing the good fortune of a beautiful heroine. Such a writer is likely to present us with (9) ..... characters who have none of the complexity of real people. To be believable, a character cannot be either all good or all bad; we know that real people are not like that. Also, a character must be consistent in his actions: he must not (10) ..... one way on one occasion and an entirely different way on another. In addition, his actions should be clearly (11) ..... : that is, we should be able to understand the reasons for his acting as he does. If a character changes during the course of the (12) ..... , we should be able to understand why he changes. Sudden changes of heart for no apparent reason are more commonly found in third-rate than in first-rate fiction.

A accurately	B act	C experience	D frequently	E guess
F human	G know	H motivated	I ourselves	J oversimplified
K places	L readers	M reasons	N satisfied	O story