An Artist

Billy got up very early with the first rays of sunlight. His room faced the sun at the beginning of the day. So, on clear summer mornings, it woke him up no matter how late he stayed up. He got up, made breakfast, watched TV and had a shower. All the rest of the family were still asleep.

Billy lived with his mother and older brother, who supported the family. Every morning when Billy’s brother got up for work, Billy went downstairs to make him a cup of tea and say, “Morning”. Billy’s brother usually looked gloomy and sleepy, with his hair untidy. He worked in a fish factory. They produced all kinds of canned fish that went to different cities and different countries. The business was going well and the money was good. Actually, Billy’s brother was lucky to have got a job in the factory. Jobs like his were scarce in a coastal village.

Like all boys of his age, Billy had to go to school because two months later he had exams. He promised his mother he would pass them and now had to spend half the day in the classroom. His grades left much to be desired and his teachers considered him an average and poorly motivated student. Indeed, he never felt happy about learning. Instead he would rather go to the library to read another book on artists and painting.

At school the boys were taught to draw straight lines and circles, but Billy was not very good at it. He had a special kind of talent: he could get the idea of a picture clearer than other students. He hoped to develop his drawing skills but didn’t want anybody to know about it. Even Billy’s mother knew nothing about her son’s interest. Billy practised painting like the famous artists he had read about. He studied their techniques and tried to imitate them, spending hours in the attic of their old house.

Billy had happy memories of his father, who had disappeared five years before. He was a fisherman and one day their boat didn’t come back to the port. The neighbours kept saying there was no hope, but Billy still couldn’t believe that. There were lots of small islands in the region – why couldn’t his father have reached one of them? The islands were uninhabited but his father could cope with tough living conditions.

They never discussed it in the family, but Billy often recalled the days from his childhood when he and his father went shopping in town. Father bought him oils, paints and books about famous painters and kept asking Billy to paint him. Billy was nine at that time and said he couldn’t.

During the next five years, things changed. Father’s birthday was a special day for Billy. Every year, on his dad’s birthday, the boy drew a picture of him. Each year, it looked different. When Billy was twelve, he painted like Monet. At the age of thirteen he preferred the Italian style. He hoped that someday father would see the paintings and realize how much Billy loved him.

38

That morning Billy got up earlier than his mother.

1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

Ответ:

39

Billy’s brother had a well-paid job.

1) True

2) False

3) Not stated

Ответ:

40	Billy and his brother got on very well with each other. 1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

Ответ:

41	Billy was the brightest student in his class. 1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

Ответ:

42	Billy's mother put Billy in a drawing school. 1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

Ответ:

43	The father’s boat hit a rock. 1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

Ответ:

44

In Billy’s childhood, his father encouraged him to draw pictures.

1) True	2) False	3) Not stated

Ответ:

45

Billy had always painted his father in the same way.

1) True 2) False 3) Not stated

46	Прочитайте тексты и установите соответствие между текстами и их заголовками: к каждому тексту, обозначенному буквами А–G, подберите соответствующий заголовок, обозначенный цифрами. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании есть один лишний заголовок.

1. Architectural heritage 5. Similar yet different 2. The mystery of the name 6. Literary landmarks 3. The district of crafts ¹ 7. A fashionable place to live in 4. The souvenir street 8. An open-air studio

1. Arbat Street is one of the most famous pedestrian streets in the historic centre of Moscow. In the 17^th century the area was popular with carpenters, silversmiths, bakers and skilled people of other trades. They lived there and ran their businesses - there were lots of workshops and small stores on the ground floors of the houses. Nowadays, the Arbat's side streets show evidence of their past with names that describe various trades or products.

2. In the 18th century the Arbat became popular with Moscow's upper class, who enjoyed walking there and visiting the local cafés. There were hardly any workshops there then. The Arbat became a popular residential area that attracted Moscow nobility. The whole street was built up with private residences of wealthy Russian families – the Dolgorukiys, the Golitsins, the Tolstoys, the Sheremetyevs and others. It became the most stylish and desirable place to live.

3. Famous poets, thinkers, musicians and actors contributed to the Arbat’s charm. Alexander Pushkin and his wife lived there, in house number 53. Later the mansion was turned into a museum. One of the houses on the adjoining lane belonged to Leo Tolstoy. Over a century later, Bulat Okudzhava, the famous poet and bard, lived in house number 43. Today his statue stands on the corner of the side street.

4. The name Arbat does not sound like a Russian word and actually the original meaning of the place name is unknown. There are several hypotheses. Some linguists state that the name comes from the Arabic word meaning 'suburb' or 'outskirts'. Another hypothesis links the word Arbat with the Tatar word arba, i.e. "cart". However, both theories are disputed.

5. Until the middle of the 20th century, the Arbat remained a part оf the main road frоm the Moscow Kremlin westwards. Іn the 1960s, а parallel road, the New Arbat was built, аnd the traffic was rerouted. The New Arbat, wіth іts wide sidewalks, has nо side streets, which was more convenient for drivers and safer for pedestrians. Twо decades later, the New Arbat took all the traffic and the Arbat wаs made іntо the fіrst pedestrian zone іn Moscow. Іn order tо avoid confusion wіth the New Arbat, people began tо refer tо the Arbat аs the Old Arbat.

6. To tourists, the area of the Arbat is a nice combination of cosy little side streets with the buildings representing different epochs. There, one can find an unusual looking house in the shape of two interlocking cylinders with more than 60 six-sided windows. It was built as an experimental house by the Soviet architect Konstantin Melnikov, a famous representative of Constructivism.

7. At both ends of the street, you'll often see artists sketching portraits. There's no need to go into a workshop – just choose an artist and take a seat. The artists have all they need at hand. Anyone can have a charcoal portrait of themselves or a caricature drawn. There's no fixed price for the work - you can bargain.

Запишите в таблицу выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.

Текст	A	B	C	D	E	F	G
Заголовок

Прочитайте текст. Определите, какие из приведённых утверждений 47–54 соответствуют содержанию текста (1 – True), какие не соответствуют (2 – False) и о чём в тексте не сказано, то есть на основании текста нельзя дать ни положительного, ни отрицательного ответа (3 – Not stated). В поле ответа запишите одну цифру, которая соответствует номеру правильного ответа.