The phoenix: extinct or never existed

A ncient myths are full of weird and beautiful animals and birds. The phoenix is one bird whose story has fascinated/excited (1) many different peoples and cultures through time. Even today, you can see the phoenix on coins and emblems.

We first find this mythical/marvelous (2) bird in Egyptian mythology. The Egyptians worshipped a sacred/sacrifice (3) bird called bennu that remind/resembled (4) a stork. The bennu was connected/associated (5) to the worship of the Sun God. Later this magical/magician (6) bird appeared in Greek and Roman mythology.

Only one phoenix lived at any given time and it was always a male. It had brilliant deep red and gold features/feathers (7) and a beautiful voice. The phoenix had a very long life. Some ancient Greek writers stated/established (8) that it lived to be exactly 500 years, while other authors thought that it lived up to 12,954 years.

What made the phoenix so mysterious/mystic (9) was the way it died. Towards the end of its life, the phoenix made a nest of sweet-smelling spices and branches. Then it set the nest on fire and burnt itself in the blaze/flames (10). From this fire, a beautiful new bird arose/raised (11).

The young phoenix lifted/collected (12) the ashes of its father and flew to the Egyptian city of Heliopolis (the city of the Sun). Here it left the ashes in the temple of the Egyptian God of the Sun. The phoenix lived forever. It was a symbol of eternity/iteration (13). The Romans linked this magical creature/creation (14) to their great city. The idea of this mythical everlasting bird continues to capture/capsize (15) people’s imagination today.

JOKES

• Crocodile and alligator: one has a big mouth but you can’t tell the difference in the end.

• What is a mink? – When a woman turns to look at another woman.

What is sable? – When a woman in mink turns to look at another woman.

• As mother kangaroo said, “I hate it when it’s raining and the kids have to play inside”.

• All the animals entered Noah’s Ark in pairs. Except the worms.

–What do you mean?

–They entered the Ark in apples.

1. Образуйте соответствующее однокоренное слово.

Number one factor

Nowadays, good health is cited as number one factor able (1) us to improve the quality of life. One of the characteristics of modern people in developed countries, especially in the middle-age group, is their health-conscious (2). They jog to keep fit or take other forms of exercise on a regularity (3) basis. Thousands try to make gym workout their day (4) routine. Those who for some reasons fail to add physical act (5) to their life may go on exotic diets with a lot of restrict (6) in order to lose weigh (7).

Fresh country air is also considered to be benefit (8) for health. Also, the idea of working in the smoke-free environment seems attract (9) to most people. Fortunately, smoking has been banned on most fly (10) and in most public places as everyone agrees that it is harm (11) to our health. However, there are kill (12) diseases like AIDS and cancer which seem to be cure (13). Malaria is still the biggest cause of death in the Third World, while heart attack remains the most frequency (14) cause of death in Europe.

The important (15) of health is reflected in many languages by the express (16) like “to drink to someone’s health”. Some nations seem to be more occupy (17) with the idea of health, which has found a reflect (18) in their languages. For example, in the Russian language, word combine (19) related to ‘health’ are found practically in all social use (20) including salute (21), toasting, polite reaction to sneezing, even a hostess’ respond (22) after being thanked for the delicious meal.

2. Выберите подходящее слово из предложенных двух вариантов.