Test 10.( pre-intermediate level)

I. Reading. Read the text and do the exercises.

That Oddest of Languages - English!

To you. an odd language is one like Russian or Chinese. But to most non-English-speaking people, the language you speak every day is the weirdest,... and they're probably right. What's so odd about English? Well, for one thing, its odd spelling! Why spell ghost with an "h' when you never hear it? Or blow with a ‘w' that's silent? For another thing, there are the odd definitions of some English words! Take a short, simple word like run .You'd think it would be easy to define.....but actually has more than 250 different meanings! Or take a word like cleave. Cleave

can mean 'stick to' - or its exact opposite, 'split'. What can you say about a language where the same word can mean one thing... and also its exact opposite? So, be careful when you use that word next time.

Odd, too. is the fact that English is the only language in the world that capitalizes the word I. I guess that English-speaking people think they're pretty important! Even with all its oddities, English has more different words than most other languages. English has a larger vocabulary than any other language.

It's strange that the differences in Britain itself are greater than those between Britain and other English-speaking countries. For a Londoner, it's easy to understand an American, but quite difficult to understand the dialect of Newcastle in the North of England.

Exercise 1. Comprehension. Are the following sentences true (T) or false (F)?

1) English has a larger vocabulary than any other language.

2) There are some words in English that have more than 250 different meanings and even opposite ones.

3) English spelling is difficult; some letters are written but silent.

4) Today the English language is the same all over the United Kingdom.

5) English and Russian are the only languages in the world that capitalize the word I.

Exercise 2. Language. In this list of words all words except one have something in common. Which is the 'odd word out'?

6) note go tone smoke not hope coke

7) keep key kick knee kitchen kind

8) feet women men children mice sheeps teeth

9) badly slowly goodly early carefully nervously

10) silly easily wonderfully quickly probably

Exercise 3. Vocabulary . In this list of words all words except one have something in common. Which is the 'odd word out'?

11) cheese butter bread salad wine beef

12) strawberries cherries onions blackberries apples pears

13) blouse slippers sweater skirt dress jacket

14) shop magazine department store boutique supermarket

15) baker tailor engineer burglar smith teacher

Il English Usage.

Exercise 4. The pairs of words in this exercise are easy to confuse. Choose the correct word.

My mother is a good.....( cook/cooker) I went home because I......(felt/fell) Could you......(lend/borrow) me your pen? I can't.....(hear/listen) anything. London is......(quite/quiet) expensive Someone has.....(stolen/robbed) my car.

7) This pop-star is always dressed in the…. (last/latest) fashion. 8) There was a fight......(between/among) two boys. 9) You must......(make/do) your work carefully. 10) Everybody......(loves/likes) polite people.

Exercise 5. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense form.

Trying to Speak English

Juan was a Spanish student. He wanted to go to Britain where he.....(11-can) speak English with real English people. His sister's husband was an Englishman. They......(12-live) in England for three years already. When Juan wrote to her, she invited him to stay with her.

She met him at the airport in her car and, of course.......(13-speak) Spanish all the time. «Never

mind.» he thought, «the husband........(14-speak) English...» But this Englishman spoke Spanish too. Juan's sister had only Spanish friends and Juan.......(15-not/speak) a word of English while he was staying with her.

One morning Juan........(16-see) the postman and was very glad to see him. He quickly opened the door and said, «Good morning». The postman said «Good morning» and walked away.

At last Juan's big day came. One of his sister's friends.........(17-have) a party and invited Juan in it. «Now I shall meet real English people and speak English with them», he thought.

When the party began , a girl.....(18- come up) to him and said , «How nice that you are Spanish.

I........(19-have) a Spanish examination soon. I can practise on you». And in Spanish she invited him to dance. From that moment Juan...... (20- stop / try) to speak English. «I must go to another town to speak English», he said to himself.

Exercise 6. Write the nouns connected with these adjectives.

1) important-2) deep-3) wide-4) long-5) high-6) free-7) wise-8) true- 9) cold-10) proud-

11)patient- 12) honest-13) delighted-14) tall-15) boredom-

KEY: Ex.1: 1)T 2)T 3)T 4)F 5)F Ex.2: 6) not 7)knee 8)sheeps 9)doodly 10)silly

Ex.3: 11_wine 12)onions 13)slippers 14)magazine 15) burglar

Ex.4: 1)cook 2)fell 3)lend 4) hear 5) quite 6) robbed 7) latest 8) between 9)do 10)likes

Ex.5: 11)could 12)lived 13)spoke 14) speaks 15) didn’t speak 16) saw 17) was going to have 18) came up 19) am having 20) stopped trying

Ex.6: 1) importance 2)depth 3)width 4)length 5)height 6)freedom 7)wisdom 8)truth 9)cold/coldness 10)pride 11)patience 12)honesty 13) delight 14) tallness 15) boredom