- ♫♫♫ READING +                    SPEAKING 

CHRISTMAS TRADITIONS 

      Christmas season is the most festive time of the year in Britain and in the United States. Students at schools and colleges usually have a 2-week vacation, beginning before Christmas and ending soon after the New Year. There are a lot of parties to celebrate the birth of Christ and the arrival of the New Year.

     However, no one knows exactly when Jesus was born. Christians everywhere in the world celebrate his birthday on December 25th. This day was a festival long before Christianity because ancient people believed this was the time when the son of god started his journey back to the earth and it was a custom to give presents to each other.

     Now children are told that Santa Claus or Father Christmas in a red suit, red hat and with a long white beard puts presents for them into their stockings by the fireplace.  The winter tradition of decorating homes with evergreens began in ancient times too. Branches of fir were thought to bring good luck and guarantee the return of spring. The Germans were the first to use the Christmas tree in their celebrations.

      In the 19 th century the decorated fir tree became popular in Europe and in the USA. Carol singers began to go from house to house in groups singing traditional Christmas songs and asking for charity. The greeting cards are sent on Christmas too. The most popular wishes on these holiday cards are: “Merry Christmas”, “Peace on Earth”.  

I. Find true and false statements.

1. Christmas is the most widely celebrated festival in Great Britain.     

2. The 25th of December was celebrated after Christmas.

3. Students have a month-winter vacation.

4. Ancient people gave each other presents at this time.

5. Father Christmas puts children’s presents into stockings by the fireplace.

6. It is a modern tradition to decorate the house with a fir tree.

II. Choose the right answer.

1. How many days of vacation have the students got at 

schools and colleges?

a) a week vacation

b) a 10 days vacation

c) a 2 weeks vacation

d) 3 months vacation

2. When do people usually celebrate the birth of Christ?

e) on the 25th of December

f) on the 20th of December

g) after the New Year

h) long before the New Year

3. What did the ancient people believe in?

a) they believed in god

b) that was the time the sun god started his journey back to the earth

c) that the ancient people were very kind

d) they believed in their happy future

4. What are the children told?

a) they are told that everything will be all rightb) Santa Claus dressed in a red suit puts presents or them in their stockings     

c) Father Christmas will sing them songs

d) they will celebrate the New Year around the fir tree  

5. When did the tradition of decorating homes begin?

a) many centuries ago

b) two weeks ago

c) at present days

d) in ancient times

6. What did ancient people think of the branches of fir?

a) they would bring them good luck and the return of spring

b) they would bring them a good mood

c) they would bring them much bread and butter

d) they would bring them happiness

III. Answer these questions.

1. Do you like Christmas?

2. Do European people like winter holidays?

3. Are there a lot of parties to celebrate in December?

4. Do you decorate your home with evergreens?

5. Do people give presents on New Year?

6. What is the main holiday of the year?

IV. What is your Winter Holidays tradition? _________________

________________________________________________________

Ø  ЧИТАННЯ            Body Art        Tattooing can be found the world over, though its style and its meaning vary dramatically. Tattooing has long featured in the cultures of the Japanese, Polynesians and Native Americans. The practices of the Maoris of  New Zealand provide a striking example of tattooing. They are well known for the elaborate patterns with which they. Integration with white settlers led to a decline in the custom, but it is now regaining popularity amongst young Maoris. Native American Indians are known to have pierced the lower lip, and today this practice is found in tribes across Africa and South America. A long cane is often pushed through the skin around the mouth or nose as decoration. The Sara tribe of central Africa, for example, traditionally pierce and then stretch their lips with saucer-like disks. Nose piercing is as common in India, South America and Africa, as is ear piercing. In some societies, a piercing through the ear lobe is gradually stretched to create a visible hole. This is more and more common in the West.    In non-Western cultures, tattooing and piercing have recently declined, as these societies try to “catch up” with the West. On the contrary, in the West, their popularity is ever-increasing. Until recently, body art in our culture was mainly found in groups such as sailors and convicts, of those wanting to rebel against society, like the punks of the 1970s. Over the last decade body art has moved into the mainstream and it is increasingly socially acceptable. Just about every part of the body can be pierced or tattooed. In the West, facial piercings are popular (especially through the eyebrow, lip and tongue), as are navel piercings. David Beckham, the famous British footballer recently sparked a craze for tattoos in foreign languages when he had his wife’s name, Victoria, tattooed on his forearm in Hindi. Polynesian-style tattoos of large swirling blocks of colour are currently fashionable with men, while women still tend to favour smaller, less visible tattoos. People use body art for a range of reasons. In the past tattoos have been used as a mark of social status, to ward off demons and ill health. They have also been used as a means of identifying and punishing convicts, slaves and outcasts. However, these days most people use body art simply as decoration.    As tattooing and piercing become increasingly common, however, some people are resorting to more extreme methods of body modification to stand out from the crowd. “Body branding”, for example, is a dramatic (and dangerous) practice which is gaining in popularity. It involves searing the skin with red-hot metal, in some shape or pattern, to leave a permanent scar. Implanting is another extreme way in which people alter their body’s appearance. Somewhat similar to body piercing, it involves the painful insertion of metal objects under the skin. One example of implanting is the insertion of horn-shaped objects under the skin of the forehead, giving a “devil-like appearance.    It seems unlikely that branding and implanting will ever become as popular as tattooing and piercing. But fifty years ago, who would have thought that businessmen would go to work hiding pierced nipples under their suits, or that kids would be asking their parents for tattoos for their sixteen birthdays. Whether branding or implanting will become popular or not, one thing is certain – body art, in one form or another, is here to stay. Task 1. Finish each of the following sentences with the words and word combinations from the text.                       Example for answering: 1. ….. + write only your answer! 1. A striking example of tattooing we usually name  … 2. They traditionally decorated their faces with … 3.It is now regaining popularity … 4 . Around the mouth or nose as decoration you can see … 5. People stretch their lips with saucer-like disks in … Task 2. On your answer sheet circle (+ ) if the statement is true, (-) if it is false. 1. People have been tattooing and piercing their bodies for thousands of years.                                         2. Nose and ear piercings are common in India, America and Africa.                                                3. Tattooing and piercing have declined in the West and are growing dramatically in non-Western cultures.                                                                                                                                                          4 Sailors and convicts changed their appearance by piercing and tattooing in order not to be recognized. 5. Facial piercing is as popular in the West as in South America and Africa.                                               Task 3. Circle the right answer A, B, C, or D 16. A famous footballer strokes the audience by tattooing his wife’s name in …                                                      A. Hindi.     B.  Hungarian.    C. Spanish.      D.  Japanese. 17. motivations for body art are…                                                                                                                              A. different for a range of reasons.   B. the same for all people. C. rarely important  D. never changed. 18. The extreme methods of tattooing and piercing involve…                                                                                   A. moving.           B. sewing.           C. branding.             D. infecting.  19. People always changed their body’s appearance by…                                                                                        A. wrestling.       B.  keeping fit.     C. becoming popular.    D. implanting. 20. Body art has been popular with the present-day people for…                                                                          A. five years.        B.  fifteen years.          C.  fifty years.     D.  fifty-five years.           Task 4. Write about your attention to tattooing.

 

     

READING TEST 

THE ANGRY FAN

This happened in Australia during a water polo game that was one of the main sports events of the season. There was nothing ex­citing at the beginning of the game, but suddenly, one of the players jumped out of the water and ran to the referee. He said that one of the forwards of the other team had bitten him in the leg while he was swimming under the water.

At first, the referee thought it was some kind of joke, but when the player pointed to blood on his leg, he had to believe that it was serious. He called the forward and asked him why he had done such a strange thing; though the forward insisted that he had not bitten anybody, the referee made him leave the game.

They began again, but a few minutes later, two players, one from each team, climbed out of the water, shouting that somebody had bitten them. There was blood on both players' legs. The game was stopped, and they began to let the water out of the pool. When almost all the water was let out, everybody saw a young crocodile at the bottom of the pool. Somebody had put the crocodile into the pool, but why? The truth became known when the players returned to their dressing room after the game and found a letter there.

"I have been a water polo fan for many years", the author of the letter wrote, "and I am not satisfied with the way the players seem to act. They have allowed the game to become slow and uninteresting, and I have decided that I must do something to make them move faster. I don't think I can do this well myself, and I have decided that my crocodile will do it better".

I. Put "+" next to the true sentences and "-" next to the false ones.

a) Water polo is very popular in Australia.

b)       The players were very excited at the beginning of the game.

c)        One of the players was bitten in the leg.

d)      d) It was a joke.

e)   There was a crocodile at the bottom.

f)    The crocodile was put in the pool in order to kill the best player of the opposite team.

II. Choose the correct answer.

1. How many water polo players were bitten by the crocodile?

a)       one

b)      two

c)       three

2. How was the crocodile found?

a)      the water was let out of the pool

b)      the players put the net into the pool

c)      the water was let into the pool

3. Who put the crocodile into the swimming pool?

a)      the referee

b)      the player

c)      the water polo fan

4. What did he do it for?

a)      to play a joke

b)      to make them move faster

c)      to frighten them

5. When did they know the truth?

a)      in the afternoon

b)      when they returned to their dressing room

c)      when they returned to the living room

6. Who could make them move faster?

a)      a coach

b)      a shark

c)      a crocodile

 

III. Fill in the suitable words

At fast the 1._____ thought that it was some kind of a joke? But when the player pointed to 2._____ on his leg? He had to 3._____ that it was serious. He called the 4._____ and asked him why he had done such a strange thing; and though the forward insisted that he had not 5._____ anybody, the referee made him 6._____ the game.

A)    Leave                                                 D) referee

B)     forward                                             E) believe

C)     bitten                                                 F) blood

 

IV. Ask 6 questions to the text

 

       

READING

THE LADY OR THE TIGER?

In the very old times, there lived a king, and he was a man of great fancy.

One day an idea came to his mind, and the king decided to modernize the system of court trial in his kingdom.

For this purpose, there was built a big arena with galleries around it. In that arena the most important criminals were to be put on trial in public. But neither the king nor anybody of his court was to decide the fate of the accused person. It was the criminal himself who did it. On an appointed day when all the people had gathered at the galleries, and the king and his court had taken their places, the accused person stepped into the arena. On the other side of the arena, there were two doors. The doors were side by side and identical. The accused person was to walk to those doors and open one of them. If he opened the one, there came out of it a hungry tiger and tore him to pieces, as a punishment for his crime. At the same time, the sad bells began to clang, and the people with heavy hearts went to their homes. But if the accused opened the other door, there came out of it a beautiful lady. And to that lady, he was immediately married, as a reward for his innocence. It did not matter that the accused might already have a wife and children, or a bride; the king took no notice of such trifles.

Such was the king's method of showing justice.

The king had a daughter whom he loved greatly. She was very beautiful and, at the same time, she was very conceited. It happened so that she fell in love with a young man whose social position was not as high as hers. But they were happy.

One day the king learned about their love. The young man was immediately put into prison, and a day was appointed for his trial in the king's arena.

On this occasion, the most savage tiger was caught and caged behind one of the doors, and a very beautiful girl was found to stand behind the other door.

The appointed day came. A lot of people gathered at the galleries. The king and his court were in their places. Then the signal was given, and the lover of the princess walked into the arena. He bowed to the king and looked at the princess who was sitting to the right of her father. The princess had learned the secret of the doors. She knew not only in which room there was the lady, but also who that lady was. It was one of the most beautiful girls of the court, and the princess hated her. The princess was very jealous.

When the lover looked at her, he understood that she knew behind which door was the tiger, and behind which stood the lady. His eyes asked: "Which?"

The question was clear to her, and she had to answer. She raised her hand and made a slight movement towards the right door. Her lover turned and, without the slightest hesitation, went to the door on the right.

And now it is for you, dear reader, to decide: did the princess lie or didn't?

Make your decision. But remember, that, on the one hand, the princess loved the young man greatly; but on the other hand, she was hot-tempered and jealous.

 I Read the text and put “+” if the sentence is right and “-” if one is false

1 The king decided to modernize the system of court trials in his kingdom.

2 For this purpose there was built a stadium.

3 The accused person stepped into the gallery.

4 The king’s daughter was conceited, hot-tempered and jealous.

5 The princess didn’t know the secret of the doors.

6 The princess’ lover turned and, without the slightest hesitation, went to the door on the right.

II Find the correct answer

1 What kind of man was a king?

a)                  a man of great courage

b)                  a man of great fancy

c)            a man of great mind

d)                 a man of great wit

2 What did the king decide to modernize one day?

       a)       a political system               b)       a system of education

       c)       a system of court trial        d)       a system of social assistance

3 What was built for this purpose?

      a)      a big arena with galleries around it          b)        a beautiful palace

     c)         a new market                                             d)         a new highway

4 Who was to decide the fate of the accused person?

   a)    the trial                                                   b)   the government

   c)    neither the king nor anybody in his court     d)  the court

5 Where did the accused person step?

     a)           into the garden                          b)                  into the palace

   c)       into the arena                         d)       into the prison

6 What did the accused person have to open?

    a)       a box on the table                  b)       a letter in the envelope

    c)      a door of the arena                d)        a window in the palace

III Write synonyms from the text

1 an imaginative man

2 a pretty lady

3 ambitious

4 ill-tempered

5 envious

IV Write 10 – 15 sentences about your attitude to the story “The Lady or the Tiger?”

#LISTENING 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PBBEhos1eN-vbyFTtpMD7q0mtugSu4bF/view

Запитання 1  

The guest in the studio is a teacher.

 True   False

Запитання 2

Some people can sleep well with a television on.

 True    False

Запитання 3

It is bad to think a lot before going to bed.

 True    False

Запитання 4

It is good to play video games before bed.

 True    False

Запитання 5

It is good to turn your mobile off when you go to sleep.

 True   False

Запитання 6

It is bad to play loud music while you sleep.

 True   False