Олимпиада по английскому языку для 9 класса
I READING
Read the text and choose from the sentences A-F the one which fits each gap (1-5). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
In the swamplands and along the river banks of the Amazon and the Orinoco there lives a bird that swims before it can fly, flies like a fat chicken, eats green leaves, has the stomach of a cow and has claws on its wings when young. (1) …… It is called the hoatzin.
(2) …… Male and female look very much alike with brown on the back and cream and rusty red underneath. The head is small, with a large crest on the top, bright red eyes, and electric blue skin. Its nearest relatives are the cuckoos. Its most remarkable feature, though, is not found in the adult but in the young.
Baby hoatzins have a claw on the leading edge of each wing and another at the end of each wing tip. Using these four claws, together with the beak, they can clamber about in the undergrowth, looking very much like primitive birds must have done. The hoatzin, however, could not be considered primitive. (3) ……
During the drier months between December and March hoatzins fly about the forest in flocks containing 20-30 birds, but in April, when the rainy season begins, they collect together in smaller breeding units of two to seven individuals. (4) ……
When danger threatens, in the form of a snake or a monkey, the young hoatzins – maybe three in one nest – dive over the side and into the river. (5) …… When they have learned to fly they lose their claws and escape predators not by swimming but by flapping off, in a rather ungainly fashion, to a neighboring tree.
A
They build their nests about 4.6m above the river, an important feature for the survival of the young.
B
Another peculiarity of the chick is its ability to swim well if it falls into water.
C
It would not be out of place in Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland, but it is real.
D
They swim about under the water until it is safe to return and then, using their claws, haul themselves up through the branches and back to the nest.
E
In appearance, the adult looks like a cross between a domestic chicken and a secretary bird.
F
It is a highly specialized bird.
II USAGE
1. Decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits each space.
One morning last week I realized that my bike (1) ……. stolen from my garden. I phoned the police and two officers called at my house the next day. They (2)……..me if I had seen or heard anything. I told (3)……..I had been out that evening, and hadn’t noticed anything suspicious when I came home. ‘If I had seen anything, I (4)……..you,’ I replied. ‘It was raining hard too. If the weather (5)……..so bad, I would have ridden my bike.’ The officers told me that lots of people (6)……..their bikes stolen lately. ‘The thieves (7)……..to have put the bikes in a van,’ said one of the officers. ‘I (8)……..I had known about that,’ I said. ‘I saw a black van that evening. In fact, it (9)……..opposite my house.’ The officers asked me what the van’s number (10)…….., but I couldn’t remember. ‘(11)……..you saw the van again, (12)……..you recognize it?’ one of them asked. ‘It (13)…….. painting. I remember that,’ I replied. However, there was a happy ending to this story. After the officers had left, I (14)……..by a friend of mine. ‘By the way,’ she said,’(15)……..you want your bike, I’ll bring it back this afternoon. I borrowed it a couple of days ago.’
1)
A
had
B
had been
C
had had itself
D
had not
2)
A
reminded
B
questioned
C
told
D
asked
3)
A
them
B
that
C
if
D
later
4)
A
called
B
would
C
had called
D
would have called
5)
A
wasn’t
B
wouldn't be
C
hadn't been
D
wouldn’t have been
6)
A
had
B
had had
C
had to have
D
hadn't
7)
A
think
B
are thought
C
have thought
D
are thinking
8)
A
would
B
realise
C
wish
D
thought
9)
A
was parked
B
had parking
C
is parked
D
has parked
10)
A
is
B
was
C
had
D
wrote
11)
A
If
B
When
C
Remember
D
Suppose
12)
A
do
B
can
C
would
D
If
13)
A
needed
B
had been
C
looked like
D
seemed
14)
A
called up
B
was phoned
C
had a phone call
D
heard some news
15)
A
unless
B
if only
C
if
D
as long as
2. Read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the space in the same line.
Unusual beliefs
Despite the fact that this is now the 21st century, an(1) _______ number of English people appear to (2) ________ in the paranormal. What is the (3)__________ for this?
(4) _________ have found the answers to many of our questions, but the more (5) _______ we make, the more we want to know. The (6) _______ need for (7)________ that we have appears to be very strong. For this reason, a belief in the (8) ______ of aliens, and especially, the (9) ________ of contact with alien life forms is (10) ________ common.
(1) INCREASE
(2) BELIEF
(3) EXPLAIN
(4)SCIENCE
(5) DISCOVER
(6) PSYCHOLOGY
(7) SECURE
(8) EXIST
(9) POSSIBLE
(10) EXTREME
QUIZ
Choose the correct answer:
1. The British Monarch traditionally meets the Heads of the foreign states in
a) Westminster Palace
b) The Tower
c) Buckingham Palace
2. In Westminster Abbey the tourists are shown
a) The Queen Victoria Memorial
b) mosaic decorations
c) The Coronation Chair
3. When the Monarch opens Parliament, he/she sits
a) on the throne in the House of Lords
b) on the woolsack
c) on the Speaker’s Chair in the House of Commons
4. The Official Birthday of the British Monarch is celebrated in
a) May
b) June
c) April
5. Which of these monuments was erected to commemorate the Great Fire of London?
a) Nelson’s Column
b) Marble Arch
c) The Monument
6. The Highland Games take place in __________________ .
a) Glasgow
b) Edinburgh
c) All cities across Scotland
7. In front of Buckingham Palace you will see _______________ .
a) Queen Victoria Monument
b) Walter Scott Monument
c) Wellington Memorial
8. It has been rebuilt many times over its 1,000 year history, once it was a palace, today it is __________ .
a) St. Paul’s Cathedral
b) Buckingham Palace
c) The Houses of Parliament
9. Many famous politicians and military men are buried at _______________ .
a) Lake District
b) Edinburgh Castle
c) St. Paul’s Cathedral
10. Its ruins stand as a symbol of the Roman Empire’s greatness.
a) Stonehenge
b) Walter Scott Memorial
c) Hadrian’s Wall
