Task 1. For items 1-10, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap

LISTENING

Time: 15 minutes

Task 1.  Listen to an article from BBC Breaking News  English and  choose the best answer. You will hear the text twice.

1) How many sittings does binge-watching TV involve?
a) 4
b) 3
c) 2
d) 1

2) How many young people did researchers look at?
a) 423
b) 324
c) 243
d) 432

3) What did researchers say binge-viewing greatly interrupted?
a) television
b) viewing habits
c) sleep patterns
d) the remote control

4) What levels did researchers ask participants about?
a) fatigue levels
b) high levels
c) sleep levels
d) viewing levels

5) What percentage of participants reported binge-watching TV?
a) around 80%
b) fewer than 80%
c) more than 80%
d) exactly 80%

6) How much likelier is it for binge-watchers to have poor sleep quality?
a) 98%
b) 88%
c) 78%
d) 68%

7) What do binge-watchers think about when they want to sleep?
a) nicer televisions
b) actors
c) sheep
d) TV show content

Task 2. For questions 8-12, match the following synonyms. The words in bold are from the news article.

8. adversely                      a) tiredness

9. back-to-back                b) supplying data through the Internet

10.  fatigue                         c) in a harmful way

11.  streaming                   d) inability to sleep

12. insomnia                  e) successive

 

 

Transfer your answers to the answer sheet!

Integrated Listening and Reading

Time: 20 minutes

Task 1

Read the text about traumatic stress changes in the brains of boys and girls and then listen to a news article on the same topic. You will notice that some ideas coincide and some do not in the two materials. Answer questions 13-20 by choosing A if the idea is expressed in both materials, B if it can be found only in the reading text, C if it can be found only in the audio-recording, and D if neither of the materials expressed the idea.

Now you have 7 minutes to read the text.

Traumatic Stress Changes Brains of Boys and Girls Differently.

Traumatic stress affects the brains of adolescent boys and girls differently, according to a new brain-scanning study from the Stanford University School of Medicine.

Among youth with post-traumatic stress disorder, the study found structural differences between the sexes in the insula, a brain region that detects cues from the body and processes emotion sand empathy. The findings were published online Nov. 11 in Depression and Anxiety. The study is the first to show differences between male and female PTSD patients in the insula.

"The insula appears to play a key role in the development of PTSD," said the study's senior author, Victor Carrion, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford. "The difference we saw between the brains of boys and girls who have experienced psychological trauma is important because it may help explain differences in trauma symptoms between sexes."

"It is important that people who work with traumatized youth consider the sex differences," said Megan Klabunde, PhD, the study's lead author and an instructor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences. "Our findings suggest it is possible that boys and girls could exhibit different trauma symptoms and that they might benefit from different approaches to treatment."

The researchers also noted that their work may help scientists understand how experiencing trauma could play into differences between the sexes in regulating emotions. "By better understanding sex differences in a region of the brain involved in emotion processing, clinicians and scientists may be able to develop sex-specific trauma  and emotion  dysregulation  treatments," the authors write in the study.

To better understand the findings, the researchers say what is needed next are longitudinal studies following traumatized young people of both sexes over time. They also say studies that further explore how PTSD might manifest itself differently in boys and girls, as well as tests of whether sex-specific treatments are beneficial, are needed.

 

Now listen to the BBC news article on the same topic and then do the task (questions 13-20), comparing the text above and the news article. You will hear the article twice.

13. Findings could help clinicians to treat boys and girls differently.

14. Stanford University pioneered in demonstrating the difference in the brains of boys and girls with PTSD.

15. Researchers say that the next step is to test whether different treatment of boys and girls is beneficial.

16. The adolescents with post-traumatic stress disorder had similar ages and IQs.

17.The insula is a part of the brain linked to emotions and empathy.

18. PTSD can develop after a sex abuse, car accident or violent crime.

19. Boys and girls might benefit from different approaches to PTSD treatment.

20.Findings show that girls suffer more after traumatic events.

Transfer your answers to the answer sheet!

READING

Time: 15 minutes

Read some information about London. For questions 21-30, choose from one of the walks (A-H). Some of the walks may be used more than once. When more than one answer is required, these may be given in any order.

Which walk would you recommend for someone who:

21. is interested in the history of London's Jews?

22. wants to see inside old houses?

23. wants to see how wealthy Londoners lived?

24. is interested in the history of sea travel?

25. wants to visit scenes of 19th century murders?

26. is interested in theatres?

27. wants to walk where Shakespeare once walked?

28. likes visiting old churches?

29. is interested in the supernatural?

30. is interested in gossip about the past?

 

LONDON WALKS

A The London of Dickens and Shakespeare

Sundays 11.00 am (a lunchtime pub walk)

Southwark, one of the most ancient parts of London, has been home to both Shakespeare and Dickens. Follow in their footsteps and discover a much forgotten part of town with its alleys, riverside lanes, and medieval rains. Discover the sites of the original, and the soon to be rebuilt, Globe theatre, and visit Southwark's  fine Gothic Cathedral, the church of Shakespeare and John Harvard, which is one of the lesser known treasures of London.

B A Ghost Pub Walk

Thursdays 7.35 pm

Explore the (haunted?) shadows of London's hidden court­yards and  gaslit alleyways as we visit places of ghostly sight­ings, scenes of horrible death and supernatural happenings. For the benefit of the fainter hearted (and the rest of us) we will call at some pubs on the way - some of the finest and most famous in London - where spirits can be revived.

C Inside Some Hidden Interiors of Old London

Thursdays 11.00 am

This walk provides the opportunity to go inside some of the oldest and finest buildings in London. Little known, they often pass unnoticed, but rarely fail to enchant and fascinate those who discover them. We visit a 16th century dining hall (still used for its original purpose) in which Queen Elizabeth I dined and Shakespeare acted; the 12th century church of the Knights Templar; the Oranges and Lemons Church of St. Clements; a magnificent 19th century Gothic Building; the Old Curiosity Shop; two 16th century cottages; and a house unchanged within since 1837, home to a unique collection of curios and treasures.

D London: Royal and Aristocratic

Sundays 2.30 pm

Discreet, elegant, exclusive, and very, very expensive, the districts of Mayfair and St. James's have been home and play­ground of Royalty and the Aristocracy for hundreds of years. On this walk we will see their Royal palaces and elegant mansions (including the ancestral home of the Princess of Wales), and pass some of the famous shops and exclusive gentlemen's clubs which have been serving them for centuries. We will explain the history of the area, remember some of its famous inhabitants, and recall something of its less discreet, and frankly scandalous, past.

E The Real London  Eastenders  - The Old Jewish Quarter

Tuesdays11.00 am

A popular T.V. soap opera draws upon a deeper reality and tradition which exists in the East End of London. A characterful area, it still echoes the 19th century when it was the established Jewish quarter and when Jack the Ripper prowled its alleys. Discover the history of the Jews in London, and the rich colour and texture of a fascinating district not normally seen by visitors.

F The Jack the Ripper Murder Trail

Tuesdays 7.30 pm

Travel back to the Autumn of 1888 when a series of brutal murders struck terror and panic into the hearts of Londoners. Although his identity was never discovered, the murderer became known as Jack the Ripper. On this walk we will follow his trail of blood and mayhem through the streets of London's Whitechapel and learn of the horrible manner in which he butchered his victims. Placing the murders against the back­ground of their time, we will examine the evidence and the fascinating theories which surround the identity of Jack the Ripper!

G London's Theatre land Past and Present

Tuesday 2.00 pm

London theatre has a reputation second to none. Our tour, led of course by an actress, centres on the Covent Garden area and visits the West End's oldest and newest theatres. Among the dramatis personae, great names like Kemble, Keen, Garrick and Irving rub shoulders with the blind man who knew 3,000 thieves by their voices. Backdrops include the haunt of a much loved theatrical ghost, and the hidden restaurant where the stars of today go to relax after the show.

H Pirates, Smugglers and Pressgangs

A Docklands Pub Walk

A walk through a section of rapidly changing Docklands, recalling its  colourful history and visiting some of its historic pubs. We will finish at the famous Prospect of  Whitby,  London's oldest riverside pub. Along the way we explore St. Katherine's  Dock, recall the heavy bombing of this area in World War II, hear tales of villains and skulduggery, and answer such burning questions as: who were the "sailors' wives" and what were the whoppers of  Wapping?

Transfer your answers to the answer sheet!

USE OF ENGLISH

Time: 30 minutes

Task 1. For items 1-10, read the text below and think of the word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in each gap.

Kuban Cossack Choir

Kuban Cossack Choir is (1) _______ of the leading folk ensembles in Russia. Its repertoire (2) _______ songs, dances and folklore of the Kuban Cossacks. The history of the choir (3)________ long and full of hardships. Being (4) ________ in 1811, it was dissolved (5) _______ revived several times. In 1974, the artistic director of the State Kuban Cossack Choir (6)________ Viktor Zakharchenko under (7)_______ supervision (8) ________ choir received many national and international awards.

The Choir (9) _________ contributed a lot to collecting, studying and reviving cultural traditions of the Kuban Cossacks. It regularly tours (10)________ over the country and abroad demonstrating pride in Kuban Cossack patriotism and local customs.

 

Task 2. A HOMOPHONE is a word that sounds the same as another word but has a different spelling and a different meaning. Match every word with the definition of its homophone. Write this homophone.

11.caught                               a) a passage between rows of seats in a building

12.currant                               b) to be bereaved after a death or loss

13.I’ll                                      c) where a judge considers evidence

14.stationary                           d) an electric flow

15. morning                             e) paper, envelopes, pens and pencils