Read the text and choose the correct answer.

                                       Playing a musical instrument

Playing a musical instrument is a great hobby to have. I started playing the piano when I was five years old and still really enjoy it now: it’s a perfect way to relax and cheers me up when I’m feeling down. When I lived at home with my parents, we had a lovely reddish brown piano in the house and I had piano lessons every week. However, when I went to university, I had to leave my family, my home and my piano behind.

I missed playing the piano so much that I spent all the money I got for my eighteenth birthday on a brand new electric piano. It was quite difficult getting it from the music shop to my house: I had to take a friend with me to get it into a taxi and then carry it to the door. I am very glad I bought it though. I was able to play whenever I wanted, using headphones so that I wouldn’t disturb my flatmates. When I was studying or writing an essay, I used to take a break to play something energetically. It really helped ease my frustration! When I was feeling a bit homesick, playing music that I learned on my old piano made me feel better.

1. What is the passage about? 

      A. the writer’s hobby     B. the writer’s favorite subject                    C. a musical instrument

2. When did he start playing the piano?

      A. five years ago                        B. when he went to university                   C. when he was five

3. The word closest in meaning to “feeling down” is…

      A. tired                             B. unhappy                                       C. excited

4. What did he buy with all the money he got for his eighteenth birthday?

      A. a lovely reddish brown piano          B. a new electric piano       C. headphones

5. Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE?

      A. He played music when he was homesick.

      B. He used headphones in order not to disturb his flatmates.

      C. Playing the piano didn’t help him with his study.

XII.     Read the text carefully, then answer the questions.          

My name’s Susan. I have two favourite hobbies. My first hobby is reading. I started to do it when I was four years old. The first time I did it, I felt interested. So I kept reading. I enjoy reading because it can make me relaxed and calm. Moreover, it can give me an imagination, so I can write books in the future. I can learn the different cultures and customs of other countries in the world, too.

My second hobby is gardening. I have made a small garden and planted many beds of flowers. In the spring season, my garden is full of beautiful flowers. I have a separate plot for vegetables – carrots, potatoes, etc. In the evening, I water the plants and remove the weeds. I love sitting in my garden and reading my books. It is very pleasant to be there!

1.   What are Susan’s hobbies?        

      ___________________________________________________________________________

2.   When did she start reading?

      ___________________________________________________________________________

3.   How did she feel when she first read a book?

      ___________________________________________________________________________

4.   Why does she enjoy reading?

      ___________________________________________________________________________

5.   What has she planted in her garden?

      ___________________________________________________________________________

6.   When does she water plants?

      ___________________________________________________________________________

XIII.    Fill in each blank with a word from the box.

VII. Read the text carefully then answer the questions.

            My name’s Susan. I have two favourite hobbies. My first hobby is reading. I started to do it when I was four years old. The first time I did it, I felt interested. So I kept reading. I enjoy reading because it can make me relaxed and calm. Moreover, it can give me an imagination, so I can write books in the future. I can learn the different cultures and customs of other countries in the world, too.

            My second hobby is gardening. I have made a small garden and planted many beds of flowers. In the spring season, my garden is full of beautiful flowers. I have a separate plot for vegetables- carrots, potatoes, etc. In the evening, I water the plants and remove the weeds. I love sitting in my garden and reading my books. It is very pleasant to be there.

1. What are Susan’s hobbies?

...........................................................................................................................................................................

2. When did she start reading?

...........................................................................................................................................................................

3. How did she feel when she first read a book?

...........................................................................................................................................................................

4. Why does she enjoy reading?

...........................................................................................................................................................................

5. What has she planted in her garden?

...........................................................................................................................................................................

6. When does she water plants?

...........................................................................................................................................................................

7. Does she like sitting in her garden and reading her books?

...........................................................................................................................................................................

VIII. Complete the sentences with comperatives and superatives.

Read the paragraph and choose the most suitable answer A ,B ,C or D for each of the gaps.

I started (1)_______ English when I was 14 years old after five years of studying Russian. In the (2)_______ I encountered some difficulties learning the language, but I tried my (3)_______ to overcome them. Firstly, my English pronunciation was (4)_______ by the way I spoke Russian. To solve this problem, I practiced by listening to tapes in English every day. I played the tape, stopped after each sentence, and (5)_______ the sentence several times. At school, I joined an English speaking club (6)_______ was organised by a teacher from Britain. She understood my difficulty and helped me very much in improving my pronunciation. Secondly, I found it really hard to learn English vocabulary. In Russian, the way you write the word is the way you pronounce it. However, English spelling is often (7)_______ from its pronunciation. To get over this difficulty I started using the dictionary. Whenever I learnt a new word, I looked it (8) _______ carefully in the dictionary. Then I tried to remember the way to read and write the word. After that, I wrote the word down several (9)_______ in a notebook. Gradually, I got (10)_______ to the spelling system of the language. Now I’m confident that my English has become much better.

Question 1

A. getting

B.learning

C.writing

D.reading

IX. Read the text carefully, then answer the questions.    

My name’s Susan. I have two favourite hobbies. My first hobby is reading. I started to do it when I was four years old. The first time I did it, I felt interested. So I kept reading. I enjoy reading because it can make me relaxed and calm. Moreover, it can give me an imagination, so I can write books in the future. I can learn the different cultures and customs of other countries in the world, too.

My second hobby is gardening. I have made a small garden and planted many beds of flowers. In the spring season, my garden is full of beautiful flowers. I have a separate plot for vegetables – carrots, potatoes, etc. In the evening, I water the plants and remove the weeds. I love sitting in my garden and reading my books. It is very pleasant to be there!

1.   What are Susan’s hobbies?

      ___________________________________________________________________________

2.   When did she start reading?

      ___________________________________________________________________________

3.   How did she feel when she first read a book?

      ___________________________________________________________________________

4.   Why does she enjoy reading?

      ___________________________________________________________________________

5.   What has she planted in her garden?

      ___________________________________________________________________________

6.   When does she water plants?

      ___________________________________________________________________________

VI. Read the passage below and choose one correct answer for each question. 

My first visit to the cinema was a very unhappy one. I was taken there by some friends when I was only seven years old. At first there were bright lights and music and I felt quite happy. When the lights went out, I felt afraid. Then I saw a train on the screen. The train was coming towards me. I shouted out in fear and got down under my seat. When my friends saw me, they started to laugh. I felt ashamed and sat back in my seat. I was very glad when the film ended. 

1. Who took the writer to the cinema for the first time? 

A. His father B. His parents C. His parents’ friends D. His friends 

2. How did he feel at first? A. excited B. unhappy C. sad D. quite unhappy 

3. He was frightened when ………………….. 

A. there was music B. the cinema had no light C. the train ran D. his friends saw him 

4. Where did he hide when he saw the train coming towards him? 

A. under the seat B. on the screen C. on his friends’ back D. under the train seat 

5. How did he feel when the film finished?  

A. very sad  B. very unhappy  C. quite happy D. quite right 

IV. Read the passage. Then answer the questions below.

   Marie was born in Poland in 1867. She learnt to read when she was four years old. She was very intelligent and had an excellent memory. She finished high school when she was only fifteen years old. Marie went to Paris to study Mathematics and Chemistry at the university. She won the Nobel prize for Physics in 1903 and eight years later she received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry. She died in 1934.

Questions:

Was she fifteen years old when she finished high school?

Read the following passage and choose the correct answer for each question.

My first visit to the cinema was a very unhappy one. I was taken there by some friends when I was only seven years old. At first there were bright lights and music and I felt quite happy. When the lights went out, I felt afraid. Then I saw a train on the screen. The train was coming towards me. I shouted out in fear and got down under my seat. When my friends saw me, they started to laugh. I felt ashamed and sat back in my seat. I was very glad when the film ended.

23. Who took the writer to the cinema for the first time?

A. His father               B. His parents             C. His parents' friends             D. His friends

24. How did he feel at first?

A. excited                    B. unhappy                  C. sad                                      D. quite unhappy

25. He was frightened when____________.

A. there was music                                         B. his friends saw him

C. the cinema had no light                              D. the train stopped

26. Where did he hide when he saw the train coming towards him?

A. under the seat                                             B. on his friends' back

C. under the train seat                                     D. on the screen

27. How did he feel when the film finished?

A. very sad                  B. very bored              C. quite happy                         D. quite right