X. Read the passage carefully, then do the tasks.

The very first, simple, text message was sent on December 3rd, 1992. It was sent by software engineer Neil Papworth to his boss  at the British mobile phone operator Vodafone. It read simply, “Merry Christmas”. Little did they know that their simple mode of communication would take the world by storm. SMS (Short Message Service) is today a multi-billion-dollar industry covering every corner of the globe. An estimated nine trillion text messages are sent globally each year. Everyone from presidents to schoolchildren to villagers in remote parts of developing countries relies on it to communicate.

SMS is now an integral part of daily life for most of us. It is the preferred method of communication between family members. One study showed that the average American teenager sends up to 60 texts a day. However, SMS has also been blamed for a decline in language ability and an increase in traffic accidents. A new sub-language has spread worldwide as texters find shortcuts to write their messages as quickly as possible using the fewest possible characters. Texting shorthand such as LOL (laugh out loud) and OMG (oh my god) has even entered the Oxford English Dictionary.

A. Match the following synonyms from the article.

1. age                    a. faraway

2. mode                b. held responsible

3. remote              c. decrease

4. relies                 d. method

5. integral              e. era

6. blamed              f. depends

7. decline              g. essential

B. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).
1. The first text message was sent to engineer Neil Papworth in 1992.

2. The first text message simply said “Merry Christmas”.

3. Today SMS is a widely used form of communication.

4. Around nine billion text messages are sent worldwide every year.

5. An average US teen supposedly sends more than 60 text messages a day.

6. People blame SMS for a decline in writing standards.

7. An abbreviated, shorthand language has been created by texters.

8. The texting acronym “LOL” is in the dictionary as “Lots of Love”.

C. Answer the questions.

1. On what day was the first text message sent?

_______________________________________________________________

2. Who was the first text message sent to?

_______________________________________________________________

3. How many words were there in the very first text message?

_______________________________________________________________

4. What does “SMS” mean?

_______________________________________________________________

5. What does everybody rely on SMS to do?

_______________________________________________________________

6. What two problems has texting been blamed for?

_______________________________________________________________

7. What did texters find to write messages more quickly?

_______________________________________________________________

8. What does “LOL” mean in a text?

_______________________________________________________________

X. Read the passage carefully, then do the tasks.

The very first, simple, text message was sent on December 3rd, 1992. It was sent by software engineer Neil Papworth to his boss  at the British mobile phone operator Vodafone. It read simply, “Merry Christmas”. Little did they know that their simple mode of communication would take the world by storm. SMS (Short Message Service) is today a multi-billion-dollar industry covering every corner of the globe. An estimated nine trillion text messages are sent globally each year. Everyone from presidents to schoolchildren to villagers in remote parts of developing countries relies on it to communicate.

SMS is now an integral part of daily life for most of us. It is the preferred method of communication between family members. One study showed that the average American teenager sends up to 60 texts a day. However, SMS has also been blamed for a decline in language ability and an increase in traffic accidents. A new sub-language has spread worldwide as texters find shortcuts to write their messages as quickly as possible using the fewest possible characters. Texting shorthand such as LOL (laugh out loud) and OMG (oh my god) has even entered the Oxford English Dictionary.

A. Match the following synonyms from the article.

1. age                           a. faraway

2. mode                       b. held responsible

3. remote                     c. decrease

4. relies                        d. method

5. integral                    e. era

6. blamed                    f. depends

7. decline                     g. essential

B. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).
1. The first text message was sent to engineer Neil Papworth in 1992.

2. The first text message simply said “Merry Christmas”.

3. Today SMS is a widely used form of communication.

4. Around nine billion text messages are sent worldwide every year.

5. An average US teen supposedly sends more than 60 text messages a day.

6. People blame SMS for a decline in writing standards.

7. An abbreviated, shorthand language has been created by texters.

8. The texting acronym “LOL” is in the dictionary as “Lots of Love”.

C. Answer the questions.

1. On what day was the first text message sent?

_______________________________________________________________

2. Who was the first text message sent to?

_______________________________________________________________

3. How many words were there in the very first text message?

_______________________________________________________________

4. What does “SMS” mean?

_______________________________________________________________

5. What does everybody rely on SMS to do?

_______________________________________________________________

6. What two problems has texting been blamed for?

_______________________________________________________________

7. What did texters find to write messages more quickly?

_______________________________________________________________

8. What does “LOL” mean in a text?

_______________________________________________________________

5 , Fill in the gaps with the correct preposition .

Katie 1) ..............................holiday in the north of Scotland when she gets a text message from her friend , Victoria . " Please , return to your hotel and wait 2)..................................the lobby for my next message . Your life is 3 ) .......................danger" Katie is very scared , so she decides to return to the hotel 4 ) ..........................taxi instead of going 5 ) ..........................foot . She is 6 ) ...........................the hotel lobby sitting 7 ) .............................a chair when she gets Victoria 's next message ." Go to your immediately !" Katie walks up the stairs to her room . Whem she opens the door , she sees thet Victoria is sittin 8) ..................... an armchair laughing . " Surprise ! I just arrived 9 ) ................................train , " she says . " Happy Birthday !"

IV. Read the following text about Bill Gate, the co-founder of Microsoft, and answer the questions below. (2.0 pts) Bill Gates was born in 1955 in Washington State. He grew up in a rich family. His parents sent him to a private school. There he met his business partner, Paul Allen. When they were in eighth grade, they were writing programs for business computers and making more. In 1973, Gates was accepted at Harvard University. His parents were happy. They thought he would get over his obsession with computers and become a lawyer like his father. Two years later, Gates dropped out of Harvard to work on a computer program with his friend Allen. They worked eighteen hours a day in a dormitory room at Harvard. They were writing the program that would run one of the first personal computers. In 1975, they created a company called Microsoft to sell their product. Allen became ill with cancer and left Microsoft in 1983. He recovered a few years later and started his own company. Meanwhile, Microsoft became a giant company. By 1990, at the age of thirty-four, Gates was the youngest billionaire in the history of the USA. Questions 1. Where was Bill Gates born ? …………………………………………………………………………………… 2. When was Gates accepted at Harvard University ? …………………………………………………………………………………… 3. Why did Bill Gates and Paul Allen create Microsoft in 1975 ? …………………………………………………………………………………… 4. Was Bill Gates the youngest billionaire in the history of the USA at the age of 34 ? ……………………………………………………………………………………

Fill in the blanks to complte the text

Minh's new school is (1).......................the city.It is big.His school has four (2)..........................and twenty four (3)......................There are nine hundred and sixty (4)........................in his school.Every day,Minh (5).........................up at six thirty.He gets dressed,brushes his teeth and washes his face .He (6)....................breakfast at seven.He goes to seven fifteen.Today,he is on duty.He comes to school very early.He opens all the (8).......................He cleans the floor and the (9).............................Everything is ready when the teacher (10)...............................into the room.

Look at the photo. Who was this man? Why is he family? Read the text and check.

Aicolaus copernicus was a famous astronomer. He was born in 1473 in torun. He came from a rich family and had three brothers and sister.

Copernicus studies theology and language - he spoke five languages! Later he began to study astronomy, medicine maths . At that time, people thought that the earth was the centre of the universe, and that the sun went round the earth . But copernicus said that the earth went round the sun. He wrote about his idea in his famous book de revolutionibus. The book appeared a few months before he died in 1543.

Look at the text again. Underline all the verbs in the part simple. Which verbs are regular ? Which verbs are irregular?

Match the irregular part simple forms in the text with the base forms bolow.

1. Be was/were

2.come 7. Go

3. Have 8. Say

4. Speak 9. Write

5. Begin

6. Think

Tom's day
Read the text carefully.
Tom is an American boy. He lives in Los Angeles, California. He lives with his family in a house. He is eleven years old and he has a brother, David, and a sister, Emma.
He gets up at half past seven. He goes to the bathroom, takes a shower, brushes his teeth and gets dressed. Then he has breakfast and at a quarter to eight. He catches the bus to school.
Classes starts at half past eight. He usually has lunch at the school canteen at half past twelve. After school, at a quarter past five, he goes home. Then he does his homework. At half past seven he has dinner with his family. He usually watches TV after dinner. At ten o'clock, he brushes his teeth and goes to bed.
True or False? 1. Tom is an American boy
2. He lives in a flat.
3. He is eleven years old.
4. He has two brothers.
5. Tom usually gets up at eight o'clock.
6. He always walks to school.
7. His classes start at half past eight.
8. Tom and his family have dinner at half past seven.
1. Where does Tom live?
2. What's his sister's name?
3. What time does he get up?
4. Does he have breakfast at home?
5. What time does he have lunch?
6. Does he do homework at school?