Today you have got Test reading. There are 2 tasks in it. Do the tasks attentively. Task 1. In the United Kingdom compulsory education ends at the age of sixteen. However, many students stay on and complete two more years. Read the text and answer questions 1-7, selecting the correct answer from the four choices given. In the United Kingdom compulsory education ends at the age of sixteen. However, many students stay on and complete two more years. For some (and I include myself in this category) school just becomes a habit, something you dont want to give up as it is so familiar to you. School is your world and you know nothing else and so you just keep on going. Imagine my feelings when sixth form was over and there were no more classes to complete! Instead of feeling a sense of joy and relief I panicked what was I to do? The logical and best option was to go to university and continue my studies there, so that is precisely what I did. Unfortunately, the end of secondary education in the U.K. is rot marked by any sense of celebration, like in other countries like the U.S.A. where students graduate at the age of 18 and have a fancy ball. (In the U.K. you have to wait until you finish college or university before you can have that privilege). In the U.K. you just finish school! The lucky ones have a respectable collection of qualifications to their name as souvenirs; the unlucky ones may have slipped through the net somehow and end up going back to education at a later date when they feel more like studying. Education is more than qualifications, I admit that. But they are what count at the end of the day. I made sure I got my fair share of them, just in case. Ask anyone what they remember most about school and they probably say the teachers. They are what makes education a humanistic experience and, therefore, are the most memorable: the good ones, the bad ones, the kindest ones, the most generous ones .. I was sad to leave them all, but l always was far too nostalgic! School dinners, of course, are remembered for all the wrong reasons the long queues, the fat dinner ladies, the greasy food! Thank goodness, they have introduced healthy eating plans in schools! Pupils are luckier nowadays! Principally, school is all about belonging to a certain community and fitting in and making a contribution. I remember struggling at certain times in the year, trying to find time for musical productions and athletics competitions. I wanted to do everything and make my school proud. What was J more an athlete or a musician? I was both, and a scholar too; an all-rounder, I suppose you could say. Luckily, I was able to rely on my natural ability to get me through the exams and didnt have to spend too much time studying. I just listened to my teachers and got through that way. I thank them, really I do. So, it will come as no surprise to you to find out that I became a teacher after l finished university. I couldnt get enough of school and so I stayed there! But this time its different. Now I can give something back to society. I face many challenges every day but I keep going. 1. The narrator stayed on at school because A he/she didnt want to leave its beautiful surroundings. В school was everything to him/her. C it was compulsory to do so. D he/she had little experience of education. 2. When the narrator completed sixth form he/she A felt relieved. В started working. C went on to further education. D took a break from studying. 3. In the U.K. students graduate A earlier than in the U.S.A. В when they finish school. C at the age of 18. D on completion of university. 4. In paragraph 3 “slipped through the net” means that some students A did not leave school with many qualifications. В got a good number of qualifications. C were lucky at school. D left school later. 5. According to the narrator, school dinners A were a pleasant experience. B are remembered fondly by most students. C are bad for you. D are better now than they were before. 6. The narrator had difficulty at school A deciding what to be. B meeting the demands of extracurricular activities. C studying for exams. D listening to teachers. 7. When the narrator says he/she couldnt get enough of school in the last paragraph, he/she means that A he/she was fed up of it. B he/she really liked it. C he/she found it challenging. D he/she was afraid to leave. Task 2. Read the text and do the exercises to the text written. THE STORY OF MY TROUBLES From my childhood I was an easily taught and obedient boy. My kindness was so noticeable that my friends made fun of me. I was especially fond of animals and had a great number of pets. With these I spent most of my time, and never was so happy as when feeding and playing with them. My character did not change much when I grew up. I married early, and was happy to find in my wife a character very much like my own. Seeing my love for pets she never lost a chance of getting the most pleasant animals. We had birds, gold-fish, a fine dog, rabbits, a small monkey, and a cat. This cat was a remarkably large and beautiful animal, quite black and surprisingly clever. In speaking of his cleverness, my wife, who was a superstitious woman, often mentioned the old popular belief, which considered all black cats to be in disguise. Pluto- this was the cats name-was my favourite pet and playmate. I alone fed him, and he followed me everywhere about the house. It was even with difficulty that I could prevent him following me through the streets. Our friendship lasted for several years, during which my character (I blush to confess it) had changed for the worse. I became day by day moodier and more irritable. It often happened that I hurt the feelings of others; I suffered myself as I was rude to my wife. At last I even hit her. My pets, of course, could feel the change in my character. In fact, I began to treat them cruelly. As for Pluto, I held back from cruelty as I did treat cruelly the rabbits, the monkey, or even the dog when they came in my way. But my illness took hold of me- for what other illness is like alcohol! - and at last even Pluto, who was now becoming old, even Pluto began to feel the effects of my temper. 1. Answer the questions: What kind of pets do they have? What was the cats name? What illness had the author? Was he a kind man? How long did their friendship last? 2. Ask questions. Yes/No Who Where or tag question 3. Translate: I married early, and was happy to find in my wife a character very much like my own. Our friendship lasted for several years, during which my character (I blush to confess it) had changed for the worse. In speaking of his cleverness, my wife, who was a superstitious woman, often mentioned the old popular belief, which considered all black cats to be in disguise. 4. Name antonyms: Happy, beautiful, kind, black, begin. 5. Find the equivalent in the text: I got day by day more changeable.