Контрольная Английский язык 1 семестр The Great Plains СИМОР

TEST 1.

I. Read the text. Make the literary translation of the text in writing.

The Great Plains

Ibis is a land of extreme heat and extreme cold. It is a land where water is worth more than property. It is almost flat, until it suddenly meets the mountains to the west.

Nowhere is the rainfall more unpredictable or the climate more violent than on the Great Plains. For two or three years, there may be enough rain. Then there is a year when rain fails, when the streams from the mountains dry up and their channels are filled with sand. Often the weather destroys a year's work in a single day. Only the Native Americans knew how to exist in this place without trees or arable soil. They lived primarily by hunting the millions of buffaloes roaming the Great Plains.

In 1868 the railroads reached into the plains and the builders and hunters brought death to the buffalo. In a few tragic years millions of them were killed, and without them the Native Americans were forced to abandon the plains. The cowboy and huge herds of cattle took their place. At that time the supply of good free farm land was exhausted and therefore, some settlers, lured by the promise of land, did stay in the Great Plains to coax life from the hard, dry soil.

These were the first of the "homesteaders" —farmers who received 64 hectares of free land from the federal government in exchange for living on the claim and cultivating it for at least five years. When the first homesteaders arrived, they found that Indians and cattlemen controlled the plains. To both groups, the homesteader with his fences and plowed fields was an interloper encroaching on the cattlemen's grazing land and the Indians' hunting grounds. For years, conflict between these three forces flared up in violence, but two inventions which reached this region in the 1870s assured the fanners' victory. The first of these was barbed wire which stopped cattle from overrunning the cultivated areas. The other was the windmill which saved the farmer's life during droughts by pumping surface water to irrigate Ms vegetables and water Ms livestock.

The farmers did not realize it, but they were wasting their land by "square farming". Wind swept over the square patches of plowed ground, and heavy rains washed the soil into the rivers. In the worst years all crops failed.

One May morning in 1934, the people of Boston, Massachusetts, stopped in the streets to look up at a dirty yellow sky. Thick dust hid the sun as millions of tons of fine soil were being thrown into the Atlantic Ocean by winds from the Great Plains. This was the beginning of the great drought that brought ruin to one-sixth of the nation's land. But the people were not defeated by the terrible years of drought and crop failure.

Today's farmer has learned to rotate Ms crops and also to terrace Ms land and to plant grass along the natural courses where the water drains away.

The Great Plains are also America's cattle country. The cattle were scattered over hundreds of miles of country and had to be rounded up by cowboys who knew how to ride, and ride hard. The drive to the meat packing plants in Chicago was long and slow. A herd might travel 20 miles during a day, and at night the nervous cattle had to be calmed. To keep them quiet, cowboys circled the herd throughout the night, singing to the animals. This was part of the cowboys' work and their sad ballads have become part of American culture.

With the development of refrigerated railroad-cars which permitted the shipment of fresh meat over long distances cattle-raising extended over the entire plains. But there were many difficulties. In summer the heat scorched the grass and there were grass fires. In winter fanners had to contend with extreme cold and blizzards of snow.

Today a new cattle industry occupies the Great Plains. Cooperative associations have been formed which divide the land among the members and decide on the number of cattle on each plot. Many problems remain, but the cattlemen are trying to restore the pastures just as fanners are restoring the soil.

II. Make up questions to each paragraph of the text.

III. Give the Russian equivalents for the following: the leading economic power; a fully-developed industrial country; a high standard of living; important social problems; a system of communications and transportation; from this point of view; the manufacturing industry and trade; a service industry; insurance companies; fishing industry; extensive farming.

IV. Fill in the blanks with articles if necessary. Translate the text into Russian.

State System of … Russian Federation. … Russian Federation, or … Russian Federative Republic, is set up by … Constitution of 1993.

Under … Constitution Russia is … presidential republic. … federal government consist of three branches: … legislative, … executive and … judicial. Each of them is checked and balanced by … President.

… legislative power is vested in … Federal Assembly. It consists of two chambers. … Upper Chamber is … Council of … Federation; … Lower Chamber is … State Duma.

Each chamber is headed by … Speaker. … Legislature may be approved by both Chambers and signed by … President. … President may veto … bill. … executive power belongs to … Government which is headed by … Prime Minister. …first action of … Prime Minister on appointment is to from … Cabinet.

… judicial branch is represented by … Constitutional Court, … Supreme Court and … regional courts.

V. Put the verbs in brackets into the present simple or the present continuous.

1. I________ (try) to get the TV to work. Can you help me?

2. He always __________ (do) his best at school.

3. They __________ (argue) all the time.

4. Joy can’t come to the phone right now; she _______ (have) a shower.

5. We _________ (not/play) football every day.

6. __________ (you/trust) your doctor?

7. They _________ (leave) this time tomorrow.

8. She _________ (not/get) to work before 9 am every day.

VI. Use the endings in the list, and make any other necessary changes to form adjectives from the nouns and verbs.

-able; -ical; -ant; -ent; -ive; -en; -ous; -ful; -ible

1. fashion

2.reluctance

3. imagine

4. economy

5. independence

6. resistance

7. absence

8. create

9.history

10.wood

11. courage

12.wonder

13. horror

14. gold

15. prestige

16. care

17. possibility

18. duration

VII. Fill in the blanks with prepositions if needed.

The Civil War in the USA (1861 - 1965).

Tension … anti – slavery and pro-slavery, North and South, party lines grew and threatened the Union.

The Republican party … 1860 was a northern rather than a mere anti-slavery party. Abraham Lincoln was nominated as the only candidate. … December, 1860, as Lincoln’s election was certain, South Carolina formally seceded … the Union and declared herself an independent nation. Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas followed her lead … January, 1861. … February 8, a congress, … their delegates formed the Confederate States … America, … a constitution differing … that … the United States … stressing states rights and making slavery the corner – stone. The next day Jefferson Davis was chosen president … the Confederacy. … March 4, Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated president … the United States.

… early April, 1861, the Civil War began. There were two necessary roads … victory: constricting the South … blockade, and defeating the Southern armies. … the end … 1862, Lincoln shared the belief … his people, that the capture … Richmond, the Confederate capital, would end the war.

TEST 2.

I. Read the text. Make the literary translation of the text in writing.

Two formative events in American History

The English were slow to establish settlements in North America. Their first colonization efforts were stimulated by their hostility to Spain, when Henry VIII1 proclaimed himself head of the Church of England2. The accession to the throne3 in 1558 of a protestant, Elizabeth4, left the nations bitter enemies. The English were trying to find some base for attacks on New Spain5, which had already founded its colonies in the New World. Two Englishmen, Sir H. Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh, persuaded the Queen that New World colonies would serve as bases for attacks on New Spain. But their attempts at colonization in Newfoundland and in present day North Carolina failed. However, two decades later a new monarch, James I6, author¬ized the chartering of a joint stock company7 to colonize Virginia, the name Raleigh had given to the English New World.

The most important aspect of the first 50 years of English colonization was the meeting of Europeans and Native Americans. The key occurrence of the next century was the importation of more than two hundred thousand Africans into North America. That massive influx of black slaves and the geographical patterns it took, has dramatically influenced the development of American society ever since.

Many other major events also marked the years between 1650 and 1750. New colonies were founded, populating the gap between the widely separated New England and other settlements. England also took over the coastal outposts established by other European nations. As English settlements spread to the north, west, and south, they moved onto territory controlled by powerful Indian native tribes of the interior. Colonists and Native Americans went to war and for the most part the colonists emerged victorious. After a century and a half of English colonization the American provinces assumed a mature form.

One of the most striking characteristics of the mainland colonies in the 18th century was their rapid population growth. In 1700 only 250,000 people resided in the colonies; by 1775 it had become 2.5 million. Immigration accounted for a considerable share of growth, but most of it resulted from natural increase. European immigration flooded England's mainland colonies. Some of the immigrants were from overpopulated and distressed areas of Europe, especially Scot¬land, Northern Ireland (Ulster), and Germany. They found in America opportunities undreamed of in their homelands. Many Germans arrived in America as redemptioners. Under that form of indentured servitude, immigrants paid as much as possible of the cost of their passage before sailing from Europe. After they landed in the colonies, the rest of the fare had to be "redeemed". They were indentured for a term of service proportional to the amount of money they still owed. The term extended from one year to over three, but was more likely to be four. The largest groups of white non-English emigrants were the Scots and Irish who fled economic distress and religious discrimi¬nation8. They moved west and south. If they could not afford to buy land, they squatted on land belonging to native tribes.

When 18-century immigrants came to the New World, they found themselves at the bottom of the social scale. By the time they arrived, American society was already dominated by wealthy, native-born families. Unlike their 17-century predecessors, the new non-English immigrants had little opportunity to improve their circumstances dramatically. They could only accumulate a modest amount of property over a lifetime of hard work. Increasing social stratification — a widening gap between rich and poor — was most noticeable in the cities.

A majority of colonists, black and white, were now native born, and the colonies were beginning to develop a distinctive identity of their own. Colleges had been founded, newspapers established, social clubs and literary societies formed, a regular postal service begun, roads built, laws codified,9 and histories of the colonies written. The colonies could no longer be seen as extensions of England. Individually and collectively, they had become quite different.

II. Make up questions to each paragraph of the text.

III. Give the Russian equivalents for the following: to establish a settlement; to found a colony; a key occurrence; to assume a mature form; a rapid population growth; a distressed area; indentured servitude; to squat on land; to improve one’s circumstances dramatically; to levy a tax; to suspend legislature; to repeal duties; to state the rights and grievances; to set up a committee; to grant a monopoly; to execute a design; to pass punitive measures; to bring somebody into line: to draft a declaration.

IV. Fill in the blanks with articles if necessary. Translate the text into Russian.

… Supreme Court.

… Supreme Court of … United States meets in … Supreme Court Building in … Washington, D.C. … figure over … entrance represents … national ideas of … law and … liberty. Above … main entrance are … words: “Equal Justice Under Law”.

… Supreme Court is … highest court in … country and … head of … judicial branch of … US Government. It consist of … Chief Justice and eight associate Justices. … Court meets on … first Monday of … October each year and countries its session until … June.

One of … most important duties of … Supreme Court Justices is to decide whether laws passed by … Congress agree with … Constitution. … Justices do this by interpreting and explaining … laws of … Congress and … provisions of … Constitution. If … Supreme Court decides that … Constitution does not give … Congress … power to pass … certain law, … Court will declare that law to be unconstitutional. Such … law will never come into … force.

Most of … cases heard by … Supreme Court are on appeal from lower federal courts. … few of these cases come directly from federal district courts and from courts of appeals. … great majority of requests for hearing that … Court receives each year, are rejected. … number of cases decided at an annual session is about 150.

Decisions of … Court are taken by … simple majority. … legal quorum of Justices, participating in … decision, is six (out of nine).

V. Put the verbs in brackets into the present perfect or the past simple.

a) A: I’ve never been to Germany. Have you?

B: Yes, I ________ (be) there once, but that _________ (be) a long time ago.

b) A: I ________ (see) that film before.

B: Really. When ________ (be) that?

c) A: She still ________ (not/call) me back.

B: That’s strange. What time ________ (you/leave) the massage?

d) A: Pete _________ (go) out, I’m afraid.

B: How long is since he ________ (leave)?

e) A: _________ (you/find) your keys yet?

B: No, and I ________ (look) everywhere.

A: _________ (you/try) your coat pockets?

B: Yes, I _________ (look) there first.

VI. Underline the correct item.

Well, another bright/brightly, sunny day had arrived and Daniella waited hopeful/hopefully near the front door looking out of the window for any sign of the local/locally postman. All of a sudden/suddenly, she heard the snap of the letterbox. She ran fast/fastly to see what had been delivered. She tore the envelope open impatient/impatiently … she could not believe it! She had actually been accepted into the Fame Academy!

VII. Fill in the blanks with prepositions if needed.

Politics.

… 1991, Russia held its first popular election … a president. Boris Yeltsin, who resigned … the Communist Party … 1990, was elected. He’s widely viewed as the most legitimate leader to manage Russia’s transition … democracy and a market – oriented economy. Yeltsin, however, faces many difficult problems, including former communists resistant … political change, disagreements … the method and pace … change, and how and whether to protect the rights of Russian citizens residing … other republics.

The Russian parliament, called the Congress … People’s Deputies, dates … the communist era and as such has remained a major obstacle … Yeltsin.

… glasnost and perestroika, ethnic minorities … the Russian Federation increasingly have spoken … and asserted their independence.

TEST 3.

I. Read the text. Make the literary translation of the text in writing.

THE MAIN CONCEPTS OF AMERICAN EDUCATION

Educational institutions in the United States, according to the ideas of their creators, should reflect the nation's basic values and ideals. In some respects this has been achieved but there is still a lot of room for improvement.

The underlying principle of the American system of education is to educate people in such a way that everyone has the opportunity to develop to Ms/her greatest potential. As elsewhere, one of the major problems is the question of what should be the true goal of education. The American system tends to focus on teaching man and society to get along in the community. Learning to think for oneself and learning by doing are stresses as means of developing the judgement to achieve this goal.

Another major purpose of education in America is to lay the ground work for achieving success in life. Here it should be said that Americans value education largely as a means to reaching a higher standard of living. The belief is widespread in the US that the more schooling a person has, the more money he or she will earn on college graduation. Generally speaking, the expectation is that degrees in fields such as business and engineering will result in higher paying careers than a degree in the liberal arts (literature, history, philosophy, etc.).

Equality of opportunity — the declared motto for life in the United States — is also an important aspect of the American system of education. Because of the inequalities inherent in society as a whole, however, the goal of equal opportunity in education remains an ideal rather than a reality. Furthermore, the very structure of education itself, which contains both public and private schools, may not encourage equality of opportunity.

There exist private schools where tuition fees are relatively high, so that they educate primarily upper-class children. The reason why parents send their children to these schools is that they often believe they will receive a better education in them and/or they will associate with other children of their own background. However, these private schools are few in number, and they do not by any means displace the public schools which are truly the central educational institution in the United States.

Since separation of church and state is a principle of American democracy and therefore religion cannot be taught in state-supported schools, there are also many parochial schools, which are supported by the church. These are often Catholic, but there are Protestant and Jewish schools as well.

There is still another factor which supports the idea of equal opportunity — competition in getting jobs or entering the best uni¬versities is held on a relatively equal basis irrespective of the type of the school, private or public, one has attended. Furthermore, a lot depends on the personal qualities of the individual school graduate.

There are also private colleges and universities, many of which have strict entrance requirements. Some believe that private institutions of higher learning have higher graduation standards but this is debatable.

All university students must pay tuition fees. In private universities these are usually much higher. In addition to tuition fees one has to pay for books and room and board. Deserving students may receive scholarships of various types that offset the high costs of higher education.

Unlike the European system of higher education, individual colleges and universities in the US do not have their own entrance examinations. Rather, admission is based on scholastic achievement in high school and performance on standardized national tests (the SAT** or

ACT*). In addition, colleges and universities may require applicants to submit samples of their writing.

II. Make up questions to each paragraph of the text.

III. Give the Russian equivalents for the following: there is a lot of room for improvement; the underlying principle; to get along in the community; a high paying career; entrance requirement; to pay for room and board; scholastic achievement; extra-curricular activities; to take vocational courses; goal; motto; inherent; to display; debatable; abuse; the basic notion; demands for applicants; misuse.

IV. Complete each sentence with an appropriate infinitive or – ing form.

1. I can’t afford not __________ a job at the moment.

2. Do you mind us __________ you while you work?

3. Have you considered __________ house?

4. I hate it when the phone keeps _________ .

5. Our boss has threatened __________ him before.

6. He persuaded everyone _________ overtime.

7. We chose _________ the dinner party at Mark’s.

8. The job will involve you ________ some time abroad.

9. She encouraged me _________ for the promotion.

10. They have delayed _________ a decision.

V. Rewrite the sentences using the words in brackets.

1. It’s too expensive to eat there. (We can’t afford…)

2. Everyone laughed when she tripped over the cable. (They couldn’t help…)

3. He’s not the kind person who would buy expensive clothes. (He avoids…)

4. I left my wallet at home. (I didn’t remember…)

5. We’ll be happy to se you next month. (We are looking…)

VI. State the functions of infinitive in the following sentences:

1. He came into the room to shut the windows.

2. I made a note of the time to give the various capsules.

3. Don’t make me laugh.

4. It took me about five minutes to work out how much a suit at nine and a half guineas would cost.

5. That’s how I used to be myself.

6. A railway station is the most difficult of all places to act in.

VII. Here are some problems in brackets. How could they have been avoided? Use the words and phrases to help you write two sentences about each problem using I wish and If only.

Play fewer computer games

Keep calm

Eat less

Lose temper

Walk more

Use bins

Watch less TV

Use car less often

Save water

Let someone else drive

Waste water

Take more exercise

Protect forests

Drive carefully

Recycle more paper

Take rubbish home

1. (I’ve gained a lot of weight.)

I wish…………………………

If only………………………….

2. (The rivers and reservoirs have dried up.)

I wish…………………………………

If only

3. (He crashed his car.)

I wish………………….

If only…………………..

4. (He had a row with his best friend.)

I wish ………………………..

If only………………………..

5. (People drop litter in the street.)

I wish……………………………..

If only……………………..

6. (We are cutting down too many trees.)

I wish…………………………

If only…………………………

7. (People use their cars when they don’t need to.)

I wish ……………………………

If only………………………………

8. (Children don’t read enough nowadays.)

I wish…………………………..

If only………………………….. .

TEST 4.

I. Read the text. Make the literary translation of the text in writing.

The Mass Media

(Part I)

The media — the means of communication — reach large num¬bers of people. Included in the media are newspapers and magazines, radio, and TV. Most Americans get their national and international news from radio and TV, national newspapers and magazines, the local news comes from local newspapers and radio stations.

Most news media are privately owned. The Constitution stipulates freedom of speech and the press and so, newspapers are free to take stands on issues and to decide what news should be printed. There is no official or agency policing the news to insure accurate reporting. Members of the media that fail to report accurately are punished by a loss of credibuity in the public perception. The redress for libel is up to the individual, who considers himself an injured party and brings suit against the offending member of the media requesting financial compensation for the injury to Ms reputation. Even in what would seem to be a clear cut case of libel, the legal action is up to the injured party; if he or she doesn't initiate action nothing happens.

Radio and TV communication is regulated by a federal law, the Federal Communication Act. This law states that only radio and TV stations having federal licenses are permitted to broadcast, that is to use airwaves which are considered public domain. The reason given for allowing the government this extraordinary power over its citizens is to prevent chaos when someone in another area broadcasts with so much power that it interferes with people's reception of their local stations, or prevent several broadcasters from deciding to use the same frequency in a particular area.

No part of the media is required to present an issue from all sides, although most of them attempt to do that. The only time that they have to allow someone equal time is during an election when an officially announced candidate has been granted free air time — then and only then are they obliged to offer comparable free air time to all of the opponents in that same race.

Newspapers and magazines carry a lot of advertisements. They subsist mainly on the revenue generated by the advertising space that they sell. About two-thirds of their income comes from advertising. Most newspaper advertisements are run by local merchants. 6 A newspaper editor plans and directs the operation of a newspaper. He decides what news should be printed and where it should appear in a newspaper. An editor also edits newspaper articles. He revises and corrects them. In addition, an editor expresses Ms personal view on current issues in editorials which appear on the editorial page of the paper. The publisher and the editor are held fully responsible for what appears in the paper and how the information is covered.

A typical daily paper contains more than 40 pages of news, editorials, interviews, cartoons, information about sports, art, music, books, and general entertainment, including radio and TV schedules. Well-known writers and news analysts write specific features: there is a business section, a family page, comics, general advertising, real estate and employment ads (classified ads).

The most important news is usually printed in the right-hand column of the front page of a newspaper. Newspaper columnists write regularly on specific subjects, such as politics, sports, and business. Complete news coverage of an event must include all the information available. When a newspaper reporter covers a news event he is responsible for obtaining the material and for presenting it objectively and unambiguously.

Headlines and the way they are printed are very important in a newspaper. Different headlines on different pages are printed in various sizes of type. This helps differentiate the material carried by the paper and draw the reader's attention to various kinds of news as well as avoid monotony of format.

Most newspapers carry a few cartoons which, if political, may appear on the editorial pages and also comics.

The comic strips frequently feature a cast of established characters which facilitates the reader's becoming more involved in the story plots and identifying with the cartoon characters. Readers follow their fantasy lives which sometimes have very much in common with people's daily lives.

II. Make up questions to each paragraph of the text.

III. Give the Russian equivalents for the following: the means of communication; to get national and international news from newspapers; to stipulate freedom of speech and press; in the public perception; the redress for libel; the offending member of the media; financial compensation; reputation; the legal action; to be regulated by a federal law; federal licenses; income; a newspaper editor; an editorial page of the paper; a typical daily paper.

IV. Put a line through all the articles that are not wanted to these sentences.

1. Thank a goodness that she has escaped without a harm to a life or a limb.

2. In the times gone by, the marriage was often a matter of the luck.

3. It was a love at the first sight that brought a couple together.

4. A man has always struggled with the dichotomy of the security of the permanence and the quest for the change.

5. Being on a duty for seventy hours certainly gives you a taste of what the life as a doctor is like.

V. Fill in each space in the following sentences with the correct preposition.

1. I was tired……… being an accountant – I needed a change.

2. The Government have known………. The scandal for months.

3. Why are you staring…………me like that?

4. On Friday we had a nice long discussion…………the wording of the proposal.

5. We’d like to discuss our contract with you and agree…………new terms, if possible.

6. It’s hard to see the difference………….the center and the liberal party.

TEST 5

I. Read the text. Make the literary translation of the text in writing.

The Mass Media

(Part II)

Advertisements usually take up a large part of newspaper space. A cleverly planned newspaper advertisement will cause the reader to stop and read it. They are called eye-catching ads as they leap to the reader's eye.

Among newspapers and magazines there are both quality and sensational editions. The latter present news in a way that tries to cause emotional reactions rather than careful thought. Responsible newspa¬pers try to avoid sensationalism though that doesn't exclude striking news which every paper wants to publish.

There are also daily tabloid newspapers. These are smaller in size and they typically use a terse and simple style together with many pictures. The "New York Daily News" is the tabloid with the largest circulation.

The next two leading newspapers with the largest circulation are "The Los Angeles Times" which has a circulation of over a million, and the "New York Times" with a circulation nearly as large. They are "serious" newspapers. "Time", "Newsweek" and "US News and World Report" are popular news magazines that present national and international news, stories of human interest, and reviews of new books, movies, and plays.

In the USA the reader expects a newspaper to take a stand on political and other issues, particularly when they are controversial. Actually, it is possible that a newspaper will print two or more views on a given subject, even when these are different from the opinion of its own editor.

The major sources of newspaper news arc wire services —the Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI), and Reuters. The source of information is usually found at the beginning of a news story.

Radio and TV in the United States usually exist in networks. A network is a group of broadcasting stations that are linked in their operations . Sponsors of network programs buy nationwide broad-cast¬ing time. Today the major commercial radio and TV networks are the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC), and the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

After radio and TV became established, newspaper publishers realized that news broadcasting was becoming increasingly dangerous competition, and they began to purchase radio stations. Today, newspapers own, completely or partially, more than half of all radio and TV stations. But the Federal Communications Commission began to restrict the purchase of TV and radio stations by newspapers or other broadcasting stations in the same geographical area in an attempt to prevent monopolistic control of the news media.

An important element of the Radio-TV system in America is sponsored programs. Sponsors, that is advertisers, buy time to advertise their products. Now commercial television is totally financed by advertising. Eight minutes of an average television hour are used for ads; six of these minutes are for network ads and two for local ads. These minutes are divided into several short advertising "breaks", or "spots", which appear frequently during the hour.

Commercial television and radio present approximately 30 minutes of sponsored national and international news every evening. Besides daytime newscasts or coverage of special events, there are also local television and radio broadcasts for local news.

Basically, however, television is an entertainment medium. Years ago advertisers bought commercials on the shows that attracted the largest audiences. These shows included those that featured film-and show-stars, westerns, comedies, movies, quiz-shows, and soap operas. But now the practice has changed. Current criteria include providing a target audience, for example, single women aged 35-49 with disposable income greater than $35,000 a year, and furnishing audience members at the lowest cost per million, etc.

Both the press and the broadcasting networks have been sharply criticized. Government officials often complain that the media do not represent the news objectively, that is, distort the information. Some people believe that violence in the United States can be partially traced to the influence of TV entertainment programs that feature killings, fighting, and other violent actions. Some studies show that such programs have a harmful effect on the attitudes and behavior of young people. Many viewers complain about the low quality of television shows and the large amount of advertising that appears on the screen.

Some people took to public, or noncommercial, television for better programming because it emphasizes cultural, informational, and educational programs. Today there are about 300 noncommercial TV stations and more than 900 public radio stations which feature music, educational, and public affairs programs.

Cable television is another challenge to commercial television. Viewers subscribe to a cable service, paying for special wiring that enables them to receive the programs they wish: conceits, sport events, high quality films which are not always available on regular TV channels.

Although many criticize television for its inadequacy in furnishing news, still most Americans have TV sets and watch TV regularly, some — five or six hours a day.

II. Make up questions to each paragraph of the text.

III.Rewrite the sentences in the passive. Omit the agent where possible.

1. The Minister of Education will visit the school next week.

2. Charles Dickens wrote David Copperfield.

3. Students must wear school uniforms at all times.

4. Have the examiners announced the results yet?

5. The school publishes the newsletter every month.

6. I don’t like people teasing me.

7. Someone has broken this window.

8. The police will make an arrest soon.

IV. Fill in the gaps with by or with.

1. The exam hall was filled _______ nervous students.

2. The school was badly damaged _______ the fire.

3. The new gym was opened _______ the mayor.

4. The new school uniform was designed _______ Jeff Banks.

5. The classroom walls were covered ________ the students’ artwork.

V. Choose an appropriate verb from the list to report what Sheila said to Steve.

invite, explain, complain, suggest, threaten, ask, offer, insist, remind, admit

1. I made the mistake.

2. Let me help you.

3. This is how the machine works.

4. Will you come with us?

5. I’ll leave if things don’t improve.

6. I really don’t like this.

7. What’s the new boss like?

8. You must work on Saturdays.

9. Don’t forget your briefcase.

10. Why don’t you use this computer