Олимпиадные задания по английскому языку для 9 класса
олимпиадные задания по английскому языку (9 класс) по теме

Match the idioms

Keys:  1e, 2f, 3g, 4h, 5i, 6j, 7a, 8b, 9c, 10d

Complete the sentences with the correct forms of the verbs in brackets.

A friend who lived in Australia  1____________(tell) one day by his neighbour  living across the road that he 2______________( be away) in England for a few weeks. The man further explained that his house 3______________(decorate) at the moment but he 4_________________(leave) the country the next day, as he 5____________(not see) his rich relative for a few years. He said he hoped his neighbor 6___________(look) after his house properly.

The first week passed without any incident. Soon the decorators packed up and 7_______(leave). But the next day the good friend 8_________(catch) sight of two fellows at his neighbour’s door  9_____________(pack) rolled-up carpets into their old van.   “Hey”, cried the man, “What the hell you 10__________(do)?  I  11_________(look) after his house for a week already and I  12__________(not want) my friend  13________(get) angry when he 14_______(return) home”. The two fellows explained to him that the owner of that very house 15__________(order) 16_________(clean) his Persian carpets while he 17_________(be away). They managed him to make 18_____________(believe) that it 19___________(be) true. The friendly man 20_________(think) that his own carpets 21_____________(need) cleaning. He always 22__________(be) a bachelor and everything in his house 23__________(suffer) from his carelessness. So he 24___________(agree) with the two fellows that they 25__________(add) the expense secretly to his neighbour’s bill. The happy carpet-cleaners 26___________(lay) all the carpets into the van and 27__________(drive) cheerfully away. While they 28________(drive) they 29__________(make) fun of the man they so cleverly 30 ___________(deceive). There 31________ (be) no need to say that neither of the neighbours ever 32___________(see) the carpets again.

Keys:

1 was told; 2 would be away; 3 was being decorated; 4 was leaving/would leave; 5 had not seen; 6 would look; 7 left; 8 caught; 9 packing; 10 are ….doing; 11 have been looking; 12 don’t want; 13 to get; 14 returns; 15had ordered; 16 to clean; 17 was away; 18 believe; 19 was; 20 thought; 21 needed; 22 had been; 23 suffered; 24 agreed; 25 would add; 26 laid; 27 drove; 28 were driving; 29 were making fun; 30 had deceived; 31 is; 32 saw.

Read the information below and answer Questions 8-14

                                                  The week's best

A   Wild Rose (Tuesday  19.00)

    This TV drama is about a young private detective employed by a team of New York businessmen who send her to Brazil to look into a series of hotel robberies.  When  she gets there , she discovers  that the  hotels, which    are  owned  by  the  businessmen, have     been   empty  for  the  last  two  years and  the  local  authorities have no record  of any robberies .

B   Animal Planet (Wednesday 23.00)

    This  is  a  classic  black-and-white  film  from  the  forties  in  which  astronaut  Charlie  Huston  crash-lands on  a planet  ruled  entirely  by  animals.  It is  a  first-class suspense  adventure  which    also looks  at  the  human condition, although this is not  always a successful part of the film .

C   Strange Encounter (Saturday 21.00)

      Suspense is built up in this clever supernatural story. A  young  couple view  a  deserted  old  house  that  they  are  interested  in  buying . They  meet  a  strange  old  lady  who  tells  them of the  mystical  powers  of the  house  and  how  previous  owners  have  been  able  to  travel  back  through  the  centuries  to  meet  their ancestors.

 D    The Longest Walk (Tuesday 2l.30)

      Fiona Campbell is nearly there. All  she  has  to  do  now  is  walk  the  length  of France  and  Britain  and  she has  succeeded in  walking  around the  world.  Tonight  she  drinks  coffee  in  a tent  and  tells  her  story  to Janet  Street-Porter before  she  sets off for the Pyrenees mountains.

  E   (Thursday 20.30)

      This  is  a  TV  film  being  used  to  launch  a  new  science  fiction series.  It has impressive  special  effects and  a  strong,  believable  cast  of characters  who    travel  to the twenty-third    century . The action takes place in underground cities where the environment is controlled by computers.

  F   (Friday 19.30)

      This  popular  half-hour  science  magazine  continues  into  its  twenty-ninth  year, proving  itself to see  a hardy  survivor in the television world.  Tonight  it  is presented  by  Carol Voderman who  introduces  five reports , which  include  computer-driven cars and  in-flight ten-pin  bowling.

 G    There and Back Again (Sunday 22 .00)

      Paul  Theroux's  account  of his  recent journey  from  London to  Japan  and back  makes  ideal  material  for this evening ' s  travel slot. Based   on  his  own   novel ,  the  progress  of his journey    on  the  railways  of Europe    and  Asia    (Victoria   station,  Paris,  Istanbul. ..)   acts  as  a  fascinating   travelogue    as  the inhabitants gradually  shift from  the  West to the  East.

       1. For which programme are the following statements true?  Write the correct letter A-G.  You may use any letter more than once.

       1.  This programme is in the form of a personal interview.

      2.   This programme is a documentary about technological developments.

      3.   These TWO programmes are about time travel.

      4.  This programme is taken from a book.

      5.   This film is the introduction to a set of programmes.

      6.   These TWO programmes are about present-day travellers.

      7.   This programme is about investigating a possible crime.

Keys: I . D, 2. F, 3.  Cor E, 4.  G,  5. E, 6.  D or C, 7. A.

Read the text.

      Every  day Peru's  Machu  Picchu , the  Lost City of the  Incas, is rediscovered by  at  least    1,000  tourists  who are  slowly destroying one of the  wonders  of the  world.  More people  now  come to  this  sacred  citadel  in a week than ever lived there in its  15th-cenhlry prime . The attempt to improve facilities for international visitors - better hotels, a helicopter service, and a planned cable car to replace the  bus trip up  the  mountain  - has only made the wear and tear worse.

      For nearly  500 years  Machu  Picchu  was  covered  by      impenetrable  rainforests  until  in 1911 , an  American scholar-explorer, Hiram Bingham, stumbled upon  it whilst  he was  looking for Vilacamba, the  last refuge  of the Incas from the  Spanish conquerors.

      It’s easy to see why so many want to flock here.  The sight of the emerald green grass slopes and stone-coloured remains of Machu Picchu, flanked by its awesome, snow-capped peaks, is utterly breathtaking.

       It seems  now, however, that  Machu  Picchu  is  falling  victim  to  its  own  success. The  primary  concern  is that  the  high  volume  of visitors  is harming  the  site's  infrastructure. A survey by Japanese geologists at Kyoto University has suggested the earth beneath the city is moving  at a rate  of up to  one centimeter per month.  There are also fears for the welfare of the porters who carry travelers ' backpacks in all weathers along the high altitude Inca Trail.

       As a result, the United Nations cultural agency wants visitor numbers more than halved, which means that visitors must now wait four to five days before getting a place on a trek.

       Despite this, Machu Picchu remains the number one must-see in South America.  And, as such, the hunt is now on for new Inca ruins as a viable, ecologically sound alternative.

   Are the statements are true (T) or false (F)?

       1.  Machu Picchu used to have a population of over 7,000.

      2.   The improvement of facilities for tourists is causing environmental damage.  

      3.   Hiram Bingham set out to discover Machu Picchu in 1911.

      4.  Machu Picchu is surrounded by mountains.

      S.   Machu Picchu has been too successful as a tourist destination.

      6.   Tourists must carry their own bags whilst they are walking along the Inca Trail.        

      7.   The United Nations    cultural agency would    like to reduce   the number    of tourists who visit Machu Picchu.

       8.  Machu Picchu is no longer the most popular tourist attraction in South America because many tourists have now found some more ecological ruins to visit.

Keys:  I. F, 2. T, 3. F, 4 . T, 5. T, 6. F,  7. T, 8. F.

       Read the text.

                                                     Is it easy to spot a liar?

       According  to  psychologists , the  average human  being  lies  to  others  once  or twice  a  day . This  is  because deception  -  or  'untruthfulness' -  is  a natural  tendency  amongst  all  living  things.  Many  animals  deceive  others around them  in order to  get ahead in life . Birds,  for example, pretend  to be  injured in order to  distract predators from baby  birds  in  their nest.  Chimpanzees, when  they  are  foraging  for  food  and  come across  something tasty, will  occasionally pretend not to  have noticed the  food  so  as  not to  alert the  chimps nearby  and  lose their prize . So it is no  surprise that human  beings  often  deceive  for exactly the  same reasons:  to  save their  own  skins or to get something they can't get by other methods.

       Despite  how  often  they  engage  in   it,  most  people  aren't  experts  at  lying. People  often  make inconsistent facial  expressions  and body movements  in  a desperate  attempt to  seem believable  and to  suppress what they  are really thinking. Because the muscle structure of the face is directly connected to the areas of the brain that process emotion, very  few people -  most notably, actors and politicians - are able to  consciously control all of their facial expressions. Other signs of lying are an increased heartbeat, a faster rate of breathing, and a higher voice pitch.

       It would  be  logical  to  think  that  with  these sorts  of symptoms,  we  would  be  able  to    spot  a  liar  easily. However, just as we are poor liars, it seems that we are equally hopeless at detecting lies. In a survey carried out at the University of Portsmouth in the UK, participants were able to  detect a lie 44 percent of the time, and able to detect the truth 67 percent of the time .

       So are we better at detecting the  truth than  detecting  lies? High-tech lie detectors or ‘polygraphs’ are not much more  accurate.  They cannot detect lies as such; they merely detect the physical effects of emotions. These machines measure breathing,  heart rate,  and skin conductivity, which tend to  increase when people  are nervous , as  they  usually  are  when  lying. On  the  other hand, the  idea  of being  hooked  up  to  a  machine  like  this  could easily produces symptoms  of fear, anxiety  and  anger which  are very  similar to  those responses used  to  detect a lie, which  is one reason  lie detector tests are inadmissible in court.

Now answer the questions:

       1. Birds protect their young by ...

       a)  injuring themselves .

       b)  injuring the predators.

       c)  behaving as if they are injured.

       2. Human  beings often tell lies to ...

       a)  protect their skin.

       b)  to avoid difficult situations,

       c)  to get away from other people.

       3.  The author says that actors ...

       a)  tell  more lies than most people .

       b)  are good at lying.

       c)  are good at recognizing liars.

       4. According to the text...

       a)  people are better at telling lies than detecting lies.

       b)  people  are better at detecting lies than telling lies.

       c)  people  are bad  at telling  and detecting lies.

5. Lie detectors cannot be used in court because they...

       a)  are not totally accurate.

       b)  break down very frequently.

       c)  can be bad for the health.

Keys:   1. C, 2. B, 3. B, 4.  C, 5. B, 6. A.