Tasks of different kinds for Independent State Testing on the topic "Family and friends"(with keys)

Task 1.

Read the text below.Match chices(A-H) to (1-5).There are three choices you don't need to use.

Tips on a happy family life.

1.________________________

If you look around you, you will see that some families are happier than others. One way in which you can improve your family life is to take a leaf out of their books and observe the way in which they interact with one another.

Some of the most common behaviors that prevent us from living as a happy family are listed below.

2.___________________________

First of all, you should remember to be a couple as well as parents. Many parents fail to remember that they are still a husband and wife, and fail to be a couple once they have children. It is important for couples to remember that quality time as adults is still needed. It is recommended that mums and dads take time out and spend it together without the distraction from children. It is common knowledge that many unhappy families are a result of the parents neglecting one another, and focusing too much on being a mother or father as opposed to a husband and wife. There needs to be an equal balance between the two. Once the children are in bed mum and dad should dedicate time to one another.

3.___________________________

Communication is the key to a happy family. It is crucial that family members talk to each other and make the time to do so. Unhappy families often fail to listen to one another and do not express their feelings. Instead they bottle things up and keep themselves to themselves. A family should always communicate. If a member of the family is withdrawn or upset then it is important to encourage him or her to open up and express their feelings, otherwise it can have an impact on the happiness of the entire family.

4._________________________

Parents should develop and follow family traditions. Having something to look forward to as a family is a great way to bond and therefore create a happy family. These family traditions could be annual holidays, day trips or regular family meals.

5._________________________

Having suggested the above tips, it is also important to point out that successful families need to establish rules, consequences and boundaries. In many unhappy families there are no rules and consequences, so therefore children do not know what is expected of them. They are quick to be punished but rarely praised. It is therefore important to develop a clear picture of what is allowed and not allowed. Parents should clearly state things such as night time curfews in order to avoid conflict.Through following the tips listed above we can help to establish a happy family, and therefore improve the time that we spend together.

A.Parents should develop and follow family traditions.

B.Children shouldn't be punished

C.Every happy family has its own secrets.

D.Follow the examples of happy families

E.Parents must not focus only on being a mother or a father.

F.A happy family should have its own rules

G.Parents should love each other and spend more time together.

H.Communication is very important for a happy family life.

Task 2.

Read the text below. For questions(6-11)choose the correct answer(A,B,C or D).

From "The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

My family have been prominent, well-to-do people in this middle-western city for three generations. The Carraways are something of a clan and we have a tradition that we're descended from the Dukes of Buccleuch, but the actual founder of my line was my grandfather's brother who came here in fifty-one, sent a substitute to the Civil War and started the wholesale hardware business that my father carries on today. I never saw this great-uncle but I'm supposed to look like him-with special reference to the rather hard-boiled painting that hangs in Father's office. I graduated from New Haven in 1915, just a quarter of a century after my father, and a little later I participated in that delayed Teutonic migration known as the Great War. I enjoyed the counter-raid so thoroughly that I came back restless. Instead of being the warm center of the world the middle-west now seemed like the ragged edge of the universe-so I decided to go east and learn the bond business. Everybody I knew was in so I supposed it could support one more single man. All my aunts and uncles talked it over as if they were choosing a prep-school for me and finally said, 'Why-yees' with very grave, hesitant faces. Father agreed to finance me for a year and after various delays I came east, permanently, I thought, in the spring of twenty-two

6)The author's family …

A. used to be well-known but poor people.

B. have always been famous and very rich.

C. have never suffered from the lack of money and people's attention.

D. have been modest despite their noble origin.

7)The author's grandfather…

A .took part in the Civil War.

B. was the Duke.

C. was fifty-one when he came to the city.

D. started their family business.

8)Which sentence is true?

A. The author has never seen his great-uncle alive.

B. The author looks like his great-uncle.

C. There is a portrait of his father in the author's room.

D. The great-uncle was fond of painting.

9)The author and his father …

A. both participated in the Great War.

B. graduated from the same educational establishment.

C. enjoyed their work greatly.

D .both were engaged in the wholesale hardware business.

10)The author decided to move east because…

A. he came back restless.

B. enjoyed travelling.

C. he didn't enjoy life in this part of the country any more .

D. he had argument with his family.

11)The author was going …

A .to work in the financial sphere

B. to study at some prep- school

C .to continue his education

D .to establish his own business.

Task 3.

Read the text below. For questions (12-17) choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D). Write your answers on the separate answer sheet.

British Family Today

The model of a traditional British family - with a working father and a housewife mother raising two children - has changed greatly over the past 20 years.

The biggest change has been caused by the growing divorce rate. As many as two out of three marriages now end in separation, which brings about the situation where many children live with one parent and only see the other at weekends or holidays.

The number of working mothers has also increased. The large rise in divorces has meant many women need to work to support themselves and their children. But even when there is no divorce, many families need both parents to work in order to survive. This has caused an increase in childcare facilities, though they are very expensive and can be difficult to find in many areas. Besides, women are no longer happy to stay at home bringing-up children, and many make careers earning as much as or even more than men.

However, these changes have not had a totally negative effect. For women, it is now much easier to have a job and good salary. Although it is difficult to be a working mother, it has become normal and it's no longer seen as a bad thing for the children. As for children themselves, some people argue that modern children grow up to be more independent and mature than in the past. From an early age they have to go to nurseries, and so they are used to social behaviour and dealing with new people.

So, in spite of the fact that the traditional picture of a family may no longer be true in modern Britain, the contemporary family continues to raise happy, successful children.

12. The traditional British family...

A. means nowadays a working father and a housewife mother.

B. means a working father and mother.

C. has never existed.

D. has changed greatly over the past 20 years.

13. How many marriages end in divorce nowadays?

A. Two out of three.

B, One out of three.

C, Three out of three

D.Two out of four.

14. What has caused an increase in childcare facilities?

A The increased number of working mothers.

B. The increased number of divorced fathers.

C The increased number of independent children.

D. The increased number of nurseries.

15.What are modern children like?

A. They are more outgoing and brighter than children were in the past.

D. are more polite and childish than children were in the past.

C. are more dependent from adults than children were in the past.

D. They are more independent and mature than children were in the past.

16.What are the children used to at nurseries?

A. To behave in a community.

B. To behave well.

C. To behave independently.

D. To be nice to strangers.

17)What was one of the consequences of the increasing number of divorces?

A. Many children help their mothers to earn money.

B .Many men need to change work to support themselves and their children.

C. Many women have to work to support themselves and their children.

D. Many women have to change occupation to support themselves and their children.

Task 4

Read the text below. Choose from A-H the one on which best fits each space(18-22)There are tow choices toy do not need to use.

From The Great Gatsby by F.S.Fitzgerald

Across the courtesy bay the white palaces of fashionable East Egg glittered along the water, and the history of the summer really begins on the evening ______(18) to have dinner with the Tom Buchanans. Daisy was______(19) and I'd known Tom in college. And just after the war I spent two days with them in Chicago. Her husband, among various physical accomplishments, had been one of the most powerful ends that ever played football at New Haven-a national figure in a way, one of those men_______(20) at twenty-one that everything afterward savors of anti-climax. His family were_____(21) -even in college his freedom with money was a matter for reproach-but now he'd left Chicago and come east in a fashion _______(22): for instance he'd brought down a string of polo ponies from Lake Forest. It was hard to realize that a man in my own generation was wealthy enough to do that.

A. my second cousin once removed

B. enormously wealthy

C.I drove over there

D. came to the theatre

E. that rather took your breath away

F. her nephew

G .who reach such an acute limited excellence

Task5

Read the text below.For each of the empty spaces(1- )choose the correct answer(A,B,C,D)

Raj is a middle-aged man. Although he was born in a poor family, he was raised well___(1) his mother and father. His father owned a welding shop, and ____(2 work for more than 12 hours a day, so that his family_____(3) a comfortable living. Raj's dream was _____(4) a Doctor. ______(5) his marks weren't very high, he could not get the desired course that he wanted to study. Instead, he joined a bachelor's degree course, completed the course ________(6), and got a job in a company.

While his life was going on with no dramatic change, his father continued to work in his welding shop, so that he did not have to depend ____(7) Raj. After getting a permanent job, Raj's parents wanted______(8). He got married_____(9) a girl from his native town, and at____(10) same time was also promoted in his job. After a few years, his wife gave birth to beautiful twin boys.
Later Raj began to earn a good salary, and started to live luxuriously. He bought a new house and a new car.
After 6 years of a luxurious lifestyle Raj was_____(11) and could hardly manage all the household expenses and make the ends_____(12)..

His father fell sick, and could not continue his work in the welding shop. He asked Raj _____(13) some money for his treatment and other household expenses.

Raj, who______(14) from financial crisis at that time, shouted at his parents and ____(15) them that he had no money to provide.

A

C

D

1

by

2

Used to

3

Could lead

4

To become

5

Since

6

successfully

7

on

8

him to marry

9

to

10

the

11

ruined

12

Meet

13

for

14

was suffering

15

told

Task 6

Write a letter to Roy from the previous task, using the plan below:

1.Tell him how did you learn about his situation and why you are writing.

2.Agree or disagree with his decision not to help his parents.

3.Give him some pieces of advice how to solve this problem.

Keys.Task 1 Task 5

1 D 1 B

2 E 2 A

3 H 3 B

4 A 4 D

5 F 5 C

Task 2 6 A

6 C 7 D

7 D 8 C

8 A 9 A

9 B !0 B

10 C 11 C

11 A 12 D

Task 3 13 B

12 D 14 A

13 A 15 C

14 A

15 D

16 A

17 C

Task 4

18 C

19 A

20 G

21 B

22 E