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General / Business Vocabulary
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texts by students



Условные обозначения:
  • CAPITALS: active vocabulary words and collocations students have used
  • Underline: elements that have been corrected by the tutor
  • Underline and Delete: superfluous erroneous elements that have been corrected by the tutor
  • Italics: where appropriate, elements which explain the corrected mistakes
  • [numbers in brackets]: grades students have accumulated by the time of this post (include grades for word tests)
  • [numbers in brackets in bold type]: total number of grades students have accumulated throughout the semester (continuous assessment) by the end of semester
Group 253: EVU Upper-Intermediate/ Business VU Intermediate

SPRING 2014

Unit 42 (upper-int.)

Nowadays our world is suffering from many GLOBAL PROBLEMS. There are as many of them as have never been before. For example, in Africa millions of people are STARVING as a result of FAMINE. This year Serbia and some regions in Russia were FLOODED. Many people have been deprived of their houses. A TORNADO Victoria SWEPT through some states of America. It caused a lot of damage and resulted in more than 100 VICTIMS and 5 CASUALTIES. CIVIL WARS have BROKEN OUT in some countries. Moreover there is a danger of SPREADING such EPEDEMICS as AIDS. So people have to think what the reason is of such great amount of global problems and how we can overcome them.

Unit 82-83 (intermid.)

If you want to ENTER UNIVERSITY you have to PASS EXAMS called "A" LEVELS. At the present time it's quite challenging because the quality of education at SECONDARY SCHOOLS has become very low. And studying at PUBLIC SCHOOLS where teachers are well qualified is not accessible to many families because SCHOOL FEES are extremely high. So many students have to take private lessons or study on their own very hard to pass SCHOOL-LEAVING EXAMS. For example, my brother has been working incredibly hard to DO WELL IN EXAMS. But then he's GOT A PLACE AT UNIVERSITY and now he even gets a GOVERNMENT GRANT. That's why he doesn't need a LOAN to COVER THE COST OF university life as many other students do. So work hard and you'll succeed.

Unit 45 (upper)

I've always been very sporty. From 12 to 18 I was doing ATHLETICS. And I was one of the best SPRINTERS in my country. After I reached my goal and BROKE the Olympic RECORD I decided to GIVE UP running and TAKE UP canoeing. CANOEING is a very adventurous kind of sport and that's why I love it. Besides our team has never been DEFEATED. But this year I couldn't take part in competition because 10 minutes before it started I realized that my PADDLE is damaged. But despite this fact our team WON BY 5 POINTS.

Unit 47 (upper)

I'm a great music fan. I love such kinds of music as FOLK, BLUES, INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC but my favourite is JAZZ. It's extremely ROUSING. I think that the best jazz singer is Ray Charles. His backing is brilliant. When I heard it first time I wanted to study how to PLAY this TUNE ON THE PIANO. Now I listen to his music almost everywhere and if I don't have the MP3 player with me I start HUMMING it.

Unit 49 (upper)

Kamchatka Peninsula is a peninsula in the Russian Far East with an AREA of 270,000 km2. POPULATION: 391,864. The LANDSCAPE consists of BARREN PLAINS. The land is not suitable for growing CROPS that's why the native ECONOMY IS BASED ON fishing. The peninsula has many lakes, rivers, GEYSERS and more than 300 VOLCANOES. Many tourists come here to see that picturesque place.

А.О. [74,75]

Unit 48

Yesterday I was in a wonderful restaurant. The menu there was just fantastic, most of all I liked the seafood plate with PRAWNS, CRAB, LOBSTER, MUSSELS, OYSTERS, SHRIMPS on it. I am a vegetarian so I did not try LAMB, VEAL or PORK, but instead I ate CABBAGES, BROCCOLI, CUCUMBERS and MUSHROOMS, they were also delicious.

Unit 49

IN THE JAPAN OF TODAY and IN THE USA you can find a well-paid job, but in ITALY and GREECE things are different. Here THE NATION’S ECONOMY IS BASED on tourism and it’s very hard to get a nice place.

E.E. [78,7]

Unit 48

So, listen up boy, to cook this dish you will need some LAMB do not use BEEF or MUTTON because this types of meat are really tough. You must have noticed that in the recipe it is written to use some CAULIFLOWER, some MUSHROOMS and chopped AUBERGINES, that’s right, but I’d add some potatoes too. At the end to put some THYNME, forget about PARSLEY or OREGANO because it’ll kill the whole taste. Hey, by the way tell Jim that he doesn't have to put too much salt in the fried potatoes, because customers complain that it is SALTY.

Т.Д. [86,7]

Unit 38

Mrs Farrell shook her head in such a DETERMINED manner that it totally confused me. Always thinking that I am not a SENSITIVE person, but, on the contrary, EVEN-TEMPERED and LAID-BACK, it embarrassed me. Mrs Farrell apparently assumed that I'm a NAIVE and ARROGANT girl and didn’t expect to meet aDOWN-TO-EARTH and SENSIBLE young woman.

Unit 39

Bob is such a multifaceted person. He causes in people who are around him completely contradictory feelings. His WORKMATES LOOK UP TO him, but his wife DESPISES him. Bob’s parents and their son DON’T SEE EYE TO EYE, but he GETS ON WELL WITH his children.

Unit 41

It was really awful day. First, early in the morning there was a POWER CUT. Thus, my laundry had to be delayed, even though the washing machine didn’t BREAK DOWN. Then, I observed that gas pipe started LEAKING. It was terrible, because in my microwave the batteries had just RUN OUT. When the evening came it became dark and I TWISTED MY ANKLE and BUMPED my head on the fridge.

Unit 51

Although there are many flowers which BLOSSOM in spring, the bulk flowers in summer. Most flowers’ BUDS bloom in the morning. The bright colors of the PETALS used to attract insects. Feeding on flower nectar, they POLLINATE plants. THORNS and spines, located on the STALK, carry out a protective function.

Unit 48

Lobio is a Georgian dish of boiled beans with SPICES. The most common and constant components to create SEASONINGS are onion, oil and vinegar. Also in different dishes add the tomatoes, walnuts, hard-boiled eggs, cheese. Often in Lobio put CORIANDER, PARSLEY, celery, LEEKS, mint, savory, basil, dill. Also, add dry spices: black or red pepper, CINNAMON, cloves, CORIANDER and saffron.

А.Б. [48,4]

1. Upper-Int. Units 37 - 38

Last week my friend introduced his brother to me and at first sight he seemed rather SCRUFFY and NOSY. I was appalled at such an INQUISITIVE way of communication, but after a few other conversations with him he proved me wrong: he turned out to be quite SOCIABLE and OPEN-HEARTED and he just wanted to know more about me. It's all about me I guess: I'm just a pretty shy and INTROVERTED person.

2. Upper-int. Units 38, 44, 40, 43

I can call myself a WORKAHOLIC for I'm a really DILIGENT and DETERMINED person: if I set a goal, I try to achieve it by all means. My usual place of work is the STUDY, but I prefer more to work in the BASEMENT: the atmosphere is quite peaceful and private there. It's immensely essential since I have to SIT EXAMS in summer and for DOING WELL IN them, I need to be extremely focused.

3. Upper-Int. Units 46, 47

I'm a devoted ART LOVER: I'm keen on FINE and PERFORMING ARTS so I frequently go to various exhibitions and plays in the theatre. Before going to see performances or a film, I avoid reading reviews for they can be rather far-fetched or too RAVE. I'm also really into music: I prefer listening to quite TUNEFUL and ROUSING songs that can raise my spirits up and lift me out of my everyday life. I try to follow music charts with HIT SINGLES and new ALBUMS. It's utterly important to keep up with my peers and not to be left behind!

А.Я. [68,1]

Unit 47

Hi Joe, guess what! Last night I went to a concert of local HEAVY METAL group! It was awesome. Can you imagine, I was standing just in front of the stage, when the LEAD SINGER decided to jump into the crowd but he failed and fall on the ground. As a result he broke his arm, so it was the end of the concert, because the BACKING couldn’t play just INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC. But I’m not upset, because I purchased their CD with the new ALBUM. Also I was given an extra CD with their HIT SINGLES collected from the previous albums. By the way, I heard that one of their songs is going to be used as a SOUNDTRACK for a film, unfortunately I don’t know what the film is. Oh almost forgot! Our school theatre is looking for someone who PLAYS THE PIANO. As I remember you HAVE A GOOD EAR so why not to try?

Т.Д. [73,8]

Unit 48

1.​ Tom was sent by his mother to the butcher’s to buy BEEF. But the boy was confused by a great choice of raw meat — LAMB, MUTTON, VENISON, VEAL, PORK, POULTRY. 2.​ Two years ago I was really OVERWEIGHT, I should say even OBESE. I had suffered from obesity for 6 years. I used to get disappointed with just another irrelevant treatment. But one day I met a doctor who prescribed me a very unusual treatment. It appeared as simple as it could be — a vegetable diet. From that moment on I had to eat CABBAGE, CAULIFLOWER, BROCCOLI, SPINACH, CUCUMBER, MUSHROOMS, AUBERGINE, COURGETTES, and PARSLEY and so on. Three months later I was allowed to eat seafood (PRAWNS, SHRIMPS, CRAB, LOBSTER, CRAYFISH, OYSTERS, SQUID, COCKLES, and MUSSELS) and even fish (COD, HERRING, SARDINE, SALMON, TROUT), because they are not rich. I was absolutely happy with it. But there was a problem: seafood and fish had to be exclusively BOILED. Neither FRIED nor BAKED — only boiled. What’s more, I was prohibited to SEASON food. Of course, I was able to SALT dishes, but CURRY, CINNAMON, PAPRIKA, NUTMEG had to be crossed out, excluded from my STARTER and MAIN COURSE. Alas, I had to put up with it, because I realized that spices make dish SAVOURY, DELICIOUS, in other words, MORE-ISH.

М.Я. [101]

Upper-intermediate UNITS 47, BVU UNIT 17:

Jørn Lande is one of the most famous and productive HEAVY METAL singers: during 15 years of his musical career he has released a lot of HIT SINGLES, 20 RECORDED and about a dozen LIVE albums. He started PRACTISING his SCALES hard when he was nine, and now he has TUNEFUL and LOUD unrepeatable voice. He has sold over seven million records worldwide. Jørn works as LEAD SINGER in a group called Masterplan and he has a lot of other projects where he plays a role of a GUEST VOCALIST. He has also released several solo ALBUMS. Most of his works were FINANCED by Frontiers records.

А.П. [68,75]

Units 22, 23

OWING TO a lack of understanding, Jack got away from home. This act LED TO lots of anxiety and stress of his parents. Whatever they did, they didn't manage to find him. BESIDES they had no idea what PROMPTED him to escape.
And as for Jack, he didn't want to come back home, even to contact parents. So he decided to stay in his friend's house AS LONG AS he could rent a flat. But after some days he realized that it was a great mistake and just an irresponsible action to leave home, that there were no real REASONS FOR it.
The event had a good OUTCOME. Jack made up his mind to come back home WITH A VIEW TO apologize and make it up with his parents.

А.О. [44,4]

Units 44-46

In today’s EDITION of “News Now” we are going to give you the most fresh news from the world politics and show business.
The Government of Moscow is going to raise wages for people of the following professions: ACCOUNTANTS, ENGINEERS, POLICE OFFICERS AND MECHANICS. From the first of January they will get paid 10 per cent more.
Thousands of BUILDERS WENT ON STRIKE this morning. They said it was hard for them to MAKE A LIVING by DOING SHIFT-WORK in the nights.
Yesterday the American SPRINTER Tyson Gay ran the FINAL LEG in the RELAY. He HELD the world RECORD for three years.
Russian POLE-VAULTER Elena Isinbaeva is going to GIVE UP ATHLETICS and TAKE MATERNITY LEAVE.
Pearson PUBLISHING HOUSE is intended to publish a new EDITION of Longman Dictionaries in England.
A marvelous BALLET PERFORMANCE was given yesterday on the stage of Royal Opera House. The SETS were very realistic and ACTING was gorgeous. IT GOT RAVE REVIEWS immediately after the premiere.

Н.Б. [39,95]

Units 44-47; BVU (Units 5-8)

1.​ Ben, you have to graduate from this university. Don’t give up! When you get a QUALIFICATION PAPER as a SKILLED WORKER, you will be able to GET a NINE-TO-FIVE JOB at any organization. The main advantage of FULL-TIME JOB is a SALARY. What’s more, apart from BASIC SALARY, PROACTIVE and SELF-DRIVEN EMPLOYEES get so-called BENEFITS PACKAGE. It includes COMMISSON, BONUS, FRINGE BENEFITS (e.g. using a COMPANY CAR) and PENSION. Such a REMUNERATION PACKAGE is worth studying hard now, isn’t it?
2.​ In February, 1917 the Russian Empire was taken over by a wave of INDUSTRIAL ACTIONS. STRIKES, STOPPAGES, WALK-OUTS were the first serious signs of the forthcoming revolution.
3.​ A MOTIVATED RECRUIT has an opportunity to WORK HIS WAY UP THE CAREER LADDER in our ENTERPRISE. Beginning his work in an OPEN-PLAN OFFICE, the employee can GET PROMOTION and, consequently, can be transferred to an INDIVIDUAL OFFICE. SENIOR employees (MANAGERS, EXECUTIVES and DIRECTORS) have got their own HEADQUARTERS (HQ).
4.​ Our STAFF was DOWNSIZED and then RESTRUCTURED through OUTSOURCING.
5.​ Each company should have a DIGNITY AT WORK POLICY in order to escape such social problems as BULLYING, SEXUAL HARASSMENT, GLASS CEILING, SEX DISCRIMINATION and RACISM.
1.​ Steven, our ADMINISTRATOR, is a genuine WORKAHOLIC. I can’t understand why he HAS BEED FIRED. The whole PERSONNEL heard our DIRECTOR’s words, addressed to Steven: “You ARE MADE REDUNDANT”.
2.​ There is a certain list of sports which can be included into the Olympic Games. For instance, DISCUS, JAVELIN, HIGH-JUMP, LONG-JUMP, POLE-VAULT, SPRINT, ARCHERY, CANOEING, TENNIS and so on.
3.​ Hurray!!! IT IS SAID in the Russian Newspaper that the Russian football team WON BY 6 GOALS! We BEAT Manchester 10-4!
4.​ Bernard is an ART LOVER. He keeps visiting galleries of FINE ARTS, various EXHIBITIONS OF PAINTINGS, and museums of SCULPTURE, CERAMICS, and THEATRES.
5.​ WHAT’S ON AT the cinema? – “Mrs. Brown”. I strongly recommend you to see this marvelous film. The CAST is wonderful, the COSTUMES are SUPERB, the DIRECTION is perfect, I should say. But the best thing about the film, from my point of view, is ROUSING SOUNDTRACKS. The movie is getting RAVE REVIEWS. ACCORDING TO the PRESS, this film is a masterpiece.
6.​ Nicholas sat in the café, sipping a cup of coffee. The atmosphere was magnificent. Nicholas enjoyed the BACKGROUND MUSIC, played by a PIANIST in the corner. The music was fairly tuneful. Nicholas was estimating it and PICKING OUT the TUNE by HUMMING. He was a NATURAL. He was so inspired by the SOOTHING music, that, having come home, started WRITING AN ARRANGEMENT OF it for a VIOLIN, for he was a gifted VIOLINIST.

М.Я. [64,8]

Unit 44

For those people who are not interested in business everything seems to be rather simple in the structure of a business company. In fact there’re a lot of aspects that should be looked after and there’re a lot of people who are responsible for them. These is the DIRECTOR, a PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER, a UNION REPRESENTATIVE, a PERSONELL OFFICER, a SALES ASSISTANT, etc.

Unit 46

Dear pupils, today we’ll speak about ARTS. The well-known art is LITERATURE, for example: NOVELS. Then there’re PERFORMING ARTS, for instance: CINEMA, THEATER and DANCE. And last but by no means least are FINE ARTS such as SCULPTURE and ARCHITECTURE.

E.E. [63,4]

Units 44, 45

Large-toothed reef is a place which will never make you fell bored, this is a combination of a typical hotel resort with different sport activities. If you are an adventurous or a risky person you will like this place. All workers are SKILLED and have a lot of experience. If you have any questions our friendly RECEPTIONIST or an ADMINISTRATOR will help you with pleasure. There are about ten SECURITY OFFICERS patrolling the territory around the complex every day so no THIEVES or other CRIMINALS here. Now about the activities we have: HANG-GLIDING – the best choice for those who have been dreaming of a free flight since childhood. If you like water, SCUBA DIVING club is welcoming you! Explore the depths of the sea using modern equipment which provide safety. If you like water and speed without any doubts you need WINDSURFING where these two things are combined. If you are a keen on musketry, why not to try FENCING? Have you ever dreamed of being a Robin Hood? Here you can make your dream true attending ARCHERY classes. Our complex has more than 20 high quality BOWS. In a year we are going to finish the construction of a GOLF area and a TENNIS-court. This is just a beginning, but even now there are a lot of things to do. Don’t miss your chance visit us and you will never regret it!

Т.Д. [68,8]

Upper-Intermediate UNITS 44-46:

-​ Hi, Emma! I haven’t seen you for ages!
-​ Hi!
-​ How are you? And what about your husband ammm… James?
-​ What can I say about myself… I worked as an ACCOUNTANT in F&N Inc. A month ago I WAS LAID OFF. Now I am a simple housewife.
-​ That’s a shame!
-​ Yes, but now I don’t have to MAKE A LIVING. James is a famous squash player. You see, James worked at the same company as an EXECUTOR. You know that he TOOK UP SQUASH when he was a child. Two years ago he started to get real success after he had BEATEN Tom Strong. Since then he has been DEFEATED just once. Besides, he is a great ART LOVER. He authors the ARTS PAGE in the newspaper.
-​ Oh, I’m really jealous, dear Emma! Oh, did I tell you what happened…

А.П. [51,3]

Unit 42

Every country has an organization which has to deal with NATURAL DISASTERS. In the USA this is the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Russia the Emergency Control Ministry. After a disaster, for instance, an EXPLOSION or a HURRICANE, they help locals to find SURVIVORS or to support them with food and medical supplies in order to prevent FAMINE or EPIDEMICS. For example in 2011 a BIG EARTHQUAKE SHOOK an eastern part of Japan and also it caused a tsunami with a TYPHOON. According to the statistics this disaster RESULTED in almost 16000 CASUALTIES and 2500 people missing. Not only Japanese services worked there but also Russian and American rescuers were sent to help this country.

Т.Д. [57,4]

Unit 43-45

When Carl was at COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL he did CROSS-COUNTRY SKIING and enjoyed it a lot. When he studied at the TECHNICAL COLLEGE he tried HANG-GLIDING but decided that it wasn’t his cup of tea. LONG-JUMP and a POLE-VAULT became his passion when he was a SKILLED WORKER working for a big company. Even now when he is seventy years old he loves JOGGING.

E.E. [50,9]

Units 71, 38, 39

Joe, can I have a word with you? Listen, I see you are a GREGARIOUS person but still, do not call me MATE. We are not BEST FRIENDS and we are not even FRIENDS, we are COLLEAGUES. I know that some people call me a PUSHY or an AGGRESSIVE person but I CAN’T STAND this kind of insubordination! Many workers LOOK UP TO ME, and here you telling me: “ Hey mate, how are you?” It’s nonsense. I don’t mean that you have to ADMIRE me, but you must RESPECT me because I’m a director. So if you want to work here you need to GET ON WELL with me. Otherwise you’ll be DISMISSED, because if we FALL OUT I’m sure that soon we’ll SPLIT UP. As you see I HATE STUBBORN people and I believe you are not one of them.

Т.Д. [33]

Unit 41

When Charlie came back from holidays and opened the door, he understood that something had happened. The washing machine BROKE DOWN and THE BATHROOM WAS FLOODED. Almost all DOOR-HANDLES CAME OFF, THE PIPES WERE LEAKING and SOME DISHES WERE CHIPPED. “The earthquake again”, - thought Charlie.

E.E. [24]

1. Upper-Int. Units 30 - 31

We are moving home that's why we have to take almost all the CONTENTS of our last house with us. It's pretty challenging for there are plenty of neccessary things such as a SET OF TOOLS, for instance PLIERS and TWEEZERS, books, clothes and that kind of stuff. But I'm fairly excited and happy about moving - we lived on the OUTSKIRTS of town, but our new house is very close to the centre, which is convenient for public transport facilities.

2. Upper-Int. Units 34, 36

It was beautiful, sunny and HAZY weather with a GENTLE BREEZE on the streets to cool us. Such weather was a real blessing after a HEATWAVE - it had been really STIFLING and fairly hard to breathe. But a CAN OF invigorating COLA helped me withstand such conditions.

3. Upper-Int. Units 33, 34, 35

Yesterday I saw a GANG of THIEVES trying to steal a CASE OF JEWELLERY from the shop. I managed to prevent them from getting away with their loot, especially since I knew that it's immensily demanding for the police to collect relevant BITS OF INFORMATION to find robbers. The criminals turned out to be IRAQIS and they have already robbed plenty of shops.

4. Upper-Int. Unit 37, 38

My best friend is THIN-SKINNED and GETS really WORKED UP when she is being criticised. Recently I have told her that she was A BIT OVERWEIGHT just to encourage her to go on a diet, but she was terribly offended by it. Well, I suppose I shouldn't be that BLUNT AND BRUSQUE next time! I don't want to lose such a GREGARIOUS, GENEROUS and SHREWD friend.

А.Я. [50,5]

Upper-Intermediate UNITS 24-26:

She thought that studying statistics would be boring for her. But THE REVERSE WAS TRUE. FURTHERMORE, it became an important part of her life. She found new APPROACHES to ISSUES in which she was interested and was able to formulate properly her RESPONSES to different situations occurring in our country. There was a WORLD OF DIFFERENCE between her old and new POSITIONS.

А.П. [31,7]

Good day, our listeners! Now let’s look aside from the political news and let me introduce to you the weather forecast for tomorrow. Well, first of all a strong HURRICANE is going to strike the area of Maine and partly New York state, we strongly recommend local people to BOARD UP the windows for their own safety. Due to the hurricane in the nearby states such as Pennsylvania and Virginia the sky might be OVERCAST and also a DOWNPOUR is possible. We do not exclude that later it can turn into the FOGGY weather, so be careful. Now some words about the northern part of the country. In the North Dakota sunny and CHILLY days soon will change into cold winter days, a FREEZING cyclone is coming from the north, it has already left Canada where the area started to THAW. In the middle part of the country people should expect MILD weather but in some areas tomorrow might be a CLOSE day. In the south and the west a SCORCHING weather is guaranteed. People who live in Utah as usual at this time of the year need to be prepared for the HEATWAVE. In Arizona area tomorrow it will be BOILING hot weather so if it’s possible do not leave your houses. That’s it, stay with us, see you tomorrow!

Т.Д. [25]

Upper-Intermediate UNITS 36-38:

An ELEGANT WELL-DRESSED SKINNY THIN-FACED man with STRAIGHT dark, but a bit GREYISH, long hair walked through the street. The weather was quite CHILLY: freezing weather with blizzards was over, the ground started to THAW, SNOWDRIFTS and ice began to MELT, creating SLUSH on the stone-paving. The man was enjoying that wonderful coming of spring.

А.П. [10,5]

Units 36-38

Usually Helen was a very OPTIMISTIC and EASY-GOING person, but this time things were different, she became very TENSE, ILL-MANNERED and SENSITIVE. That happened because her car was broken during a strong HURRICANE. After that there was a HEATWAVE that also caused a lot of troubles. She had terrible headaches; the air was HUMID and MUGGY, it was almost impossible to breathe. Helen started thinking that she would never be the GREGARIOUS, EVEN-TEMPERD, SHREWD girl she had been before.

E.E. [22]

Unit 36

It was a CHILLY, MISTY day, and I walked miserably along the embankment. At the very moment I went down to the bank, there was a gentle BREEZE and HAZY sky didn’t let the sunbeams go through it. This morning I heard on the radio A GALE WARNING, but did not attach any importance to this.

А.Б. [28,7]

EVU UPPER-INTERMEDIATE units 65-66:

Good morning, colleagues. I’m sorry for being late, it’s almost impossible to get to the COMMERCIAL CENTRE in time during the RUSH HOUR. By the way this is one of the reasons why I gathered you. First of all, we need to discuss and finally solve the problem of PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEM. I receive a lot of letters from COMMUTERS with complaints that the schedule for the trains is not convenient. Also some people from the SUBURBS have to COPE WITH the CONGESTED roads. We need to increase the amount of CAR PARKS because THERE IS NOWHERE TO PARK, especially in the centre. That’s why people leave their cars in the wrong places and it can easily cause the TRAFFIC JAM. Mister Jones, take care of it. Now our city grows very quickly and I think if we want to make it attractive for tourists, we need to divide the districts of our city. I mean we need to remove all the FACTORIES which are located very close to the SKYSCRAPERS. About the factories, in the countryside we are surrounded by plenty of FARMS, some of them GROW CROPS, others KEEP ANIMALS, so we must prevent the bad impact from the factories, such as POLLUTED AIR and toxic wastes.

Т.Д. [18,5]

Units 30-31

When I finally found LODGINGS in this enormous city, I started bringing in my GOODS. It was really inconvenient, because STAIRS were so dangerous. In the end I gave up and made up my mind to have some rest to call my friends and describe them my WHEREABOUTS. Cleaning my room was the most challenging thing to do. There was broken GLASS everywhere, PAPER, old PAPERS written in different languages were lying on tables. It seemed to me that PEOPLES of the whole world had visited my room.

E.E. [17]

Unit 30

The WHEREABOUTS of his prosperity were unknown. The CONTENTS of his estate were sold by auction when he ruined himself. Furthermore, he wished to use the PROCEEDS from his concerts for charity, so now his condition was unenviable. Only one thing made him glad – his performances attracted attention of local AUTHORITIES and they gave the green light to his activities. Yes, the TRAFFIC LIGHTS were in his favor at last! He used to visit their HEADQUARTERS in the Old Hall and was acquainted with many of them.

Unit 33

The water was in A STATE OF FLUX, flickering and shimmering mysteriously. On some BLADES OF GRASS there sat fireflies and SWARMS of gnats filled the air with summer buzz. A HERD of cows grazed on a RANGE OF HILLS across the lake. The sunny SPELL OF WEATHER was coming to an end and FLASHES OF LIGHTNING were already visible on the horizon. GUSTS OF WIND blew the fireflies away and a distant RUMBLE OF THUNDER was heard soon. Then a few SPOTS OF RAIN fell on the dark surface of the water and down fell a heavy SHOWER.

А.Б. [20]

Units 27-28

NOW THEN, I want to tell you a little bit about this town and its citizens. WELL, the first rule is that you should never try to show off. MIND YOU, there’re a lot of people who’ll wish to become your friends, but STILL, be careful in making your choice! People are, SO TO SPEAK, very fastidious and touchy. IN OTHER WORDS, this place is, YOU KNOW, a kind of town where you’ll never be forgiven any small mistake, but NEVERTHELESS try not to be unsociable and reserved. FINALLY, don’t forget about your appearance, always be elegant and stylish, for people should like you. TO SUM UP you won't not have carefree days in this lovely town, but AT THE END OF THE DAY, you are not going to live there forever, are you?

E.E. [13]

EVU UPPER-INTERMEDIATE units 27-28:

-So, Trevor, what about the properties, did you manage to get them?
-WELL, there is a problem Joe I don’t have them.
-What? You must be kidding me, RIGHT?
-LISTEN, I tried to contact with shipping firm and YOU SEE they…
-Stop it, Trevor, stop it!
-HANG ON! Let me tell you!
-Now LOOK, we have a play on next week but we do not have any properties because it is a concert tour and we are not at home! MIND YOU, you were told to make an arrangement with shipping firm about delivering the required properties one month ago!
-But STILL we can try to find something here. I’m sure there are some companies that can sell us things we need.
-WELL THEN, you will do it. ANYWAY this is not my problem, you’re given three days or you will be fired.

Т.Д. [10,5]

Units Up-int. 21

- How was your day, dear?
- I had a pretty good day. In the morning AS I was having breakfast, my close friend called me and offered to go to the school together. Of course, I accepted it. BEFORE I made my entrance, I checked my mail and fed the cat. WHILE we were going I told my friend how my family spent the weekend in Spain. AFTER the classes we decided to go to the zoo and AFTERWARDS to the cinema. But the film was immensely sad. WHENEVER I watch such kind of films, I cry. FOLLOWING that we had a nice supper in a cafe and then we went home. THROUGHOUT the day I was in high spirits.

Units Up-int. 24 and 25

Dear Madam,
I want to express my strong dissatisfaction with the service I received at the holyday resort recommended by your travel agent.
Firstly, rooms in the hotel were extremely cramped and impersonal. FURTHERMORE, there was a quite depressing atmosphere ALTHOUGH I was promised a luxurious hotel with spacious, cosy rooms and with a nice view. You cannot imagine how disappointed I was when I saw my accommodation. I expected to see glamorous surroundings but THE REVERSE WAS TRUE.
MOREOVER, the stuff was absolutely impolite. IN ADDITION TO THIS, food was rather stale and disgusting. ON TOP OF THAT, I had a terrible stomachache therefore I had to stay in for several days. It caused emotional stress TO BOOT.
It was the worst time I have ever had. My holiday was completely spoiled therefore I will never use the service of your agency again. There is a HUGE DISCREPANCY between what you promise and what we get in reality. I demand a full refund and hope that I will not be forced to take further action.
Yours faithfully,
Kate Brown

А.О. [36,2]

Units Up-int. 2, 3, 5, Inter. 27-31, 32

Dear Jack, Many thanks for your letter – it was really nice to hear from you again. I’m sorry I haven’t written for ages, but I’ve been busy preparing for my exams. It’s good news that you’ve been matriculated at the University. Congratulations!
I know that you’re longing to hear all about my vacation. It was SUPERB despite the fact that I had bad experience. My birthday fell on the last day of our holiday and one friend of mine suggested going for a row around the MAGNIFICENT Greek island. IT SOUNDED LIKE a good idea. So we rented a DINGHY and put out to sea. It was sublime pleasure. We were surrounded by unspoilt nature. The look of it was BREATH-TAKING. But after some hours of the boat trip we recognized that we GOT LOST. I hoped that we would see a FERRY to signal for help, but we didn’t. We were frightened because all that we had were two CANS OF COLA and a BOX OF CHOCOLATES. I couldn't sleep all night because water lapped against the side of the boat. I felt uneasy indeed. But in the early morning we saw a SAILING BOAT. A solution immediately suggested itself to me. I started screaming and jumping and after some hours a fisherman rowed us back to the shore. Nobody expected that we could face with such difficulties during our trip. Everyone was worried about us and I was pretty upset after that occasion. But my mum said we shouldn't LOOK A GIFT HORSE IN THE MOUTH. It was the most memorable gift I have ever been given!

А.О. [5]

Units 27, 28

TURNING TO the question of teaching methodology, teachers should give school director a curriculum at the beginning of the school year. IN PARENTHESIS, let me say that the formatting rules of the curriculum you can find on the stand. LEAVING ASIDE the question of teaching, I’d like to talk about the discipline. THE FOLLOWING items are prescribed to all students without exception. MIND YOU, form-masters are especially responsible for this question. AT THE END OF THE DAY, they are only children. IN CONCLUSION, I’d like to congratulate all of you on the new academic year!

А.Б. [11,5]

EVU UPPER-INTERMEDIATE units 25 - 26:

Speaking about the STATE OF AFFAIRS in Kiev we can say without any doubt that this is insanity. BESIDES this problem is now beginning to AFFECT other cities in the country. The DIFFICULTY is that all social classes are involved in the CRISIS. Now it is known that police are allowed to use guns, the ATTITUDE of insurgents to this fact might be unpredictable. It would be really difficult to find a WAY OUT of this DILEMMA.

Т.Д. [6,5]

Units 24-26

It seems to me, that my best friend Olivia and me are POLES APART when it comes to films. There was a huge argument between us about the new movie called "The Hunger Games": her ASSESSMENT of it contrasted with mine. She considered it a really successful project with quite impressive sound effects and an excellent all-star cast TO BOOT, and after all, I CONCEDED she was right about it. You see, I may think that it is a terribly shot film and that the book it is based on is much better, BUT FOR ALL THAT she is my friend and I don't want to fall out with her just because we have different opinions!

А.Я. [5]

EVU UPPER-INTERMEDIATE units 25 - 26:

I think everybody knows that there is a HUGE DISCREPANCY in living conditions between Africa and, for example, Europe. I ACCEPT that in Africa there is a specific climate, landscape etc. NEVERTHELESS it doesn’t mean that due to these factors African countries are so POOR. Instead of improving this situation some African tribes and, MOREOVER, countries are involved in civil war. In CONTRAST, we can ADMIT that such country as the United Arab Emirates in 1950s was really poor but nowadays I CONCEDE that its economy and healthcare level are growing.

Т.Д. [3]

Units 24-26

-ALTHOUGH he is arrogant and blunt, people love him. AFTER ALL he is kind-hearted and very supportive, NEVERTHELESS.
- That’s all WELL AND GOOD, but remember there’s A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE between you and him. He’s so unreliable.
- IN CONTRAST, there is not such A GREAT DIVIDE between us. QUITE THE OPPOSITE, we have a lot of things in common.
- I don’t want you to spend all your free time with him. I’ll find a SOLUTION to this DILEMMA!
- I can’t understand your POINT OF VIEW! There’s no need in our ARGUMENT. ON THE OTHER HAND I suppose we shouldn’t split up, MOREOVER, it is better you became his friend and knew him better. BESIDES we must calm down and have a cup of tea right now.
- YOU HAVE WON THIS POINT, but ON TOP OF ALL THAT this man doesn’t deserve to be worried about, so let’s go and relax, but we’ll come back to this TOPIC!

E.E. [7,5]

Unit 26

THE REAL POINT is that I should revise all these units as much as possible. This APPROACH would help me to learn TOPICS better. But I always face the DILEMMA of choosing between good quality and amount of homework. The SOLUTION of this problem is a new APPROACH to time. Scientists have carried out an EVALUATION of such thing as time management and CONFIRMED that often it is the only WAY OUT OF such dilemma. But I fail to RESPOND TO such ASSESSMENT.

А.Б. [8,5]

Units 22, 23

OWING TO the recent events, I can no longer feel safe and comfortable in this house. I leave you ON THE GROUNDS THAT I got a new job in another part of our country. The entry REQUIREMENTS have been very suitable for me, and I ask you not to worry UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES. PROVIDING you forget the past, you can write me. I hope my departure won't SPARK OFF your anger. Goodbye!

А.Б. [3]

UNIT 23 UPPER-INT., UNIT 11 BISUNESS V.U. I'm a student of Teutonic philology and I want to work as a tutor now but the main problem is that work experience is PREREQUISITE for most people. Still worse, my intention to work SPARKS OFF a lot of arguments between me and my mother - she doesn't want me to work ON THE GROUNDS THAT I'm still too young for that in her eyes. She just can't understand that I'm really ambitious and want to climb the CORPORATE LADDER in the future, so that I had better start now. The UPSHOT of my thoughts is that I will keep on looking for a job whatever it takes.

А.Я. [2,5]



С.М. [34,6]



А.В. [37,2]



П.П. [37]



Я.Б. [30,9]



Group 253: EVU Upper-Intermediate/ Business VU Intermediate

FALL 2013

Upper-Intermediate, Unit 19:

While I was having a meal in the cafe I heard something SMASH really loud. I thought at first that it was the CLINK of glasses or the CLASH of something metallic. But I was wrong: it turned out that police BASHED DOWN the door of the warehouse to get in - a criminal was suspected to be there.

Upper-Intermediate, Unit 17:

Nowadays it's a really rare case when people use SNAIL MAIL: they prefer SURFING the Internet and sending e-mails to writting real letters. It has become so global that it resulted in the increase in numbers of MOUSE POTATOES, INTERMERCIALS and in creating E-COMMERCE. We even have a KEYPAL rather than a PEN FRIEND now, which is a real pity for me - correspondence is much more valuable!

Upper-Intermediate, Unit 14, BVU Units 5, 6, 12:

There have been an OUTBREAK of WALK-OUTS recently. The office PERSONNEL were dissatisfied with their salaries: they had worked OVERTIME and hadn't been given any BONUSES or PERKS, at least. It's very painful for me to see such an unfair attitude of management towards their GRASS ROOTS: why some people are HARD-UP whereas others benefit from being FAT CATS?

А.Я. [80]

EVU UPPER-INTERMEDIATE units 21 - 22:

BEFORE going to work I took a stroll with my dog. FORMERLY it took me about two hours to get to work, but now I’ve a car and can do it much faster. When I was leaving home I met my neighbor. Initially as I moved to the new flat we didn’t know each other, but one day when I was coming back from my work, I gave him a lift home. Since that moment WHENEVER we see each other, we greet each other. After saluting I he asked me to look after his cat for a one week as he was going abroad. I agreed. AFTERWARDS he gave me the key from his flat and I moved on.

Т.Д. [60,55]

Unit 19

When the birds fly away with a doleful WHIRR, and the wind DASHES dry leaves through the sky, and the DRIZZLING rain SPRINKLES fields, the feeling of deep melancholy appears. People try to calm down this feeling sitting nearby CRACKLING fireplace or CRASH it in a bustle of work. But it CLANGS whenever and wherever they are, that same sense of impending eternity.

А.Б. [67]

Upper-Intermediate UNIT 19:

Mr Sand was sitting at the desk and doing his monotonous work, CLICKING the mouse and typing something. He heard how a cleaner CLINKED his bunch of keys and CLASHED old creaking doors closing all the rooms. It's high time to go home. Mr Sand GROANED - so tired he was. He stopped typing to sit glued to the computer screen and then gazed out of the office window. The glow of a late autumn sunset penetrated through the leaves of trees in the park and the ground looked as if it had been SPRINKLED with fine golden dust. The street was lively: old and young couples walked solemnly here and there, somebody sat on the bench and WHISTLED a beautiful melody, a little pony in the park went CLIP-CLOP entertaining GIGGLING children, a hord of grimmy kids skipped in puddles, SPLASHING the water. Fine drops of rain started to DRIZZLE, and Mr Sand decided to go home before the rain could become heavy.

А.П. [67,45]

Unit 19:

Every morning in the countryside I enjoyed a lot of sounds: the cows were MOOING, the horses were NEIGHING and the birds on the trees were PIPPING. One morning I was listening to the PEEPING of the sparrows, when the room entered old John, who was GRUMBLING and GROANING.
«Are you again listening to the GRUNTING of the animals, instead of doing something useful? » - GROWLED that GRUMPY person.
«It would be better if you repair the door, for example – I can’t stand its CLANGING anymore», - he said, opened his laptop and began to CLICK the mouse and CLANK his hand-watches.
Listening to the CLIP-CLOPPING of the horses the road, I was thinking about what John had just said. It was true – we had some problems with the door: it CLASHED so loud, that you heard CLINKING in your head long after you’d closed it. John usually just SPLUTTERED a lot, but that time he was right, so I SPITTED and started to search for the oil, but when I found it, I saw that the bottle was almost empty – there was oil only for one SPLASH. But John gave me another bottle of oil, which was pretty old: at first it just SPRAYED a little, then I SPRINKLED some drops on the door, and, finally, the oil SPURTED from the bottle. All my clothes and hands were dirty, but I was to repair that door!

А.В. [72,7]

Units 18-26 (Pre-Int.) -Hello, Alice! How are you?
-Hi, Jane! Not bad.
-Oh, dear! Is anything wrong?
-I’ve got a new job in a shop center. But it’s not satisfying.
-What is the nature of your work?
-It involves human contact and dealing with customers.
-Don’t you like it?
-I do like it. I’ve made many friends there. But telling the truth it turned out to be a tough kind of job. People make a lot of noise that’s why I have a terrible headache. And what is more it involves long hours so when I come home I have no strength to make a meal. It’s awful because usually I have to have a supper in a café.
-What a pity! Haven’t you tried to find a new job?
-No, but I have a think of it.
-Have a try! It won’t take a lot of time to find a job.
-Ok, thank you! And how are you?
-Fine. I’ll take time off. I’m going to Spain for a week.
-How nice! Why have you chosen Spain?
-I’ve made big progress in learning Spanish so I want to practice it.
-I’m happy for you! Have a good trip.
-Thanks! Oh, I’m sorry, dear. I must be off. I will have a word with my new clients.
-Ok, have a nice day. Bye.

А.О. [47,9]

Units 19

Everything started in the morning, when Suzy, by accident, SMASHED her mother’s great teapot into small pieces, water SPLASHED all over their lovely kitchen. Mother began GRuMBLING and Suzy understood that it would be a bad day; she GROANED and went to do her daily routine. She SPRINKLED flowers, gave the forage to cows, horses and dogs who were MOOING and NEIGHING and GROWLING, she DASHED cats who were trying to eat dog’s meat and then sat on the porch and started waiting for new troubles.

E.E. [74,95]

EVU UPPER-INTERMEDIATE units 18 - 19:

I clearly remember that day, before having breakfast I switched on the radio. The first thing that I heard was the report about the plane crash. All morning I was confused with this news. When I was ready to move on, a friend of mine gave me a call and offered to PICK me UP, we work together. On our way to work, the friend’s car started to make CLINKING and CLANGING sounds and finally became completely uncontrollable. My friend who was panic-stricken could not do anything with it and we SMASHED the dustbin and CRASHED into a tree. I remember that TINKLING sound in my head and people who dashed towards our ruined car and helped us to get out of the vehicle. Luckily no one was injured in the accident and two weeks later we were rehabilitated.

Т.Д. [43,5]

Unit 18

CONDUCT of some HEIRS and HEIRESSES leaves a lot to be desired. They HOURLY make feel their dying relatives as DEBTORS. In dreams they see their family TOMB, but in reality they look NUMB for grief. SUBTLE plans lead to signing the will by blear-eyed testators.

А.Б. [49,5]

Units 15-17

She was DROP-DEAD GORGEOUSE, but she was a SINGLETON. She always tries to smile, but almost always she had a BAD HAIR DAY. She was a MOUSE POTATO, so she really loved sitting in the CYBERCAFE all day long. Surprisingly, she was physically fit, she liked IN-LINE SKATING, SNOWBOARDING and KARATE, although she wasn’t very keen on doing sports. BTW, she worked in BRITISH BROADCASTING CORPORATION and they made her do these foolish DOCUSOAPS, post ADVERTS and sometimes even repair broken TELLIES. She often listened to AUDIO BOOKS and watched VIDEO JOCKEY, but her main hobby was TATTOING. Different tattoos covered both her hands, telling the story of her life.

E.E. [47,5]

EVU UPPER-INTERMEDIATE Units 10, 11; BVU Unit 6:

-​ What’s the matter, Lin?
-​ I have some problems at work.
-​ Are you being OPPRESSED?
-​ Not exactly, but all the ATTRACTIVENESS of working in that company turned out to be an ILLUSION. The ABSURDITY of the main PRINCIPLE there is the HOSTILITY between the STARDOM and those who are at the state of APPRENTICESHIP.
-​ But in this case, there is no way for PROSPERITY of the company.
-​ You see, all the COMPLEXITY is that those who have INDIVIDUAL OFFICES are afraid of being DEPOSED by OPEN-PLAN OFFICE WORKERS. So, they PROSPECT for any mistake of the latter and inform about it a senior manager in the HEAD OFFICE.
-​ What happens after that?
-​ Then, nothing can REVERT or DIVERT the RAGE of the senior manager, who IMPOSES penalties for each fault.
-​ Can’t you have a talk with your offenders?
-​ Their ANONIMITY helps them to avoid any talks and responsibility.

П.П. [125,25]

Pre-Intermediate UNITS 14-16:

[on the phone]

-​ Hello.
- Hello, Beth! What are you doing?
-​ I’m preparing for my report.
-​ I’M SORRY TO DISTURB YOU now…
-​ NEVERMIND.
-​ … but are you aware of what happened with Joe and Pam? You see, yesterday I received from them a magnificent wedding card MADE BY HAND, but today I saw in my postbox a letter. It ran like this: “Please accept our apologies, -- blah blah blah, -- our wedding is postponed until an unknown date, all DEPENDS ON the circumstances” What happened?
-​ You see, yesterday Joe and Pam went to Nottingham in order to enjoy wonderful views. They TRAVELLED BY car. You know, Joe IS always IN A HURRY, so they cut into an old oak. But, don’t worry, Pam is OK, Joe SUFFERS FROM slight concussion of the brain. His doctor says he’ll be completely alright in one-two days.
-​ Did you see Joe after it?
-​ Yes, I visited him. And our talk was quite short. I only asked how it could happen and when he is going to GET MARRIED TO Pam, but he took it as a mark of reproach in his usual manner. He began to SHOUT AT me: “Don’t you know that it happened BY ACCIDENT, not ON PURPOSE! And how dare you ask when our marriage will take place while I’m dying of that splitting headache, we SPENT a lot of money ON repairing our car and I also have no idea what to do!” When I tried to APOLOGISE FOR my terribly rude question he threw at me fruits which I brought to him. So I just went out and that’s all.
-​ Hmm. It was really impetuous of him. How can Beth stand him? I don’t understand.

А.П. [39,4]

Units 16-18:

Today it was announced by the BBC that next week everybody can make a donation to the WHO in every bank of the world, using their IDs and credit-cards. My KEYPAL wrote to me that you can even use your computer for this, but the only problem is that the using of THE CYBERSPACE results in a lot of JUNK E-MAILS. But I decided that it’s not A CATASTROPHE, found my ID in THE CUPBOARD, and made a donation. There were some problems with the filling in the form, like the prohibition of using APOSTROPHES and hyphens, but when I understood everything, I successfully made a donation.

Units 13-15:

My friend George, who was a great fan of SCIENCE FICTION, said one day that every HUMAN BEING must have AN ADDRESS BOOK. And once it really helped him a lot, when after A WALK-OUT there was A TAKEOVER of his factory which produced calendars with PIN-UPS, and he made some calls. As a result, THE TAKEOVER was stopped and everybody was punished. Since then George became a successful TYCOON, and his hobbies changed: instead of SCIENCE FICTION, he is now interested in KARATE and ORIGAMI.

А.В. [48,4]

EVU UPPER-INTERMEDIATE unit 12-13:

John is a director of the huge company. He is QUICK-WITTED and GOOD-TEMPERED HUMAN BEING. He grew up in a poor family, very often they were HARD UP for money. They used to live in the RUN-DOWN area. He had a dream, he wanted to emerge from poverty. After graduating from college John was determined enough to organize a small company consisting of six workers. He took a small building with AIR-CONDITIONED rooms on lease and purchased WORN-OUT equipment. It took them several years to achieve the popularity and respect. And nowdays the TRADEMARK of his company is well-known all over his country.

Т.Д. [40,5]

He was making his way through the forest full of MOSQUITOES. A month ago he crossed the STEPPE and now he has to get to quite desolate TUNDRA. The BLITZ in his country destroyed all that he had. The man had come a long way from some GHETTO to join the ranks of the GUERILLAS and today he has nothing to lose. He tried to forget even his name, and now has only a PSEUDONYM. Yes, many people spoke about the amazing BANDIT, but no one saw him face to face. How he had gone off, how the insane, impracticable idea of VENDETTA came to be carried out, of that later.

А.Б. [45,5]

Units 10-14:

This year Russia celebrates an anniversary – 400 years of the Romanovs’ dynasty. Russian monarchs ruled the Russian country for 300 years. During three centuries of the Romanovs’ reign there were ACHIEVEMENTS as well as failures in our country.
To commemorate this event, an IMPRESSIVE exhibition was held in the Central Exhibition Hall “Manezh”, Moscow, from 4 to 12 November, 2013 (prolonged until November, 24). Here you could observe and INSPECT 300 years of Russian history, presented as an EXPOSITION.
A great BREAKTHROUGH in the realms of foreign and home policy, AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURE, economics, government, army, EDUCATION, science, culture was made during the reign of the Romanovs’ dynasty. Here is a tiny part of what was done:
  • Land OWNERSHIP of the Russian Empire became extraordinary: some European territories, Kazakhstan, Central Asia, vast areas of Siberia and the Far East were joined to the Russian Empire.
  • After the Time of Troubles Russia was able to reconstruct and even increase industrial OUTPUT: about 60 various manufactories appeared. By the middle of the eighteenth century about 100 metallurgical works PRODUCED up to 2 mln poods of iron. Russian oil-PRODUCING industry was the biggest and the best in the world. There was PROSPECT FOR gold and other precious metals in Siberia.
  • In 1898-1912 Russian EXPORT surpassed IMPORT incredibly. In 1896 the government IMPOSED gold standard. Decimal COINAGE, made under Peter I, appeared so effective that the Russian Empire managed without foreign INVESTMENT and loans, apart from other countries, during the Northern War.
  • In 1908 primary EDUCATION became compulsory. By 1914 there were 105 institutions of higher education and the largest system of high schools (male and female gymnasiums, colleges).
  • The demand for books increased rapidly in the beginning of the twentieth century. Dostoevsky was the most widely read, WORLD-FAMOUS writer amidst classics. The film about Nicholas II’s coronation is considered to be the beginning of documentary in Russia and in the world.
  • Under Alexander III in 1861 peasantry received FREEDOM from SERFDOM.
  • The invention of narcosis belongs to an outstanding Russian surgeon N.I. Pirogov. Such TRANSPORT as electrical tram (the first in the world, by the way) was invented by a Russian engineer F. Pirotzky.
  • Under Nicholas II reverend Seraphim of Sarov, holy princess Anna of Kashin, hieromartyr Hermogenes, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, were canonized. The Russian Empire was the greatest Eastern Christian country in the world. And in the twentieth century the Empire became the only defender of Orthodoxy.
    • The Russian Empire used to be a WELL-OFF country, especially in the time of Nicholas II. Russia was RESPECTED by other countries and KINGDOMS. International RELATIONSHIPS developed and IMPROVED. Therefore, Nicholas II had SUPPORTERS as well as enemies.
    It was the end of PROSPERITY of the Empire in 1917 when, after the February Revolution, on March 2 Emperor Nicholas II was DEPOSED from the throne, and during the October Revolution there was a fatal TAKEOVER.
    The feat of MARTYRDOM, performed by the last Russian Royal Family, crowned the reign of the Romanovs’ dynasty.

    М.Я. [103,85]

    Units 13-14

    Kelly told me that when she was 20 she lived in a YOUTH HOSTEL in Bari. It was a hard year, Kelly was seriously ill. HAY FEVERS, FOOD POISONINGS were common things for her. What’s more she lost her CREDIT CARD and everything she had was just her POCKET MONEY. She ended up in a hospital with a HEART ATTACK. Units 1-2

    I have always BEEN IN TOUCH my good friend Ann. She knows English really well, her VOCABULARY IS VERY RICH. I’m not good at languages, at English IN PARTICULAR, so she often helps me BE NOT AT A LOSS FOR WORDS and be not afraid of UNDERTAKING a new level. Units 5-7

    Yesterday our teacher tried to explain to us that the words “MISLAY” and “MISPLACE” are synonyms, but “friend” and “FOE” are opposites. I had a FIRM belief that nobody understood the difference. It was really a very COMPLICATED topic. Units 8-9

    My uncle Teddy is a SUPERVISOR. He is a very good EMPLOYER and his EMPLOYEES admire him, because he’s FORGIVING and he also likes modernizing the way of working. For example all his staff have A FLEXIBLE SCHEDULE. I never see him being FURIOUS or OUTRAGED.

    E.E. [41]

    EVU UPPER-INTERMEDIATE Units 8-9; BVU Unit 5:

    Working in a large oil company I always believed that I was an IRREPLACEABLE worker. Even the thought of being fired seemed to me absolutely IMPROBABLE. But man proposes but God disposes and two weeks ago I was forced to leave work because of an OUTRAGEOUS BOARDROOM ROW. One thing that I could do was just to ask for a COMPENSATION PAYMENT. At first I met with a REFUSAL, as my EX-BOSS was prejudiced against me and quite DISLOYAL. But then after an IMRARTIAL talk I was paid a SEVERANCE PAYMENT.
    Now I’ working as a waiter, but it’s completely dissatisfying in comparison with my previous job. In the oil company I used to get a BASIC SALARY but now I get paid a MINIMUM WAGE. I don’t have PERKS as I used to, only chance TIPS instead. So I EARN less than before.
    What’s more I had a good BENEFITS PACKAGE at my previous work. I got some FRINGE BENEFITS as a COMPANY CAR and payments for my PENSION. But I lost everything.

    П.П. [86,2]

    BV unit 7:

    - Mary, is there any news from John?
    - Yes, nothing good. John was LAID OFF because his boss RESTRUCTURED hierarchy of the company to make it leaner. But according to the documents, John left his job of his own free will – the boss forced him to HAND IN HIS NOTICE! What a shame, he has just begun WORK HIS WAY UP THE CAREER LADDER.
    - Don’t worry, Mary. By means of his natural abilities and diligence all the CAREER PATHS are open for him.

    А.П. [31,9]

    Units 10-12:

    Kate was IMPRESSED a lot by the idea of POSTPONING her EDUCATION because of the voyage. She understood, on the one hand, that it could be a real ACHIEVEMENT, but on the other hand, she would have to be a good daughter, listen to her parents and have no AGGRESSIVENESS in her ACTIONS. That was what made the idea of the young CURLY-HAIRED SUN-TANNED girl really FAR-FETCHED.

    А.В. [40,4]

    EVU UPPER-INTERMEDIATE unit 10-11:

    A RESPECTED official is being SUSPECTED in a robbery. The police can not prove his guilt yet, but the officers are PROSPECTING for the direct evidence. Meanwhile the suspect is trying to DIVERT the police from his person.
    The public prosecutor EXPRESSED his DISCOURAGEMENT to the journalists of the local magazine. He says that the local government should make some IMPROVEMENT in their system. The prosecutor finished his interview saying that he wants to take the investigation under his control and that he has a strong BELIEF that situation will improve.

    Т.Д. [36,5]

    EVU Upper (Units 11-12):

    One day we went on holiday. We booked a YOUTH HOSTEL in another town and were getting there by different means. At first it was OFF-PEAK TRAIN TRAVEL and after it we drove on with LONG-DISTANT LORRY DRIVER. He was CURLY-HAIRED, SUN-TANNED, BROAD-SHOULDERED and GOOD-TEMPERED. He was telling us some jokes, turning the STEERING WHEEL, and using WINDSCREEN WIPER from time to time as it was terrible downpour. He was QUICK-WITTED and EASY-GOING, therefore the infamous GENERATION GAP wasn't felt between us. So WARM-HEARTED atmosphere it was, that we tried to show our gratitude by giving him all our POCKET MONEY.

    А.Б. [41]

    BV unit 5, UI unit 10-11:

    Two weeks ago the manager of the steel-making plant was DEPOSED because of being SUSPECTED of professional CARELESSNESS. Workers and ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF started a STOPPAGE claiming the ABSURDITY of the SUSPICIONS. But the strikers were forced to stop the WALK-OUT.

    А.П. [29,4]

    Units 8-10:

    One CELLIST had a SCARCITY of money, so he asked for a credit in a bank, but got a REFUSAL. But the fate was unkind to him: he ate some INEDIBLE berries, which also were IMMATURE, and got poisoned. Then he was TRANSPORTED to the hospital, and at the same time bank-manager found his statement for the credit and REVERTED to the positive answer, because he visited some of his concerts and RESPECTED him a lot. So, when he got better, the story had a happy ending.

    А.В. [35,9]

    EVU Upper (Units 11-12):

    ADULTHOOD is the time of various personal achievements. PROSPERITY is one of these achievements. OWNERSHIP, money and status receive general RECOGNITION of society. Sometimes freedom, SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS, SENSITIVITY, GENEROSITY and wisdom are sacrificed in order to achieve definite improvements in the social standing. Not infrequently, such replacement IMPOSES an indelible imprint on moral values.

    А.Б. [33,5]

    Units 11-12

    I know one man, a very good conductor. He CONDUCTS the orchestra with great power. Everybody is IMPRESSED by his work; I think that he EXPRESSES his feelings through the orchestra. His work DIVERTS attention of many well-known musicians. They say that no one but him can show all the DEPTH, BITTERNESS, FREEDOM and WARMTH of music. All the STARDOM offers this man the PARTNERSHIP.

    E.E. [31,5]

    BVU: Unit 4:

    Advertisement
    The computer company “Kiwi” needs HIGHLY-SKILLED and QUALIFIED specialists for working with high computer technologies. They should be SKILLED AT electronics and COMPUTER SOFTWARE, GOOD WITH computers and figures. PAPER QUALIFICATION and WORK EXPERIENCE are relevant. The company provides RECRUITS with IN-HOUSE TRAINING for their PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT. SELF-MOTIVATED, METHODICAL, SYSTEMATIC, ORGANIZED workers are the right people we intend to hire.
    So, if you are a COMPUTER-LITERATE, SELF-DRIVEN and TALENTD specialist, the job is for you!
    М.Я. [60,3]

    Business VU unit 5 & EVU UPPER-INTERMEDIATE unit 9:

    Working in a tourism business is not so easy as it may seem. You have to communicate with people, you are responsible for their comfort, you have to know some languages if you work in a MULTI-NATIONAl hotel. But at the same time there are a lot of BENEFITS! First of all the SALARY is quite good. Also you have good FRINGE BENEFITS, for example free meals or accomodation. Most of the companies make payements for PENSION of their staff. Finally, if you work in a five-star hotel it means that you deal with FAT CATS and sometimes they can leave TIPS for you.

    Т.Д. [33]

    Units 11-13:

    - Did you see Othello on television last night?
    - The opera, you mean? No, I didn’t, I didn't know about its show.
    - Really? It’s a WELL-KNOWN opera that takes place on a WELL-EQUIPPED stage. All the actors were dressed in the BRAND-NEW costumes.
    - Oh, I think we have to go to the theater and see it live.
    - Yes, IF YOU LIKE. I’m sure the premiere will have A GREAT SUCCESS.
    - But it’s VITALLY important to buy the tickets IN ADVANCE in order to be sure we’ll have a GREAT TIME. Maybe we can buy them right before the performance?
    - I HAVEN’T A CLUE what would be better.
    - Well, MAKE UP YOUR MIND.

    Н.Б. [54,1]

    Intemediate, unit 14; Upper-Intermediate, Units 2-5:

    Recently, I have FALLEN OUT WITH my best friend. I WAS UP TO MY EYES in work and couldn't find time to meet her. I explained everything to her CASUALLY, but it shocked her. She started to think of me as of a quite MALIGNANT and COLD-HEARTED person. I didn't think it was so CRUSIAL for her to see me. By the way, it's her birthday soon and my present may soothe her feeling about me: I'm going to give her a little PURRING TOMCAT - she has dreamt of it way too long!

    А.Я. [51,1]

    EVU upper- interm. Units 4-7:

    Gina Taylor, a WARM-HEARTED respectable elderly woman, is FAMED FOR having an extremely long LIFESPAN, as she is a hundred and nine years old now. She shared with our reporter a secret of her unbelievable LONGEVITY.
    Gina had been working as a florist for all her life until she retired at the age of 90. She admits that she always was UP TO her EYES IN work.
    She says she has never experienced ANTI-TOURIST FEELINGS and she loves travelling a lot, so up to now she has visited more than twenty countries including African and Australasian ones. Her last journey was just two months ago.
    She also tries to avoid MALIGNANT feelings and to PUT UP WITH UNCONTROLABLE ANGER.
    One of Gina’s secrets is that she likes having a glass of SUGAR-FREE orange juice as a PRE-DINNER DRINK every day.
    Being slightly SUPERSTITIOUS she finds one of the CRUCIAL reasons of her longevity in being born at daybreak.
    At the end of the meeting Gina gave us a piece of advice “As far as your health is concerned don’t be afraid to seem EXTRAVAVAGANT and spend as much money as you need”.

    П.П. [77,2]

    Units Units 2-4.:

    I was listening to Jim, when I suddenly noticed a cat, which was MEWING and catching BUBBLES with her PAWS. My WORDY friend CEASED his formal speech and began to talk with that cat in a COLOQUIAL STYLE. He asked me to continue writing the article, not forgetting about the HYPHENS and COMMAS, and started playing with the cat, which he PEJORATIVELY called GINGER-HAIRED.

    А.В. [31,9]

    EVU Upper (Units 8-9):

    We were making ALTERATIONS to a building because our sponsor had made a generous DONATION recently. Meantime the process of staff REDUCTIONS starts at our construction company. The SCARCITY of employment opportunities led to a strike and to refraining of OUTRAGED workers from food and drink. The workers considered the situation UNJUST. But IMPARTIAL managers disproved all the claims and did not UNBEND during the strike.

    А.Б. [29,5]

    BVU Unit 4:

    Next year my friend is going to GRADUATE from university. But he thinks that it is extremely difficult to find a job without WORK EXPERIENCE even if you have PAPER QUALIFICATIONS. So he started to attend special courses where he can gain experience. I believe that it’s a great idea. He is a MOTIVATED person, so he’ll become a SKILLED or a HIGLY SKILLED worker, I’m sure.

    Т.Д. [29,5]

    EVU upper-interm. Units 2,3,5; Business VU Unit 4:

    I
    - Oh, Mum let’s buy this nice little kitten, pretty please!
    - Oh no, dear! Look! It’s a thoroughbred TOMCAT and it’s rather PRICEY.
    - But it’s so cute! It has such lovely WHISKERS and its PAWS and tail are so small that I think it could sit in my HANDFUL.
    - My dear, this kitten is OVERPRICED!
    - No, no, it’s PRICELESS! I won’t eat ice-cream and other sweeties the whole month and it will MAKE UP FOR money we’ll spend.
    - But I don’t want all the furniture to be SCRATCHED by it!
    - I’m sure, it will only MEW and LICK and PURR and that’s all!
    - Is it really MUCH-NEEDED?
    - Yes! I promise to take care of it!
    - All right, then.
    II
    Being a successful INDUSTRIALIST includes several qualities you are supposed to have. First of all, you should be a SELF-STARTER and a PROACTIVE person to be able to work well on your own. But to make work extremely PRODUCTIVE it’s not enough to be SELF-DRIVEN, so, secondly, it’s very important to be a TEAM-PLAYER. Then, TALENTED people are looked for. They can not only handle their everyday work but also deal with emergency situations. New technologies are used everywhere nowadays, so it’s significant to be COMPUTER-LITERATE. You don’t have to be NUMERATE, but if you are it’s a big advantage. And don’t forget that METHODICAL, SYSTEMATIC and ORGANISED workers are always in demand.

    П.П. [63,5]

    EVU pre-interm. − interm. Units 14-17; Business VU Unit 3:

    I was very unlucky in my search for a good job. I completed thousands of APPLICATION FORMS and APPLIED FOR a thousand jobs, I looked in the SITUATION VACANT PAGES and in the APPOINTMENT PAGES of all newspapers I could find. I sent a lot of CVS with COVERING LETTERS but actually I was never successful in the SELECTION PROCESS. Looking at my BACKGROUND some companies found me not EXPERIENCED enough, some of them claimed I didn’t have proper educational QUALIFICATIOUNS.
    But two months ago I had a stroke of luck and I was HIRED through an EMPLOYEMENT AGENCY. Before that I visited a GROUP DISCUSSION with other CANDIDATES and had an individual INTERVIEW, where I was offered to do a PSYCHOMETRIC TEST to assess my intelligence and personality. I was amazed at being SHORTLISTED IN THE END with three other lucky men whose REFERENCES were ok.
    Of course I ACCEPTED THE JOB and now I’m a RECRUIT in a big European company. Since I JOINED THE COMPANY I began facing HEADHUNTERS who wanted me to work for other companies. But I always TURN THEIR OFFERS DOWN.

    П.П. [42]

    EVU, upper-int., units 1-7:

    One MALIGNANT intruder refused to pay taxes, so he was dismissed. After a while he realized that it is difficult for him to live without a job because the COST OF LIVING was quite high. So, this PIG-HEADED man decided to start to MAKE A LIVING: he APPEALED to an EMPLOYER with an offer to EXPLOIT natural resources. But unfortunately, the employer wasn’t so good: he had never dealt with such serious offers. So he HAD HIS HEART IN HIS MOUTH, having heard this strong proposal, and said “No” to the man.

    Н.Б. [19,7]

    BV unit 4, UI unit 5:

    In our country the COST OF LIVING is quite high, so you really have to care about your career. To have a successful career you need to have not only EDUCATION PAPERS, but be really SKILLED IN many different things: in communicating, using PCs and so on. METODICAL, SELF-MOTIVATED people are also in great worth.

    А.П. [25,4]

    Units 4-13:

    BVU Unit 3
    Recently I have been HEADHUNTED by a HEADHUNTER from the rival company. I was one of the several CANDIDATES, but my experience of different jobs and QUALIFICATION was the best one. I ACCEPTED this job, and I don’t regret because the payment is higher and the WORK TEAM is ORGANIZED and HIGHLY SKILLED.
    BVU Unit 4
    I had GRADUATED from Pedagogical University and started to work at school. My work requires to be METHODICAL, SYSTEMATIC and ORGANIZED. You also have to be a highly MOTIVATED person to work with children. Without a doubt, you shouldn’t become a teacher if you are not TALENTED in this area.
    EVU upper. Unit 3
    I’m fond of traveling. And when I travel to the seaside I BOOK DOUBLE ROOM and get information about CHECK-OUT TIME in advance. I'm keen on riding at high speed on the MOTORWAY. When I’m on holiday I like to go to the theatre. Usually I choose TRAGEDY and always read in the programme about the play before the PERFORMANCE.

    А.Б. [21,5]

    Units 18, 19 and 23:

    I told my friends that I had a BRILLIANT IDEA – an excursion in the local museum, but most of them said that this is RIDICULOUS and even DISGUSTING for the weekend. They said that the ticket’s price has GONE UP and moreover they were LOOKING FORWARD TO visiting our hospitalized friend, who had FALLEN OVER and hurt his hand. He also had a strange illness, the meaning of which I had to LOOK UP, and after I’ve FOUND it OUT in the medical dictionary I finally understood that it’s better to LOOK AFTER our sick friend.

    А.В. [26,9]

    TASK 1.
    Yesterday morning I decided to JOG (7 UNIT). The weather was FOGGY (UNIT 8) and quite ADEQUATE FOR (UNIT 6) some exercise. After that I had to go to my work which is really far from home - TWO-HOUR TRAIN RIDE AWAY (UNIT 11) so that I can call myself a COMMUTER (BVU UNIT1). It's difficult to travel a lot everyday to the place of work but mine is absolutely worth covering many kilometres, for it is really SATISFYING (BVU UNIT 1).
    TASK 2
    Today I HAD A LATE NIGHT (UNIT 13), so I certainly didn't FEEL LIKE (UNIT13) working in the morning. I work IN SHIFTS (BVU UNIT 2), and today it is my DAY SHIFT (BVU UNIT 2). Well, I drank a STRONG COFFEE (UNIT 12) to be WIDE AWAKE (UNIT 10) and set off for work. Then I tried to START MY CAR (UNIT 12) for half an hour, which was a real disaster. Still worse, I stuck IN THE TRAFFIC JAM (UNIT 12) and the LONG WAIT (UNIT 9) was really GETTING ON MY NERVES (UNIT 13). But as good luck would have it, I managed to get to work IN TIME (UNIT 9).
    TASK 3
    A: John, I have a question for you: what are you going to do with your current job? You have said it's rather DULL and REPETATIVE (BVU UNIT 2).
    B: NOTHING MUCH (UNIT 20).
    A: My friend told me, that the specialists from his company want to HEADHUNT (BVU UNIT 3) people for a really STIMULATING (BVU UNIT 2) and prestigious job. Why not trying?
    B: It sounds interesting. But I don't like changes, you know that. Moreover, I'm gradually getting used to my job, collegues and STAFF LIKE THAT (UNIT 19).
    A: So, you won't take this chance?
    B: I'M AFRAID NOT (UNIT 21).
    A: Jack could have got this job if he had not refused to try working there either. WHAT A SHAME (UNIT 21).
    TASK 4
    For the time being, it's vitally important to be a PROACTIVE and SELF-DRIVEN (BVU UNIT 3) person. If you want to be a success you should rely only on yourself and WORK ON YOUR OWN INITIATIVE(BVU UNIT 3). All the HIGHLY-SKILLED (BVU UNIT 4) people say that it took a great deal of time for them to TRAIN FOR (BVU UNIT 4) their jobs, but if you're SELF-MOTIVATED and SYSTEMATICAL, it will be A PIECE OF CAKE (UNIT 13).


    А.Я. [28,5]

    His mother always shouted at him because he listened to heavy metal. She complained to school psychologist about her son’s musical taste. But her son even wasn’t thinking of giving it up.

    С.М. [37]

    Units 4-13:

    Dear John,
    Thank you for your letter. I’m very pleased to know that your parents are satisfied with my article. As I understand from your letter, where you ask me about employment, you intend to find a job. Well, I’ll try helping you. To begin with, there are two most popular ways of finding a job. The first is to look in the situation vacant pages or appointment pages of any local newspaper, where you can observe a number of offers. The second one is to go to a recruitment agency. Frankly speaking, this variant might appear not to be helpful for those people who have not enough experience or qualification. The fact is that so-called headhunters are interested in “hunting” (so to speak) for good specialists for recruitment. Anyway, you could try any way. All you need is, for a start, to apply for a job by completing an application form, to write your CV (curriculum vitae) and a covering letter, where you are supposed to explain why YOU are the very right person for this or that job. After this step follows an indefinite period of waiting for a call. If a company finds you to be the most suitable applicant for the job and decides to employ you it will phone you immediately and invite to an interview. By the way, some companies offer candidates to take written psychometric tests.
    I hope you’ll manage to be hired and join the company you want. I wish you good luck! Would you be so kind as to inform me as soon as you are appointed?

    Yours sincerely, Catherine Ruth

    М.Я. [51,8]

    Nowadays things that have to do with the job placement cause a lot of anxiety in our country. Today many people have extremely low salary, some of them are commuters, and a big part of inhabitants even doesn’t have a job. But I turned up lucky. Just after leaving the university I was offered a job of the flight attendant. Of course, I accepted that. But to my surprise there was a selection procedure. At first I had to complete the application form and send the company my background. Then I took the psychometric test which seemed to be very tricky. The last step was the long interview. It was a very tiring process, but I coped with it. I’m so happy to have such a job because it involves human contact and travelling a lot.

    I have been living in a huge block of flats for many years quite happily but recently it is becoming unbearable. My neighbors make so much noise that gets on my nerves. I can’t stand it anymore. So now I’m thinking of buying a small cottage. I hope it will be a house set in a square and close to the park where I can jog every morning.

    Telling the truth. I’m not satisfied with my new partner Tom that I work with. He is not similar to my previous colleague. A big part of the working hours he speaks on the phone. Tom never comes on time. I consider him to be an irresponsible employee. Moreover he is that sort of man who likes complaining to the boss about others without any reason. So many innocent people suffered from it. Sometimes he gets on my nerves. I wonder how he was appointed to this job.

    А.О. [22,9]

    John is a very well known, well off and good looking person. I like him very much, so, when he had been hospitalised because of a serious injury, I was depressed a lot, I could not work because I was getting nowhere, but I wanted to finish it that day. After some time I changed my mind and went to bed. But I was tired the next day, because I had a late night.

    I agreed with him that it's necessary to be there, but I couldn't, because I suffered from cold, so I apologised for it. But he said that I'd been invited there by mistake: "I'll do everything by myself, - he said, - that's OK. It's better to make it by hand". But I answered, that I'd try to help him and clear everything up, and that I wouldn't be long, if my train has not been cancelled.

    А.В. [14]

    My flatmate asked me to keep an eye on his dog. In theory it wasn’t a big deal, but in practice it was a disaster. That quadruped friend was barking all the time and it got on my nerves. I just felt like getting rid of him.

    С.М. [10,5]

    I was reading a book by Mario Puzo when suddenly I was diverted by a phone call. It was my sister. Recently she applied for a job, and she was hired. This time I was asked to look after her son, as she had to work in her office. At first I wanted to go on foot but then I changed my mind and went by bus.

    Т.Д. [20,9]

    I know some people who aren’t very good at doing sport, but they don’t worry about it. They’re interested in other things, e.g. painting, reading and etc. As for me, I’m very keen on cooking, but I’m tired of people telling me what to cook. Of course, I give the explanation or exuse if I don’t want cooking for them now.

    Я.Б. [42,45]

    Mr Green is a well-known person, he is a freelance designer. It means that he works from home, without regular working hours, he doesn’t have to clock in and clock out. He says that working at an office is dull and unstimulating and unreasonably strict rules get on his nerves.

    А.П. [8,5]

    If you’re going to spend your holiday visiting foreign countries, you won’t have to worry about expensive meals. You can find fast food restaurants all over the place. On the one hand, it’s a helpful way not to waste all money in/on cafes. But, on the other hand, you may get a serious problem because of unhealthy products. To tell the truth, in different eastern countries going to fast food restaurants is a part of lifestyle. And, eventually, you will never feel terribly sorry about your holiday if you find some information about different kinds of food in the country where you want to spend your time.

    Я.Б. [7]

    Jim Douglas is a writer. He is a thirty-year-old man with broad shoulders and a soft voice and a slight accent in his speech. He is good-looking and always well-dressed. He admits that although all members of his family are right handed he is a left handed person. He used to be a heavy smoker but he stopped smoking just a few months ago. All that is vitally important for him now is two cups of strong coffee a day especially for the late nights he usually has. He’s in his thirties now but still he hasn’t thought about getting married and starting a family. His room is well-equipped with modern devices such as a computer. Jim is a well-organized person who doesn’t like wasting time and money. No wonder, then, that his stories are really well-written. Unfortunately, his job isn’t well-paid. So he can’t afford a brand-new car and has bought a second-hand BMW. His work involves long hours and although it’s quite demanding and routine he still finds it rather satisfying and stimulating. He isn’t well-known yet but he dreams that one day his stories will have a great success and he will become famous and well off.

    П.П. [31]

    “March, 21. The weather is terribly wet. Heavy rain and heavy traffic present a view out of the window. I’m bitterly disappointed in my existence. But, to tell you the truth, it turns out it cannot prevent me from sitting in a well-known luxurious restaurant, sipping strong coffee with sugar and pleasure. In a minute I catch a glimpse of three stout, good-looking and, as it may seem, well-off gentlemen. They are occupying a vacant table in front of me, and, henceforth, I am able to hear all they are talking about. The gentlemen’s conversation sounds extremely inquiring [curious?], but one fact confuses me – their strong accent. It is getting on my nerves. Just other foreigners… I find them to be my own enemies, having unexpectedly come upon my place to conquer it. At once I’m trying to get rid of the annoying thought, but I’m getting nowhere. How do we usually name such people, who endeavor to grasp something that does not belong to them? Oh… it’s just on the tip of my tongue… Well, never mind.

    As luck would have it, I have changed my mind about strangers some time ago. How was I able to write the book Global Tolerance, or How to get to love mankind? In theory, it appeared to be a piece of cake, but in practice… I’m not even able to get to love a person simply having a strong accent…”

    М.Я. [27,5]

    ‘Our topic for today is different jobs,’ said the teacher entering the classroom, ‘and you are to think of a job and describe it to your classmates without naming it. So, Mary, what do you do?’
        ‘I have a part-time job’, started Mary. ‘My main responsibility is to take care of a small child. For this type of job it is absolutely impossible to be impatient’.
        ‘Please, students, have your guesses’, asked the teacher.
        ‘Are you a babysitter?’ inquired Peter.
        ‘Yes, you are quite right’ replied the girl.
         ‘Then, Peter, it’s your turn. What do you do?’
        ‘I work full-time. I have to leave for work pretty early nearly at 6 a.m. I have to be extremely careful about traffic lights. Sometimes I get stuck in a traffic jam which makes me furious. And I know each bus stop in my town’.
         ‘You are a bus driver!’ exclaimed George.
        ‘That’s right!’
         ‘Well, George, tell us about your job, please’.
         ‘It’s a permanent job. I work for a large company. I run the department and there are ten people working under me. I deal with figures and money.
        ‘Are you a manager?’
        ‘Not exactly’.
        ‘What are you responsible for?’
        ‘I’m in charge of financial condition of the enterprise. I know everything about income tax, credit cards and cash machines’.
        ‘Are you an accountant?’
        ‘You are absolutely right!’

    П.П. [18]

    When I woke up the first thought that appeared in my mind was that I have to buy an ALARM CLOCK, because I overslept again. After taking a shower I put on my T-SHIRT and pants, then I had some breakfast. Next 15 minutes I spent looking for my keys. Finally I found it in the DINNING ROOM. My sister, who is a BABY-SITTER, asked me to take her WASHING MACHINE to sanitary technician. There was A TERRIBLE TRAFFIC JAM in the city centre. I was lucky, because I didn’t forget to take my SUNGLASSES as it was a SUNNY day. When I got to their office, I was met by a tall men, who was going to repair the washing machine. This guy didn’t seem to be WELL OFF and GOOD-LOOKING, but he was a KIND, FRIENDLY and an EASY-GOING person. He wore dirty pants and a SHORT-SLEEVED shirt. Two hours later I delivered repaired wahing machine to my sister.

    Т.Д. [11]

    The best friend of mine is Elly. She isn’t well-known and well-off but is a very good-looking girl. We became/made friends when we were five. Elly lived next door to me, it was a three-minute walk to her house. Elly and I were very well-behaved children who liked to tell different stories and jokes to each other but we never told lies or got on our parent’s nerves, nobody actually had to keep an eye on us. Now we live far from each other, Elly’s going to start a family, I have a demanding job, but we still like meeting and having a great time together.

    Alice was a ballet dancer and she really loved what she did, even though she had to go on a diet, had a very short night rest and always had to be careful. Once she hit her leg because of the stupidity of her partner who was unreliable and helpless. It was painful and Alice had a very serious illness after this case. The cost of the treatment was about 5000 pounds but fortunately Alice’s husband appeared to be very thoughtful and economical man, so they managed to go through all this, and finally Alice again showed up on the stage.

    E.E. [27,5]

    We'd better get a move on, if we want to be on time. Today I'm on duty so I have to plug in the tape recorder for our English lesson and also to rub things off the board. I don't want others to think that I'm not punctual.

    I'm not well-known or well-off but everyone say that I'm a good-looking and an easy-going person. I have a part-time job, because I'm a student and every day I have to commute to study because I live in a village. I used to stand in traffic jams and I usually spent this time reading science fiction.

    А.Б. [8,5]

    When driving a lorry you should be much more careful than when you drive a car. You cannot brake immediately because of enormous weight of the lorry, you should pull the brake beforehand. Moreover, road accidents involving lorries are much more dangerous than usual ones, so be very attentive when the weather is foggy or rainy.

    А.П. [4,5]

    That awful day I overslept, so I missed my train. It was impossible to get in time to work. I borrowed some money and hired a cheap taxi. The taxi driver was an unpleasant person and, as it turned out, a dishonest one. At last we arrived to my office and when the taxi disappeared around the corner realized that the driver had overcharged me.

    If you don’t want to turn your self-study into a routine you have to maintain your interests. It is important to enjoy doing what you have to do. At least you can stick to some advice: begin with the easier material, choose units that interest you, train your pronunciation saying the word aloud, underline unknown words and then look them up in the dictionary, don’t be afraid of making mistakes and do believe in yourself.

    С.М. [8,5]

    This spring Ann had to pass her exams at school. She had been prepairing for it a lot: she was doing some tests, writing essays, rubbing out mistakes, looking up words in the dictionary, writing down new words in her notebook. So, the day of exam broke. Ann got up, filed some papers and then looked at her clock and understood that she overslept. When she came to school the teacher said that she failed her exams and had to retake them in a week.

    Н.Б. [7]

    Most of us think that famous people are too emotional and not economical. Partly that’s true, but we should remember that this is only because of their lifestyle: a lot of work, tours, diets – and they don’t know when to put on the brake, as you may guess. That may look like science fiction, but most of them live the biggest part of their lives in mobile homes, where the kitchen, the dining room and an office, with all its writing papers and documents, are often combined into one room, which is often not very big.

    А.В. [6]

    I want to pass my exams, because it will be difficult to re-do them next year. So I should learn all irregular verbs carefully. This exam will be the most serious one in my life, so I mustn’t use a rubber. I don’t have a chance for a mistake.

    Я.Б. [4,5]

    “Well, Christmas is just around the corner”, thought a factory director, going back home after just another useless day. It was neither sunny nor cloudy nor foggy, but the sky was invisible. The industrial spirit reigned in the air. “And I haven’t done anything useful, helpful, really worthy this year. Perhaps I should have given more well-paid jobs to unemployed idlers. Oh, I can’t stand those unfriendly, impolite, illegible, untidy, dirty, homeless lazybones! Or maybe I should have…” Deep inside the man desired to do something creative, enjoyable and unusual for his nature. Suddenly he heard a passer-by’s warning “Be careful, you stupid!” “Careful” flashed through his mind. “Exactly!”, exclaimed the man, “I should be more careful, thoughtful and polite towards other people!”

    М.Я. [17,5]

    If you learn English, it is important to revise all you have studied on previous lessons. I mean rules, grammar, vocabulary etc. Also it is a good way to keep a special notebook where you can put down new words or collocations, or you can use a highlighter to mark new words in your book, but in my opinion it is not as convenient as a notebook. By the way, you can write a list of words on a separate sheet of paper and stick it to the wall in your room, so while moving in your home you can unconsciously catch and memorise something new from this list. Moreover you can use a tape recorder for your self-study, just plug it in, put the cassete inside and repeat phrases or words after the recording. That’s all, good luck!

    Т.Д. [5]

    Units 1-3:

    Does Fred have a job? – Yes, he works for a major computer firm, but he doesen’t have to spend hours in the office: he works from home. He is fed up with going by transport and leaving for work at 5 o’clock.

    А.П. [2]

    When I came to the cabin all I saw were a comb and an old blanket that were left by the previous sailor. My neighbor was a young bearded man with kind and childish eyes. We had been sailing to Australia for about one year. And home seemed a long way off and we were both very homesick. I often thought of Kate’s courteous, bland smile.

    А.О. [1,5]

    Self-study involves hard and routine work, which often takes a long time. You have to do a lot of revisions of new words and expressions in order to maintain the process of learning. Perhaps, you will need to purchase training aids, for example dictionaries and textbooks, to look up some words or other necessary information. You have to “take the gloves off” in the fight with difficulties of learning a foreign language. But don’t give up, don’t lose your touch in this work: the success you’ll reach later depends only on you.

    Н.Б. [4]

    Almost every day I have to do my homework, actually it’s my routine. As my first and the most important subject is English I often have to look up words in the dictionary. Sometimes it really irritates me, but I understand that simply trying to guess the meaning of the word will not do. The learner should know exact definitions of given words, check their meanings all the time, write example sentences, only then he’ll succeed.

    E.E. [3]

    One day a girl with blonde hair decided to go to the supermarket in order to avoid a routine. But at first she took a tiny blank piece of paper to make a product list and to write down things, concentrating upon necessary products and choosing the most essential of them which were written in bold. The girl set off shopping and got off the bus. At the supermarket she noticed that prices on goods had risen sharply, so she had to reduce her needs and consequently purchases. After she revised the product list, black coffee, a comb, salmon and a knife were crossed out.

    М.Я. [5,5]

    How to learn a language? If you’re using any book for self-study, you should remember that if you’re studying a new unit, you need to spend at least half an hour on it, but if you’re revising – 5 minutes is enough. You should use a dictionary, but before looking up a word try to guess the meaning and then carry on reading to see if you guessed it correct. Also you should use a vocabulary notebook and it’s better not to write down only the translation or pronunciation, but also you should find synonyms (awful = terrible), put down the words in phrases (a black coffee) and make notes (purchase = buy: formal). So good luck!

    А.В. [4]

    1. It is summer and my friends and I have made a decision to spend a month in Saint-Petersburg and to go there by train. 2. I have always dreamt about visiting such a wonderful city like this! 3. I saw a great deal of photographs of Saint-Petersburg taken by my brother, and I was really impressed. 4. Of course, I am a bit afraid that I may feel quite homesick there, for I have never been far from home for such a long time. 5. But I hope we will have lovely weather and a good time, so that we won't be making a mistake by going there.

    А.Я. [4]

    It was a really dreadful day and I felt so distinctly how my innocent game was lapsing into a bad habit. There was total chaos in my mind. I almost started to panic. I tried to find at least one idea which my exhausted brain could cling to. But it was all in vain.

    А.Б. [2,5]

    Working for a large company is becoming more and more popular nowadays. Let’s take a large construction company as an example. It has a director who is responsible for managing a team of builders, designers and engineers. All these people work under him. Some people are in charge of making a good project, at the same time others have to choose high quality materials to realize it.

    Т.Д. [1,5]

    Mia planned regular self-study nearly a month ago and she had already practised at least two times but still her interest in the studies wasn’t maintained.
    Every time she tried to concentrate on her homework there was something that diverted her attention away from it: a pond not far from her house, a new bar of chocolate which waited for her in the fridge, an ache in a thumb or in a finger or in the whole hand, friends on the phone, Jim Grey who was smiling at her the whole day, and lovely weather outside.
    As soon as she remembered about her work Mia carried on with the tasks. She looked up one or two words in a bilingual or a monolingual dictionary, made a few notes or draw some diagrams and went to the kitchen to make a cup of hot black coffee.
    She was spending a lot of time on doing even the easiest tasks, making mistakes and rubbing everything out again and again. Finally, she had the blank piece of paper before her eyes.
    Usually half an hour was enough for her to lose temper and make sure she was completely unable to do homework! Then she put on her red jumper and went for a walk.

    П.П. [6]

    The main part of studying is to have a well-organised plan, it helps to maintain your interest in the work. Firstly, we should think of how much time we can spend on study every day. Secondly, you can choose varied exercises that can help you to develop your knowledge in different ways. In the third place, you need have a good bilingual dictionary and a good English-English dictionary. The dictionaries will give you a lot of helpful information. For example, meaning, pronunciation, part of speech, grammar, common collocations, examples, synonyms or opposites. But we shouldn’t forget that different words have no one single meaning, so we have to be careful and read through all the meanings.

    Я.Б. [3]










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