CARD 1

1 Read the text and translate it.

Covent Garden is the biggest market-place in Britain. If you come to Covent Garden in the
afternoon, you’ll only see enormous buildings and a few tourists. But if you come here early in the
morning, you’ll see hundreds of people buying and selling vegetables, fruit and flowers. Cars,
vans, lorries are everywhere. There are voices everywhere. Some people are carrying heavy
boxes of fruit and vegetables. They are crying: «Mind your backs, please». Before the
businessmen arrive at their offices, all the cars and vans will have arrived at the shops all over
London. They’ll have delivered everything for customers.
Covent Garden has been the most important market-place in London for 300 years. It was
officially established by King Charles II in 1670. It was called Covent Garden because it was the
garden of the monks of Westminster Abbey.
2 Give a talk about personality and hobbies (musical tastes): (10-15 sentences)
 what kind of music people listen to and what type of personality they have;
 what kind of music you like and if it shows your personality;
 in which ways you show your personality
 give examples

CARD 2
1 Read the text and translate it.
A wedding is one of the biggest family celebrations. A traditional wedding in the UK is a
formal event and there are lots of rules that go with it.
First, there is the dress code. Traditionally, men must wear suits and ties. They needn’t
wear hats, although at a very formal wedding the groom and his best man often wear top hats.
Women wear dresses or suits and they must wear hats. You mustn’t wear white (only the bride
wears white) or black (because it is too serious).
There are other traditions too. The bride’s father makes a speech at the wedding. The
bride’s mother and the groom’s parents needn’t make a speech, but the groom’s best friend (the
best man) makes a speech too.
Traditionally, the bride’s family pay for the wedding, but many modern couples now plan
and pay for their special day themselves. The average wedding costs nearly £20,000, so many
parents are happy about this change!
2 Give a talk about yourself (10-15 sentences)
 Describe your personality
 Tell about the type of people you like/dislike
 Tell about your hobbies
 Tell about your ambitions
 CARD 3
1 Read the text and translate it.
Over 25 million people in the UK use Spacebook. That's 45% of the population! And on
average, each user spends over six hours a month on Spacebook. Is Spacebook a dangerous
obsession or just harmless fun? Seventeen-year-old Bethan has written on her blog about what it
was like to stop using Spacebook....
I think I am a Spacebook addict. I log on to Spacebook every day to chat to my friends—
real friends and loads of online friends. Sometimes I have ten conversations going at the same
time. I upload photos and update my Spacebook profile all the time. But recently I’ve started to feel
worried if I am offline for more than a few hours. And then last weekend I forgot to meet a real
friend because I was online! I’ve realised I could have a problem. So I’ve decided to give it up for a
while …
2 Give a talk about a kind of sport or a sportsman (10-15 sentences)
 name the kinds of sports popular with young people
 tell where the event takes/took place
 what happens/happened
 would you like to try this sport, why/why not

CARD 4
1 Read the text and translate it.
A tornado, or ‘twister’, is a strong, dangerous column of air that is in contact with the ground
and a cloud at the same time. Most tornadoes have wind speeds below 177 km/h. They travel for
a few kilometres and then disappear. But some have wind speeds of 480 km/h. They can be 3 km
wide and they can stay on the ground for more than 100 km. These twisters are the most
dangerous. They can pick up animals, houses, cars and people and drop them far away.
Tornadoes can happen anywhere in the world, but they are very frequent in the United
States. There is tornado weather in all of the American states, but there is one area that has more
tornadoes than any other.
2 Imagine you have just received a birthday present in the post from your English
friend:
 thank your friend for the gift;
 say why you like the gift and how you use
  say what happened on your birthday and what other presents you received
 tell about your plans for the next weekend

CARD 5
1 Read the text and translate it.
Hundreds of electronic devices are now used for scientific, industrial and everyday
purposes. They help to do jobs better or more rationally than before. So, industrial electronics
undoubtedly plays a very important role today. You can easily find many electronic devices at
home: a CD player, a TV set, an MP3 player, a computer and many others. The first electronic
equipment used radio lamps. The next stage came when transistors were invented. The devices
became more powerful and much smaller. The number of devices increased greatly, some
multifunctional devices appeared (radio + tape recorder). Computers and calculators became
smaller, cassette recorders and video- cassette recorders appeared. The next period was the
period of microchips. The latest period of industrial electronic development is the period of total
digitization of all electronic devices.
2 Give a talk about an online game (10-15 sentences):
 what you can do there
 what the dangers of online games are
 why people play online games
 if you play any online games or prefer something different

CARD 6
1 Read the text and translate it.
The dustbin is full to the top with crisp packets and coloured plastic. In fact, it's so full that
it's difficult to put the lid on. But the Strauss family, who own this dirty, old dustbin full of rubbish,
are very proud of it. Why? Because it contains all the family's rubbish for a whole year!
Two years ago, Richard and Rachelle Strauss and their daughter Verona read an article
about plastic bags and how they cause pollution and harm sea creatures. The decided to stop
using plastic bags completely. Now, when they buy food, they reuse their own bags each time.
They recycle as much as they can - glass bottles, plastic bottles, paper, cardboard, cans - and
they simply don't buy things if they can't recycle the packaging. And they never throw food away -
they eat their leftovers or use them to make compost.
2 Imagine you’ve gone somewhere on holidays. Tell about (10-15 sentences):
  The activities you have already done
 What the weather is
 Your plans for tomorrow
 When you’re coming back

CARD 7
1 Read the text and translate it.
Robin Hood is one of the most popular and interesting figures in English folklore, and his
story is quite well known across the world. In fact, about the adventures of Robin Hood have
existed for over six hundred years. There have been several films made about him, including three
in Hollywood. But who was he, and did he actually exist? In the thirteenth century, the story goes,
there was a brave young man in Nottingham who fought against injustice with his band of outlaws.
At that time, King Richard and his army were fighting in foreign lands. Richard's brother John
ruled England while he was away. John was a mean and cruel ruler, and so was his friend-the
terrible Sheriff of Nottingham. In the legend, Robin Hood was angry at the injustice and decided to
fight against it.
2 Tell about a famous ceremony or about stunt industry. Tell about (10-15
sentences):
 Its history
 Some interesting facts
 Express your opinion about it

CARD 8
1 Read the text and translate it.
Ever since the horse and buggy, people have been inventing new ways of travelling – some
more effective than others. Here is one of them…
Canadian teenager Ben Gulak has recently won an award for the best new invention of the
future – the Uno. He has already appeared on American television to demonstrate his unique
electric vehicle; it looks exactly like a motor scooter except the wheels are beside each other. A
computerized system keeps the vehicle carefully balanced. You can easily ride it – it has
absolutely no controls. There is only an on-off switch. To move it, you move your body. To go
forward, you simply lean forward. To stop it, you lean back. You lean left or right to go round a
corner. ‘People really seem to like it,’ says Gulak. With the right business help, the Uno might
become a common sight on our roads in the future.
2 Give a talk about a film you like/don't like (10-15 sentences):
 name the types of films you know
 give the basic facts about the film
 tell about the story, characters, special effects, music, dialogues etc.
 your overall opinion of the film

CARD 9
1 Read the text and translate it.
Table manners vary from country to country. But knowing how to behave during meals is
very important in any community. We have certain rules that tell us what to do, how to eat and
what utensils to use. There are some things that you should and shouldn`t do wherever you are.
Never speak with your mouth full, because it is inappropriate to show people what you have in
your mouth. So chew with your mouth closed, do not make noises when you eat and don`t make a
mess on your plate. Get rid of your bad habit of putting your elbows on the table. It is not polite to
make bad comments about food; the cook can be seriously offended. When you want something
that is standing far from you, ask the other guests to pass it. Take as much food as you want, but
eat as much as you take. It is better to ask for another portion than to leave your plate full. Eating
and drinking too fast is also unacceptable even if you are very hungry.
2 Give a talk about online shopping (10-15 sentences):
 Use the words: sale, bids, advertising, bargain, goods.
 how you can buy things online and popular websites abroad and in our country
 if it is dangerous to buy things online
 any unusual things that have ever been sold in the Internet

CARD 10
1 Read the text and translate it.
In 1985 there was a terrible famine in the African country and his friend Alexander Mendis
saw the news reports and wanted to make a difference. They began a charity called Comic Relief,
with the help of charity worker Jane Tewson. In 1988 the charity had the idea of selling red plastic
noses to raise money. It was a huge success, and selling noses became a regular part of the
charity is fundraising efforts. They also encouraged people around Britain to organise sponsored
events the funnier the better. The money helped projects all over Africa and in the UK too. In 1997,
BBC television supported Comic Relief with a whole afternoon and evening of special TV
programmes calling it Red Nose Day. People around Britain organised fundraising event around
the same time and sent their money to Red Nose Day. In total, the event raised over 27 million for
charity.
2 Complain about a faulty item. Tell (10-15 sentences):
 Where and when you bought it
 What the problem is
 What you would like the seller to do with this problem
 If it is dangerous to buy things online, why?

CARD 11
1 Read the text and translate it.
Christmas is the biggest festival in Britain and is celebrated on 25th December. The four
weeks before Christmas are called Advent, and are traditionally celebrated in churches by lighting
a candle each Sunday during Advent. Nowadays, many people in Britain are not very religious, but
they still celebrate Christmas. But watch out - the preparations begin long before Advent. In fact,
as early as September or October, you start to see signs that Christmas is on the way. The first
places to tell us that we should be thinking about Christmas are the shops. People in Britain spend
on average over £600 per person on Christmas every year, and the shops encourage people to
spend more and more. Shops put up Christmas decorations and play cheesy Christmas songs or
carols. Some big shops on Regent Street and Oxford Street in London create wonderful displays
in their windows with moving characters, falling snow, colourful lights and music.
2 Give a talk about recent inventions (10-15 sentences):
 how this invention works
 what is the invention used for
 if it is useful and popular
 what the disadvantages are

CARD 12
1 Read the text and translate it.
Different countries have different superstitions.
For example, in Britain and Japan, if a black cat walks in front of you, you will have good
luck. But in the USA and many other countries, it’s the opposite: if a black cat crosses your path, it
will bring you bad luck. However, many superstitions are almost the same the world over. For
example, if you break a mirror, you will be unlucky for seven years, but if you touch wood, it will
prevent bad luck.
 There also superstitions about numbers. If you look at the seats on some airplanes, you will
not find the number 13. In Japan, the number 4 is unlucky because it is pronounced the same as
the word for “death”. However, dates, where the numbers are the same (for example 12/12/12),
are very lucky. If a Japanese couple of decides to get married, they will try to have the wedding on
such a date.
2 Give a talk about a special occasion or a holiday abroad (10-15 sentences):
 the history of the holiday
 traditions of the celebration
 interesting facts about this holiday
 your opinion about this holiday

CARD 13
1 Read the text and translate it.
On 14th February people all around the world send cards, flowers, chocolates and presents
to someone they love. But is this just commercial, or is there a tradition behind it?
In the Middle Ages, 14th February became a special day for people who were in love. The
tradition of secret love messages began in the 19th century, when people could send letters
cheaply by post for the first time. Before that, they usually delivered the messages themselves, but
now men and women could send love notes
secretly, and nobody knew who the sender was. At the same time, card companies started
making special Valentine’s cards for people to send. And this year people around the world will
send over one billion Valentine's Day cards!
2 Imagine you are having a party. Invite your friend to a party, then accept or decline
the invitation (10-15 sentences):
 Explain the reasons for party, say when and where the party is going to be held
 Say what the entertainment plans are
 Include some colloquial expressions
 If you accept, ask questions, if you decline, give reasons

CARD 14
1 Read the text and translate it.
Twenty years ago, recycling was something you only did if you were really interested in
being ‘green’. Today, recycling is a normal activity for families all around the UK. Local councils
make it easier for families to recycle by collecting materials from their houses. They even give
them two different bins, so families can separate their rubbish. Recently, some local councils have
decided to do even more; they are putting computer chips inside the rubbish bins. The chips
measure the amount of rubbish in the bin and also give information about the kind of materials in
the bin: paper, glass, metal etc. In other words, if the family throws away these materials instead
of recycling them, the council finds out
2 Give a talk about a natural disaster (10-15 sentences):
 name the natural disasters you know
 when and where it happened/may happen
 the damage
 the consequences of the disaster
 CARD 15
1 Read the text and translate it.
Printed books have bought and sold for hundreds of years and during that time, they
haven’t changed very much. Until now.
The idea of an electronic book with a screen instead of pages has become reality. E-books
readers have been produced and millions of e-books have been downloaded from online stores.
At the moment there are about 725 000 e-books on Amazon – but thousands more will be added
every year in the future. So has the final chapter been written? Will printed books be completely
replaced by e-books? They haven’t been replaced yet, but perhaps soon real books won’t be sold
in shops at all- they’ll be kept in museums!
2 Give a talk about ecological problems and ways to solve them (10-15 sentences):
 Use the words: waste, harm, reduce, reuse recycle
 What sort of things can you recycle?
 Give examples how you can reuse things
 What else can you do to help the environment

CARD 1 CARD 7 CARD 13

CARD 2 CARD 8 CARD 14

CARD 3 CARD 9 CARD 15

CARD 4 CARD 10 CARD 16

CARD 5 CARD 11 CARD 17

CARD 6 CARD 12 CARD 18