Examination Card №4

I. Reading
Ukrainian settlers from Galicia and Bukovyna who arrived in Canada in the late 1890s brought their cooking traditions to their new land. They adapted to local conditions as not all kinds of fruit, vegetables and crops could be grown on new areas.

So the settlers replaced some ingredients in their cooking: prunes and raisins instead of fresh fruit, pork was substituted by beef, goose, turkey, duck and local species of fish. The traditional recipes of cabbage rolls (holubtsy), sausage and some kinds of desserts have also been changed a little according to new conditions of nature and agriculture.

II. Writing
From: Peter
To: Alex
Subject: Christmas in Ukraine

Dear Alex,
I am glad that you are coming to Ukraine soon. You'll celebrate Christmas twice this year - isn't that wonderful? This is to give you some details concerning your journey.
Firstly, I have to remind you that the weather in December and January in Ukraine is colder than it is in Great Britain - much colder, sometimes the temperature is -22-25°C and there is a lot of snow. Secondly, we are going to spend a few days in the Carpathians as I have promised. So, take comfortable, warm, easy-to-clean clothes. Don't take too much - for a week you should take 2-3 shirts and pairs of trousers or jeans, 2 pairs of shoes (skiing boots we can rent at the ski resort), a jacket or a jumper and a lot of underwear.
Christmas traditions are great. Since we are in Zakarpattia at this time you'll have a traditional 12 dishes dinner with us and see the traditional caroling. If you'd like it, we can attend a church service there.
I am looking forward to meeting you.
Best wishes,
Peter

III. Speaking
The mass media play an important part in our lives. Newspapers, radio and especially TV inform us of what is going on in this world and give us wonderful possibilities for education and entertainment. They also shape our views and influence the way we see the world. There are a lot of different TV programmes and newspapers: a quiz show, a review, a commentary, an entertainment programme on TV and a quality newspaper (a broadsheet), tabloid, a local paper etc.

Of course, not all newspapers and TV programmes report the events objectively, but serious journalists and TV reporters try to be fair and prove us with the reliable information.

It is true that the world today is full of dramatic events and most news seems to be bad news. But people aren't interested in ordinary events. That is why, there are so many programmes and articles about natural disasters, plane crashes, wars, murders and robberies. Good news doesn't usually make headlines. Bad news does.

Some people say that journalists are given too much freedom. They often trude on people's private lives; they follow celebrities and print sensational stories about them, which are untrue or half-true. They take photos of them in their most intimate moments. The question is - should this be allowed? Do you remember how the paparazzi pursued Diana, Princess of Wales, to the scene of her death in Paris on August 31, 1997? Who was guilty of that accident? It is quite possible that journalists were, isn't it?

The main source of news for millions of people is television. People like TV news because they can see everything with their own eyes. And that's an important advantage. Seeing, as we know, is believing. Besides, it's much more difficult for politicians to be in front of the cameras than on the pages of a newspaper. There isn't any person in our country that hasn't seen Savik Shuster's TV talk show "Freedom of Speech", is there?

Still, many people prefer the radio. It's good to listen to in the car, or in the open air, or when you do something about the house.

Newspapers do not react to events as quickly as TV, but they usually provide us with extra details, comment and background information.

The Internet has recently become another important source of information. Its main advantage is that news appears on the screen as soon as things happen in real life and you don't have to wait for news on TV.

In conclusion, I'd like to say that our life would be incomplete without the media sources. But we always have to take the information they provide with a pint of salt concerning its accuracy and quality.

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