Examination Card №13

I. Reading
The legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table are familiar to many British people. The real King Arthur lived in the late 5th and early 6th century. He was a Celtic warrior chief who fought against the Anglo-Saxons.

The stories of Arthur and his knights are full of adventures, meetings with giants, dragons and sorcerers, the characters are tested by their own human weaknesses, such as pride or the passionate love.

According to most versions of the legends, Arthur was born at Tintagel in Cornwall and became King at the age of 15 after he pulled the magic sword Excalibur out of a stone when all the knights of the kingdom had failed to do so.

After becoming King, Arthur gathered round him the most worthy knights in the land. On Arthur's orders the knights all sat at the Round Table, so nobody could sit at the head of the table and claim to be more important than the rest.

Many people now visit Tintagel Castle high above the sea, the place where Arthur was born, and several attempts have been made to identify where Arthur's Camelot was.

II. Writing
Dear Miss Alison,
The course was really great! I liked everything - the school, the learning facilities and especially our great lessons.
When I came to London I just knew a few English words. Now I can say that I'm fluent in English. Your lessons showed me the best practices to speak; how to make research and presentations about interesting language topics - in general all the tools that I'll need in my further studies.
The most important thing is that my time spent here has helped me to integrate into a new culture. I learned new things every single day. I hope I'll have a chance to attend your course again.
Thank you for the wonderful time I had at your language school.
Yours sincerely,
Ann Shevchenko
Ukraine

III. Speaking
Language belongs to each of us. Everybody uses words. What is it about language that makes people so curious? The answer is that there is almost nothing in our lives that is not touched by language. We live in and by language.

The rise of English is a story of a wonderful success. When Julius Caesar landed in Britain nearly two thousand years ago, English did not exist. Nowadays 750 million people all over the world use English, and half of those speak it as a mother tongue. At the beginning of the 21st century English is more widely spoken and written, than any other language has ever been. It has become the language of the planet, the first truly global language. Three quarters of the world's mail are in English. More than half of the world's scientific periodicals and eighty per cent of the information in the world's computers are also in English. English is the main language of business. It is the language of sports: the official language of the Olympics. These all facts have made English an international language.

Everybody knows that knowledge of foreign languages opens many doors before you, gives you many opportunities and advantages. Knowledge of foreign languages has always been a sign of high culture and erudition. It's your passport to success. It helps to promote cultural education and technical cooperation among nations. Nowadays Ukraine has relations with different countries of the world. Thousands of joint ventures have appeared in every city and town of our country. Besides, a lot of foreign delegations come to our country every day. Our businessmen, tourists, experts often go abroad. That's why people study foreign languages in every possible way.

I am lucky to have been studying at school with profound learning of English for 11 years already. Our English lessons have a lot to offer but they also demand too much from me. If you want to know English well, you have to practise all the language skills and try to use the language as much as possible. As I'm a very active and busy person so it's difficult for me to find time for regular classes. That's why I have chosen the good English self-study software. These are made of a few CDs and accompanying books. These provide valuable listening and comprehension practice. I think that the best way to learn any language is to go to the country where it is spoken as a mother tongue. The proverb says, "A new language - a new world" and it is really true. Studying a foreign language provides an opportunity for you to get to know a different culture, history, customs and traditions and develop skills that will be beneficial to your society as well as to yourself.

If I have time and a possibility I will probably learn French or German to have better career opportunities and be flexible at the modern labour market.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-21