GRADE X ESL_Sabina Asadova

TEXT 1

Usually when one says Germany, among the first things that come to people’s mind is Hitler and the
Berlin Wall. Its population shows an extraordinary respect for its tradition, history and humanity.
Germans are very proud of their country and lives. They have many rules in traffic, recycling and daily
life. If you have an appointment with someone from Germany you should be as punctual as him or
arrive there 5 minutes earlier. They will be offended if you arrive late, as it is considered as a rude
behavior. Germans are also well-organised. A typical German wouldn’t leave home without planning
things. Creative Germans try to find a solution for every problem. Many inventions are made by
Germans, such as printing press, X-Rays, record players, etc. Their talent for innovation grows from year
to year. In 2014 Germany broke a world record for its total number of invention, which is more than
65,000 patent applications.

TEXT 2

Throughout the history the meaning of numbers have played an important role in the life of mankind.
Every number has a certain power and they have relationships with all things in nature. Numerology is
the study of numbers and their influence in our lives. Pythagoras believed numbers had souls, as well as
magical powers. He divided the numbers into two groups: odd and even, light and dark, etc. His most
scared number was number 10. Numbers are also used in superstitions, religions and in mythology
around the globe. In Islam number, seven is important; seven heavens, seven times around the Kaaba,
seven verses in the first surah are some examples of this number’s importance. In fairy tales, magic
numbers are widely used. We all have heard countless fairy tales containing three wishes or have three
challenges.

TEXT 3

People who set goals are 27% more likely to achieve results than those who simply, “work hard”. By
setting goals, you can manage your time, get maximum benefit from it and have a clear idea of what you
have to achieve in that particular time. According to motivational speaker, Brian Tracy, there are 4 steps
in setting and achieving goals. Firstly, take a piece of paper and write down 10 goals that you would like
to achieve in the next 12 month. Then choose the biggest goal from the list and focus on it. Secondly,
write your goals in present tense, because our subconscious mind can only register phrases in present
tense. Thirdly, write your goals in the positive sense. Don’t use any negative words or phrases. Finally,
start writing your goals with the personal tense. It means use the word “I” in all your goals.

TEXT 4

When we communicate with others, we express our thoughts and feelings not only through the words
but also for our body language, our conscious minds only controls 5 percent of our actions, including
communication. However, 95 percent happens beyond our awareness. There is a specific body language
behavior that we cannot control when we tell a lie. According to the outdated knowledge, people who
look to their left while speaking are lying, while people who look to the right are telling the truth. Dr.
Lillian Glass, a body language expert, says that lies will often try to give you too much information to
make this story believable. When a person puts his hands over his mouth, touches his ears or speaks
louder. It means he is lying.
 GRADE X ESL_Sabina Asadova
TEXT 5

A famous novelist Joanna Rowling wrote her first book “Rabbit” at the age of six. The idea of “Harry
Potter” came to her mind in 1990 while sitting on a delayed train from Manchester to London. Divorced,
jobless and penniless Joanna was sharing her ruined apartment with her young daughter and they were
living on financial aid given by the government. She was spending much of her time writing "Harry
Potter" and imagining a magical world of witches and wizards in cafés. After receiving a lot of rejections
from book publishers, a printing house “Bloomsbury, agreed to publish the book under the penname J.
K. Rowling in 1997. She added the "K" to her penname, as women's names were less interesting to male
readers. “Harry Potter” book series and films brought Joanna worldwide fame and wealth.

TEXT 6

A miniature book has 3 types: macrominiature, microminiature and ultra-microminiature books. Books
were first printed in the 15th century in big sizes. Printers began testing the minimized size after the
technology of printing began and around 200 miniature books were printed in the sixteenth century. In
the 19th century, technological innovations in printing enabled the creation of smaller and smaller type.
Some miniature books are created on fine Moroccan leather or woodcuts, while others are cheap and
low in quality. Baku Museum of Miniature Books-was opened in 2002. It is the only museum of
miniature books in the world and was included to the Guinness Book of Records. 7000 books from 67
different countries, collected by Zarifa Salahova, are exhibited in the museum.

TEXT 7

Dastan is an epic genre and is widely seen in the literature of the Near and Middle East, Middle and
Southeast Asia. Dastan is one of important ways for people to exchange information, express emotions,
and maintain culture. It has 2 types: folk art and fairy tales. Folk art deals with heroic themes in poetic
form, but fairy tales talk about traditions of romantic, heroic and fantastic themes. Fairy tales are often
interrupted by monologues and dialogues in verse. The dastan “Dede Gorgud” is also called
“Oguzname”. Until the 15th century in classic Azerbaijani, Uzbek, Persian literature dastan was
considered as romantic narrative poems, such as “Leili and Medjnun”, “Khosrov and Shirin”, etc. Ideal
heroes and themes of love and adventure are characteristic features of dastan. Dastan developed as a
genre between the 16th and 18th century.

TEXT 8

Chingiz Abdullayev is a notable writer and Secretary of the Union of Azerbaijani Writers. Chingiz wrote
his first novel in 1985. It was banned from publication because of the secrets it revealed. His 86 works
were published in 17 languages in 23 countries. He sold more than 20 million copies. The US magazine
“Christian Science Monitor” called him one of the best contemporary writers in the political detective
genre. His novels are listed in The Golden Fund of World Detective Literature. Drongo is his main
character and the name was taken from a small, brave Asian bird. Chingiz Abdullayev donates his money
coming from speeches or lectures to refugees in Azerbaijan. In 2012, he has campaigned to stop male
violence against women.
 GRADE X ESL_Sabina Asadova
TEXT 9

“Life of Pi” is a novel written by Yann Martel and directed by Ang Lee. Although they are written and
directed under the same name, they reflect two different people’s points of view. The novel is a
historical, Pacific voyage of a man and the tiger, called Richard Parker. In the book, the author relies on
words to describe colours and visual images. However, in the film director uses computer graphic
imagery, or CGI and adds visual effects to the scenes. Most of the animals in the movie, including tiger,
orangutan, zebra, reptiles and flying fish are animated. So we get a strong sense of their thoughts, facial
expressions and gestures. In the novel, Pi spends a great deal of time training the tiger. He uses the
whistle and the stick to teach the tiger to react his commands. However, in the film dehydrated and
exhausted Pi gives up the training. The endings of both film and novel are left to the readers and
viewers.

TEXT 10

Every year, natural disasters affect about 250 million people and global warming is making droughts,
floods and avalanches more common. Sadly, we can't stop the disasters, but we can reduce the number
of people who die in Australia frequently experiences extreme weather with flash floods, sandstorms
and droughts in some areas. In 2011, Cyclone Yasi hit Queensland. It is a Category 5 cyclone, which is
called extremely dangerous by meteorologists and brings widespread destruction. It began on the
Mount Isa and spread across the Coral Sea to Queensland State. About 400000 people live in the region
hit by the Cyclone Yasi due to good planning and a good response by disaster management groups.
There were no deaths or serious injuries, however. Hundreds of properties were destroyed and are
uninhabitable.

TEXT 11

Climate change is a great threat to the world. Sea levels are rising and oceans are becoming warmer.
Longer droughts threaten crops, wildlife and freshwater resources. Millions of people run off their
homes from natural disasters caused by climate change. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has hit
record levels in the last 150 years. The planet's temperature has risen about 1 degree Celsius since the
late 19th century. Five warmest years have taken place since 2010. 2016 was the warmest year on
record. According to the scientists, over the past 50 years 95% of global warming happened by human
activities. Warmer conditions lead to more evaporation and some regions are becoming wetter and
others dryer. Volcanos and greenhouse gases contribute to the progress of climate change.

TEXT 12

Australia is a home to different nations and cultures. The original inhabitants are aboriginals, who
settled there 50,000 years ago. However, now they comprise 3.1% of Australia's population. Since 1945
over 7 million immigrants have flown to Australia from more than 200 countries and about 27% of its
population is foreign born. They come for jobs, a better climate and a new start. However, now
Australian government changed citizenship requirements. Australia’s Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull
recently mentioned some of the key changes in his speech. To be accepted to the Australian citizenship
immigrants now will need to be permanent resident for 4 years and have competent English. They also
need to pass a test prepared by Australian government. Some Australian banks have Migrant Support
Service, which offers help with money matters, housing, education and translations.
 GRADE X ESL_Sabina Asadova
TEXT 13

Renewable energy is the fastest growing source of energy in the world. It is an unlimited source of
power, it can stop climate change and decrease pollution. Solar panels and wind turbines are two of the
most common basics of renewable energy. Solar energy production costs depend on local weather
conditions. In a cloudy country, the cost per produced kWh is higher than in sunnier countries. A sunny
country like Azerbaijan has built a solar power plant in Pirallahi. More than 4,000 solar panels have been
installed there, which allow to produce cheaper solar energy. Solar power can be used in hospitals to
refrigerate medical supplies. A wind turbine is a device that changes the wind's energy into electrical
one. Wind turbines differ in size and shape. The smallest turbines are used for battery charging on boats
and caravans or to power traffic warning signs.

TEXT 14

ECO-Action was founded in 1989 and its office is located in the Summerhill, US. It was created with the
understanding that environmental problems threaten the health and quality of life. Since 1989, Eco-
Action has assisted in organizing more than 140 community groups. Eco Baku is one of them. It is a new
environmental group in our city aiming to encourage more people to take part in community activities,
such as cleaning the local surroundings, etc. Eco Baku connects young Azerbaijanis who are interested in
protecting the environment and empowers them become active within their communities. On the15th
of September- World Cleanup Day Eco Baku gave away 500 free up-cycled bags to the general public.
150 countries and millions of people around the world will join the biggest ever social event held by Eco-
Action.

TEXT 15

E. Musk is planning to establish a million-person city on the Red Planet in the next 50 to 100 years. His
company SpaceX is building a huge, reusable rocket-spaceship called the BFR to explore and settle on
the Moon, Mars and other planets. The BFR means "Big Falcon Rocket". However, on the 20th
November E. Musk announced renaming “BFR” to “Starship” on Twitter. The rocket is currently being
developed at the Port of Los Angeles at a cost of $5 billion. It will be able to take up 100 tons of cargo or
100 passengers to Mars. The company is planning to start uncrewed launch tests in late 2019, but a
crewed flight in 2024. Yusaku Maezawa, a Japanese billionaire and art collector, has already bought all
the seats and confirmed that the artists will fly for free.

TEXT 16

Finland was named “the happiest country” by the UN. Its population is about 5.4 million. 45 languages
are spoken in Helsinki schools, but 85% citizens are Finns and the rest is Swedes and other nationalities.
Finland came out of World War II as an economically paralyzed society. However, now it is a major
exporter of various freshwater resources and minerals such as copper, gold, iron, nickel, etc. Finland is
the most forested country in Europe, as forests cover up to 74% of the country. It is very rich in lakes.
There are about 190,000 lakes throughout the country. Electronics is the single largest manufacturing
industry in Finland. In 2010, Finland became the first country in the world to make internet access a
legal right for all citizens.
 GRADE X ESL_Sabina Asadova
TEXT 17

Alimardan bey Topchubashov was one of the founders of the first democratic state in the East. He was a
Foreign Minister of the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan during 1918-1920 and attended the Paris
Peace Conference. He collected official documents in English and French and printed them in a 50 page
book. The US President demanded the documents to recognize Azerbaijan’s independence. After a
serious illness, he died in 1934 in Paris and was buried in St. Cloud cemetery. His name was given to a
street in Baku, and the Institute of Experimental Surgery. Recently ADA university has offered an
International Fellowship Program named after Alimardan Topchubashov. The program is open to
international students doing their Bachelor or Master. The aim of the program is to enhance the
diversity of students and relations between Azerbaijan and friendly countries.

TEXT 18

The Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline or TANAP is a natural gas pipeline beginning in Azerbaijan and
ending in Italy. It is the world’s largest and highest capacity natural gas pipeline. The construction of the
1,850-kilometre long pipeline started in March 2015. It connects the Shah Deniz Gas Field in Azerbaijan
to Europe through the South Caucasus Pipeline. It allows the first Azerbaijani gas to export to Europe.
$800 million out of $8.5 billion was approved by the International Bank. The capacity of the pipeline is
initially 16 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year and at the final stage it will increase to 60 billion.
The TANAP is operated by SOCAR. The project company is headquartered in the Netherlands.

TEXT 19

Some sports are played by millions of people all around the world. However, unpopular sports, including
chess boxing, underwater hockey, cheese-rolling event, etc. are played only by individuals. Chess boxing
is a mixture of chess and boxing. The battle consists of 11 rounds and during the all rounds competitors
take turns playing traditional chess and boxing. Underwater hockey is played worldwide and involves
two teams trying to push a ball into the opposing team’s goal using a stick. The sport has its own World
Championship, which first took place in 1980. Competitors take part in the annual Cheese-Rolling event
in the U.K. A large cheese wheel is rolled down a hill, and competitors race after it. The first person to
reach the bottom of the hill wins the cheese.

TEXT 20

Azerbaijan’s most famous national sport Chovgan started more than 2,000 years ago. It first officially
appeared in the 7th century. The game shares some features with polo and is played on a horseback.
Chovgan was named after a type of stick to catch sheep and was mainly played by farmers on Karabakh
horses. Two teams of five riders compete on a flat, grassy field under the rhythm of folk music “Janghi”.
Players use a wooden stick to hit a type of ball through a three-metre goal. This national sport gained
popularity again with the introduction of the President’s Cup in 2006. Since then eight teams from
around the country compete in the Tourism Centre every December. Chovgan was included in the
UNESCO’s List of Cultural Heritage since 2013.
 GRADE X ESL_Sabina Asadova
TEXT 21

The ancient Olympic Games were religious festivals in honor of Zeus. The games were held in Olympia
and lasted for five days. About 400,000 spectators were watching the games, including running,
jumping, boxing, wrestling at the stadium each day. The first modern Olympics were held in Athens,
Greece, in 1896. However, Berlin Summer Olympic Games in 1936 was different. It started with the first
modern Olympic flame. It must be created using only sunlight and a mirror. A runner begins carrying the
torch in the Olympic stadium a few months before the Olympic Games. Traditionally, the torch is carried
on foot. However, when the torch must go overseas, it is sent by private plane. The torch was also
carried underwater for the Sydney Summer Games in 2000. In the end, the flame is used to light a big
pot and it burns throughout the games.