RUSSIAN NATIONAL TEST 01_TS_2cols.qxp 12.11.
2009 22:36 Page 6
TEST-1
READING COMPREHENSION PRACTICE
Match the paragraphs with the right headings.
A A very important invention
B Communicating without words
C A festive meal
D Healing the sick
1 Pufferfish contain a powerful poison called
‘tetrodoxin’ in their organs and skin that
can kill a person within hours. But to the
Japanese, pufferfish (known as ‘Fugu’) is a
delicacy – an expensive dish that people
enjoy eating on special occasions. Tokyo has
between 700 and 800 restaurants that serve
pufferfish. Chefs have to pass a very difficult
exam before they are allowed to prepare
this hazardous dish.
2 For over 3,000 years, the Chinese have
used a special range of medical therapies
to treat people who are ill. These
therapies include herbal medicine,
acupuncture and massage, and they are
still a very important part of the public
health care system in China. Today, some
Western doctors also use Chinese medi-
cine. They use it to treat illnesses that
Western medicine can not cure.
3 Earplugs are a wonderful way to keep out
noise. The trouble is, they keep out the
sounds you want to hear, too! But don't
worry because in a few years time, you
will be able to buy earplugs that let you
hear the sounds you want to hear and
block out the ones you don’t! The scien-
tists who are developing these earplugs
hope they will be in shops by 2013.
4 In the US, Thanksgiving Day is an annual
one-day holiday on the fourth Thursday
of November. On this day, family and
friends all get together to eat a large
E A future invention
F Helping communication
G Unsafe medicine
H A risky meal
meal and to give thanks for what they
have. Certain kinds of food are tradi-
tionally served for Thanksgiving dinner –
most famously, roast turkey, mashed
potatoes and pumpkin pie.
5 The telephone has changed our lives
more than most people realise. The
telephone made instant communication
possible and led to other amazing inven-
tions such as the television and the com-
puter. Without the telephone, there
would be no Internet, no radio and no
mobile phones. Today, a world without
the telephone is unimaginable.
6 The Esperanto language was created in
the late 18th century by Dr Ludovic
Lazarus Zamenhof. It took him about 10
years to develop. Dr Zamenhof created
Esperanto because he wanted to encou-
rage peace and understanding between
people of different countries. He thought
that inventing a simple language that
everyone in the world could learn to
speak very easily would help achieve this.
7 By watching other people’s body lan-
guage, facial expressions and tone of
voice, you can learn a lot. For example, if
your friend tells you he is not angry with
you, but his hands are clenched, his eyes
are narrow and his voice is shaking, you
can be sure that he is. So, non-verbal
signals can show others what we are
really thinking and feeling!
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Complete the gaps with the parts from A-G

Russia is a huge country covering a large part As a general rule, the severity and length of
of Eastern Europe and the whole of northern winter increase the further eastwards you go in
Asia. Russia. The only harbours that remain icefree
throughout the year are those on the Black Sea
Russia’s climate is continental 1) ..... . Much
coast and around Murmansk and Archangelsk,
of the country has only two seasons; summer
4) ..... . The sea route along from the Atlantic
and winter.
to the Pacific is kept open for short periods in
There are two main reasons for the cold of the summer with the help of icebreakers.
the Russian winter. Firstly, the large area of
The cold is so extreme in northern and
land means that no warm ocean waters are able
eastern Siberia that a phenomenon called
to affect the land mass. The second reason is
permafrost exists. This is where the soil below
the high latitude of much of the country. Its
the topsoil remains frozen all year 5) ..... . This
northern coastline borders the Arctic Ocean,
raises problems for building construction and
2) ..... .
pipelines.
The harshness of the Russian winter causes
Almost everywhere in the country, rainfall
particular problems for transport. The rivers
levels are low. In fact, in some major grain pro
remain frozen for long periods in winter,
ducing areas there can be droughts, 6) ..... .
3) ..... . As road transport can also be difficult,
The spring and early summer months are the
railways and air transport are very important.
wettest in much of the country.

A although the topsoil may thaw out
during the summer
B which remains frozen for much of
the year
C so except in the extreme south,
inland water transport is not possible
D which drastically affects crop
production some years
E which means that it experiences
anything from Arctic to hot desert
conditions
F where the waters of the Gulf Stream
and Atlantic Ocean raise sea
temperatures
G where tea and rice are grown