Mark the statements true (T) or false (F)

1. 
   Only three pupils in class can be considered to be game addicts.
   
2. 
   Only one pupil in class can develop a hardcore digital addiction.
   
3. 
   Digital addicts don’t like to communicate and cooperate with classmates.
   
4. 
   They get good marks in all the subjects.
   
5. 
   Only the US scientists are worried about the problem.
   
6. 
   Playing five hours a day is enough time for being an obsessive gamer.
   
7. 
   There are no serious consequences of playing video games for children.
   
8. 
   Only a few kids gave up their addiction when having been warned.
   
9. 
   There are some similarities between video gaming and gambling.
   
10. 
    Doctors do not consider that video game addiction is a disease.
    

1. Which is mentioned as a potential risk of digital addiction?

a) Fear of interacting with people in social situations

b) Good grades

c) Weight gain

d) Fear of leaving one’s room or house

a) Many kids became reluctant to games

b) The most serious problem was depression

c) Majority of the kids were still playing

d) They behaved in a strange way.
3. According to the study, children playing more than 30 hours of video games a week are more vulnerable to…

a) psychological problems

b) gambling addiction

c) video game burnout

d) digital pathologies.
4. “Passing phase” implies…

a) something that continues for a long time.

b) something that only lasts a short time.

c) when people share opinions.

d) when people play games with each other.
5. As used here, the word “inclined” means…

a) wishing

b) wanting

c) disposed

d) pretending.
6.We could replace the word “preliminary” with each of the following words EXCEPT…

a) forerunning

b) important

c) prior

1. 
   have 31 or more hours of gameplay a week
   
2. 
   are determined less likely to develop serious mental health issues
   
3. 
   have no psychological disorder
   
4. 
   behave as ordinary students.
   

8. The tone of the article can best be described as…

a) ambivalent

b) concerned

c) overwhelmed

d) apathetic.

a) encourage

b) aid

c) support

10. According to the article, all of the following statements are true EXCEPT…

a) psychologists have recognized pathological gaming as an official condition.

b) only a minority of children are at risk for pathological gaming disorders.

c) video game addiction is likely to be a long-term condition.

d) a variety of problems stem forth from video game addiction.

All over the world, your chances of success in school and life depend more on your family circumstances than on any other factor. By age three, kids with professional parents are already a full year ahead of their poorer peers. They know twice as many words and score 40 points higher on IQ tests. By age 10, the gap is three years. By then, some poor children have not mastered basic reading and math skills, and many never will: this is the age at which failure starts to become irreversible.

A few school systems seem to have figured out how to erase these gaps. Finland ensures that every child completes basic education and meets a rigorous standard. One Finnish district official asked about the number of children who don’t complete school in her city, replied, “I can tell you their names if you want.” In the United States, KIPP charter schools enroll students from the poorest families and ensure that almost every one of them graduates high school—80 percent make it to college.

These success stories offer lessons for the rest of us. First, get children into school early. High-quality preschooling does more for a child’s chances in school and life than any other educational intervention. One study, which began in the 1960s, tracked two groups of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Some were given the opportunity to attend a high-quality preschool; others were not. Thirty-five years later, the kids who went to preschool were earning more, had better jobs, and were less likely to have been in prison or divorced.

Second, recognize that the average kid spends about half his waking hours up until the age of 18 outside of school—don’t ignore that time. KIPP students spend 60 percent more time in school than the average American student. They arrive earlier, leave later, attend more regularly, and even go to school every other Saturday.

Third, pour lots of effort into recruiting and training quality teachers. Studies have shown that kids with the most effective teachers learn three times as much as those with the least effective.

Finally, recognize the value of individualized attention. In Finland, kids who start to struggle receive one-on-one support from their teachers. Roughly one in three Finnish students also gets extra help from a tutor each year. If we can learn the lesson of what works, we can build on it.
Mark the statements true (T) or false (F)

1. 
   Most kids follow the lifepattern of their parents.
   
2. 
   Poorer kids by the age of three know the same amount of information as their richer friends.
   
3. 
   All the kids get approximately 40 points on IQ tests.
   
4. 
   Many schools have the notion how to close the achievement gap.
   
5. 
   Only teachers know the level of knowledge of their students.
   
6. 
   There is high necessity to give a child good preschooling.
   
7. 
   People with high IQ results are less likely to divorce.
   
8. 
   Most kids under 18 tend to spend their spare time going out with friends.
   
9. 
   Knowledge of kids depends on the professionalism of the teachers.
   
10. 
    Success in life directly depends on individual support of the tutors.
    

1.Studies of the “education gap” show that…

a) a family’s economic circumstances are irrelevant to their children’s success in school and life.

b) children from poor families often lag behind those from professional, richer families in measures of vocabulary size and IQ.

c) if students don’t have basic reading and maths skills by age three, they never will.

d) it can never be erased.

a) by the age of three.

b) by the age of ten.

c) if a disadvantaged child does not attend preschool.

d) if a poor child does not spend 60 percent more time in school than an average student.
3. At the age of 10 the gap becomes irrevocable because…

4. 
   parents didn’t help kids to learn the basics of maths;
   
5. 
   parents didn’t read goodnight stories for their kids;
   
6. 
   poorer kids can’t catch up with better ones;
   
7. 
   they missed too much.
   

4. We could replace the word “rigorous” with each of the following words EXCEPT…

a) harsh

b) strict

c) strong

d) rigid.

a) many children in Finland fail to graduate from school.

b) Finland sets demanding standards for its students.

c) one-third of Finnish students receive additional tutoring.

d) Finnish students who struggle get extra individual support from teachers.
6.All of the following statements are true about KIPP charter schools EXCEPT…

a) only 20 percent of KIPP students do not enter college.

b) KIPP students study on Saturdays, arrive later and leave school earlier than other students.

c) KIPP students come from disadvantaged families.

d) KIPP students attend school every other Saturday.
9.The main reason the poorer students get worse jobs is because…

a) they don’t spend enough time in school;

b) they do not attend a kindergarten;

c) they don’t get enough attention from their parents;

d) the kindergarten is of a low quality.
10.In conclusion, the author suggests that…

a) teachers should force their students to learn three times as much information as they are currently required to.

b) schools should hire high-quality teachers and give struggling students more one-on-one attention.

c) spending more time in school can shorten the gap between socioeconomic groups only if students are members of charter programs like KIPP.

d) all of the above.
Text № 55

E-READERS

Right now, I am looking at a shelf full of relics, a collection of has-beens, old-timers, antiques, fossils. Right now I am looking at a shelf full of books. Yes, that's right. If you have some spare cash and are looking to enhance your reading experience, then I highly suggest you consider purchasing an e-reader. E-readers are replacing the books of old, and I welcome them with open arms (as you should).

If you haven't heard of an e-reader and don't know what it is, then please permit the following explanation. An e-reader is a device that allows you to read e-books. An e-book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital. The Oxford Dictionary of English defines the e-book as "an electronic version of a printed book," but e-books can and do exist without any printed equivalent. So now you know what an e-reader is. But you still may be wondering why they put printed books to shame. E-readers are superior to printed books because they save space, are environmentally friendly, and provide helpful reading tips and tools that printed books do not.

E-readers are superior to printed books because they save space. The average e-reader can store thousands of digital books, providing a veritable library at your fingertips. What is more, being the size and weight of a thin hardback, the e-reader itself is relatively petite. It is easy to hold and can fit in a pocketbook or briefcase easily. This makes handling ponderous behemoths such as War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and Les Misérables a breeze. Perhaps the only drawback to the space-saving aspect of an e-reader is that it requires you to find new things to put on your shelves.

In addition, e-readers are superior to books because they are environmentally friendly. The average novel is about 300 pages long. So, if a novel is printed 1000 times, it will use 300,000 pieces of paper. That's a lot of paper! If there are about 80,000 pieces of paper in a tree, this means it takes almost 4 trees to make these 1000 books. Now, we know that the average bestseller sells about 20,000 copies per week. That means that it takes over 300 trees each month to sustain this rate. And for the super bestsellers, these figures increase dramatically. For example, the Harry Potter book series has sold over 450 million copies. That's about 2 million trees! Upon viewing these figures, it is not hard to grasp the severe impact of printed books on the environment. Since e-readers use no trees, they represent a significant amount of preservation in terms of the environment and its resources.

Finally, e-readers are superior to books because they provide helpful reading tips and tools that printed books do not. The typical e-reader allows its user to customize letter size, font, and line spacing. It also allows highlighting and electronic bookmarking. Furthermore, it grants users the ability to get an overview of a book and then jump to a specific location based on that overview. While these are all nice features, perhaps the most helpful of all is the ability to get dictionary definitions at the touch of a finger. On even the most basic e-reader, users can conjure instant definitions without having to hunt through a physical dictionary.

It can be seen that e-readers are superior to printed books. They save space, are environmentally friendly, and provide helpful reading tips and tools that printed books do not. So what good are printed books? Well, they certainly make nice decorations.
Mark the statements true (T) or false (F)

1. Books are not made only from whole trees, but from wood chips and forest waste as well.

2. The natural resources required to read an e-book on an e-reader are greater than the natural resources required to make a printed book.

3. The results of a recent survey show that people who read e-books are more likely to be distracted during their reading and remember less of the book.

4. Although the printing of the extremely popular Harry Potter book series had significant environmental impact, the Harry Potter movie series cost almost no trees to make and was also very well-liked.

5. Every user of a typical e-reader can customize letter size, font, and line spacing.

6. While reading a printed book you have to consult a physical dictionary.

7. The average bestseller takes over 300 trees each month to sustain this rate.

8. Getting an overview of a book is much easier with physical books.

9. The average e-reader can store hundreds of digital books.

10. Some relics, antiques, fossils, books can make nice decorations.
Circle the correct item

1) As used in paragraph 1, it can be inferred that "relics,” “has-beens, old-timers, antiques, fossils" are all words that describe something…

a) ancient

b) useless

c) outdated

d) pathetic

2) The tone of the author can best be described as…

a) shrewd

b) conniving

c) persuasive

d) authoritative

3) According to the author, e-books…

I. were all once printed books

II. may be "born digital"

III. are able to display images

a) I only

b) I and II only

c) II and III only

d) I, II, and III

4) As used in paragraph 3, which of the following describes something that has been "put to shame"?

a) A dog is left outside on a frigid, dreary winter night.

b) Team A defeats Team B in a humiliating rout.

c) Martha is caught stealing at the mall and is arrested in front of a crowd of curious bystanders.

d) The machine has countless moving parts and Dustin has trouble assembling it.

5) A thesis statement is a sentence that clearly describes what the author plans to discuss. Based on this information, which of the following sentences from the passage is the thesis statement?

a) If you have some spare cash (the going rate is about $89) and are looking to enhance your reading experience, then I highly suggest you consider purchasing an e-reader.

b) E-readers are replacing the books of old, and I welcome them with open arms (as you should).

c) An e-reader is a device that allows you to read e-books. An e-book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices.

d) E-readers are superior to printed books because they save space, are environmentally friendly, and provide helpful reading tips and tools that printed books do not.

6) Based on its use in paragraph 4, it can be inferred that petite belongs to which of the following word families?

a) Jubilant, euphoric, playful

b) Compact, diminutive, little

c) Cute, attractive, charming

d) Light, airy, spacious

7) Based on information in the passage, it can be inferred that War and Peace, Anna Karenina, and Les Misérables are all…

a) authored by Europeans

b) dense and impenetrable

c) timeless classics

d) awkward or unwieldy

8) As used in paragraph 5, which is the best synonym for sustain?

a) Maintain

b) Allow

d) Yield

I. Line spacing customization

II. The ability to quickly jump to the end of a book

III. Access to an online thesaurus at the touch of a finger

a) I only

b) I and II only

c) II and III only

d) I, II, and III

10) Which of the following best describes the organization of this passage?

a) Introduction, thesis statement, supporting paragraphs, conclusion

b) History, thesis statement, supporting paragraphs, conclusion

c) Advertisement, background, introduction, supporting paragraphs, examples, conclusion

d) Introduction, background, thesis statement, supporting paragraphs, conclusion
Text № 56

from “Oceans Warming Faster Than Realized,”

The world's oceans have warmed 50 percent faster over the last 40 years than previously thought due to a climate change, Australian and the US climate researchers reported on Wednesday. Higher ocean temperatures expand the volume of water, contributing to a rise in sea levels that is submerging small island nations and threatening to wreak havoc in low-lying, densely-populated delta regions around the globe.

The study, published in the British journal Nature, adds to a growing scientific chorus of warnings about the pace and consequences of rising oceans. It also serves as a corrective to a massive report issued last year by the Nobel-winning UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), according to the authors.

Rising sea levels are driven by two things: the thermal expansion of sea water, and additional water from melting sources of ice. Both processes are caused by global warming. The ice sheet that sits atop Greenland, for example, contains enough water to raise world ocean levels by seven meters (23 feet), which would bury sea-level cities from Dhaka to Shanghai.

Trying to figure out how much each of these factors contributes to rising sea levels is critically important to understanding climate change, and forecasting future temperature rises, scientists say. But up to now, there has been a perplexing gap between the projections of computer-based climate models, and the observations of scientists gathering data from the oceans.

The new study, led by Catia Domingues of the Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research, is the first to reconcile the models with observed data. Using new techniques to assess ocean temperatures to a depth of 700 meters (2,300 feet) from 1961 to 2003, it shows that thermal warming contributed to a 0.53 millimeter-per-year rise in sea levels rather than the 0.32 mm rise reported by the IPCC.

1. 
   Due to climate change the world's oceans have warmed 40 percent faster over the last 50 years than previously thought.
   
2. 
   Higher ocean temperatures cause the higher sea-level.
   
3. 
   Delta regions aren’t thickly-populated.
   
4. 
   There’s no difference between the projections of computer-based climate models, and the observations of scientists gathering data from the oceans.
   
5. 
   It’s rather easy to assess ocean temperatures to a depth of 2,300 feet.
   
6. 
   The Centre for Australian Weather and Climate Research and the IPCC have the same results.
   
7. 
   The projections of computer-based climate models aren’t always precise.
   
8. 
   Melting ice can raise the sea-level enormously.
   
9. 
   The IPCC is the UK organization.
   
10. 
    Only Australian and the US climate researchers are warned about the problem.
    

1.The study in Nature…

1. 
   concurred with the IPCC report.
   
2. 
   added to the group of scientists arguing against the existence of ocean temperature change.
   
3. 
   was an award-winning report.
   
4. 
   disagreed with the report by the UN.
   

2.The rise in water levels is especially dangerous for small island nations and…

1. 
   large cities around the globe.
   
2. 
   people who live on the beach.
   
3. 
   low-lying and coastal cities.
   
4. 
   people who live on large islands.
   

3.The new study…

1. 
   shows that thermal warming contributed to a 0.32 millimeter-per-year rise in sea levels.
   
2. 
   did not reveal anything that scientists didn't already know.
   
3. 
   used new techniques to assess ocean temperatures.
   
4. 
   was lead by the IPCC.
   

a) to unite

b) to adjust

c) to reconsider

d) to bring together.

5. The opposite of “to submerge” is…

a) to plunge

b) to sink

c) to ascend

d) to descend.

6. Higher ocean temperatures cause…

a) expanding the volume of water

b) contributing a rise in sea levels

c) expanding the ice sheet area

d) resettling of densely-populated areas.

7. The scientists around the globe are warned about…

a) submerging of vast territories;

b) the pace and consequences of rising oceans;

c) the place and circumstances of possible floods;

d) rising sea-level in the USA, The UK and Australia.

8. To understand climate change, scientists need to…

a) forecast future temperature rises

b) figure out how much each of the factors contributes to rising sea levels

c) carry out more research

d) wait for a few years

9.Ultimately, the new study should help scientists to…

1. 
   lower water levels.
   
2. 
   better predict climate change.
   
3. 
   bury sea-level cities like Dhaka and Shanghai.
   
4. 
   put an end to global warming.
   

1. 
   That not enough is being done about global warming.
   
2. 
   That ocean waters have warmed faster than scientists had previously thought.
   
3. 
   That the warming of the world's oceans is not a threat.
   
4. 
   That climate change poses a major challenge for governments.
   

Excerpt from "When I Was Your Age", Volume Two: Original Stories about Growing Up by Kyoko Mori, 2002

I don't know how long we were riding the waves before I noticed that my mother and I hadn't seen anyone for a long time. I thought of another thing, too. When we first started, my feet had brushed against the sand bottom almost every time we came down. In the lull between the waves, I'd be standing in the water only up to my chest.

That hadn't happened for a while. My feet hadn't touched bottom for at least twenty waves now. I stretched my body as straight as I could, trying to touch bottom with my toes. Nothing. Just as I opened my mouth to point that out to my mother, a big wave came, my head went under, and my hand was swept loose from hers.

When I came up again, I was turned around, facing the shore for the first time. I couldn't believe what I saw. The people on the beach looked so small that I couldn't tell our family from anyone else's.

Before I really understood what this meant, another wave rose, my head went under again, and I came up coughing and spitting. My mother, to my relief, was right beside me, treading water.

"Mom," I tried to warn her, but the look on her face told me she already knew. Her eyes were wide open and there was a big frown between her eyebrows.

"Turn around and swim,'' she said. "It's not as far as you think."

"I can't," I gasped before a wave pounded me, filling my mouth with a burning, bitter taste.

My mother started flinging her hand upward, trying to wave it from side to side. She was calling for help. That meant we were drowning.

Before the next wave hit us, I kicked my legs as hard as I could and lunged toward my mother, making up the short distance between us. The wave hit. We came up, both of us coughing and spitting, my arms clutched tightly around her neck.

"Listen," my mother said, in a choked-up voice. You have to let go."

"But I’ll drown," I wailed.

She stopped moving her arms for just a moment — long enough to put them around me and draw me closer. I could feel my shoulders, wet and slippery, pressed against her collarbone. "Let go," she said in a voice that sounded surprisingly calm. "Now, or we'll both drown."

By the time the next wave went over my head I was swimming alone, flailing my arms and legs to come up for air, and my mother was beside me. If it weren't for me, I thought, she could easily swim back to shore. She was a strong swimmer. We were drowning because of me.

"Stay calm," she said, "and float."

We treaded water for a while, and between the waves my mother looked around, no doubt trying to measure the distance we had to swim.

"Look over there," she said, turning away from the shore and pointing toward the piece of land jutting into the sea. "We can't swim back to the beach, but we can make it to those rocks."

The waves had been pushing us sideways, toward the rocks, as well as farther from the shore. From where we were now, the tip of that land was about as far away as I could swim in the river without stopping if the current was with me.

That piece of land was our last chance. If I couldn't make it there, I would surely drown. Heading toward the rocks meant turning away from the beach completely, swimming farther out to sea. If I drifted too far to the side and missed the tip of the land, there wouldn't be anywhere else.

Every time I came up for air, I'd better be looking at those rocks, making sure they were still in my sight. The only stroke that would allow me to do that was the breaststroke.

I took a big breath and started kicking my legs with my knees bent, flicking my ankles that way my mother had taught me in the river. The arms, I told myself, should draw nice big arcs, not a bunch of little frantic circles that would make me tired.

My mother swam right beside me in her easy graceful breaststroke - she was between me and the rest of the sea, guiding me toward the rocks, showing me how I should swim.

The waves we had been fighting were suddenly helping us. In just a few minutes, my mother and I stood on the rocky ground of that slip of land, looking back toward the shore. My legs felt wobbly, and I was breathing hard. The two of us looked at each other, too stunned to say anything. For a while we just stood trying to catch our breath, listening to the waves as they continued to crash at our feet.

Then we started walking. The rocks formed a steep cliff above us, but at the bottom, there was enough room for us to walk side by side. Cautiously we picked our way back to the beach, trying not to cut our feet or slip back into the sea.

On the way we noticed a group of people gathered on the sand, watching us. When we got there, they came rushing toward us. They were my uncles and several other men we had never seen.

"I waved for help," my mother said to them.

"We thought you were just waving for fun," one of my uncles said. "We didn't know anything was wrong until we saw you walking on those rocks."

One of the strangers, an old man in a shirt and trousers, shook his head. "You got caught in a rip tide," he said. "A fisherman drowned there a few years ago."

Several people were talking all at once, saying how lucky we were, but I wasn't listening very carefully. My brother was running toward us. Behind him, the beach was more crowded than when we had first started swimming. For the first time, I noticed an ice cream stand not too far away.

"Mom," I said. "My throat hurts from the seawater. I would love some ice cream."