Zadania 1–10 — 60 punktów / 90 minut
Read the text below. Six sentences have been removed. Choose from options A–H the one which best fits each gap. Two options are distractors and do not fit any gap.
The British ritual of afternoon tea is steeped in tradition. It was first popularised in England around the year 1840 by Anna, the seventh Duchess of Bedford. She routinely grew hungry around 4 p.m. and requested a tray of tea, bread and butter. The delicious activity remained relatively unchanged for over a century and eventually became considered old and stuffy. It seems that they have flipped the time-honoured tradition on its head and made it quirky and totally Instagrammable.
Foodies can now rejoice in trying some uniquely flavourful light bites that are so different from traditional cucumber sandwiches. Five-star Baccarat Hotel in New York City, for example, now serves up, among others, a roasted fennel, feta cheese and filo pastry purse as part of their new Sultan Tea, complete with a pot of exquisite tea. The internationally acclaimed Spanish-American chef, Jose Andres, serves traditional-looking savoury and sweet snacks. The secret is that their taste is highly distinctive, which surprises many who do not expect to sample, for instance, caviar steamed buns or beetroot cookies stuffed with goat’s cheese. Brown’s Hotel in London actually has a guilt-free Tea-Tox, which includes low-calorie spinach bread with salmon and gluten free raspberry and pistachio brownies.
Aside from upping the game when it comes to the taste and ingredients, venues around the world are changing the tea-drinking game when it comes to visual appeal of food. There you can eat masterpieces based on the works of Damien Hirst, Banksy and Mark Rothko. Meanwhile, the chef at The Berkley in London has chosen the latest fashion looks to inspire their sweet treats for the appropriately named Prêt-à-Portea service. Shangrila-La Dubai’s Jewellery Box Tea includes many of the traditional bites, but serves them to guests in a golden jewellery box chest of drawers.
Are you wondering why all these experiments, which make traditional afternoon tea a non-traditional experience, even exist? It is simple. Nowadays, people seek out more innovative and engaging dining experiences. That is why creative interpretations of this time-honoured pastime are becoming increasingly desirable.
Read the text below. For questions 2.1–2.4, decide if each statement is True, False, or if there is No Information given in the text (4 pts). For questions 2.5–2.7, find the word in the text that matches the definition (3 pts).
I wouldn’t say that the Christmases in our house when I was growing up in America in the 1950s were more delightful or brimming with cheerful affection than in other households, but they were certainly more lively. This was almost entirely because my father had a rare and remarkable talent for testing the capacity of the human body to absorb electricity.
You never knew exactly when he would demonstrate this, but you could be certain that at some point there would be a terrific bang and a searing flash of light and he would actually become airborne. This demonstration was so reliable that my sister and I used to sit on the sofa with a bowl of popcorn between us, keenly following his every movement as he unboxed and untangled the long strings of lights and carefully arrayed them around the tree.
After all the drama and entertainment of getting the tree lit, Christmas Day itself always came as something of an anticlimax. An American Christmas is a pretty compressed affair at the best of times. It is also not a big eating or drinking occasion. Festive drinking back then was mostly reserved for New Year’s Eve, and our main eating holiday was Thanksgiving, just a month before, so we weren’t all that hungry either. On top of that, where I grew up, there was always about 6ft of snow outside, so if you got a bicycle or roller skates for Christmas, all you could do was ride around in tiny circles in the living room, much to the annoyance of all the adults.
Then I moved to England, where I discovered an entirely different kind of Christmas – a Christmas that was fascinating, full of surprises, drenched in centuries of tradition and wholly bewildering all at once – as most things in Britain are if you are foreign. Nearly everything about it was new to me. I had never heard Santa Claus described as Father Christmas or attended a Christmas pantomime. I had never eaten a mince pie, and – I will be frank with you – for the first five or six seconds of my first one, I rather wished that I still hadn’t. But then a strange sense of rapture washed over me, and I realised that mince pies are divine.
You must understand that where I come from, a foodstuff cannot properly be considered delicious unless it is about the size of a cannonball. And here was a treat so modest that you could hold it in the palm of your hand and which was filled with nothing but a shiny brown goo that rather brought to mind something pulled from a clogged drain. And yet it was delicious. What a thrilling discovery. I turned to the young woman who had just presented me with this delectable surprise.
“But I thought mince was meat,” I said in some perplexity.
“It is,” she agreed.
“Well, if I am completely honest with you, I don’t taste any meat in this.”
“That’s because there’s no meat in it.”
“Ah!” I cried ending our first conversation and starting to think I was beginning to understand this strange country at last.
Everything was like this – fascinating and confusing and unexpected. So I trust you will understand when I say that my personal relationship with Christmas has always been a bit mixed. Don’t get me wrong. I am a great admirer of Christmas and all that goes with it. But, perhaps because I have lived with two different kinds of Christmas in two different countries, I have long been struck by the mystery and wonder of it as well – by the fact that it is full of traditions and rituals that most of us have been observing all our lives but, often without having the slightest idea of where they come from.
Christmas is now the single biggest annual event on the planet. To my mind, it is far and away the best day we have.
The author and his sister used to decorate the Christmas tree with non-electric decorations.
The author finds the filling of mince pies unappetising when it comes to its appearance.
The author has spent more Christmases in the USA than in the UK.
The author believes that the majority of people are aware of the origin of Christmas customs.
Find the word in the text that matches each definition.
confusing, because there are too many choices or things happening at the same time
great excitement and happiness
to arrange a group of things so that they are in order
Uzupełnij poniższe wypowiedzi (3.1.–3.6.), wybierając spośród podanych możliwości. Zakreśl literę A, B albo C.
X: Are you best friends?
Y: In fact, we met only a week ago but we ______ straight away.
X: He will be playing for the national team. Just like his father did 25 years ago.
Y: Yeah, he is a ______ off the old block.
X: Can we go?
Y: I have had my hair done and bought a new dress. I’m ready to ______ the town red.
X: Heart disease ______ in our family.
Y: That is why you should take good care of your diet and lead an active lifestyle.
X: She fell ______ with her bestie.
Y: I have heard that they haven’t talked for a few weeks now.
X: Have you invited Mike? He is fun and exciting to be with.
Y: Sure thing! He is always the ______ and soul of the party.
Read the text below. Complete each gap (4.1.–4.10.) with one word to create a coherent and grammatically correct text.
Claddagh rings have been around for centuries, with some of the earliest mention dating 4.1. _______ to the 1700s. They belong to a larger European tradition of rings known as fede rings (the Italian phrase “mani in fede” means 'hands joined in faith’). Claddagh rings, of course, have a whole story of 4.2. _______ own.
It starts in the small fishing village of Claddagh in county Galway, on Ireland’s west coast. Legend 4.3. _______ it that a fisherman, Richard Joyce, shortly 4.4. _______ he was to get married, was captured by pirates and sold into slavery. He was made to work for a Moorish goldsmith, 4.5. _______ sensed his potential and trained Richard in his craft. All that time, Richard thought of his sweetheart at home, and he created the first Claddagh ring, with a heart for true love, a pair of hands representing friendship and a crown symbolising loyalty and fidelity. When he was eventually freed, he returned to Ireland, and he presented his sweetheart 4.6. _______ the ring he had made and they 4.7. _______ happily ever after…
Nowadays, the popularity of the Claddagh ring is enduring, and a wide variety of jewellery with this motif, 4.8. _______ traditional rings (worn by women and men) to modern necklaces and earrings, is available. There are many material variations – most are silver or gold, but many other metals can 4.9. _______ used. One thing does not change - the way it is worn (4.10. _______ least according to Irish tradition) shows a person’s marital status.
Complete each sentence with one word. The number of dashes corresponds to the number of missing letters. Some letters are already given.
This recipe has been _ _ s _ _ _ down in her family for generations, so she will not share it with us.
She has got Irish roots – her _ _ c _ _ _ _ _ _ came to America from Ireland about 150 years ago.
We _ r _ _ _ _ n _ _ _ disagree, but in this matter we are basically saying the same thing.
Ann wanted to follow in her mother’s _ _ _ t _ _ _ _ _ and be a doctor.
The children of _ _ _ r _ _ _ t _ _ _ _ _ _ parents often do not develop the skills needed to take care of themselves when they leave home.
The wedding will be held at the town hall and the _ _ _ _ p _ _ _ _ for 150 guests at the King’s Hotel.
Read the text. Complete each gap (6.1.–6.8.) with one word by transforming the words given in the box. Two words are extra.
The National Eisteddfod is the largest and oldest celebration of Welsh culture, unique throughout Europe as each year it visits a different area of Wales. Eisteddfod literally means a sitting (eistedd = to sit) and is perhaps a 6.1. _______ to the hand-carved chair traditionally given to the best poet in the ceremony 'The Crowning of the Bard’.
The first Eisteddfod took place in 1176 when Lord Rhys invited poets and musicians from all over Wales to a grand 6.2. _______ at his castle in Cardigan. A chair at the Lord’s table was 6.3. _______ to the best poet and musician, a tradition that continues today in the modern Eisteddfod.
Following 1176, many eisteddfodau were held throughout Wales. Soon the Eisteddfod developed into a huge folk festival on a grand scale. After declining in 6.4. _______ in the 18th century, it was revived in the early years of the 19th.
The Gorsedd of Bards made its first 6.5. _______ at the Eisteddfod at the Ivy Bush Inn in Carmarthen in 1819. Gorsedd members, known as druids, include poets, writers, musicians, artists and others who have made a significant 6.6. _______ to the Welsh nation, the language, and its culture. The head of the Gorsedd of Bards is the Archdruid, who is 6.7. _______ for a term of three years, and is responsible for conducting the Gorsedd ceremonies during Eisteddfod week. These ceremonies are held to honour 6.8. _______ achievements amongst Welsh poets and prose writers.
So, if you want to listen to Welsh music and language, watch dance and theatre performances and sample Welsh food and crafts, just take part in the National Eisteddfod of Wales next year.
6.1. REFER → reference (noun: 'a reference to’ = an allusion to)
6.2. GATHER → gathering (noun: a meeting of people)
6.3. AWARD → awarded (past participle, passive: 'was awarded to’)
6.4. POPULAR → popularity (noun after 'declining in’)
6.5. APPEAR → appearance (noun: 'made its first appearance’)
6.6. CONTRIBUTE → contribution (noun: 'a significant contribution to’)
6.7. CHOICE → chosen (past participle, passive: 'is chosen for a term’)
6.8. LITERATURE → literary (adjective before 'achievements’; the key also allows 'chosen’ if it was not used in 6.7.; also accepted: chosen)
Distractors (not used): GRADE, JUDGE
Using the word given in CAPITALS, complete each sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the original. Do not change the form of the given word. You may write a maximum of five words, including the word given.
Everyone accepted our invitation but the Browns.
Key word: FROM
Everyone ________ accepted our invitation.
That’s the town where I was born.
Key word: WHICH
That’s the town ________ .
I have no doubt that your brother lied to you.
Key word: HAVE
Your brother ________ to you.
My cousin forced me to watch all the national football team matches with him when we were kids.
Key word: MADE
My cousin ________ all the national football team matches with him when we were kids.
Soon it will seem normal to them to appear in school plays.
Key word: USED
Soon they ________ in school plays.
She visits her uncle on her way home from school.
Key word: DROPS
She ________ on her way home from school.
Complete the sentences with the words given in brackets, in the correct form. Both gaps must be right to score the point. Full grammatical and spelling accuracy is required.
Look at her. She is so happy! She (not / catch) a fish before. She definitely (not regret / come) here.
When we got to the stadium, about two thousand people (queue) there. I (never / see) so many people in one place before.
Charles (try / ask her) to marry him three times so far, but he is such a coward. I wish he (have) more courage!
As a child, I (raise / respect) the elderly. You had better (teach) your kids the same attitude.
Match two items to each country. Write the correct letter (A–J) in the table. Two options are distractors and do not belong to any of the four countries.
| Country | Item 1 | Item 2 |
|---|---|---|
| England | ||
| Scotland | ||
| Wales | ||
| Ireland |
| Country | Item 1 | Item 2 |
|---|---|---|
| England | F | H |
| Scotland | B | C |
| Wales | E | G |
| Ireland | A | J |
Rozwiąż zadania (10.1.–10.6.), udzielając odpowiedzi w języku angielskim. Wymagana jest pełna poprawność merytoryczna i językowa odpowiedzi.
What is the name and surname of the most famous Scottish bard? When (give the day and month) do Scottish people celebrate in honour of his life and works?
What is the national floral emblem of Australia? What national colours of Australia is it associated with?
What is the Australian food spread made from yeast extract?
Which city is the Australian Open, one of the biggest tennis events in the world, held in?
What is the name of the Europe’s largest street party that takes place each year in London?
What are the names of the two houses that fought in the War of the Roses?