Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Запишите свои ответы в таблицу. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний.
1. Importance to people
2. Types of migrating birds
3. A way of spending free time
4. Where birds migrate
5. Behaviour and feeding habits
6. Causes of bird extinction
7. Causes of bird migration
8. Where birds live
A. Birds are distinguished from all other animals by their feathers. Some types of birds live alone most of the time. Other types are more social. They may sleep, fly, and nest in groups called flocks. Birds use different sounds to communicate with one another. For example, some baby chicks stop moving when their mother produces a danger call. They may also sing to announce that a certain patch of land belongs to them. Many types eat insects. Some water birds catch fish. Many other types eat plant material.
B. Birds are found almost everywhere on Earth. There are more than 10,000 types of birds. All birds have similar features. The loss of a complete bird species may be inevitable because they are too sensitive to rapid changes. Birds living on small islands, or in desert or mountainous regions, can be vulnerable to slight changes in climate, while even minor disruptions of forest habitats can affect the breeding habits and survival of others. In some regions, it is the hunting of birds, for sport or to trade their pelts, that is the greatest threat.
C. Birds have spread throughout all parts of Earth because of their ability to fly. They live in a great variety of habitats, including fields, forests, grasslands, deserts, marshes, islands, and the open ocean. The size of an area and the diversity of the habitats help determine the number of species found in a given area. Many birds migrate, or fly long distances between their winter and summer homes. For example, many European birds travel to Africa for the winter. This helps them find enough food year-round.
D. Every bird when it is seen for the first time brings a thrill of discovery. The spring migration is a fresh wonder every year. The surprise and delight of coming across a rarity and the difficulty of keeping it in view long enough to be sure of what it is help to make bird-watching an endless fascination. Birdwatching is a hobby that can be enjoyed for a lifetime. In bird clubs the membership ranges in age from young children to grandparents. Bird-watching can combine healthy outdoor activity with the pursuit of beauty and knowledge.
E. Some birds never move far from where they were born whereas others migrate and can travel huge distances in the process. Birds migrate from one summer season to the other. Although they take a lot of risk when they migrate, for many of them it significantly improves their chances of survival and allows them to raise more offspring in another region. Birds migrate to move from areas of low or decreasing resources to areas of high or increasing resources.
F. Birds and their eggs have been sources of food for humans since their origin and still are in most societies. With the rise of agriculture, birds became important to farmers. In their constant search for food, wild birds eat huge numbers of insects, weed seeds, and rodents. Insects, weeds, and rodents cut down the amount of food the farmer can harvest from field, garden, and orchard. Many people keep birds as pets. Small finches and parrots are especially popular. Zoological parks are a source of recreation for millions of people each year.
G. Migration is often annual. It is closely linked with the cyclic pattern of the seasons. It is most evident among birds, which have a highly efficient means of traveling swiftly over long distances. The migration of most birds is a yearly cycle. Not all birds migrate. Permanent residents do not migrate. They are able to find adequate supplies of food year-round. Short-distance migrants move only a short distance. Medium-distance migrants cover distances that span from one to several states. There are also long-distance migrants.
| Текст | A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
| Заголовок |
Экзаменационная работа по английскому языку (ЕГЭ) состоит из четырёх
разделов («Аудирование», «Чтение», «Грамматика и лексика», «Письменная
речь»), включающих в себя 40 заданий. Данный тест на проверку раздела «Чтение»
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8.
Занесите свои ответы в таблицу. Используйте каждую цифру только один
раз. В задании один заголовок лишний.
1. Importance to people
2. Types of migrating birds
3. A way of spending free time
4. Where birds migrate
5. Behaviour and feeding habits
6. Causes of bird extinction
7. Causes of bird migration
8. Where birds live
A. Birds are distinguished from all other animals by their feathers. Some types of
birds live alone most of the time. Other types are more social. They may sleep,
fly, and nest in groups called flocks. Birds use different sounds to communicate
with one another. For example, some baby chicks stop moving when their
mother produces a danger call. They may also sing to announce that a certain
patch of land belongs to them. Many types eat insects. Some water birds catch
fish. Many other types eat plant material.
B. Birds are found almost everywhere on Earth. There are more than 10,000 types
of birds. All birds have similar features. The loss of a complete bird species
may be inevitable because they are too sensitive to rapid changes. Birds living
on small islands, or in desert or mountainous regions, can be vulnerable to
slight changes in climate, while even minor disruptions of forest habitats can
affect the breeding habits and survival of others. In some regions, it is the
hunting of birds, for sport or to trade their pelts, that is the greatest threat.
C. Birds have spread throughout all parts of Earth because of their ability to fly.
They live in a great variety of habitats, including fields, forests, grasslands,
deserts, marshes, islands, and the open ocean. The size of an area and the
diversity of the habitats help determine the number of species found in a given
area. Many birds migrate, or fly long distances between their winter and
summer homes. For example, many European birds travel to Africa for the
winter. This helps them find enough food year-round.
D. Every bird when it is seen for the first time brings a thrill of discovery. The
spring migration is a fresh wonder every year. The surprise and delight of
coming across a rarity and the difficulty of keeping it in view long enough to
be sure of what it is help to make bird-watching an endless fascination. Birdwatching
is a hobby that can be enjoyed for a lifetime. In bird clubs the
membership ranges in age from young children to grandparents. Bird-watching
can combine healthy outdoor activity with the pursuit of beauty and
knowledge.
E. Some birds never move far from where they were born whereas others migrate
and can travel huge distances in the process. Birds migrate from one summer
season to the other. Although they take a lot of risk when they migrate, for
many of them it significantly improves their chances of survival and allows
them to raise more offspring in another region. Birds migrate to move from
areas of low or decreasing resources to areas of high or increasing resources.
F. Birds and their eggs have been sources of food for humans since their origin
and still are in most societies. With the rise of agriculture, birds became
important to farmers. In their constant search for food, wild birds eat huge
numbers of insects, weed seeds, and rodents. Insects, weeds, and rodents cut
down the amount of food the farmer can harvest from field, garden, and
orchard. Many people keep birds as pets. Small finches and parrots are
especially popular. Zoological parks are a source of recreation for millions of
people each year.
G. Migration is often annual. It is closely linked with the cyclic pattern of the
seasons. It is most evident among birds, which have a highly efficient means of
traveling swiftly over long distances. The migration of most birds is a yearly
cycle. Not all birds migrate. Permanent residents do not migrate. They are able
to find adequate supplies of food year-round. Short-distance migrants move
only a short distance. Medium-distance migrants cover distances that span from
one to several states. There are also long-distance migrants.
ЕГЭ 2023 раздел чтение тест 1
1. Importance to people
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
—
2. Types of migrating birds
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
—
3. A way of spending free time
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
—
4. Where birds migrate
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
—
5. Behaviour and feeding habits
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
—
6. Causes of bird extinction
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
—
7. Causes of bird migration
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
—
8. Where birds live
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
—
Introduction
Birds are distinguished from all other animals by their feathers. They have several other common characteristics. They are warm-blooded vertebrates more related to reptiles than to mammals. Most, but not all, birds can fly. All birds, however, have forelimbs that are modified into wings (a trait shared with bats). Birds have a four-chambered heart (as do mammals). They lay hard-shelled eggs. They have keen vision, the major sense they rely on for information about the environment. Most birds are active during the day. Scientists place birds in the class Aves. There are more than 10,400 living species of birds, and paleontologists have identified more than 1,000 extinct species from fossil remains.
Birds have been associated with humans since earliest times. Prehistoric humans created bird figures in the Lascaux Grotto of France. Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and paintings include bird figures. People throughout the world have featured birds in mythology and literature. The Bible refers to Noah’s use of the raven and dove to bring him information about the proverbial Flood. Aesop’s fables abound in bird characters.
Supernatural beliefs about birds probably took hold early on. Australian Aboriginal peoples, for example, drove the black-and-white flycatcher from camp so it would not overhear conversations and carry the tales to enemies. Peoples of the Pacific Islands saw frigate birds as symbols of the Sun and as carriers of omens. They frequently portrayed them in their art. The raven is a common symbol of dark prophecy. It was the most important creature to the Indians of the Pacific Northwest and was immortalized in Edgar Allan Poe’s poem The Raven. Eagles have long been symbols of power and prestige in many parts of the world. Native Americans commonly used eagle feathers in rituals and headdresses. The ancient Maya and Aztec worshipped and deified the quetzal. Highly symbolic birds include the phoenix, which represents resurrection. The owl is a common symbol of wisdom but also a reminder of death in Native American mythology.
People have long kept birds as pets in cages. Many exotic birds can be kept as pets legally. Pet stores often display and sell bright-colored parrots, lovebirds, canaries, finches, and macaws. Some birds, such as canaries, are fine singers. Parrots and budgies can learn to speak short sentences. However, some unscrupulous pet store owners and their customers trade in rare and endangered species. Yellow-headed parrots and hyacinth macaws are examples of endangered birds illegally smuggled into the United States for sale at enormous prices. Sadly, many of these birds do not survive the stress of capture, removal from their native habitat, and transport to other countries where the climate may be drastically different.
Distribution and Habitat
Birds have spread throughout all parts of Earth because of their ability to fly. The live on all continents, in a great variety of habitats, including fields, forests, grasslands, deserts, marshes, lakeshores, islands, and open ocean. The size of an area and the diversity of the habitats help determine the number of species found in a given area. The total number of species is also related to such factors as the position of the area with respect to migration routes and to wintering grounds of species that nest outside the area. As a result, the polar ice caps may only support a few stragglers while tropical forests may be home to complex communities of birds. Birds are found in both urban and rural areas.
More than 900 bird species have been recorded from North America north of Mexico. In the United States, Texas and California have the most bird species, with more than 600 for each. The figure for Europe west of the Ural Mountains and including most of Turkey is roughly 500. More than 700 species live in Russia. At least 4,400 species live in North and South America. Several South American countries boast well over 1,000 species. Costa Rica has an area of only about 20,000 square miles (51,000 square kilometers). However, it has more than 800 bird species, probably the most diversity for its size. Asia accounts for more than 25 percent of the world’s bird species, with some 2,700, and Africa has slightly less, with about 2,300.
Physical Characteristics
All birds have the same basic bone structure and muscles. In flying birds the skeleton is notable for its strength and lightness. Birds have four limbs: two wings (the forelimbs) and two legs. The bones of the forelimb are modified for flight with feathers. Birds’ feet are covered with scales like those of reptiles. The scales are occasionally shed, like the feathers, but the timing of this molt is not known. The toes are tipped with claws. The bill, or beak, is covered with a hard material called keratin.
A flying bird is streamlined like a jet airplane, with its body slender and tapering, but birds are proportionally lighter than planes. All the feathers from head to tail point toward the back of the bird. The wings have delicately curved leading edges and thin trailing edges. The legs of many birds can be drawn up under the body. There are no projecting ears on the head. Even the nostrils in some birds point toward the back of the bird. The air comes out of them like the exhaust from a jet, moving to the rear.
Birds are warm-blooded animals, like human beings. They maintain the same body temperature despite their surroundings. However, birds live at a much faster pace than humans. Flying takes a great deal of energy, and all their life processes are sped up. The body temperature of a bird is higher than that of most other animals. A human being’s normal temperature averages about 98.6 °F (37 °C). The average temperature of a dog or cat ranges from about 99.5 to 102.5 °F (37.5 to 39.2 °C). The average for most birds is 105 °F (40 °C).
Size and Weight
Birds vary greatly in size. The smallest living bird is probably the bee hummingbird of Cuba, which is 2.5 inches (6.3 centimeters) long and weighs less than 0.1 ounce (3 grams). Among flying birds, the wandering albatross has the greatest wingspan, up to 11.5 feet (3.5 meters). The trumpeter swan has perhaps the greatest weight at 37 pounds (17 kilograms). During the Pleistocene Epoch (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago) lived a bird called Teratornis incredibilis. Though similar to the condors of today, it had a larger estimated wingspan of about 16.5 feet (5 meters) and was by far the largest known flying bird.
The group of flightless birds known as the ratites grow the biggest. These species include the ostrich, emu, cassowary, and rhea. The ostrich is the largest living bird and may stand 9 feet (2.8 meters) tall and weigh 330 pounds (150 kilograms). Some extinct birds were even larger. The largest moas of New Zealand and the elephant birds of Madagascar may have reached more than 10 feet (3 meters) in height.
Feathers
A bird’s feathers provide the bird with protection from rain, cold, and heat. In a rainstorm the water simply slides off without soaking through. On a cold winter day the bird fluffs out its feathers. In hot weather it flattens the feathers close to its body. When they are fluffed out they hold a layer of warm air next to the skin. When they are flattened they keep the skin cool by preventing hot air from reaching it. The entire covering of feathers is called the bird’s plumage.
The three types of bird feathers
A feather has a main shaft that is stiff and solid. A hollow part at the base fits into the bird’s skin. Barbs branch from the shaft and together compose the vane. Each barb in turn branches into smaller barbules. Tiny hooks, or hooklets, on the barbules lock all the neighboring barbules together. When a feather is ruffled the wrong way the hooks tear apart. When the feather is smoothed the hooks relock like a zipper.
Contour and down feathers
The body feathers are called contour feathers. The big wing feathers are well zippered to make the wing strong and stiff. Some contour feathers are for show only. These are the plumes that some male birds display during courtship. Ostrich plumes and the long back and breast feathers of the egret are soft and fluffy. This is because the barbs do not have hooks to hold them together. Showy feathers do not need to be strong.
Beneath the contour feathers there is often a thick coat of down. Down feathers have no shafts. The barbs branch from the hollow part that fits into the skin, and there are no hooks. Waterbirds have extra-thick coats of down. That is one reason why the ducks paddling about in icy water in winter are not cold. The first feathers on a newly hatched chick are usually down feathers.
Pinfeathers are new feathers pushing out of the bird’s skin. The stiff black prickles are coverings to protect the tender new feathers. As the feathers develop, the coverings split and peel off.
Care of the feathers
Birds keep their plumage clean and neat. When the feathers are ruffled by the wind the birds smooth them with their bills. They run the bill over and under the wings and tail and along the back. This combing of the feathers is called preening.
Another purpose of preening is to spread oil over the feathers. Most birds have a pair of oil glands on the back, just above and in front of the base of the tail. The bird presses out the oil. Then it runs its oily bill all over the feathers. It cannot reach the head feathers with its own bill of course, so it rubs its head against its body to oil the head feathers. All birds like to bathe. Some even take dry baths in dust, sand, and snow. Such bathing may help get rid of lice in the feathers.
Many different kinds of birds have a curious trick of stroking their feathers with live ants. They twist into awkward positions, trip over their feet, and get so excited that they step on their own tails and fall over backward. More than 200 species of birds have been reported to use ants in such a manner, including the blue jay and common grackle. Why birds do this is unknown. One explanation is that the formic acid produced by ants may reduce external parasites and may soothe skin irritation that can accompany the growth of new feathers. Another theory states that the birds might be squeezing the formic acid out of the ants so that they can then safely eat them.
Colors and patterns of feathers
Every species of bird has its own color and feather pattern. The male and female may look very much alike. The female robin has a brown head and paler breast but otherwise looks like the male. In many species, however, the sexes differ. Usually the male is more brightly colored. An exception is the phalarope, a kind of shorebird. The female is the more colorful sex. In this species the males incubate the eggs and care for the young.
The dull color of most females permits them to remain camouflaged, or protectively colored, and unobserved on the nest. The streaked dark feathers of the female red-winged blackbird blend perfectly with the brown of the nest built in marsh vegetation. The male, with flashing red and yellow shoulders, perches some distance away from the nest, drawing all the attention to itself and away from the eggs and young. In the families of birds that nest in holes—for example, the woodpeckers and kingfishers—the females are almost as bright as the males. They do not need to be camouflaged because they and the nest are out of sight.
Molting
Feathers wear out and need to be replaced. This change is called molting. All adult birds molt all their feathers at least once a year, in summer or early fall. Most birds shed only one pair of feathers at a time from wings and tail. The feathers always drop in a definite order. A second pair does not fall until the new pair is almost fully grown. Thus the bird is never handicapped in flying.
Ducks, geese, and some other water birds are exceptions. Their flight feathers fall all at once and they are temporarily unable to fly. But because they swim, they can find food and hide from their enemies around the edges of waterways.
Brightly colored male birds may have two molts. In the fall and winter they resemble the dull females. In the spring they acquire their brightly colored breeding plumage. Again, many of the waterfowl are different. These birds begin to get a dull plumage by early June. They wear it when they need protective coloration—during the period when they cannot fly. Then when their new flight feathers have grown in, the body feathers molt again. By late September many species, such as mallards, are once more in their bright breeding plumage.
Some birds change their colors without molting by a process called feather wear. This occurs if the new feathers are edged with brown or gray. The overlapping edges hide the underlying main color of the feathers. Snow buntings change from brown in the summer to white in the winter simply by wearing off the rusty edges of their white feathers. Often some prominent mark is hidden in this way during the winter. For example, the black throat patch of the male house sparrow is a narrow spot all winter. By May or June the feather edges have worn off and the throat is black. Purple finches change from brown to rosy red by wearing off the brownish barbules.
Molting requires energy, and during that time birds remain very quiet. They do not sing or display themselves. Late summer is the hardest time of the year to study birds because they are so difficult to find. Once the molt is completed, they regain the energy they need for migrating or for facing the hardships of winter.
Bones and Muscles
The bones of a bird are light in weight. Many of them are hollow and filled with air. In large soaring birds some of the hollow bones have internal braces like the struts in airplane wings. The frigate bird’s long, slender wings may measure nearly 8 feet (2.3 meters) from tip to tip, yet its skeleton weighs less than half the weight of its feathers.
Certain bones that are separate in other backboned animals are joined together (fused) in birds to give them greater strength. The “finger” bones in the wing, for example, are fused. Some of the bones have high ridges for the attachment of muscles. The keel on the breastbone is an example.
The muscles that operate the wings are the heaviest part of the body. In such swift birds as pigeons they account for as much as one half of the total weight. The muscles are attached to the keel, or center ridge, of the breastbone. These big flight muscles form the breast meat of the birds eaten by humans.
The neck of a bird moves more freely than that of any other animal. This is because it has more vertebrae, or sections of the backbone. The sparrow has 14 vertebrae in its neck. A giraffe or a human has only seven. A flexible neck permits the bird to look in all directions for danger, to catch food more easily, and to preen its feathers.
Organs
As in mammals, in birds the heart is a four-chambered double pump that is the center of the circulatory system. Birds’ hearts are larger than mammals’ hearts relative to body weight.
In addition to having a pair of lungs, a bird has five or more pairs of air sacs. They are connected to the lungs by small tubes. Branches extend into the hollow bones. The bones of the skull, and sometimes even the small toe bones, are air-filled. The air sacs not only lighten the body but also serve as a cooling system. Birds do not perspire. A constant stream of fresh air flows all through the body by means of the air sacs.
Birds probably never get out of breath. The wing strokes press in the rib case to expel stale air. Hence the faster they fly, the faster the wing muscles pump air and the easier the bird breathes.
A bird’s heart beats faster than a human heart, and birds breathe more rapidly than humans. The human heart beats, on average, 72 times a minute. While flying, the hummingbird’s heart beats, on average, more than 1,200 times a minute. Because of their high rates of metabolism, birds burn up calories very quickly. Small birds must eat almost constantly during the daylight hours.
The digestive system has adaptations for a high metabolic rate and flight. Saclike enlargements of the esophagus, together known as the crop, allow food to be stored temporarily before digestion. Birds lack jaws, with heavy bones, teeth, and muscles. The work of chewing is done instead by the gizzard, a part of the stomach where food is ground up. The gizzard may contain small stones, or gastroliths, that the bird has swallowed. These stones help break down seeds and other foods. Like reptiles, birds have a cloaca, a chamber that receives digestive and metabolic wastes and reproductive products.
Eyesight
The sense of smell in birds is not highly developed, and their hearing is limited. Therefore, birds rely on their eyesight, which is far keener than that of human beings. An American kestrel hovering 100 feet (30 meters) above a field can spot a grasshopper and drop directly on it, keeping it in focus all the way to the ground. Birds can change the focus of their eyes for different distances much more quickly than can other animals.
The eyes of hawks and owls are located at the front of the head. They look straight forward with both eyes together, so that they have binocular vision. The eyes of most birds, however, are located at the sides of the head, and they have only monocular vision. Birds cannot move their eyeballs. For a bird with monocular vision to see a nearby object directly in front of it or to watch something moving, it has to turn its head.
Besides the upper and lower eyelids, birds have a third eyelid—called the nictitating membrane. It is transparent and moves from side to side instead of up and down. It keeps the eye moist and protects it from dust. The nictitating membrane protects the eyes of owls from strong daylight and permits eagles to look into the sun.
Behavior
Communication in Birds
The vocal organs of a bird are somewhat different from those of humans. Instead of having vocal chords in the larynx at the upper end of the windpipe, it has simple membranes that vibrate. The membranes are located at the lower end of the windpipe in a structure called the syrinx. The shape of the syrinx and the number of muscles that control the tension of the membranes vary with the different families of birds. Birds are thus able to make different call sounds and to produce different songs.
The syrinx sits directly above two bronchial tubes, which connect to the lungs. Since there are two passage ways, birds can produce two separate notes at the same time. Some use one side for rising notes and the other for falling notes. Others separate low and high notes by sides. Some birds breathe through one side and sing through the other. These techniques allow birds to produce unique and complex sounds.
Bird songs
About half the birds in the world, including most cage birds, are songbirds. Well-known songbirds include canaries, cardinals, robins, blackbirds, bluebirds, nightingales, larks, swallows, and thrushes. The syrinx in songbirds is highly developed.
In general, bird songs serve two main purposes—territorial claims and courtship—although cage birds apparently sing from boredom and inactivity. A male bird will perch on some prominent place, such as a weed top, telephone wire, or tree branch, and sing heartily to inform other males of the same species that a certain territory belongs to it. The same song is also used in courtship to call the attention of the female to the male’s charms.
The basic pattern of a song is inherited. Its finer details are learned from the parents and other adult birds. A bird raised in captivity without hearing the song of its species develops only a simple approximation of the wild song.
Call notes
Birds communicate with one another through a great variety of call notes. There are food calls, danger calls, calls to let their mates and young know where they are, and calls to keep the flock together during migration. Songbirds tend to produce more call notes than nonsongbirds. Such social birds as the crows, ravens, and European jackdaws, all members of the highly intelligent Corvidae family, have a great variety of signals that give many kinds of information.
Call notes are signals rather than “words.” Young birds inherit their understanding of the notes and produce them when they are needed. Baby chicks become immobile when the mother hen gives a warning note; the shadow of a hawk overhead means danger to the mother, who produces the danger call. The young recognize it and respond with the proper behavior. The chickens of Illinois and the chickens of Europe communicate in exactly the same “language.”
Other noises
Birds also use nonverbal ways to communicate. Some birds beat the wings while stationary or the tail feathers while flying. Some communicate through drumming, or the rapid thumping on tree bark or other objects that carry sound, such as rain gutters or trash cans. Woodpeckers drum through pecking. Male palm, or great black, cockatoos of Australia and New Guinea grip a stick in the foot and pound tree trunks to produce loud drumming.
Locomotion in Birds
Not all birds fly. Penguins, for example, cannot fly and instead spend much of their time in the water swimming with their paddlelike wings. Birds such as ostriches and emus have rudimentary wings but only walk. At the other extreme, long-winged swifts and frigate birds move from their perches only to fly, never to walk. Most birds alternate some walking or swimming with their flying.
Birds usually fly when they have any considerable distance to travel. However, there are exceptions. The mountain quail of California make their annual migrations up and down the mountains on foot. The guillemots of the Greenland coast migrate southward by swimming. The Adélie penguins may ride northward on drifting ice floes. At the approach of nesting time, they swim back to the Antarctic continent and then walk over the ice to their breeding grounds many miles inland.
Flying
Humans have long been studying the flight of birds and trying to imitate it. Not until the 20th century did engineers fully understand the principles of flight that birds have been using for millions of years.
The wing feathers most important in pushing a bird forward are the primaries. They are attached to a single bone that corresponds to the first and second fingers of a hand and the fused hand bones. The secondaries are the feathers of the inner wing. They are attached to the lower arm bone. They play an important part in supporting the bird in the air. The primaries and secondaries can be used separately. Attached to the upper arm bone are the tertiaries.
Each wing feather overlaps the one next to it, starting from the base of the wing outward. On the downstroke of the wing the air pressure on the underside forces these feathers into an airtight fan. Speed and forward motion are gained. On the upstroke the wrist joint is bent, and all the primaries and secondaries turn on edge, like the slats of a venetian blind. Thus the wing is lifted with the least wind resistance. Slow-motion pictures show that as the wings move downward, forward, then quickly upward, the wing tips move through a figure-eight pattern.
The tail feathers act as a brake and as a rudder for steering. In addition to forward flying, birds soar and hover. Soaring means gliding on wind currents. Hawks and seabirds soar when they are looking for food below them. Hovering means hanging in the air over the same spot with the tail lowered and outspread and the wings fluttering rapidly.
Most small birds take off with a quick upward leap into the wind and strong, fast wing beats. Dabbling, surface-feeding ducks also jump directly from the water. Many water birds, however, have to run over the surface of the water with wings flapping until they gain enough speed to lift themselves into the air. Birds land by setting their wings at the proper angle to reduce speed and then throwing the body backward and the legs forward.
Walking and hopping
As they developed over time, some birds moved out of the trees and became mainly terrestrial (land dwellers) or aquatic (water dwellers). Evolution subsequently modified their legs so that they could survive in these environments.
In large slow-moving birds such as moas, the leg bones became very heavy. In running birds, such as rheas and ostriches, the toes became shorter, and the opposable first toe was lost. The toes became very long in birds that walk on aquatic vegetation or soft ground. Wading birds such as herons developed long, thin legs. Climbing birds developed short legs with strongly curved, sharp claws. In swimming and diving birds, webs developed between the toes or lobes on the sides of the toes.
Terrestrial birds such as pheasants tend to walk. Songbirds living in trees tend to hop as they travel from branch to branch. Tree dwellers such as woodpeckers and toucans travel easily up and down trees because both of their outer toes face backward. In almost all other birds, only one toe faces to the rear. Parrots often walk along branches, and house sparrows hop when they come to the ground. Palm warblers walk on the ground and some songbirds, such as American robins and European blackbirds, may both walk and hop. Some birds with small feet, such as swifts, hummingbirds, bee-eaters, and many hornbills, use their feet only for perching and rarely walk at all. Other birds with robust feet, such as guinea fowl and rails, do most of their moving about on foot.
The usual position of a bird’s body in walking is more or less parallel to the ground. But the penguins, with their feet far to the rear of their bodies, stand upright as they waddle along. When the Adélie penguin makes its trek of many miles over the snow-covered ice to its breeding grounds, it may vary its awkward waddle with periods of tobogganing—that is, sliding along on its chest and propelling itself with thrusts of its feet.
Swimming and diving
Some birds use the wings for propulsion underwater as well as in the air. The wings of penguins have become highly modified into paddles that allow them to “fly” underwater. They use their webbed feet only for steering. Auks use both their wings and webbed feet in swimming underwater. Several other water birds have become so adapted to swimming that they are practically helpless on land. These include the loons, which shuffle awkwardly the few feet from the water to their nests. Swimming in birds is usually but not always correlated with webbed feet. Coots and grebes have only lobes on their toes, but they also swim and dive. However, frigate birds, with partly webbed feet, never swim.
Some birds, such as the mallard, usually swim at the surface. They feed only as far underwater as they can reach by dipping their heads. Other ducks, such as scoters and pochards, commonly dive to the bottom for their food. Cormorants, auks, and loons pursue fish underwater.
Pond ducks, such as mallards and teals, spring straight up from the water’s surface into the air in flight. However, many swimming birds take off with a long spattering run along the surface. These include coots, grebes, cormorants, and diving ducks.
Migration
Many birds migrate long distances between their winter and summer homes. This allows them to find enough food year-round. After nesting and raising their young, for example, most North American birds travel southward in the fall to spend the winter in areas with warmer temperatures, where food sources are more plentiful. Likewise, many European birds migrate to Africa for the winter. Some birds in tropical areas migrate according to the wet and dry seasons.
A swift may nest in an unused chimney in Canada and winter in the northern Amazon basin of South America. The bobolink of the northern fields of North America travels 5,000 miles (8,000 kilometers) over land and sea to southern Brazil. The tiny ruby-throated hummingbird annually makes nonstop flights of 600 miles (970 kilometers) across the Gulf of Mexico between Yucatán and the southern Gulf coast. Arctic terns make the longest annual migration of any bird. They breed in the southerly reaches of the Arctic and spend their winters in the Antarctic. Taking a circuitous route, they make a round-trip each year of roughly 35,000 to 60,000 miles (60,000 to 95,000 kilometers).
Each year with great regularity most species of migratory birds return to their summer homes. There they court and choose mates, build nests, lay eggs, and rear young. In the late summer and fall they acquire their new plumage. Then they join with others of their kind in large or small flocks, feeding and storing up fat in their bodies. Thus they prepare for the hardships of winter, whether they are to remain in the cold northlands or make a strenuous journey to the south.
Feeding Habits
Instead of a jaw, with heavy bones, teeth, and muscles, a bird has a slender beak. The work of chewing is done by the crop, in which preliminary food breakdown occurs, and by the gizzard, a part of the stomach where food is ground up.
Birds eat a variety of food. Many insect-eating birds have evolved specializations for catching them. Swifts, swallows, and nightjars have wide interior mouths for catching insects on the wing. Some woodpeckers can reach wood-boring grubs, and others can catch ants by probing anthills with their long, sticky tongues. Thrashers dig in the ground with their bills. Raptors and owls have evolved talons and hooked bills for feeding on larger animals. Vultures have bare heads and tearing bills for feeding on carrion. Herons have spearlike bills for catching fish, while kingfishers, terns, and boobies plunge into the water after similar prey. Long-billed waders probe for worms and other invertebrates.
Of the many kinds of birds that feed on plant material, most eat seeds, fruit, or nectar, which are high in food value. Fewer species eat leaves and buds. Some kinds of birds feed entirely on a single kind of food, while others may take a wide range of foods. Many have seasonal changes in diet.
Life Cycle
Courtship
In bird species that migrate south for the winter. the males are usually the first to start north in the spring. They arrive on the nesting grounds from a few days to a few weeks before the females. The male selects the general location where it wishes to nest and attempts to drive rival males from the area. It is dressed in its bright-colored breeding plumage.
Often a pair returns to the same spot year after year. A single mate for the year is the rule for many species. If one bird dies, the survivor takes a new mate. Geese mate for life. Male wrens, blackbirds, and other species occasionally take more than one mate. Male turkeys, grouse, and pheasants may mate with several females in a season.
A male bird may sing, dance, or display its plumage in order to persuade a female to choose it as a mate. Some birds have evening flight songs that are sung only for the female they are courting and at no other time of the year. The ovenbird and the woodcock sing as they climb and hover high in the air. When a male woodcock reaches the top of its upward flight, the bird closes its wings and drops like a stone to the spot on the ground where the female waits. The horned lark, European skylark, and upland plover have similar flight songs.
Many birds do not sing and so the males have other means of calling the attention of the female to themselves. Woodpeckers hammer with their bills on a hollow limb, telephone pole, or even a metal roof. The ruffed grouse produces a loud drumming sound by beating the air with its wings.
Some male birds dance in front of the female. American Plains Indians have a ceremonial dance that imitates the courtship dance of the prairie chickens. These birds have large orange-colored air sacs on each side of the neck with which they produce a dull booming sound. But first they spread their large fan-shaped tails and patter their feet rapidly, bowing and strutting. The birds perform at daybreak in large flocks. The females feed in the open fields and appear to pay no attention. Sham battles between males are part of the display. Facing each other, breast to breast, they jump up and down and strike one another with their wings.
Cranes step and bow in a dignified manner. Western grebes race over the surface of the water in an upright position, then skid to a stop and fall forward into swimming position again. Turkeys spread their large fan-shaped tails and strut before the female. Pigeons do the same thing. Peacocks and birds of paradise, egrets, and herons raise and lower their long wing and tail feathers.
After pairing, some birds continue the courtship with ceremonial feeding, preening each other’s head feathers, and exchanging nesting material. Cedar waxwings pass fruit back and forth, the female returning the berry that the male has given it.
Nesting Areas
Birds nest and raise their young in the habitat characteristic of their species, the kind of area in which they themselves and their ancestors were raised.Bobolinks and meadowlarks live in fields. Ruffed grouse live in deep woods. Red-winged blackbirds choose cattail marshes. Gulls and terns nest on the shores of large lakes and the ocean.
The female accepts its mate in part on the basis of the male’s choice of territory, but the female decides on the exact location of the nest. Usually the female does all the nest building, using only its bill and two feet. It is guided entirely by instinct. Female birds with their first clutch of eggs have never seen a nest built or been taught by their parents. In some species the male parent contributes to nest building. Each bird builds a nest almost exactly like the nest of all other birds of the same species.
Nests
Prehistoric birds probably buried their eggs in the sand, as some lizards and turtles do today. The Australian mound birds, also called megapodes or brush turkeys, still bury their eggs in piles of leaves. The heat of rotting vegetation incubates the eggs.
Most birds, however, lay the eggs in a burrow or nest of some kind, where they can incubate them with the warmth of their own bodies. Some birds build no nest at all. Auks and murres lay their eggs on bare rocks. Killdeers make a slight hollow in the ground to hold the eggs in place. Sandpipers add a lining to the ground hollow. Savanna sparrows make a more elaborate ground nest. It is a cup of grass and weed stalks hidden in tall grass. The domed nest of the ovenbird, in dry woods, is arched over with dead leaves. It blends perfectly into its surroundings and is difficult to see.
Tree nests vary from a platform of sticks, which yellow-billed cuckoos build, for instance, to the woven hanging basket of the orioles. Goldfinches make a dainty little cup of plant fibers, lined with thistledown or cotton and caterpillar silk. Chimney swifts glue twigs together and fasten them to the inside of a chimney with their own sticky saliva. Woodpeckers, kingfishers, bank and tree swallows, wood ducks, and many others hide their eggs in holes in trees and in sandbanks. Burrowing owls live in nests they build in abandoned holes in the ground.
Plant materials are used in most nests. Some birds also like to weave in pieces of paper, cloth, or colored string. Crested flycatchers work a molted snake’s skin into their nests. Some hawks and purple martins put fresh leaves in their nests. As the leaves wilt, the birds replace them.
Some birds change their nests and nesting places to meet new conditions. Bluebirds, wrens, chickadees, purple martins, and tree swallows are among the birds that will use boxes instead of holes in trees. Phoebes will nest under bridges instead of on rock ledges. Barn and cliff swallows nest naturally on cliffs but will also nest in barns. Nighthawks lay their eggs on the flat gravel roofs of city buildings. House sparrows and starlings seem able to live almost anywhere but are particularly well-adapted to nesting in urban areas.
In most cases it takes about a week to build a nest. If the first nest has been destroyed and the eggs are ready to be laid, birds have been known to build the entire nest in a day. Most birds use their nest only once. However, there are many exceptions. Eagles and many other birds of prey use the same nest year after year, adding new material each year. Woodpeckers, wood ducks, and other hole-nesting species frequently use the same nest for years.
Abandoned nests
Many birds use the nests abandoned by others. The snug, safe cavities hammered in a tree by woodpeckers may be used by house wrens, tree swallows, screech owls, or bluebirds. The solitary sandpiper will raise its family in the old nest of a thrush or blackbird.
Many hole-nesting birds of the southwestern deserts of the United States depend upon gila woodpeckers and gilded flickers to chisel out cavities in the saguaro cactus. Certain small owls, American kestrels, martins, and several other kinds of birds could not nest in parts of the desert at all if the woodpeckers did not prepare the saguaro nest hole first.
Bowers
The bowerbirds of Australia and New Guinea build a little shelter called a bower, made of twigs and plant stems. It is used only for courtship. Some of the bowers are saucer-shaped, with a “maypole” raised in the center. Others are like tiny huts or wigwams. Another kind of bower, called the “avenue” type, consists of a platform of small sticks laid side by side. It has a curving, tunnellike roof overhead. The tunnel is made by sticking curved twigs upright into the ground along opposite sides of the platform. All bowers are decorated with flowers and fresh green leaves, which are replaced as soon as they fade, and with shells, colored stones, and other bright objects.
The satin bowerbird actually paints its bower. The bird crushes fruit in its bill and then uses the bill as a paintbrush to smear the bright-colored juice over the inside of the bower.
Enclosed nests
Hornbills have a curious nesting habit that assures protection of the eggs and young from large predators. The female is walled up in its tree-hole nest while it is incubating the eggs and caring for the young. It helps to plaster up the opening from the inside with earth passed to it by the male and mixed with the female’s own saliva. The female leaves open a narrow slit just large enough for its bill. The male feeds the female and the young through this slit.
In one kind of hornbill, the female pecks its way out of the nest when the young are partly grown. Then the young birds replaster the opening with rotted wood from the nest hole, and both male and female feed them from the outside. If the male is killed before the female and young have left the nest, other hornbills may take over the responsibility of feeding them.
Bird Eggs
The eggs of birds are white or a variety of colors, depending on the species. Eggs laid in dark holes where the color cannot be seen, such as those of the woodpeckers and kingfishers, are pure white. Eggs of the plovers and terns, laid in exposed places with no protecting nest, are colored like the soil or gravel on which they lie. Eggs laid in nests may be prominently marked with spots or streaks on a light background. There is no need for protective coloration if the nest itself is usually hidden from sight.
The nesting female usually lays one egg each day, at about the same time. The number varies according to the nesting habitat and ecology of the species. Many seabirds that nest on lonely cliffs lay only one egg. Game birds and waterfowl may lay up to 30 eggs at a time, most of which die as eggs or chicks. Most birds lay three to five eggs. The egg of the hummingbird is the size of a small bean, while the ostrich lays an egg about 5 inches (12.5 centimeters) in diameter.
If eggs are removed from a nest as often as they are laid, some birds keep on laying eggs in an attempt to secure the normal number. A flicker was known to lay 71 eggs in 73 days. Some breeds of domestic chickens can lay more than 300 eggs in a year.
Bird egg colors
The time required for eggs to hatch varies with the size of the egg, with larger eggs generally taking longer. A few very small eggs, however, require a longer time than some of the larger ones. The eggs of the red-winged blackbird take about 12 days and those of the robin about 14 days, but the eggs of some hummingbirds require 20 days to hatch. Domestic chickens’ eggs hatch in 21 days. The eggs of some ducks and geese need 39 days to hatch.
Hatchlings
The hatching bird breaks out of the shell by chipping it with a hard prominence on the beak, called the egg tooth, near the tip of the bill. The egg tooth disappears in a short time. There are two kinds of young birds. One kind (altricial) remains helpless in the nest for some time. The other kind (precocial) can run about as soon as hatched. The first class is hatched blind and helpless, with only a thin covering of down. The parents build well-formed nests. The ground-nesting species, such as vesper sparrows and horned larks, remain in the nest for only a week. Condors and wandering albatrosses, which live in remote places, stay in the nest for a year.
The young of the second class—for example, domestic chickens, swans, ostriches, and mallard ducks—are fully covered with down when hatched. Their eyes open almost immediately. Because these species can live on the ground or on the water, the young are able to follow their parents about in their search for food as soon as their feathers have dried. They remain in the nest for only a few hours.
Taking Care of the Young
The young of altricial birds are fed at first on partially digested food brought up from the crop of the parent bird. Doves, petrels, albatrosses, and a few others continue this method of feeding as long as the young require care. Most birds soon begin to bring fresh food to the young. In some species only the female feeds the young, but in many species both sexes are involved in the process.
The moment the parent bird touches the nest the young stretch up their necks and open their mouths wide. The parent places the food far down into their throats. Swallowing is automatic. Unless food is placed beyond the base of the tongue, the muscles do not act and the food remains in the open mouth unswallowed. After the bird has received enough food, the throat muscles refuse to work. The parent bird inspects the mouths of the young. If any food remains unswallowed the parent removes it and gives it to one of the other young.
Baby birds require from one-half to their full weight of food each day. To keep up this supply, both parents generally work from early morning until nearly dark. In one study a house wren was observed to feed its young 1,217 times in 15 hours and 45 minutes.
The practice of spraying large areas with heavy concentrations of insecticides to kill mosquitoes and other insect pests has serious consequences for newly hatched nestlings. Older birds can find other sources of food, such as berries and seeds, but without insects the young starve to death. Because most insecticides are poisonous to birds, young birds may be killed by eating food that has been sprayed. Other insecticides can cause death through direct contact.
Protecting the Young
Most birds will defend their young. No matter how large the enemy may be, from a hawk to a human, the parents will try to drive or lead the enemy away. Many bird species will dive bomb, or dash furiously at the head and face of a person near its nest. Some birds fluff their feathers and puff their chests to look bigger and scarier to chase away unwanted visitors.
Some birds try to draw the enemy to a safe distance by pretending to be injured. The killdeer drags itself over the ground, fluttering its wings and crying piteously. It keeps just ahead of the intruder until it is some distance from the eggs or babies. Some birds also give warning cries when potential predators, such as cats, snakes, owls, and hawks, are near. Their cries are intended to drive the animal away from their young or nest. The sound also alerts other birds in the vicinity of possible danger.
Most birds incubate and care for their own young. There are exceptions, however. Tropical anis live in flocks of 5 to 20 individuals. They build a single large nest of sticks and leaves. Several birds work on it at a time. Then the females all lay their eggs in the one nest. Males and females take turns incubating. When the young birds hatch, all the anis in the group help with their care.
Common eiders nest in large colonies that may contain several thousand birds. Each bird has its own nest and the female alone incubates the eggs. After the young have taken to the water they band together in large flocks. Several nonbreeding females watch over them.
Relationships Between Birds and Other Animals
Birds sometimes live with other animals or use their abandoned homes. Prairie dogs are plump little members of the squirrel family. They live in colonies in a maze of elaborate burrows that they dig in the ground. Burrowing owls also live in ground burrows. They simplify life by using the abandoned burrows of other animals, including prairie dogs.
The pygmy falcons of Africa live in the nest chambers of the social weavers. The falcons eat other birds but only occasionally catch the weaverbirds with which they live.
Several kinds of birds follow animals about because the animals kick up insects and simplify the bird’s feeding problems. Cattle egrets, anis, and cowbirds all follow cattle and horses (and sometimes other animals, such as elephants and zebras) in fields for this reason. Monkeys have their devoted following of hornbills, fairy bluebirds, and others. The monkeys beat out insects from the trees in their own search for fruit, and the birds snap up the insects. Some birds actually will follow an army ant horde through the jungle, preying on insects that are stirred up by the ant colony.
African oxpeckers spend most of their time on the bodies of cattle and big-game animals, eating the ticks and other insects in the hide of the animal. The animal provides the bird with its food supply. In return, the bird not only keeps the animal free of parasites but also warns it of danger from other animals.
The honey guides of West Africa are noted for using an elaborate system of calls and flight patterns to lead animals and humans to bees’ nests. After the larger animal takes the honey, the birds feed on the honeycomb.
Intelligence in Birds
Birds do many things that appear to be acts of thoughtful intelligence. In most cases, however, their behavior is simply instinctive. For example, the acorn woodpeckers of California drill holes in trees and fit acorns into the holes. When insects and other food is scarce in the winter, they return to eat the acorns.
Birds show the most apparent intelligence in meeting the problems of getting their food. A few birds make use of tools in a very human sense. Gulls and ravens break open shellfish by carrying them up to a height and dropping them down on rocks. They have learned that paved roads and stone walls serve the same purpose as the rocks of the seashore. The song thrushes of Europe hammer a snail on a stone until the shell is broken.
The woodpecker finches of the Galápagos Islands feed on insects in the ground or in the trunks of trees. Their short, thick bills cannot probe deeply. The birds pick up a stick or a prickly-pear spine and poke into small openings. When the insects are driven out, the birds drop the stick and snap up the food.
Scientists consider crows, ravens, and European jackdaws some of the most intelligent of all the birds. They are members of the family Corvidae. They have a large vocabulary of signals by which they are able to warn one another of dangers and convey a variety of information. They are very active birds, roaming far in search of food. They are curious and constantly learn from new experiences.
Importance to Humans
Birds have been significant to human society in many ways. Birds and their eggs have been sources of food for humans since their origin and still are in most societies. The eggs of some seabirds, such as gulls, terns, and murres, or guillemots, and the young of some muttonbirds are even today harvested in large quantities. People domesticated several species of chickens, ducks, geese, and pigeons early on and selectively bred them into many varieties. Native Americans domesticated the turkey in the New World and introduced it as a food staple to the Pilgrims.
With the rise of agriculture, birds became important to farmers. In their constant search for food, wild birds eat huge numbers of insects, weed seeds, and rodents. Insects, weeds, and rodents cut down the amount of food the farmer can harvest from field, garden, and orchard. The cost of fighting these pests without the help of birds would make some foods more costly to produce. In addition, people have mined vast quantities of guano (bird excrement) from island breeding colonies for use as fertilizer for crops.
With the development of modern culture, hunting evolved from a foraging activity to a sport. Large sums are now spent annually on hunting waterfowl, quail, grouse, pheasants, doves, and other game birds. The centuries-old sport of falconry, or the training and flying of falcons, other hawks, and occasionally eagles to hunt game, continues into the 21st century. Pigeons have long been bred and trained for carrying messages.
Feathers have been used for decoration for many thousands of years. Their use in the headpieces of indigenous peoples throughout the world is well known. Feather robes were made by Polynesians and Inuit. Down quilts, mattresses, and pillows are part of traditional European folk culture.
Many people keep birds as pets. Small finches and parrots are especially popular and easy to care for. Of these, the canary and the parakeet are widely kept and have been bred for a variety of color types. Caretakers of large parks and estates often oversee ornamental species such as peacocks, swans, and various exotic waterfowl. Zoological parks in many cities import birds from many lands and are a source of recreation and enjoyment for millions of people each year.
How to Attract Birds
Wild birds add beauty and pleasure to any garden. Birds may be tempted to come near a home if they are provided with water, food, plant cover, and nesting boxes. It is especially helpful if, in a large yard, there are a number of trees and bushes. These provide protective cover for birds in all seasons and offer opportunities for nest building. A sizable evergreen tree is beneficial in providing shelter during the winter for birds that do not migrate, since a bird’s own body heat will help keep it warm even in the coldest temperatures out of the wind.
Water for Drinking and Bathing
Birds need water to drink and bathe in year-round. A birdbath need be nothing more than a pan or a shallow cement pool on the ground, assuming it is safe from predators. A large saucer placed on a tree stump makes a fine bath. The bath should be only a few inches deep, the bottom sloping gradually upward to the edge. The bottom and edge should be rough for safe footing. The water should be changed often and the bowl scrubbed.
A water sprinkler may attract some birds. In fact, running water has much more appeal to some birds than still water. A pool into which water drips, or a series of pools in which the water trickles from one to the other, will increase the number of birds attracted.
A trickle of water makes the mud needed by robins and barn swallows for their nests. A sunny spot at the base of a wall can be kept dry for dust bathing.
Feeding of Birds
Summer feeding is not necessary for the welfare of the birds, but it does bring them close to the house. Winter is not only the best time to feed birds but also the most necessary time. It is then that insects, seeds, and berries are hard to find. Feeding is most important after ice storms and heavy snowfalls have covered natural food supplies. If feeding is begun it must be kept up until spring. Birds become dependent on a food tray. They may suffer or even die if feeding is stopped in midwinter.
Feeders should be placed out of reach of squirrels and night prowlers, such as opossums and raccoons. It is not a good idea to place feeders out for these wild animals—both species, but raccoons in particular, are notorious not only for eating the birds’ food but also for raiding nests and eating the birds’ eggs. Bird feeders can be protected by metal guards or hung from the end of a branch. Squirrels are expert tightrope walkers. Hanging a feeder from a wire between two trees will not keep squirrels away. Sparrows and juncos prefer to feed on the ground. Scatter their food at the base of a tree. Birds feed most frequently in the morning and evening.
Types of Food
Mixed seeds, such as finely cracked corn (maize), hemp, millet, peanuts (groundnuts), and sunflower seeds, are popular with all winter birds. Cardinals and evening grosbeaks are especially fond of sunflower seeds.
Insect-feeding birds need suet to provide them with animal fat. Woodpeckers, chickadees, and nuthatches may visit a suet feeder many times a day. To keep squirrels, blue jays, and starlings from carrying off suet in large pieces, fasten it to a tree in a wire basket. A small glass bottle containing sugared water (nectar) attracts hummingbirds. People can buy ready-made nectar at the store or dissolve one cup of sugar in four cups of water to make homemade nectar.
Quail, pheasants, horned larks, and longspurs may be attracted to homes in the country. People can scatter grain and chaff on the ground under bushes and along fences. A wigwamlike tent of corn husks provides shelter for these ground-feeding birds. The opening should face the south in colder northern areas.
Trees, Shrubs, and Other Cover
Having trees, shrubs, and flowers is the best way to attract birds in the summer. Plants that bear edible berries and seeds are especially effective. Numerous species of birds are known to eat thorn apples, the fruit of the thicket thorn. Mulberries attract even more. Sumac, dogwood, red cedar, bayberry, Tartarian honeysuckle, juneberry, and various viburnums are also popular with birds. Food is not limited to fruits and seeds. It includes also the wide variety of insects associated with certain kinds of plants, such as the gray birch.
In the country the landowner can keep wide hedges between cultivated fields, usually to serve as snow fences. A few dead trunks in the woodlot or a few tangles of undisturbed brush and thicket provide shelter and nesting places. A bed of sunflowers left to ripen will attract many birds for months. Old woodland, with normal undergrowth and forest-floor plants, is likely to have far more birds than young woods of the same sort in which the undergrowth has been cut, burned, or grazed out.
Farmers can save the lives of ground-nesting birds of the fields by using a flushing bar in front of their mowers. The bar flushes the birds from the nest before the blades of the mower can cut it and the nestlings to pieces. Having thus located the nest, the farmer can mow around it.
Birdhouses and Nesting Materials
Many birds gather nesting material in the spring. Popular material includes cotton, straw, horsehair, combings of animal hair, wool, moss, feathers, and string and colored yarn. People can leave pieces of these items in spots for birds to collect.
Birdhouses may be purchased already made, but they are easy to make. Soft wood with straight grain, such as pine or spruce, is a common material. Slab wood, with or without the bark, and old fence boards make fine houses. The birdhouses should not be painted in bright colors. Some birds avoid a box that is too noticeable.
Some birds are extremely selective when choosing birdhouses to inhabit. Many prefer a certain size, opening, or placement. For example, bluebirds will normally not accept a box in the middle of a city yard or in the middle of woods. They prefer one attached to a fence post, about 5 feet (1.5 meters) high, on the side of an open field. Do not hang a house from the end of a branch. Few birds like swinging houses. It is sometimes necessary to protect the box from cats and other predators by putting a metal guard around the tree trunk.
Bird-Watching
Bird-watching is a hobby that can be enjoyed for a lifetime. In bird clubs the membership ranges in age from young children to grandparents. Bird-watching can be a simple activity, or it can be more involved. It may take hard work—wading through swamps, pushing across pathless fields, and scrambling up and down mountainsides. Or it may also be enjoyed by just looking from a window.
Bird-watching can combine healthful outdoor activity with the pursuit of beauty and knowledge. Every bird when it is seen for the first time brings a thrill of discovery. The spring migration is a fresh wonder every year. The surprise and delight of coming across a rarity and the difficulty of keeping it in view long enough to be sure of what it is help to make bird-watching an endless fascination.
Studying Birds
The only equipment necessary for bird-watching is a field guide with good pictures and a pair of binoculars. Some bird-watchers also carry a camera, or a phone with camera or video capabilities, in case the opportunity presents itself to get pictures.
The color and markings of a bird’s plumage—its field marks—are learned first. Many birds can also be recognized by their shapes as they perch and fly. The way a bird flies and the way it acts help to identify it. For example, five different thrushes are seen during migration in the north-central United States. A hermit thrush raises and lowers its tail in a nervous way. A flock of goldfinches high in the air exhibit a roller-coaster flight pattern.
It is not always necessary, however, to see all of the bird. Many birds have flash marks that identify them. A robin-sized bird with a conspicuous white rump is undoubtedly a flicker. A small slate-gray bird with white outer tail feathers is a junco. A brown sparrow with white outer tail feathers is the vesper sparrow.
Studying Bird Songs
Bird songs may be learned at the same time as the field marks. Knowledge of songs not only enriches the hobby but also makes identification much easier. Some migrating birds can be safely identified only by their songs. The alder, least, and Acadian flycatchers are so much alike that they are almost impossible to distinguish in the field. Their songs, however, are totally different.
Bird-watchers often have difficulty following birds to hear their songs. Sparrows, always sensitive to trespassers, flip through tall grasses and show themselves so briefly that the beginner has the greatest difficulty in getting all the field marks. Warblers move swiftly through the tops of high trees. Persistence is often a requirement for some aspects of bird-watching. One of the simplest ways to learn bird songs is to listen to recordings.
Joining Clubs and Meeting Other Birders
People wanting to learn more about birds can join a local club. Ten pairs of eyes see more than one pair. Experienced birders can help beginners by saving them time and mistakes due to inexperience. Children can learn about birds and birding through specialized classroom curricula such as Audubon Adventures.They can learn to recognize a hundred or more common birds with the help of good color pictures. There is also a great variety of well-illustrated books describing various birds.
BirdLife International is a worldwide alliance of nongovernmental organizations that promotes the conservation of birds and their habitats. In the United States the National Audubon Society, the American Ornithological Society, and the Wilson Ornithological Society are national organizations. Membership is open to amateurs. The annual dues include a subscription to the Audubon magazine, The Auk and The Condor, or The Wilson Journal of Ornithology, respectively. Each organization holds annual meetings in different parts of the country. Birders, photographers, and specialists read papers and show films and videos. Field trips are under the leadership of professional ornithologists and the most skilled amateur birders in the country. Amateurs and professionals share experiences and “talk shop” on an equal footing.
Birding opens up satisfying new friendships wherever birds may go. Visitors planning to visit a new city can do research to find out who the active birders are in that area. A note or a telephone call may produce helpful information on where to find the interesting species of the area.
The Great Backyard and Christmas Bird Counts
Local clubs make regular field trips and also participate in two major bird counting events each year—the Great Backyard and the Christmas counts. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and National Audubon Society, together with international partners such as Bird Studies Canada, host the Great Backyard Bird Count. It began in 1998 and takes place in February. Birders from around the world simply register and then observe birds for at least 15 minutes anytime over the designated period. They then record their observations on a Website. The purpose of the count is to see how many species can be listed from dawn to dusk. Scientists use the information to track the distribution and quantity of birds. With these they can more accurately track a bird’s movements and migration patterns.
The National Audubon Society began organizing the Christmas count in 1900. It takes place for about three weeks in December and January. Groups all over the United States, Canada, Mexico, and parts of Latin and South America sign up to make a dawn-to-dusk observation trip within the period. The area covered by each group on a single calendar day is a circle with a 15-mile (24-kilometer) diameter, including as many habitats as possible—woods, field, shoreline, and so on. The National Audubon Society compiles the reports and publishes them in the journal American Birds. Beginning in the early 21st century, the organization also released the information on its Website. The gathered information is useful in detecting bird population changes, range expansions and contractions, and unusual distribution patterns in both rural and urban settings.
Bird Banding
Exact knowledge of birds has been greatly extended by banding. In North America the U.S. Geological Survey (through the Bird Banding Laboratory) and the Canadian Wildlife Service (through the Bird Banding Office) are in charge of bird banding. Trained banders capture birds and attach a plastic or metal band around the leg. The most current bands bear a serial number identifying the bird and listing a Website address. Anyone who finds a banded bird should go to the Website to enter information on where and when the bird was found. People who do so will receive a certificate of appreciation for their time and effort.
Hundreds of thousands of birds are now banded every year in the United States and Canada, increasing an invaluable body of information. The wintering area of the chimney swift was unknown until 1944 when Indian hunters in a jungle in Peru collected 13 banded swifts. Fortunately, the bands were brought to the attention of a person who understood their significance. Banding results in information on the migration routes, the length of migration, family relationships, and the age to which birds live. It has documented that birds nest, as well as winter, in the same locality year after year, and that the same individuals return to the same gardens and shrubbery.
Color marking
Some scientists studying birds apply to the Bird Banding Laboratory for a permit to attach additional bands on certain birds. These scientists must submit information about their research and prove that they can safely handle birds. Once their research is approved, they attach colored bands to the birds. Individual birds can be identified by the sequence and combination of colors. The colors make the birds easy to identify from a distance and prevent the need for recapturing them.
Some birds, such as geese that spend time with their legs in water, are given neck collars. Large wading birds such as gulls often receive wing bands. Modern technology allows banders to use radio and satellite transmitters to gather information without relying on citizen reports.
Color banding can give many kinds of information on birds and their relationships to one another. The share of the two sexes in incubating eggs and feeding the young, the aggressiveness of certain individuals in a flock, and the number of different mates a bird may take in a season are examples of some of the studies.
History of banding
John James Audubon banded birds with silver wire in the early 19th century. Danish schoolmaster Hans Mortensen worked out the modern technique of bird banding. He was the first to attach aluminum rings to the legs of various European birds. His report in 1899 gave birth to the bird-banding movement in the United States. In 1902 Paul Bartsch of the Smithsonian Institution began to use a numbered system of leg bands. Included on the bands was the message “Return to Smithsonian Institution.” Various bird clubs banded and exchanged their information for the next 20 years. As the records and clerical work grew, it became necessary for a central organization to coordinate the work. In 1920 the Bureau of Biological Survey (now the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) took over responsibility for supplying bands and keeping records. Soon afterward an agreement was made with Canada to use a common set of numbers so that the bands of the two countries would not have duplicates. In Europe banding is known as ringing.
Protecting and Conserving Birds
Interest in birds and their conservation no longer needs to be justified. Their value to the farmer and gardener in cutting down the numbers of insects, weeds, and rodents is immeasurable. When hunting is regulated by law, certain game birds provide sport. Birds enrich the lives of everyone with their beauty. Perhaps most important is the part birds play in preserving the delicate balance of nature. (See also ecology.)
The Riches of Primitive America
When North America was a wilderness, native animal life of every sort was abundant. It was controlled by climate and by the balance between the eaters and the eaten—that is, the animals that eat other animals (predators) and the plant eaters that are eaten by the predators.
Predatory animals, such as wolves, pumas, lynxes, weasels, eagles, hawks, and owls, existed in far greater numbers than they do now. Yet, in spite of this, the game birds, which are plant eaters, the songbirds, and all other harmless and familiar animals flourished. Under natural conditions predators do not normally wipe out another species or even seriously reduce its overall numbers. The flesh eater varies its diet. It kills off the weak and the sick in greater proportion than the strong, and its food usually includes other enemies of the species upon which it relies for its living.
The North American Indians, too, were a part of this great balance of nature. Most of them were meat eaters and ate game of many kinds. Their population, however, was small, their weapons were not very deadly, and they hunted primarily for food and clothing rather than for sport. Whenever game was temporarily reduced by excessive killing or by natural causes, the Indians moved to new hunting grounds. They lived in the midst of teeming wildlife that might have continued indefinitely.
European Settler Changes
Writings of the early colonists are filled with wonder at the wealth of life they found in the New World. In England a person might have been imprisoned for taking a pheasant’s egg or hanged for killing the deer of a landowner. The first settlers could hunt freely and without limit the countless wild turkeys, heath hens, pigeons, and other birds that they found in America.
But in so doing, the settlers and their descendants changed the face of nature on a grand scale. They cut down forests and drained swamps in order to clear the land for crops, pastures, roads, villages, and cities. They dumped sewage and the wastes from factories into the waterways until many of them were unfit for most life. The settlers killed the predatory animals that attacked domestic sheep and cattle. Thus, at the same time that birds were being killed by every means and at every season, changes in the character of the land were depriving them of nesting sites, food, and cover.
Extinct Birds
The wild turkey, which lived only in North America, was one of the first birds to become greatly reduced in numbers. A visitor to New Jersey in the year 1648 mentions a flock of 500 turkeys “got by nets” at one time. Other birds fared even worse. The Carolina parakeet, the heath hen, and the passenger pigeon became extinct.
The passenger pigeon used to travel in flocks that darkened the sky and took hours or days to pass a given point. It fed especially upon the nuts of the beech tree and the acorns of the white oak. The groves of these great trees were its nesting places. Passenger pigeons became such an ordinary dish that many people objected to eating them. People laughed at the idea that the wild pigeons might ever become scarce. Yet the endless slaughter, combined with the cutting down of the oak forests, was disastrous. The last passenger pigeon died in a zoo in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1914.
The great auk, a flightless swimming bird, nested only on a few small islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. About 1844 the last great auk disappeared forever because of the constant raids made by sailors during the egg-laying season. The Labrador duck died out somewhat later, probably because of excessive hunting. Hunters in the 19th century also severely diminished the population of Eskimo curlews so they are now virtually extinct. Habitat loss is usually the main factor in the extinction of bird species in the 20th and 21st centuries. When an animal population gets below a wide margin of safety, there is always the danger that the species will become extinct. (See also endangered species.)
Endangered Birds
Birds that have become extremely rare include the ivory-billed woodpecker, the California condor, the whooping crane, and the trumpeter swan. The large ivory-billed woodpecker is listed as critically endangered but at one time was believed to be extinct. It depends for its existence upon stands of virgin timber in Cuba and the southern United States, where the dead and rotting trees provide it with insect food. Following the clean sweep of the southern forests by lumber companies, it virtually vanished. In 2005researchers announced that the bird had been sighted in eastern Arkansas, though some other scientists were skeptical of that claim.
The California condor, a large vulture, at one time nested in the Sierra Nevada and fed in the valleys on the carcasses of wild animals and livestock. The California condor’s high death rate was mostly from hunting and from lead poisoning. The birds ingested lead from feeding on dead animals that hunters had shot but had not removed from the environment. A continuing decrease in numbers was caused by the settlement of the condor’s nesting area and the loss of its natural food supply. Captive breeding programs in zoos in the United States have proved successful in raising young California condors and then releasing them into the wild.
The trumpeter swan and the whooping crane have suffered in part because of damage to their breeding and wintering ranges. These large white birds have also been sport targets for hunters. Now under rigid protection, the trumpeter swan has increased in numbers beyond the danger point. The whooping crane, however, is still endangered. At the beginning of the 21st century, fewer than 300 remained in the wild. In addition to hunting and habitat loss, whooping cranes lay only one to three eggs per nest. They also have a high rate of infant mortality. These factors make it hard for the population to thrive.
Conserving Waterfowl
For a long while North American waterfowl, such as wild ducks and geese, fared better than many other birds. They came chiefly as fall migrants from nesting grounds in the marshy wilderness of the Northwest. They withstood even the heavy toll of market hunting, in the course of which a single professional gunner might bag several thousand ducks in one season. The survivors were at least able to rear large broods after they had returned to their summer homes and thus restore a proportion of the annual loss.
However, people eventually began to drain the marshes and to sow grain in the northwestern states and the Canadian Prairie Provinces (Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta). These actions interfered with the healthy survival of the waterfowl. Other perils have been the steady growth of population and consequently of hunters, the improvement of arms and ammunition, the extension of roads, and the abundance of automobiles. These game birds have been saved only by shortening the hunting season, lowering the bag limit (the amount a hunter can legally kill), outlawing the commercial sale of game, and establishing refuges in which no hunting is permitted.
Shorebirds, such as snipes, plovers, and sandpipers, suffered even more from modern firearms. Many of them have become critically endangered, including the Eskimo curlew, a sighting of which has not been confirmed since 1963. The protection now given in the United States and Canada to shorebirds—the woodcock and Wilson’s snipe are exceptions—has shown encouraging results.
When considering regulations on hunting, the continuance of game, rather than the demands of those who like to shoot, must always be the basis of legal control. Some birds, such as ducks and members of the grouse family, are widely distributed and relatively resourceful. They can stand well-regulated shooting. Others, such as most shorebirds, probably never can stand any shooting under modern conditions.
Effect of Killing Predators
In nature there is no such thing as so-called beneficial or undesirable wild animals. In Georgia, where quail are valued as game birds, hunters shot marsh hawks because the hawks sometimes killed quail. But the shooting of marsh hawks failed to increase the numbers of quail.
Examination of stomach contents showed that the marsh hawk feeds mainly upon the cotton rat. This rodent eats the eggs of quail and other ground-nesting birds. By being a much greater foe of cotton rats than of quail, the marsh hawk proves actually to be a friend of the quail. The killing of marsh hawks has now largely ceased in Georgia, and marsh hawks and quail are growing more numerous side by side.
Fishers dislike fish-eating birds, such as pelicans, cormorants, kingfishers, herons, gulls, ospreys, and mergansers. Careful studies show, however, that these birds have little to do with the decline in fishing. Their prey is largely nongame fishes, including kinds that eat the spawn or young fry of the game fish. Some farmers think all hawks raid their poultry yards to prey on chickens. Yet most hawks and owls live on rodents, which are the farmer’s worst enemies.
Many similar examples prove that predatory animals are an essential part of the balance of nature. Most of the ill will toward them is due to lack of sound knowledge. Fortunately, the value of predators is gaining recognition. Many states have passed laws that protect all birds, including eagles, hawks, and owls, except those caught in the act of destroying poultry and livestock.
Dangerous Practices
Ducks and countless other marsh-living birds all over the United States have suffered severely from the artificial drainage of wet or moist areas. In the Old World, ponds and marshes are considered places of beauty. They are valued and preserved for their wildflowers, reeds, and cattails and for the fish, birds, and other forms of life that can thrive nowhere else.
In the United States the natural ponds in thickly settled regions are often used as dumps for trash of all kinds. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent in draining the marshy homes of waterfowl, often with small success in making land suitable for agriculture or for commercial and residential building construction. The water table has been lowered, to the harm of the surrounding countryside. Over much of the Florida Everglades the humus has dried and burned down to the limestone. Although drainage is sometimes necessary, it should be carried out by engineers only with the advice of biologists.
Practices that endanger some of the showier birds have been banned forever. One is plume hunting for feathers to use on women’s hats. In 1874 a single shop in New York City purchased 350 to 400 songbirds daily from local gunners. Egrets have plumes in the breeding season. The adult birds were killed for the feathers, and the young in the nests were left to starve to death. The long fight against millinery traffic in birds was a turning point in U.S. wildlife protection. The snowy and great egrets have regained their numbers and reoccupy their old ranges.
Another practice was the sale of caged songbirds. This activity is still common in Mexico and other Latin American countries, where mockingbirds, robins, cardinals, cedar waxwings, and other North American birds are kept in cages on the patios of private homes.
Legal Protection and Sanctuaries
Game laws similar to those of today were decreed in Lima, Peru, in 1555. In 1629 the colony of New Netherland adopted the first legal control in North America. It gave hunting privileges to colonists. Connecticut in 1677, Massachusetts in 1694, and North Carolina in 1738 began protecting certain game. In 1818 Massachusetts made it unlawful to kill robins during the annual period from March 1 to July 4.
In 1878 Iowa became the first state to fix a bag limit. It restricted the number of grouse and prairie chickens that might be killed by a single hunter during one day and one season.
The first Audubon Society was formed in New York City in 1886. In 1901 several societies aligned together to form the National Committee of the Audubon Societies. The organization changed its name in 1940 to National Audubon Society. It has conducted educational campaigns and legislative battles. It was largely responsible for outlawing the use of wild-bird feathers in the millinery trade.
On March 14, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt created the first United States federal bird reservation, at Pelican Island, Florida. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service now administers more than 560 wildlife refuges, which encompass more than 93 million acres (37 million hectares) of land and water and protect the habitat of some 700 species of birds. In addition, several thousands of waterfowl production areas have been set up since 1959. The National Audubon Society centers and sanctuaries number about 40.
Evolution
Scientists have debated the origin of birds for years. Most universally accept that birds evolved from reptiles. Most recently, the debate has centered on whether birds descended directly from reptile ancestors active about 230 million years ago (during the Triassic Period) or from a later lineage, the carnivorous theropod dinosaurs. This debate wascomplicated by the fact that bird bones are generally more fragile than those of other animals, leading to the scarcity of fossil evidence. However, new finds at the beginning of the 21st century led most paleontologists to accept the theropod ancestor hypothesis—meaning that today’s birds are feathered dinosaurs.
Fossil Birds
Scientists once believed that Archaeopteryx lithographica was the world’s earliest fossil bird. It was first discovered in southern Germany in 1861 in a series of fossils. Paleontologists dated each to approximately 150 million years ago during the Jurassic Period. The fossils were about the size of a magpie. Archaeopteryx had feathers and other skeletal features indicating that it represented an intermediate stage between reptiles and modern birds. Further studies showed that Archaeopteryx did not fly but glided. Clawed digits on the hand suggested that it lived in trees.
Early in the 21st century, however, paleontologists discovered Xiaotingia zhengi in China. X. zhengi was a fossilized feathered dinosaur that shares several birdlike characteristics with Archaeopteryx. Scientists date X. zhengi to about five million years before Archaeopteryx, casting doubt on the notion that all birds descended from Archaeopteryx. Scientists now believe that the single ancestor from which all bird lineages originate has yet to be found.
The earliest fossil bird known to be an ancestor of modern birds is Archaeornithura meemannae. Paleontologists described the species in 2015 after finding it in rocks of northeastern China. The rocks date to 130.7 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous Period. Another fossil bird from the Late Cretaceous was Hesperornis. These birds were up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) long. The wings were small and useless for flight. The legs, however, were powerfully developed and clearly adapted for rapid diving and swimming through water.
Modern Birds
As modern birds evolved from an Archaeopteryx-like form, they quickly developed increased muscles to move the wings for flight. The tail took on more of a steering function, thereby becoming shorter and more readily moved as a unit. Feathers became specialized for different functions.
The major diversification of modern birds probably took place in the Cretaceous Period. Fossils of foot-propelled divers (Enaliornis) and of an early relative of the flamingos (Gallornis) are known from Cretaceous deposits in Europe. Besides Hesperornis, Late Cretaceous deposits have yielded diving birds similar to Enaliornis and other early flamingo-like birds. Paleontologists have also found species in the same suborders as gannets, ibises, rails, and shorebirds.
Deposits from the Paleocene Epoch (65.5 million to 55.8 million years ago) have yielded the earliest known loons, cormorants, New World vultures, and gulls. In addition, large, flightless predatory birds made their appearance during this period. From the Eocene Epoch (55.8 million to 33.9 million years ago) are the earliest known fossil representatives of most of today’s bird orders. By Pliocene times (5.3 million to 2.6 million years ago) most modern genera were probably in existence.
Additional Reading
Alderfer, Jonathan. National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America, 2nd ed. (National Geographic, 2018). Beer, Julie. Birds (National Geographic, 2016). Earley, Chris. Weird Birds (Firefly, 2014). Everything You Need to Know About Birds (DK, 2016). Hand, Carol. The Evolution of Birds (Abdo, 2019). Hoena, B.A. Everything Birds of Prey (National Geographic, 2015). Kurki, Kim National Wildlife Federation’s World of Birds (Black Dog and Leventhal, 2014). Teckentrup, Britta. Birds and Their Feathers (Prestel, 2018). Tekiela, Stan. Bird Trivia: Funny, Strange, and Incredible Facts About North American Birds (Adventure Publications, 2018). Thompson, Bill, III. The Young Birder’s Guide to Birds of North America (Houghton Mifflin, 2012). Togo, Narisa. Magnificent Birds (Candlewick Press, 2018). Unwin, Mike. Bird Encyclopedia (A&C Black, 2014). Woodgate, Vicky. A World of Birds (Bonnier, 2019).
Совсем недавно на сайте ФИПИ появился открытый вариант ЕГЭ английский 2021. Это прекрасная возможность оценить уровень сложности предстоящего экзамена и, конечно же, дополнительная практика. А она ой как нужна, ведь экзамен уже не за горами, поэтому мы решили посвятить нашу новую статью детальному разбору ключевых разделов открытого варианта ЕГЭ. Не будем вас больше томить и приступим.
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Грамматика и лексика
Абсолютно точно открытый вариант ЕГЭ английский 2021 порадовал, особенно в части грамматика и лексика, ведь задания 19-25 оказались на редкость простыми. Задания по словообразованию 26-31 и лексике 32-38 тоже сложными не назовешь, если знать алгоритм их выполнения. О нем мы рассказывали в одной из наших статей. Так что если вы еще ее не читали, то советуем обязательно прочесть.
Задания 19-25: детальный разбор и ответы
19. Сначала посмотрим на структуру предложения.
Many people think snakes enjoy __________________ to music. (listen)
В нем уже есть и подлежащее snakes, и сказуемое enjoy. Это говорит о том, что здесь не нужна личная форма глагола.
Что такое личная форма? Это такая форма, которая используется в качестве сказуемого и связана с выполняющим действие субъектом или, проще говоря, это спрягаемая форма глагола.
В данном предложении нужна неличная форма глагола. К неличным формам глагола относятся герундий (V-ing), Past Participle (V3) и инфинитив.
Чтобы понять, какая из неличных форм потребуется, вернемся к сказуемому в предложении, то есть к глаголу enjoy. По правилу после него ставится герундий (V-ing), поэтому получается listening.
Ответ: listening.
20. Работая с глаголами, первое, на что следует обращать внимание — это маркеры, которые указывают на определенное время. Давайте посмотрим, есть ли в предложении таковой.
People __________________ this myth for a long time. (believe)
Да, в конце предложения видим for a long time. Такой временной маркер характерен для Present Perfect Continuous или Past Perfect Continuous. Но поскольку повествование ведется в настоящем, что видно из предыдущих предложений, то рассматриваем только первый из предложенных вариантов. Но есть еще одно НО. Глагол believe является исключением и не употребляется в аспекте Continuous, поэтому мы выберем просто Present Perfect, где также есть этот маркер for a long time.
При выборе между Present Perfect (PP) и Present Perfect Continuous (PPC) руководствуемся следующим правилом:
если глагол показывает процесс, то выбираем PPC, а если это глагол относится к глаголам состояния (stative verbs), то выбираем PP.
Получаем have believed.
Ответ: have believed
21. Начнем с того, что посмотрим на структуру предложения.
In fact, snakes __________________ music or sounds and react only to your movements. (not hear)
Есть подлежащее во множественном числе — snakes и есть одно из однородных сказуемых после союза and – react. Форма этого глагола подсказывает нам и линейку времен — это Present и аспект — это Simple. Остается вспомнить, как строить отрицательные предложения в Present Simple. Это делается следующим образом: do + not + инфинитив. Получается do not hear.
Ответ: do not hear
22. Если на полях видите количественное числительное, то нужно образовать порядковое.
She was the__________________ woman to become the professor of
mathematics. (one)
Получается first.
Ответ: first
23. Переведем предложение и заодно посмотрим, есть ли маркеры.
However, few people know that Sofia __________________ interested in mathematics at a very early age. (get)
Однако немногие знают, что София начала интересоваться математикой с ранних лет.
Видим, что событие в придаточном предложении происходило в прошлом и есть даже временной указатель at a very early age, поэтому ставим глагол get в Past Simple, для которого как раз важно, когда конкретно произошло событие. Глагол get имеет форму got.
Ответ: got
24. Повествование о детстве Софии Ковалевской продолжается, значит и линейка времен по-прежнему Past, аспект Simple. Число глагола будет единственным.
There __________________ enough wallpaper for her room and her parents put some sheets of paper instead. (not be)
При работе с оборотом there is число глагола определяется по слову, стоящему после него. В данном предложении — это неисчисляемое существительное wallpaper, которое в английском языке употребляется с глаголом в единственном числе. Получается was not.
Ответ: was not
25. Если видите указательное местоимение this или that, нужно поставить их во мн.ч. This – these, that – those.
__________________ sheets turned out to be notes of lectures of a famous Russian mathematician.
Ответ: these
Задания 26-31: детальный разбор и ответы
26. Если на полях стоит certain, то обычно требуется наречие certainly со значением «несомненно, безусловно».
Capilano Suspension Bridge is __________________ one of them. (certain)
Ответ: certainly
27. Начнем с того, что посмотрим, где находится пропуск.
It is a __________________ bridge in Canada, located near Vancouver. (beauty)
Он — между неопределенным артиклем «a» и существительным «bridge». В этом случае нужно прилагательное, а именно beautiful.
Ответ: beautiful
28. Смотрим на место пропуска и что до него.
Going over this bridge is quite an adventure for __________________. (tour)
Перед ним стоит предлог, следовательно нужно существительное. А так как мы не видим неопределенного артикля после предлога, то скорее всего нам нужно будет существительное во множественном числе. Реже это может быть неисчисляемое существительное в единственном числе.
Остается вспомнить, какие существительные можно образовать от слова tour. Это tourism и tourist. Подставив оба варианта в пропуск, видим, что подходит tourist, но как мы говорили выше, оно должно быть во мн.ч. — tourists.
Going over this bridge is quite an adventure for tourism/tourists. — Пройти по мосту — это самое настоящее приключение для туризма/для туристов.
Ответ: tourists
29. От существительного wind можно образовать только прилагательное windy. Именно это и будет правильным ответом.
If the weather is __________________, the bridge sways from side to side. (wind)
Ответ: windy.
30. Как обычно смотрим на место пропуска и на слово после него. Это поможет определить необходимую часть речи.
People come here for the fresh and clean air, the scent of pine needles and __________________ attractions on the other side of the bridge. (vary)
Пропуск перед существительным, значит нужно прилагательное. От глагола vary – это various.
Ответ: various
31. Так как пропуск — это последнее слово в предложении, следовательно смотрим, что перед ним.
There is a park there with all sorts of entertainment and great boutiques for enthusiastic __________________.
Там стоит прилагательное, значит после него должно быть существительное. Поскольку артикля перед прилагательным нет, то нам нужно либо существительное во мн.ч. — shoppers, либо неисчисляемое существительное shopping.
Чтобы понять, какое из них будет правильным, посмотрим на прилагательное перед пропуском. Это enthusiastic — восторженный, увлеченный. Такое прилагательное, исходя из его перевода, может употребляться исключительно с одушевленным существительным, поэтому выбираем shoppers.
Переведем последнее словосочетание, чтобы все-таки убедиться в правильности выбранного слова.
…great boutiques for enthusiastic shoppers – великолепные магазины для страстных шопоголиков
Ответ: shoppers
Задания 32-38: детальный разбор и ответы
32. Среди предложенных глаголов есть только один, после которого предложение строится таким образом и имеет управление of.
It was a masterpiece, and he could see that it 32 ______ William of Lily and Emily.
Ответ:
- reviewed
- reminded
- recorded
- remembered
Это reminded.
remind smb of smb/smth — напоминать кому-то о ком-то/чем-то
Более подробно о разнице между remind и remember мы рассказываем здесь. А если вы уже ее знаете, то вам не помешает практика. Специально для этого мы приготовили для вас тест.
Ответ: reminded
33. Приступим к следующему заданию и посмотрим на предложенные варианты ответов.
Lincoln had told William he needed to speak to him privately, and they had 33 ______ to meet here.
Ответ:
- arranged
- managed
- coordinated
- established
Начнем с глагола coordinated. Обычно говорят coordinate smth with smb — согласовать что-то с кем-то. К данному контексту он не подойдет
Теперь посмотрим на established.
establish smth — учреждать что-то, устанавливать
Также не подходит.
На заметку: если среди вариантов ответа предлагают managed, то он обычно и является правильным.
Чтобы это проверить, достаточно взглянуть на слова после пропуска, где мы видим to + инфинитив. Глагол managed как раз требует после себя инфинитива с частицей to:
managed to do smth — удалось что-то сделать
Но все же стоит проанализировать и остальные глаголы. Возможно, составители дадут еще один или несколько глаголов, которые так же как и managed требуют инфинитива с частицей to.
Среди предложенных вариантов есть и еще один arranged, который как и managed, может употребляться с to+инфинитивом.
arranged to do smth — договориться что-то сделать
Остается подставить в контекст, чтобы посмотреть, что подойдет по смыслу.
Lincoln had told William he needed to speak to him privately, and they had 33 ______ to meet here. — Линкольн сказала Уильяму, что ему нужно поговорить с ним с глазу на глаз, и поэтому они договорились встретиться здесь/им удалось встретиться здесь.
По контексту видим, что ранее эти герои не встречались, поэтому выбираем вариант arranged.
Ответ: arranged
34. Посмотрим на следующее предложение с пропуском и варианты ответа.
Suddenly William entered the room and apologized for 34 ______ him waiting.
Ответ:
- holding
- keeping
- fixing
- carrying
Здесь проверяется знание выражения keep waiting. Оно переводится как «заставлять ждать».
Ответ: keep
35. Нам предстоит выбрать один глагол из синонимичного ряда. Чтобы это сделать правильно, посмотрим на слова после пропуска.
«You 35 ______ rather serious, even sad,» William said.
Ответ:
- watch
- glance
- see
- look
Там словосочетание rather serious «довольно серьезный». Возникает вопрос: после какого глагола может стоять прилагательное? Ведь мы знаем, что обычно наречие характеризует глагол. Ответ прост — это глагол look в значении «выглядеть». Он является исключением и, как и глагол be, требует после себя прилагательного.
Ответ: look
36. Перейдем к следующему заданию.
In 36 ______, he tried several times with no success.
Ответ:
- fact
- time
- place
- point
В данном задании проверяется знание вводной фразы in fact «в действительности».
Ответ: fact
37. Снова составители хотят подловить нас на устойчивом выражении get in touch with «связаться с кем-либо». Единственно, в предложении глагол стоит в Past Simple.
That’s why he finally got 37 ______ touch with me.
Ответ:
- by
- at
- on
- in
Ответ: in
38. При выполнении этого задания важна лексическая сочетаемость: a car accident – ДТП.
He said that there was a terrible car 38 ______ sometime last night.
Ответ:
- incident
- occasion
- accident
- event
Ответ: accident
Множество тематических тестовых заданий из раздела 32-38 вы можете найти в нашей рубрике «Задания 32-38». А еще больше подобных разборов ищите в нашей новой рубрике «ФИПИ ответы».
Следите за обновлениями и совершенствуйте свой английский вместе с ABC.
За это задание ты можешь получить 4 балла. На решение дается около 8 минут. Уровень сложности: базовый.
Средний процент выполнения: 89.6%
Ответом к заданию 10 по английскому языку может быть последовательность цифр, чисел или слов. Порядок записи имеет значение.
Разбор сложных заданий в тг-канале
Задачи для практики
Задача 1
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
| Заголовки
1. Confused with human hands |
| Тексты
A. For over 30 million years, bears in one form or another have roamed the Earth. There are only 8 extant species of bear on Earth now. Bears live all over the world, and the different species inhabit various geographic regions. The different adaptations each species of bear has for its environment is one of the facts that helps us learn about evolution. We can see from these different adaptations how bears evolved from a common ancestor to have the traits they have today. B. While bears did live in the Atlas Mountains of Africa for a period of time, there are no species of bear living in Africa at this time. Scientists today believe the Atlas bear to be extinct. The Roman Empire used many animals from Northern Africa to fight in spectacular competitions. From records, it seems thousands of bears were taken and made to fight with other animals like lions and tigers. The environment also had an impact on the extinction of the Atlas bear. As the desert in Northern Africa expanded, it reduced the woodland habitat where the Atlas bear lived. C. Bears adapted in various ways for different environments. While most bears live in forests, the polar bear lives in the icy conditions of the Artic. In all species of bear, the male is larger than the female on average. There is a wider range of size between the different bear species. Kodiak bears and polar bears are the largest bears. The sun bear is the smallest bear. The largest male Kodiak bears can weigh up to 1500 lbs., and the smallest female sun bears can weigh as little 50 lbs. D. The structure of the human hand and the bear claw are very similar. The bone structure is so alike, that the National Wildlife Laboratory published a special guide to help people tell the difference. People sometimes put bear paws out in public to shock other people. Also, bear remains which were found during excavation or construction, shocking workers and halted work on the job site. The National Wildlife guide helps people quickly identify the remains by highlighting the subtle differences between bear paws and human hands. E. Polar bears may look nice and clean because of their white fur. Polar bears use their feet to leave scent markings. Polar bears have a very large territory, and scientists believe that sweat glands on their paws is a convenient way to mark their territory. This means polar bears are marking their territory simply by walking around. Most bears mark their territory by rubbing their backs against trees. However, polar bears have relatively few trees in their natural habitat in the Arctic. F. The spectacled bear is the only bear that lives in South America and the species is classified as vulnerable to extinction on the Endangered Species List. The spectacled bear makes its home in the Andean jungles. This habitat is currently being devastated by human development. Spectacled bears are also killed by farmers who see them as pests, and are poached for their meat and claws. With fewer than 3,000 alive in the world today, we need to act soon before spectacled bears suffer the same fate as Atlas bears. G. Scientists have been breeding panda bears in captivity since at least the 1960s to help stabilize the fragile panda bear population. Many advances have been made, and many new bear facts have been revealed. Breeding panda bears in captivity is a difficult task. The panda bear fetus is so small, that it’s often not seen by ultrasound. Baby panda bears are tiny fragile creatures. They are blind, hairless and only 1/900th the size of the mother. Pandas International compares the size of a baby panda bear to a stick of butter. |
Задача 2
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
| Заголовки
1. Making drafts |
| Тексты
A. During its construction, which was completed in 1889, the Eiffel Tower became the tallest manmade structure, surpassing the height of the Washington Monument. In 1930, the Chrysler Building was built in New York City, becoming the tallest structure in the world at the time. The Eiffel Tower had held the title for 41 years! Later in 1957, an antenna was attached which, depending on how you determine the height of a structure, made the Eiffel Tower taller than the Chrysler Building. B. Gustave Eiffel, the famous architect for whom the structure was named, did not actually design the Eiffel Tower. The initial design was sketched by Maurice Koechlin in May of 1884, while he was working at home. Koechlin was a senior engineer working for Eiffel’s architecture firm at the time. Koechlin was working with another architect in the firm, Emile Nouguier, to design a monument for the 1889 Exposition Universelle. The exposition was planned as a World’s Fair to celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the French Revolution. C. In 1885 Eiffel presented the design to the Société des Ingiénieurs Civils as a symbol of the dawning Industrial Age. Two more years passed, and there were changes in government. Eiffel continued to lobby for the project and it was brought to review by a commission in 1886. The commission examined Eiffel’s proposal, along with competing proposals for the monument. Eiffel’s proposal was chosen because it was the most practical and most well planned. The other proposals seemed impossible or were not completely thought through. D. During the course of the planning, Eiffel’s firm produced 1,700 general drawings, and 3,629 detailed drawings. The drawings captured the 18,038 pieces that make up the tower. Bear in mind all of this was being done by hand, before the 1900s. The construction began in January of 1887 after a location had been determined. The massive concrete and limestone foundations of the Eiffel Tower were the first things to be put into place. The tower would be assembled in a modular fashion. E. While it is considered by many to be a work of art today, at the time, many artists and writers protested against the building of the tower based on the drawings that were exhibited. Eiffel responded by defending the monumental nature of the work, comparing it to the Pyramids of Egypt. It was an apt description. At the time, the Pyramids were still some of the largest man-made structures on Earth. Gustave Eiffel was not too concerned about the criticism, as the project had already been approved. F. In 1925, after World War I, the Eiffel Tower was not in the best condition. One conman, named Victor Lustig held a secret meeting of scrap dealers and, using forged government stationary, offered to sell the Eiffel Tower for scrap! The scrap dealer gave him a bribe along with the money for the tower. Lustig and his accomplice fled to Vienna with a suitcase full of money. A month later, Lustig couldn’t help himself, and he returned to Paris to try the scheme again. This time, the person he tried to scam went to the police. G. Elevators or lifts were installed in the tower shortly after its debut. This is a good thing! Walking to the top took early visitors hours. The lifts have been modified, upgraded and replaced many times over the years. Visitors to the Eiffel Tower include daredevils who have staged stunts, such as bungee jumping from the tower. The Eiffel Tower has become a must-see destination in Paris and, at the last count, more than 200,000,000 people had visited the tower! |
Задача 3
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
| Заголовки
1. As hot as the Sun |
| Тексты
A. The incredible natural resources and the ingenuity of the people that live on the Earth combine to make an impressive output of goods and services that are traded to sustain, inform and entertain. The sheer scale of the world economy is mind-boggling. Each year humankind produces $72 trillion worth of goods and services. When we examine historical facts, we see that the production of goods and services across the world really took off about 200 years ago with the dawn of the Industrial Age. B. Many people call the Earth Mother Earth because the planet sustains all life as we know it. In the same way a mother feeds and protects her children, the Earth feeds and protects all of humanity. Studies regarding the shape of the Earth show that our planet is not a perfect sphere. There is a bulge around the center of the Earth. This is what’s considered an oblate spheroid. This bulge around the center of the Earth means the diameter at the equator is 43 kilometers, or 27 miles, larger than the diameter going top to bottom or from the North Pole to the South Pole. C. The Earth is made up of a handful of elements and a sprinkling of trace elements. The Earth is strong! It is 32.1% iron. Surprisingly, oxygen accounts for 30.1%. Silicon, which makes computer chips, makes up 60.2% of the Earth’s crust and 15.1% of the total elements in the Earth. From these facts, it’s clear why certain elements are valuable. A metal like gold is only a trace element compared to the mass of the Earth. D. Conditions at the Earth’s core are shocking. It appears that 20% of the heat is still the Earth cooling off from when all the rocks slammed together to form the planet in the early solar system. Another 80% of this heat occurs in the form of radioactive decay. Radioactive elements are all present in the Earth’s core, and are giving off a lot of heat. So much heat, in fact, that the temperature of the Earth’s core is as hot as the surface of the sun, at more than 10,000 °F! E. All of the Earth’s oceans connect to form one large ocean that covers over 70% of the Earth’s surface. There’s a lot more water than land on the surface of the Earth. While the oceans only cover the surface of the Earth, they account for 1/4400 of the mass of the Earth. If the Earth was totally smooth, with no mountains, or valleys on land, or underwater, the result would be a 2.7 kilometer, or 1.5 mile, deep ocean that covered the entire surface of the Earth. F. There is no clear boundary between the Earth’s atmosphere and outer space. While we typically think of the Earth as this perfect sphere, scientists prove that spherical shape of the Earth is not so perfect. The atmosphere slowly becomes thinner and thinner until it fades into outer space. There’s no clear line or sign that says welcome to outer space. The atmosphere of Earth is one of the unique features that allows such an amazing array of life forms to exist on the planet. G. The speed at which the Earth orbits the Sun is over 100,000 kilometers per hour, or over 66,000 miles per hour! Moving at that speed, you could reach the moon in 3.5 hours, and you could travel the whole way around the Earth in about seven minutes. When we look at Earth facts about how fast the Earth rotates, we find that it’s spinning fast, too. The Earth is spinning at 1,675 kilometers per hour, or over 1,040 miles per hour! |
Задача 4
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
| Заголовки
1. Speaking position |
| Тексты
A. It’s been said that people appreciate your ideas by the words you use, and this is true. Choose your words wisely. Words have power. They have the power to move nations and they have the power to destroy as well. When you speak, use your words carefully. Avoid using words that will cause the other person think poorly of you. Use words that communicate positive values. Make sure they are understandable. Use words that are colorful and rich with meaning, as long as they can be understood by the listener. B. Just as important as what you say is how you say it. What tone are you using? When you speak, are you monotone? Or do you move the tone of your voice, changing it up? This will naturally help people follow what you’re saying. Changing the tone of your voice is a very effective way to draw people into your message. Imagine if a painter only used one color. We want lots of colors and lots of tones. The speed with which you speak will tell others certain things. C. The emotions you communicate while speaking are vital. The key here is to show emotion without “getting emotional.” Emotions can be a very effective communicator. For example, showing anger can communicate that you are very serious about something. Allowing yourself to cry can show a side of you to others that communicates that you are a person of passion who, while being a hard-charging person who desires success, also has a tender side. Emotion, if controlled, is a powerful communicator. D. When you’re communicating, especially in a presentation situation, your speaking position, whether you are standing, sitting, kneeling, etc., can communicate a lot. For example, my good friend Zig Ziglar, a master of the stage, will frequently move to the front of the stage and kneel. He is saying, “Listen closely to this. This is really important.” He is bringing the audience in for an intimate moment. Sitting communicates casualness. Many speakers will give a considerable part of their presentation this way. This style is informative and casual—and it is effective. E. Clear-cut communication increases the likelihood that people will comprehend and take action on whatever you’re asking from them. It’s better to over-explain something than to leave room for misunderstanding. It’s helpful to prepare your thoughts in advance so you include all the relevant details. Don’t end a conversation until you’re sure the other person understands your objectives and how to achieve them. Deliver these instructions in a friendly, open way so the other person knows they can approach you with follow-up questions. F. Have you ever had a conversation with someone who only responded in two- or three-word sentences, and you walked away feeling like you learned very little? The person might not have been intentionally giving you short answers; perhaps you could have phrased your questions better. A lot of people fail to understand the power of asking quality questions. One effective tip for asking stronger questions is to frame questions in a positive tone. Framing things positively assures the direction of the conversation and leaves others with a pleasant memory of the exchange. G. If you prefer speaking on the main stage in front of larger groups, then you would fancy delivering keynotes. This option can create exceptional opportunities for consulting, long after your speech is over. If you have a new idea that you’re really passionate about or have an innovative way of presenting a familiar topic. If you enjoy sharing your expertise in a collaborative setting, consider the impact of participating in a conference environment as an expert panelist. Opportunities to communicate with smaller groups include breakout sessions or workshops. |
Задача 5
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
| Заголовки
1. Types of honey |
| Тексты
A. Honey, often referred to as «liquid gold,» houses a wide range of vitamins and minerals. In the normal honey-making process, honey is filtered to remove contaminants, such as bee parts, waxes and other impurities. Nothing wrong there; nobody wants to chew on bee parts or wax, right? Ultra-filtration is a high-tech procedure in which honey is heated and pushed through extremely fine filters at high pressure. This technique not only removes contaminants, but pushes out the pollen and many other beneficial vitamins, minerals and enzymes, too. B. Did you know that there are more than 300 distinct varieties of honey? Different types of honey are categorized by the ways they are sold. Comb honey is taken directly just as it is stored by the bees. Liquid honey is the most common form of honey found on shelves and used by most people. Granulated honey is a powdered form of honey that is made by drying the honey in order to draw out the water. Creamed honey is a blend of granulated and liquid honey. C. Avocado honey from the flowers of this plant tends to be darker in color and has a rich, buttery taste. Blueberry honey, contrary to popular belief, is not honey with blueberries added. It is actually derived from blueberry flowers. Clover honey is the variety that most people think of as common, table honey. Eucalyptus honey is as varied as the species of plant from which it comes. It has a wide variety of color and flavor. Orange blossom honey is mixed with nectar from citrus flowers. D. Raw honey is not subjected to any sort of heat processing, though it is sometimes strained for a more pleasing presentation. This means that it still contains all of its natural nutrients. The best temperature for pasteurization of honey is 145 degrees Fahrenheit. This destroys many of the nutrients in the honey the same way that cooking vegetables at high temperatures breaks down their vitamins and minerals. Adding pasteurized honey to tea or coffee will have no effect on its nutrients, because they are already destroyed. E. It is believed that honey history dated as far back as 10 to 20 million years ago and the practice of beekeeping to produce honey, apiculture, dates back to at least 700 BC. In ancient times, Eygptians sacrificed honey by the tons to their river gods, Roman legions slathered honey on the wounds as a natural cure to promote healing, and medieval lords reserved honey for their private use. It’s told that the body of Alexander the Great was preserved and embalmed with honey. F. Honey is a miracle food; it never goes bad. It was reported that archaeologists found 2000 year old jars of honey in Egyptian tombs and they still tasted delicious! Many people find it rather surprising that bacteria cannot grow in honey because all things being equal, bacteria loves sugar. The unique chemical composition of low water content and relatively high acidic level in honey creates a low pH environment that makes it very unfavourable for bacteria or other micro-organism to grow. G. Personally, when selecting honey in the shop, I think it’s almost impossible to tell the bad from the good by just looking at the honey content through the jar or studying its food and nutrition labels. My take is always to go for the trusted or better known brands. The best is to be able to ask the source or supplier of the honey questions about the honey origin and how the honey is harvested and processed to get an assurance on the quality. |
Задача 6
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
| Заголовки
1. Taste preferences |
| Тексты
A. A panda’s daily diet consists almost entirely of the leaves, stems and shoots of various bamboo species. Bamboo contains very little nutritional value so pandas must eat up to 38 kg every day to meet their energy needs. But they do branch out, with about 1% of their diet comprising other plants and even meat. While they are almost entirely vegetarian, pandas will sometimes hunt for small rodents. Indeed, as members of the bear family, giant pandas possess the digestive system of a carnivore, although they have evolved to depend almost entirely on bamboo. B. Where do pandas live? Pandas are native to the temperate-zone bamboo forests of central China. They once lived in lowland areas, but farming, forest clearing, and other development have pushed them into the mountains of southwestern China, mostly in the Sichuan Province. This is due to the fact that China’s human population has been steadily growing and is now the largest in the world. Pandas are beloved everywhere and their images often appear on many gift and novelty items. C. Pandas are said to have a predilection for copper and iron. They really seem to enjoy licking every scrap of food from their metal bowls, even turning the bowl in their two dexterous paws. An ancient reputation as a licker and eater of copper and iron came from a liking for dishes or cooking pots in dwellings of Chinese peasants. Another strange behaviour, but with a modern twist, we witnessed, is them enjoying «fruit lollipops» — fruit frozen in a metal dish of water to cool them down in the heat of summer in Chengdu. D. Giant pandas are born tiny (about 100 g), blind, white and helpless. The mother cradles her tiny cub in a paw and doesn’t leave the den for several days after giving birth, even to drink. Cubs soon develop soft gray fur, which becomes coarser and develops its black and white pattern in a month. The new born panda doesn’t move from the den in the first two months. After three months baby pandas begin to crawl. Cubs start to eat bamboo around six months and are fully weaned at nine months. E. The first threat to the panda was poaching for food and/ or the soft fur. Poaching existed since ancient times, but the rate of poaching increased after the animal became known around the world. Although poaching is no longer a major threat to pandas it did cause a significant drop in the population. The greatest modern threat to the species is the loss of their habitat. Since the middle of the last century China has undergone a population boom and much of the traditional habitat of the animal has been destroyed. F. This peaceful creature with a distinctive black and white coat is adored by the world and considered a national treasure in China. The bear also has a special significance for WWF. One of the reasons why WWF chose panda as its logo was to save cost! Sir Peter Scott, one of the founders, said, “We wanted an animal that is beautiful, is endangered, and one loved by many people in the world for its appealing qualities. We also wanted an animal that had an impact in black and white to save money on printing costs.” G. Pandas have the most specialized diet of any of the bears. Their diet is almost exclusively two species of bamboo. Bamboo plants only grow in a few places. This limits the range of pandas tremendously. Bamboo species go through periodic die-off s after they flower. Most plants in an area die-off at the same time. When this happened in the past, pandas would migrate to another area where the bamboo was still flourishing. However, this option is not always available. This leads to periodic starvations among panda populations. |
Задача 7
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
| Заголовки
1. Easy to become ill |
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A. Banana belongs to the family of Musaceae. Commercially, it is one of the widely cultivated crops in the tropical and subtropical zones. Banana flourishes well on tropical, moisture-rich, humid, low-lying farmlands. Banana has unique growth characteristics. In fact, the whole plant is a false stem. It is consisting of broad leaves, together with their long petioles, overlapping each other in a disclike fashion. The whole plant may reach 2 to 6 meters in height from the ground surface depending upon the cultivar types. B. Banana is one of the high-calorie tropical fruits. The fruit holds a good amount of fiber that helps in regular bowel movements. Banana is a good source of vitamin B6; provides about 25% of daily-recommended allowance. The fruit is also an ideal source of vitamin C. Consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps the body develop resistance against infections. Fresh bananas provide adequate levels of minerals like copper which is an essential element in the production of red blood cells. Besides, it helps control heart rate and blood pressure. C. Recent archaeological evidence in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea suggests that banana cultivation there goes back to at least 5000 BC, and possibly to 8000 BC. It is likely that other species were later and independently domesticated elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is the region of primary diversity of the banana. Areas of secondary diversity are found in Africa, indicating a long history of banana cultivation in the region. The banana may also have been present in isolated locations elsewhere in the Middle East. D. One risk associated with genetically modified bananas is that when the plants are genetically identical, they are much more susceptible to plant diseases spreading over an entire species of banana. If one plant is not resistant to the disease, none of them are. This happened in the 1960’s when the then-popular type of banana, the Gros Michel, was reduced to near extinction by a pathogen called the “Panama Disease.” Scientists are working to prevent the same thing from happening to Cavendish bananas we eat now. E. Bananas are artificially ripened so that they are good to eat right on time. Bananas have a very short “shelf life,” and it is easy to tell whether or not a banana is good. Because of this, bananas are harvested long before they are ripe so that they do not turn brown and nasty until after they have been on your counter for a few days. The ships have temperature-controlled compartments for the bananas. The still-green bananas are unloaded and brought to facilities with temperature-controlled “ripening rooms”. F. Bananas and plantains constitute a major staple food crop for millions of people in developing countries. Bananas are cooked in ways that are similar to potatoes. Both can be fried, boiled, baked, or chipped and have similar taste and texture when served. One banana provides about the same calories as one potato. Most producers are small-scale farmers either for home consumption or local markets. Because bananas and plantains produce fruit yearround, they provide an extremely valuable food source. G. Modern, commercial strains of banana don’t have seeds. Well, they do, but they’re tiny, unlike wild and often inedible varieties of bananas, which have large and viable seeds. Seedless fruit-bearing plants are normally breed only with human help because the plant has no natural way to regenerate when it dies. Here again, bananas break the mold. The stems above and below ground produce new shoots at the base of the visible stem. These begin growing into new, flowering stems just as the old one is dying. |
Задача 8
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
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1. Carnivore animals |
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A. One of the most amazing facts involves just how long ago penguins began evolving towards life in the water and lost their ability to fly. The oldest fossil of a penguin species dates from over 60 million years ago! This penguin had already lost the ability to fly. While it was not as well adapted to marine life as today’s penguins, it is definitely a penguin ancestor. Scientists speculate that these ancient penguins swam mostly on the top of the water. However, their wings had already evolved to be better used as flippers in the water and the bird could no longer fly. B. When we look at fossil records, we find some amazing ancestors of the penguins we are used to seeing today. Emperor penguins are the largest penguins alive today. These birds can be up to 4 feet tall and can weigh 100 pounds. Giant penguin fossils have been found in New Zealand. These penguins lived 40 million years ago and were nearly 6 feet tall and weighed over 170 pounds! It may have been that there was an abundance of food available with few competitors, so the penguins grew larger. C. Many children’s movies and cartoons feature penguins as prominent characters. Make no mistake, these cuddly-looking creatures eat only meat, and no vegetables. Penguins survive on a diet of mostly fish. They also consume other marine animals, including squid and octopus. This diet is partly a result of the region of the Earth they inhabit. Nearly all penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere, and many live in the Antarctic where there is little to no vegetation. Adult penguins can be preyed on by leopard seals and killer whales, or orcas. D. Penguins have many special adaptations for living in cold weather. They have a thick layer of feathers that acts as insulation, and they can also control the flow of blood to their extremities, maintaining just enough blood flow to keep those body parts from freezing. A unique behavior of penguins demonstrates their ability to work together as a group to provide benefits to each individual. During the coldest months of winter, after the mother emperor penguin lays her egg, she goes hunting while the father stands over the egg to keep it warm. E. For instance, when it comes to diving, emperor penguins are capable of diving to depths of 1,854 ft. in search of fish and squid to eat. To compensate for the extreme pressures at these depths – up to 40 times the pressure at the surface – emperor penguins have special adaptations. Their bones are solid instead of air-filled, like other birds, to reduce barotrauma. During deep dives, the emperor penguin’s heart rate drops to 15-20 beats per minute to conserve oxygen. The emperor penguin’s blood also has special properties. F. It seems that penguins are tough inside and out. Their digestive system has unique features that allow the bird to survive and thrive in its marine lifestyle. Penguins have a supraorbital gland, which is a gland that filters out sodium chloride from the blood stream. In other words, the gland filters salt out of the blood. This allows penguins to drink salt water when they are thirsty! Don’t try that if you get stranded on a desert island, however – it would kill you! G. Penguins are social animals, and they like to hang out! Emperor penguins live in colonies that number into the thousands, but interesting facts shock us with the real party-animals of the penguin order: macaroni penguins. Macaroni penguins can group in colonies of several hundred thousand birds at once! That’s not a party – that’s a festival! As a result of living in these large groups, penguins have adapted many unique vocalizations and displays to communicate with other birds. Male penguins have unique behavior when they huddle in heat packs to stay warm. |
Задача 9
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
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1. Be the first to approach |
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A. Most people fail to harbor the courage to talk open minded with people they have first met or strangers in any place. Your first impression is not the last impression. When you enter a new place, say, your school or college, or even your workplace, it’s obvious to feel nervous. Don’t worry, so are the others. You just need to show that you’re scared, too. They have seen you for the first time so try not to flaunt yourself, instead; be yourself. Think of them as if they have already been your friends. B. We often feel alone inside metro, buses, parks or a new institution. Being able to approach new people saves us from that awkward time that we often face when we don’t know anyone we are looking at. Relations are not sent by God, so try to adjust in whichever seat you get. Making access to other’s choices is also important to show you care. You need not argue with someone for the best seat. If you want a particular place for yourself like the front seat or the middle one, then just be sure to come a little early the next day. C. The person beside you or in front of you is seeing you for the first time. Just act normal and introduce yourself, like «Hi, I’m Sasha and you?» or focus on his/her notebook or mobile phone and say, «Good choice, it’s very trendy.» You could just simply comment on his/her dress or shoes or even hairstyle. Show that you like him/ her. Sometimes there are certain common things that initiate conversation, like the classroom you are in or the boss you are working for. Either way, feel free to voice your opinion. D. Rushing with your rambling is always not a good idea; you should also pause and listen partners’ response. Try to engage more in their topics and views. When they find you reliable and easier to talk, you will find them interesting too. Don’t think for any topics beforehand. Let the conversation lead you. You will see one topic leads to another. It often becomes smooth when you act naturally. Pretence is not necessary unless you didn’t enroll for an acting course. E. Make sure to offer help when people need one. It’s up to them to trust you or not, but you could show concern and interest in them. Who knows, you might get help in return. When you’re alone in a new place, you won’t know what you need and when. So instead of regretting later, you could just ask for some help too unless it’s very personal. A helping hand once in a while saves from embarrassment. Always be honest to yourself and the others around you. F. Don’t push yourself far enough for attention. Just wait for the right time. It’s very rude to not ask for the contact number, especially after the other person has helped you. Even if you do not intend for further communication, just an occasional ‘Hi!’ or ‘Hello! How are you?’ sums it up. Remember the first person you met saved you from boredom and has at least been a friend to you. Just for the sake of that, drop a message sometimes to show that you remember. Always be thankful. G. One good way to make friends is to join an organization, club, or sports team. If joining a group is too far out of your comfort zone, try striking up conversations with people you see regularly, like someone you sit next to in class or the cashier at your favorite store. It’s OK if you’re nervous to talk to them. Just smile, stand up straight, and make eye contact so you seem friendly. The more often you talk to them, the more comfortable you’ll get. |
Задача 10
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
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1. Display inquisitiveness |
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A. Self-education requires a willingness to learn, the self-discipline to stay focused and a level of interest that exceeds the standard job mill education. A curious mind seeks to be educated. By asking questions, you can find out a lot of things that many people don’t know and won’t ever know. In fact, questioning is key to active and meaningful learning. The formulation of a good question is also a creative act. Questions help us to make sense of the world. B. Try to expand your mind by learning beyond your comfort zone and seeing how other people think, perceive and understand things. If you only ever see romantic comedies, watch a documentary or an action film instead. If you only ever read comics, try a novel instead. If you only ever see car rallies, go and see a museum exhibition instead. Read world history and learn about different cultures. It is one of the finest ways of self-educating. Read about others who self-educate. C. Curiosity is about pushing yourself beyond what you’re used to. There will be times when you feel really uncomfortable, out of your depth and perhaps even upset when trying to learn new things. This can happen especially where you feel dumb, unlearned or when your beliefs and values are challenged. These are the very times when you should keep pushing yourself to learn and to become wiser about whatever it is you’ve been avoiding. Read a lot. Without fail, always read something, and make it substantial. D. Read English from different parts of the world, don’t assume that authors from your own country are the only ones worth reading. By extending your reading to elsewhere in the world, you’ll discover that even with one language, the thinking is diverse and the ways of seeing the world are wonderfully varied. When you feel more competent in this area, push into other languages. Realize that learning a language is about immersing yourself in another culture too. E. If you’re learning or have learned the basics in math, science and other subjects, find out what you’ve yet to learn and set about teaching yourself. There is much more beyond the basics and most of it will challenge you in much more interesting ways than your initial learning did. If you did badly at a subject, do not let this hold you back. Every brain is plastic and capable of being rewired to relearn things and to learn new things. F. Self-education requires very good self-discipline. Besides, borrow from intelligent people what you consider works well to improve the mind and understanding. Observe, learn and apply what you see good from them. You can learn a lot from them if you just take the time to sit with and listen to them. Should you feel that what they tell you is old hat and odd, put aside your biases and really listen. There are authentic human things to learn from older people. G. By the time finals roll around and your time is precious — every minute counts. That is why scheduling is essential during the preparation for the exams. So as not to become totally confused during this stressful time, make a realistic study schedule for yourself, too. Leave yourself time for breaks — you’ll be taking them anyway — and be sure to prioritize according to which class you’ll need to study for the most. |
Задача 11
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
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1. The trend catches on |
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A. The pillow was invented so that bugs would not crawl into the noses, ears, and mouths of people while they were sleeping. The pillow was first used in what is present-day Iraq over 9,000 years ago. Back then, it was carved from stone. Ancient Egyptians also used pillows because they wanted to protect their heads. Ancient Chinese used hard pillows (although they knew how to make softer ones) because of the belief that soft pillows depleted the body’s energy. B. The idea of a high heel or platform shoe is actually a seriously ancient one. One of the first traced high-level pieces of footwear in history belonged to actors in ancient Greece. However, these weren’t necessarily worn off stage; they were actually meant as a kind of shorthand about the social class of various characters in Greek drama and comedy. The higher the heel, the more «elevated» the character. There’s also evidence that ancient Egyptians used heels, though not for everyday use. C. Many noblemen of the medieval Persian empire wore heels as riding shoes, often in decadent materials and bright colours, to enable them to get a better grip on their stirrups. The European royals really perked up and took notice when a Persian monarch, Shah Abbas, came to tour European courts and make noble friends in the 1500s. The diplomatic gesture turned into a fashionable one, too: people saw the beautiful heeled shoes worn by the Shah and his entourage, and decided to make them their own. D. It feels like a common sense thing to say, but along with the collapse of society, the loss of power, and the lawlessness that will inevitably accompany the end of the world, your chances of using email, telephone, or Facebook to communicate will be practically zilch. Luckily, China has the answer—the carrier pigeon. According to reports, the People’s Liberation Army recently trained a “pigeon army” to carry messages between military and political facilities should there be a major collapse in the country’s communication network. E. The idea of the heel actually being a «female» notion took a very long time to develop. One of the places where it took hold, however, was in Venice in the 1400s. But these weren’t heels that you’d like to wear clubbing these days. Chopines, as they’re called, were staggeringly high, slightly-tilted shoes with as many as 24 inches of narrowed platform underneath. They were originally designed to keep the mud off the more delicate «real» shoes of ladies walking in the street. F. Ethiopia is an important trading hub, which makes effective border control difficult to maintain. As a result of limited resources for border enforcement staff, serious organised crime – such as wildlife trafficking – often goes undetected. Wildlife crime is the world’s fourth most prevalent form of criminal activity. Animals often die in transit when exported over borders. Cheetahs and other big cats are regularly exported to the Middle East as ‘exotic pets’. To a rich elite these animals are just another status symbol, like a sports car or an expensive watch. G. The real fashion maven, and patron saint of the heel, was Louis XIV of France, otherwise known as The Sun King. He loved all things ornate; he was the one who made the seriously decadent Palace of Versailles his centre of power. And the heel was just the thing he wanted to look even more elaborate. Standing at just 5’4″, he adopted it enthusiastically, often with up to four inches of heel on his court shoes. He even developed a trademark of red-painted heels and ordered all male members of his court dye their heels the same color. |
Задача 12
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
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1. The size matters |
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A. What actually was the first tie is somewhat disputed. It could either be a cloth worn around the neck to protect its wearer from cold and also double as a handkerchief. Or it could be the a piece of clothing that Croatian soldiers participating in the Thirty Years War wore around their necks to allow them identify each other on the battlefield. After the war, French soldiers introduced the tie to France, where it was often worn by the rich upper class. B. Bubble wrap is that nylon-like polymer filled with air bubbles that everyone, or at least almost everyone, loves pressing. Today, it is used to wrap items to prevent them from damage, although it can also be used to save the life of someone suffering from hypothermia. Bubble wrap did not start off as a material for protecting goods while in transit. It was invented in 1957 when Alfred Fielding and Marc Chavannes sewed two shower curtains together. Their plan was to create a wallpaper that would have some airbubble space within. C. The Association of Zoos and Aquariums approved rules requiring any zoo with elephants to keep at least three of the species and a full-time elephant scientist on staff, among other things. But not every zoo has the space or budget to meet those guidelines. Some, such as the zoos in Omaha, San Diego and Houston, have doubled down with better facilities. Others in San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago, to name a few have given up on keeping elephants entirely. D. Small group travel makes for the best experience. It’s why many tourist agencies limit the size of their groups to just 16. Small group journey transforms from bus trip to road trip, complete with likeminded travellers that become new best mates. Tourist agencies would make more money if they crammed as many people on their buses as they can, but they don’t. It means that while the big group has to stick to the main road, small groups can easily get to those magical, hard to reach places. E. The internet has reached almost every corner of the globe, but most research on how it is used, particularly among children, focuses on the US and Europe. This is a problem, because according to best estimates one in three children around the world now uses the internet – most of them outside the West. Global Kids Online is an ambitious project to find out which children are using the internet, what they are learning, and the opportunities and risks it presents. F. While teenagers have always thought they knew everything, current generations are part of a continuing trend of increasing IQ scores over the last 100 years. James Flynn, who first observed the trend, says it’s due to the world becoming increasingly complex. People are becoming better and better at analyzing the world, rather than thinking in terms of what’s useful to their survival. As technology and access to information continues to increase, it’s possible that IQ scores will as well. G. Even though our air and water may be much cleaner than it was more than 40 years ago, Earth Day is more important than ever. With carbon emissions climbing, temperatures rising, and weather getting weirder all over, it can feel like the existential threat of our changing climate is impossible to stop. But don’t let the scope of the problem get you down. You can change your lifestyle to help protect the environment, and you can vote by supporting companies who help protect it, too. |
Задача 13
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
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1. Enjoy quiet personal space |
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A. Going to the library is a rewarding pastime that many of us already enjoy. It can encourage reading and exploration in children. Children can learn at every turn. Even being responsible for returning books on time can teach some basics of responsibility. Studies have shown that students who visit the library tend to have better test scores than those who don’t. Studies have also shown that reading can aid in brain development in young children, so it’s important to read to them and encourage them to read and visit the library from a very young age. B. The library is home to a wealth of free items, such as free newspapers, magazines, audiobooks, CD, DVD, and video rentals; free eBooks, free Wi-Fi, free computers and the Internet access. It means that you’ll have access to much more than just books. It would cost a fortune to try purchasing all of these sources of reading, music, and videos, but fortunately, the library has access to much more than your home library and entertainment centre could ever store. Moreover, using the Internet you can research whatever you need and have access to a computer whenever you need it. C. Libraries offer all types of events and programs for bookworms. You can enjoy everything from author readings to health workshops. Every library is different, so you can’t expect anything in particular, but some activities commonly provided at the library include author readings for adults and kids, poetry circles, story circles for kids, puppet shows, family films, special programs for children, book discussions, reading programs and summer events, used book sales, workshops like knitting and parenting skills. D. You can find rare material at your local library that you won’t be able to find elsewhere. You’ll also be able to find old books for sale at a great price, so make sure to keep your eyes open for any of their cheap book sales. If you haven’t been to your local library, you may be shocked to find what kind of food and shopping options they have. It could all be easily missed if you don’t know that you don’t take the time to really map out your library and find out what they offer. E. The library is full of other bookworms. You can bond over your favourite books and love of literature. Libraries often promote local businesses, so you can also find out more about local artists, businesses, and even book clubs. And the librarian probably has an abundance of useful information and recommendations. Just let them know what you’re looking for and they can help you to find the right book or answer to any questions you may have. F. We all need a bit of personal space, and the library can provide the quiet reprieve you need. It’s a great place for reading, working, researching, or just relaxing. There are always comfy chairs and corners at the library where you can enjoy a great new book and expand your mind. The library is brightly lit, so you won’t have to squint your eyes to see the words on the page. Add that to the cool environment, quiet atmosphere, and endless rows of books, and you’ve got a very calming way to relieve stress and relax. G. Most importantly, once you become a member of your local library, you can rent all the books your heart desires. You can borrow the books for free from your library. Knowing that you need to return the book can also encourage you to finish the book by the return date. Be honest, after reading a book once, you probably won’t read it again. So, it will just take up space on your bookshelf and gather dust. Instead, you can rent a book in any genre, read it, and return it for free. |
Задача 14
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
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1. Reliable dental remedies |
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A. Although it is often taught that the Roman Empire had the first system of government, that is actually just the first record of government in the West. The very first governmental structure is credited to the early ancient Egyptians. Even more surprising, this political system did not surround the pharaoh as many believe. Until around 1570 BC, ancient Egypt was ruled by kings. During the predynastic period King Narmer came to power and established the first central government within their preexisting borders. B. Until the time of government policies and economic standing, there was no need to keep track of days. Due to their irrigation systems, the ancient Egyptians also needed to figure out when the Nile was going to flood. Thus, they created the 365-day calendar. Originally, the calendar had 370 days until they realized they needed a shortened year and merely added leap years. So if you were born on a day that only occurs in a leap year, (are actually only 20), you have the good old Egyptians to thank. C. Ancient Egyptians realized the toll their teeth were taking and discovered a simple solution to this problem. The first form of toothpaste was invented by the Egyptians using an almost nauseating list of ingredients such as crushed ox hooves, ashes, and burned eggshells. Along with toothpaste came mints. They had a less unsettling ingredient list that included rock salt, dried mint, and dried iris. In fact, multiple recipe lists from ancient Egypt have been discovered. This simple invention saved the lives of many people at the time. D. Ancient Egyptians developed a form of writing never seen before. They would soak the ends of long pieces of reed in water and then cut the ends into points, causing them to crack and dispense the ink. However, they soon learned that these pens dried out quickly, which led to the use of quills. It was not until the late 1800s that society returned to the first Egyptian idea and developed the modern- day ballpoint pen, including a cap this time to prevent them from drying out as quickly. E. Being late to work was a problem even for the ancient Egyptians as they, too, had clocks. A sundial was the earliest form of clock, but they only worked with a clear sky. This led to the invention of the water clock. It worked by slowly dripping water throughout the day, making it possible to tell time indoors. From there, they made portable shadow clocks. These devices had such an impact on daily life in ancient Egypt that everyone was fascinated by the idea. F. A common misconception is that Leonardo da Vinci invented scissors. In reality, the original design was created as far back as 1500 BC. Although the Romans engineered the cross-blade design we know today, the ancient Egyptians had a simpler but effective version. It was a single piece of metal fashioned into two blades that were controlled by a metal strip between the blades. With the invention of scissors, ancient Egyptians could cut their hair into different styles. Even the most skilled hair stylist could not replicate those without a good pair of shears. G. If you have ever seen a depiction of ancient Egyptians, it will come as no surprise that they were very particular about their appearance. Not only did they create makeup, wigs, and hair extensions, but they also developed the first hair dying technique. Hair was not only for looks but for displaying your social status. The better you kept your hair, the wealthier you were. Gray hair did not fit this ideal. So they started using dried henna leaves to create a reddishbrown paste that dyed the hair. |
Задача 15
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
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1. From the history of the place |
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A. Known as sfyria, it’s one of the most endangered languages in the world – a mysterious form of long-distance communication in which entire conversations, no matter how complex, can be whistled. For the last two millennia, the only people who have been able to sound and understand sfyria’s secret notes are the shepherds and farmers from this hillside hamlet, each of whom has proudly passed down the tightly guarded tradition to their children. B. Situated in the southern Aegean Sea, Santorini is a small, circular group of five Cycladic islands, made up of main island Thera; Therasia and Aspronisi at the periphery; and the two lava islands. All five surround a colossal, mostly drowned caldera, a bowl-shaped crater that forms when the mouth of a volcano collapses. But during the Bronze Age, approximately 5,000 years ago, Santorini was a single volcanic landmass called Stronghyle (which means ‘round’ in Greek), and one that played a crucial role in shaping history. C. Left Bank is a portrait of the overlapping generations born between 1905 and 1930, who lived, loved, fought, played and flourished in Paris between 1940 and 1950 and whose intellectual and artistic output still influences how we think, live, and even dress today. After the horrors of war that shaped and informed them, Paris was the place where the world’s most original voices of the time tried to find an independent and original alternative to the capitalist and Communist models for life, arts, and politics — a ‘Third Way’. D. In 1890, a local girl named Minna fell in love with a young chocolate maker named Wilhelm. Minna’s father forbade her from seeing Wilhelm, so the two started secretly exchanging handwritten letters by leaving them in a knothole in the oak’s trunk. A year later, Minna’s father finally granted her permission, and the two were wed on 2 June 1891 under the oak tree’s branches. The story of the couple’s fairy-tale courtship spread, and soon, hopeful romantics who had no luck finding partners in ballrooms began writing love letters to the Bridegroom’s Oak. E. There are countless waterfalls along the Road to Hana, so how do you pick? The easiest way is to decide how much time and effort you’re willing to put into each one. My personal favorite for everyone is Upper Waikini Falls (aka 3 Bears Waterfall). This is a great waterfall because there’s a good vantage point from the road – meaning minimal investment of time or effort. But, it’s also a short and not too difficult hike back to the waterfall. F. If walking a few steps to a large lookout, getting zen in a garden, or floating around in a pool is too low energy for you, why not try seeing the falls from above? Reserve a spot on one of the Umauma Ziplining tours, and you’re in for a high flying, rootin’ tootin’ good time. 9 ziplines…adding up to 2 miles of flying…over 14 waterfalls… along the Umauma River. As if ziplining isn’t enough, you’ll have stunning jungle, river, and even ocean views. G. One of the largest islands in Croatia, Cres is an island packed with adventure. Its great beaches, hiking trails, ancient villages and excellent camping are second to none. With its large size and small population you really feel off the beaten path when exploring Cres. This is because it’s not always convenient to get to. The most frequent ferry route leaves from Brestova which is an hour south of Rij eka. Luckily, it’s an extremely scenic drive down to Brestova with sweeping scapes of Kvarner Bay. |
Задача 16
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
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1. Types of dwellings |
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A. Ants evolved some 130 million years ago at the end of the Jurassic. Most fossil evidence of insects is found in lumps of ancient amber, or fossilized plant resin. The oldest known ant fossil, a primitive and now extinct ant species, was found in Cliffwood Beach, New Jersey. Though that fossil only dates back 92 million years, another fossil ant that proved nearly as old has a clear lineage to ants of present day. This suggests a much longer evolutionary line than previously assumed. B. Ants use their tiny size to their advantage. Relative to their size, their muscles are thicker than those of larger animals or even humans. This ratio enables them to produce more force and carry larger objects. If you had muscles in the proportions of ants, you’d be able to heave a Hyundai over your head! In certain ant species, the soldier ants have modified heads, shaped to match the nest entrance. They block access to the nest by sitting just inside the entrance, with their heads functioning like a cork in a bottle. C. Ant plants are plants with naturally occurring hollows where ants can take shelter or feed. These cavities may be hollow thorns, stems, or even leaf petioles. The ants live in the hollows, feeding on sugary plant secretions or the excretions of sap-sucking insects. What do the plants get for providing such luxurious accommodations? The ants defend the plant from herbivorous mammals and insects, and may even prune away parasitic plants that attempt to grow on the host plant. D. By following a scent given off by scout ants from their colony, foraging ants can gather and store food efficiently. A scout ant first leaves the nest in search of food, and wanders somewhat randomly until it discovers something edible. It will then consume some of the food and return to the nest in a straight, direct line. It seems these scout ants can observe and recall visual cues that enable them to navigate quickly back to the nest. Along the return route, the scout ant leaves specifi c scents that will guide her nestmates to the food. E. Ant colonies come in literally all shapes and sizes. A few species live in colonies of only a few dozen ants; however, the average ant colony contains thousands of individual ants. Smaller colonies live in natural openings while larger colonies create vast nests and forage for supplies and food. There are also super colonies around the world that can contain more than 300 million individuals. These super colonies have been identified in Japan, Australia, the United States, and southern Europe. F. Perhaps the strangest ant fact, there is a species of fungus that infects ants and takes control of their bodies. However, social insects have evolved collective disease defenses to try and control epidemics in their colonies. So, for example, they groom one another and they use anti-microbial substances to prevent individuals which come into contact with pathogens. In a full colony set up that can very quickly lead to a sort of huge mass break out of the disease, there is zero disease transmission because of special behaviours. G. Not all ant species build nests. A group of about 200 species known as army ants have two phases of their life: nomad and stationary. During the colony’s nomad phase, the ants travel all day, attacking other colonies and insects. At night, they build a temporary nest and keep moving the next morning. The only time they stop traveling is when the queen lays eggs and the colony waits for them to hatch. During this time, the worker ants make a nest out of their own bodies to protect the queen, the food, and the eggs. |
Задача 17
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
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1. Mutual evolution |
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A. Humans have evolved with herbs and plants for hundreds of thousands of years. Using herbal medicine brings harmony and balance back to the body, because it allows the body to be just as responsible for the healing as the plant. Using harsh, synthetic chemical compounds, which have only been around for a hundred years or so (and have not usually been properly tested for long term safety), comes with the mentality that the body is a broken machine and needs to be fixed. B. Before there was modern-day medicine and its pharmacopeia of synthetic drugs, there were plants, and ancient civilizations knew how to use them strategically to treat common ailments and even life-threatening diseases. The ancient Egyptian Ebers Papyrus, a scroll from 1550 BC that’s over 100 pages long, details 700 medicinal herbs and how to use them. The Greek Corpus Hippocraticum from the 16th century BC also details the use of herbal medicine. Later, during the 1800s and early 1900s, the knowledge of herbal medicine was passed down from one generation to the next. C. Paracelsus (1493-1541) was one of the proponents of chemically prepared drugs out of raw plants and mineral substances; nonetheless, he was a firm believer that the collection of those substances ought to be astrologically determined. He continuously emphasized his belief in observation, and simultaneously supported the “Signatura doctrinae”—the signature doctrine. According to this belief, God designated his own sign on the healing substances, which indicated their application for certain diseases. For example, the hazelwort is reminiscent of the liver; thus, it must be beneficial for liver diseases. D. Modern day medicine is actually very different from the ancient concepts and understanding of medicine. This is clear from the fact that the first medical schools were based on the use of herbs and plants as medicines. The word “drug” that we so commonly use to refer to medicines these days actually comes from a Dutch word “droog” which means “dry” or “to dry”. This fact reveals that ancient healers used to dry herbs and plants so that they could be used as medicines. E. Of all the components which comprise the current day pharmacopoeia, seven thousand are taken from plants. To understand the importance of herbal medicine, it is first important to learn a little bit about plants. Every plant on the planet creates specific chemical compounds which is a basic part of their metabolic function. These main metabolites may include fats or sugars, as well as metabolites which are found in a lower number of plants, but which are contained within a specific species. F. Herbs are trophorestorative and this means that they work on the deepest levels to bring about healing and also bring about vitality. Through scientific research it has been found that plants bring about benefits to us by transferring genetic information to our bodies. This in a true sense means ‘deep healing’. However, it is a fact that one must try out herbal medicines and treatments only after doctor’s consultation and advice. Even simple therapies like cranberry extract may first need a nod from the doctor to be taken. G. Some will argue that species would go extinct even without human interference. While that’s certainly true, it’s the rate that plants are dying off that raises alarm. Thanks to climate change, deforestation and other human-influence factors, experts believe that species are going extinct somewhere between 1,000 and 10,000 times faster than they would naturally. Since plants can’t just up and move as their habitat is being destroyed, they are even more vulnerable than endangered animals. It is happening too quickly. |
Задача 18
Установите соответствие между текстами A–F и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
Заголовки
1. Making workouts better
2. Going the wrong way
3. Improving memory
4. Struggling with insomnia
5. Clues for the audience
6. Distracting while behind the wheel
7. Reducing stress
8. A faster recovery
Тексты
A. When we hear a familiar song, we are often able to recall a moment from our past that is connected to that tune. Favorite songs tickle our memory in various ways and it shows that music is easily ingrained in our memory. Music has been found to stimulate parts of the brain, and studies have demonstrated that music enhances the memory. For example, scores on memory tests are improved when people listen to classical music. It’s possible, then, to use music to help students retain information and enhance learning.
B. For some athletes and for many people who run, jog, cycle, lift weights and otherwise exercise, music is not superfluous—it is essential to peak performance and a satisfying workout. When music is used before athletic activity, it has been shown to improve the performance of simple tasks. When music is used during activity, it has work-enhancing and psychological effects. Listening to music during exercise can both increase physical capacity and improve energy efficiency. So make a playlist just for the gym or for working out.
C. Since the time of early man, music has been a part of human culture. In nursing, Florence Nightingale used music as part of the healing process for soldiers under her care during the war. The first formal music therapy program in the United States was established in 1944, at Michigan State University. The various musical elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and tempo stimulate an emotional response that comprises the affective component of pain, which helps to positively affect mood and results in improved healing.
D. Listening to music can have a tremendously relaxing effect on our minds and bodies, especially slow, quiet classical music. This type of music can have a beneficial effect on our physiological state, slowing the pulse and heart rate, lowering blood pressure. Music, in short, can act as a powerful stress management tool in our lives. When people are very stressed, there is a tendency to avoid listening to music actively. So it just takes a small effort to begin with.
E. Slow and quiet music can lead to better sleep. It’s scientifically proved that listening to some kinds of music can cure insomnia. Meditative melodies activates specific brain arias and help to calm thoughts and be in the state of deep relaxation and sleeping.
F. Music and driving have gone together since the first car radio was introduced around 1930. What would a road trip be without tunes? Having a phone conversation while driving is highly distracting, and we all know texting while driving is even worse. So listening to music may be distracting too. Any device that causes you to glance away from the road for several seconds should be avoided. Excessively loud music can prevent you from hearing sirens or horns.
G. If we step back and think about it, music is one of the most peculiar conventions in movies. No one questions that music should be a part of movies because we’ve all grown used to the idea that, in a movie, when something happens, we should hear music in the background. Of course, no one has a soundtrack accompanying their real lives. The most obvious way music scores are used is to guide the emotional response of the audience.
Задача 19
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
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1. Areas of usage |
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A. There are countless uses for drone technology. Drones can help meteorologists track storms, spying on the systems as they evolve without risking human life to do it, both in the air and underwater. The energy industry also uses drone technology. Drones can be programmed to inspect high power lines, peruse miles of oil and gas pipelines, and check out wind turbines and solar panels for possible problems. Drones are used to monitor wildlife populations, especially threatened and endangered species. They are also monitoring illegal fishing. |
Задача 20
Установите соответствие между текстами A–G и заголовками 1–8. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании один заголовок лишний. Запишите выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.
| Заголовки
1. Active religious temple |
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A. Teotihuacan is one of the largest cities of ancient world located in Mexico. The marvelous constructions that were found within this place were built in time span of 100 BC and still remain one of the greatest man made wonders. The amazing pyramid of Sun at Teotihuacan has same base areas as that of great pyramid of Giza, having only half of height of pyramid of Giza. The ancient pyramids found at Teotihuacan were built using rubble and bricks. |
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| Прочитайте текст. Заполните пропуски в предложениях под номерами В11-В16 соответствующими формами слов, напечатанных заглавными буквами справа от каждого предложения. TEST 11 (part 2) |
Can animals think?
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B11 |
In his quarters at the University of Arizona, Alex is commenting on all that he sees. “Hot!” he warns as a visitor picks up a mug of tea. Alex spots a plateful of fruit and announces his choice: “Grape.” Alex is an African grey parrot. |
VISIT |
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B12 |
For the last 16 years, biologist Irene Pepperberg has been exploring the degree to which the bird understands what he is saying. |
BIOLOGY |
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B13 |
Alex also communicates what appear to be various feelings. |
VARY |
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B14 |
Are the parrot’s words merely a collection of sounds he emits when frustrated, or does this one-pound bird know what he is saying? |
MERE |
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B15 |
For centuries, philosophers argued that thinking and language separate humans from other species. Later, scientists had reason to be critical of claims concerning animal intelligence. |
THINK |
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B16 |
Today innovative probes of animal intelligence have convinced most scientists that other species really share with humans some higher mental abilities. |
ABLE |
