1.A customs union is an organization of autonomous countries.

The word autonomous in the sentence is closest in meaning to …

a) massive

b) acclaimed

c) prosperous

d) independent

2. Until the late nineteenth century all rubber was extracted haphazardly from trees found in the jungles of South America.

The word haphazardly in the sentence is closest in meaning to

a) carelessly

b) secretly

c) constantly

d) dangerously

3.Some animals’ coloration uses bold, disruptive markings to scare predators.

The word disruptive in this sentence is closest in meaning to

a) disturbing

b) distinctive

c) brilliant

d) unfavorable

4. Fans are used to circulate air in rooms and buildings. Even though air circulated by a fan is comforting, no fan actually cools the air.

The word actually in this sentence is closest in meaning to

a) legitimately

b) factually

c) truly

d) essentially

5. For women in the 1920s, freedom in dress reflected their new freedom to take up careers. A revolutionary changes closest in meaning e affected the types of clothes worn by most women. For example, trousers became acceptable attire for almost all activities.

The word acceptable in the passage is closest in meaning to

a) usable

b) endurable

c) believable

d) permissible

II.Reading comprehension

By Heart (անգիր)

Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end. In many ways, this is unfortunate for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the same lines night after night. One would expect them to know their parts by heart and never have cause to falter. Yet this is not always the case.

A famous actor in a highly successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat who had been imprisoned in the Bastille for twenty years. In the last act, a jailer (բանտապահ) would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner. Even though the noble was expected to read the letter at each performance, he always insisted that it should be written out in full.

One night, the jailer decided to play a joke on his colleague to find out if, after so many performances, he had managed to learn the contents of the letter by heart. The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell. Just then the jailer appeared with the precious letter in his hands. He entered the cell and presented the letter to the aristocrat. But the copy he gave him had not been written out in full as usual. It was simply a blank sheet of paper. The jailer looked on eagerly, anxious to see if his fellow actor had learnt his lines by heart. The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds. Then, squinting his eyes, he said: “The light is dim. Read the letter to me.” And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the jailer. Finding that he could not remember a word of the letter either, the jailer replied: “The light is indeed dim, sir. I must get my glasses.” With this, he hurried off the stage. Much to the aristocrat’s amusement, the jailer returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the usual copy of the letter which he proceeded to read to the prisoner.

Choose the right answer

1.Why are actors in some ways unfortunate?

a) They have to remember very long texts by heart.

b) They get bored by repeating the same lines night after night.

c) They are paid less than engineers.

2. The prisoner always insisted that the letter be written on the sheet of paper because

a) he didn’t want to learn the contents of the letter by heart.

b) he wanted everything to be real on the stage.

c) the spectators could see that it was only a blank sheet of paper.

3. Why did the jailer bring a blank sheet of paper instead of the letter?

a) He didn’t do it on purpose. He had simply been mistaken.

b) He did it on purpose because he didn’t like the famous actor.

c) He simply wanted to make sure that the famous actor knew his part by heart.

Complete the sentences

1. If you were in my position, what would you have done?
2. If I need help, I will let you know.
3. I would follow that advice if I were you.
4. I would have passed the exam if I had studied harder.
5. I am not looking forward to school tomorrow.
6. Instead of self-diagnosing, you should see a doctor.
7. Don’t you think this room needs cleaning?
8. You should avoid eating too much.
9. You should give up smoking.
10. Before leaving the house, I always wash my teeth.
11. Not only was I late for the bus, the next bus was delayed!
12. Never have I ever been late to class.
13. You had better apologise to her.
14. I would rather stay home than go to the mall.
15. No sooner had I left the house, I saw that it started raining.
16. Hardly had he come home, when the phone rang.
17. Only then did he realize that his phone was out of battery.
18. Whatever you do you can’t pretend you don’t need to do your homework.
19. I would rather you be honest next time.
20. He wondered why his alarm hadn’t gone off.

Creative writing task

I. Let’s learn some new ways of expressing ideas

You agree with your interlocutor and add something.

Model: It is important that you travel.

I agree. But where you travel is also essential.

1.It is important that you listen to music.

I agree. But what music you listen to also matters.

2. It is important that you work.

I agree. But what work you do is also important.

3. It is important that you eat.

I agree. But what you eat is also important.

4.It is important that you read.

I agree. But what you read is also important.

Model: We haven’t earned much money implementing this project.

What does money matter, anyway? (Փողն ի՞նչ նշանակություն ունի: )

We shouldn’t be afraid of rain if we go on an excursion. (Անձրևն ի՞նչ նշանակություն ունի:

What does rain matter, anyway?

We are not sorry that we spent so much time on roaming in Paris. (Ժամանակն ի՞նչ նշանակություն ունի)

What does time matter, anyway?

It’s so noisy in here/ (Աղմուկն ի՞նչ նշանակություն ունի)

What does noise matter, anyway?

Model: Is it probable that the weather will change for the worse?

Yes, it is likely to change for the worse.

Is it probable that transport fares will go up? (Այո, հավանական է, որ բարձրանան:)

Yes, they are likely to go up.

Is it probable that my parcel will get there before Christmas? (Այո, հավանական է կհասնի մինչև Ս.Ծնունդ)

Yes, it is likely to get there before Christmas.

Is it probable that Adriano Celentano will act in this movie? (Այո, հավանական է, որ նա կխաղա այս ֆիլմում)

Yes, it is likely that he will act in this movie.

Model: This problem is very difficult. I can’t solve it.

This math problem is too difficult to be solved.

The tea is very hot. I can’t drink it.

The tea is too hot to be drank.

Chinese is very difficult to learn.

Chinese is too difficult to be learned.

It is hard to understand this dialect.

This dialect is too hard to be understood.

Challenging ideas to be contradicted

1. Teenagers should listen to their parents when making a final decision about their future profession.

I agree that to some extent, teenagers should consider their parents’ opinions regarding future professions. Parents have much more experience with careers and life in general, so they are likely to be more knowledgable on professions.

However, teenagers cannot fully listen to their parents when making that decision. This is because parents often do not fully understand what their teenagers are passionate about, or they may understand and not accept it. In these cases, if teenagers listen to their parents, they may end up at an unfulfilling job or a job they have no passion for. This can lead to them feeling discontent and dissatisfied with their profession.

2. Humanity can’t get rid of the Internet and continue developing.

Currently, the internet is so integrated in the world that is hard not to use it. Communication, navigation, research, job applications, and so many other crucial things work on the internet. Furthermore, billions, if not trillions have been spent on servers, routers and infrastructure that primarily use the internet.

However, getting rid of the internet could be positive for the world in many ways. First of all, getting rid of the internet would greatly reduce the impact we have on the environment. The electricity and water we use to power and cool the servers which run the internet can increase global warming and greatly affect local communities by using their water supplies. Furthermore, much of the internet and social media aims to divide and anger people to make a profit from their engagement and data, which has led to a general rise in violence and division in much of the world. If the internet stopped being used, people would have to engage with people in person, and this would lead to a much more realistic and grounded worldview.

3. The main task of public schools is to enlarge the amount of information being taught.

A large amount of information being taught will give students more general knowledge of everything, and because people typically only retain a portion of the information that they don’t use from school, people will remember more basic facts about every subject.

However, having information be taught meticulously and with more personal attention from teachers will have a much more positive effect on students. Firstly, if schools teach less information from each subject, this allows the school and teachers to pick out specific, more important information from each subject, which is more likely to be relevant and, as a result, remembered by students. Furthermore, if less information is being taught, teachers can spend more time assisting students who are slower to learn or struggle with certain subjects.

• Some people think that men and women are equal and so women should do any job they want. Others feel that men and women are not equal, therefore, there are certain jobs which are not suitable for women. There are people who say that men should be paid more than women. What is your opinion?

Mentally and cognitively speaking, men and women are equal. They might think differently in certain ways, but this only encourages both men and women having the same sorts of jobs. In many jobs having conflicting viewpoints and ideas to consider can be great for the final result. However, many people still hold the belief that women and their ideas are inferior to men, so they ignore their input unless a male repeats it. This belief is based completely on outdated stereotypes and should not exist.

However, it is undeniable that physically speaking, men are much stronger on average. This generally makes men better suited to blue collar jobs that require intense physical labour, such as construction and working on an oil rig. Because of how risky these sorts of jobs are, they also tend to pay quite high. While it is true that some women are paid lower than men without reason, research done on the wage gap is generally skewed. This is because when analysing the wage gap, researchers tend to compare the average wage of women to the average wage of men, which does not account for a wide range of factors.

In an ideal equal world, men and women would be paid the same. But if everyone was paid fairly, then because of these high-risk high-reward blue collar jobs, men would have a slightly higher salary on average.

• There seems to be an increasing trend towards assessing students through exams rather than continual assessment. But there are people who are for moving away from traditional exams. What are the advantages and disadvantages of exams as a form of assessment?

Exams can encourage students to refresh their knowledge and go over it until they can remember it well enough to write a test on it. In theory, exams should work extremely well for testing and solidifying a student’s knowledge. However, in practice, this is far from the truth. Written exams can work well for STEM subjects, as in these subjects, you learn theoretical material from books, and then applicable skills such as researching and writing papers from experience.

For humanitarian subjects such as history and literature, this does not work. Due to the structure of written exams, any mistakes are punished harshly, and mistakes are hard to define in these subjects. Many stories in history are the culmination of research and vague retellings, which can’t paint the whole picture. In literature, many works have several unique interpretations which are all plausible. Oral exams might offer much more freedom in the form of answers, but all forms of examination have one problem; They can erase a student’s passion for the subject. Learning hundreds of pages of material well enough to retell it all orally can demoralize students and push them away from subjects.

• A great number of professionals, such as doctors, teachers are leaving their own poorer countries to work in developed countries. What problems does this cause? What solutions can you suggest to deal with this situation?

The main reason a lot of professionals leave for first world countries is money. In first world countries, professionals tend to be paid better to account for the higher cost of living. They also tend to have more disposable income as a result. Meanwhile, in many poorer countries, professionals can sometimes be lower to lower-middle class and have worse living situations. When professionals leave, this is very bad for the country, as the quality of services/research will drop.

The main reason for low pay is a lack of funding. Institutes dealing with education, research, healthcare, and other sectors that require professonals are often underfunded in third world countries. These should normally be at least partially funded by the government, but oftentimes this does not happen. Not due to a lack of funding, but rather corruption in the government. Corruption is present in all nations, but countries that do not have as much money are affected more. The only real way to fix this would be to prosecute and punish these politicians more severely.

Even if these institutes get proper funding, many professionals may still leave to richer countries. It’s simply not possible to provide all professionals with the same wages they would get in first world countries. These professionals are gonna want that increase in salary, especially if they want to send that money back to support their family.

Even when the internet was fairly new, people often used it to shame and make fun of others. The internet lets people anonymously say whatever they want about other people. Some people, known as internet trolls, spend a significant amount of time bullying and making fun of other people out of boredom, and they try to figure out how to create the most drama or controversy with minimal effort. The anonymity offered by the internet helps trolls convince these people

Public shaming can often stop people from wanting to change or put in any effort into anything. Online public shaming is a far cry from constructive criticism. Much like physical bullying, it often aims to simply insult, enrage or hurt others. When it is pushed to the extreme, people can think they’re not valued or loved, and this will tell them that putting any effort in is not worth it, because nobody will care regardless.

There are ways to prevent cyberbullying, or at least alleviate the effects. Cyberbullying is mainly an issue on the internet, and unless it’s combined with real bullying, not using the internet will mostly get rid of the effects of cyberbullying. To prevent cyberbullying, be very careful what you post. Either have a private account that only close friends can see, and be cautious with what you post.

Unfortunately though, it is not that easy, especially for teenagers. Teenagers, who are still in school, do not typically have the option to not use the internet at all, as many of their peers do. Moreover, when teenagers are cyberbullied, it is usually a way for their bullies at school to keep the bullying going after classes. Regardless of what age you are, it’s hard to do content creation on the internet, because you will inevitable face some shaming from trolls.

The American Dream is a lifestyle that many Americans believe that is attainable for any American citizen, with the freedom and opportunities they are given. Another big part of the American Dream is that acheiving this lifestyle requires hard work and effort. There are many different versions, but the main components of the lifestyle the American Dream describes is being married with a family, a house, a car, and a stable job.

The American Dream is heavily founded in traditional beliefs, and the majority of people that believe in the American Dream have conservative beliefs. The conservative and more common version of the American Dream is a family where the husband works, the wife is a housewife, and they have at least one kid.

However, many newer generations reject the premise of the American Dream, and not entirely without reason. Even in older times, the “model family” was uncommon, and it’s only gotten rarer since. Nowadays, it is extremely difficult for a single income household to attain and maintain that lifestyle. Inflation has heavily outpaced wages in the US, so the conservative version of the American Dream becomes more unattainable day by day. It is not unheard of for the husband and wife to both work, and even for one of them to have multiple jobs.

The truth is, the main principle of the American Dream, which is that if you work hard enough you can achieve a stable and good lifestyle, is propaganda. Because of rich people lobbying and bribing officials, as well as more demanding hiring practices, living standards for lower and middle class Americans are getting worse, even if they put in more effort than they would have to in older times. The American Dream is typically used by rich people, old patriots and nationalists to convince young people that capitalism is fine, and that the problem is with them.