St. Nicholas first D____________________ at the end of the 18th century. The name Santa Claus evolved from a Dutch shortened form of Sint Nikolaas. As his popularity grew, Sinter Klaas was described as everything from a jocker with a blue three-cornered hat, red waistcoat, and yellow stockings to a man wearing a broad-brimmed hat and a huge pair of Flemish trousers.

In the 19th centuries big stores E____________________ using images of the newly-popular Santa Claus. In 1841, thousands of children visited a Philadelphia shop to see a life-size Santa Claus model. It F____________________ before stores began to attract children, and their parents, with the lure of a peek at the “real-life” Santa Claus with his famous white beard and red gown.

1. was only a matter of time

2. stretches all the way back to

3. is celebrated on the anniversary of

4. became the subject of many legends

5. appeared in American popular culture

6. began dressing up unemployed men in

7. began to advertise Christmas shopping

Ответ:

A

B

C

D

E

F

Прочитайте текст и выполните задания 12–18. В каждом задании запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.

Challenges for foreigners in Russia

If you are moving from an English-speaking country to another, some of the problems of the new location will be minimized, but moving to a foreign language country is probably one of the hardest things to do. You will probably experience culture shock and will definitely have your ups and downs. Here’s a list of challenges you can expect to run into while you adjust to Russia.

Language, of course, is a no-brainer, but I couldn’t leave it off the list! I strongly advise learning at least the alphabet before coming to Russia to avoid feeling completely isolated. While going anywhere where you don’t speak the language can knock you down for a while, Russian is especially difficult with its complex grammar structure (cases, verb aspect, prefixes), unpredictable word stress, and difficult pronunciation (the letters ы, ь, and й always get me) … which also means your successes will be especially triumphant!

Effective communication is an essential part of our lives that we often overlook when it comes so naturally, but the first time you can’t answer a cashier’s simple question or can’t properly vent to your host family about your day, you will never underestimate the power of words again.

The second challenge is expressing emotions. Most people are familiar with the stereotype that “Russians don’t smile”. From my observation, Russians tend to show little emotion outside of home. Surrounded by strangers, often in harsh or unpleasant weather, there is no reason to emote freely. Of course, you see friends laughing and couples kissing and people arguing, but for the most part (excluding driving), emotions stay on the inside. Until you get home, when Russians are comfortable and around people they trust, passions run strong.

In the United States, the expression of our emotions tends to vary little in different circumstances, but when expressed, Russian emotions can be even stronger and perhaps even more genuine and heartfelt than Americans are used to.

In addition, if you are a foreign student in Russia, the biggest challenge is a different education system. Russian higher education is very different from that in the United States. For the most part, universities are buildings scattered throughout a city, not the centralized micro-cities that many US students are used to. Russians generally take 9–11 classes per semester that meet less frequently than American courses would, and it is not uncommon to skip a class almost entirely and just cram for the final from other students’ notes or a study guide. Professors are also less available –no office hours, they don’t always give out a school e-mail address, and in general they treat students more like colleagues.