Task 1
Imagine that you are preparing a project with your friend. You have found some interesting material for the presentation and you want to read this text to your friend. You have 1.5 minutes to read the text silently, then be ready to read it out aloud. You will not have more than 1.5 minutes to read it.
California’s Death Valley is one of the lowest, hottest places in the world. It’s an amazing desert in the western US. But something mysterious happens there sometimes. Rocks as heavy as 320 kilograms or even more can move and leave trails that can stretch for hundreds of metres. No one saw them move. There were no footprints in the sand. There were no signs of human activity around anywhere. It was long thought that strong winds pushed the stones. More fanciful theories involved magnetic fields. Space aliens were also implicated.
It was a long-standing mystery that was finally cracked in 2014 by researchers. Actually, deserts are hot in the day, but they get very cold at night. In winter the ground freezes, and thin sheets of ice form on the desert floor. Powerful winds blow heavy rocks across the ice in the bare desert. The rocks scrape the desert floor as they skate along the ice. It’s a simple answer to an old mystery.
Task 2
Study the advertisement.
Show us the world you dream of building!
You are going to participate in the creative writing competition Imagine 2200: Climate Fiction for Future Ancestors and now you’d like to get more information. In 1.5 minutes you are to ask four direct questions to find out about the following:
- number of submissions accepted per entrant
- who the stories will be judged by
- publication date
- what they offer to winners
You have 20 seconds to ask each question.
Task 3
You are going to give an interview. You have to answer five questions. Give full answers to the questions (2–3 sentences). Remember that you have 40 seconds to answer each question.
Tapescript for Task 3
Interviewer: Hello everybody! It’s Teenagers Round the World Channel. Our guest today is a teenager from Russia and we are going to discuss school experiences. We’d like to know our guest’s point of view on this issue. Please answer five questions. So, let’s get started.
Interviewer: When you think back on your school experiences, what or who had the biggest impact on you: relationships, teachers, classmates, school projects or something different? Why?
Student: _________________________
Interviewer: No doubt, schools are challenging contexts for children. What challenges did you face at school?
Student: _________________________
Interviewer: Was your educational experience limited to the classes you had, or did you participate in school events like concerts, performances, tournaments, or fine arts festivals?
Student: _________________________
Interviewer: Which school events or activities did you enjoy the most, and what was it about them that you liked?
Student: _________________________
Interviewer: In your opinion, what are some pathways to school success?
Student: _________________________
Interviewer: Thank you very much for your interview.
Task 4
Imagine that you and your friend are doing a school project “Creative outlets”. You have found some photos to illustrate it but for technical reasons you cannot send them now. Leave a voice message to your friend explaining your choice of the photos and sharing some ideas about the project. In 2.5 minutes be ready to:
- explain the choice of the illustrations for the project by briefly describing them and noting the differences;
- mention the advantages (1–2) of the two outlets for creative expression;
- mention the disadvantages (1–2) of the two outlets for creative expression;
- express your opinion on the subject of the project – which of the creative pursuits presented in the pictures you’d prefer and why.
You will speak for not more than 3 minutes (12–15 sentences). You have to talk continuously.
