GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY

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Прочитайте отрывок из биографии художника Винсента Ван Гога и выполните задания A1 – A7, обводя цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую ответу, который вам кажется наиболее верным.

Vincent Van Gogh was born in Groot Zundert, in The Netherlands on March 30, 1853, to parents Theodorus Van Gough, a preacher, and Ana Cornelia Carbentus. In 1869 at the age of 16, Van Gogh began a career, not as a painter, but as an art dealer with the firm Goupil&Cie. He spent 7 years at Goupil&Cie where daily contacts with works of art kindled his appreciation of paintings and drawings. Gradually Vincent lost interest in his work and decided to try his hand teaching at a Catholic School for boys. His growing interest in religion and his desire to help the poor eventually drove him to become a clergyman. In 1878 he became a lay preacher in one of the most impoverished regions in Western Europe: the coal-mining district of The Borinage in Belgium. Vincent sympathized with the poverty-stricken miners and gave away most of his food and clothing to ease their burdened lives. His extreme commitment to the miners drew disfavor from the church, which dismissed him of the post. Vincent however, decided to remain with the miners and began to pain them and their families, chronicling their harsh conditions.

Soon after, thanks to his brother’s financial help, Vincent decided to go to Brussels in 1880 to begin studies in art. During the next 10 years Vincent painted around 872 paintings. In 1882 Vincent began living with Clasina Maria Hoornik, also known as Sien, and her children, in The Hague. Their volatile personalities and the strain of living in complete poverty created a stormy relationship. Vincent was devoted to Sien and her children, but art always came first. As his drawing and painting skills advanced, his relationship with Sien deteriorated and they parted ways in September 1883.

In 1886 Vincent moved in with his brother Theo in Paris where he met Paul Gauguin and various other artists, who had a tremendous impact on his ongoing evolution as an artist. Never truly happy in large cities, Vincent decided to move to Arles, Provence in the South of France, where he rented a studio and invited Paul Gaugin to live with him. In December 1888 Vincent experienced a psychotic episode in which he cut off a piece of his left ear. After this episode he was in and out of asylums for the next year. It was thought that Van Gogh was actually epileptic and that is why people thought he had fits of insanity throughout his life. He painted one of his best-known paintings, Starry Night, during one of his stays in the asylum. In mid-1890 Vincent left the asylum and spent the last few months of his life in Auvers, France. On July 27, 1890, Vincent Van Gogh shot himself in the chest. Two days later he died with his younger brother by his side. He left behind a wonderful array of paintings that make him one of the most influential painters of our time.

A1 Van Gogh decide to become a clergyman due to …

1 his love of art.

2 his developing enthusiasm in Christianity.

3 the Goupil&Cie art dealer firm.

4 his teachings at the Catholic School for boys.

A2 Vincent’s extreme commitment to the miners resulted in …

1 his sympathizing with the miners.

2 his painting the miners and their families.

3 the church discharging him of his duty.

4 the church giving food and clothing to the miners.

A3 Vincent and Clasina’s relationship was stormy because of …

1 her children.

2 their tame personalities.

3 his devotion to art.

4 the stress of living in poor conditions.

A4 Vincent moved to Paris …

1 to live with his brother.

2 to live with Paul Gaugin.

3 to meet other artists.

4 in order to evolve as an artist.

A5 Vincent went to Arles because …

1 he did not get along with his brother Theo.

2 he wanted to live in Gaugin’s house in Arles.

3 he wanted to live in a bigger city.

4 he disliked big cities.

A6 Vincent first went into an asylum because …

1 he cut off part of his ear.

2 he was epileptic.

3 he painted Starry Night.

4 he was insane throughout his life.

A7 Van Gogh was believed to be …

1 insane.

2 a loner.

3 epileptic.

4 an inadequate painter.

2.

GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY

Task I

Прочитайте текст и решите, какой из вариантов A, B, C, или D больше всего подходит для заполнения пропусков. В начале текста – пример.

Red River Rising

As the (0) D sun turned its warming (1) … on the frigid (2) …, it set in motion a deadly chain of (3) …. The snow and ice of the long, cold winter (4) …

into water that fed and swelled the Red River, which forms on the North Dakota – Minnesota (5) …. The river grew and spread swallowing everything in its (6) …. The water rose with such speed that some people (7) … their vehicles in the street and escaped (8) … city dump trucks. Hospitals and nursing homes were (9) …. Family members were scattered, (10) … refuge in shelters (11) … North Dakota and Minnesota.

(12) … downtown Grand Forks under fivefeet of water and more than 40,000 people (13) …, there (14) … to be but one mild consolation: things could not possibly (15) … any worse.

0 A season B cold C wintry D spring

1 A lights B rays C sunset D lines

2 A landscape B view C space D scenery

3 A causes B effects C events D occasions

4 A heated B dripped C melted D washed

5 A valley B countryside C region D border

6 A path B passage C route D slope

7 A neglected B ignored C abandoned D forgot

8 A boarding B aboard C boarded D abroad

9 A disappeared B departed C emptied D exited

10 A having B knowing C finding D waiting

11 A through B across C among D together

12 A As B Like C With D From

13 A lonely B survived C deserted D homeless

14 A used B seemed C had D found

15 A turn B develop C get D come

Task II

Прочитайте текст. Заполните пропуски, образовав из слов 16 – 25 новые при помощи приставок, суффиксов, окончаний.

(16) COMMUNICATE (21) COMPETENT

(17) ABLE (22) ADVANCE

(18) SUCCESS (23) ORGANISE

(19) SPECIAL (24) DEVELOP

(20) FULL (25) ISOLATE

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