Чтение фрагмента вслух (11 класс)
НА ПОДГОТОВКУ - 1,5 МИНУТЫ.
ПРОЧИТАТЬ НУЖНО ЗА 1,5 МИНУТЫ.
1.
As soon as spring brings a new growth of bushes and berries, bears start feeding. They eat and eat. All through the spring and summer their feeding goes on. The bears build themselves up. They store food and fats that they will need in the fall when they start their long sleep.
As days grow shorter, and the temperature begins to fall, bears hunt for a sleeping place. It may be a shallow cave, or a deep crack between rocks. Some bears end up sleeping in hollow logs. Logs seem to be bears’ favourite places. Bears seem to choose small spaces. They can keep warmer in a cave that’s just large enough to hold them than in a larger cave. They often line their sleeping place with leaves and dried grass.
All through their winter naps, bears will not eat. Often they will sleep for 7 months, moving only now and then.
2.
Many lands that had once been swamps were drained or filled in. There are different reasons why people drained swamplands. Some were drained to fight diseases caused by insects that lived in them. Because swamps were considered unpleasant places in which to live and harmful to health, many people thought that unless they were drained the land was worthless.
Other swamps were drained to make new land. As the population grew and more land was needed, people drained swamps or filled them to make room for more farms and factories, more roads and airports.
Few people thought that it might be harmful to get rid of swamps. As swamps disappeared, other things happened. There were both more floods and more droughts than before. There were also more fires, for swamps had acted as firebreaks. Hunters noticed that there was less wild game. Wild life that once lived in the swamps was dying out, because it had no place to live.
3.
A hobby is an activity you enjoy doing, it is something of your choice, something unique to your taste and talent. A hobby can improve our well-being; it can give more meaning to our life. Just as physical exercise is important for the body, relaxation of the mind is also essential. In fact, studies reveal that people who cultivate themselves through such activities are less likely to suffer from anxieties, depression and other negative feelings. A hobby is the easiest way to restore your balance whenever you are over-worked or stressed. Since it is an activity of your choosing, it will always give you pleasure and help you to relax. Even if you indulge in your hobby for a short period of time, you still can feel the difference in your energy level and spirit. When you have a hobby, you will always find time for it.
4.
The first maps were drawn by explorers to help them find their way home and show people where they had been. The maps showed the shape of the land, distances between places and special features such as caves and old trees. Nowadays, maps show the towns and villages, and the roads, railways, rivers and mountains. Symbols are used to show all the different things on a map and there is a key to explain what the symbols stand for.
Over the centuries, people explored most of the Earth and put together the map of the world we use today. Maps of the world or large areas are often either “political” or “physical”. The political map shows territorial borders. The purpose of the physical map is to show features of geography such as mountains, soil type or land use including roads, railroads and buildings.
5.
People have enjoyed sports for thousands of years. Children, men and women play sports both for pleasure and for challenge. Every sport involves physical skill. Every sport has a set of rules that the players of the sport follow. In some sports one person competes against other individuals. Examples of these sports include boxing, tennis and so on. In many games one team competes against the other team.
People can go in for winter and summer sports. Summer sports are typical for warmer countries. Those who live in regions that experience cold winters have long enjoyed ice skating, skiing, and sledding. These activities have grown immensely in popularity over the years. Today thousands of resorts cater to the winter tourist trade, and millions of people each year take winter sports vacations.
6.
Until fairly recently, it was a mystery how certain large bees, bumblebees in particular, were able to fly. To scientists who study the physical laws of flight, a bee’s body seemed too heavy and its wings too small for it to become airborne and remain so. Bees “can’t” fly … but do. The mystery became so intriguing that a few scientists decided to study it.
Most insects fly by using muscles that flap their wings with great speed. For example, the locust beats its wings at a rate of about 20 times per second to fly. Other flying insects have to beat their wings even faster – some as rapidly as 100 times per second.
But bees must work extra hard to become airborne. Honeybees, for instance, must beat their wings about 200 times a second to fly. Yet larger bees – like bumblebees – whose bodies are heavier, wider, and longer – have to do even better.
7.
Islands that appear and disappear are certainly part of the world’s legends. But in 1963, with the aid of cameras and scientific observers, some of those legends were given a solid basis of fact. For example, on November 14, 1963, a kind of miracle occurred. An island was born.
On that day a fishing boat sailed into waters that were boiling and rolling and foul with a strong smell. The world still had a hard time believing the miracle that was to occur. It was the first time that scientists were to witness the unexpected birth of an underwater island.
First the engineer, then the captain, and at last the cook were aware of the awful smell and the peculiar roll of the sea. But it was the cook who first noticed the smoke. He thought there was a ship in trouble somewhere on the seas.
8.
The mystery of why trees don’t stop growing is still unsolved. Human beings usually stop growing sometime during their teens. Many animals reach full growth within a year. Others are fully grown in just a few years. Birds and insects also stop growing at a certain age. But trees keep growing as long as they live.
Trees live, grow, and reproduce themselves by an amazing process. The thousands of leaves put forth by the tree breathe for it and manufacture its food. Its root system gathers minerals and vast quantities of water. To carry this water to the leaves, the tree is equipped with an intricate circulation system that extends upward from the millions of root hairs through the trunk and branches. The trunk holds the leaves up to the sunlight, sends them water from the roots, and gets food back from them. Then seeds are borne in flowers or cones.