6 grade
Exam topics
1.
Nowadays there are a lot of environmental problems.
What are the most serious ones? Speak about the problems of air pollution and
water pollution. What can you do to help the world? (Unit 2, p.25; Unit
4, p.58-60)
2.
Imagine that you have a chance to stay in England for
two weeks. Tell your classmates what you have learnt about the five regions of
England. Which of the five regions would you choose to visit and why? (Unit 8, p.104-106)
3. Imagine that your
friend is going to visit London. What places in London related to the Royal
family would you advise him or her to visit? Tell your friend about the most
remarkable kings and queens of England. (Unit 9, p.122-125)
4.
You are going to give a talk about William
Shakespeare. Tell your classmates about his life and remember to mention some
of Shakespeare’s great plays. (Unit 10, p.142-145)
6. You are going to
give a talk about Wales at your Geography lesson. Get ready with interesting
facts about this part of Britain. Remember to mention its symbols, its Saint,
its location, its language and its capital. (Unit
14, p.197-200; ex.20, p.201)
10. Imagine
that you are having a Geography lesson tomorrow. Get ready to speak about
Australia. Prove that Australia is the land of striking differences. (Unit 20, p.286-289; Unit 21, p.305-308)
Sample answers
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1.
Environmental
problems
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2. England
England is the largest part
of the UK. It consists of the Southeast, the Southwest, East Anglia, the
Midlands and the North of England.
The Southeast is
a highly populated region of England; there is a lot of industry near the
Thames and there are a lot of roads. London, the capital of the UK, and such
historical cities as Windsor, Dover and Brighton are situated here. Heathrow
Airport, one of the world’s busiest airports is about 33 km west of central
London. The County of Kent situated here is known as the garden of England.
The Southeast is famous for its resorts; Brighton is, probably, the best
known of them.
The Southwest is
the region where the main activity is farming. The Southwest used to be known
for its pirates. The two principal cities of the region are Bristol and Bath.
The famous Stonehenge and the most westerly point of Great Britain “Land’s
End” are also situated in the Southwest.
East Anglia is very flat and it is another farming region. It has
beautiful cities, such as Cambridge, with fine historic buildings. The part
of East Anglia is called the Fens.
Oliver Cromwell, an English
general and politician was born in the Fens area.
The Midlands is the heart of England. The most important
industrial cities are Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, which is one of
Britain’s big ports, and Birmingham. The two famous Midlands cities,
Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford are connected with English culture: Stratford
is the birthplace of the great William Shakespeare and Oxford is famous for
its university.
The North of England. The main attractions of the North of
England are certainly the Lake District, the cities of York and
Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Many tourists come over especially to look at the ruins
of Hadrian’s Wall.
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As for
me, I‘d like to visit … because…
3. Royal London
Many places in London are
closely connected with the Crown: Buckingham Palace, the Mall and Trafalgar
Square are among them. There are ten
royal parks in and around London which are owned by the Crown. For example,
Hyde Park, Regent’s Park and St. James’s Park.
The Royal Family plays a very
important role in the country. In the history of Britain there were certain
Kings and Queens whose names are specially remembered in the country and are
well-known in the whole world. One of them was King Henry VIII. Under him
Britain became independent of the Roman Catholic Church; it got richer and more
powerful. Henry’s daughter, Elizabeth
became the Queen in 1558. During her reign England became very important in
European politics, the Spanish Armada was defeated, arts and especially the
theatre developed, and the country became very powerful. Another strong queen was Queen
Victoria. She ruled for the longest period in the English history. During her
reign Britain became a rich industrial country with developed trade, an empire
with a lot of colonies. Queen Victoria’s
great-great-granddaughter, Elizabeth II, is on the British throne now. The 60th
anniversary of her reign was celebrated last year.
4 William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare is one of the most
famous writers in the world. He was born on the 23rd of April in
1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon. His mother Mary was a farmer’s daughter. His
father John was a glove-maker. John wanted his son to be an educated person and
William was sent to the local grammar school. There he got a good education and
learned to love reading.
While still a teenager, William married
Anne Hathaway. We don’t know how he earned his living during these early years,
perhaps he helped his father in the family business. During these years his
three children were born: two daughters and a son.
In 1587 Shakespeare went to work in
London. There he began to act and write plays. Soon he became an important
member of a well-known acting company. Most of his plays were performed in the
new Globe Theatre built on the bank of the River Thames.
He wrote such tragedies as “Romeo and Juliet”, “Julius Caesar”, “Hamlet”,
“Othello”, “King Lear”, and “Macbeth”.
He wrote such comedies as “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, ‘The Merchant of Venice”,
“Twelfth Night”, and “All’s Well That Ends Well”. He wrote a lot of poetry too.
In 1613 he stopped writing and went to
live in Stratford where he died in 1616. His plays are still acted – not only
in England but in the whole world.
5.
Scotland The Beautiful
Scotland is a country in the
United Kingdom to the north of England. Its symbol is a thistle; its patron
saint is St Andrew. The country is divided into Highlands and Lowlands. Most of
the industry is concentrated in Lowlands, in the Clyde Valley. Glasgow is its
largest and busiest town, Edinburgh is its capital.
Glasgow is the heart of
industry. It is a centre of business and trade. Edinburgh is known as the
Athens of the North. The most interesting parts of
the city are the Old Town and the New Town. The Old Town lies between the
Castle and Holyrood Palace. The Castle attracts a lot of tourists.
A line of streets, which runs
from the Castle to Holyrood House, is called the Royal Mile. Holyrood House is
a big royal palace which is the residence of the Queen when she is in
Edinburgh. The most picturesque part of the Royal Mile is the Cannongate, which
gives a good idea of what the Old Town was like. The Old Town is a striking
contrast to the New Town with its white and beautiful streets lined with trees.
Princes Street is the most beautiful street of the New Town. A monument of the
famous writer, Sir Walter Scott is in Princes Street. Princes Street lies
between the New Town and the Old Town.
6. WALES
The Welsh language is spoken
widely, especially in the north of the country and it is still the first
language for many people. English is taught side by side with Welsh in schools.
Welsh is one of the Celtic languages.
The west coast, mid Wales and North Wales
are wild and beautiful. Wales
has high mountains, including Snowdon, the second highest mountain in Britain
In summer, when the sun is
shining, Snowdon looks very peaceful and
beautiful. A little train runs to the top and the walk is not at all hard. But
in winter the mountains can become very dangerous.
7. COUNTRY AND PEOPLE
There are
fifty states in the United States of America. Alaska and Hawaii are not
connected to the other states. The US is washed by the Pacific Ocean in the
west, by the Atlantic Ocean in the east, by the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of
Mexico in the south. In the north are Great Lakes.
The US is a
large country with many natural wonders: rocky coasts, dry empty deserts, big
rivers, wide plains and grasslands, lakes of all sizes, high mountains, great
forests, sunny beaches, lands of endless winter.
The capital of the USA is Washington D.C. More than 250 million people live in the US. There are a
lot of parks, forests and wildlands where you can enjoy the beauty and power of
wild America. The Grand Canyon, Yosemite
Valley, and Yellowstone are among the most famous.
There are
many rivers cross the United States. But the greatest is the mighty
Mississippi. Native Americans called it “the father of waters”. Among other big
rivers are the Colorado and the Missouri. The Colorado River rises in the Rocky
Mountains or the Rockies that stretch from Alaska down almost to the south of
the country. Another big mountain chain is the Appalachians in the east also
running from north to south.
The Grand
Canyon is one of American’s main tourist attractions.
The United
States is a young country. Its written history is only a few hundred years old.
It is sometimes called the “New World.”
The
people of the United States are a mixture of many different nationalities. The
United States is a big melting pot of countries. In the past, people from many
different European countries came to the US and made one country out of many.
These different people brought to their new land a wonderful mixture of customs
and traditions.
8. WHO RULES THE COUNTRY?
The US government is like a
tree with a strong trunk and three branches. The trunk is the people. It holds
up the tree.
The first branch is the
Congress. The Congress is a meeting of representatives from all states. The
people elect those representatives. The Congress makes the laws that everybody
must obey. The Congress meets in the US Capitol in Washington, D.C. The Congress
is divided into two parts, the Senate and the House of Representatives. The
Constitution gives many powers to the Congress. One important power of the
Congress is the power to declare war.
The second branch of government
is the President and his helpers. They carry out the laws that the Congress
makes. The Vice President and members of the Cabinet help the President to make
decisions. The US President is Commander in Chief of the country’s armed
forces. The President’s term is four years and one can be President for one or
two terms, but not longer. Americans vote for the President in November of
every leap year.
The third branch of government
is the Supreme Court. It is made up of nine judges. The judges work in the
Supreme Court as long as they live.
The
Constitution is the highest law in the United States. It was written more than
200 years ago. Changes in the Constitution are called amendments. There are 26
amendments to the Constitution. The first ten amendments are called the Bill of
Rights. They were made in 1791. The Bill
of Rights guarantees to people of the USA such important rights and freedoms as
freedom of press, freedom of religion, the right to go to court, have a lawyer,
and some others.
9. TWO
AMERICAN PRESIDENTS
The first US President known to all Americans
as “The Father of the Nation” was George Washington. George was born in
Virginia in a planter’s family. The boy went to a private school and later, two
private teachers taught him to be a soldier and a Virginia gentleman. George
learned to ride a horse, to hunt, shoot, sail, swim and measure land.
The young man worked hard every day. Everyone liked and trusted young
George.
George Washington became
Commander in Chief of the Colonial Army during the Revolutionary War. He was
among those who wrote the US Constitution in Philadelphia. People respected him
for his courage, honesty and wisdom. In 1789 George Washington became the first
President of the country and served two terms. He refused a third term. In 1797
he retired to Mount Vernon where he died two years later.
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th
President of the USA. Abe grew up in the Middle West. He taught himself by
reading the books he could get, such as the Bible, Aesop’s “Fables” and
“Robinson Crusoe”. Everyone liked him and everyone said he was a born
story-teller.
When Abe Lincoln was
twenty-one, the family moved to Illinois. Later on he joined the militia and
fought in an Indian War.
Abraham
Lincoln became a lawyer and a politician. He was also an excellent speaker. He
was elected to the House of Representatives in US Congress. In 1861 he became
the 16th American President.
In the same year the Civil War began, so Lincoln had to lead the country
through the four terrible years of war. In 1863 he signed the Emancipation
Proclamation- the document that made all the slaves free. In 1865 the North won the Civil War. Five
days after the war ended, President Lincoln was shot in Ford’s Theatre,
Washington.
10. THE UNKNOWN SOUTHERN LAND
Europeans called Australia “the
unknown southern land”.
Australia is the world’s
largest island and the smallest continent. Asia is the continent nearest to
Australia in the north. The icy shores of Antarctica lie to the south. New
Zealand is to the east. To the west of Australia stretches the vast Indian
Ocean. In the east the continent is washed by the Pacific Ocean.
In the centre of the continent
and in the west there are three deserts- the Great Sandy Desert, the Great
Victoria Desert and the Gibson Desert. Australia is divided into six states and
two territories.
New South Wales is Australia’s leading industrial state. Sydney the
largest city in Australia is situated here.
In Victoria most people live in the south. Melbourne is the capital of
the state and the largest city. Sheep and wheat are the main products here.
Citrus fruits, grapes, peaches and apricots are grown along the Murray River.
Queensland is Australia’s second largest state. Brisbane is its
capital. Queensland has long beautiful sandy beaches. Its coast is a popular
place for holidaymakers.
The state of Western Australia is dry and
inhospitable except the south-western corner of the state. Nearly all of the
state’s farms, sheep stations and fruit gardens are situated there.
South Australia is the third largest state. Adelaide is the capital
and the largest city. Most of South Australia is too dry for farming. Wheat and
fruit are grown along the lower part of the Murray River.
Tasmania, the island state, is sometimes called the apple isle
because it produces most of Australia’s apples. Tasmania is one of the few
places in Australia that have enough rain all year.
Northern Territory is the least populated and least developed part
of Australia. Crocodiles still live in some of the swamps along the coast.
Darwin is its capital.
The capital of Australia is
Canberra. The city doesn’t belong to any state. It is still situated on the Australian Capital Territory.
