Раздел «Чтение». Необходимые рекомендации.
В раздел включено 9 заданий: задание 9 направлено на проверку умения понимать основное содержание прочитанного текста (на установление соответствия). Вы должны прочитать семь мини текстов и установить соответствие между текстами и заголовками. И 8 заданий - на проверку умения находить в прочитанном тексте запрашиваемую информацию (задания 10-17). Здесь вам нужно определить, какие из утверждений соответствуют содержанию текста (1 – true), какие не соответствуют (2 – false) и о чем в тексте не сказано, т. е. на основании текста нельзя дать ни положительного, ни отрицательного ответа (3 – not started).
Раздел «Чтение» в письменной части ОГЭ по английскому языку считается средним по сложности и включает в себя девять заданий (9, 10-17). Выполнить все задания рекомендуется за 30 минут. Разберем их подробнее.
ЧТЕНИЕ В ОГЭ ПО АНГЛИЙСКОМУ ЯЗЫКУ — ЗАДАНИЕ 9
Вам предлагается прочитать семь коротких текстов, отмеченных буквами А-Н и восемь заголовков, отмеченных цифрами 1-7. Нужно установить соответствие между заголовками (темой или кратким утверждением) и текстами. Один заголовок лишний.
Как выполнять:
- Прочитать заголовки, перевести их, попытаться определить, что их объединяет (тема, проблема, ситуация, ключевое слово и т. д.) и чем они отличаются друг от друга (разные аспекты темы, проблемой, отношением к проблеме и т. д.); Попытаться предугадать, о чем пойдет речь в тексте, его основное содержание, подобрать слова/словосочетания, которые необходимы для раскрытия данной темы; Внимательно прочитать каждый из предложенных текстов, не обращая внимания на незнакомые слова и выражения, т. е. не углубляясь в детальное понимание; Попытаться сформулировать основную идею текста самостоятельно, затем выбрать наиболее близкий по содержанию из предложенных вариантов ответ и отметить его. Если сразу сложно определить какой заголовок подходит тексту, можно пропустить его и прочитать следующий отрывок, затем вернуться к тому месту; Проверьте, обоснован ли выбор того или иного соответствия, правильно ли установлены другие соответствия. Удостоверьтесь, правильно ли выбран (точнее, не выбран) лишний заголовок.
Какие навыки проверяются? Понимание основной идеи (содержания) текста, умение отделять главное от второстепенного, игнорировать лишнюю информацию и незнакомые слова, не мешающие пониманию основного содержания.
ОГЭ АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК, ЧТЕНИЕ ТЕКСТА: ЗАДАНИЯ 10-17
Вам нужно прочитать научно-познавательный текст объемом в полстраницы или чуть больше, после которого предлагаются восемь тестовых заданий (10-17), а именно – утверждений, так или иначе относящихся к содержанию текста. Прочитав текст, нужно будет сделать вывод, какое из суждений верное (1 – TRUE), какое неверное (2 – FALSE), и о каком речь вообще не шла (3 – NOT STATED), т. е. на основании текста нельзя дать ни положительный, ни отрицательный ответ.
Что нужно сделать? Прочитать и полностью понять текст, при этом особое внимание обратить на определенные детали. Запомните: выбор ответа в заданиях на полное понимание текста должен быть основан только на той информации, которая в тексте содержится, а не на том, что вы думаете или знаете по предложенному вопросу. Если в тексте прямо говорится об этом, то ответ – TRUE, если в тексте утверждается обратное данному высказыванию и/или отличное от него, тогда ответ — FALSE. Если в тексте ничего не сказано относительно утверждения или его главного «акцента», тогда ответ — NOT STATED.
Например, в тексте сказано следующее: “In February 2009 an extraordinary position was advertised by the Australian Tourism Office for half a year”, т. е. в феврале 2009 года компания объявила необычную вакансию на полгода. В утверждении сказано: «The Australian Tourism Office employs a new caretaker twice a year», т. е. подразумевается, что данная компания регулярно нанимает нового сотрудника на данную вакансию дважды в год. Данному высказыванию нельзя найти ни четкого подтверждения, ни опровержения. В тексте говорится, что эта вакансия была размещена один раз в 2009, а происходит ли это сейчас или нет – неизвестно. Поэтому ответ будет 3- NOT STATED.
Как выполнять:
- Внимательно, не торопясь прочитайте весь текст, поймите его основное содержание. Если какие-то отдельные слова непонятны, постарайтесь догадаться об их значении исходя из контекста. Прочитайте последовательно каждое утверждение (помните, что они, как правило, даются в том порядке, в котором развивается сюжет текста). Определите суть вопроса, т. е. что должно быть подтверждением или опровержением предложенного утверждения: слово, словосочетание, предложение, абзац и или весь текст. Найдите место (абзац) в тексте, к которому относится данное утверждение, перечитайте его и найдите подтверждение своему варианту. Если сделать выбор сразу не получается, отбросьте очевидно неверные варианты и определите наиболее вероятный ответ, методом исключения. Убедитесь, что остальные варианты не подходят. Если возник ступор и вы не можете выбрать ни один из вариантов, или не понимаете сути вопроса, то все равно не оставляйте задание без ответа – лучше написать какой-нибудь вариант, опираясь на интуицию.
Какие навыки проверяются? Полное понимание текста, умение отделять главную информацию от второстепенной, умение аргументированно отвечать на вопросы и/или логически приходить к правильному ответу.
АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК ОГЭ — ОТВЕТЫ ПО ЧТЕНИЮ
Необходимо знать, как переносить ответы в бланк. В задании 9 записываются 7 цифр без пробелов. За каждое правильно установленное соответствие дается 1 балл, максимально — 7 баллов. В заданиях 10-17 ставится по одной цифре в каждом пункте бланка. За каждый правильно выбранный ответ дается 1 балл; максимально — 8 баллов. Итого в разделе «Чтение» 9 заданий, на выполнение которых рекомендуется отвести 30 минут. Максимальное количество баллов за этот раздел – 15
ПОДГОТОВКА К ЧТЕНИЮ ОГЭ 2017 АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК
Как подготовиться к чтению? Прежде всего, регулярно выполнять типовые задания по чтению. При этом не ленитесь смотреть незнакомые слова в словаре, подписывать/выписывать их перевод. Чем больше вы практикуетесь, тем больший словарный запас приобретаете, и, соответственно, тем больше вероятность понять все тексты без труда. Также вы приобретаете навык угадывания слов из контекста, что крайне важно. Помимо самоподготовки, можно и нужно обращаться к учителю в школе, задавать вопросы, если что-то непонятно. Не стоит пренебрегать дополнительными занятиями – будь то занятия в школе, в каком-либо учебном центре или частные уроки с репетитором. Способов подготовиться много, необходимо лишь выбрать наиболее подходящий для самого себя.
Каждый сборник типовых тестов в формате ОГЭ содержит в себе тексты для подготовки к разделу «Чтение». Также существуют пособия, где упор делается именно на задания по чтению. Помимо этого, вы можете брать тесты из открытого банка заданий ФИПИ (английский язык, раздел «Чтение»), а также с сайта «РЕШУ ОГЭ», где даны не только ответы, но и комментарии к текстам.
Практикуйтесь, и тогда при должной подготовке выполнить раздел «Чтение» в ОГЭ по английскому языку не составит труда!
Примерные задания по чтению
Задание 9. Прочитайте тексты и установите соответствие между текстами и их заголовками: к каждому тексту, обозначенному A-G, подберите соответствующий заголовок, обозначенный цифрами. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании есть один лишний заголовок.
1. Travelling with the family
2. My lifelong friend
3. A favourite activity
4. Professional care and help
5. A soulmate to travel with
6. People travelling together
7. A happy acquaintance
8. Numerous functions
A. My five elements to enjoy and value in life are love, food, fashion, entertainment and travel. But one element that includes the others is travel. With the mention of travel, my eyes glisten and heart begins to pound. My favourite saying goes: 'A hopeful heart and an open mind are the best travelling companions'. During my trips I do my best to follow it. Travelling for me is experiencing and learning.
B. You can't get lost in an unknown place with Travelling Companion Panorama Camera. It is an optimal tourist technology. This cutting-edge concept is a device that combines the capabilities of several different gadgets and aids that out-of-towners often find useful. You can hold this device in one or both hands and have a clear display in front your eyes. It can help you to map your routs, to discover places of interest and to record your trip.
C. Those who love to travel, take every opportunity to ride on anything but enjoy the ways and the items at every stop. The most pleasurable feeling for them is when they have someone with whom they can share their happiness, with whom they can talk and relax. Nobody wants to be alone in the world and while enjoying something which one is very fond of like "travelling", one feels the need of the right kind of companionship.
D. As John left the wood, a voice called after him, "Hallo, comrade, where are you travelling?" "Into the wide world," he replied; "I am going into the wide world also," replied the stranger; "shall we keep each other company?" "With all my heart," he said, and so they went on together. Soon they began to like each other very much, for they were both good; but John found out that his fellow traveller was much cleverer than himself. He had travelled all over the world, and could describe almost everything.
E. We have a list of people willing to use vacation time from their job to accompany you on vacation. While none of our clients may need a doctor or a nurse to get around, all of our travellers enjoy the comfortable feeling of travelling with a companion who has professional education and experience. You can talk directly with each companion about your needs while travelling. An experienced travel companion can solve most problems in advance and handle other challenges as they arise.
F. Like all little girls, I had an obsession with Barbie dolls. Once I was presented with a doll named Samantha, who had a bright red velvet dress and matching bow in her brown hair. She came with a little travel coat which, in the words of my mom, made her the perfect travel companion. The doll was fantastically lovely and cute and I couldn't part with it. Even growing older while travelling it was always in my baggage waiting for my company.
G. A Travelling Companion is "a person or persons with whom you have coordinated travel arrangements, who shares the same accommodations as you and intends to travel with you during the trip". These are people you are not related to — those people are usually family members. Usually "Travelling Companion" means up to six persons whose names appear with yours on the same trip arrangement and who, during the trip, will accompany you.
Задание 9. Прочитайте тексты и установите соответствие между текстами А–G и заголовками 1–8. В ответ запишите цифры, в порядке, соответствующем буквам. Используйте каждую цифру только один раз. В задании есть один лишний заголовок.
1. International space teams
2. A new kind of tourism
3. What to wear in space
4. Space station equipment
5. The problem with closed spaces
6. Down-to-Earth training for space
7. Early space projects
8. Space garbage
A. People have always dreamt about space travel and space discoveries. For the first time the dream came true when the unmanned satellite Sputnik was launched and scientists got the first photos of the Earth from outer space. However, the real breakthrough happened in 1961 when the first human, Yuri Gagarin, left our planet on the spacecraft Vostok and completed a full Earth orbit.
B. Since then lots of people have volunteered for space missions but few are able to meet the strict requirements for candidates. Still on the Earth, the future astronauts do tests in simulated environments and solve problems they are supposed to face during the flight. They get ready physically and psychologically for different situations. They also practise how to operate the complicated space equipment and what to do in an emergency.
C. Even wearing a spacesuit requires special skills. The main idea of the suit is to keep the person alive in outer space, during launch and landing, when the pressure on the body increases dramatically, or inside the space station, if something goes wrong. The suit is made from hard materials, contains its own oxygen supply and has lots of smart devices monitoring the condition of the astronaut.
D. Obviously, no device can completely eliminate the risk of space travel - it will always be a dangerous activity, but it attracts people anyway. They are ready to pay big money for an out-of-this-world experience and the number of such people is constantly increasing. There are already business projects for space tours and designs for space stations stuffed with equipment for entertainment instead of scientific experiments.
E. Not everyone supports the idea of idle space tourists, and there are reasons for this. Apart from unnecessary risk, it can add to the problem of space pollution. People have only started going into orbit very recently but they have already managed to leave lots of evidence of their existence there - parts of old spacecraft and satellites are circling the Earth. Scientists say that if this increases, it may cause serious problems and dangerous situations.
F. Nowadays, countries find it useful to combine their efforts when carrying out space exploration projects. The best engineers from all over the world participate in designing crafts and equipment, and astronauts working on the space station may be of different nationalities and backgrounds. Theoretically speaking, it might cause some misunderstanding and culture clashes, but in practice this never happens.
G. Long space missions, however, are going to be a great challenge to the flight team whatever nationality they are. The astronauts will have to communicate only with each other and there will be no opportunity to escape unpleasant people. Psychologists believe that stress is a serious risk factor for the planned expedition to Mars.
Текст | A | B | C | D | E | F | G |
Заголовок |
Прочитай текст. Определи, какие из приведенных утверждений соответствуют содержанию текста (TRUE), какие не соответствуют (FALSE) и о чем в тексте не сказано (NOT STARTED), то есть на основании текста нельзя дать ни положительного, ни отрицательного ответа.
The Moneyless Man
For most of us it seems that money makes the world go round. However, not for Mark Boyle who has turned his life into a radical experiment.
Mark Boyle was born in 1979 in Ireland and moved to Great Britain after getting a degree in Business. He set up his own business in Bristol. For six years Mark Boyle managed two organic food companies which made him a good profit.
However, in 2008, he decided to give up earning money. He vowed to live without cash, credit cards, or any other form of finance.
Mark Boyle began to realise that many of the world’s problems are just symptoms of a deeper problem. He thought that money gave people the illusion of independence.
Mark sold his house and started preparing himself for his new life. He posted an advert on a website asking for a tent, a caravan (a vehicle for living or travelling) or any other type of a house. Soon an old lady gave him a caravan for free. At least he then had a roof over his head!
After that, with his pockets empty, Mark was ready to go. He didn't even carry keys as he decided to trust the world a bit more and not lock his caravan. On November 28th (International Buy Nothing Day 2008), he became the Moneyless Man for one whole year.
Everything was different from then on. Mark lived in his caravan on an organic farm where he worked as a volunteer three days a week. In return he got a piece of land to live on and grow his own vegetables. His food was cooked on a stove, and he washed in a shower made from a plastic bag hanging from a tree, and warmed by the sun.
Even breakfast was different. With no morning coffee to brew, Mark had to find an alternative drink to start the day with. So he drank herbal teas, sometimes with some fresh lemon verbena that he could find near the caravan. «It's all very good for you: iron, calcium, anti-oxidants,» Mark said.
Food was the first thing to consider. Mark discovered that there were four ways to find it: looking for wild food, growing his own food, bartering (exchanging his grown food for something else), and using loads of waste food from shops.
Public interest in his project was divided. While a huge number of people supported him, there was criticism of him, particularly on Internet forums.
“People are either very positive about what I'm doing or very negative; I think it's about 70 percent/30 percent. It's funny, if you don't have a massive plasma TV these days, people think you are an extremist,” Mark said.
People tend to ask Mark what he learnt from a year of a moneyless life. “What have I learned? That friendship, not money, is real security,” he answers.
Mark's remarkable journey is described in his new book “The Moneyless Man”, which shows in a detailed way the challenges he faced on the road to his new world.
Many Americans enjoy running marathons – a forty-two kilometer race. More than three hundred marathons were held in the United States last year and that number is expected to grow.
1. Mark’s business in Bristol was successful.
2. Mark bought an expensive caravan for his new life
3. Mark’s family approved of his moneyless project.
4. Mark got money for his work on the organic farm
5. Red noses are sold at the same price in all shops and supermarkets.
6. Mark got food from different sources.
7. People’s attitudes towards Mark’s project were different.
8. Some of Mark’s fans want to repeat his experiment
The New York City marathon
The New York City marathon is held every year on the first Sunday of November. It is a big sporting event with thousands of participants. One can see celebrities and famous sportsmen among the marathon runners. A famous cyclist, whose excellent physical condition helped him complete the marathon in less than three hours, admitted that the race was ‘the hardest physical thing he had ever done’.
While the New York City marathon is the biggest, the Boston Marathon is the oldest one. Boston’s is held in April. Boston is famous for the fact that Roberta Gibb became the first woman to unofficially run that marathon in 1966. At that time, people did not believe women could run marathons. The Olympics did not hold a women’s marathon event until 1984 in Los Angeles, California.
Today’s marathons welcome everyone. The popularity of the sport has spread among people who are interested in health and fitness. Many middle-aged people like to spend a weekend visiting a new city and running a marathon there. Some magazines call the middle-aged people of today the ‘marathon generation’. Forty-three percent of marathon runners in the United States are 40 years old or older. There are many organisations for marathoners. Nowadays many local running clubs offer training programmes that can prepare runners for the big race. A marathon really starts several months before the race. You need to run about five days every week to prepare. Most runs should be for half an hour. You should also try to run for an hour or more each Sunday. This is a very basic way for an average runner to prepare.
What you can’t prepare for is running in a big marathon with thousands of other participants. A marathon is in many ways a social event. There is a sense of community. The spectators are as much a part of the race as the runners. Almost every age group is present. At the start of the race there is a lot of shouting as the runners want to release some tension. They have three to five hours of hard running ahead of them.
However there are people who want to run farther. For them ultra-marathons are organised that take running to a different level. An ultra-marathon is any race longer than a marathon. One of the oldest ultra-marathons is held annually in California, USA. It is 160 kilometers long. Last year, 210 people finished the race. The winner, Graham Cooper, finished in eighteen hours and seventeen minutes.
The Best Job in the World
Have you ever heard of the Great Barrier Reef? It is the world's largest coral reef system along the eastern coast of Australia. In February 2009 an extraordinary position was advertised by the Australian Tourism Office. The advertisement ran that the Great Barrier Reef needed a caretaker for half a year. It was for a special person who would look after the Reef.
The job offered a large salary, free accommodation in a luxury villa, and transportation there and around the islands. All expenses would be paid: the winner wouldn't need to spend any extra money on anything.
The job's duties were pretty simple. You could only dream of such requirements. First, the person had to speak English and swim well. Second, on the island his responsibility included writing a weekly Internet blog. That's right, weekly, not even daily! The job description also required the successful applicant to explore the islands of the Great Barrier Reef, swim, make friends with the locals and generally enjoy the tropical climate and lifestyle. A real dream!
Within the first 2 days of the contest, the tourism office received more than seven thousand online applications. All told, 34,000 people of all different nationalities applied. Each made and presented a 60-second video resume. They had to be creative and they were. In the end 16 people were chosen, who flew to Australia for the final selection. The candidates were interviewed and the winner was Ben Southall from the UK.
Ben greatly enjoyed the dream job he had got. He realised that people knew very little about planet earth and its treasures. Living in big cities, they forgot how important the flora and fauna of this world were. Every time Ben went outdoors, he could discover something new. “Every time I dived or went underwater, I forgot about all the troubles above water and concentrated on living in the moment. It was a good way to clean the mind and build respect for the natural world,” Ben said.
Ben's life on the island was not just fun. It was very busy, busier than most people imagined, and certainly busier than Ben himself had imagined. He worked seven days a week and up to 19 hours a day. The Best Job included travelling to over 60 islands of the Reef almost every day. It was not just looking after the Reef, Ben had a lot of meetings, press conferences and interviews. He was getting a lot of attention all the time and he couldn't get away from it. That was probably the hardest part of the job.
Moreover, any adventure has a certain degree of risk. Swimming and diving on the Great Barrier Reef was not different. Ben had to deal with whales, sharksand other huge sea rprisingly, the most dangerous thing was a small jellyfish about the size of a little finger. It's considered to be extremely poisonous and Ben was stung by it. He had to spend a couple of days in hospital but luckily recovered after a course of antibiotics.
Ben often says that the project has taught him a few valuable lessons. Working with the Internet is one of those jobs you can do 24 hours a day. Ben realised it was hard to separate life and work, but this he had to do. He also said: “I've learned that we get one life on earth so we have to use it. There'll always be other countries to visit, other people to meet and other adventures to meet. This is what I wish to do. I'm planning to go to Asia in a few years time”.
The Australian Tourism Office employs a new caretaker twice a year. There was no Internet on the islands of the Great Barrier Reef. People from different countries applied for the job. Ben Southall was a good swimmer While working as a caretaker Ben Southall had lots of free time To do his job Ben Southall had to communicate with journalists. Ben Southhall was taken to hospital after a shark attack. Ben Southall is going to make a film about his work on the islands.Graffiti
Where do you expect to see graffiti? Probably not in a museum. Bristol Museum and Art Gallery, in the south-west of England, was the kind of place where you could see classical pictures and statues. However, in the summer of 2009 the exhibition ‘Banksy versus the Bristol Museum’ opened. The exhibition presented more than a hundred works by Banksy, one of the world’s most famous graffiti artists.
Banksy is a puzzle to all. He keeps his identity secret. He hardly ever gives interviews and likes to remain anonymous. Nobody knows much about his life or his background but many people believe that his real name is either Robert Banks or Robin Banks and that he was born in England, somewhere near Bristol.
Banksy’s street art is always provocative. It's his way of communicating with society. His graffiti is characterised by bright and frequently shocking images, often combined with slogans. His work is often a personal protest against wars, social policy or people's behaviour. Although graffiti is not allowed in cities, Banksy's works have become immensely popular.
Banksy believes that art should not be used for advertising. He has refused four times to do adverts for Nike, a famous sportswear company.
A year after the Bristol exhibition, Banksy made a film called “Exit Through the Gift Shop”. The film tells the story of a street artist. It got many positive reviews from the critics and from the general audience.
Another curious fact from Banksy's biography is that once he was named among the 100 most influential people in the world. He actually found himself in the company of Barack Obama, Steve Jobs and Lady Gaga. When he was asked to send a photo, Banksy sent a picture of himself with a paper bag (recyclable, naturally) over his head. His fans still don’t really know who he is.
Bristol isn’t the only place in Britain to welcome and accept graffiti. A park in Dundee, Scotland, has the longest legal graffiti wall (almost 110 metres long) in the UK. Anyone can paint on the wall any time they like. The idea of this graffiti wall project is to demonstrate the positive side of graffiti and to organise workshops and graffiti classes for local children.
Even the capital of the country could not stay free of street art. There's a special website dedicated to London's street art and artists. The site's team is a group of enthusiastic young people who are closely connected with the street art world. They try to record and register all the works and display them on their “Street Art London” site. That is quite a job to do! The reason is that street art is very temporal and short-lived: graffiti is soon covered by another wall painting so they have to be quick to take a picture and post it on the website.
Nike
Take a look around. How many people are wearing Nike right now? There is at least one, trust me. Nike is the number one manufacturer of footwear and clothes, and it has become a world famous brand on the same level as Coca Cola, McDonald’s, and Apple.
Nike was originally known as Blue Ribbon Shoes. It was founded in 1964 by the runner Philip Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman. They established the company to import cheap Japanese running shoes for sale in the U. S. At the very beginning they had no room or shop, so Philip Knight sold the shoes out of the back of his car. Meanwhile Bill Bowerman worked on improvements to the footwear. He tore the shoes apart to see how he could make them lighter and better.
In 1967 a third person joined Blue Ribbon Shoes. It was Jeff Johnson. A runner himself, Johnson became the first full-time employee of Blue Ribbon Shoes. His contribution to the company is so great that it's hard to estimate. Johnson created the first product brochures, print adverts and marketing materials, and even took the photographs for the company’s catalogues. He established a mail-order system and opened the first company shop.
At about the same time the company became ready to take a big move forward. They no longer wanted to be distributors, but wished to start designing and manufacturing their own brand of athletic shoes. Here again Johnson made an enormous contribution to the company. One night, he dreamed of Nike, the Greek goddess of victory, and suggested the name to his bosses.
Yet, another thing was missing — a memorable logo. One was created by a graphic design student Carolyn Davidson. She had become acquainted with Philip Knight who asked her for her design ideas and Carolyn agreed to do some freelance work for his company. Soon she presented a number of designs to Philip Knight and the other company managers, and they finally selected the mark which today is the Swoosh. That has been the Nike logo ever since then. Amazingly, Carolyn asked just $35 for her work.
In 1988 Nike started an advertising campaign with its world famous slogan “Just Do It”. The slogan was born during a Nike meeting with the advertising agency. The slogan has become so closely associated with Nike that as soon as most people hear or see those three words, they remember Nike, even if the company name is not mentioned. Today, the words «Just Do It» and the Nike “swoosh” brandmark are all that are needed to identify something as a Nike product.
Nike and Blue Ribbon Shoes are the names for one and the same business The business was founded by Japanese businessmen. The business started with renting a large shop Knight, B. Bowerman and J. Johnson were responsible for different spheres of the business in the company. Famous athletes were employed to advertise the company’s shoes Nike’s logo was created by a famous advertising company The Nike company paid a large amount of money for creating the slogan «Just Do It». The company Nike was called after a character from an ancient myth
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong played jazz, sang jazz and wrote jazz. He recorded hit songs for fifty years and his music is still heard today on television, radio and in movies.
Louis Armstrong was born in New Orleans, in the state of Louisiana on August 4th, 1901. His father was a factory worker and left the family soon after Louis's birth. Young Louis was desperately poor. He lived with his sister, mother and grandmother in the poorest area of New Orleans known as the Battlefield because of the fighting and shooting that often happened there.
When Louis was eleven years old, he was arrested for firing a gun into the air on New Year's Eve. He was sent to a reform school, where he learned to play the trumpet in the school's band. Eighteen months later Louis was back home and already dreaming of the life of a musician. He sold newspapers, unloaded boats and sold coal. However, in the evenings Louis played the trumpet with local groups or went to clubs to listen to jazz bands. He soon became friends with one of the greatest musicians of the time, Joe Oliver, who became young Louis's teacher. As Louis's skills developed, he began to perform professionally.
He was soon able to stop working on manual labour jobs and began concentrating full-time on music, playing at parties, dances, and at local cafes. He joined Joe Oliver's band and moved to Chicago. Later, Louis organised his own band and began to record one of the greatest series of songs in the history of jazz. Louis developed a unique style of singing: he could make his voice sound like a musical instrument and he could make an instrument sound like a singer's voice. Louis enjoyed singing improvised melodies and rhythms. Armstrong was an easygoing and communicative person. His fellow musicians called him “Satchelmouth” because of his wide smile. Later, it was shortened to “Satchmo”.
Armstrong's biggest hits came later in his life. In 1964, his version of the song «Hello Dolly» was a top hit around the world. It even replaced a top-selling hit by the hugely popular British group, the Beatles. Three years later, he appeared in the film version of “Hello Dolly” with singer Barbra Streisand. The song “What a Wonderful World”, recorded in 1968, was his final big hit.
Louis Armstrong never finished the fifth grade in school, yet he wrote two books about his life and many stories for magazines. He appeared in more than thirty movies. He composed many jazz pieces. He won several gold records and many other awards. Armstrong performed about three hundred concerts each year, travelling all over the world. He became known as the legend and symbol of jazz.
1) True
2) False
3) Not stated
1. Louis Armstrong spent his childhood in a peaceful and respectable part of New Orleans.
2.Louis Armstrong did well at school.
3. As a teenager Louis Armstrong did several jobs
4. Louis Armstrong taught Joe Oliver to play the trumpet.
5.Louis Armstrong got his nickname due to his smile.
6.Louis Armstrong never performed in a film.
7.Louis Armstrong was sorry that he had not completed his school course
8.Louis Armstrong gave concerts only in the United States
Mary Seacole
The name of a British nurse, Florence Nightingale, is well-known all over the world. She is famous for her selfless work during the Crimean War in the middle of the 19th century. However, the name of another nurse, Mary Seacole, who was called ‘the black Florence Nightingale’, is unfairly forgotten.
Mary was born in Kingston, Jamaica in 1805. Her father was a Scottish officer, and her mother was a free born black Jamaican woman. Mary’s mother kept a boarding house for invalid soldiers. Though Mary’s mother had no formal education, she was a great expert in herbal remedies. She used herbs to cure sick and wounded soldiers. Mary learnt a lot from her.
In 1836, Mary married Edwin Seacole, an English officer. The couple travelled a lot. During their trips to the Bahamas, Haiti, and Cuba, Mary discovered some new effective remedies the local people used for cholera and fever. After her husband’s death in 1844, Mary gained further nursing experience during a cholera epidemic in Panama. After returning to Jamaica, she cared for yellow fever victims. Though Mary had never had any formal qualifications, her fame as a medical practitioner grew. She learned everything through practice and soon even carried out operations on people with knife and gunshot wounds.
In 1853 the Crimean War started. Mary offered her services as a volunteer nurse but her application was rejected due to prejudice against women, especially black women. So Mary decided to go to the Crimea on her own and at her own expense.
Mary started up a business called the British Hotel, that others referred to as “Mrs Seacole’s Hut”. It was only a few miles from the battlefront. “Mrs Seacole’s Hut” operated as a general store, a restaurant and a hotel. Here she sold food and medicines and ran a canteen for the soldiers. She often provided free medicines to soldiers who were not able to pay.
Mary regularly went out to the front line to help the wounded soldiers, often putting her own life in danger. She treated wounded soldiers from both sides and often did it while the battle was still going on.
When the war was finished, Mary came back to London as a famous person. But she was completely bankrupt. The British newspapers started a public campaign to raise money for her. The mass media’s initiative was supported by the Royal family, British officers and soldiers. Mary was rescued from poverty.
In 1857 Mary Seacole wrote her autobiography called ‘The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs. Seacole in Many Lands’. The book was the first travel memoirs ever published by a black woman. It became a bestseller and the income allowed Mary Seacole to live the rest of her life in comfort in London, until her death in 1881.
Sadly, Mary Seacole was completely forgotten after her death. However, in recent years there has been a renewed interest in her life and her achievements.
1) True
2) False
3) Not stated
1.Mary Seacole was Florence Nightingale’s closest friend.
2. Mary’s husband was against her nursing career.
3. Mary Seacole had a Diploma in Medicine
4. During the Crimean war, the British authorities employed Mary Seacole as a nurse.
5. “Mary Seacole’s Hut” was the name of a military hospital.
6. Mary Seacole risked her life to help wounded soldiers.
7.“Mary Seacole’s Hut” made Mary rich.
8. Mary Seacole’s book was a success.
