Exam Card 17

 Reading 

 1. Read the article and say in 2—3 sentences what it is about.

MOTHER TERESA

           Mother Teresa was a simple nun¹. She never wanted to be famous, but everyone in the world knows who she is.

       Mother Teresa was born in 1910 in what is now Macedonia². She was the youngest of three children. Agnes’s father died when she was a child. Her mother made dresses to support the family. Agnes’s mother also liked to do charity work, such as visiting the sick. Agnes often went with her, and she enjoyed helping these people.

        Even as a child, Agnes wanted to be a nun. When she was 18 years old, she joined a group of nuns in India. There, she chose the name Teresa. Then she went to Calcutta to work at St. Mary’s School, in a convent³. Sister Teresa worked there for 20 years and eventually became the principal.

        One day in 1946 Sister Teresa was riding on a train to Darjeeling⁴. She looked out of the window and saw dirty children wearing rags and sleeping in doorways. Sick and dying people were lying on dirty streets. At that moment, she believed God sent her a message. She decided to go to work with the poor.

       Two years later, Sister Teresa left the convent and opened a school for the kids from poor families. Though at the very beginning the school had no roof, no walls, and no chairs, later it became well­known all around India. In 1948, Sister Teresa started her own group of nuns. They were called the Missionaries of Charity. The nuns lived in the slums⁵ with people who were poor, dirty, and sick. It was hard work and the days were long. But many young nuns came from around the world to join Mother Teresa.

       Later, she started homes for children without families. She also started clinics. Over the years, news of her work spread around the world. Many people sent her donations of money, others came to work with her. By 1990 the Missionaries of Charity were working in 400 centres around the world.

     Mother Teresa got the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979. But she always said her greatest reward was helping people. Her message to the world was: ‘We can do no great things – only small things with great love’.

¹ a nun [nʌn] монахиня

² Macedonia [ ˌmæsəˈdəʊnɪə] страна Македония

³ a convent [ˈkɒnv(ə)nt] монастырь

⁴ Darjeeling [daːˈdʒiːlɪŋ] город Дарджилинг

⁵ slums трущобы

2.  The author writes about Mother Teresa’s family. Read aloud the extract which says about it.

3.  Why did Mother Teresa decide to devote her life to people in need?

4.  What did Mother Teresa do for people?

Listening

II.  Listen to the interview and answer the questions below.

1.  What does Jackie want to become?

2.  Why has she chosen this profession?

3.  Why is it important for students to do sport at school?

Speaking

III. Let’s talk about accomodation