Exam Card 19

 Reading 

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

BOOK REVIEW

        The Guinness Books of World Records¹ have certainly changed a lot in the last 60 years. The first Guinness Book was published in August 1955 in London, in Britain. Most editions were small paperbacks printed in black­and­white and contained more text than photographs. Now, there are colour pictures on every page – and the book also includes 3­D images.

        This fascinating collection of records is divided into chapters on Space, The Living Planet, Being Human, Human Achievements, Spirit of Adventure, Modern Life, Science & Engineering, Entertainment, Sports, and the Gazetteer².

       Here you will see and read about extremes: for example, the world’s tallest, oldest, shortest, and tiniest – people, plants, animals, buildings. Some have set records for pulling buses, kissing, swimming, ironing clothes, running, and for having the longest legs, the smallest waist, etc.

         Some images are a bit strange to look at for too long – check out the woman with the longest fingernails in the world. Also, one man had 14 operations to make himself look like a cat.

         There’s a wide range of amazing facts contained on these pages. What is the world’s most expensive hamburger? – It is available in a New York restaurant for $120. Who had the most hit singles on the U.S. music charts? – Elvis Presley, of course, with 151 between 1956 and 2003 (and he died in 1977!). One of the most colourful sections shows records related to space, including some fantastic photographs of Jupiter. Take a look at the top movies such as the first summer blockbuster of all time, the first movie with Dolby sound, and the first to be more expensive than $100 million.

         As always, there’s a helpful index in the back of the book, in which you can find subjects of interest in alphabetical order.

        Please note that some stunts³ in this book would be quite dangerous – or at least terribly painful – for you to attempt to meet or beat them. Therefore, please don’t attempt to set any world records that would cause risk to you or to others!

¹ the Guinness [ˈɡɪnɪs] Books of World Records книга рекордов Гиннесса

² Gazetteer [ ˌɡæzəˈtɪə] географический справочник

³ a stunt [stʌnt] опасный трюк

2.  The author describes how The Guinness World Records books changed with time. Find this extract and read it aloud.

3.  What information will you find in this book?

4.  Why can this book be interesting for the reader?

Listening

II. Listen to the young man describing where he lived and answer the questions below.

1.  Why did the man’s family have to rent a flat for about a year?

2.  What was their flat in the capital like?

3.  How many people is he sharing the flat with at present?

Speaking

III. Let’s talk about future career.