11-form
II term
LISTENING
Вы услышите 6 высказываний. Установите соответствие между высказываниями
каждого говорящего A—F и утверждениями, данными в списке 1—7. Используйте каждое
утверждение, обозначенное соответствующей цифрой, только один раз. В задании есть одно лишнее утверждение. Вы услышите запись дважды.
1. The price of the gift is not of primary importance.
2. I prefer useful gifts.
3. A gift is an expression of love and gratitude.
4. It’s not the gift that matters to me.
5. Giftgiving is a form of reciprocity.
6. We don’t need gifts anymore.
7. I prefer homemade gifts.
Now we are ready to start.
Speaker A
Holidays are becoming more and more commercialised. People buy and give loads of gifts and quite a lot of them are useless. That’s because people feel the need to please their friends and relatives by giving them something but they don’t have time to think of a useful gift. As a result, people get loads of unnecessary stuff, which later they want to get rid of. As for me, I never buy my men anything. Instead, I cook them something sweet such as chocolate truffles, cookies, brownies or cupcakes. I prefer to show my love and affection with something from ‘me’ rather than a storebought gift.
Speaker B
I don’t usually give gifts, but if I do, I make sure I know the person very well. So, I just buy them something they really need, not just something that would remind them of me. It doesn’t matter whether the gift is sentimental or not, I just buy them something practical. Say, my father loves eating so I am spotting a running watch for I believe he needs it. And my parents gave me a portable type writer when I was about 8, which I used for about 20 years, I think. That was a really good present.
Speaker C
I believe people need to give and receive presents as gifts are a physical representation of relationships between people. Moreover, giftgiving offers people a chance to create lasting social networks as most people will probably feel the need to return the ‘gift’ with a socially appropriate response. In short, giftgiving is a social way to bring members of a community closer together. It is also a way to correct missteps, recognize special relationships between people, and mark important cultural events such as holidays or birthdays. So, giftgiving is an important form of mutual communication.
Speaker D
A gift is something you give to a person without any obligation. Giftgiving should make us feel
good as well as making the receiver of the gifts feel good. I remember my brother gave me a year’s subscription to the National Film Theatre when I was 16, and that was a really valuable present. There were no videos or DVDs in those days, so the National Film Theatre was the only place to go to see the old films that I liked. I felt great and so did he. Giving gifts shows your affection and appreciation, and I believe this is what the world needs.
Speaker E
I really don’t get the ‘how much are they worth’ questions in regards to what gift, if any, to bring. The suggestion that some people have to make sure your gift will cover the cost of your dinner if you go to the reception makes no sense to me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you should buy cheap gifts, but I’m just a fan of getting people presents that I think they’ll like, without breaking the bank, regardless of whether they have a sitdown dinner reception or a cakeandpunch reception.
Speaker F
I really can’t say what kind of presents I prefer. I enjoy books and DVDs, and stuff like that. However, the most pleasant present for me is always the presence of my friends at my birthday party. Since my birthday is in the middle of the summer vacation, I’m alone most of the time on that day. Some of my friends are still abroad, and others are just about to be leaving on a holiday trip. So, whenever there is someone to celebrate it, I’m very grateful. I like to have just one day when people focus on me and I have real fun.
KEYS:
A7 B2 C5 D3 E1 F4
