Examination Card №11

I. Reading
The amazing diversity of life on our planet is named "biodiversity". It is the main part of the Earth's life support system. An enormous diversity of species can be found in every corner of our planet as each organism on it has adapted to its environment.
Scientists at Amgueddfa Cymru supported by other conservation professionals research and identify species and contribute to global knowledge. The collections of the national Wool Museum in Cardiff are a source of biological information for modern and future science.

II. Writing
William Shakespeare (baptised 26 April 1564; died 23 April 1616) was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's prominent dramatist. His literary heritage consists of about 38 plays, 154 sonnets, two long narrative poems, and several other poems. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright.

Shakespeare produced most of his known work between 1589 and 1613. His early plays were mainly comedies and histories, genres he raised to the peak of sophistication and artistry by the end of the 16th century. He then wrote mainly tragedies until about 1608, including Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth, considered some of the finest works in the English language. In his last phase, he wrote tragicomedies, also known as romances, and collaborated with other playwrights.

Shakespeare's plays remain highly popular today and are constantly studied, performed and reinterpreted in diverse cultural contexts throughout the world.

III. Speaking
A stereotype is a fixed set of ideas that is generally held about the characteristics of a particular type of person which are wrongly believed to be shared by all the people of that type. For the most part stereotypes are negative. Stereotyping painfully reminds those being judged of how society views them.

People often take national stereotypes into account when they talk to people from other culture. For example, the British are considered to be a bit snobbish and reserved, and the Americans are known as fast-food lovers. Ukrainians are thought to eat salo (pork) and drink horilka. Over time, some victims of negative stereotypes really display such kind of behaviour.

We often store stereotypes in two parts. First there is the generalized descriptions and attributes. For example, Ukrainians have always been considered as Russians. The situation began to change after Ukraine became an independent state. Other stereotypes appear as the result of some events. For instance, many foreigners nowadays believe that Ukraine is full of radioactive mutants. This judgement came into being after the accident at the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in 1986.

Stereotypes can also have a positive impact on individuals. Thus, Ukrainian women are considered to be beautiful and hospitable. In general, Ukrainians are described as a peaceful, hard-working nation.

One of the worst things about the attitude of Europe to us is their idea that we are all eager to move to their countries. This makes getting visas a little bit difficult procedure.

I think we should be more confident and proud of our country to show the world that we are happy to live here. I think that we really need to know more about national stereotypes. People make judgement when they don't know each other very well. But when they meet each other more often, they form new attitudes and beliefs. Communication is the chance to break stereotypes which exist in a society. If we want to change a person's view of the existing national stereotype, we have to be consistently different from it.

Date: 2016-01-03; view: 860