Examination Card №19

I. Reading
The Golden Gate Bridge is a well-recognized landmark in the United States and one of the most beautiful and tallest bridges in the world. It connects the city of San Francisco with Marin County on the other side of the Golden Gate Strait.

The idea for a bridge across the strait had been around for many years, because the only practical way to get across the San Francisco Bay was to take a ferry. Planning for the Golden Gate Bridge began in 1916, but the design underwent many changes before construction finally started in 1933.

Many engineers, architects, and designers made vital contributions to the design and construction of the bridge. It was not easy to get the project started, to find financing for its construction, and to resist opposition to the very idea of a bridge.

Today, the bridge serves a vital function: about 40 million automobiles cross the bridge every year.

II. Writing
Library Rules
Admission
1. All persons admitted to use the Library shall register as readers.
2. Readers must observe all the Regulations and Rules.
3. Young children and animals may not be brought into the Library.

Borrowing
4. Not more than five items may be borrowed at a time
5. Books of reference shall not be taken out of the Library.
7. Every person who fails to return a loan on time shall be liable for a fine of 25p for each day.
8. No person shall remove any item from the Library without following the borrowing procedures.

Behaviour in the Library
9. Silence shall be maintained as far as possible in the Library.
10. Food and drink shall not be taken into the Library.
11. The marking of any Library materials is forbidden.
12. The use of portable computers is permitted in the Library if they are quiet in operation.

III. Speaking
In the UK Easter is one of the major Christian festivals of the year. It is also a public holiday full of customs, folklore and traditional food. The Friday before Easter Sunday and the Monday after are a bank holiday in the UK. Over Easter schools in the UK close for two weeks.

There is also another British custom. In Britain, the Queen takes part in the Ceremony of the Royal Maundy, which dates back to King Edward I. This involves the distribution of Maundy Money to deserving senior citizens (one man and one woman for each year of the sovereign's age), usually chosen for having done service to their community. They receive ceremonial red and white purses which contain coins made especially for the occasion.

Many of the symbols and traditions of Easter are connected with renewal, birth, good luck and fertility. One of the main symbols is the cross. Hot cross buns are usually blessed in the church, exchanged and eaten that day. These small, lightly sweet yeast buns contain raisins or currants and sometimes chopped candied fruit. Before baking, a cross is slashed in the top of the bun. After baking, a confectioners' sugar icing is used to fill the cross. In Ukraine we bake paskas, which is sweet bread with raisins.

Easter eggs are a very old tradition going to a time before Christianity. Eggs after all are a symbol of spring and new life. The eggs were hard-boiled and dyed in various colours and patterns. The traditionally bright colours represented spring and light. In Ukraine there are different kinds of Easter eggs - krashankas, drapankas and krapankas. Exchanging and eating Easter eggs is a popular custom in many countries. In the UK an older more traditional game is one in which real eggs are rolled against one another or down a hill. The owner of the egg that stayed uncracked the longest won. In some places another game is played. You hold an egg in the palm of the hand and bang against your opponent's egg. The loser is the one whose egg breaks first. We also have this tradition in Ukraine.

Nowadays people give each other Easter eggs made of chocolate, usually hollow and filled with sweets. In Britain children hunt for (chocolate) Easter eggs hidden about the home or garden by the Easter bunny.

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