Задание 12 ЕГЭ по английскому языку: страница 2
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How Harry Potter saved one small town
Mallaig is far from the prettiest of Highland settlements, even when the weather is fine. Several rows of what could be prewar council houses stretch across the hill beyond the harbour. A mishmash of car parks, jetties and workaday buildings squats close to the railway terminus. When I last stayed in Mallaig, it was known as the biggest herring port in Europe.
Today, the herring have vanished, and yet Mallaig remains a busy place. Ferries come and go and fishing boats land shellfish, which is driven away in lorries to the markets of France and Spain. None of this activity, however, explains the hundreds of people who can be seen roaming Mallaig’s few streets every afternoon between the beginning of May and the end of October, or the presence of so many restaurants. What do explain them are two enthusiasms, one for low fact and the other for high fiction, which are kindled in childhood and among many adults never entirely disappear.
The railway reached Mallaig from Fort William and the south in 1901. It was among the last big lines to be built in Britain, late enough to have its viaducts built of concrete. It traversed one of Europe’s most spectacular and emptiest landscapes, with hardly anything large enough to be called a village along its 40-mile length.
The construction needed a large government subsidy, but the traffic never grew much beyond the two or three trains a day that carried fish boxes and a few dozen travellers to and from the Hebrides. It made little economic sense. Only 60 years after the line opened, it began to be threatened with closure. Few people would have guessed then that its commercial salvation would be owed to a novel and a film, and first of all, to a hobby.
Railways became an amateur pastime as well as a means of transport during the last decades of the 19th century. Then professional men such as vicars and lawyers began to see the large variety of trains and their technical progress as a hobby offering a similar kind of pleasure to philately and butterfly-hunting. By the end of the century they had their own magazine and their own club, the Railway Club, the world’s first society for railway enthusiasts. It was founded in London in 1899 and had its own premises with a library and leather armchairs. It was from these elite beginnings that the 20th century’s great cult of trainspotting spread, reinforcing a more general fondness for steam locomotives that many people had without knowing quite why. So a sense of loss ran through Britain when, in the 1960s, it became clear that their day was nearly done.
Hundreds of them were saved from the scrapyards and restored to working order; dozens of branch lines repaired and reopened so that in the holidays Britain could be charmed by how it once was. It’s hard to think that anywhere in the world has seen a more popular or successful preservation movement, or at least one run and largely funded by volunteers. Out of this business grew the West Coast Railway Company, which hires out engines, coaches and crew for steam excursions.
A film producer looking to shoot a fantastical train in a dramatic location would naturally turn to such a company, and so in three Harry Potter films the train to Hogwarts is seen crossing Glenfinnan’s viaduct.
Today, the Jacobite Express fills with Potter fans from all parts of the globe and always stops for a photo opportunity at Glenfinnan, which is where the real Bonnie Prince Charlie really raised his standard in '45 and marked as such by a real memorial. All of which reality is cast into shadow by the film of a modern fairytale.Which adjective could best describe Mallaig as presented by the author?
1) Derelict. 2) Beautiful. 3) Abandoned. 4) Unsightly. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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My experience with ChatGPT
A few weeks ago, I asked ChatGPT to write an article and I have to say, it exceeded my expectations. Not only did ChatGPT write a comprehensive article, but it also included helpful headlines for each section. Since then, I’ve been thinking a lot about Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what it could mean for the future world.
I’ve been keeping up with news about AI developments, but ChatGPT really stood out to me. While there are other models out there doing similar things, there must be a reason why ChatGPT made such big headlines. I think it’s because people like me started using AI models for the first time and got very tangible results. However, as useful and unique it can be, I do have some concerns.
After receiving the article from ChatGPT, I requested another one using similar keywords. ChatGPT delivered, but the resulting article was 62% similar to the first one. I doubt this would happen if I asked two people to write an article using the same keywords. As humans, we all have unique minds and experiences that shape our thoughts and words. Each person’s creativity is unique because it requires unique brain networks to fire simultaneously.
It’s no surprise that ChatGPT lacks originality, since it’s trained on millions of pieces of information from various sources. AI relies on pre-existing information to produce content. In contrast, humans learn in various ways and may draw different conclusions from similar experiences.
Another challenge with AI is intolerance. AI algorithms are only as good as the data they’re trained on, which can lead to intolerant results. Microsoft experienced this firsthand in 2016 when their AI chatbot on social networks became racist and misogynistic within 24 hours.
Even OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, acknowledges the limitations of AI. They warn that it “may occasionally generate incorrect information,” “may occasionally produce harmful instructions or biased content,” and has “limited knowledge of the world and events after 2021.”
The last limitation is telling. Is it possible for an AI chatbot to “live in the present?” Today’s reality is so fragmented and dependent on individual perspectives that even humans struggle to identify the truth. How can scientists train an AI model to differentiate truth from falsehood? If this were possible (let alone easy), why haven’t humans mastered this ability yet?
I wonder to what extent technological innovation occurs for the sake of innovation itself, rather than to address and solve a specific problem. Are we using AI to solve significant global issues, or are we merely using it to fix inconveniences?
Recently, I read news about a robo-dog for people with visual impairment. Equipped with AI, it talks and aids them in navigating cities. Why were living service dogs not good enough?
Apparently, they are expensive to train and maintain, so the answer technology offered was – what else? – robots. That would be quite reasonable, but 90% of vision loss is preventable or treatable with spectacles or eye surgery. Millions of people have visual impairment because they don’t have access to such treatments, making it a significant and global problem. Shouldn’t we use our resources to prevent and treat vision loss in the first place?
We have built a world so dependent on technology and so obsessed with growth that we are now willing to put a price on the only thing that makes us unique in this world: our brain. While we have not fully comprehended its capabilities, we are trying to make a digital copy of it. Are we sure we know what this means?What does the author think of the article written by ChatGPT?
1) Its quality was a pleasant surprise for him. 2) It was worse than he’d thought. 3) ChatGPT should not have used headlines. 4) It made him think about his own future. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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Being too positive
Having a positive outlook on life is good for your mental well-being. The problem is that life isn’t always positive. We all have painful emotions and experiences. Those emotions, while often unpleasant, need to be felt and dealt with openly and honestly to achieve acceptance and greater psychological health.
Toxic positivity is the belief that no matter how dire or difficult a situation is, people should maintain a positive mindset. While there are benefits to being optimistic and engaging in positive thinking, toxic positivity rejects all difficult emotions in favour of a cheerful and often falsely-positive façade. It takes positive thinking to an extreme. In other words, it makes it too general. This attitude does not just stress the importance of optimism – it also minimizes and even denies any trace of human emotions not strictly happy or positive.
Toxic positivity means having a “good vibes only” approach to life and discarding any seemingly negative emotions. It denies people the authentic support they need to cope with what they are facing.
Toxic positivity can take a wide variety of forms. Some examples you may have encountered in your own life include the following. When something bad happens, such as losing your job, people may say to “just stay positive” or “look on the bright side.” While such comments are often meant to be sympathetic, they can shut down anything the other person might want to say about what they are experiencing. After some type of loss, people might say, “everything happens for a reason.” While people will make such statements because they believe they are comforting, this is also a way of avoiding the other person’s pain. Upon expressing sad feelings, someone may respond that “happiness is a choice.” This suggests that if someone is feeling negative emotions, it’s their own fault for not “choosing” to be happy.
Such statements are often well-intentioned, or people just don’t know what else to say and don't know how to be empathetic. Still, it is important to recognize that such behaviour can be harmful.
Too much positivity is toxic because it can harm people who are going through difficult times. Rather than being able to share genuine human emotions and gain support, people who are faced with toxic positivity find their feelings dismissed, ignored, or outright invalidated.
It’s also shaming. Receiving too-positive responses can lead to feelings of shame. It tells people that the emotions they are feeling are unacceptable. When someone is suffering, they need to know that their emotions are valid and that they can find relief and love in their friends and family.
Shame goes hand in hand with guilt. Being toxically positive can also cause feelings of guilt. It sends a message that if you aren’t finding a way to feel positive – even in the face of tragedy – you are doing something wrong.
Moreover, it avoids authentic human emotion. When people engage in this type of behaviour, it allows them to sidestep emotional situations that make them feel uncomfortable. Sometimes we turn these same ideas on ourselves, internalizing them. When we feel difficult emotions, we then discount, dismiss, and deny them.
It prevents growth. Toxic positivity allows us to avoid feeling things that might be painful. But this denies us the ability to face challenging feelings that can ultimately lead to growth and deeper insight.
I believe it is possible to be optimistic in the face of difficult experiences and challenges. But people going through trauma don’t need to be told to stay positive or feel that they are being judged for not maintaining a sunny outlook.According to the text, mental health can be improved if people ...
1) avoid hurtful emotions. 2) accept unpleasant feelings. 3) hide difficult emotions. 4) believe in the good. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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Should children be allowed to retake tests?
My daughter texted me from school, upset that she’d failed a physics test she thought she’d been prepared for. She was worried it would bring down her overall grade at the end of the first marking period. A half-hour later, she texted to say all was good. Her teacher allowed her to make corrections – she got all the problems right this time, and her grade was no longer under threat.
On the one hand, I was pleased that she’d taken the initiative to fix what she viewed as a problem. On the other hand, I wasn’t sure how I felt about this infinite redo approach.
When I heard that my daughter was allowed to go back and correct her mistakes, my mind instantly went to all the professionals in the real world – surgeons, firefighters, death-row case trial lawyers, pilots, paramedics, cops and more – who really, really needed to get their jobs right the first time. With some jobs, “later” isn’t an option. Heck, in the realm of less life-and-death professions, I spent years working as a live TV show producer. There were no second takes there, either.
As with all education research, both pros and cons have been tallied and reported.
Some of the pros include the assertion that letting kids retake tests reduces cheating, makes them responsible for their own grades and helps them better evaluate their own learning.
Cons have been listed as: low motivation; students procrastinating until they’ve fallen too far behind, leading to stress; and teachers needing to teach separate lessons to different class members during the same period.
Then I turned to my focus group of one: my husband, a middle school math and physics teacher who has, for years, allowed his students to redo their homework and in-class work as many times as they wish in order to get to 100% mastery.
I asked him why he believes his technique is beneficial.
He stressed that, “Homework and in-class work is formative assessment, which is the key here. Homework and in-class work is practice. Doing the work correctly over and over again is the only way to improve. Tests are summative assessments. They measure performance after practice. I allow redos only on homework and in-class work. I don’t allow resitting tests, because tests measure what they’ve learned after all that practice. If you are a performing artist, it’s the performance that matters. For athletes, it’s the game. Homework versus tests is the same thing.”
That brings us back to those surgeons, firefighters, death-row case trial lawyers, pilots, paramedics, cops and more who, in real life, I would really like to get their tasks right the first time.
Their jobs can be considered the ultimate in summative assessment. But that assessment didn’t come on the first day of training. It came after many, many years of formative assessments in the form of arguing mock trials, practicing approaches on flight simulators, and conducting rescue drills – not to mention taking paper-and-pencil tests as well.
So much education policy debate these days seems to be driven by a zero-sum game mindset. If we do things one way, we shouldn’t be doing them another. As the late Stephen Sondheim wrote, “Is it always “or?” Is it never “and?”
Just as students benefit from a cross-section of classmates, they should also benefit from a cross-section of opinions on how best to teach. It would better prepare them for living and working with a variety of people for the rest of their lives, and help them figure out how they learn best, so they can adapt accordingly.
That said, I would still prefer that my daughter got her physics equations right the first time.The feelings of the author after her daughter’s second text are best described as …
1) mixed. 2) disappointment. 3) relief. 4) anger. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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Stress at college
Stress among college students can negatively affect academic performance, personal relationships, and overall well-being. However, stress can have positive effects if managed properly.
We all encounter the stresses of daily life, and college students in particular struggle with the adjustment to busy schedules and deadlines related to overwhelming courses and exams. The continuous pressure to achieve quick results during our early years of adulthood leads to college student stress, anxiety, and mental health challenges.
Many college students ignore signs of stress and as a result experience a range of physical, emotional, and behavioral symptoms. Increased heart rate or blood pressure, headaches, or fatigue, for example, commonly strain our physical states. The psychological perception of pressure, on the other hand, influences our emotional reactions to unexpected situations.
Significant life events often lead to increased stress levels. However, among college students the causes are often much more subtle. A heavy workload, public speaking, or long work or study hours can lead to hostile behavior and tense reactions to unexpected situations.
By understanding the individual causes of stress, students can better prepare themselves for the academic challenges that lay ahead. College students should consider these tips in effort to reduce stress.
Improve your time management. Instead of focusing on your to-do list each day, focus on the free hour you have before your next class, or the time you can gain from completing a task ahead of schedule. We often push things off until the last minute under the perception that our busy schedules don’t leave us enough time. However, what you can do to counter this procrastination is to make things bite size, break up tasks into more manageable sections. Make a designated space for work that isn’t your bed. Use a planner to block sections of time throughout your day, but make sure to leave time for yourself to socialize and relax.
Try to think positively. What if you actually scored an A on the exam you thought you failed? Just as easily as your mind imagines the worst-case scenario, it can be trained to imagine the positive. When we experience stress, we tend to interpret situations negatively. Pay attention to these reactions and avoid the unexpected by getting an early start to your day. If you still notice yourself thinking negatively, pause for a second, and try not to engage in those thoughts.
Daily or weekly exercise routines will help balance your mental and physical reactions to life’s stresses. According to one study, 85% of college students reported feeling overwhelmed at some point in the previous year by everything they had to do; and 41.6% stated anxiety as the most pressing concern among college students. Regular exercise can mitigate those concerns by promoting better sleep, improving your mood, and boosting your energy. Try 60 minutes of light walking, or 30 minutes of high intensity exercise. Sign up for yoga, join a gym, go climbing. Keep the routines interesting by combining different variations of cardio with muscle-building throughout the week. Take good care of your body each day. Eating right, exercising and getting enough sleep help your body handle stress much better.
By understanding the symptoms of stress we can learn to detect when the stress is a positive boost and when it is weighing us down. Managing your stress and your health will prepare you for the unknown situations and reward you with an exciting and engaging college experience!According to the text, college students get particularly stressed because of …
1) personal relationships. 2) health problems. 3) pressure to succeed. 4) paying for courses. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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Stop buying stuff
Did you know that spending 1,000 rubles a day adds up to spending more than 365,000 a year? And I don’t know about you, but hardly anything costs under 1,000 where we live. So thoughtless spending can add up very quickly. As I try to live more simply, I have been trying to mend what we have and make what we need. I recently made linen napkins with some fabric we had. This way of living has required me to slow down and question whether what I want to buy is truly essential. If you also want to live more simply and stop buying stuff you don’t need, here are some tips that I’ve found useful.
First, you need to identify your motivation. Take a few minutes to think about why you want to buy less stuff. Your goal is to buy less, but why are you chasing that goal. Some reasons might be to save money, to reduce clutter, to live more sustainably, to get out of debt, or to live a more handmade and simple life. Once you have your motivation identified, you can refer back to it when you are tempted to buy something frivolous.
Next, it’s very useful to record your expenses. Don’t worry about setting up a fancy budget right now. Just write down everything you buy and how much you spend for one week. This is to make you more conscious of your spending habits and help you to stop buying stuff you don’t need. Also for one week, write down what prompted you to buy something. For example, imagine you bought a new
T-shirt. Write it down and think about what made you want to buy it. Did you see someone you follow on social media wearing it? Did you buy it late at night after a date went badly? The goal is to make your invisible purchasing habits more visible. As you write down what prompted you to buy something, think about whether the spending was emotional or not. Did you get a rush when you pushed ‘buy now’? That’s probably an emotional purchase. Try to identify which emotion you’re avoiding. Do you feel self-conscious? Or depressed? Once we can name what we’re trying to avoid, then we can take steps to meaningfully address it.
Have you heard about the One-Year Test? Look around your space. Do you see anything you haven’t used in a year? Strongly consider selling or donating it. Once you have an understanding of how much you spend and what your spending triggers are, it’s time to clean the slate. Unsubscribe from brands on social media and from email newsletters from companies or influencers. You want to set yourself up for success and protect yourself from being bombarded with emails promising ‘irresistible’ sales. Once you know when you are triggered to buy things, you can pre-empt the urge by filling the time with something else. For example, if you browse and buy late at night on your phone, you can do yoga or meditate or read a good book before bed. You don’t need to do this forever – just try to do it once to begin with, and see how you feel.
Another very good tip can be summed up as ‘cost versus work.’ Before you buy something, calculate how much you will need to work to cover the cost. If you get paid 300 rubles/hour and something costs 2,500, that’s more than 8 hours of work. Is it worth it to you?
Before buying something, wait 24 hours. This is a good way to weed out impulse buying. Instead of buying things every day, choose one day a week. Bookmark everything you want to buy and on the buying day, review all of your bookmarks. This is a good way to remove emotional or impulse buying, too.
So, buying stuff you don’t need is a major problem for a lot of people. The material possessions that you’ve desired and eventually purchased will lose their sparkle, and you’ll return to your happiness set point. Things can’t make you happy, but people can.The author started making hand-made things because she …
1) spends too much annually. 2) lives in an expensive district. 3) slowed down her pace of life. 4) wishes to reduce her purchases. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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Life hacks for visiting Russia
Planning a holiday in Russia and don’t want to break the bank? Here are a few hacks to help your journey around the world’s biggest country on a shoestring.
Like people from all over the world, many Russians are open to volunteering in exchange for food, accommodation, and new experiences. There is, for example, the Help Exchange advertising service. Foreigners are invited as volunteers by small companies, families, children’s camps, and even the Academy of Sciences. The conditions depend on the host but be sure that for interesting offers there will be stiff competition: you have to monitor the offers and respond quickly. It helps if you have recommendations. Last year, on a competitive basis, me and my friends managed to go to Ferapontovo (an ancient monastery on the UNESCO World Heritage list), to Kamchatka and Siberia, and to a summer camp on Lake Baikal. The “hottest” time is the summer season. The obvious plus – apart from the fact that you pay almost nothing – is that many hosts provide help with visas and pay for your journey. And the minus is that you will really have to work.
Big cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg offer the Russian tourist the CityPass, which entitles you to free museum admissions and excursions, admission without queuing, river cruises, discounts for taxis and restaurants, unlimited calls within Russia, and many other benefits. It may seem a bit costly but it will save you much more. You can also save money without a tourist pass. If you are not too shy, remember: in Russia, you can enter many museums and parks at the exits but I wouldn’t go for it.
Another life hack is to check on free admission days. Every museum has free admission days. At the Hermitage in St. Petersburg the first Thursday of each month is a free day, while at the New Tretyakov Gallery in the Russian capital it is every Wednesday.
As a rule, tickets to museums and art galleries cost more for foreign nationals than locals. Tourists who don’t want to pay extra can ask a Russian to buy tickets for them. And don’t waste money on an audio guide. To be honest, you won’t need it. You can download audio guides in English for many popular museums in Russia from the App Store.
As for eating out while travelling in Russia, there are a number of pretty cheap options. You can find special offers in Russian cafés and restaurants at any time of the day. Canteens (cheap restaurants that serve homemade dishes) are a win-win option. Here, a soup, main course, drink, and dessert will cost you just 250-300 rubles or cheaper.
I had the following routine when travelling around Russia. In the morning I had breakfast in canteens attached to institutes or ordinary public canteens, which you can find on 2Gis (a multilingual digital service that has city maps and tells you how much the average bill in different eateries will be). For lunch I would go to any place serving business lunches (many restaurants offer them between 12:00 and 17:00), giving preference to places with a high rating. And for dinner I would use coupons from special websites available only in Russian – a sushi selection at a 50-percent discount is very filling and very tasty. Or on some evenings I cooked my own dinner buying food in a supermarket.
Not many people know how to save while travelling but if you prepare yourself in advance by reading tips from experienced travellers, you may visit more places and spend less money while enjoying it none the less.The purpose of the article as stated in the beginning is to …
1) give advice to budget travellers. 2) describe advantages of travelling. 3) introduce foreigners to Russia. 4) warn against the dangers of travel. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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What volunteering taught me
Today I am member of the UN Global Education First Youth Advocacy Group. Many young people have come to me to ask how I got to be in such an initiative. It has always been a pleasure for me to share my volunteer experiences, and it is because of these experiences that I was selected out of 500 applications to serve in this group. It all started when I was in secondary school. I was engaged in student affairs as the president of the UNESCO club, a school platform that brings students together to discuss school matters and the pressing current issues concerning them.
After secondary school, I started volunteering within non-governmental organizations. It was at this moment that I began to understand a lot about community development. I was involved in projects and activities relating to peace, human rights and the environment. It was a great pleasure for me to contribute to the development of my community through volunteering because the impact was visible.
I had many obstacles while volunteering because people don’t value volunteer work. In Cameroon and especially in my community, people consider volunteering as waste of time and resources. They cannot conceive the fact that someone can work without remuneration or a salary. My friends and family advised me on several occasions to stop volunteering. I felt very discouraged at some point, but I could not stop because I loved doing it. Volunteering was the top priority in my life. I decided not to pay attention to their advice but to concentrate on my work.
By spending time with host families in various regions I got used to cultural differences, which was really helpful during the projects. I learned a lot about what belonged to the norms and values of the local people. For example, how to dress appropriately, eat and even how to shower and go to the bathroom the local way. Most of the things are totally different than in my area, so it took some time to adapt.
In Nigeria I taught English conversation, 3 times a day. I had the opportunity to come up with my own ideas for the classes and tried to be as creative as possible making my lessons not only informative, but also fun. Apart from having conversations, we also cooked food, listened to English music and painted. Having a lot of conversations in English on different topics, I understood how to look at things from a different perspective. It also made me think in a more creative way, out of the box, one can say. I think this will help me in the future, looking at things through different glasses.
One day, a group of young people came to me and said they had something to say. I was very surprised. They said they were all grateful for the changes I brought into their lives through peer education. I was so happy to hear this that it aroused joy in my heart. This experience made me understand that only volunteer work can have such a profound impact on people’s lives.
There are three elements that permitted me to succeed in a life dedicated to volunteering: passion, determination and patience. Volunteering helped me become a job creator, not a job seeker.
My advice to my peers is that we cannot succeed in life overnight. We have to work hard to enjoy the fruits of our labor. Even if you have a diploma from the best school in the world, it is not enough because what matters most is your skills, your talent. The best way to discover who you are in order to integrate yourself into society is to volunteer. Volunteering not only allows you to offer your services, but to learn and discover new things and improve your skills. One secret in volunteer work is to avoid thinking about money because that is where the problem is. Young people expect to be paid as they are volunteering.The author was chosen for her current position because of …
1) her passion for volunteering. 2) the advice she gave others. 3) her volunteering background. 4) her leadership skills. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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Change your food choice
While recycling and refillable water bottles were once the most popular fad among the environmentally conscious, there is now a more pressing matter for humans to turn their attention to in order to slow global climate change: the animal industry.
When you navigate to the university website on campus sustainability, you find a list of all of the ways the University is making an effort to “go green”.
A plan to increase levels of recycling on campus? Great! Printers that reduce paper waste? Fantastic! A garden to collect excess rainwater? Amazing! Let’s go one step farther.
If we’re not actively educating students about the immense ways our food choices influence the environment, then we’re not doing enough to really serve the causes we claim to support. It’s not only about giving students the option to eat less meat but telling them how these choices can influence the future of the environment and create sustainable change. The question of whether eating meat is bad for the environment is not a question anymore. And the issue isn’t that people are unwilling to try more plant-based foods or unaware of the perils the environment is currently in, but rather, it’s that people aren’t aware of the effects their demand for meat has on the earth.
Lean and Green, a student initiative that strives to promote sustainability on campus through environmentally friendly and healthy diet choices, conducted a study that showed students don’t fully understand the impact their eating habits have on the environment.
The livestock industry of chickens, cows and pigs produces more greenhouse gas emissions that all cars and trucks combined, according to Greenpeace. So as we eat more meat, the demand for meat likewise goes up and increases those gases. But when we eat more meat alternatives instead, like nuts or tofu, we can make a big difference. According to Walter, if a person went vegetarian for a year, they would produce three times less carbon than if they were to purchase a hybrid car.
And interestingly, more than 92 percent of responders said they would like to see more plant-based foods in the university dining halls. So it’s clear that students are willing to eat less meat and explore more veggie-friendly options. But what’s not clear for students is why these options are imperative for making choices that help our planet.
With the student population of about 34,000, the University has the capability to make significant changes for the future of the environment. Give the students want they want – which is more diverse plant-based options – but also tell them why they should want it. Informing students about why these options are environmentally favorable can only inspire students to choose them more often. Posters throughout the dining halls, informational email campaigns, programs in residence halls and even financial incentives can help inform students and shape their knowledge and decision-making.
In conjunction with offering more vegetarian options, letting non-vegetarian students know about the sustainable benefits that come from choosing these foods can encourage them to eat them more often.
The animal industry is only going to grow if people keep eating meat. If our university wants to have an impact and keep up its reputation as environmentally conscious, it should ensure its students know how they can do their part to help the earth.What should people consider to cut in relation to the climate change, according to the author?
1) Use of refillable bottles. 2) Meat production. 3) Level of environmental consciousness. 4) Development of eco-industry. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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In search for a graduate job
As I write this, exhausted, fingers on the keys of an equally tired laptop, closing the twenty-something open windows before me, I find myself a little sad. Sitting here, sifting through a Google search muddle of: “Graduate job Scotland”, “Graduate schemes UK”, “Graduate work, anywhere, please?”, “Soon to be extremely poor graduate, HELP!”, I realize that I might never find the elusive placement I’m after.
Melodramatic Googling aside, the job crisis is real, and it could be hitting us harder in 2017 than ever before. These attempts – vague Internet searches, seemingly empty threads towards one highly competitive position at a company hundreds of miles away, never ending applications – are rather disappointing. Granted, this may not apply to those smart enough who found a job from day one. But, for the rest of us, the uncertain majority, it is increasingly clear that a university education alone is not the life-affirming trip to professional work that it once was.
Where it is fair to say that degrees are still highly regarded in the working world, they are no longer a golden ticket. In fact, last year statistics stated that around 58% of graduates are in jobs deemed to be “non-graduate” positions. Another survey revealed that graduates from the wealthiest 20% of families were still earning 30% more than the rest ten years after leaving higher education. Clearly then, despite my own fruitless search on career websites, there are positions out there. But with the majority of graduates entering into jobs without a degree requirement, and the elite minority remaining the UK’s top earners, are we experiencing a turn in graduate opportunity?
Something I have found really striking about application process is simply how costly it is. I spent the past four years building a solid CV, working in and out of university to refine my own professional skills and felt rather confident in my ability to find relevant work in Scotland. However, as filling in forms leads to booking trains or planes, arranging serial interviews, checking into inns, choosing transport routes, it seems that opportunity is twinned with your financial situation. Well, my card was recently declined in the library café, so this is something that is weighing on my mind.
While the wealthiest of graduates continue to snag the high earning positions after University, the rest of us face new competition, as graduate vacancies are once again streamlined by the rise of apprenticeships. But, where does it leave us, the soon to be un-qualified, over-qualified degree holders of 2017 that have slipped through the employment net? Is it back to full-time education for the rest of our lives? Working “for now”, saving until your dream becomes financially viable? Applying anyway? Taking out another loan (or five)? Truth is, it’s probably all of these things.
It’s probably sticking it out, demanding to be listened to, building up a CV that you are proud of and staying true to your own aspirations. It’s probably all the things we were told at the Careers Fairs, in interviews, by our parents and preached ourselves. University might no longer be the only slipway into professional work, but it is a weighted way in, and that degree (which, by the way, you will get) is something you have earned and something that will open doors for you, even if you can’t see them just yet and even if, in 2017, there is a bit more of a queue.How did the author feel while searching the Internet?
1) Satisfied. 2) Pessimistic. 3) Energetic. 4) Frightened. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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Shoppers
Can you spend hours and hours at the mall just looking, while hardly making a purchase? Or when you go to the mall, do you try to park, get in, and get out as quickly as possible? Whether we like it or not, we all have to shop at some point. It’s good to be aware of your money mindset so you can rein in your natural budget busters. Which kind of shopper do you most identify with?
The bargain shopper loves coupons, discount books and online codes, as well as store sales. The bargain shopper hunts down deals with the intensity of a rabid raccoon ransacking an unguarded trash can. And that’s a good thing. If there’s one thing you can count on with this kind of a shopper, it’s the fact that they’ll absolutely find the lowest price in town – or, if they can find it on the internet, in the entire world.
The next type is the researcher. Imagine you want to buy a new 42-inch LCD TV. So what do you do? You buy a few consumer magazines. You visit
14 different websites that offer television reviews. You spend five months researching every brand and every model of 42-inch LCD televisions. Based on that information, you might make a decision. Or you might wait until next year’s models come out because, after all, once you make the purchase, you can’t research TVs anymore. And what kind of life is that?
Probably, the worst type for your budget is the impulse buyer. Ooh, that sure is a pretty lamp over there. You know where that lamp would look nice? On the end table next to your bed. Such a pretty lamp. So cute. Sure, it’s $200, but you never spend that much money on lamps, and when will you ever see another lamp that cute again? So you know what to do – buy it! Right now! Buy it! This will be the best, most sensible purchase you’ve ever made – until tomorrow, when you wake up and realize you have $15,000 in debt and just spent $200 on a lamp. These are the kind of people who might actually have several credit cards and need professional help to stop them going on a shopping spree.
For another type, the negotiator, no price is set in stone. Everything is up for negotiation. “That’s not good enough!” is the negotiator’s mantra. Their sole purpose in life is to win the battle with every single salesperson they encounter. Or at least it seems that way, because they approach every negotiation like fighting. That’s a type of a person you really need to take with you to an Asian market where prices are cut twice or even more after bargaining.
The loyalist buys everything, and we mean everything, from the same store. They’ve got 14 different discount and membership cards of varying sizes for that one store. There’s the one for their wallet, their key chain, their smartphone, their purse, their back pocket – and don’t forget the one they customized into an earring for emergencies. When they enter that store, they’re greeted like a king or queen. Everyone there knows their name.
Last, but not least, is ‘the man on a mission.’ They have one objective: to go to the store and buy a new computer monitor. Their record for driving to the mall, buying one item, and returning home is 27 minutes and 42 seconds. Each time they go to the mall, their goal is to break that record. When the man on a mission shops, he or she’s like a laser-guided missile seeking out a target to destroy.
Many of us are addicted to shopping. And some of us can’t seem to get off the hedonic treadmill. Being conscious of your shopping habits is the first step to stop buying things you don’t actually need. Well, the next time you’re tempted to buy something, get out your smartphone to determine whether the purchase fits in your budget. If it doesn’t, all bets are off; don’t make the purchase!The author thinks that knowing your shopper type will help you …
1) shop more quickly. 2) control your spending. 3) choose things carefully. 4) avoid going shopping. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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Coffee decaffeination processes
Every day it seems that medical researchers come out with a new study about coffee, how it is extremely unhealthy for you and/or full of amazing benefits. The focus of most of these studies is more particularly about the effects of caffeine on human health. As caffeine, coffee’s most potent element, is a stimulant, it can produce both positive and negative effects. It can wake you up in the morning, but it can also lead to sleeplessness, a racing heartbeat, and anxiety.
It is therefore no surprise that many people have decided to cut caffeine out of their diets. As for me, I have grown to like the taste of coffee, but to me the main purpose of drinking it is to get an extra jolt of energy. That is why I will admit to a certain prejudice against decaf, perhaps prompted by bad experiences with weak and tasteless brew, because it is true that the actual process of removing caffeine from coffee can degrade the taste beyond repair.
Early decaffeination attempts involved soaking the green beans in water and then using various solvents to separate the caffeine in the resulting water solution. The beans were then re-introduced to the caffeine-free solution in order to absorb some of the flavor they had lost. Solvents used included benzene, chloroform, and trichloroethylene, all of which were later found to have toxic effects. In the 1970s, dichloromethane came into use to replace the earlier solvents before it too was deemed possibly carcinogenic.
In response to these concerns about solvents, some coffee companies began to run the water solution through charcoal filters as a means of removing the caffeine. The so-called Swiss Water Process, developed in Switzerland in the 1930s, goes one step further. After a batch of coffee beans has been steeped in hot water, that water is filtered, and then is used to soak the next batch of beans to be processed. In this way, the beans lose caffeine as they soak, but lose less of their flavor.
Yet another method that aims to safely remove caffeine from coffee beans involves a fascinating compound procedure. The solvent used in this method is neither water nor one of the earlier toxic solvents. Instead, caffeine in the coffee beans is dissolved by means of carbon dioxide. In order to accomplish this, the carbon dioxide must become a supercritical fluid, created when it is compressed and heated to the point that it has the same density in liquid and gaseous forms.
As this supercritical CO2 is passed through the beans, it can penetrate them because of its gaseous properties, and yet is able to dissolve the caffeine they contain because of its liquid properties.
In 2004, Brazilian scientists identified a new strain of coffee beans with a naturally low level of caffeine. They found three coffee plants from Ethiopia that contain almost no caffeine as they seem lack an enzyme necessary to caffeine production. If these plants can be crossed with commercial strains of coffee plants, we may one day see more coffee on the market that is naturally low in caffeine.
With these advances, and the current methods of decaffeination, decaf junkies are sure to be able to get their fix of coffee that not only tastes great, but won’t keep them up half the night.
As for me, I do want to stay up half the night, so I’ll stick to my full-strength brew.According to the text (paragraph 1), the effects of caffeine …
1) have not been studied well enough. 2) can be of opposite character. 3) are very dangerous. 4) are not strong. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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How teaching English on my year abroad improved my French
I began my year abroad in Paris as an intern at a publishing house, earning €2.70 an hour for menial work. I’d hoped to be able to soak up French in a real-life setting, but was constantly writing emails and making calls in English, with little free time for learning my second language. I soon realised the only thing I’d really learned was how to use a document-binding machine. Luckily, I’d taken an intensive English-teaching course in London the previous summer, which helped me find a new job with a language school.
Students planning their years abroad might worry about teaching English. It seems counterintuitive – you go to another country to learn the language and end up speaking your mother tongue. But in my experience, it can be a rewarding job and is perhaps even the best way to immerse yourself in another culture and learn the language. Ellen Rothnie, a student at the University of Glasgow, who has recently returned from two years in Spain, agrees. She says: “The feeling of integrating is so special. I wanted to improve my Spanish and was astounded by how much I did. I noticed a difference within a month.”
So, what struck me most about teaching English, was the potential for improving my French. Teaching your own language gives you a broader insight into language-learning – you see what works and what doesn’t. Among my students, I encountered a full range of abilities – speakers of near-native fluency and those who could barely string together a simple English phrase. I noticed what held my weakest students back – too much focus on writing down notes, crippling shyness and fear of making mistakes, and the other extreme – overconfidence, speaking at length and carelessly repeating the same errors. I saw how my best students learned – by being chatty and enthusiastic, and by watching hours of Anglo-American TV and films in their spare time. Trying to follow their example, I studied French thrillers and reality shows, picking up slang and colloquialisms, which helped me get by in everyday conversations.
Rothnie also found that teaching English helped with her Spanish. “My students often didn’t know what I considered to be basic expressions involving prepositions, such as ‘run out’, or ‘left over’,” she says. “Then I realised that in Spanish there is usually a separate, single equivalent verb which, before my year abroad, I probably didn’t know either.” At university, language teachers often tell students to avoid directly translating English phrases word-for-word, but it’s only when you’re interacting with native speakers in another country that you grasp the common expressions and idioms. This knowledge allows you to become more fluent in a language.
Teaching English can also give you the chance to socialise with native speakers, as Amy Stewart, a student at the University of Strathclyde, found on her year abroad in Tenerife. As a British Council assistant, she became friendly with her fellow teachers and even went to stay at the family home of a Spanish colleague. Despite her concerns about living in a hotspot for Anglophone tourists, Stewart improved her Spanish by taking part in language exchanges with locals. You need to be proactive too, she says: “If you go looking for areas that aren’t quite as touristy, then you’ll find them.”
Ultimately, the success of your year abroad is down to your own efforts – but maybe there’s something about teaching that gives you a certain motivation. After all, when you’ve been telling your students to knuckle down and practise vocabulary in their spare time, you feel like a hypocrite if you don’t do the same.What kind of work had the author been doing before she started teaching?
1) Exciting. 2) Skilled. 3) Routine. 4) Unusual. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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Video games are good for you
Video games are a very intrinsic part of most kids’ lives. They’re now more accessible than ever, from e-sports tournaments on television, to mobile games on our smartphones. For parents, there will always be that dilemma over how much access we give our children to video games. To help get to the bottom of this issue, we’ve looked at some of the more recent scientific research. Here’s a brief synopsis of what we found, followed by details on the science behind this statement.
Studies conducted recently have proven that gaming has the ability to improve the quality of life for the mentally ill and disabled. They revealed that playing different video games increases grey matter, or the size of your brain. Games also streamline both learned and instinctive skills. Simply put, gaming impacts the parts of the brain responsible for spatial orientation, fine motor skills – which constitute the ability to make tiny movements – and memory.
For one study, researchers selected two groups of adults. One group was asked to play Super Mario 64 for half an hour a day over the course of two months. The other group played no video games at all. A direct link was made between gaming and an increase in brain size. This led the researchers to conclude that people afflicted with mental disabilities who’ve had areas of their brains shrink could benefit from playing video games.
Video games can teach kids real-world problem-solving skills, as well as how to strategize. Open-ended, world-building games give gamers an opportunity to sharpen their problem-solving skills on a larger and more impactful scale. Players lay out and construct their city, and then have to plan ahead for different events. It teaches planning and resource management, beneficial for both kids and older players.
A study from University College London reported that certain games can increase players’ cognitive flexibility. Scientists describe this ability to be one of the cornerstones of human intelligence. Researchers discovered participants who played real-time strategy games for 40 hours over two months’ time made noticeable gains in their performance on tests. They completed various tasks with increased speed and more accuracy, as well.
We have established how video games could be beneficial for the mind, but what about the body? You might not think of video games as being a physical activity. After all, it’s common to associate gaming with your kids sitting on the couch or in a computer chair for long periods of time. This doesn’t have to be the case.
A 2013 study looked at surgeons playing games on a gaming console. Gaming was found to help with precise muscle movements, as well as the surgeons’ hand-eye coordination. Both of these are essential skills in their field.
Dr. Debbie Rand, of Tel-Aviv University, conducted a study designed to find a more effective and affordable way to help patients regain their movement and speech after having a stroke. They were then broken into two groups. The first group used traditional rehab exercises, while the second played video games. Both groups showed improvement in certain areas, such as regaining strength in their grip. The group which played video games continued to improve their hand strength after the treatment was over.
There is evidence to suggest that video games are good for you, both mentally and physically. The stereotypes around gaming are starting to fall away as a result. As they do so, more and more people have opened themselves up to the benefits gaming has to offer. As with anything else though, the best way to maintain those benefits is through playing in moderation, particularly when it comes to children.The question that arises when it comes to children playing video games is …
1) whether they all should be accessible. 2) how far kids’ play should be limited. 3) if research supports current practices. 4) how accessible games are to kids now. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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British food
Foreigners often laugh at the British. They say, “In Britain you get hot chips with everything!” But even the British don’t eat chips with their meals. To prove that, we decided to let you read an extract from a letter written by Pete Phrase, the chief cook at Daphne’s in London, to his foreign friends.
“…I am always both amused and annoyed when I hear foreign people criticise British food. “It’s unimaginative,” they say. “It’s boring, it’s tasteless with totally overcooked vegetables.” I have a theory about British cooking, and I was interested to read that several famous cookery writers agree with me. My theory is this. Our basic ingredients, when fresh, are so full of flavour that we haven’t had to invent sauces and complex recipes to disguise their natural taste. What can compare with fresh peas or new potatoes just boiled (not overboiled) and served with butter? Why drown spring lamb in wine or cream or yoghurt and spices, when with just one or two herbs it is absolutely delicious?
If you ask foreigners to name some typically English dishes, they will probably say “fish and chips” and then stop. It is disappointing, but true, that there is no tradition in Britain of eating in restaurants, because our food doesn’t lend itself to such preparation. British cooking is found in the home, where it is possible to time the dishes to perfection. So it is difficult to find a good English restaurant with reasonable prices.
It is for these reasons that we haven’t exported our dishes, but we have imported a surprising variety of cuisines from all over the world. In most cities in Britain you’ll also find Indian, Chinese, French and Italian restaurants. In London you’ll also find Indonesian, Lebanese, German, Spanish, Mexican, Greek… Cynics will say that this is because we have no “cuisine” ourselves, but, well, you know what I think!”
Traditional British food is usually described as plain, conservative and unvaried. There are many popular jokes about it. “The British Empire was created as a by-product of generations of desperate Englishmen roaming the world in search of a decent meal,” remarks American journalist Bill Marsano.
Indeed, classic British dishes are not too dainty, but they are nourishing, natural and tasty, a lot of attention here is paid to the food quality. Residents of Great Britain prefer local food to imported products, so nearly all fish, milk and meat products are produced within the country and vegetables are grown by local farmers.
Meals during a day in Britain traditionally include breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper. Dinner is always the most substantial meal during the day. For dinner the British often have soup and then the main course, such as meat, poultry or fish with vegetables or mashed potatoes. It is followed by a dessert, for example, the most ubiquitous apple pie. Meat dishes are presented in British cuisine in a large variety. Probably, the most delicious of them is succulent roast beef, which is grilled and served with vegetables, roast potatoes or Yorkshire pudding. Apart from beef, the British cook steaks of pork, lamb and sometimes turkey or chicken.
Supper in Britain is the last meal of the day, and usually it consists of something light, for example, a bowl of cream soup, naturally, often skipped.
As for drinks, it’s impossible to imagine British cuisine without tea. Contrary to popular belief, tea is not always served with milk. The British drink tea with and without sugar, with lemon, cinnamon, honey and so on. But tea and milk is a classic combination, not a favourite of mine, though.”It often seems to foreigners that British food …
1) hasn’t been cooked long enough. 2) doesn’t include raw vegetables. 3) often tastes too hot and spicy. 4) is lacking in variety of dishes. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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Study habits
Effective studying is a skill. As such, it’s possible to break down your habits into ineffective study habits versus effective study habits. In an effort to optimize my academic performance, I’ve created a list of bad study habits of college students so as to avoid them.
Number one all-time favourite is cramming. Cramming goes hand-in-hand with procrastination. If you wait until the last minute to study for a test, then you’ll likely find yourself memorizing facts and information without understanding them. While this could work in the short term, you have to keep in mind that most subject matter is cumulative and builds upon what you’ve previously learned. So, in the long run, you’re doing yourself a disservice by memorizing information at the last minute because what goes in quickly is also likely to be forgotten quickly. Instead, start by studying a bit every night after class. This way, you can absorb information over time and actually remember what you learn better.
If you’re a crammer, then chances are high that you’ve pulled an all-nighter. As the term implies, it means you stay up all night to study. This is a lose-lose because not only are you stuck with memorizing over understanding, but you are also lacking sleep, while sleep is crucial for the brain’s functioning and ability to recall information.
The next thing that does more harm than good is multitasking. While multitasking might seem like a good idea because you feel like you can get several things done in less time, the truth is that you aren’t actually focused. People who focus on one thing at a time absorb more information and are more productive. When your brain is constantly switching between tasks, you are less likely to recall information. You can also wear yourself out more quickly. To avoid multitasking, make a plan and prioritize what you will do, and study first. Only once you’ve finished the first thing on your list should you move on to the next.
Studying takes time, so you have to make time to do it. As such, you’ll want to understand time management to allocate the right amount of time to study each subject. Some time management tips include prioritizing tasks, setting a schedule, breaking up big tasks, creating rewards, and waking up earlier to give yourself more time in a day.
And finally, I can’t but mention missing classes. Attending will end up boosting what you learn. Since you study the material that is first introduced to you during class, you will already have the foundational knowledge you need to understand the material deeply. When you miss a class, you’ll also have to spend a lot of time making up for what you missed by copying notes or asking your peers about what you missed. The time you spend doing that could be better spent studying and reviewing what you’ve already learned.
The only way to avoid missing class is to go to class! Make note of your schedule in advance so that you can fit in everything around your class schedule. And, if you choose to learn at an online institution, then the great news is you can be more flexible with your schedule. This is especially true if you enroll at an institution where classes are recorded, so you can choose when and where you want to study and learn.
Studying is integral to academic life. And doing it effectively is essential for one’s success because often, just earning a degree isn’t enough. Over time, you’ll start to recognize what works for you and what doesn’t. I shared these examples so you can assess whether or not you take part in them. If you do, it’s time to drop them so that you can earn better results from your studying efforts!The author made a list of study habits to …
1) classify them into groups. 2) help his friends be effective. 3) pass his exams successfully. 4) improve his studying results. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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Forming a habit
Waking up at the crack of dawn and going for a run might feel intimidating when you start trying to make it a habit. Weaving a significant new activity such as this into your regular routine obviously takes determination and time – but how much time is really needed to make that habit stick?
One popular idea suggests that it takes 21 days to solidify a habit. A three-week time frame might sound easily reachable to someone making a resolution on New Year’s Day. Then people tend to feel extra motivated to start a new habit or kick an old one. Yet every January 21 very few people can boast that they have kept their resolutions. One survey showed that only 9 percent stuck to their goals in 2023.
Recent research has shown that this idea is actually a myth. A hallmark 2009 study on habit creation found that habits developed in a range of 18 to 254 days; participants reported taking an average of about 66 days to reliably incorporate one of three new daily activities – eating a piece of fruit with lunch, drinking a bottle of water, or running for 15 minutes before dinner. Consistent daily repetition was the biggest factor influencing whether it would become part of an automatic daily routine.
The type of activity is also a factor. Teaching yourself a completely new skill or process obviously takes longer than remembering to drink more water in the morning. A 2015 study found that new gym-goers had to exercise at least four times a week for six weeks in order to develop an exercise habit. And last year, machine-learning models analysed vast amounts of data on repeated observations of a behaviour and evaluated different variables that may influence a person’s decision to continue that behaviour. The results showed that creating a handwashing habit took a few weeks, compared with the half year it took for people to develop an exercise habit. Handwashing, the study noted, is less complex than exercising and offers more opportunities to practise. The researchers also suggested that habit formation depends on the effort that a person puts into practising an activity, and on the presence of environmental cues that would remind them to carry out the behaviour.
When it comes to keeping a resolution, it can be hard to stay motivated once the initial excitement of a “new year, new me” subsides. This can easily lead to lapsing or even dropping the activity completely after a couple of weeks. Creating a specific plan to perform an activity (for example, “study Spanish grammar for 20 minutes, three times a week”) and having some type of accountability (an app tracker or a like-minded friend) can help monitor progress and push you to keep going. Additionally, people are more inclined to keep a resolution that they are interested in doing, rather than one that they simply believe they should do.
Rewards are great motivators, but people often make the mistake of delaying gratification. For example, they treat themselves to a shopping trip on Saturday after going to the gym all week. A reward is far more effective if received during the task. For instance, a person with an exercise goal could watch a newly released movie while running on the treadmill instead of waiting until the end of the week. Researchers in 2014 had people listen to popular audiobooks that could only be accessed at the gym during the experiment and they found that the participants initially went 51 percent more frequently than the control group.
So don’t kick yourself if you didn’t reach your goal by the 21st of this month, or even by the end of February. As long as you keep at an activity, you will get better at it – no matter how long it takes.The author provides the New Year’s resolutions example to prove that …
1) humans are difficult to motivate. 2) forming a habit is rather hard. 3) most people can stick to promises. 4) one needs time to form a habit. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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Challenges for foreigners in Russia
If you are moving from an English-speaking country to another, some of the problems of the new location will be minimized, but moving to a foreign language country is probably one of the hardest things to do. You will probably experience culture shock and will definitely have your ups and downs. Here’s a list of challenges you can expect to run into while you adjust to Russia.
Language, of course, is a no-brainer, but I couldn’t leave it off the list! I strongly advise learning at least the alphabet before coming to Russia to avoid feeling completely isolated. While going anywhere where you don’t speak the language can knock you down for a while, Russian is especially difficult with its complex grammar structure (cases, verb aspect, prefixes), unpredictable word stress, and difficult pronunciation (the letters ы, ь, and й always get me) … which also means your successes will be especially triumphant!
Effective communication is an essential part of our lives that we often overlook when it comes so naturally, but the first time you can’t answer a cashier’s simple question or can’t properly vent to your host family about your day, you will never underestimate the power of words again.
The second challenge is expressing emotions. Most people are familiar with the stereotype that “Russians don’t smile”. From my observation, Russians tend to show little emotion outside of home. Surrounded by strangers, often in harsh or unpleasant weather, there is no reason to emote freely. Of course, you see friends laughing and couples kissing and people arguing, but for the most part (excluding driving), emotions stay on the inside. Until you get home, when Russians are comfortable and around people they trust, passions run strong.
In the United States, the expression of our emotions tends to vary little in different circumstances, but when expressed, Russian emotions can be even stronger and perhaps even more genuine and heartfelt than Americans are used to.
In addition, if you are a foreign student in Russia, the biggest challenge is a different education system. Russian higher education is very different from that in the United States. For the most part, universities are buildings scattered throughout a city, not the centralized micro-cities that many US students are used to. Russians generally take 9–11 classes per semester that meet less frequently than American courses would, and it is not uncommon to skip a class almost entirely and just cram for the final from other students’ notes or a study guide. Professors are also less available – no office hours, they don’t always give out a school e-mail address, and in general they treat students more like colleagues.
It can be a shock going from a campus plastered with student event flyers to a cluster of half-empty academic buildings, but don’t worry – Russians make up for it by hosting a plethora of clubs and organizations for the city in general. Especially in St. Petersburg and Moscow there are hundreds of clubs to join from language (be a star in the English conversation club; meet other foreigners in the Russian club), sports, acting, dancing, singing, board games, movie-watching, and more! Try making some searches on the Russian social network V Kontakte to start out.
Going abroad for a long period of time has its difficulties no matter where you choose to go, but the better prepared you are for the challenges you’ll face in Russia, the faster you will adjust and be able to call this northern empire your second home.What are people sure to experience when coming to stay in a different country, according to the author?
1) Both good and bad emotions. 2) Language barrier. 3) Confusion. 4) Loneliness. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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Прочитайте текст и выполните задания 12–18. В каждом задании запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.
Philanthropy
Philanthropy is defined as the love of humanity. A modern definition is “private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life”, which combines an original humanistic tradition with a social aspect developed in the 20th century.
Growing up in this state, I dreamed of attending a college one day. On fall Saturdays at the stadium, I caught a glimpse of the brick buildings and tree-lined walkways. I knew they led to information, knowledge, and a whole tribe of new minds to connect with. When the day finally came to unpack my few belongings in the residence hall, I knew I was finally where I had always wanted to be. My years on campus certainly lived up to the anticipation. The classes, professors, friends, and opportunities created a life-changing experience.
Philanthropy is a critical part of the life and success of the whole local community, and college in particular. As a board member of the Center for Advancement, I have seen firsthand the joy of our alumni and friends as they make a difference in the life of this institution. They are delighted to pay it forward as they understand what college means to them. As a student, one does not always value how much the path was paved by those who have gone before, those who have an ability to give back. Now that my friend and I have made this community our family’s home, we have a much better understanding of how vital the long-term success of the college is for our entire state.
Through my involvement with the Center for Advancement, I truly witness the breadth of areas one can support. This institution is doing incredible researching, educating, and programming in so many areas. And our donors can discover their passion and connect in a meaningful way that goes beyond the dollars given. Whether it is the joy of the written word, the connection to first-generation college students, the atmosphere of a football Saturday, or a desire to support the cure for a hereditary medical condition, our donors become a part of the life of the college.
I have also seen philanthropy directly affect the life of the college from my experience in the Department of Finance. I work with students who have the opportunity to attend college because of the financial assistance they receive from our donors. Continued support has fostered the enhanced facility we work in today which has been reconfigured to remain relevant to today’s needs. The educational experience is much richer because of the generosity of others. Our new auditorium is one shining example that we are proud to support. Not only is this facility a marvel of world-class architecture and programming, it also strives to make the arts accessible to all citizens. These experiences spark curiosity and imagination in audiences, young and old, to remind us what it means to be alive in this era of technology and separation.
Different funds provide a real-life working experience that is as relevant as any internship. Through philanthropy, students and faculty are able to use technology that could not be supported with tuition dollars. Private gifts also allow us to assist our faculty, who are the life of the institution, and provide our students a top-notch education.
Every dollar of support to the university today replays itself over and over as successive generations of learners have an opportunity to develop the skills they need to save lives, shape minds, and transform our future. One of the values we hope to instill in our children is the understanding of the value of giving back.The author’s childhood dream was to …
1) enter a college. 2) change her life. 3) leave the state she grew up in. 4) visit a college campus. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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Прочитайте текст и выполните задания 12–18. В каждом задании запишите в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному Вами варианту ответа.
How to dress better for the planet
Last year, in the interest of sustainable fashion, I joined a pledge to buy only five new pieces of clothing. Despite thinking of myself as someone who doesn’t really shop, I found the restriction to be a real chore. Unless you are buying vintage or spending a fortune, the dilemma of how to engage in the fun and newness without contributing to its environmental footprint is, it turns out, nearly universal. Data in a new report reveals 74% of people want to dress more sustainably, but most do not know how to go about it.
Almost two decades after sustainable fashion entered mainstream discourse, most people have some awareness of the industry’s environmental impact – carbon emissions, pollution of waterways, deforestation, microplastics, and waste. They probably also know these ill effects are made worse by the sheer volume of product being made every year, and the increasing proportion of fossil-fuel based fabrics like polyester.
The rising popularity of ultra-cheap, ultra-fast fashion brands brings the dilemma into stark focus. The report found that 39% of consumers find sustainable garments too expensive, and 27% say they are hard to identify. This new data reveals that, despite everyone’s best intentions, it is not clear where and how to shop with a reduced impact. So, how does one buy reasonably priced, sustainable clothes? The starting point is, of course, second-hand – sales of which grew by 15% in 2024. Data from one of the most frequently used online marketplaces suggests users search for “vintage” items more than 1,200 times a minute. But given the constraints on sizing and the time required to sift through racks, second-hand clothing is not always practical.
When buying new clothes, context is important, says author and fashion educator Andrea Cheong. “What is financially accessible to people is going to vary, as is what is sustainable.” So rather than focusing on brands, she suggests buying the best quality of the item your budget can allow. That way, you will actually wear it. To assess quality, apply three criteria. First, buy nothing that contains a synthetic or semi-synthetic blend. Second, the garment must look as good on the inside as it does on the outside (small stitches, neat seams, non-synthetic lining). And third, it must be fit for purpose. Leggings should be supportive enough for a workout, coats should keep you warm, and pockets should be deep and sturdy enough to hold your phone.
Detail is your friend. Garments made from a single, natural fibre such as cotton, linen or wool are easier to recycle and generally more durable. If a brand is using sustainable materials, they will tell you about it on the labels. Similarly, if a brand recycles water and chemicals, uses renewable energy, and pays its workers a living wage, they will include this detail and the location of the factory on their website. This is the information that reveals a level of trust, transparency and confidence. In addition, brands get bonus points for having repair, rental and resale programmes.
When building a sustainable wardrobe, it is important to take a long view. Reinvest in the clothes you already own by having them professionally altered or learning how to repair them. Another key strategy is to opt for timeless, well-made pieces that can be styled in multiple ways and worn across seasons. Renting clothes for special occasions can also help satisfy the desire for novelty, without the environmental cost. When it truly is time to buy something new, choose the brands producing garments that are gentle both on your bank balance and the planet. Ultimately, sustainable fashion is less about perfection and more about making mindful changes that add up over time.Which statement about the author is TRUE, according to paragraph 1?
1) She used to spend a lot of money on clothing. 2) It was difficult for her not to buy more clothes. 3) She did not know about the harm to the environment. 4) Her experience was different from other people’s. Источник: ФИПИ (по данным открытых источников).
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Проверено . Источники: ФИПИ — открытый банк заданий ЕГЭ · ФИПИ — спецификации и демоверсии ЕГЭ. Официальные решения публикуют Рособрнадзор, ФИПИ и Минпросвещения — при расхождении верны они.