Use of English. For items 1–15, read the text and choose which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each gap. Example (0): Spelling (0) ___ a major problem to many students — and, indeed, native speakers — of English. This is (1) ___ surprising when you consider just how illogical the English spelling (2) ___ is. Is spelling such basic words as right, through, once, and who seems to (3) ___ no relation to their (4) ___? And how can the words go, sew, and though all rhyme with (5) ___ other? There have been attempts in the (6) ___ to reform English spelling. The playwright George Bernard Shaw was an enthusiastic (7) ___ for a more phonetic approach. In a clever illustration of the absurdity of English spelling, he suggested that the word fish be (8) ___ by the letters ‘ghoti’: the gh from enough, the o from women, and the ti from nation. When he died in 1950, he (9) ___ a large part of his estate to promote spelling reform. So why do we (10) ___ in spelling words the way we do, (11) ___ the efforts of reformers like Shaw? One reason is that we are (12) ___ with the words as they are currently spelled. It is certain that any change in the rules (13) ___ be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to (14) ___. Another is that there is (15) ___ a variety of regional accents within the English-speaking world that it would be unfair to select just one as the standard model for spelling. Options: 1 A just, B hardly, C nearly, D strongly; 2 A system, B procedure, C method, D schedule; 3 A hold, B keep, C carry, D bear; 4 A voice, B speech, C vocation, D pronunciation; 5 A the, B every, C each, D one; 6 A history, B years, C past, D ages; 7 A campaigner, B demonstrator, C champion, D candidate; 8 A described, B represented, C signed, D written; 9 A inherited, B left, C gave, D divided; 10 A insist, B continue, C keep, D persist; 11 A in spite, B despite, C however, D although; 12 A accustomed, B used, C friendly, D familiar; 13 A would, B might, C ought, D should; 14 A require, B enforce, C make, D oblige; 15 A many, B quite, C such, D so.

Перевод задания: Прочитайте текст и выберите для каждого пропуска (1–15) наиболее подходящий вариант ответа (A, B, C или D). В начале дан пример (0).

Completed text:

Spelling presents a major problem to many students — and, indeed, native speakers — of English. This is hardly surprising when you consider just how illogical the English spelling system is. Is spelling such basic words as right, through, once, and who seems to bear no relation to their pronunciation? And how can the words go, sew, and though all rhyme with one other? There have been attempts in the past to reform English spelling. The playwright George Bernard Shaw was an enthusiastic campaigner for a more phonetic approach. In a clever illustration of the absurdity of English spelling, he suggested that the word fish be represented by the letters ‘ghoti’: the gh from enough, the o from women, and the ti from nation. When he died in 1950, he left a large part of his estate to promote spelling reform. So why do we persist in spelling words the way we do, despite the efforts of reformers like Shaw? One reason is that we are accustomed to the words as they are currently spelled. It is certain that any change in the rules would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to enforce. Another is that there is such a variety of regional accents within the English-speaking world that it would be unfair to select just one as the standard model for spelling.

Перевод текста:

Правописание представляет собой серьёзную проблему для многих изучающих английский язык и даже для носителей языка. В этом нет ничего удивительного, если учесть, насколько нелогична английская система правописания. Кажется, что написание таких простых слов, как right, through, once и who, никак не связано с их произношением. И как слова go, sew и though могут рифмоваться друг с другом? В прошлом предпринимались попытки реформировать английское правописание. Драматург Джордж Бернард Шоу был активным сторонником более фонетического подхода. В качестве остроумной иллюстрации абсурдности английского правописания он предложил записывать слово fish буквами «ghoti»: gh — из слова enough, o — из women, а ti — из nation. Когда Шоу умер в 1950 году, он оставил значительную часть своего состояния на поддержку реформы правописания. Так почему же мы продолжаем писать слова именно так, несмотря на усилия реформаторов вроде Шоу? Одна из причин состоит в том, что мы привыкли к нынешнему написанию слов. Несомненно, любые изменения правил было бы чрезвычайно трудно, если вообще возможно, провести в жизнь. Другая причина — такое разнообразие региональных акцентов в англоязычном мире, что было бы несправедливо выбрать только один из них в качестве стандартной модели для правописания.

Ответы: 0 — D; 1 — B; 2 — A; 3 — D; 4 — D; 5 — D; 6 — C; 7 — A; 8 — B; 9 — B; 10 — D; 11 — B; 12 — A; 13 — A; 14 — B; 15 — C.