Category: English

Once a sailor went ashore on the coast of South America. He had a number of blue woollen caps with him, which he wanted to sell. On his way to the town some distance from the coast, he had to pass through a forest in which there were great numbers of monkeys. At noon, with the sun directly overhead and the heat intense, the sailor decided to take a rest. He lay down under the shade of a large tree, took one of the caps, put it on his head, and soon fell asleep.

When he awoke, he found, to his surprise, that the caps were all gone! Soon he heard a loud noise among the thick branches above him, and he looked up. He saw the trees alive with monkeys, and on the head of each monkey was a blue woollen cap! The monkey had watched his actions, had stolen his caps while he slept and had put them on, and now they did not pay any attention to his shouts.

When the sailor saw that he could not get his caps back, he pulled off the one that he had on his head and threw it on the ground, crying out, “If you want to keep the rest, you may take this one too!” To his great surprise, the little animals did the same. Each took the cap off its head and threw it on the ground. The sailor got his caps back and went away in triumph.

1. There were a lot of monkeys.

a) at some distance from the forest

b) in the wood not very far from the coast

c) on the coast of South America

2. What did the sailor decide to do at noon?

a) to try on one of the woollen caps

b) to take off his cap as it was very hot

c) to lie down and rest

3. What did the sailor see when he woke up?

a) The monkeys were wearing his caps.

b) His companions had all gone.

c) There were a lot of birds singing in the trees.

4. Seeing that he could not take the caps back, the sailor

a) sat down and began to cry

b) thought that it was a funny sight and laughed heartily

c) thought that he could never have the caps back

5. What did the little monkeys do?

a) They repeated the sailor’s actions.

b) They were touched by the sailor’s tears and returned the caps.

c) They took the cap off the sailor’s head.

1. Tenses

1. Which sentence is grammatically correct?
A) I have seen him yesterday.
B) I saw him yesterday.
C) I was seeing him yesterday.
D) I had seen him yesterday.

2. By the time we arrived, they _______ dinner.
A) finished
B) were finishing
C) had finished
D) have finished

2. Conditionals

3. If you _______ earlier, you wouldn’t have missed the train.
A) leave
B) left
C) had left
D) will leave

4. If I _______ enough money, I would buy a new car.
A) have
B) had
C) will have
D) would have

3. Modal Verbs

5. You _______ eat so much fast food. It’s not healthy.
A) should
B) must
C) can
D) may

6. Which sentence expresses a strong obligation?
A) You should finish your homework.
B) You must finish your homework.
C) You might finish your homework.
D) You could finish your homework.

4. Passive Voice

7. The cake _______ by my grandmother yesterday.
A) made
B) was made
C) is made
D) makes

8. The book _______ in 1995.
A) wrote
B) is written
C) was written
D) has written

5. Relative Clauses

9. The person _______ invented the telephone was Alexander Graham Bell.
A) who
B) which
C) whose
D) what

10. This is the house _______ I grew up.
A) where
B) who
C) which
D) what

6. Reported Speech

11. She said, “I am learning Spanish.” → She said she _______ Spanish.
A) was learning
B) is learning
C) has been learning
D) learns

12. My teacher asked me, “Did you complete your assignment?” → My teacher asked me if I _______ my assignment.
A) complete
B) had completed
C) have completed
D) was completing

7. Phrasal Verbs

13. I need to _______ early tomorrow for my trip.
A) set up
B) set off
C) set out
D) set in

14. Which phrasal verb means “to cancel”?
A) Call off
B) Call out
C) Call back
D) Call up

8. Miscellaneous Grammar

15. I wish I _______ more time to travel.
A) have
B) had
C) will have
D) has

16. Choose the correct form:
She is interested _______ learning new languages.
A) on
B) in
C) at
D) to

17. I regret _______ him about my plans.
A) tell
B) told
C) to tell
D) telling

18. We arrived _______ the station just in time to catch the train.
A) at
B) in
C) on
D) to

19. She is very good _______ playing the piano.
A) at
B) in
C) on
D) with

20. The meeting was postponed _______ next week.
A) to
B) until
C) for
D) by

Complete the sentences with JUST , ALREADY or YET .

1. Has Morris finished his studies yet  ?
2. My brother has  already bought a new car but he hasn’t driven it yet.
3. Maria has just phoned from Italy. I spoke to her a few minutes ago.
4. Have you had lunch  already?
5. I can’t go to Spain. I have already booked two tickets for Italy. I booked them a few months ago.
6. Have you already seen the new James Bond film  ?
7. The concert will start in two hours but the singers haven’t arrived yet.
8. Another postcard ! I’ve already had six from him.
9. Congratulations ! You just have won a trip to New York.
10. The group has  already visited two museums today, so they don’t want to go to another one.
11. I have been to Norway yet but I haven’t been to Sweden .
12. I’ve just come home from Frankie’s place, but there was nobody at home.
13. We have already tried to contact her twice. There’s no point in trying again.
14. Has your new boyfriend met your parents yet ?

Review of all intermediate verb tenses (CEFR B1)

Exercise 1

Choose the correct verb tenses to complete the sentences below.

1I _____ anything about the night of the accident.

A. don’t remember

B.‘m not remembering

C.wasn’t remembering

2After we broke up, she sold the ring that I _____ her for her birthday.

A.give

B.was giving

C.had given

3We _____ our website.

A.recently renewed

B.are recently renewing

C.have recently renewed

4We took off our clothes and _____ into the river.

A.were jumping

B.had jumped

C.jumped

5A: You look fitter! B: Yes, I _____ at the gym for the last few months.

A.‘m working out

B.‘ve been working out

C.work out

6I’m pretty sure printed books _____ one day.

A.are disappearing

B.are going to disappear

C.will disappear

7Look at the traffic. We _____ late.

A.are going to be

B.will be

C.are being

8____ your room yet?

A.Have you tidied up

B.Did you tidy

C.Do you tidy up

9I looked in the rearview mirror and saw that someone _____ us.

A.followed

B.was following

C.had followed

10I’m unemployed and I _____ for a job. Tomorrow I have my third interview.

A.‘m looking

B.‘ve looked

C.look

English Test – Grade 9
Part 1: Vocabulary (10 points)
A. Match the words to their definitions (1–5).
1.Reluctant — B
2.Significant — D
3.Consider — C
4.Embrace — E
5.Interpret — А

a. To understand and explain the meaning of something
b. Unwilling or hesitant
c. To think about something carefully
d. Important or meaningful
e. To accept something willingly

B. Choose the correct option (6–10).

6. The teacher asked us to give a _ summary of the story. a) brief b) empty c) loud
   
   1.My friend and I had a _ about which movie to watch.
   a) conversation b) nation c) comparison
   
   2.The weather today is very ; it keeps changing every hour. a) stable b) unpredictable c) boring
   
   3.The scientist made an important in her research.
   a) discovery b) decoration c) delivery
   
   4.Please __ your homework before you submit it.
   a) ignore b) review c) erase
   
   Part 2: Grammar (10 points)
   
   A. Choose the correct verb tense (11–13).
7. She __ (has studied / studied) English for five years.
8. When I arrived, they __ (were playing / played) basketball.
9. If it rains tomorrow, we __ (will stay / stayed) at home.
10. “I can help you later,” she said.
    → the teacher told us to don’t touch to it.
    1.“Don’t touch that,” the teacher told us.
    C. Combine the sentences using a relative clause (16–17).
11. The girl is my cousin. She won the competition.
    → my cousin is the girl who won the competition.
    1.I lost the book. You gave it to me.
    → the book you gave me is lost.
    Part 3: Reading Comprehension (10 points)
    Read the passage and answer questions 18–20.
    Passage (original text):
    Last summer, Anna joined a volunteer program in her city. Every weekend, she and other teenagers cleaned local parks, planted trees, and helped organize community events. Anna enjoyed working with people who cared about the environment as much as she did. She says the experience taught her responsibility and teamwork, and she plans to participate again this year.
    Answer the questions:
12. What activities did Anna do in the volunteer program? Every weekend they cleaned local parks, planted trees and helped organize community events.
13. Why did Anna enjoy the experience? Anna enjoyed working with people who care about the environment as much as she did.
14. What did she learn from participating? She learnt that experience, teamwork and responsibility.
    Part 4: Writing (10 points)
    Write a short paragraph (6–8 sentences) on one of the following topics:
    A. Describe your favorite place in your city and explain why you like it.
    B. Explain how technology has changed the way students learn.

My favorite place in my city is the republic square. I like it because of the vibes of being there, from tourists, travelers etc. I were going there usually when I was like 5 years old. Now sometimes I go there to ride electro scooter, or just walk and enjoy.

Do we live to work or work to live?

Working is an important part of living for everyone, to work you need to study and have knowledge. For me personally I think that we work to live, as a teen it’s easier because you need to study for then working, but after you’re smart and mature enough you have to work. There are many reasons to work but the most important ones in my opinion are — 1) Living. To live a proper and healthy life we need food, clothes, water, electricity for heating etc. and more. To get all that we need money, and to get money we have to work. If we don’t work money will eventually run out if you are not provided by anyone and soon or never clothes will be dirty and incapable of wearing. Food and water will run out, without water humans can last barely 3 days. No work leads to no money which leads to death unless you have providing or source of money that you get off without any works which I highly doubt. Especially if you have no close people, job is a must for living.

1. the
2. the
3. the
4. a
5. the
6. the
7. a
8. an

1. the

2. a

3. a

4. the

5. the

6. the

1. the

2. a

3. the

4. a

5. the

6. a

7. the

8. the

1. He is about 20.
2. He is in his forties.
3. She is in her mid thirties.
4. She is in her late sixties.
5. He is his early seventies.

1. A

2. C

3.B

1. E

2. A

3. G

4. B

5. C

6. F

7. D

attractive + B

beautiful + W

good-looking + M

handsome + M

plain + B

pretty + W

ugly – B

1. is going

2. is carrying

3. is

4.puts, is wearing

5. is taking, is raining

1. he waked up, had already prepared the breakfast
2. went, had invited
3. heard, went, called
4. started, had already learnt
5. had already typed, crashed.
6. arrived, had died
7. had never thought
8. had known, had met
9. did not know, had told
10. had been, began.

1. have just finished

2. has already written

3. moved

4. was

5. have not been

6. have already traveled

7. went

8. have not bought

9. Did they spend

10. Have you ever seen

1. welcomed, asked
2. broke, had
3. were swimming, were sunbathing
4. came, looked and told
5. were preparing, were collecting
6. were having, were running
7. turned, went.

1. will start
2. will have finished
3. will probably assign
4. will have corrected
5. will certainly get
6. will have finished
7. will have left
8. will start

Christmas and New Year’s Day
Follow this plan:
Write about:
End of the Year

Was this year better or worse for you?
What was the happiest thing for you this year?
What was the saddest thing for you this year?
What would you like to change?
Do you have any regrets about this year?
Were there any dreams you couldn’t fulfill?
Did you enjoy last Christmas?

New Year is coming

Did you believe in Santa Claus when you were a child?
Do you celebrate Christmas in your country?
Do you celebrate Christmas in a traditional way?
Do you enjoy Christmas time?
Do you exchange presents with your friends and with your relatives?
Do you attend any special religious ceremonies during the Christmas season?
Do you have a Christmas tree?

If so, how do you decorate it?

When do you put it up?

When do you take it down?

Is it real or artificial?

Do you have a Christmas party at school?

If so, do you take part in it and how do you take part in it?

Do you have any plans to go to a Christmas party?
Have you ever celebrated Christmas in a foreign country?
How do you usually spend New Year’s Eve? How about New Year’s Day
What is the typical menu for a Christmas meal in your family? (… in your country?)
What kind of interesting things do you do for Christmas in your home country?
What kind of presents do you expect to get this Christmas?
Do you give Christmas presents?

If so, whom do you give Christmas presents?

Conclusion

Good luck to you!

This year started good cause at the start of this year I had a few good chess tournaments where I played so good etc, but this year is going to end kinda unsuccessful for me cause I had a very bad tournament. The happiest thing in this year that happened to me was that I earned my first international FIDE chess title (candidate master), and the saddest thing happened this year to me is that tournament which I played bad (the thing I talked about already). I would like to change the weather in Armenia and I wish that it will snow here how it is in Russia. My regrets is that I wanted to play a tournament when I was sick, I decided to play a hard tournament for no reason and now I think I should not to play it. The only dream that I don’t fulfilled this year is, that I don’t reached my raiting to 2300 to claim a better title in chess called (fide master). I enjoyed last Christmas cause of many great successes from last year. I believed in Santa when I was kid and I am pretty sure that almost every kids believed to Santa Claus like until 12 year or something. We celebrate Christmas here with our traditions. Mostly I enjoy at Christmas when time hits to 00:00. Me my friends and my relatives don’t have that (exchanging presents tradition). My family don’t have any special traditions about attending some special religious ceremonies. We have a Christmas tree which is artificial, we usually put it up from like December 20 or something and we usually take it down at the middle of the January. We decorate it with lights, baubles, tree topers etc. We don’t have Christmas school party or maybe I just don’t know. In 2023 we celebrated New Year in Georgia at Tbilisi. We usually spend new Year’s eve at home. The typical meal in my family is pork leg, olivier salad, dolma, pancakes with meat etc. From presents I expect to get a new phone this year or maybe some money.

1. puppies
2. men
3. watches
4. women
5. teeth
6. people
7. feet
8. children

1. is
2. was
3. look
4. has
5. was
6. Does
7. it is
8. seem
9. it is
10. has

1. some

2. a piece of

3. some

4. some

5. a piece of

6. a few

7. some

8. some

1. given

2. delivered

3. told

4. is not

5. was your money stolen?

6. were

7. be shown

8. Will I be

1. When people are arrested, they are taken to the police station.
2. Milk is usually kept in the fridge.
3. Are we told what’s in next week’s test?
4. How did people communicate over long distances before the phone was invented?
5. Are you allowed to come to the party next Saturday?
6. You will be given your exam results next Monday.
7. Was Aidan’s bike found yesterday?

1. At ten o’clock yesterday morning, the local bank in the high street was robbed.
2. At one minute past ten, the police were called.
3. A few minutes later, the police arrived at the bank. The crime scene was investigated.
4. At twenty past ten, the robbers’ fingerprints were found.
5. At half past eleven, the robbers were caught.
6. Next week, they will be sent to prison.

Will the letters be sent first class?

I’m not sure if pizza is eaten in China.

Someone told me that cars aren’t made in the UK anymore.

Are the animals fed three times a day?

Mr Jones is ill, so we won’t be given a geography test today!

Was she taken to hospital in an ambulance?

1.were

2.were

3.are

4.was

5.are

6.are

7.was

8.were

9.was

10.is

11.are

12.are

13.are

14.are

15.will