Why rats may be dangerous to8. how smart rats are? people?

 

 

A. Rats are close relatives of mice, but they are bigger. In the wild an adult rat can weigh up to 500 grams, which is at least twice as big as a mouse. Rats are usually black, brown or grey in colour. At the end of the 19th century a population of albino domestic rats was bred which is still popular for domestic and laboratory uses. Rat fur is short, and the tail, usually fur-free, is really long; longer in fact than the head and body altogether. Theirs eyes are small, dark and vivid, which adds to their reputation as very intelligent animals.

 

B. The most common species, the brown rat, is believed to originate from Asia and has spread all over the globe. Rats got to Europe in the Middle Ages, but it wasn’t until the 18th that they landed on the coasts of Australia and New Zealand. Now rats live almost everywhere, at least everywhere where humans are. Due to their remarkable survival skills they have managed to establish themselves on vast territories, especially along the routes of human migration. In the absence of humans, brown rats prefer damp environments, such as river banks.

C. Rats mainly eat cereals, but they can actually eat almost anything. Naturally, they can damage or ruin grain and other food supplies intended for people. In the past, rat invasions were a real disaster: when these animals came to a settlement, they ate up everything in their path and left little for the people to eat. Rats are also responsible for spreading dangerous diseases. They were one of the factors that caused the deadly plague epidemic throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. There have been special anti-rat programmes that help to control the rat population which is vital for environmental balance and people’s wellbeing.

D. If you don’t want rats to settle in your kitchen or pantry, you have to make an effort. The best way to keep rats off your property is to remove any access to food or shelter. Rats are attracted to pet food and bird seed, as well as garbage and dog poop. Garbage and food should be stored in metal or heavy duty plastic containers that rats can’t get into. You need to seal any access to your house, even very small holes, as young rats and mice can squeeze through any opening they can fit their head through.

E. Not all people however share the feelings of fear and disgust towards rats, and many keep them as pets as they usually make nice companions. They can be taught to perform tricks and generally demonstrate very intelligent behaviour. Actually, they can do lots of jobs for people. Over the years, rats have been used in many experimental studies, which have added to our understanding of genetics, diseases, the effects of drugs, and other topics that have provided great benefit to the health and well-being of mankind. Due to their remarkable sense of smell, they have even been trained to detect landmines and to diagnose the disease tuberculosis through smell!

F. Mentally and psychologically rats are closer to humans than most other animals. They adapt and learn very quickly, are able to analyse, memorise and communicate and their social behaviour is complex and intelligent. It’s been proved that rats can even behave altruistically and compassionately towards other rats! In one experiment, one group of rats was left free and another group was locked in a cage. The free rats learnt how to help the caged rats get out of captivity. Even more amazingly, when the free rats were offered food, they didn’t touch it. First they focused on the mission to get the caged rats free, and then shared the food with them.

G. Rats are easy to take care of. It is important to remember that they need time out of their cage every day to explore the environment, play, interact with people to stay healthy. If you are not sure you can give your rat several hours of attention daily, it is better to keep two or more rats together. This way they can interact together and won’t feel sad, lonely or insecure. Remember, at night they need complete darkness, otherwise it may affect their health.

 

Запишите в таблицу выбранные цифры под соответствующими буквами.

 

A	B	C	D	E	F	G

Ответ:

 

Прочитайте текст и данное после него краткое содержание. Заполните пропуски в предложениях (задания 97–103), вписав подходящие по смыслу слова из текста. Для каждого пропуска используйте одно слово из текста.

 

Next year I’m going to a language school in Australia. My English course will last for two months and I have to make a difficult decision about where to stay there. The language school offers two options – their students either stay with host families, or in their youth hostel.

On the one hand, staying with a family looks very convenient. I don’t have to worry about my meals as I’m supposed to have breakfast and dinner together with the members of the family. I’m not good at cooking, so this is a good reason for me to choose host-family accommodation. Another argument for staying with a family is the comfort they provide. According to the school contract, their student has a single room with furniture, which means I will have my own space and privacy.

As for the youth hostel, I’ve seen the photos of it and I think staying there is not bad either. There are no individual rooms – every room is shared by several students. Having one, two or even three roommates could give me some new life experience. If we all get along well, it will be great. We could have fun together and we would help each other with our homework. If you have roommates who do not speak your language, it becomes a very strong motivation for speaking English, doesn’t it? I’ve heard that the school managers often put students from different countries in one room, which is a good trick to make them speak English not only in the classroom, but at home too. I guess when people live together they have to talk and solve all kinds of everyday situations. When they don’t know each other’s languages, they very soon figure it out that communication is only possible in English and they have loads of language practice, whether they like it or not!

However, this situation is not risk-free. It may be very difficult for students with different backgrounds and cultural values to share one room. Their habits and behavioral norms may differ so much that sometimes it leads to serious misunderstanding between them. Students may even end up quarreling. Fortunately, most students are sensible enough to inform the manager about problems before they get too serious and the manager solves it quickly and professionally.

 

 

97 When young people study abroad, they usually stay either with a host family or in a youth hostel. Both types of _______________have their advantages and disadvantages.

 

 

98 If you stay with a host family, you enjoy the comfort of having a furnished ___________ of your own.

 

 

99 You also have _____________ with the family; at least breakfast and dinner. If you stay in a youth hostel, you have to cook for yourself.

 

 

100 The host family provides the student with a room of his own, with all the necessary _____________ like a bed, a writing desk, chairs and so on.

 

 

101 In a hostel, most rooms are offered on a shared basis, that is, there may be two, three or even four students in one room. Sharing a room can be fun, and it is a great _______________to speak English.

 

 

102 The language school managers often purposely put students from different countries in one room so that English becomes the only means of ______________ for them.

 

 

103 However, this trick can go wrong. When people from different cultures become roommates, it may cause ______________and even quarreling.

 

 

104 Прочитайте тексты A–G и установите, в каких из них содержатся ответы на вопросы 1–8. Используйте выбранную цифру только один раз. В задании есть один лишний вопрос, на который нет ответа ни в одном из текстов.