Для тех кто недавно подписался на рассылку должно быть достаточно интересно ознакомиться со структурой работы с рассылкой.
Не секрет, что английский занял важное место в общественной жизни. Без знания языка Вы не получите достойной работы и не будете иметь доступ к оперативной и важной информации в различных сферах. Так вот, тестирование на сегодняшний день является основным видом контроля и проверки языковых знаний и навыков, который широко применяется в образовании и сертификации специалистов. Но ошибочно полагать, что тест - это только контроль. В настоящее время существуют и постоянно появляются методики, где овладение языком происходит через разнообразные виды тестирования. Поэтому информация рассылки поможет Вам не только проверить свои познания, но и повысить свой уровень, продолжив изучение языка. Для этой цели тесты сопровождаются грамматическими комментариями, дающими целостное представление о том или ином языковом явлении.
Работая с тестами, нужно помнить, что каждый тест имеет свой номер. Это необходимо для проверки тестов, так как в последующих рассылках будут указываться номера тестов и ответы к ним. Ответы на грамматические тесты сопровождаются комментариями, но Вы сами, в любой момент, можете послать мне письмо с вопросом, если у Вас возникнут трудности, или если Вам не понятен тот или иной вопрос. Ознакомится с предыдущими выпусками рассылки Вы можете на сайте http://englang.narod.ru/ .

Здравствуйте. В следующем номере рассылки мы подведём итоги октябрьского конкурса и выявим победителя. Мы благодарны всем, кто принимает активное участие во всевозможных акциях, проводимых в рамках рассылки и сайта. Отрадно и то, что рассылку читают не только в СНГ, но и в дальнем зарубежье. Мы получаем письма из Канады, США, Израиля, Австралии. Также хотелось бы, что бы те, кому есть что рассказать читателям, перебороли лень и поделились полезной информацией (можно на русском). Что касается диска "Тесты TOEFL", то хотелось бы ответить всем сразу, дабы не тратить Ваше время в пустую, мы не высылаем его в страны СНГ, а тем более в страны дальнего зарубежья. Все у кого есть средства и возможности, могут пройти подготовительные курсы TOEFL с Regent Language Training (подробнее:  http://englang.narod.ru/tutor/), также подробную информацию о тестовых испытаниях TOEFL и тесты Вы можете найти на http://toefl.ru и http://toefl.org .  

Мы решили обратиться за помощью к читателям рассылки, если у Вас есть интересные темы по английскому языку (нечто авторское), мы будем Вам очень признательны, если Вы разрешите их опубликовать на нашем сайте. Заранее благодарны всем, кто откликнется.

Не бойтесь быть активными, пишите. sisers@mail.ru 

1. A man follows a woman out of a movie theatre.  She has a dog on a leash.
   He stops her and says, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I couldn't help but notice that your dog was really into the movie. He cried at the right spots, he moved nervously in his seat at the boring parts, but most of all, he laughed like crazy at the funny parts. Did you find that unusual??"
   "Yes," she replied, "I found it very unusual ...because he hated the book!"

   ---

2. A woman came home to find her husband in the kitchen, shaking frantically with what looked like a wire running
   from his waist towards the electric kettle.
   Intending to jolt him away from the deadly current she whacked him with a handy plank of wood by the back door, breaking his arm in two places.
   Till that moment he had been happily listening to his walkman.

   ---

3. A mainframe computer on which everyone in the office depended suddenly went down.  They tried everything
   but it still wouldn't work.  Finally they decided to call in a high-powered computer consultant.
   He arrived, looked at the computer, took out a small hammer and tapped it on the side.  Instantly the computer leapt back to life.  Two days later the office manager received a bill from the consultant for $1,000.
   Immediately he called the consultant and exclaimed, "One thousand dollars for fixing that computer?!  You were only
   here five minutes!  I want the bill itemized!"
   The next day the new bill arrived. It read, Tapping computer with hammer:  $1
   Knowing where to tap:  $999
   
   Yours Mishutka

e-mail: sisers@mail.ru 

/1/The war broke .... at the turn of the century.

A. down

B. away

C. out

D. off

/2/How are you getting ... with your new classmates?  

A. upon

B. up

C. at

D. on

/3/Our TV set has broken .....

A. up

B. down

C. in

D. out

/4/Do you come ... Moscow or Kiev?

A. up

B. down

C. from

D. into

/5/After her long illness Mary tried hard to catch ... with the rest of the class.

A. up

B. down

C. on

D. out

/6/Is it good to teach your child to fight ...? 

A. against

B. across

C. back

D. out

/7/I'm only interested in finding ... what the facts are.

A. up

B. down

C. in

D. out

/8/It's of no use talking to him. He'll never be able to give ... smoking.

A. up

B. away

C. back

D. out

/9/Thousands of people turned ... to welcome the president.

A. away

B. off

C. over

D. out

/10/The radio is too loud. Can you turn it... a bit, please?

A. up

B. down

C. off

D. out

Продолжение в следующем выпуске.

Конкурс:

Так же хочется отметить участников конкурса, приславших наиболее полные ответы:

Серебряник И.А.
John Bull:
1. John Bull is the symbol of England, a well-rounded chap who looks as if he might have stepped from the pages of the Pickwick Papers. He may have a higher body mass index than is safe, and his ruddy countenance indicates a blood pressure that calls for immediate diet, exercise and drug therapy
2. John Bull is derisive nickname of the Englishman. For example, Look at him! He is a real John Bull. – Посмотри на него! Он типичный англичанин. 
3. John Bull (1562-1628) is the English composer, the organist. Since 1601 acted in Netherlands, France and Germany. Since 1614 of veins in Belgium. Has played a significant role in development of music in England and Netherlands. His plays - " Mine to mountain ", " Royal hunting ", "Melancholy". 
4. John S Bull (1934) is the American astronaut and pilot. Bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from Rice University; master of science and doctorate of hilosophy in aeronautical engineering from Stanford University.
5. John Bull is the character in John Arbuthnot*s The History of John Bull (1712). He became widely known from cartoons be Sir John Tinniel published in the British humor magazin Punch during the middle and late nineteenth century. In those cartoons, he was portrayed as an honest, solid, farmer figure, often in a Union Jack waistcoat, and accompanied by a bulldog. He became so familiar that his name frequently appeared in books, plays, periodical titles, and as a brand name or trademark. Although frequently used through World War II, since the 1950s John Bull has been seen less often.
6. "John Bull" is the famous English beer.
7. John Bull is the title of many English pubs around the world.

Irina Ermolaeva
As personifications of their respective nations, Uncle Sam and John Bull became popular during the nineteenth century. John Bull originated earlier, as a character in John Arbuthnot's The History of John Bull (1712) (The History of John Bull will probably be found, nowadays, to be the most interesting of Arbuthnot’s works. To enjoy it, some knowledge of the history of the time is necessary; but the allegory, as the brief sketch that follows will show, is, for the most part, transparent, and the humour is well kept up. The book begins with an account of the quarrels since the death of Charles II of Spain (Lord Strutt), who settled his estate upon his cousin Philip Baboon, to the great disappointment of his cousin Esquire South (archduke Charles of Austria). John Bull and Nicholas Frog (the Dutch) were afraid that Lord Strutt would give all his custom to his grandfather Lewis Baboon, and they threatened Lord Strutt that, if he continued to deal with his grandfather, they would go to law with him; while there were other tradesmen who were glad to join against Lewis Baboon if Bull and Frog would bear the charges of the suit. The case was put into the hands of Hocus, the attorney (the duke of Marlborough), and the decision went in favour of John Bull and his friends; but repeated promises that the next verdict would be the final determination wre not fulfilled, and new trials and new difficulties continued to present themselves. Hocus proved himself superior to most of his profession: 
He kept always good clerks, he loved money, was smooth tongued, gave good words, and seldom lost his temper; he was not worse than an infidel, for he provided plentifully for his family; but he loved himself better than them all. The neighbours reported that he was henpecked, which was most impossible with such a mild-spirited woman as his wife was. 
John Bull was so pleased with his success that he thought of leaving off his trade and turning lawyer. John, in the main, was 
an honest, plain-dealing fellow, choleric, bold, and of a very inconstant temper…. He was very apt to quarrel with his best friends, especially if they pretended to govern him. If you flattered him you might lead him like a child. John’s temper depended very much upon the air; his spirits rose and fell with the weather-glass. John was quick and understood his business very well: but no man alive was more careless in looking into his accounts, or more cheated by partners, apprentices and servants. This was occasioned by his being a boon companion, loving his bottle and his diversion; for, to say truth, no man kept a better house than John, nor spent his money more generously. 

His mania for the law was checked by his discovery of an intrigue between Hocus and Mrs. Bull, his first wife (the late whig parliament). Violent scenes ensued and, at last, Mrs. Bull was maltreated and died, leaving three daughters, Polemia, Discordia and Usuria. John at once married again (the new tory parliament). This wife was a sober country gentlewoman, who gave him good advice, urging him to bring the litigation to an end. When he looked through his attorney’s bill, he was shocked at its length, and discovered that he had been egregiously cheated, and that the whole burden of the lawsuit had been thrown upon his shoulders. The other tradesmen abused Mrs. Bull, and said that their interests were sacrificed. 
The second of the series of pamphlets begins with the discovery of a paper by the first Mrs. Bull containing a vindication of the duty of unfaithfulness incumbent upon wives in cases of infidelity of their husbands. This, of course, is a satire on the disloyalty of whigs. Then, Diego (earl of Nottingham) had an interview with the second Mrs. Bull, in the hope of satisfying her that John must not desert his friends; but she showed that Nick Frog had been deceiving John and endeavouring to make a private arrangement with Lewis Baboon. The guardians of Bull’s three daughters (the whig leaders) came to John and urged that the lawsuit should be continued; but John told them that he knew when he was ill-used; that he was aware how his family were apt to throw away their money in their cups; but that it was an unfair thing to take advantage of his weakness and make him set his hand to papers when he could hardly hold his pen. 
The third pamphlet relates to John Bull’s mother (the church of England), and his sister Peg (the Scottish church) and her love affair with Jack (presbyterianism). The mother was of a meek spirit, and strictly virtuous. She always put the best construction on the words and actions of her neighbours; she was neither a prude nor a fantastic old belle. John’s sister was a poor girl who had been starved as nurse. John had all the good bits: his sister had only a little oatmeal or a dry crust; he had lain in the best apartments with his bedchamber towards the south; she had lodged in a garret exposed to the north wind; but she had life and spirit in abundance and knew when she was ill-used. The pamphlet ends with a letter from Nick Frog to John Bull urging him to mortgage his estate, and with an account of a conference between Bull, Frog, South and Lewis Baboon at the Salutation tavern (congress of Utrecht). The fourth part of John Bull is concerned, to some extent, with Jack and the bill against occasional conformity; and the fifth and last part refers to the meetings at the Salutation inn and the intrigues of the various tradesmen. John had interviews with Nick Frog and Lewis Baboon about Ecclesdown castle (Dunkirk) and other matters, and the lawsuit was brought to an end with John in possession of Ecclesdown, to his great satisfaction.) 
He became widely known from cartoons by Sir John Tenniel published in the British humor magazine Punch during the middle and late nineteenth century. In those cartoons, he was portrayed as an honest, solid, farmer figure, often in a Union Jack waistcoat, and accompanied by a bulldog. He became so familiar that his name frequently appeared in books, plays, periodical titles, and as a brand name or trademark. Although frequently used through World War II, since the 1950s John Bull has been seen less often. 
Uncle Sam originated in popular culture. His origins are disputed, but the name usually is associated with Sam Wilson, a businessman who supplied the army during the War of 1812. His barrels were stamped "U.S." for the government, leading him to be nicknamed "Uncle Sam." The symbolic Uncle Sam's appearance evolved from that of Brother Jonathan, the most common earlier symbol for the United States. The two characters were used interchangeably from the 1830s through the 1860s.
As with John Bull, the cartoonists of Punch helped develop the figure, showing him as a lean, whiskered man wearing a top hat and striped pants. The famous American cartoonist Thomas Nast crystallized the image with his cartoons beginning in the 1870s. By 1917, when James Montgomery Flagg depicted him on the famous World War I recruiting poster, Uncle Sam was an icon, readily recognized around the globe. He was officially adopted as the national symbol of the United States in 1950.
John Bull and Uncle Sam have often been depicted interacting, as friends or antagonists

Победители 3го тура октябрьского конкурса: Boiko Ira, Иван Русских, Тараканова Юлия, Irina Ermolaeva, Серебряник И.А., Martynova Elena, Мельникова Юлия Валериевна, olionka, Пахомова Алена Юрьевна, Сергеева Ирина, Katerina Zubkova, Timofeyeva Antonina, Ачкасов И., Корженевский П.П.

Последний вопрос октябрьского конкурса опубликован на сайте: http://englang.narod.ru/comp/comp.htm 

Ознакомиться со вторым вопросом и промежуточными результатами октябрьского конкурса можно по адресу: http://englang.narod.ru/comp/comp.htm 

В этом месяце главный приз - диск "Oxford Dictionary".

Ответы G16,L16,A16: