Variant 1 You could have come first and won the race if you … faster

23. From the passage, we understand that the Sahara is ...
A) a desert which is smaller than the country of Portugal
B) supplying both sides of the Mediterranean Sea with power
C) being explored by scientists for its marvelous scenery
D) likely to solve energy problems of the European continent
24. The author discusses this issue in order to explain ...
A) extremely hot weather of the Sahara desert B) what a huge power base the Sahara deserts
C) the work of solar plants existing in the Sahara D) the amount of electricity Europe gets from the Sahara
25. According to the text, which of the following is NOT TRUE?
A) Pawlyn had been doubtful about the Sahara till he worked on it personally
B) The Sahara has been considered to be insignificant for many Europeans
C) Connecticut is a solar plant which supplies, 500 mln. people with electricity
D) There're three companies all together which form The Sahara Forest Project
26. The word INCREDIBLE means ...
A) astonished B) valuable C) nature D) unknown


The British are great loves of competitive sports and when they are neither playing nor watching games they like to talk about them, or when they cannot do that, to think about them. The game particularly associated with England is cricket. Many other games, which are English in origin, have been adopted with enthusiasm all over the world, but cricket has been seriously adopted only in the former British Empire, particularly in Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, The Indies and South Africa.
Cricket is played by men and boys, women and girls. There are two teams of eleven each. One team must bat, and the other team must field. When the first team finishes batting, the second team must begin. The batsman must all the time guard his "wicket", three pieces of wood that are pushed into the ground. The game is very slow. Organized amateur cricket is played between club teams, mainly on Saturday afternoons from May to the end of September. Nearly every village except in the far North has its cricket club, A first-class match between English counties lasts for up to three days, with six hours' play on each day. When England plays with one of the cricketing countries such as Australia or New Zealand, it is called a test match and it lasts for five days.