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

25. The author discusses this issue in order to explain ... .

A) the distance between the Earth and the Sun

B) the way in which the Earth goes around the Sun

C) why the weather is different in different parts of the Earth

D) why sun-rays are parallel when they reach the Earth

26. It can be inferred from the passage that ... .

A) summer is when the Earth is closest to the Sun

B) when it is summer in the northern hemisphere it is winter in the southern hemisphere

C) temperates are cooler than equatorials as sun-rays travel through more atmosphere to reach them

D) sun-rays lose heat in passing through space

27. According to the text the angle at which the sun’s rays strike the surface of the Earth is determined by ... .

A) the parallel nature of the sun-rays B) the density of the Earth’s atmosphere

C) the curvature of the Earth D) the variations in temperature on the Earth
An orchestra is a fairly large ensemble of musical instrumentalists. The orchestra, and the history of orchestral music, is considered to have started with the operas of Claude Monteverdi. Its familiar composition, divided into four basic groups of instruments - strings, woodwind, brass and percussion - dates from the second half of the 18th century and is especially connected with the work of Joseph Haydn. The orchestra grew dramatically in size during the 19th century, from an ensemble of 35 players to a company of well over 100. During the same period, the composition of orchestral music and the particular use made of individual instruments or groups of them, increasingly became the hallmark of a composer’s individual style.