Read the text below. For questions (23–34) choose the correct answer (А, В, C, or D).

There Was a Crooked Man!

David Suchet plays disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell
Maxwell
BBC2 Friday

There's a „you couldn't make it up‟ quality to the life story of newspaper baron Robert Maxwell. He was born into extreme poverty in Czechoslovakia in 1923, and (23) ______ he arrived in this country (24) the age of 17, he couldn't speak a (25) ______ of English. Yet he (26) ______ to become a war hero, fighting (27) ______ a captain in the British Army, and one of the most high-profile — and controversial — business magnates of the 20^th Century.

This week's BBC2 drama Maxwell (28) ______ the story of the final months of his life, leading up to his mysterious drowning off the coast of Tenerife in 1991.

His media empire, which included the Daily Mirror, Macmillan Publishing and the New York Daily News, was haemorrhaging cash. In a desperate attempt to staunch the losses, Maxwell (played by David Suchet) started to raid the pension funds of his companies, stealing about £500,000.

„He (29) ______ nothing to become this huge business magnate and massively colourful figure,‟ says David, best known for his role as Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

„Even though Maxwell gatecrashed society events and made (30) ______ he was photographed with powerful figures such as Russia's President Gorbachev, he never felt embraced by society. He became a media tycoon (31) ______ he was desperate to have influence.‟

David (32) ______ hours of footage of Maxwell and says he developed a strong sense of his character's intimidating natural authority.

„Playing Maxwell, I felt the (33) ______ power of the man,‟ he says. “That's dangerously intoxicating for everyone. Down the centuries, nothing has been abused more than power — from Napoleon and Hitler to Saddam Hussein. If you know that when you (34) your fingers people will jump to attention, it can be very seductive.‟

This week's BBC2 drama Maxwell (28) ______ the story of the final months of his life, leading up to his mysterious drowning off the coast of Tenerife in 1991.

Read the text below. For questions (23–34) choose the correct answer (А, В, C, or D).

There Was a Crooked Man!

David Suchet plays disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell
Maxwell
BBC2 Friday

There's a „you couldn't make it up‟ quality to the life story of newspaper baron Robert Maxwell. He was born into extreme poverty in Czechoslovakia in 1923, and (23) ______ he arrived in this country (24) the age of 17, he couldn't speak a (25) ______ of English. Yet he (26) ______ to become a war hero, fighting (27) ______ a captain in the British Army, and one of the most high-profile — and controversial — business magnates of the 20^th Century.

This week's BBC2 drama Maxwell (28) ______ the story of the final months of his life, leading up to his mysterious drowning off the coast of Tenerife in 1991.

His media empire, which included the Daily Mirror, Macmillan Publishing and the New York Daily News, was haemorrhaging cash. In a desperate attempt to staunch the losses, Maxwell (played by David Suchet) started to raid the pension funds of his companies, stealing about £500,000.

„He (29) ______ nothing to become this huge business magnate and massively colourful figure,‟ says David, best known for his role as Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

„Even though Maxwell gatecrashed society events and made (30) ______ he was photographed with powerful figures such as Russia's President Gorbachev, he never felt embraced by society. He became a media tycoon (31) ______ he was desperate to have influence.‟

David (32) ______ hours of footage of Maxwell and says he developed a strong sense of his character's intimidating natural authority.

„Playing Maxwell, I felt the (33) ______ power of the man,‟ he says. “That's dangerously intoxicating for everyone. Down the centuries, nothing has been abused more than power — from Napoleon and Hitler to Saddam Hussein. If you know that when you (34) your fingers people will jump to attention, it can be very seductive.‟

„He (29) ______ nothing to become this huge business magnate and massively colourful figure,‟ says David, best known for his role as Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

Read the text below. For questions (23–34) choose the correct answer (А, В, C, or D).

There Was a Crooked Man!

David Suchet plays disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell
Maxwell
BBC2 Friday

There's a „you couldn't make it up‟ quality to the life story of newspaper baron Robert Maxwell. He was born into extreme poverty in Czechoslovakia in 1923, and (23) ______ he arrived in this country (24) the age of 17, he couldn't speak a (25) ______ of English. Yet he (26) ______ to become a war hero, fighting (27) ______ a captain in the British Army, and one of the most high-profile — and controversial — business magnates of the 20^th Century.

This week's BBC2 drama Maxwell (28) ______ the story of the final months of his life, leading up to his mysterious drowning off the coast of Tenerife in 1991.

His media empire, which included the Daily Mirror, Macmillan Publishing and the New York Daily News, was haemorrhaging cash. In a desperate attempt to staunch the losses, Maxwell (played by David Suchet) started to raid the pension funds of his companies, stealing about £500,000.

„He (29) ______ nothing to become this huge business magnate and massively colourful figure,‟ says David, best known for his role as Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

„Even though Maxwell gatecrashed society events and made (30) ______ he was photographed with powerful figures such as Russia's President Gorbachev, he never felt embraced by society. He became a media tycoon (31) ______ he was desperate to have influence.‟

David (32) ______ hours of footage of Maxwell and says he developed a strong sense of his character's intimidating natural authority.

„Playing Maxwell, I felt the (33) ______ power of the man,‟ he says. “That's dangerously intoxicating for everyone. Down the centuries, nothing has been abused more than power — from Napoleon and Hitler to Saddam Hussein. If you know that when you (34) your fingers people will jump to attention, it can be very seductive.‟

„Even though Maxwell gatecrashed society events and made (30) ______ he was photographed with powerful figures such as Russia's President Gorbachev, he never felt embraced by society.

Read the text below. For questions (23–34) choose the correct answer (А, В, C, or D).

There Was a Crooked Man!

David Suchet plays disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell
Maxwell
BBC2 Friday

There's a „you couldn't make it up‟ quality to the life story of newspaper baron Robert Maxwell. He was born into extreme poverty in Czechoslovakia in 1923, and (23) ______ he arrived in this country (24) the age of 17, he couldn't speak a (25) ______ of English. Yet he (26) ______ to become a war hero, fighting (27) ______ a captain in the British Army, and one of the most high-profile — and controversial — business magnates of the 20^th Century.

This week's BBC2 drama Maxwell (28) ______ the story of the final months of his life, leading up to his mysterious drowning off the coast of Tenerife in 1991.

His media empire, which included the Daily Mirror, Macmillan Publishing and the New York Daily News, was haemorrhaging cash. In a desperate attempt to staunch the losses, Maxwell (played by David Suchet) started to raid the pension funds of his companies, stealing about £500,000.

„He (29) ______ nothing to become this huge business magnate and massively colourful figure,‟ says David, best known for his role as Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

„Even though Maxwell gatecrashed society events and made (30) ______ he was photographed with powerful figures such as Russia's President Gorbachev, he never felt embraced by society. He became a media tycoon (31) ______ he was desperate to have influence.‟

David (32) ______ hours of footage of Maxwell and says he developed a strong sense of his character's intimidating natural authority.

„Playing Maxwell, I felt the (33) ______ power of the man,‟ he says. “That's dangerously intoxicating for everyone. Down the centuries, nothing has been abused more than power — from Napoleon and Hitler to Saddam Hussein. If you know that when you (34) your fingers people will jump to attention, it can be very seductive.‟

He became a media tycoon (31) ______ he was desperate to have influence.

Read the text below. For questions (23–34) choose the correct answer (А, В, C, or D).

There Was a Crooked Man!

David Suchet plays disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell
Maxwell
BBC2 Friday

There's a „you couldn't make it up‟ quality to the life story of newspaper baron Robert Maxwell. He was born into extreme poverty in Czechoslovakia in 1923, and (23) ______ he arrived in this country (24) the age of 17, he couldn't speak a (25) ______ of English. Yet he (26) ______ to become a war hero, fighting (27) ______ a captain in the British Army, and one of the most high-profile — and controversial — business magnates of the 20^th Century.

This week's BBC2 drama Maxwell (28) ______ the story of the final months of his life, leading up to his mysterious drowning off the coast of Tenerife in 1991.

His media empire, which included the Daily Mirror, Macmillan Publishing and the New York Daily News, was haemorrhaging cash. In a desperate attempt to staunch the losses, Maxwell (played by David Suchet) started to raid the pension funds of his companies, stealing about £500,000.

„He (29) ______ nothing to become this huge business magnate and massively colourful figure,‟ says David, best known for his role as Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

„Even though Maxwell gatecrashed society events and made (30) ______ he was photographed with powerful figures such as Russia's President Gorbachev, he never felt embraced by society. He became a media tycoon (31) ______ he was desperate to have influence.‟

David (32) ______ hours of footage of Maxwell and says he developed a strong sense of his character's intimidating natural authority.

„Playing Maxwell, I felt the (33) ______ power of the man,‟ he says. “That's dangerously intoxicating for everyone. Down the centuries, nothing has been abused more than power — from Napoleon and Hitler to Saddam Hussein. If you know that when you (34) your fingers people will jump to attention, it can be very seductive.‟

David (32) ______ hours of footage of Maxwell and says he developed a strong sense of his character's intimidating natural authority.

Read the text below. For questions (23–34) choose the correct answer (А, В, C, or D).

There Was a Crooked Man!

David Suchet plays disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell
Maxwell
BBC2 Friday

There's a „you couldn't make it up‟ quality to the life story of newspaper baron Robert Maxwell. He was born into extreme poverty in Czechoslovakia in 1923, and (23) ______ he arrived in this country (24) the age of 17, he couldn't speak a (25) ______ of English. Yet he (26) ______ to become a war hero, fighting (27) ______ a captain in the British Army, and one of the most high-profile — and controversial — business magnates of the 20^th Century.

This week's BBC2 drama Maxwell (28) ______ the story of the final months of his life, leading up to his mysterious drowning off the coast of Tenerife in 1991.

His media empire, which included the Daily Mirror, Macmillan Publishing and the New York Daily News, was haemorrhaging cash. In a desperate attempt to staunch the losses, Maxwell (played by David Suchet) started to raid the pension funds of his companies, stealing about £500,000.

„He (29) ______ nothing to become this huge business magnate and massively colourful figure,‟ says David, best known for his role as Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

„Even though Maxwell gatecrashed society events and made (30) ______ he was photographed with powerful figures such as Russia's President Gorbachev, he never felt embraced by society. He became a media tycoon (31) ______ he was desperate to have influence.‟

David (32) ______ hours of footage of Maxwell and says he developed a strong sense of his character's intimidating natural authority.

„Playing Maxwell, I felt the (33) ______ power of the man,‟ he says. “That's dangerously intoxicating for everyone. Down the centuries, nothing has been abused more than power — from Napoleon and Hitler to Saddam Hussein. If you know that when you (34) your fingers people will jump to attention, it can be very seductive.‟

„Playing Maxwell, I felt the (33) ______ power of the man,‟ he says.

Read the text below. For questions (23–34) choose the correct answer (А, В, C, or D).

There Was a Crooked Man!

David Suchet plays disgraced tycoon Robert Maxwell
Maxwell
BBC2 Friday

There's a „you couldn't make it up‟ quality to the life story of newspaper baron Robert Maxwell. He was born into extreme poverty in Czechoslovakia in 1923, and (23) ______ he arrived in this country (24) the age of 17, he couldn't speak a (25) ______ of English. Yet he (26) ______ to become a war hero, fighting (27) ______ a captain in the British Army, and one of the most high-profile — and controversial — business magnates of the 20^th Century.

This week's BBC2 drama Maxwell (28) ______ the story of the final months of his life, leading up to his mysterious drowning off the coast of Tenerife in 1991.

His media empire, which included the Daily Mirror, Macmillan Publishing and the New York Daily News, was haemorrhaging cash. In a desperate attempt to staunch the losses, Maxwell (played by David Suchet) started to raid the pension funds of his companies, stealing about £500,000.

„He (29) ______ nothing to become this huge business magnate and massively colourful figure,‟ says David, best known for his role as Agatha Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

„Even though Maxwell gatecrashed society events and made (30) ______ he was photographed with powerful figures such as Russia's President Gorbachev, he never felt embraced by society. He became a media tycoon (31) ______ he was desperate to have influence.‟

David (32) ______ hours of footage of Maxwell and says he developed a strong sense of his character's intimidating natural authority.

„Playing Maxwell, I felt the (33) ______ power of the man,‟ he says. “That's dangerously intoxicating for everyone. Down the centuries, nothing has been abused more than power — from Napoleon and Hitler to Saddam Hussein. If you know that when you (34) your fingers people will jump to attention, it can be very seductive.‟

If you know that when you (34) ______ your fingers people will jump to attention, it can be very seductive.

Read the text below. For questions (35–40) choose the correct answer (А, В, C, or D).

18th-century America's Santa Claus was not the only St. Nicholas-inspired gift-giver to make an appearance at Christmastime. Similar figures were popular all over the world. Christkind or Kris Kringle (35) ______ to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children. Meaning “Christ child”, Christkind is an angel-like figure often (36) ______ by St. Nicholas on his holiday missions. In Scandinavia, a jolly elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. English legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home (37) ______ Christmas Eve to fill children's stockings with holiday treats. Pere Noel is responsible for filling the shoes of French children. In some regions of Russia, it is believed that an elderly woman called Babushka (38) ______ gave the wise men wrong directions to Bethlehem so that they couldn't find Jesus. Later, she felt remorseful, but could not find (39) ______ to undo the damage. To this day, on January 6, Babushka visits Russian children leaving gifts at (40) ______ bedsides in the hope that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven. In Italy, a similar story exists about a woman called La Befana, a kindly witch who rides a broomstick down the chimneys of Italian homes to deliver toys into the stockings of lucky children.

Christkind or Kris Kringle (35) ______ to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children.

Read the text below. For questions (35–40) choose the correct answer (А, В, C, or D).

18th-century America's Santa Claus was not the only St. Nicholas-inspired gift-giver to make an appearance at Christmastime. Similar figures were popular all over the world. Christkind or Kris Kringle (35) ______ to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children. Meaning “Christ child”, Christkind is an angel-like figure often (36) ______ by St. Nicholas on his holiday missions. In Scandinavia, a jolly elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. English legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home (37) ______ Christmas Eve to fill children's stockings with holiday treats. Pere Noel is responsible for filling the shoes of French children. In some regions of Russia, it is believed that an elderly woman called Babushka (38) ______ gave the wise men wrong directions to Bethlehem so that they couldn't find Jesus. Later, she felt remorseful, but could not find (39) ______ to undo the damage. To this day, on January 6, Babushka visits Russian children leaving gifts at (40) ______ bedsides in the hope that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven. In Italy, a similar story exists about a woman called La Befana, a kindly witch who rides a broomstick down the chimneys of Italian homes to deliver toys into the stockings of lucky children.

Meaning “Christ child”, Christkind is an angel-like figure often (36) ______ by St. Nicholas on his holiday missions.

Read the text below. For questions (35–40) choose the correct answer (А, В, C, or D).

18th-century America's Santa Claus was not the only St. Nicholas-inspired gift-giver to make an appearance at Christmastime. Similar figures were popular all over the world. Christkind or Kris Kringle (35) ______ to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children. Meaning “Christ child”, Christkind is an angel-like figure often (36) ______ by St. Nicholas on his holiday missions. In Scandinavia, a jolly elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. English legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home (37) ______ Christmas Eve to fill children's stockings with holiday treats. Pere Noel is responsible for filling the shoes of French children. In some regions of Russia, it is believed that an elderly woman called Babushka (38) ______ gave the wise men wrong directions to Bethlehem so that they couldn't find Jesus. Later, she felt remorseful, but could not find (39) ______ to undo the damage. To this day, on January 6, Babushka visits Russian children leaving gifts at (40) ______ bedsides in the hope that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven. In Italy, a similar story exists about a woman called La Befana, a kindly witch who rides a broomstick down the chimneys of Italian homes to deliver toys into the stockings of lucky children.

English legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home (37) ______ Christmas Eve to fill children's stockings with holiday treats.

Read the text below. For questions (35–40) choose the correct answer (А, В, C, or D).

18th-century America's Santa Claus was not the only St. Nicholas-inspired gift-giver to make an appearance at Christmastime. Similar figures were popular all over the world. Christkind or Kris Kringle (35) ______ to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children. Meaning “Christ child”, Christkind is an angel-like figure often (36) ______ by St. Nicholas on his holiday missions. In Scandinavia, a jolly elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. English legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home (37) ______ Christmas Eve to fill children's stockings with holiday treats. Pere Noel is responsible for filling the shoes of French children. In some regions of Russia, it is believed that an elderly woman called Babushka (38) ______ gave the wise men wrong directions to Bethlehem so that they couldn't find Jesus. Later, she felt remorseful, but could not find (39) ______ to undo the damage. To this day, on January 6, Babushka visits Russian children leaving gifts at (40) ______ bedsides in the hope that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven. In Italy, a similar story exists about a woman called La Befana, a kindly witch who rides a broomstick down the chimneys of Italian homes to deliver toys into the stockings of lucky children.

In some regions of Russia, it is believed that an elderly woman called Babushka (38) ______ gave the wise men wrong directions to Bethlehem so that they couldn't find Jesus.

Read the text below. For questions (35–40) choose the correct answer (А, В, C, or D).

18th-century America's Santa Claus was not the only St. Nicholas-inspired gift-giver to make an appearance at Christmastime. Similar figures were popular all over the world. Christkind or Kris Kringle (35) ______ to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children. Meaning “Christ child”, Christkind is an angel-like figure often (36) ______ by St. Nicholas on his holiday missions. In Scandinavia, a jolly elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. English legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home (37) ______ Christmas Eve to fill children's stockings with holiday treats. Pere Noel is responsible for filling the shoes of French children. In some regions of Russia, it is believed that an elderly woman called Babushka (38) ______ gave the wise men wrong directions to Bethlehem so that they couldn't find Jesus. Later, she felt remorseful, but could not find (39) ______ to undo the damage. To this day, on January 6, Babushka visits Russian children leaving gifts at (40) ______ bedsides in the hope that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven. In Italy, a similar story exists about a woman called La Befana, a kindly witch who rides a broomstick down the chimneys of Italian homes to deliver toys into the stockings of lucky children.

Later, she felt remorseful, but could not find (39) ______ to undo the damage.

Read the text below. For questions (35–40) choose the correct answer (А, В, C, or D).

18th-century America's Santa Claus was not the only St. Nicholas-inspired gift-giver to make an appearance at Christmastime. Similar figures were popular all over the world. Christkind or Kris Kringle (35) ______ to deliver presents to well-behaved Swiss and German children. Meaning “Christ child”, Christkind is an angel-like figure often (36) ______ by St. Nicholas on his holiday missions. In Scandinavia, a jolly elf named Jultomten was thought to deliver gifts in a sleigh drawn by goats. English legend explains that Father Christmas visits each home (37) ______ Christmas Eve to fill children's stockings with holiday treats. Pere Noel is responsible for filling the shoes of French children. In some regions of Russia, it is believed that an elderly woman called Babushka (38) ______ gave the wise men wrong directions to Bethlehem so that they couldn't find Jesus. Later, she felt remorseful, but could not find (39) ______ to undo the damage. To this day, on January 6, Babushka visits Russian children leaving gifts at (40) ______ bedsides in the hope that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven. In Italy, a similar story exists about a woman called La Befana, a kindly witch who rides a broomstick down the chimneys of Italian homes to deliver toys into the stockings of lucky children.

To this day, on January 6, Babushka visits Russian children leaving gifts at (40) ______ bedsides in the hope that one of them is the baby Jesus and she will be forgiven.

Read the text below. For questions (41–46) choose the correct answer (А, В, C, or D).

Planting the Seeds of Change

The Green Wave project aims to help meet the goals of the United Nations Convention (41) ______  Biological Diversity by (42) ______ young people on the importance of biodiversity. In an ambitious program, students from schools all across the world (43) ______ to mark the International Day for Biodiversity by planting a single tree of an indigenous or locally important species. At 10 a.m. local time on May 22, 2009, (44) ______ student groups will each plant or water their tree — uniting to send a „green wave‟ from east to west around the planet. Promoting planning, research and learning about nature, long-term care and commitment, and encouraging team-work and partnership across countries and continents, The Green Wave (45) ______ a positive step toward (46) ______ biodiversity all over the world.

The Green Wave project aims to help meet the goals of the United Nations Convention (41) ______