Ex.1. Read the text. Daniel has always enjoyed using computers

Daniel has always enjoyed using computers. He started using them at school, but he’s had his own computer at home for about two years. He’s been using it to write his English compositions.

This year Daniel did very well in his school exams, and as a reward, his parents offered to buy him a modem. A modem allows his computer to “talk” over the telephone to other computers. Daniel has been using his modem for a few weeks now. He’s been sending messages to people around the world. He’s even been playing computer games with kids in America.

Last Saturday his friend Sophie came to visit. She wanted to go to the cinema, but Daniel was playing on his computer.

Sophie: You promised to go to the cinema with me this evening!

The film starts at eight o’clock. Hurry up!

Daniel: But, Sophie, look at this!

Sophie: What is it?

Daniel: It’s an e-mail message.

Sophie: E-mail? What’s that?

Daniel: Electronic mail. It sends instant messages all over the world.

But I haven’t been using e-mail. It must be a computer error.

I wonder what the message is about.

Ex.2. Answer the questions.

1. How long has Daniel had his computer? __________________________

2. What has he been using it for? __________________________

3. What can he do with a modem? __________________________

4. What has he been using his modem for? __________________________

5. When did he get that strange e-mail message? __________________________

Text 3

THE BEAST OF BODMIN

Ex.1. Read the text.

John and Claire Harrison have a farm in a remote part of Bodmin Moor in the south-west of England. For the past three years they have had a lot of problems on their farm. A mysterious animal has attacked and killed at least five of their sheep. “We are very angry,” says Mr. Harrison. “This creature has been causing a lot of trouble for a long time. If I had the chance, I’d kill it. I’ve been trying to catch or kill it for months. But I’ve only seen it three times. And it’s always too far away, and too quick”. Last week Mrs. Harrison managed to take a photo of the strange creature. But the picture is not very clear because the animal was about 200 metres away. Experts are uncertain about what kind of animal it is. “It is very big, so it can’t be a dog,” says Mary Adams, who works in a local zoo. “We’ve looked at the footprints. It could be a very large cat. And from the way in which it kills its prey, it might be a leopard,” she says. But Mike Smith, her boss, is more certain. “It is black. It has a small head and a large body. It must be a wild panther”. People have been reporting similar incidents all over England. All point to the same conclusion: there must be wild panthers roaming the country-side of England.