🚖 By the way...

Yesterday we talked about the legendary London black cabs. Let's take another look at the text.

🚘 What words can we use to talk about cars and driving?
👉the windshield – the glass at the front of a car that you look through while driving
👉to shoot past sb – to drive past someone very quickly
👉to crawl – to move very slowly
👉lights (red lights / stop lights) – in this case, the traffic lights that tell cars when to stop
👉a route – the path or way you take to get somewhere
👉to pick up passengers – to stop and let people get into your vehicle
👉road closure – when a road is blocked so cars cannot use it

🚗 Some other great phrases:
👉to be embossed in one's memory – to be remembered very clearly (to emboss = to print)
👉grueling (training, exam, etc.) – extremely tiring and demanding
👉to clock long hours – to work for many hours
👉to be (tightly) tethered to sth – to be strongly connected or tied to something (physically or figuratively)

🇬🇧 A bit of culture!
👉Charing Cross – a major area and railway station in central London
👉Snakes and Ladders – a simple children’s board game where ladders help you move up and snakes make you slide down
👉Sisyphean undertaking – a task that feels endless and impossible to finish, a reference to the myth of Sisyphus endlessly pushing a boulder uphill

#skill_scan@level_APO

❄️ The weather outside is frightful but there is a poet who is able to turn these dreary winter landscapes into warm reflections on our life (and his name is quite fitting for our winter theme)

⛄️ It’s Robert Frost! ⛄️

❄️ He was inspired by other famous poets (that we must study for the Olympiad as well) such as William Wordsworth and John Keats

❄️ He was not only a four-time Pulitzer Prize laureate but also a teacher! (What other famous American writer do you know that was a teacher?)

❄️ His poem was used in the famous Twilight series (which is funny, since Robert Frost had his own “Twilight” — a small collection of poems for his wife)

In his most famous poem “The Road Not Taken” the poet’s lyrical subject takes the road “less travelled by” which then influences his whole life.

#a_bit_of_lit@level_APO

⚡️This writing got 19/20 points at the Municipal stage this year. Read it to see if you can find the mistake(s)⚡️

For reference, the task was:

You see the following notice in an English youth magazine and decide to send your story.

Stories Wanted

Write a story for our magazine.

The story must end with the sentence:
Jim happened to see the letter and decided to book a ticket for the first train heading home.

The story must include:
● a title
● a rich relative
● a beautiful house

Write 200-250 words (the title is included in the word count).

BLOOD IS THICKER THAN MONEY
Jim was a young boy who lived in the suburbs of London. His family was not particularly rich, but they managed to live happily. One day, Jim found a letter from a mysterious woman named Anna Scrudge on their porch. In that letter, Anna invited Jim to visit her mansion in Scotland. Jim was confused.
He decided to talk to his mother and ask her about Anna. When he explained everything, his mother said, "Oh, Jimmy, Anna is your aunt. She is a nasty woman that always boasts about how affluent she is." Nonetheless, Jim was now intrigued by his aunt's fortune. Later that day he asked his parents to go to Scotland, and they, though unwillingly, agreed.
Three days later Jim was in Scotland. Anna picked him up at the train station. At first, she seemed lovely, but when they arrived at her house, grandeur and opulence of which took Jim's breath away, she turned into a "vicious monster", as Jim would later desribe Anna to his mother.
She made him work day and night, giving him only three hours of sleep. For some reason, Jim did not want to leave. He seemed mesmerized by his aunt's money and the beauty of her house. Meanwhile, his parents were getting worried. They wrote a letter to Scotland, asking Jim to come back. When Anna received the letter, she hoped no one would see it and threw it away. Oh, how wrong she was! Jim happened to see the letter and decided to book a ticket for the first train heading home.

#the_olympiad_times@level_APO

✨ Ready for the answer? This story got maximum points for everything except grammar, the bane of every student’s existence

Решение коммуникативной задачи: 4/4 points
✅рассказ заканчивается указанной в задании фразой,
✅в рассказе есть заголовок, соответствующий содержанию рассказа,
✅в рассказе есть упоминание (или описание) о богатом родственнике,
✅в рассказе есть упоминание (или описание) о красивом доме.

Организация текста: 4/4 points
✅в рассказе имеется логично построенный сюжет
в работе нет логических ошибок
✅средства логической связи использованы правильно
текст правильно разделён на абзацы

Лексика: 4/4 points
✅no mistakes!

Грамматика: 3/4 points
❌they arrived at her house, THE grandeur and opulence of which took Jim's breath away
Here, an article is missing. The nouns ‘grandeur and opulence’ are determined by the of-phrase, so the definite article is needed.

Орфография и пунктуация: 4/4 points
✅no mistakes!

#the_olympiad_times@level_APO

Time for another quiz!
Guess which former British colony we’re talking about 👇

🇬🇧 Once governed through indirect rule over local sultanates.
🌴 Built its colonial economy on tin and rubber.
👑 Features a unique system where the head of state is chosen from among monarchs.

Can you guess the country? 👀

☀️ #sun_never_sets@level_APO

🎸 In my heart there's a Christmas tree farm... 🎸

Today we have a holiday-themed crossword for you! Share your guesses in the comments 🎄

For items 1–5, read the song lyrics below and solve the crossword using the definitions of the required word given in brackets. There is an example (0) done for you.

Sweet dreams of 0. _holly_ (a plant with red berries) and ribbon
1. ____ (Things you do wrong by accident) are forgiven
And everything is icy and blue
And you would be there too
Under the 2. ____ (a plant that grows on trees, a Christmas symbol)
Watching the fire 3. ____ (to give off a soft light)
And telling me, "I love you"
Just being in your arms
Takes me back to that little farm
Where every wish comes true
In my heart is a Christmas tree farm
There's a light in the 4. ____ (a large building for animals or crops)
We'd run inside out from the cold
In the town, kids are dreaming of 5. ____ (vehicles that slide on snow)
And they're warm and they're safe
They wake to see a blanket of snow

#skill_scan@level_APO

✍️ Разбор реальной работы с МЭ✍️

Нам поступила просьба оценить письменную работу участника муниципального этапа. Разбираемся вместе!

THE STRANGEST FAMILY REUNION
That morning Jim went for a run. He was a very active 20-year-old man, he had to keep in shape. He left his home at the crack of the dawn. After his morning workout, he returned to his flat. While passing the staircase, he bumped into a dark figure of a man. Jim had no idea who that was.

lex.: ‘at the crack of dawn’ is a fixed expression. Here it has an extra article.

When Jim entered the flat, he saw that the floor was covered with envelopes. Every single one had the same invitation card inside, which said "Jim, we are waiting for you at your uncle's anniversary". It was signed by Mr. Fink. There was also written an address and a date on another side of the invitation. The party was tomorrow night.

punct.: missing comma after ‘said’
gr.: ‘there was written’ is a structural copy of a Russian phrase ‘там было написано’; in English, we should rephrase it as ‘An address and a date were also written there.’
gr.: another side of the invitation: an invitation only has two sides, so it’s ‘the other’

Jim decided to take a leap of faith and go there. It was about 1500 kilometres away from the city, where he lived. The way to the mysterious location took him several hours. When he arrived at the gate, he was met by a man who introduced himself as the very Mr. Fink. He was wearing a Rolex watch and some exorbitantly expensive sunglasses. "What a rich relative, I might have," - Jim thought to himself. After entering the gate, he saw a beautiful house, where the party was going to be.

punct.: improper direct speech punctuation: extra ‘-‘ after direct speech
gr.: Jim didn’t see just any house, he saw the house where the party was going to be. So, we need ‘the’ before ‘beautiful house’

Mr. Fink's nephew was offered to wait in the living room. And he did. Although a little later, he went to the bathroom. On the way there, he heard a loud conversation. Mr. Fink was tellingsomeone that he also wrote a letter to someone else, stating that he was their uncle too. Jim was really suspicious, and was ready to leave if it was true. Jim happened to see the letter and decided to book a ticket for the first train heading home.

gr. + lex.: ‘Mr. Fink's nephew was offered to wait’ is a structural copy of Russian ‘Племяннику мистера Финка предложилиподождать’, which is incorrect in English. Besides, the verb ‘offer’ should be replaced with ‘suggest’: if you offer something, you will be the one to do it. So, here we should say, ‘They suggested that Mr. Fink should wait’.
org.: ‘Although’ here is used incorrectly, because it doesn’t connect any two sentences. It should be replaced with ‘however’.
gr.: In ‘was telling someone that he also wrote a letter to someone else’ the Past Perfect is missing, we should have ‘had written’.

👩‍⚖️Overall score: 4+3+3+1+3=14

А чтобы не только учиться на чужих ошибках, но и получать подробный разбор своих работ с фидбэком от преподавателя — записывайтесь на видеокурс по подготовке к письменным заданиям!

#the_olympiad_times@level_APO

🍿 The 50 best TV shows of 2025: No 3 – The Celebrity Traitors 🍿
Read the text about one of the most popular TV shows in Britain and think of one word to fill each gap.

This twist-packed, star-strapped take (1) ____ the reality juggernaut became the year’s most addictive show. It was a masterclass in suspense, camp and chaos 😦

For narrative twists, unforced comedy and high-profile casting, The Celebrity Traitors (2) ____ most televised dramas into a cocked hat, or a fashion cape. We were all swept up, from teens (3) ____ the retired, magistrates and retail workers, even non-gameshow fans. The show became the national conversation in a way TV pundits (4) ____ longer thought possible. It was lightning in a (5) ____. Which would be a cool way of murdering someone.

Why was it perfect TV? On the face of (6) ____, it’s a simple format that balances banter and tension, fun games and insidious group dynamics. Bucking the streamer “dumping” model, the BBC drip-fed episodes until we were slavering. Their ace, of course, is Claudia Winkleman – impeccable outfits, iconic hair, sly presenting style. I saw (7) ____ many Winklemen at Halloween parties this October it was like Being John Malkovich with bangs. But this year the show surpassed even its (8) ____ standards.

The faithful were, objectively, the worst. They made it their mission to evict anyone useful or loyal, and never missed. But you can’t blame them, (9) ____ the eccentric nature of the group. There was twinkly, two-faced Celia Imrie – flirting with Jonathan Ross, parping from nerves. Giggling assassin Alan Carr was delicious, gliding merrily along even while unable to pretend to be a faithful with any seriousness. Kate Garraway used the word “flabbergasted” at one point, which no one in any conversation in history ever (10) ____. (In response, Tom Daley gave her a side-eye which would take gold in the suspicion Olympics.)

Would you like to watch this show?
- react 😍 for yes
- react 🤔 for no

#skill_scan@level_APO

⚡️Предварительные проходные на РЭ⚡️

На сайте ВсОШ в Москве доступны предварительные проходные на РЭ по английскому для москвичей: 76 для 9 классов и 79 для 10/11

#the_olympiad_times@level_APO

❤️‍🔥 Continuing our “Bob” theme, it’s high time we talked about Robert Burns — Scotland’s most celebrated poet

Here are a few facts about him!

📕 Despite having limited formal education and spending most of his time helping out on the farm, Burns was a voracious reader and talented poet, starting his career in his adolescence

📕 Robert even has his own holiday in Scotland called “Burns Night” celebrated on his birthday, the 25th of January

📕 His poems combine authentic Scottish language and universal human experiences, his first published work being “Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect”. Many of his poems were later transformed into songs.

📕 Many Brits and Americans sing “Auld Lang Syne” on New Year’s Eve at midnight, which is loosely translated as “for old times sake”. Burns’ poem is now a New Year’s traditional song worldwide!

What is your favourite Robert Burns poem/poem-turned-song?

#a_bit_of_lit@level_APO