🎸 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

👀 Some words in the text were replaced with their synonyms — but they can't be used in that context! For items 1–5, restore the text by replacing the words in bold with appropriate synonyms

🎄Scottish Christmas traditions🎄

Working on Christmas Day is now a (1) remote memory for lots of Scots, but there are other old traditions that people still hold onto. For example, some (2) traditional like to bake Yule bread for each person in their family. Whoever finds a trinket in their loaf will be (3) sanctified with good luck for the year!

Other traditions include (4) flaming a rowan twig as a way to get rid of any bad feelings between friends or family, and the ‘first-(5) legger’, a special name given to the first person to arrive on Christmas Day (or New Year’s Day). These people come with gifts such as coal, whisky, salt and bread. Black buns are also a popular gift — they’re made with raisins, currants, almonds, citrus peel, allspice, ginger and cinnamon, and topped with pastry.

#skill_scan@level_APO

🤩 Новогодний розыгрыш книги🤩

🤩 Каждый понедельник мы радовали вас интересными находками от заведующей нашей кафедрой Полины Кривоносовой. Пришло время проверить, что вы запомнили! Переходите по ссылке и проходите тест на знание сложной, но интересной лексики.

🤩 Среди наших подписчиков, прошедших тест, мы случайным образом разыграем Howl’s Moving Castle — одну из самых любимых книг автора рубрики 📚

🤩 Итоги розыгрыша подведём 12 января!

Участвуйте, проверяйте себя и удачи всем 🤩

#word_finds@level_APO

🤩 Happy Holidays! See you next year 🤩

💌 Новогодняя почта! 💌

Напоминаем, что нам можно задать вопрос двумя способами, как через сообщения канала, так и по ссылке на анонимный бот в закрепленном сообщении 💌

📨 Получено сообщение!

Здравствуйте, когда опубликуют граничные баллы для участия в региональном этапе по английскому языку? Возможно ли участвовать в регионе если у меня 67 баллов?⁩

✍️ Отвечаем:

Проходные баллы на РЭ определяются каждым регионом отдельно. Их можно узнать на сайте организаторов ВсОШ в вашем регионе. Информация об организаторах в каждом субъекте есть на сайте ВсОШ.

📨 Получено сообщение!

здравствуйте, я знаю, что у апо есть сборник по подготовке по истории, и вроде есть по англу, можно ли как-то приобрести сборник по английскому?⁩

✍️ Отвечаем:

Книгу «Продвинутая лексика для олимпиад и ЕГЭ по английскому языку», написанную методистом кафедры английского языка АПО Анастасией Крюковой, можно приобрести в магазине и сайте издательства, а также в других книжных магазинах и на маркетплейсах. На данный момент для покупки доступна только бумажная версия.

A new crossword for you 👩‍🍳

Solve the new crossword about the Museum of Shakespeare set to open in 2026 to commemorate the poet's anniversary and share your guesses in the comments👇🏻

And also... we have some news 😎

To help you get ready for the Regional stage and the Perechnevye finals, our team is starting a marathon. Every day we will post new tasks and useful content under the hashtag
#final_countdown@level_APO

Are you as excited as we are? Press ❤️‍🔥 then!

🤩 Friendly reminder that today is the last day when you can take part in our quiz and win a book! 🤩

🎉 Итоги розыгрыша 🎉

Поздравляем @mariaalfadeeva с победой! Мы свяжемся с вами для организации передачи приза 🏆

Остальных же подписчиков благодарим за участие 💜

Обещаем и дальше радовать вас необычными находками из мира английских слов и желаем интересного чтения в новом году 📖