🇬🇧 Anthony Burgess — the writer who reinvented language

Anthony Burgess (1917–1993) was one of the most inventive British writers of the 20th century. Today we celebrate his remarkable legacy 😎

Born John Anthony Burgess Wilson in Manchester on February 25, 1917, he grew up in a working-class Catholic family and lost his mother and sister during the 1918 influenza pandemic. He studied English at the University of Manchester and later served in the British Army during World War II. These experiences shaped his worldview and writing.

In 1959, while working as a colonial education officer in Malaya, Burgess was diagnosed with what doctors believed to be a terminal brain tumor and was told he had about a year to live. Determined to provide for his wife, he began writing at extraordinary speed. The diagnosis turned out to be wrong, but the creative explosion it triggered changed literary history.

Here are some interesting facts about Burgess, the writer who:

💜created Nadsat, a dazzling fictional slang blending Russian, English, and invented words in A Clockwork Orange;

💜explored free will, morality, and state power in that same novel, later adapted into a namesake film by Stanley Kubrick;

💜 wrote more than 30 novels, including the epic historical trilogy Enderby and Earthly Powers;

💜was also a composer and linguist, with a deep love of music that influenced the rhythm and structure of his prose.

Burgess was a linguistic magician, fascinated by how language shapes thought and identity. He once reflected on the writer’s role:

“It’s as a writer that I want to be judged.”

Provocative, playful, and endlessly creative, Anthony Burgess left behind a body of work that continues to challenge readers and to remind us that language itself can be a form of rebellion.

#hall_of_fame@level_APO

🚀 Опубликованы задания РЭ (и предварительные результаты москвичей) 🚀

Наконец доступны задания РЭ ВсОШ!
Также в личных кабинетах участников из Москвы появились сканы работ и предварительные баллы.

🖥 Техническую апелляцию (по проверке тестовой части) можно подать до 20:00 27 февраля
📱 Апелляция по заданиям с развернутым ответом — с 10:00 по 20:00 1 марта

#the_olympiad_times@level_APO

🤩 Let's discuss the vocabulary task at the Regional stage 🤩

The second task in the Use of English part looked like this:

For items 8–14, compound adjectives have been split in half and shuffled. Match the correct first half (8–14) with its second half (A–O). The most suitable scenarios that describe them best are provided. There are more halves than you need. The first example is done for you.

So, which words did you need to create?

Here are the correct answers with the scenarios given in the task.

🤩 spine-tingling
A scene in a thriller where the villain suddenly appears behind the hero

🤩 blood-curdling
The sound of a scream in an abandoned asylum during a ghost tour

🤩 toe-tapping
A dance beat at a concert that made the entire crowd move

🤩 bone-crushing
A football player colliding with another at full speed

🤩 hair-raising
A breathtaking moment in skydiving when the chute opens

🤩 heart-pounding
A chase scene in a spy film where the main character barely escapes

🤩 jaw-dropping
Watching a gymnast do a triple backflip with perfect landing

What about the extra parts?

If you matched all the words correctly, you'd have the following left:

A. watering, E. boggling, F. crawling, H. switching, J. wrenching, L. churning, M. racking

Let's see what we can do with them!

🤩 eye-watering
A restaurant serving a curry so spicy that it makes everyone at the table tear up
or
🤩 mouth-watering
Walking past a bakery and smelling freshly baked cinnamon rolls

🤩 mind-boggling
A scientist explaining a theory about parallel universes that is almost impossible to fully grasp

🤩 spine-crawling
Exploring an abandoned house at night and hearing footsteps upstairs when no one is there

🤩 -switching
doesn't really fit in with the body parts topic; possible options include channel-switching or role-switching

🤩 gut-wrenching (also commonly heart-wrenching)
A film scene where a family says goodbye at the airport, not knowing when they will meet again

🤩 nerve-racking
Waiting outside the exam hall to see if you passed the final test needed to graduate

🤩 stomach-churning
Watching shaky footage from a roller coaster filmed from the very front seat

🤩 brain-racking
Trying for hours to solve a complicated riddle with only one tiny clue

#the_olympiad_times@level_APO

❤️ Are you worried about not getting to Закл? There's an important message we'd like to share: it's not the end of the world.

🤩 Our teacher Tatiana Starostina, whom you might remember from the "50 States of America" posts in our VK group, would like to share her experience with you. When she participated in the ВсОШ Olympiad, Tatiana didn't make it to the final stage, missing by just half a point — but she still went on to become a great teacher and an experienced professional using her background of Olympiad preparation.

🤩 This February, she took part in an international winter school in Indonesia.

Through the struggle of preparation for Olympiads, burning the midnight oil for years, it has always remained to be my fear: “Will I ever actually use this level of English in real life?”

👉🏻 Learn about her impression here!

#APO_stories@level_APO

🇬🇧 British people you should know 🇬🇧
...according to this year's Regional Stage!

In the Country Studies part this year you needed to match a famous Brit to their description. Let's analyse this task together!

15. Elton John
We have two musicians in the descriptions, E and M:

🔠 singer
leader of the Rolling Stones
collaboration with Keith Richards
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

➖ Have you recognised Mick Jagger (b. 1943)? He was there just to distract you! This couldn't have been Elton John because he doesn't perform in a group in general and has no connection to the Rolling Stones in particular.

🔠 musician
1970s
lyricist Bernie Taupin
both critical acclaim and commercial success over several decades

➖ All these facts are actually about Elton John (b. 1947), so you should've answered 15. M!

16. Alan Turing
A 20th-century scientist! For this we have F and J:

🔠 theoretical physicist
book "A Brief History of Time"

➖ This is Stephen Hawking (1942–2018). He wasn't on the list, but we had a post about him! Besides working in different fields, he also didn't have a machine named after him, so J fits better for Turing.

🔠 scholar
mathematics, computer science, logic, cryptography
machine that was named after him
deciphering German codes during World War II
working at Bletchley Park

➖ This description does fit Alan Turing (1912–1954), so the answer is 16. J. We hope our post about him had helped you!

17. Rowan Atkinson
He's an actor, let's see what we have! B and L:

🅱️actor
stars in hit sitcoms like Mr. Bean
British comedy

➖ This is him, Rowan Atkinson (b. 1955)! Hopefully, the mentioning of Mr. Bean helped you. The answer here is 17. B.

🔠 actor
Sherlock Holmes in the series "Sherlock"
Stephen Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

➖ That's Benedict Cumberbatch (b. 1976). You probably know him, but he wasn't on the list. Although he did play Alan Turing, the subject of another extra description in this task, in "The Imitation Game"!

18. David Attenborough
A famous TV presenter; here we have two, C and G:

🔠 television presenter
host of Top Gear
co-host on The Grand Tour
hosted game shows such as "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?"

➖ The show "Top Gear" was famously presented by Jeremy Clarkson (b. 1960) and James May. He wasn't on the task, so that's an extra description!

🔠 renowned British broadcaster
key positions at the BBC
hosting various nature documentaries and series

➖ That is David Attenborough (b. 1926)! He is famous for his BBC documentaries. So, 18 is G.

19. Audrey Hepburn
For actresses we have D and I:

🔠 renowned British actress
"Roman Holiday"
"Breakfast at Tiffany's"
"My Fair Lady"

➖ That is indeed Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993), so you should've written 19. D!

🔠actress
"Gone with the Wind"
"A Streetcar Named Desire"
Broadway work
partnership with Laurence Olivier

➖ This is Vivien Leigh (1913–1967), added here to confuse you! The mentions of "Gone with the Wind" and Laurence Olivier should've helped you — they're not really connected to Audrey Hepburn.

20. John Locke
A philosopher that lived a long time ago! For this, the task offers us A and K:

🅰️ English philosopher
"father of liberalism"
concept of tabula rasa

➖ That all true about John Locke (1632–1704), so you should have answered 20. A! His famous concepts were mentioned in the description to help you.

🔠 philosopher and statesman
served under King James I
scientific method
importance of inductive reasoning and careful observation in scientific knowledge

➖ That's Francis Bacon (1561–1626), put here as an extra point to distract you. This description doesn't really fit to John Locke because of the "statesman" part. Locke had political ideas, but his main focus was on science.

❓How did you do❓
Let's vote using reactions:
❤️‍🔥 if you nailed it, 6/6!
❤️ if you have 4 or 5 correct answers
🤔 if this task was difficult for you, 2 or 3 points
💔 if it wasn't your year and you only have one or none. No worries!
🇬🇧 and the British flag is for those who didn't participate in the Regional Stage but want to put a reaction! Thanks!

#the_olympiad_times@level_APO

📱 Do you know English slang abbreviations? 📱

A small task to brighten your Friday!

For items 1–8, match the abbreviation to its "fancy" alternative. Two alternatives are extra. There is an example done for you (0).

Example: 0. TBH
A. To put it frankly

✉️ Abbreviations:
1. FR
2. IYKYK
3. RN
4. OOTD
5. DM
6. ASAP
7. TMI
8. ICYMI

📕 "Fancy" alternatives:
A. To put it frankly
B. Incidentally
C. At your earliest convenience
D. Those familiar with the matter will understand
E. Should you have overlooked it
F. At present
G. Private correspondence
H. I am most relieved that the week has concluded
I. In all seriousness
J. Today’s attire
K. That may be rather more detail than necessary

👇For extra imaginary points, comment the meaning of each abbreviation as well as its match! 👇

#prove_your_prowess@level_APO

🤩 Happy International Women’s day! 🤩

👾 March 8th is the right time to recognize the achievements of women around the world.

👾 Let’s celebrate by remembering some extraordinary English-speaking women whose achievements have shaped science, politics, sports, and culture.

For items 1–8, match famous women to descriptions of their accomplishments. Two descriptions are extra.

🤩 The women:
1. Rosa Parks
2. Jane Goodall
3. Malala Yousafzai
4. Serena Williams
5. Amelia Earhart
6. Oprah Winfrey
7. Katherine Johnson
8. Emmeline Pankhurst

🤩 The descriptions:
A. She is a global advocate for girls’ education and the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
B. She was a mathematician whose calculations were crucial for NASA’s early space missions.
C. She served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990, becoming the first woman to hold the office.
D. She became a global symbol of the civil rights movement after refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery, Alabama in 1955.
E. She is one of the greatest tennis players in history, winning 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
F. She transformed our understanding of chimpanzees and animal behavior through decades of research in Tanzania.
G. She was a leading figure in the British suffragette movement, fighting for women’s right to vote in the early 20th century.
H. She was a pioneering aviator and the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
I. This former First Lady, became a global role model through her advocacy for education, health, and women’s empowerment.
J. Through her television show and philanthropy, she has inspired millions and created a powerful platform for important social conversations.

🤩 Share your guesses in the comments!
🤩 Who would you add to this list?

#hall_of_fame@level_APO