Thursday, the fifteenth of December
Test
The Lady or the Tiger?
In the very old
times there lived a king, and he was a man of great fancy. One day an idea came
to his mind, and the king decided to modernize the system of court trial in his
kingdom.
For this purpose
there was built a big arena with galleries around it. In that arena the most
important criminals were to be put on trial in public. But neither the king nor
anybody of his court was to decide the fate of the accused person. It was the
criminal himself who did it. On an appointed day when all the people had
gathered at the galleries, and the king and his court had taken their places,
the accused person stepped into the arena. On the other side of the arena there
were two doors. The doors were side by side and identical. The accused person
was to walk to those doors and open one of them. If he opened the one, there
came out of it a hungry tiger and tore him to pieces, as a punishment for his crime.
At the same time the sad bells began to clang, and the people with heavy hearts
went to their homes. But if the accused opened the other door, there came out
of it a beautiful lady. And to that lady he was immediately married, as a
reward for his innocence. It did not matter that the accused might already have
a wife and children, or a bride; the king took no notice of such trifles. Such
was the king’s method of showing justice.
The king had a
daughter whom he loved greatly. She was very beautiful and, at the same time,
she was very conceited. It happened so that she fell in love with a young man
whose social position was not as high as hers. But they were happy.
One day the king
learned about their love. The young man was immediately put into prison, and a
day was appointed for his trial in the king’s arena.
On this occasion
the most savage tiger was caught and caged behind one of the doors, and a very
beautiful girl was found to stand behind the other door.
The appointed
day came. A lot of people gathered at the galleries. The king and his court
were in their places. Then the signal was given, and the lover of the princess
walked into the arena. He bowed to the king and looked at the princess who was
sitting to the right of her father. The princess had learned the secret of the
doors. She knew not only in which room there was the lady, but also who that
lady was. It was one of the most beautiful girls of the court, and the princess
hated her. The princess was very jealous.
When the lover
looked at her, he understood that she knew behind which door was the tiger, and
behind which stood thelady. His eyes asked: “Which?”The question was clear to
her, and she had to answer. She raised her hand and made a slight movement
towards the right door. Her lover turned and, without the slightest hesitation,
went to the door on the right.
And now it is
for you, dear reader, to decide: did the princess lie or didn’t?
Make your
decision. But remember, that, on the one hand the princess loved the young man
greatly; but on the other hand she was hot-tempered and jealous.
I. Read the text and put “true” if the sentence is right and “false” if one is false.
1 The king
decided to modernize the system of court trial in his kingdom.
2 For this
purpose there was built a stadium.
3 The accused
person stepped into the gallery.
4 If the accused
opened the door and a beautiful lady came out, he had immediately to sing a
song for her.
5 The king’s
daughter was conceited, hot-tempered and jealous.
6 The princess
didn’t know the secret of the doors.
II. Find the correct answer.
1. What kind of
man was a king?
a) a man of great courage
b) a man of great fancy
c) a man of great mind
d) a man of great wit
2. What did the king decide to modernize one day?
a) a political system
b) a system of education
c) a system of court trial
d) a system of social assistance
3. What was built for this purpose?
a)a big arena
with galleries around it
b) a beautiful palace
c) a new market
d) a new highway
4. Who was to decide the fate of accused person?
a) the trial
b) the government
c) neither the king nor anybody of his court
d) the court
5. Where did the accused person step?
a)into the garden
b) into the
palace
c) into the arena
d) into the prison
III. Write synonyms from the text.
1.an imaginative man
2. a pretty lady
3. Ambitious
4. ill-tempered
5. envious
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