Darmowe konto pozwoli wrócić do niego później.

“It guards its rarest treasures with the greatest care. This noisy and fearful volcano has a mine

at its feet. I am now leading you there.” With considerable difficulty we reached the foot of

the volcano. We were suddenly standing on a piece of ground which didn’t move. At last!

Feeling dizzy and weary, I was grateful to Mr F. for bringing me to a bench on this motionless

piece of earth. I sat down and took a deep breath. The tension disappeared. Mr F. sat beside me

for a while and then suggested that we get going. It took us about ten minutes to get to

an entrance in the wall of the mountain, the entrance covered up by an old wooden door from

a ship. Mr F. took out two pairs of glasses with dark lenses. “You’ll need these,” he explained,

“and whatever you do, do not remove them while in the mines.”

As soon as I entered the mine, I understood why the ground above it was such a peaceful retreat

in this rumbling landscape. The walls, the floor, the ceiling were hewn out of the hardest of all

minerals: pure, dazzling diamond. I walked up to my ankles in diamond pebbles. The floor was

covered with diamonds as big as cobblestones, diamonds in their cleanest state, ready to be cut.

If the famous Jonkers’ diamond, one of the largest ever found, had been tossed on the brilliant

floor of the Krakatoa mine, it would have been as impossible to find as a grain of salt in a bag

of sugar.

I was naturally astounded. I had seen pictures of the famous salt mines of Poland and the crystal

caves of Bermuda. Here was a sight a thousand times more blinding, more awe-inspiring;

a sight to make reality of the most imaginative fairy tale.

I greedily picked up some of the jewels letting the smaller ones slip through my fingers.

I couldn’t resist taking the biggest diamond in my hands. It was the size of a baseball. I suddenly

felt like a small child let loose in a candy shop. I put the diamond away reluctantly.

“May I have a handful of these?” I asked pointing to the diamond pebbles at my feet. My voice

was trembling.

“Sure,” he said, “fill your pockets with them if you wish.”

adapted from The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pène du Bois

6.1. In the first paragraph, we learn that the narrator

A. found Krakatoa more densely populated than he had expected.

B. felt relieved after an exhausting trek in an unstable area.

C. got sick because the bench he sat on was moving.

D. took a rest by the door leading to the mine.

6.2. Looking at the diamonds in the mine, the narrator

A. imagined himself putting the biggest diamond in his pocket.

B. remembered equally impressive mines he had been to.

C. felt overwhelmed by their quality and quantity.

D. hesitated whether or not he could touch them.

Tekst 2.

ARE DIAMONDS FOREVER?

Everybody knows the slogan “A Diamond Is Forever”, but have you ever wondered about its

origin? Here is the story.

Until the late nineteenth century, diamonds were found only in India and Brazil, and the entire

world production of gem diamonds amounted to a few pounds a year. In 1870, however, huge

diamond deposits were discovered in South Africa, where diamonds were soon being scooped

out by the ton. The British financiers who had founded the South African mines quickly realized

that their investment was endangered. They knew that diamond prices depended almost entirely

on their scarcity so they feared that diamonds might become at best only semiprecious gems.

They needed something which would boost the demand for the stone. Help came in 1938

from a leading diamond merchandiser who launched well-orchestrated advertising and

public-relations campaigns which aimed at creating emotional and romantic feelings towards

diamonds. The skilful marketing enhanced the notion that diamonds were a gift of love:

the larger and finer the diamond, the greater the love expressed. In three years diamond sales

were up by 50%, but the merchandiser still needed a slogan that would express both the theme

of romance and legitimacy. In 1947 the now classic slogan “A Diamond Is Forever” was coined.

This immediately spurred even more sales. The implied durability of a diamond conveyed

the meaning that marriage is forever.

The expression “a diamond is forever” is, however, more than just a catchy marketing slogan.

Diamonds undoubtedly are the hardest of all gemstones. They have incredibly strong atom

bonds because they are made up of carbon. Being the smallest of the atoms that can be bonded,

carbon atoms fit together more tightly than atoms of any other element. Once these atoms have

been compressed at high enough temperatures to form a diamond, they are literally bound

forever, like marriage should be.

adapted from www.thediamondauthority.org

6.3. Which of the following sentences is TRUE?

A. The promotional campaign managed to boost diamond sales effectively.

B. The idea that diamonds are tokens of affection originated in the 19th century.

C. British financiers took over the South African mines to limit the diamond supply.

D. The discovery of diamond deposits in South Africa resulted in diamonds being

downgraded to semiprecious stones.

6.4. The writer’s intention in the last paragraph is

A. to outline scientific studies concerning the diamond market.

B. to prove that there is a scientific explanation behind a popular phrase.

C. to point to the difference between the hardness of carbon and a diamond.

D. to question the similarity between diamond structure and bonds in marriage.

6.5. Both texts

A. explain why diamonds are so expensive.

B. describe the diamond mines the authors have visited.

C. trace the history of diamond mining.

D. refer to human fascination with diamonds.

PRZENIEŚ ROZWIĄZANIA NA KARTĘ ODPOWIEDZI!

6.5.

3.1. Zdający określa główną myśl tekstu.

D

Znajomość środków językowych