READING. FORM 11

Read the text below. For questions (1-6) choose the correct answer (А, В, C or D).

From The Times

March 25, 2009

RUDEST NAMES FROM THE MIDDLE AGES ARE DYING FROM EMBARRASSMENT

Valentine Low

They are some of the oldest surnames in the land, passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years. But over the past century or so, they have gone into a catastrophic decline.

Is it migration? Death? Disease? Some socio-demographic calamity that has befallen these families. Perhaps not. A list of the names reveals that their fall in popularity may have a more prosaic cause.

Cock, Daft, Death, Smellie, not to mention Gotobed, Shufflebottom, and Jelly: they are all surnames that would have caused their owners considerable embarrassment over the years. A new analysis of British surnames reveals how names with rude overtones have seen the sharpest decline over the past 120 years as their owners have changed them to something more innocuous.

The analysis, which was conducted by Professor Richard Webber, visiting professor of geography at King’s College London, with Experian, the information services company, and Geowise, a provider of geographical analysis software, also reveals fascinating details about patterns of migration.

The fastest-growing surname in Britain is Zhang, which has grown from 123 in 1996 to 5,804 in 2008. It is followed by four other Chinese names — Wang, Yang, Huang and Lin; only after that do a couple of African names get a look in, Moyo and Dube.

Some things have not changed, however. In 1881 the most popular surnames were, in order, Smith, Jones, Williams, Brown, Taylor, Davies, Wilson, Evans, and Thomas; those top nine names are still in the exactly the same order of popularity today.

Where people live has also remained remarkably constant — for hundreds of years. People whose names end in -thorpe, -ing or -by are more likely to have descended from invaders such as the Vikings, Danes or Angles, according to Professor Webber, and are still to be found concentrated on the east coast of Britain. “You are six times more likely to have a neighbor whose name ends in -thorpe or -by if you live in Hull than if you live in Plymouth,” he said.

1)According to the paragraph, the oldest surnames in Britain have gone into a decline because of ____________.

Read the text below. For questions (1-6) choose the correct answer (А, В, C or D).

From The Times

March 25, 2009

RUDEST NAMES FROM THE MIDDLE AGES ARE DYING FROM EMBARRASSMENT

Valentine Low

They are some of the oldest surnames in the land, passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years. But over the past century or so, they have gone into a catastrophic decline.

Is it migration? Death? Disease? Some socio-demographic calamity that has befallen these families. Perhaps not. A list of the names reveals that their fall in popularity may have a more prosaic cause.

Cock, Daft, Death, Smellie, not to mention Gotobed, Shufflebottom, and Jelly: they are all surnames that would have caused their owners considerable embarrassment over the years. A new analysis of British surnames reveals how names with rude overtones have seen the sharpest decline over the past 120 years as their owners have changed them to something more innocuous.

The analysis, which was conducted by Professor Richard Webber, visiting professor of geography at King’s College London, with Experian, the information services company, and Geowise, a provider of geographical analysis software, also reveals fascinating details about patterns of migration.

The fastest-growing surname in Britain is Zhang, which has grown from 123 in 1996 to 5,804 in 2008. It is followed by four other Chinese names — Wang, Yang, Huang and Lin; only after that do a couple of African names get a look in, Moyo and Dube.

Some things have not changed, however. In 1881 the most popular surnames were, in order, Smith, Jones, Williams, Brown, Taylor, Davies, Wilson, Evans, and Thomas; those top nine names are still in the exactly the same order of popularity today.

Where people live has also remained remarkably constant — for hundreds of years. People whose names end in -thorpe, -ing or -by are more likely to have descended from invaders such as the Vikings, Danes or Angles, according to Professor Webber, and are still to be found concentrated on the east coast of Britain. “You are six times more likely to have a neighbor whose name ends in -thorpe or -by if you live in Hull than if you live in Plymouth,” he said.

2)The word “innocuous” in the text is closest in meaning to ___________.

Read the text below. For questions (1-6) choose the correct answer (А, В, C or D).

From The Times

March 25, 2009

RUDEST NAMES FROM THE MIDDLE AGES ARE DYING FROM EMBARRASSMENT

Valentine Low

They are some of the oldest surnames in the land, passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years. But over the past century or so, they have gone into a catastrophic decline.

Is it migration? Death? Disease? Some socio-demographic calamity that has befallen these families. Perhaps not. A list of the names reveals that their fall in popularity may have a more prosaic cause.

Cock, Daft, Death, Smellie, not to mention Gotobed, Shufflebottom, and Jelly: they are all surnames that would have caused their owners considerable embarrassment over the years. A new analysis of British surnames reveals how names with rude overtones have seen the sharpest decline over the past 120 years as their owners have changed them to something more innocuous.

The analysis, which was conducted by Professor Richard Webber, visiting professor of geography at King’s College London, with Experian, the information services company, and Geowise, a provider of geographical analysis software, also reveals fascinating details about patterns of migration.

The fastest-growing surname in Britain is Zhang, which has grown from 123 in 1996 to 5,804 in 2008. It is followed by four other Chinese names — Wang, Yang, Huang and Lin; only after that do a couple of African names get a look in, Moyo and Dube.

Some things have not changed, however. In 1881 the most popular surnames were, in order, Smith, Jones, Williams, Brown, Taylor, Davies, Wilson, Evans, and Thomas; those top nine names are still in the exactly the same order of popularity today.

Where people live has also remained remarkably constant — for hundreds of years. People whose names end in -thorpe, -ing or -by are more likely to have descended from invaders such as the Vikings, Danes or Angles, according to Professor Webber, and are still to be found concentrated on the east coast of Britain. “You are six times more likely to have a neighbor whose name ends in -thorpe or -by if you live in Hull than if you live in Plymouth,” he said.

3)According to the paragraph, which of the following is true of Professor Webber’s research?