READING. Everybody knows that Santa Claus lives somewhere near the North Pole where

EUROPE'S LAST UTOPIA

Everybody knows that Santa Claus lives somewhere near the North Pole where

a carpet of snow covers the mountains and the amazing Northern Lights shine

brightly in the Arctic night. It has generally been assumed that he settled there

because of all that snow for his reindeer and sleigh, but the real reason he put his

roots down on the edge of the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland, Europe's last

wilderness, must surely be that he simply loved the beauty and solitude of this last

Utopia, Santa Claus Land. Sandwiched between Norwegian Lapland and the former

USSR, Finnish Lapland lies almost entirely above the Arctic Circle in Northern

Finland. The capital is the winter-sport center of Rovaniemi. It's a modern town in

the middle of nowhere. Concorde used to land there and many daily Finnair flights

arrive from all over Finland.

EXERCISE 1: Find words or phrases in the passage which mean the same as:

COLUMN A COLUMN B

a) person who is believed, by children, to deliver

presents at Christmas

b) vehicle used for travelling on snow, often pulled

by horses

c) settle; establish oneself (in a place) (phrase)

d) state of being without other people - usually

calm and peaceful

e) imaginary place which is perfect and where

everyone is happy

f) put between two other things with little space

left over; squashed

g) a long way from anywhere; isolated (phrase)

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EXERCISE 2: Choose the correct answer according to the passage.

1. Finnish Lapland

A) has a modern airport in the capital, Rovaniemi

B) is smaller than Norwegian Lapland

C) is the only remaining wilderness in Europe

D) gets most of its revenue from winter sports

E) is entirely covered with snowy mountains

2. Finnish Lapland is an area

A) which was once part of the USSR

B) completely within the Arctic Circle

C) also known as Utopia

D) with a large reindeer population

E) close to the North Pole

3. The writer claims that

A) Santa Claus settled in Finnish Lapland because of the peace and quiet

B) it's because of its location that Finnish Lapland is so popular

C) the greatest attraction in Finnish Lapland is the Northern Lights

D) trying to find wilderness is like trying to find Utopia

E) reindeers are the best animals for pulling sleighs

EXERCISE 3: Complete the sentences by selecting words from Column B in EXERCISE 1.

1. After travelling extensively throughout the world, she finally in a small

village near the sea.

2. One of the most popular tourist attractions was the rides round the

frozen lake.

3. I know the house is beautiful, but it's There isn't even a local shop.

4. When I got onto the crowded train, I found myself between a woman

carrying a screaming baby and an extremely fat man who snored while he slept.

5. Whenever the pressure of work got too much for him, he used to escape from the city and

seek the of the mountains.

ВАРИАНТ 17