Чтение: поиск информации и выводы. 9 класс

Text 1. Read and answer the questions.

Urban farming is growing fast in cities around the world. In Tokyo, people grow vegetables on rooftops. In New York, disused warehouses have become indoor farms under bright LED lights. The idea isn't new — during World War Two, citizens in Britain grew food in parks and gardens to help with shortages. Today's urban farms use modern technology: sensors measure soil moisture, apps control watering systems, and some farms use no soil at all, growing plants in water enriched with nutrients.

The benefits go beyond food. Urban farms cool down city temperatures by absorbing heat, reduce air pollution, and give city residents a chance to connect with nature. In some cities, schoolchildren visit farms to learn where food comes from — a question many urban kids can't answer.

However, urban farming has its critics. The costs of setting up indoor farms are high, and the energy used by LED lights is significant. Some researchers argue that it would be more efficient to transport food from traditional farms in the countryside. Despite this debate, the number of urban farms continues to rise, suggesting that for many city dwellers, the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

Text 2. Read and answer the questions.

Marcus had always struggled with maths. By the time he reached Year 9, he had failed three tests in a row and was convinced he simply wasn't 'a maths person'. His teacher, Mrs Chen, noticed he was giving up and suggested something unusual: instead of extra homework, she asked him to tutor a younger student, ten-year-old Lena, once a week.

At first, Marcus was reluctant. He felt he had nothing to offer. But explaining basic concepts to Lena forced him to think about maths differently. When she didn't understand something, he couldn't just move on — he had to find a new way to explain it. Week by week, his own understanding deepened without him realising it.

By the end of the term, Marcus had not only passed his next test but scored in the top third of his class. Mrs Chen wasn't surprised. She had seen the same pattern many times: teaching is one of the most powerful ways to learn. Marcus, however, was astonished. He had walked into the tutoring sessions feeling like a failure, and walked out feeling, for the first time, like someone who understood numbers.

Text 3. Read and answer the questions.

Sleep is often the first thing people sacrifice when they feel busy. Students stay up late to study, and adults cut their rest to catch up on work. Yet sleep researchers have been warning for decades that this is counterproductive.

During sleep, the brain does something remarkable: it consolidates memories by transferring information from short-term to long-term storage. Studies on students show that those who sleep for at least seven hours before an exam consistently outperform those who study through the night. The extra hours of studying simply can't compensate for the brain's need to process what it has learnt.

Sleep also regulates mood. People who are sleep-deprived tend to react more strongly to negative events and have less patience with others. In the long term, chronic sleep loss is linked to a higher risk of anxiety and depression.

Physical health is affected too. The immune system works partly during sleep, repairing tissue and producing antibodies. Athletes who sleep nine or more hours perform measurably better than those who sleep six.

Despite all this evidence, many people still treat sleep as a luxury. Researchers hope that as awareness grows, sleep will be seen not as a waste of time, but as one of the most productive things a person can do.

Text 4. Read and answer the questions.

In 2015, a sixteen-year-old surfer named Zara Williams became the youngest person to surf a wave of over twenty metres at Nazaré, a beach in Portugal famous for its enormous waves. Zara had started surfing at the age of eight, on small waves near her home in Cornwall, England. By twelve, she was competing in junior national championships.

Nazaré's giant waves are created by an underwater canyon that runs from the shore to the deep Atlantic. This canyon channels water in a way that produces waves far larger than those found elsewhere. Surfers from around the world travel there specifically to attempt record-breaking rides.

Zara's preparation took two years. She worked with a sports psychologist to manage fear, trained in a swimming pool to improve her breath control, and studied the patterns of Nazaré's waves with a local guide. On the day of her record attempt, the water temperature was nine degrees Celsius and the wind was gusting at sixty kilometres per hour.

After the ride, she said: 'I was terrified the whole time. But that's the point — you don't beat fear, you just decide to move anyway.'

Text 5. Read and answer the questions.

For centuries, cartographers — people who make maps — were some of the most powerful people in the world. Whoever controlled the map controlled how others understood geography, trade routes, and territory. Early maps were often wildly inaccurate: coastlines were distorted, distances were wrong, and large areas were simply left blank with the note 'here be dragons' to indicate unknown territory.

The first accurate world maps emerged in the 15th and 16th centuries, as European explorers returned with new information. Gerardus Mercator's 1569 map was revolutionary: it projected the round Earth onto a flat surface in a way that made straight lines easier to navigate. Sailors could draw a straight line from A to B and follow it. The downside was that the projection distorted size — making some areas appear much larger than they actually were.

Today, digital maps created from satellite data give us near-perfect accuracy. Navigation apps update in real time and can reroute drivers around traffic jams. Yet even modern maps make choices about what to show and what to leave out. They are never fully neutral — a map always reflects the priorities of whoever made it.

Text 6. Read and answer the questions.

Volunteering abroad has become popular among students taking a gap year between school and university. Organisations offer placements in schools, hospitals, wildlife reserves, and community projects in countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. For many young people, it seems like a perfect combination: doing something meaningful while seeing the world.

But critics argue that some forms of volunteer tourism — sometimes called 'voluntourism' — do more harm than good. When unskilled volunteers work in schools or medical facilities, they may disrupt the work of local professionals and take jobs that could be paid to local people. There are also concerns about orphanages that keep children in poor conditions specifically to attract paying volunteers — a practice that has been documented in several countries.

Supporters of volunteering abroad say that with the right organisation, the experience can be genuinely useful — especially when volunteers bring specific skills or support long-term projects. They also argue that the personal growth volunteers experience has lasting value.

Experts recommend researching any organisation carefully before signing up: checking how long it has operated, what its local partnerships look like, and whether the community actually requested the help.