Разбор заданий: решения, ответы к олимпиаде школьников “Ломоносов” по Английскому языку для учащихся 11 класса. Проходящая с 14 ноября по 21 ноября 2025 года. Материалы являются официальными взяты и опубликованы в ознакомительных целях
Отборочный этап олимпиады «Ломоносов» по Английскому языку 2025-2026
Вопросы для 11 класса
Задание 1. You will hear eight extracts from the interviews.
Task 1
Listen to Extract 1. For questions 1-9, choose the answer which fits best according to what you hear.
1. “Human creativity is nature manifest in us.” In this sentence, manifest means that creativity is:
a copy of nature we try to imitate.
nature clearly expressed or made visible in humans.
something mysterious we cannot explain.
hidden deep inside human emotion.
2. “Well, here’s the rub…” The speaker’s use of rub means:
the rule we must follow and coincides with the meaning of this word in Othello’s soliloquy in the play by William Shakespeare.
the pleasant surprise and coincides with the meaning of this word in Hamlet’s dialogue with his father’s ghost in the play by William Shakespeare.
the main difficulty or obstacle and coincides with the meaning of this word in Hamlet’s soliloquy in the play by William Shakespeare.
the physical act of touching the pleasant surprise and coincides with the meaning of this word in one of Othello’s dialogue with lago in the play by William Shakespeare.
3. “You’re desperate for making sense out of this life.” Here desperate suggests:
calmly hoping to understand something.
urgently and emotionally needing an answer.
angry about not being understood.
casually curious about life.
4. “You’re making sense out of this life.” In this context, the phrase means:
translating something into another language.
organizing information logically.
finding emotional or philosophical meaning in experience.
having intense feelings about their life experiences.
5. “How did they come out of this cloud?” Here cloud refers to:
bad weather that stopped filming.
mental confusion or emotional darkness.
a thick fog typical of the climate in Alaska.
spiritual enlightenment and catharsis.
6. “Or the inverse – something great happens…” The speaker uses the inverse to mean:
the same kind of situation.
the opposite kind of situation.
a more complicated version.
the cause of the problem.
7. “You meet somebody and your heart explodes… you can’t even see straight.” In this context, see straight means:
to look physically straight ahead.
to act logically because emotions don’t affect you.
to think clearly without being overwhelmed.
to lose eyesight completely.
8. “And that’s when art’s not a luxury.” Here luxury most nearly means:
a rare but absolutely necessary resource.
something extra, pleasant but non-essential.
a basic human right.
a symbol of wealth.
9. The interplay of colours the speaker saw and admired was
a natural phenomenon.
a dream.
a movie he starred in that was shot in Alaska.
a production based on the play by Bernard Shaw.
Task 2
Listen to Extracts 2-8. For questions 10-15, choose the answer which fits best according to what you hear.
10. Based on extracts 2, 4, and 5, what idea about personal growth do the speakers emphasize?
Personal growth comes mainly from formal education and structured training.
True growth happens when we confront vulnerability and learn from our experiences.
Growth requires fame, wealth, and social recognition.
Creativity is only important in artistic professions.
11. In extract 3, what does the speaker mean about meat and potatoes?
He prefers simple, straightforward, and practical roles rather than complicated or flashy ones.
He enjoys roles that are highly experimental and unconventional.
He is tired of his fame, luxury around him, and decadent lifestyle.
He dislikes working hard and prefers easy roles.
12. In extract 6, the speaker thinks fame is
the most precious thing.
fickle, fluctuating, and inconstant. unattainable.
relentless.
13. In extract 7, the speaker describes being sent to Maui: “It is a pretty awesome and epic place to be homeless.” What stylistic device is used here?
Zeugma.
Paradox.
Embajament.
Personification.
14. Considering extracts 2, 3, and 8, which statement best summarizes the speakers’ attitude toward creativity?
Creativity is an innate talent that guarantees fame and recognition.
Creative people are superior to others in society.
Creativity is a way of engaging deeply with life and learning from its unpredictability.
Creativity is mostly about professional artistic skill and technique.
15. What central insight about human creativity and life experience unites the speakers across all eight extracts?
That creativity and success mainly depend on natural talent and favourable circumstances.
That real creativity grows from vulnerability, self-discovery, and how people respond to pain and change.
That creative people are fundamentally different, vulnerable, and fragile: theerefore they should protect themselves from ordinary life.
That creativity is a luxury pursuit, disconnected from everyday survival or emotion.
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Задание 2. You are going to read an article on the evolution of language. Complete the tasks that follow the text.
How the Internet is changing language
’To Google’ has become a universally understood verb and many countries are developing their own internet slang. But is the web changing language and is everyone up to speed?
In April 2010 the informal online banter of the internet-savvy collided with the traditional and austere language of the court room. Christopher Poole, founder of anarchic image message board 4Chan, had been called to testify during the trial of the man accused of hacking into US politician Sarah Palin’s e-mail account. During the questioning he was asked to define a catalogue of internet slang that would be familiar to many online, but which was seemingly lost on the lawyers.
At one point during the exchange, Mr Poole was asked to define «rickrolling».
«Rickroll is a meme or internet kind of trend that started on 4chan where users — it’s basically a bait and switch. Users link you to a video of Rick Astley performing Never Gonna Give You Up,» said Mr Poole.
«And the term «rickroll» — you said it tries to make people go to a site where they think it is going be one thing, but it is a video of Rick Astley, right?,» asked the lawyer.
«Yes.»
«He was some kind of singer?»
«Yes.»
«It’s a joke?»
«Yes.»
The internet prank was just one of several terms including «lurker», «troll» and «caps» that Mr Poole was asked to explain to a seemingly baffled court.
But that is hardly a surprise, according to David Crystal, honorary professor of linguistics at the University of Bangor, who says that new colloquialisms spread like wildfire amongst groups on the net.
«The internet is an amazing medium for languages,» he told BBC News.
«Language itself changes slowly but the internet has speeded up the process of those changes so you notice them more quickly.»
People using word play to form groups and impress their peers is a fairly traditional activity, he added.
«It’s like any badge of ability, if you go to a local skatepark you see kids whose expertise is making a skateboard do wonderful things.
«Online you show how brilliant you are by manipulating the language of the internet.»
For English speakers there are cult websites devoted to cult dialects — «LOLcat» — a phonetic and deliberately grammatically incorrect caption that accompanies a picture of a cat, and «Leetspeak» in which some letters are replaced by numbers which stem from programming code.
«There are about a dozen of these games cooked up by a crowd of geeks who, like anybody, play language games,» said Professor Crystal.
«They are all clever little developments used by a very small number of people — thousands rather than millions. They are fashionable at the moment but will they be around in 50 years’ time? I would be very surprised.»
For him, the efforts of those fluent in online tongues is admirable.
«They might not be reading Shakespeare and Dickens but they are reading and cooking up these amazing little games — and showing that they are very creative. I’m quite impressed with these movements.»
One language change that has definitely been overhyped is so-called text speak, a mixture of often vowel-free abbreviations and acronyms, says Prof Crystal.
«People say that text messaging is a new language and that people are filling texts with abbreviations — but when you actually analyse it you find they’re not,» he said.
In fact only 10% of the words in an average text are not written in full, he added.
They may be in the minority but acronyms seem to anger as many people as they delight.
Stephen Fry once blasted the acronym CCTV (closed circuit television) for being «such a bland, clumsy, rythmically null and phonically forgettable word, if you can call it a word».
But his inelegant group of letters is one of many acronyms to earn a place in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). The secret of their success is their longevity.
«We need evidence that people are using a word over a period of time,» said Fiona McPherson, senior editor in the new words group at the OED.
She says the group looks for evidence that a word has been in use for at least five years before it can earn its place in the dictionary. Such evidence comes in the form of correspondence from the public and trawling through dated material to find out when a term first started appearing. Hence TMI (Too Much Information) is in, while OMG (Oh My God) has yet to be included in the quarterly dictionary updates.
«Some people get quite exercised and say, ’do these things belong in our language?’,» said Ms McPherson.
«But maybe this has always happened. TTFN [ta ta for now] is from the ITMA (It’s That Man Again) radio series in the 1940s.»
There is no doubt that technology has had a «significant impact» on language in the last 10 years, says Ms McPherson.
Some entirely new words like the verb ’to google’, or look something up on a search engine, and the noun ’app’, used to describe programmes for smartphones (not yet in the OED), have either been recently invented or come into popular use.
But the hijacking of existing words and phrases is more common. Ms McPherson points out that the phrase «social networking» debuted in the OED in 1973. Its definition — «the use or establishment of social networks or connections» — has only comparatively recently been linked to internet-based activities.
«These are words that have arisen out of the phenomenon rather than being technology words themselves,» she added.
«Wireless in the 1950s meant a radio. It’s very rare to talk about a radio now as a wireless, unless you’re of a particular generation or trying to be ironic. The word has taken on a whole new significance.»
For Prof Crystal it is still too early to fully evaluate the impact of technology on language.
«The whole phenomenon is very recent — the entire technology we’re talking about is only 20 years old as far as the popular mind is concerned.»
Sometimes the worst thing that can happen to a word is that it becomes too mainstream, he argues.
«Remember a few years ago, West Indians started talking about ’bling’. Then the white middle classes started talking about it and they stopped using it.
«That’s typical of slang — it happens with internet slang as well.»
Reading Comprehension
You are going to read an article on the evolution of language. Complete the tasks that follow the text.
How the Internet is changing language
’To Google’ has become a universally understood verb and many countries are developing their own internet slang. But is the web changing language and is everyone up to speed?
In April 2010 the informal online banter of the internet-savvy collided with the traditional and austere language of the court room. Christopher Poole, founder of anarchic image message board 4Chan, had been called to testify during the trial of the man accused of hacking into US politician Sarah Palin’s e-mail account. During the questioning he was asked to define a catalogue of internet slang that would be familiar to many online, but which was seemingly lost on the lawyers.
At one point during the exchange, Mr Poole was asked to define «rickrolling».
«Rickroll is a meme or internet kind of trend that started on 4chan where users — it’s basically a bait and switch. Users link you to a video of Rick Astley performing Never Gonna Give You Up,» said Mr Poole.
«And the term «rickroll» — you said it tries to make people go to a site where they think it is going be one thing, but it is a video of Rick Astley, right?,» asked the lawyer.
«Yes.»
«He was some kind of singer?»
«Yes.»
«It’s a joke?»
«Yes.»
The internet prank was just one of several terms including «lurker», «troll» and «caps» that Mr Poole was asked to explain to a seemingly baffled court.
But that is hardly a surprise, according to David Crystal, honorary professor of linguistics at the University of Bangor, who says that new colloquialisms spread like wildfire amongst groups on the net.
«The internet is an amazing medium for languages,» he told BBC News.
«Language itself changes slowly but the internet has speeded up the process of those changes so you notice them more quickly.»
People using word play to form groups and impress their peers is a fairly traditional activity, he added.
«It’s like any badge of ability, if you go to a local skatepark you see kids whose expertise is making a skateboard do wonderful things.
«Online you show how brilliant you are by manipulating the language of the internet.»
For English speakers there are cult websites devoted to cult dialects — «LOLcat» — a phonetic and deliberately grammatically incorrect caption that accompanies a picture of a cat, and «Leetspeak» in which some letters are replaced by numbers which stem from programming code.
«There are about a dozen of these games cooked up by a crowd of geeks who, like anybody, play language games,» said Professor Crystal.
«They are all clever little developments used by a very small number of people — thousands rather than millions. They are fashionable at the moment but will they be around in 50 years’ time? I would be very surprised.»
For him, the efforts of those fluent in online tongues is admirable.
«They might not be reading Shakespeare and Dickens but they are reading and cooking up these amazing little games — and showing that they are very creative. I’m quite impressed with these movements.»
One language change that has definitely been overhyped is so-called text speak, a mixture of often vowel-free abbreviations and acronyms, says Prof Crystal.
«People say that text messaging is a new language and that people are filling texts with abbreviations — but when you actually analyse it you find they’re not,» he said.
In fact only 10% of the words in an average text are not written in full, he added.
They may be in the minority but acronyms seem to anger as many people as they delight.
Stephen Fry once blasted the acronym CCTV (closed circuit television) for being «such a bland, clumsy, rythmically null and phonically forgettable word, if you can call it a word».
But his inelegant group of letters is one of many acronyms to earn a place in the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). The secret of their success is their longevity.
«We need evidence that people are using a word over a period of time,» said Fiona McPherson, senior editor in the new words group at the OED.
She says the group looks for evidence that a word has been in use for at least five years before it can earn its place in the dictionary. Such evidence comes in the form of correspondence from the public and trawling through dated material to find out when a term first started appearing. Hence TMI (Too Much Information) is in, while OMG (Oh My God) has yet to be included in the quarterly dictionary updates.
«Some people get quite exercised and say, ’do these things belong in our language?’,» said Ms McPherson.
«But maybe this has always happened. TTFN [ta ta for now] is from the ITMA (It’s That Man Again) radio series in the 1940s.»
There is no doubt that technology has had a «significant impact» on language in the last 10 years, says Ms McPherson.
Some entirely new words like the verb ’to google’, or look something up on a search engine, and the noun ’app’, used to describe programmes for smartphones (not yet in the OED), have either been recently invented or come into popular use.
But the hijacking of existing words and phrases is more common. Ms McPherson points out that the phrase «social networking» debuted in the OED in 1973. Its definition — «the use or establishment of social networks or connections» — has only comparatively recently been linked to internet-based activities.
«These are words that have arisen out of the phenomenon rather than being technology words themselves,» she added.
«Wireless in the 1950s meant a radio. It’s very rare to talk about a radio now as a wireless, unless you’re of a particular generation or trying to be ironic. The word has taken on a whole new significance.»
For Prof Crystal it is still too early to fully evaluate the impact of technology on language.
«The whole phenomenon is very recent — the entire technology we’re talking about is only 20 years old as far as the popular mind is concerned.»
Sometimes the worst thing that can happen to a word is that it becomes too mainstream, he argues.
«Remember a few years ago, West Indians started talking about ’bling’. Then the white middle classes started talking about it and they stopped using it.
«That’s typical of slang — it happens with internet slang as well.»
Task 1
For questions 1-8, choose the answer which you think fits best according to the text.
1. Why was Christopher Poole called to testify in court in 2010?
To explain the origins of textspeak.
To discuss his work as a linguist.
To define internet slang for a hacking trial.
To debate the merits of online memes.
To represent 4Chan in a civil lawsuit.
To explain how social networks operate.
To demonstrate leetspeak coding.
To defend Sarah Palin.
To lecture about language evolution.
To clarify the meaning of acronyms in the OED.
2. When Christopher Poole appeared in court in 2010, what contrast did his testimony reveal?
The tension between informal online language and formal legal speech.
The cooperation between hackers and politicians.
The influence of 4Chan on judicial procedures.
The confusion between acronyms and proper names.
The invention of new courtroom terminology.
The disappearance of humour from public life.
The legal adoption of internet memes.
The decline of linguistic precision in trials.
The acceptance of textspeak in legal writing.
The popularity of Rick Astley’s music among lawyers.
3. What does the text indicate about the prevalence of acronyms in text messages?
They make up most of the words in a text message.
They account for about 50% of all text content.
Only a small proportion of words are shortened in texting.
Acronyms are never used in text messages.
Most text messages contain more abbreviations than full words.
Acronyms are banned in formal online communication.
Every text message contains at least one acronym.
Text messaging has created an entirely new language.
Acronyms are always rejected by the Oxford English Dictionary.
All abbreviations are older than five years.
4. Which statement accurately reflects Fiona McPherson’s criteria for including a word in the OED?
A word must be used by at least a million people worldwide.
A word must appear on social media for one year.
A word must be in use for at least five years with evidence.
Any acronym automatically qualifies for the dictionary.
Words invented by technology companies are prioritized.
Only verbs can be added to the OED.
A word must be used in a court case.
Textspeak abbreviations are immediately included.
Words older than 50 years are automatically excluded.
All new words from online forums are included.
5. What does the text suggest about the long-term impact of online slang?
It will replace all traditional language within 20 years.
It is likely to remain exactly as it is today for 50 years.
It is uncertain, and many forms may not last long-term.
Online slang is fully mainstream and unchanging.
All internet memes are preserved in dictionaries.
Leetspeak and LOLcat will dominate global communication.
Internet slang is universally disliked.
Technology has had no measurable effect on language.
Popular words always maintain their original meaning.
Only words from the 1950s remain relevant today.
6. Professor Crystal implies that the Internet has affected language by
accelerating natural processes of change already present in society.
replacing traditional grammar with online dialects.
inventing an entirely new linguistic system.
erasing differences between spoken and written English.
standardising communication globally.
forcing educators to abandon older vocabulary.
introducing completely unpredictable linguistic chaos.
preventing people from using figurative language.
ending the formation of small linguistic groups.
removing humour from everyday discourse.
7. Which of the following best describes Professor David Crystal’s view on language change due to the internet?
Professor Crystal’s remarks suggest that language evolution online is perceived as
Artificially created by technology.
A version of a natural process.
Evidence of linguistic decay.
8. Which of the following best reflects Professor Crystal’s attitude toward the future of online slang?
Dismissive.
Amused but doubtful.
Confident and optimistic.
Alarmed.
Task 2
For questions 9-10, analyse the following memes and come up with one word for 9 to complete the meme (cross-cultural allusion) and choose the definition for 10 that fits best the meme context (semantics and style).
10. The word extra in this meme means
an actor or person temporarily engaged, usually for crowd scenes
anything excessive, unnecessary, uncalled for, inappropriate, out of place, etc.; basically anything that shouldn’t
be there or have been said
something that costs more when you buy goods or pay for a service
a special edition of a newspaper
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Задание 3. For questions 1-15, read the extract from a self-study book and complete the tasks.
Use these verbs in their new forms – finite (tense, mood, number, person) and non-finite (infinitive, gerund, participle) – and complete the gaps.
abstract
be
brush
come
commit
relate
talk
Use these stems in new lexemes – with the help of prefixes, suffixes, compounding, conversion – and complete the gaps.
common
consider
face
order
philosophy
pragmatic
Use one word from each group to complete the gaps.
literal/ literary/ literate
thereby/ thereof/ thereupon
You talk to friends about a movie you saw. You talk to your parents about the upcoming event. You talk to your teacher about moving the project deadline. Your 1.
to people about stuff is conversation. The text below will give you the lowdown on pragmatics — how you make a conversation work, how you use language to change the world, and how you 2.
what you say to the surrounding context.
Pragmatics is the branch of linguistics that looks at what you actually say: your utterances. Linguists study how what you say relates to the communicative situation or context you’re in and how the context can be changed by what you say — all in order to find the rules that you, as a speaker, use when talking to other people.
Pragmatics 3.
from Greek pragmatikos. The word stem pragmat- means ‘deed’. Pragmatics looks at the deeds of language: utterances. Linguists who study pragmatics are called 4.
. Pragmatics in the large sense can be traced to two sources. The work of the 5.
Paul Grice (on the logic of conversation) together with J. L. Austin and John Searle (on speech acts) is the basis of formal pragmatics. The work of sociologist Harvey Sacks (on talking as social interaction) is the basis of conversation analysis.
Brush up on important terminology
Statement
the content of a sentence that affirms or denies something and may be true or false; what is 6.
affirmed or denied 7.
from the act of uttering it. Thus I am warm said by me and You are warm said to me make the same statement
Proposition
a. the content of a sentence that affirms or denies something and is capable of 8.
true or false
b. the meaning of such a sentence: I am warm always expresses the same proposition whoever the speaker is
Connotation
an association or idea suggested by a word or phrase; implication
It can be positive, negative or neutral. It can vary across temporal, cultural, age or gender characteristics
Speech acts
You use language to make things happen in the world: You ask someone for directions or invite them to a party. You make an appointment with the dentist or order take-out food. Linguists call these things speech acts. Speech acts include statements, questions, promises, orders, and so on. And if you have authority, you can do special things with words: name a ship, pronounce someone man and wife, declare someone innocent, or award a penalty to the Canucks.
To sum up, a speech act is an utterance that serves a function in communication. It is an act performed by speaking.
Types of speech acts:
Assertive Speaker 9.
to the truth of the statement: I affirm that…, I believe that…, I conclude that… Directive Speaker tries to make hearer do something: I ask you to…, I beg you to…, I challenge you to…, I command you to…, I dare you to…, I invite you to…, I request you to…
Commissive Speaker obligates themselves to a course of action: I guarantee that…, I pledge that…, I promise that…, I swear that…, I vow that…, I under take to…, I warrant that…, I want to…
Expressive Speaker expresses attitude. I apologize for…, I appreciate that…, I con gratulate you on…, I deplore that…, I detest that…, I regret that…, I thank you for…, I welcome…, I’m glad that…
Declarative Speaker alters external condition of object. I now pronounce you man and wife, I sentence you to life in prison, I name this ship the Black
Indirect Speech Acts
An indirect speech act is when the 10.
meaning of the sentence form (e.g., a question) is used to perform a different function (e.g., a directive).
Example 1: «Can you pass the salt?» Literal Form: A question about ability (a directive?). Actual Speech Act: A polite request (a directive).
Example 2: «It’s cold in here.» Literal Form: A statement about the temperature (an assertive). Actual Speech Act: A request to close the window or turn up the heat (a directive).
Speech acts can be also categorised based on their «felicity conditions» (the conditions needed for them to be successful):
Locutionary Act: The act of saying something with a specific meaning (propositional meaning, in exact accordance with or limited to the primary or explicit meaning of a word).
Illocutionary Act: The act performed in saying something (the intention: promising, warning, ordering). This is what we now 11.
call the «speech act.»
Perlocutionary Act: The act performed by saying something, the effect it has on the listener (persuading, frightening, inspiring, confusing).
Example: Saying «There’s a spider on your shoulder!» Locution: The statement about the spider’s location.
Illocution: The act of warning you. Perlocution: The effect of frightening you or causing you 12.
it off.
Contexts
✓Discourse context: This is any utterance before and after the utterance under 13.
. This is important for knowing how and when to use, for example, pronouns such as she or he. (This is also called the linguistic context.)
✓ Narrow utterance context: This includes those aspects of the immediate situation in which the utterance is made. Every utterance is associated with (at least) four parameters: it is said by a certain speaker, at a certain a place, at a certain time, in a certain world.
✓ Broad utterance context: This includes non-linguistic social and cultural information, including:
Speaker’s intentions and actions in the conversation: To convince someone of their point of view, to obtain information from someone, or to alert someone to new information.
✓ Interactional context: This includes the non-linguistic aspects of the social interaction. You interact differently with someone in a 15.
conversation than you do talking on the phone.
The physical context: For example, whether you’re in an 14.
peacetime situation or in a state of war.
Shared beliefs about how the world works: Be it physical laws (there is gravity), moral laws (killing is wrong), or economic laws (distributing wealth is good).
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