Прочитай текст и выполни задания 12–18. В каждом задании запиши в поле ответа цифру 1, 2, 3 или 4, соответствующую выбранному варианту ответа.

The nature of mystery

There has been a murder. A person has been found dead in a locked room in Birmingham, surrounded by a puddle of seawater, a circle of mysterious powder thought to be turmeric, and a carefully arranged pattern of energy drink cans. Who could have done this? And how?! What a... mystery.

Okay, so this might not be the start of an Agatha Christie novel, but we all know roughly how the rest of the story will go. A clever protagonist and their helpful sidekick will follow the clues to the correct answer. They'll be thrown off once or twice, but then a chance encounter or phrase will shed light on a key piece of information and thus the mystery will be solved. The red herrings have to be challenging enough to stay interesting, and not so obvious that you stop reading. (If you're wondering, the Birmingham man was murdered by his butler's identical twin).

Even if murder is not your thing, mystery is ubiquitous. Thousands of hours of media across all genres are dedicated to following the story of something strange as it is solved, or not. Nowadays, mystery generally means something that is inexplicable or not understood. It is this notion of something that is secret or beyond our understanding — but that maybe we understand — that we find so compelling. We generally expect to arrive at a solution to a mystery we come across in the media, and we know that this will be satisfying. However, the mystery itself is also enthralling. It is difficult to leave something alone once you have been made aware of what you don't know.

So, we are fascinated by mysteries, but there is something dangerous about them too. Mysteries stand out — they don't quite fit into normal life or categorisation. It can be difficult to live with a mystery in real life if it means you never find out exactly why or how something happened. It is easier to like mysteries we have some control over, like those in a book or a film, rather than having to live with the unknown. Too many undetermined things can feel threatening, and then any rationalisation starts to seem better than nothing.

In general, we respond to threats by freezing, attacking, running away, or forming complex social structures that allow us to band together and overcome them. 'Science' comes from the Latin word for knowledge. It is an entire discipline, a way of looking at the world, that allows us to stare mysteries in the face and wonder about their molecular composition and what they eat for breakfast. Faced with the infinite confusion of the world, science is a way of breaking big things down into smaller sections and solving them one research paper at a time.

Ironically, the very system created for solving the mysteries of the universe can be difficult to explain to outsiders. Science has its own language and culture. Unless you're part of it, it can seem opaque, hidden, and inexplicable. Society has a chequered history with science and the possession of specialised knowledge — is it helpful or a threat? Perhaps this reflects the relationship we have with anything a bit mysterious. Are they sources of excitement or fear? Do we hate them or love them, or do we just think we can fix them? If nothing else, they arouse our curiosity. And to be curious is to be human.

We start to ask 'why' as children, and never stop. Even if the answer is that there is no answer, at least we find out where the boundaries are. At least we know a bit more about what we don't know. And even though I hope many of the problems facing modern science will someday be answered, it is difficult to imagine a world in which there isn't still some mystery. 'Mystery' should be added to the list of universal constants. Science is our tool for solving many of them, but it is an impossible task. There will always be mysteries. They will always be an intriguing and uncomfortable reminder of what we don't know. How could we be human without them?

12. According to the text, which of the following sentences about a detective novel is FALSE?

1)   The main character always has a companion.

2)   The mystery is solved unexpectedly.

3)   The victim dies under unusual circumstances.

4)   The mystery is solved at the first attempt.

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13. Which choice is closest to the meaning of the phrase "a red herring" in the 2nd paragraph?

1)   A food usually cooked by seamen.

2)   A smoked herring that is turned red by the smoke.

3)   The information that misleads and distracts from an important question.

4)   The vital information.

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14. People love solving mysteries because they...

1)   don't like not knowing something.

2)   want to be famous in the media.

3)   exercise their brains that way.

4)   want to understand the mystery in order to create their own.

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15. Why do people sometimes invent solutions to mysteries?

1)   They don't want to live a boring life.

2)   They are afraid of the unknown.

3)   They want the world to be like it is in films and books.

4)   They don't want to work so hard in search of a real solution to a mystery.

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16. Science was created to…

1)   bring people from all countries together.

2)   stop unknown threats.

3)   help people understand the mysteries of the world.

4)   allow people to know information that only a small amount of people know.

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17. What does the word "it" (paragraph 7) refer to?

1)   Society.

2)   A connection people have to science.

3)   A mystery.

4)   Relationship between people.

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18. What is the main idea of the author in the last paragraph?

1)   People are curious only in their childhood.

2)   It's possible that science can solve all the mysteries of the world.

3)   Mysteries are exciting.

4)   Mysteries are an essential part of human existence.

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