OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ, ETAPA LOCALĂ – 17 FEBRUARIE 2018

CLASA a X-a, SECȚIUNEA B

SUBIECTUL A

I. Read the paragraph below and do the tasks (10 x2p=20p).

The T –shirt, or at least the t-shirt as we know it, was born in the theatre. When Tennessee
Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire opened in New York in December 1947, a young actor
named Marlon Brando went on stage wearing a pair of blue jeans and a bright, white, capped-
sleeve T –shirt. It was the first time the T-shirt had been seen publicly as anything but an item of
underwear and it set a fashion trend that was to last through until the end of the century. The idea
of the T-shirt came from Brando himself. He had worn one at rehearsals for the play. The
director was so impressed by the look that was created that he asked Brando to wear the shirt in
the play itself. Brando may have seen the shirt being advertised by the American company Sears
Roebuck. They had decided to market the shirt as a fashionable garment in its own right, rather
than just something to be worn for warmth beneath a denim workshirt or an army uniform. It was
Brando, however, who popularized it, especially with the release of the film version of Streetcar
in 1951. A short leather jacket completed the look that was to be adopted by teenage rebels in
many countries for decades afterwards.

A. Answer the questions:

1. Whose idea was it that Brando should wear the T-shirt in the play?
2. Who wrote the play mentioned in the text?
3. What kind of garment was the T-shirt considered previously?
4. What other articles of clothing helped Brando’s rebel look become popular worldwide?

B. Choose the right synonym:

Rehearsal: a. attempt b. practice c. casting d. audition

Beneath: a. behind b. between c. above d. under
Release: a. making b. directing c. launching d. investing

C. Rephrase the following sentences so as to preserve the meaning:

1. The idea for the T- shirt came to Brando himself.
It was Brando ………………………. the idea for the T-shirt.
2. The director was so impressed by the look that was created that he asked Brando to wear the
shirt in the play itself.
The look that was created ………………………………….. he asked Brando to wear the shirt in
the play itself.
3. It was Brando who popularized the T-shirt.
The T-shirt became…………………………….. .

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II. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that fits in each sentence (10 x 1p = 10p)

Some French education specialists recently put on a festival in Paris to encourage children to
make mistakes. The experts were worried that young people in France were not creative and
(1)_______(innovate) enough for the modern world. Since they believe that a school system
that concentrates on marks and grades will reduce the (2)_____ (able) of the kids to produce
new ideas, the (3) _______ (act) in the week-long event showed the (4)
________(participate) the wonder and pleasure of getting things wrong. Most people believe
in success. In sport, politics and (5) _________ (busy), success is king. Look at our education
systems: they’re based on the idea of encouraging people to be (6) ________(succeed). We
reward success in exams, for example, with (7) _______ (enter) to university. We reward
success at university with a good job. People who do well in their jobs get promoted to higher
positions, and so on.
But there are reasons why we should value (8) ________(fail) as well. The problem with the
success model is that it tends to give credit for safe (9) __________ (behave). We follow the
procedures, obey the rules. More importantly, it encourages people to hang on to old ideas.
On the other hand, people who like to take risks, think (10) ______________________
(create), and come up with new, perhaps impossible, ideas, are told they are not good. In a
fast-changing world, this is not good practice.

III. Translate the text into Romanian ( 10 points)

He could have caught the eight o’clock bus in the morning, but, as he was approaching the
stop, he caught sight of a young woman, and it seemed to him that she was waiting for him,
seated on a bench, pretending to be reading. He saw her constantly look up from her
magazine and glance around with curiosity, sometimes turning her head towards the tables on
the pavement. Emanuel walked down the first little street that came his way, and, as he very
soon saw a barber’s, went in there. When he came back, at about half past eight, the woman
was still there, on the bench, bored, leafing through her magazine. Emanuel hesitated for a
few moments, then he went back again and looked for a café. He asked for a cup often and
drank it at ease, thoughtfully. The sky was becoming clearer, and it seemed the morning
would be warm. Half an hour later, he stood up and walked at leisure to the bus stop.

SUBIECTUL B INTEGRATED SKILLS

Read the paragraph and do the tasks.

Great unrequited love affairs in literature act so powerfully on readers that we think we can
change the story’s ending. Some of us will devour a book over and over again, knowing that
two characters with great romantic chemistry won’t — and maybe shouldn’t — end up
together but wishing against all reason that they will. Each time, we hope that the page might
turn, and this time instead of a missed moment or a gaze or a goodbye, we will happen upon a
kiss, or a reconciliation. Even if there’s a sensible marriage or two with less combustive
energy at these books’ conclusions, we tend to forget those pedestrian matches while the
unrealized love lives on in our minds. These are the stories that we remember not because
they ended with the altar or a fat smiling baby, but because they ended with a feeling of
burning loss and enduring passion.

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For your Valentine’s Day pleasure, here’s a selection of literature’s most painfully unrequited,
star-crossed and thwarted romances. Read them and try not to weep. (My own heart broke a
few times while composing this list.)
Wuthering Heights comes first. From a childhood of perfect communion to an adulthood in
which society’s patriarchal rules drive them apart, the love between Heathcliff and Cathy
won’t die. They chase each other over the moors and exact vengeance nonstop, breaking each
other’s hearts to pieces and upending others’ lives too. Even Cathy’s ghost won’t let him rest,
but bangs on his window, haunting him. They at last find peace in a shared grave.

Great Expectations offers us another heartbreaking example in this respect. Miss Havisham
engineers their childhood encounters so Pip will fall in love with Estella and Estella will be
indifferent, and break his heart. It’s all a proxy revenge for her own abandonment at the altar,
and the plan works to poor Pip’s detriment. But alas! Estella ends up broken, too, married to a
brute.

The French Lieutenant’s Woman, John Fowles’ meta-Victorian novel offers us multiple
possible endings for its two star-crossed lovers, Sarah and Charles. However, a feeling of
insatisfaction lingers as none of the endings is simple or clear and they all imply years of
longing and separation.
The House of Mirth is the story of Lily Bart and Lawrence Selden, two stars of the New
York social scene. They are attracted to each other, they care for each other, maybe even
deeply, but their own egos and snobbish hang-ups prevent them from committing and
connecting in the one way that could save them both. “Well — you did love me for a
moment; and it helped me. It has always helped me,” Lily says to Lawrence, before the
downward spiral that sunders them forever. I have never read the last page of this book,
which finds Selden running to Lily’s apartment a few hours too late, without hoping it would
turn out another way this time.
I. Answer the questions.(5x2p=10p)
1. What does the statement below imply?
We tend to forget these pedestrian matches.
A. we seem to be more interested in the stories that end with a feeling of burning loss and
enduring passion.
B. pedestrian matches are too common and too boring to be remembered
C. we only remember stories which do not have a happy ending
D. we read too many books portraying pedestrian matches to remember them all

2. It is inferred that readers feel the need to change the ending of the novels which depict
unrequited love affairs because
A. they want to participate in the proces of writing
B. they are not satisfied with their ending
C. they identify themselves with the characters in the novel
D. they need to put their creativity to work

3. What drives Heathcliff and Cathy apart?

A. their stubborness
B. their social background
C. the rules of a patriarchal society
D. their destiny
4. Is the author satisfied with the multiple endings provided by Fowles ?
A. Yes
B. The author would have liked all the endings to be happy.

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 C. No
D. The author would have opted for just one ending, a happy one.
5. According to the author, what does prevent Lily and Lawrence from living happily ever
after?
A. Their own egos
B. Their snobbish hang-ups
C. Their fear of commitment
D. Their own egos and their snobbish hang-ups

II.Read the text again and write a narrative –descriptive essay about a moment in your life
when you suffered from unrequited love. ( 250 -280 words) 50 points

NOTĂ
• Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii.
• Nu se acordă puncte din oficiu.
• Timp de lucru: 3 ore

KEY & MARKING SCHEME CLASA a Xa SECTIUNEA B

SUBIECTUL A – USE OF ENGLISH

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I. (10 x2p = 20p)
A
1. „The director was so impressed by the look that was created that he asked Brando to wear
the shirt in the play itself.”
2. Tennessee Williams
3. “an item of underwear, (…)just something to be worn for warmth beneath a denim
workshirt or an army uniform.”
4. “A short leather jacket.”

B. b. practice d. under c. launching

C. 1. ..... who came up with…….

2. …. impressed the director so much that…..
3. …… popular due to Brando. / ……popular owing to Brando. / …..popular because of
Brando.

II. (10 x 1p = 10 p)
1.innovative, 2.ability, 3.activities, 4.participants, 5.business, 6.successful, 7.entrance,
8.failure, 9.behaviour, 10.creatively

III( 10 p) Suggested answer.

Ar fi putut prinde autobuzul de 8 dimineață, dar apropiindu-se de stație, zări o femeie tânără și i se
păru, că-l așteaptă pe el, așezată pe o bancă, prefăcându-se că citește. O văzu cum ridică mereu ochii
din revistă și cercetează curios în jurul ei, întorcând uneori capul spre mesele de pe trotuar. Emanuel
apucă pe prima străduță care-i ieși în cale și pentru că foarte curând dădu cu ochii de o frizerie, intră
înăuntru. Când reveni, pe la 8 și jumătate, femeia era tot acolo pe bancă, răsfoind plictisită revista.
Emanuel șovăi câteva clipe, apoi se întoarse și căută o cafenea. Ceru un ceai și-l bău pe îndelete,
gânditor. Cerul începea să se limpezească și se prevestea o dimineață caldă. După vreo jumătate de
ora, se ridică și porni agale spre stația de autobuz.

SUBIECTUL B
I. ( 5x2p=10p) 1 A; 2 B, 3 C, 4 C, 5 D
II. 50p