INSPECTORATUL SCOLAR JUDETEAN CLUJ

OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ – ETAPA LOCALĂ,

16. 02. 2019
CLASA A XII-A - SECȚIUNEA A

 Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii.

 Nu se acordă puncte din oficiu.
 Timpul efectiv de lucru este de 3 ore.

PART 1 – USE OF ENGLISH (40 points)

I.Read the text below and think of a word which best fits each gap. Use only one word in
each gap. (10x 1p=10 points)
Are there one thousand books that all of us should read sometime inour lives? Throughout this
year, we will be recommending a collection of books that, when taken 1………..a whole, will
form a library of 1,000 titles that will inspire and satisfy 2………..kind of reader you could
possibly imagine. Booklists appear from time to time, often arousing controversy for being
too elitist or too populist. But our list is a result of consultations with book buyers and
booksellers, people 3……….. know and love books.
Currently, there are well 4………... a million books in print. Add 5…….. these yet another
100,000 books published each year and the choice for readers becomes bewildering, but
certain books, both classics and contemporary works, stand out. While our list doesn’t
identify classics in the traditional sense, many of the works included 6………... considered to
be classic books. The list aims to make the readers aware of what is available that is
stimulating, rewarding and inspiring. 7……….. else does one learn about a good read other
8……….. by enthusiastic recommendation?
This month we are highlighting fifty books from the area of business and reference. These
fifty titles represent the perfect business and reference library for our needs, 9………..
personal or professional. Our selection will help you to expand and enhance your
understanding of today’s fast-changing world of business.
Look out for next month’s fifty choices, 10……….. will take you a step nearer the completion
of your 1,000-book library.

II.Use the words given in capitals at the end of some of the lines to form a word that fits
in the gap in the same line. There is one example. (10 x 1p = 10p)

FOOD MILES

In Britain, what is described as ‘food miles’, the distance which

food is transported from the place where it is grown to its point of
sale, continues to rise. This has majoreconomic, social and
environmental consequences, given the traffic congestion and VARIABLE
pollution which (1) ......... follow. PRESS
According to (2) ........groups,the same amount of food is travelling
50 per cent further than twenty years ago. What’s more, the rise in
the demand for road haulage over this period has mostly been due
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to the transport of food and drink.The groups assert that the EXCEED
increase in thenumber of lorryjourneysis(3)..........andthatmany of ESSENCE
these are far from (4) ....... . RETAIL
In the distribution systems employed by British food (5) ........,fleets CENTRE
of lorriesbring all goods into more (6) ........ located warehouses LOGIC
for redistribution across the country. (7) .......... as this might appear,
the situation whereby some goods get sent back to the same areas AVOID
from which they came is (8) .......... . CRITIC
In reponse to scathing (9) ......... from environmentalists, some food
distributors now aim to minimise the impact of food miles by
routing vehicles,wherever possible, on motorways after dark.This EFFICIENT
encourages greater energy (10) ............. whilst also reducing the
impact on the residential areas through which they would otherwise
pass.

III. For questions 1-10, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to
the first sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. Use between
three and six words, including the word given. (5x2p = 10p)
1.We could always rely on Maria to challenge our supervisor whenever he became too bossy
and demanding. STAND
Maria could always............... to our supervisor whenever he became too bossy or demanding.

2.I’m sorry now that we didn’t save a bit more money for the holidays. SET
I wish ............................. a bit more money for the holidays.

3. When people treated Emily like a child, she didn’t like it. RESENTED
Emily ................................................ she were a child.

4. I didn’t know it was Carl until he took off his hat. DID
Only when he took his hat off, …………………..…. Carl.

5.It is reported that the President suffered a nervous breakdown. HAVE

The President………………………...... a nervous breakdown.

IV.For questions 1-10 choose the correct answer A, B, C or D which best fits each space.
The first one has been done for you.(10x 1 p = 10 p)

The ship named The World is quite (0) _B_ one of the largest and most luxurious sailing the
seas today and is to be seen (1)....... off at top international events such as the Carnival in Rio
and the Monaco Grand Prix as it makes its way round the world. Strikingly beautiful, the
ship(2).... the best aspects of cruising with every home (3)....., and the quite intimate
atmosphere of a (4)...... exclusive country club.

This (5)..... remarkable ship has 110 luxury apartments and 88 studio residences, some of
which (6)....... as their owners’ permanent home, whilst others are hired out by the night. The
ship is (7)...... out with everything that the well-off retired person could need, including a
library, a theatre, a full-sized tennis court and a golf range where residents can (8).......

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instruction from top professional golfers. One (9)....... of the latter is golf balls made out of
fish food, designed in response to the (10)....... of environmentally conscious residents.

0 A purely B simply C basically D essentially

1 A dropping B calling C drifting D stopping
2 A combines B links C ties D attaches
3 A relaxation B ease C comfort D relief
4 A deeply B strongly C vastly D highly
5 A truly Bcomprehensively Cfully D abundantly
6 A perform B serve C provide D represent
7 A supplied B stocked C equipped D fitted
8 A receive B accept C retain D collect
9 A issue B character C point D feature
10 A troubles B nerves C concerns D stresses

PART 2 – INTEGRATED SKILLS (60 POINTS)

Read the text below and do the tasks that follow. (5x4p=20p)
Red Shift
Jake Willis meets Scottish band Red Shift and considers their new album.
I’m waiting in a stylish photography studio in North London. The walk here wasn’t too
promising: a few factories, a couple of goods yards with barbed wire along the top of the
walls, a grimy concrete shopping mall. Inside though, it’s exclusive and plush. And I’m
inclined to describe the contrast between the world out there and the world in here, since the
band I’m about to interview would seem to have a foot in both camps. If their songs are to be
taken at face value, they might be perceived as a bunch of scruffy kids who spend their time
hanging around on rainy street corners, bored and penniless. And if the newspapers are to be
believed, they’re now millionaire rock stars with glamorous girlfriends and celebrity show-
business chums.
On the stroke of 11 a.m., Red Shift arrive. The four of them are prompt, polite, happy, clean –
my immediate impression is how, well, nice they seem, with something approaching a
‘boyband’ sheen about them. Their manager, Dave Maxwell, is wearing a polo shirt and
trainers, and taken in combination with the white back wall of the studio, they could easily be
a set of lads who have just arrived with someone’s dad for a game a squash.
The ‘legend’ of Red Shift runs something like this. Four schoolmates get musical instruments
for birthday presents and start rehearsing in a garage. Next minute they are a phenomenon;
releasing two number one singles and a blockbuster first album, winning a clutch of awards
and headlining top music festivals. Somewhere along the line, they’re also credited with
rewriting the music business rulebook, having foregone airplay and marketing, and
manifested themselves virally through websites and online file-sharing. ‘Er no, not really,’
says lead singer and songwriter Ben Gardner, once the photo shoot is over and we sit down to
coffee. ‘We really didn’t know anything about that stuff. It wasn’t a plan. It just happened.’
Take it or leave it nonchalance among the successful is often a hindsight re-branding of
desperation, but in the case of Red Shift, I’m inclined to believe them.
We finish our coffee, and I ask Gardner about his lyrics, and in particular the number of
allusions to 1970s/early 80s popular culture he makes. ‘It’s just humour,’ he explains. ‘I love
all that retro stuff, and try and get in as many references as I can.’ And whether he appreciates
it or not, humour is one of the things that elevates high above most of his contemporaries.
Like so many estimable British lyricists before him, Gardner has always been willing to risk a
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delightful irony or witty turn of phrase, even in a sad song, while most of his contemporaries
are content to juggle clichés or trot out vacuous abstractions.
In conversation Gardner comes over as reticent, and at times almost embarrassed by his own
success – as if being an ordinary kid from a dull working-class Scottish town and an award-
winning singer-songwriter were somehow completely incongruous. Maybe it’s only since
moving to New York that he finally feels at home with who and what he is. Pushing a bit
harder, I ask him if he worries that he is now living thousands of miles from all the things that
have provided the sources for his songwriting so far, including is dialect and his friends. He
simply shrugs his shoulders, saying, ‘There are other things to write about.’
So we move on to their new album Downtime, due for release at the end of the week. I already
adore it. However, as Gardner once famously pointed out, love is not only blind but deaf, and
I can imagine that less besotted listeners may find it a more challenging proposition. There are
no anthems as such, the kind of thing that the bulk of Red Shift’s followers like to chant along
to at concerts, an no obvious chart-toppers.
Downtime was produced in California, and with its booming guitars and reverberating bass
lines, the album’s ‘stateside’ influence is clear. And there’s more of that upbeat country and
western sound that first came to light on Gardner’s recent album recorded with US band
Rebound. This makes me wonder if Gardner is not only cracking the whip but holding the
reins as well now, steering the band in his own favoured direction.
Will the album please the music critics? Well, that remains to be seen. The proof of the
pudding, as they say, is in the eating. But for the band members themselves, no such quality-
control test is necessary. In fact, four more likeable and well-adjusted young men you are
unlikely to meet. I might even throw the word ‘modest’ in their direction, and in some cases,
even shy. However meteoric their rise, they appear to have their feet well and truly planted on
planet Earth. In an industry that prides itself on excess and promotes itself through legends of
extravagance, perhaps this isn’t something that Red Shift’s management or even the band
themselves want to hear, but I speak as I find.

I. For each question, decide which answer (A, B, C or D) fits best according to the text.
(20 points)

1. The writer describes the studio and its surroundings in order to

A. stress the contrast between the location and the band.
B. highlight certain conflicting images of the band.
C. discredit certain myths surrounding the band.
D. illustrate his mixed feelings about the band.

2. What does the writer say about Ben Gardner?

A. He brings a variety of emotions to his lyrics.
B. He is unaware of how talented a songwriter he is.
C. He pays tribute to the style of certain British lyricists.
D. He takes more chances with his lyrics than other songwriters do.

3. What does Ben Gardner suggest about his lifestyle in the fifth paragraph?
A. He is unsure whether being a successful singer-songwriter is compatible with having
modest origins.
B. He is unconcerned about being cut off from the original inspiration for his songs.
C. He feels that it’s taken him some time to get used to living in New York.
D. He admits that he misses certain aspects of his life in Scotland.

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4. In the writer’s opinion, Red Shift’s new album Downtime may
A. consolidate their status as musicians.
B. disappoint some of their more devoted fans.
C. attract a different audience from previous albums.
D. have a more limited appeal than previous albums.

5. What does the writer suggest about the sound of the new album?
A. It has influenced the musical style of other bands.
B. It does not do justice to the skills of the band members.
C. It is not necessarily the chosen style of all the band members.
D. It indicates a change of leadership among the band members.

II. Read the text again and write an opinion essay discussing some of the reasons why
pop music has such an appeal on the young generation. (250-280 words) (40 points)

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 OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ – ETAPA LOCALĂ,
16.02.2019
CLASA A XII-A - SECȚIUNEA A

BAREM DE NOTARE

SUBIECTUL A – USE OF ENGLISH (40 points)

I. Open cloze (10 itemi x 1 punct = 10 puncte)

1. As; 2. any/every; 3. who/that; 4. over; 5. to; 6. are; 7. how; 8. than;

9. whether/either;10. Which

II. 10x1 p 1. INVARIABLY 2.PRESSURE 3.EXCESSIVE 4.ESSENTIAL

5.RETAILERS 6.CENTRALLY 7.ILLOGICAL 8.UNAVOIDABLE
9.CRITICISM(S) 10.EFFICIENCY

III.5x2=10 p

1. be relied on/upon][ to stand up

2. we had ][set aside

3. resented being][ treated as if

4. did I know /did I recognise][it was

5. is reported ][to have suffered

IV. 10x1p=10p 1D 2A 3C 4D 5A 6B 7D 8A 9D 10C

SUBIECTUL B – INTEGRATED SKILLS (60 points)

I. Reading (5 itemi x 4 puncte = 20 puncte)
1. B
2. D
3. B
4. D
5. C

OPINION ESSAY: 40p

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