Ministerul Educa iei
i Cercetrii – Serviciul Na ional de Evaluare
i Examinare

EXAMENUL DE BACALAUREAT 2007

Proba scris la Limba englez

L1 – Bilingv
Varianta 1

♦ Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii. Se acord 10 puncte din oficiu.

♦ Timpul efectiv de lucru este de 3 ore.

SUBJECT 1 30 points

a. Read the text below and sum it up in about 50 words. 10 points

Arianna Huffington sweeps into the room at the Time-Life building in midtown Manhattan. She is
tall and statuesque and waves a mane of chestnut hair above cheekbones so sharp you could
hang a jacket on them. She does not look around. She does not need to. Everyone is looking at
her. Hurricane Arianna is hitting New York. She blows through the room, meeting and greeting the
powerful Manhattanites gathered there to debate who should be Time's Person of the Year. It has
probably occurred to a few of them that it just might be her.
She has good reason to feel comfortable. The Post is now the fifth most popular site in the world. It
shapes the debate of American politics and gives Arianna real power and prestige. This year she
made Time magazine's list of the 100 most important people in the world, and next year she looks
likely to climb the list.
Hurricane Arianna never stops blowing. This has led her detractors to sneer at her ambition. The
jokes are legion and carry with them a whiff of snobbery and xenophobia. She has been called 'the
most upwardly mobile Greek since Icarus' and 'the Sir Edmund Hillary of social climbers'. For her
public shifts of opinion she has been termed 'an intellectual lapdancer'.
In her book she exhorts women to become brave and simply accept themselves. 'It is the mastery
of fear. It is the ability to do what you want to do despite being afraid. Fearlessness is a learned
behaviour and it’s like a muscle that we can use and exercise,' she says.
It is a lesson Arianna believes she has herself learned. She has lived her life in the public eye for
more than three decades. But she insists she still feels insecure and prone to the 'obnoxious room-
mate in my head' as she terms her inner voice. 'I still have fears. But now I do things despite my
fear. Fear does not win,' she says. She has just spent all day taking Manhattan (again). Yesterday
she was in Washington. Tomorrow she will be in Miami. Like the internet, her power is continuing
to grow.
(Hurricane Arianna, “The Observer Magazine”, Sunday December 10, 2006)

b. Find arguments in the text to demonstrate that the position of women in society has
improved. (150 words) 20 points

SUBJECT 2 30 points

a. Use the word in bold type at the end of each line to form a word that fits in the space in
the same line. Write the answers on your answer sheet. 10 points

1. The …… effects of moderate amounts of red wine are well-known. benefit

2. Richard is now a black belt in judo and has won several …… . compete
3. I left school without any …… at all. qualify
4. The salary for this post is not …… . negotiate
5. I had a very traditional …… , with rather strict parents. bring

Proba scris la Limba englez, L1 – Bilingv 1 Varianta 1

 Ministerul Educa iei
i Cercetrii – Serviciul Na ional de Evaluare
i Examinare

b. Identify any possible errors in the following sentences. Tick the correct sentences, if
any. 10 points

1. If it hadn’t been for David, I would being lost in the forest.

2. I’d rather you don’t use sticky tape on the walls.
3. He won’t allow anyone having used his computer.
4. If you’re going to the shops, may you get me a pint of milk?
5. Police are treating the series of fires suspicious.

c. Rewrite each sentence so that it contains the word in bold, and so that the meaning
stays the same. Do not change the word given. 10 points

1. But for the intervention of his bodyguards, the President might have been hurt.
intervened
If ................................................................................. .
2. For a bike that’s two years old, it’s in very good condition.
even
The bike’s in very good condition, ................................................................................. .
3. I really wish I had gone to university.
deeply
I ................................................................................. .
4. The entire staff demanded Ken’s immediate reinstatement.
be
The entire staff demanded ................................................................................. .
5. Such was the pressure on the Prime Minister, that he had no alternative but to give in.
much
The Prime Minister was ................................................................................. .

SUBJECT 3 30 points

Write an opinion essay on the following statement: Clothes do make the man nowadays.
Support your ideas with relevant examples from your personal experience, reading or
observation. (350 words/ 35 lines)

Proba scris la Limba englez, L1 – Bilingv 2 Varianta 1