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OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ

ETAPA LOCALĂ
7 FEBRUARIE 2020
CLASA a X-a – Secţiunea A

SUBIECTUL A – USE OF ENGLISH

I. Read the following text and put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense (10 x1p = 10p)
Nick Hendon (1)..........(go)to the Cambridge Folk Festival for over twenty years. ‘Our house is barely a
stone’s throw from Cherry Hinton Hall, where the festival (2)............(hold), so I (3).....................(not have
to) put up with staying in a mud-filled tent for the weekend. ’His wife, Debby, said she
(4)...................(never/start)going to the festival if the venue (5)....................(be) elsewhere.
At first, he (6).....................(go)with friends from university, but now that he is married with two
children, it (7)........................(become) an annual family event. ‘I would definitely stop going if the kids
(8).............(not be) so excited about this festival. Actually, before taking them there for the first time, they
(9)...............(beg) to join us for weeks, so I was thrilled to finally experience this as a family. Who knows,
maybe one of them (10).............(perform) on stage one day!’

II. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that fits in each sentence (10 x 1p = 10 p)
1. Oranges are (PLENTY)………………now so they don’t cost much.
2. There is a lot of (SATISFY)…………………among residents about plans to build a prison in
the area.
3. They decided not to buy the house as it was (CONVENIENT)……………..situated.
4. He was lying (SENSE)……………….on the floor.
5. His performance in the match was (EMBARRASS)………..bad.
6. Their (DOMINATE)……………over the other team was clear by the huge difference in
score.
7. The teacher was quite (SYMPATHY)………….about my splitting headache and allowed me
to go home.
8. When I wrote the second draft of my essay, I made several (CORRECT)……………. .
9. She tells great stories. They’re so (IMAGINE)……………………. .
10. It was (REASON)……………of him to make me apologise when it wasn’t my fault.

III. Read the following text and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits in each gap (10 x 1p =
10p)
Imagine (1)..............it must feel like to taste the sound of a police siren or to see every letter of the
alphabet (2)..........a different colour. For (3).........rare individuals, who have a condition called

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synaesthesia in which two or more of the senses are crossed, this is (4)........what happens. Some see
colours while listening to music, while others associate tastes (5)..................shapes, words or colours.
In a (6)...........study, a number of synaesthetes who can taste words were shown images of objects they
were familiar with but didn’t usually come (7)............ .The images included a metronome, an artichoke
and a phonograph. The participants couldn’t immediately (8)..............the names for the objects, but they
could taste the words. One woman, for example, (9)...........that a phonograph (an old-fashioned record
player) tasted of Dutch chocolate. To (10)..........they weren’t just saying the first thing that crossed their
mind, they were tested on the same images two years later and came out with the same tastes.

1. A. what B. how C. which D. Who

2. A.like B. same C.similar D.as
3. A.few B.a few C. little D.a little
4. A.particularly B.closely C.exactly D.accurately
5. A.from B.for C.to D.with
6. A.latest B.present C.recent D.modern
7. A.across B.over C.into D.with
8. A. imagine B. think C.remember D.remind
9. A.told B.claimed C.understood D.saw
10. A.assure B.ensure C.insure D.reassure

IV. Read the text below and think of the word which best fits in each gap. Use only one word in
each gap. (10x 1p = 10p)

The Academy Awards or ‘Oscars’ are the most prestigious awards (1)..........the film industry. Not
(2).........are they a way of congratulating the stars (3)..........their success, they are also a marketing dream.
But the glamorous ceremony of today started (4)..........as a much smaller event.
The very first Oscar ceremony, held in 1929, was attended by 250 people who paid $10 (5)..........ticket. It
did not get media coverage (6)..........1930 when a Los Angeles radio station broadcast the event live.
(7)..........then, the awards have been broadcast every year, first by radio then on TV.
No one is sure why the Academy Awards became (8)...........as Oscars, but it is thought that an Academy
librarian, Margaret Herrick, commented (9).........the statuette looked (10).........her uncle Oscar.

SUBIECTUL B- INTEGRATED SKILLS

Read the text below and do the tasks that follow

Having just watched the whole of Channel 8’s TV series Tomorrow’s Homes, I’ve been wondering about
how anyone can predict the future of domestic life. You’d imagine that if you knew what architects and
technology companies were developing now to make life easier, more exciting and more beautiful, you’d
have a pretty good idea of what to expect in tomorrow’s homes. In reality, it’s more complicated, and just
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as much about what we’ll choose to hang on to from today’s – the things that are ‘future-proof’. In the
1950s, people thought that in the twenty-first century household tasks would be done by labour-saving
devices or robots – with food pills for dinner. Yet people still wash up and cook, even though the
technology exists that makes neither of these tasks necessary.

Tomorrow’s Homes, however, dared to make predictions which it turned into reality using an average
home belonging to a family called the Forseys. Four miles of cable were installed in the house so that all
the electrics, from lights to the fridge, could be controlled via the internet, and various other devices and
gadgets were introduced in addition to this. The family were then filmed as they got used to their new
home life. Programme presenter Harry Thwaites is also a consultant who spends his work life imagining
the future, so testing out his ideas for the programme was a fascinating experiment for him. His approach
was to use technology that was not totally brand new, but had only recently become more affordable.
CCTV cameras for security have been around for years, for example, but they are no longer only an option
for the mega-rich.

The Forsey family consists of a husband and wife with four children and two grandchildren. They appear
to be very natural and ordinary on the programme, and it was always interesting to see how they reacted to
the technology they were testing. One example that sticks in the mind is when Janine, the mother, enters
her reconstructed, all-white home (after successfully unlocking her new front door by using her thumb
print as a key), and she immediately bursts into tears – quite understandably it has to be said. A short
while later, her husband Ben gets locked out because the skin on his thumb is too rough. As the series
progresses, however, they slowly come to accept the technology, and even start to believe it could have
some value in their lives.

I was keen to see during the show if anything emerged as potentially future-proof, and there were some
great examples. To help Janine deal with various worries, she was provided with a mind-controlled
relaxation tool. This was a kind of headband connected to a DVD, which, incredibly, she could control
with her thoughts. When she relaxed mentally, she made an image of the sun go down, as it would at
night, on the DVD. When she had tried the gadget and achieved the sunset, she was asked how effective
the gadget had been. Janine commented, ‘Nothing can compare to a nice cup of tea and a good soap
opera!’

I. For each question choose the correct letter A, B, C or D (5 x 2p= 10p)

1. The writer makes the point in the first paragraph that predicting how homes will be in the future
A. requires detailed study of architectural trends.
B. is impossible if you only look at new developments.
C. has been very difficult until now.
D. is made easier by programmes and articles about them in the media.

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2. What does ‘today’s’ refer to in the first paragraph?

A. current ideas
B. the present reality
C. the homes we currently live in
D. modern architecture

3. According to the second paragraph, the technology installed in the Forseys’ house
A. was chosen to match the specific needs of the family.
B. was previously only used by a limited section of the population.
C. was still too expensive for anybody except the wealthiest.
D. was tried out by experts before the family used it.

4. According to the third paragraph, how did the family members react to the new technology?
A. Their attitude towards it became increasingly positive.
B. Some of them adjusted more quickly to it than others.
C. The parents struggled with it throughout the series.
D. Some of their responses to it were surprising.

5. How did Janine feel about the mind-controlled relaxation tool?

A. She was amazed at what it was capable of.
B. She thought it would work if used with other things.
C. She found it totally useless.
D. She preferred more traditional methods of relaxation.

II. Imagine you are a great-grandchild of the Forseys and have just moved into your own home
of the future. Write a narrative-descriptive essay depicting a house-warming party. (200-220 words)
50 p

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

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