Ministerul Educaţiei, Cercetării şi Tineretului

Centrul Naţional pentru Curriculum şi Evaluare în Învăţământul Preuniversitar

Examenul de bacalaureat 2008

Proba E/F
Proba scrisă la Limba Engleză
L1 - Intensiv 3-4 ore

SUBIECTUL I ( 30 puncte) Varianta 004

Read the text below and complete the following tasks.

The era of space tourism ventured a further leap forward for mankind with the
announcement of plans to construct the world’s very first spaceport. Space Adventures Ltd.
announced in a press release its intentions to develop a commercial spaceport in the United Arab
Emirates, with plans to expand globally. (1) … The initial launch and arrival hub for those wanting
to holiday in the heavens looks like being the emirate of Ras-Al-Khaimah, one hour by car from the
luxury resort city of Dubai. (2) …
The press report states that the “total estimated cost of the global spaceport development
project is at least US$265 million and will be funded by various parties”. (3) … The UAE’s civil
aviation authorities have already given their green light for suborbital spaceflights to operate in
their air space. Crown Prince Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi of Ras-Al-Khaimah enthused about
being part of such a monumental endeavour, expressing pride in hosting “the site where suborbital
commercial space travel will begin and flourish”. He added: “(4) ... “The date of the maiden flight
has yet to be unveiled.

1. Four sentences have been removed from the text. Select the appropriate sentence for
each gap in the text. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use. 4points

A. Other candidates to accommodate facilities for space travel include Singapore and various
yet-to-be-named locations in North America.
B. Space Adventures Ltd. is the company that organized orbital flights for all of the world's private
space explorers.
C. The Sheikh of Ras-Al-Khaimah has put his full financial and political weight behind ensuring the
project is a viable concern.
D. We are most excited about spearheading this multi-billion dollar industry.
E. Arab Emirates deny it.

2. Explain the underlined words. 6 points

3. Sum up the text in about 50 words. 10 points

4. Read the article again and decide whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F).
6 points
A. Dubai will be the world’s first port to accept goods from space.
B. UAE authorities have given the green light for suborbital flights.
C. A Middle-Eastern sheikh is a key financier of the project.

5. Comment on the following statement: Suborbital commercial space travel will begin and
flourish. (100 words) 4 points