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 010

Read the text below and complete the following tasks.

He was lying face down in the dark, a heavy object pinning him to the floor. Breathing was
difficult and movement was impossible. (1) … An explosion? An earthquake? Had the house
collapsed? Jenny! Was she alright? He had to get out ... had to find her ... Pain seared through
his chest and everything went black.
A low, whirring sound reached his ear and he stirred. (2) … No, that was absurd! Even if he had,
it wouldn't be working now. His mind must be playing tricks on him. He wondered how long he had
been lying there. At that moment, a dull red glow lit up in front of his face and he found himself
staring into what looked like a miniature camera stuck on the end of a probe. It was surreal; he had to
be dreaming! The camera paused for a minute as if registering his presence, then backed
away, and the whirring sound gradually receded, silence falling around him like a blanket. He felt
nauseous again. Wait! (3) … The weight above him shifted and he cried out in pain.
“Here's someone, Stan! In here!” yelled a voice above him. “The robot actually did it! Get over
here. Now!”
He'd been sound! (4) … But what was that about a robot?

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. 4 points

A. Was that another sound?

B. He was safe!
C. What had happened?
D. Had he left the mixer on?
E. He was kidnapped.

2. Explain the underlined words. 6 points

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

4. For the following questions, choose the answer (A, B, C, D) which fits according to the
text. 6 points
1. The man thought he must be dreaming because …
A. of the incongruity of what he could see.
B. he imagined he could see a camera.
C. of the fact that he was hallucinating.
D. he was bewildered by the light.

2. The camera ...

A. paused for a minute as if registering his presence.
B. was stuck.
C. reached his ear as a warning.
D. was safe again.

3. We can infer from the text that ...

A. the man is married to Jenny.
B. the man is the first survivor to be found by the robot.
C. Jenny had been cooking when disaster struck.
D. Stan is the robot's operator.
 Ministerul Educaţiei, Cercetării şi Tineretului
Centrul Naţional pentru Curriculum şi Evaluare în Învăţământul Preuniversitar

5. Comment on the feelings of the main character of the excerpt above. (100 words)
4 points