INSPECTORATUL

ȘCOLAR JUDEȚEAN
BRAȘOV

OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ

Etapa locală
7 februarie 2020
CLASA a VIII-a _____________________________________________
I. Read the text below and choose the correct answer from A, B, C or D: (5x5 = 25 points)

Superman and Batman are just two superheroes out of many. We could also include Spiderman,
Wonder Woman, Robin Hood, James Bond, Zorro, Indiana Jones and a lot more. They're all more or less the
same person, in different forms. Some are in the past, others in the present, others in the future. But why does
Hollywood love superheroes? Is it a question of money? Of course; but it's not only money. People have
always loved superheroes. Long before the first Hollywood movie, people loved stories about superheroes.
Robin Hood has been a popular hero for over 600 years ... and there were others before him.
The first superheroes were real people. Nevertheless, the stories about them were often invented.
Some of the oldest European superheroes were Charlemagne and Roland (Orlando). Mediaeval writers and
singers invented exciting stories about these real men, just as Hollywood invents stories about tomorrow's
superheroes. A thousand years ago, people sometimes sat round in dark rooms in the evening, listening to the
adventures of brave heroes. Today, we sit in a dark room in the evening, watching the adventures of the
brave Batman. The medium is different, the technology has changed .... but the people are really the same.
Hollywood doesn't actually invent many new superheroes. Superman, Judge Dredd, Batman and the
others already "existed" before Hollywood discovered them. These three all come from comic magazines.
The first Batman story came out in 1939! There have been several Batman movies, with different stars
including Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Christian Bale. How long can it last? Superman is even older: he
dates from about 1932 (the exact year is not certain). Even Judge Dredd is a familiar figure; he first appeared
in England in 1977.
Hollywood's biggest superheroes live in the future. That is not really surprising. Hollywood has
fallen in love with special effects, and the future allows great spectacular special effects. Besides, people
today are frightened about the future. Things do not always look good; perhaps we will need characters like
Batman and Judge Dredd in 100 years' time. Perhaps we even need them today!
(https://linguapress.com/intermediate/superheroes.htm)
1) What does Hollywood love about the superheroes?
A. The fact that superheroes have always appealed to people.
B. The fact that superheroes bring a lot of money in a very easy way.
C. The fact that superheroes are actually one and the same person.
D. The fact that superheroes are timeless.

2) The writer gives the example with Charlemagne and Roland (Orlando) to show that
A. superheroes existed in the Middle Ages, as well.
B. Hollywood used these characters to invent stories.
C. most of the stories with superheroes were invented.
D. the stories about superheroes started in the Middle Ages.

3) The word medium in the second paragraph refers to

A. people.
B. room.
C. TV.
D. light.

4) A source of inspiration for new superheroes is:

A. movies.
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B. comic books.
C. the world of Hollywood.
D. Batman.

5) Why does Hollywood believe that the biggest superheroes are in the future?
A. Because we no longer need superheroes today.
B. Because people are afraid of the past.
C. Because they cannot afford to create new ones now.
D. Because of the development of special effects.

II. Fill in the gaps in the text below with ONE suitable word. (10x1=10 points)

Netflix, in full Netflix, Inc., media-streaming and video-rental company, was founded in 1997 1) …
American entrepreneurs Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph. It is 2) … involved in the creation of original
programming. Corporate headquarters are in Los Gatos, California. In 1999 Netflix began offering an online
subscription service 3) … the Internet. Subscribers chose movie and television titles from Netflix’s Web site;
the shows were 4) … mailed to customers in the form of DVDs, 5) … with prepaid return envelopes, from
one of 6) … than 100 distribution centres. 7) … customers typically rented for a flat monthly fee 8) … many
movies per month as they wished, the number of DVDs in their possession 9) … any one time was limited
according 10) … their subscription plans. Netflix had tens of thousands of movie titles in its catalog.

III. Read the sentences below and use the word given in capitals on the right to form words that fit in
the gaps; the words in capitals are given in the order you need to use them) (10 x 1 = 10 points)

1) I have learned … aspects about plants since I took up gardening. VARY

2) My job is very exciting but rather … . TIRE
3) The … between the two projects is very obvious. DIFFER
4) Although it was almost dark, two fast … were seen sliding down the slope. SKI
5) I am more than sure that Mary’s plans will … . MATERIAL
6) Your interest in … will make you throw a deeper look towards TV, movies and commercials.
ADVERTISE
7) He always challenges the … to train more, to fight better. SPORT
8) Drivers ought to conform to the traffic rules … in the crowded cities. SPECIAL
9) Although the lesson is not over yet, he already seems … . PATIENT
10) Unless parents were aware of all the … , something would happen very quickly. IMPLY

IV. In the following text, the numbered lines contain an extra word. Write it (from 1 to 10) on the
answer sheet. (10 x 1= 10 points)

1) Although he is a nice kid, the other ones children tend to avoid him.
2) I am mad at Joe because he lied more to me about his plans.
3) He told to me the invitation was also addressed to your friends.
4) I left from home early in the morning.
5) We saw the boat to sink and ran for help.
6) At last the ship it managed to reach the harbor.
7) She went for shopping two hours ago.
8) By this way you will come to know the game.
9) We entered in the cave at the base of the cliff.
10) All the houses in the area have been pulled off away.

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V. Fill in the gaps in the text below with the correct choice from A, B, C or D. (10x1=10 points)

Devastating bushfires have been 1) … across Australia for months, and they show no signs of 2) … .
Millions of acres have burned, destroying about 2,000 homes and killing at least 25 people. It is 3) … that
more than half a billion wild animals have 4) … in the flames — a number that is expected to 5) … increase.
Entire towns have evacuated to the shores and 6) … firefighters have left their families and careers behind to
fight the flames 7) … the clock. Conservative Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been widely 8) … for
failing to take 9) … against the climate crisis. As Australia attempts to battle this unprecedented national 10)
…, organizations need all the help they can get.

1. A. evolving B. unrolling C. growing D. spreading

2. A. slowing B. slowing down C. degrading D. shrinking
3. A. estimated B. clear C. weighed D. appraised
4. A. perished B. vanished C. ended D. withered
5. A. factually B. variably C. pragmatically D. exponentially
6. A. unemployed B. volunteer C. participant D. enlisted
7. A. against B. around C. to D. on
8. A. condemned B. censured C. criticized D. denounced
9. A. action B. responsibility C. activity D. revenge
10. A. confrontation B. problem C. emergency D. crisis

VI. Put the verbs in brackets in the right tense and voice. (10x1=10 points)

Undeniably the most divisive of the Star Wars franchise, The Last Jedi 1) … (seek) to challenge the very
foundations of the property. Building off of the events of The Force Awakens, director Rian Johnson chose a
different path than many of the films that 2) … (come) before. Yet at the same time, his mechanisms for
crafting the story 3) … (create) the rhyme that 4) … (remain) essential to the franchise. Discarding the
“planet-destroying” monstrosities that 5) … (plague) most of the franchise, he instead 6) … (focus) on
character development and philosophy. This Empire Strikes Back illusions are heavy throughout the film,
especially as the characters 7) … (pull) in different directions. However, the “kill the past” message 8) …
(reign) supreme throughout the film. How that message 9) … (interpret) is another matter entirely, but it 10)
… (provide) the groundwork for a future Star Wars with incredible hope.

VII. Write a 150-180 -word story finishing with the following sentence: (25 points)

“Opening the laptop that morning was definitely the most pleasant surprise.”

Notă: Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii

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Șirul Gheorghe Dima nr. 4, 500123 Brașov www.isjbrasov.ro

Tel: +40-268-415104 info@isjbrasov.ro
Fax: +40-268-475621