2019 - Subiecte Eng Jud

Ministerul Educaţiei Naționale
Centrul Naţional de Evaluare şi Examinare
Etapa județeană/sectoarelor municipiului București a olimpiadelor naționale școlare –

2019
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a XII-a - SECȚIUNEA B
 Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii.

 Nu se acordă puncte din oficiu.
 Timpul efectiv de lucru este de 3 ore.
SUBIECTUL A – USE OF ENGLISH (40 points)
I. Read the text below and do the tasks that follow. (20 points)
Mardi Gras, meaning literally "Fat Tuesday", was first celebrated in Louisiana by French
colonists in the eighteenth century. As the last "normal" day before the austerity of Lent, "fat
Tuesday" was a day to make the most of, a day of carnivals and revelry. It has remained a
day of carnival ever since; but the original French celebrations are just a small part of today's
festivities. Mardi Gras, New Orleans style, owes as much to Afro-Caribbean customs and the
Latin American carnival tradition as it does to the French colonists.
The Mardi Gras celebrations actually last for several weeks. About a month before the main
carnival, a season of elaborate balls and parties begins, the official Mardi Gras program is
published, and shops start selling the very sweet and colorful "King Cake", a delicacy that
can only be found during this holiday season.
My first Mardi Gras party took place in a friend's apartment in New Orleans a few days before
the parade. The apartment was decorated out in the season's traditional colours of green,
gold and purple. On Fat Tuesday itself, I joined the hundreds of thousands of local people
and visitors to watch the processions wind their way through the streets of New Orleans. The
processions are organized by groups, which each have mythological or historic names, such
as Proteus, Endymion, or Bacchus. The one I liked best was Zulu, a parade organised by
members of the city's black community, resplendent with its colourful ornate floats and
costumes based on African themes.
Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of Zulu and other parades was the "throws". As the
floats move slowly through the crowds, tradition has it that those on them should throw all
kinds of trinkets into the crowd - plastic necklaces, engraved plastic cups, plastic medallions
(a coveted prize) and other souvenirs. Most parade-goers do all they can to catch these
materially worthless items, and I found myself quickly caught up in the frenzy, scraping on
the sidewalk among the surging spectators to proudly pick up my plastic prize. In the heat of
the moment, it's hard not to be caught up in the madness of this ritual. Traditionally, people in
New Orleans use the "throw cups" they pick up, and decorate their cars or homes with the
other souvenirs they take home by the bagful.
A. Answer the following questions, according to the text. 8 points

1. Which important religious holiday, as inferred from the text, can Mardi Gras be associated
with?
2. What makes Mardi Gras a multicultural event?
3. What local marketing strategies, prior to the event itself, are mentioned in the text?
4. According to the writer, what unexpected reaction did the parade trigger in him?
Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a XII-a secțiunea B

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B. Choose the synonym for the words given below, according to their meaning in the
text. 6 points
1. frenzy: a. excitement b. dizziness; c. procrastination d. serendipity

2. surging: a. increasing b. all jostling c. nudging one another d. all moving together
3. coveted: a. hidden b. rewarding c. desired d. worthless
C. Rephrase the following sentences so as to preserve the meaning. 6 points
1. My first Mardi Gras party took place in a friend's apartment in New Orleans a few days
before the parade.
It was __________ took place in a friend's apartment in New Orleans.
2. Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of Zulu and other parades was the "throws".
What __________ the "throws".
3. Mardi Gras owes as much to Afro-Caribbean customs and the Latin American carnival
tradition as it does to the French colonists.
Not only __________ to the French colonists.
II. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that fits in each gap. 10 points
Passed in 1974, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is an (1) ________
(WIELD) piece of legislation affecting all institutions that receive funding from the Department
of Education.
The law's bottom line is: "Once a student reaches 18 years of age, he or she becomes an
'eligible student' and all rights under FERPA transfer from the parent to the student."
This essentially means that you have no right, as a parent, to know what or how your
children are doing in school. They can binge-watch "True Detective" rather than attend
classes, never (2) ________ (CLOSE) their grades, and you have to take their word for it
when they say "everything's fine."
FERPA affects rich and poor alike. "The university considers students as adults, regardless
of age or financial dependence," reads the law. (3) ________ (GRANT), there's a special
kind of pain associated with discovering that your kid took a gap year while still enrolled - if it
so happens you're (4) ________ (COUGH) up $60,000 a year. But taxpayers (5) ________
(FEET) the bill when students of any socio-economic stripe flunk out of or extend their
college experiences.
Some in Congress are agitating to revise the law. But perhaps it is time to throw it out (6)
________ (TOGETHER). Without FERPA, universities could send students' records directly
to their (7) ________ (GUARD), and allow administrators to immediately alert or respond to
families if a student is in crisis. Where's the harm in that? Of course, if a student has good
reason to keep her family in the dark, he/she should have the right to apply for an exemption
or (8) ________ (WAIVE) (inverting the status quo).
Transferring all power to the students is not fair to them; they never asked for that
responsibility. (9) ________ (RESCIND) this law may improve the shameful college (10)
________ (COMPLETE) or graduation statistics. Most important, it will keep families
connected and allow our children to remain young just a little bit longer.
III. Translate the following text into English. 10 points

Azon az estén olyan kimerült állapotban voltam, hogy nem gondoltam volna, hogy a világon
bármiért is fel tudtam volna kelni. De hirtelen a szoba közepén találtam magam, álltam és
reménytelenül bámultam az ébresztőórát. Eszembe jutott, hogy vacsorára voltam hivatalos
Pantazihoz. Milyen szerencse, hogy megébredtem! Hálásan néztem a szüleim levelére, ha
az nem lett volna, lemaradtam volna a legdrágább barátommal való a találkozóról.
Felöltöztem és kimentem. Habár nem esett előtte, minden vizes volt, az árkok sírtak, és a fák
csupasz ágairól nehéz cseppek hulltak alá.
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SUBIECTUL B – INTEGRATED SKILLS (60 points)
Read the text below and do the tasks that follow.
Now naturally, like many of us, I have a reluctance to change too much of the old days. But
there is no virtue at all in clinging as some do to tradition merely for its own sake. In this age
of electricity and modern heating systems, there is no need at all to employ the sorts of
numbers necessary even a generation ago. Indeed, it has actually been an idea of mine for
some time that the retaining of unnecessary numbers, simply for tradition's sake, - resulting
in employees having an unhealthy amount of time on their hands - has been an important
factor in the sharp decline in professional standards. Furthermore, Mr. Farraday had made it
clear that he planned to hold only very rarely the sort of large social occasions Darlington
Hall had seen frequently in the past. I did then go about the task Mr. Farraday had set me
with some dedication; I spent many hours working on the staff plan, and at least as many
hours again thinking about it as I went about other duties or as I lay awake after retiring.
Whenever I believed I had come up with something, I probed it for every sort of oversight,
tested it through from all angles. Finally, I came up with a plan which, while perhaps not
exactly as Mr. Farraday had requested, was the best I felt sure, that was humanly possible.
Almost all the attractive parts of the house could remain operative: the extensive servants'
quarters - including the back corridor, the two still rooms and the old laundry - and the guest
corridor up on the second floor would be dust-sheeted, leaving all the main ground-floor
rooms and a generous number of guest rooms … Even now, I would not go so far as to say it
is a bad staff plan; after all, it enables a staff of four to cover an unexpected amount of
ground.
(Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day)
I. For each question decide which answer (A, B, C or D) fits best according to the text. 10 points
1. The narrator, Mr. Stevens,

A. confesses he is all for the new.
B. admits he is inclined to cling to the past.
C. expresses admiration for the past.
D. gives up the past
2. According to the narrator,

A. he is aware the number of employees should be reduced.
B. he is confident that he will effectively see to the organizational plan of the house.
C. employees have changed their habits.
D. Mr Farraday gave him a free hand to organize the house.
3. According to the text, Mr. Farraday

A. admired Mr. Stevens because he was dedicated to his duties.
B. wanted to get rid of Mr. Stevens.
C. expected Mr. Stevens to adjust to modern time.
D. asked him to make a staff plan.
4. What does the reader learn about Mr. Stevens, the narrator?
A. He was a reliable but hesitant servant.
B. He wanted to please his master at all costs.
C. He never contradicted his master.
D. He worked hard for the staff plan.

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5. The main idea of the text is

A. Mr. Stevens, the narrator, is a model servant.
B. Times change and there is nothing to stop that.
C. Mr. Stevens is a man who cannot easily break away with tradition.
D. The present is not as glorious as the past.
II. Starting from the text above, write an essay reflecting on tradition. (250-280 words)
50 points

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Etapa județeană/sectoarelor municipiului București a olimpiadelor naționale școlare - 2019
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a VII-a

SUBIECTUL I – USE OF ENGLISH (25 points)
I.1. Read the following text and fill in the blanks with the correct verb forms. 10 points
One day a young man (1) … (walk) to his office when he (2) … (see) on the sidewalk an old lady
leaning on her walking stick, right in front of a crosswalk. She looked ill and almost exhausted, and he
said to himself ”Poor thing, she (3) … (stand) here like forever, waiting to cross the road, and nobody
helped her!” Then he (4) … (tell) the old lady “Don’t you worry, Madam, I (5) … (help) you right
away!” and he quickly (6) … (take) her by the arm to help her cross the street. While they (7) …
(cross), the young man got the impression that the old lady (8) … (try) to hold him back. When they
eventually managed to get on the opposite sidewalk, he said “Here we are! You don’t need to thank
me”, but the old lady replied to him, outraged: “What should I thank you for??? All the way here I (9)
… (struggle) to set myself free from your grasp! I (10) … (not, want) to cross the road!!!”
I.2. Read the following text and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits in each gap. 10 points
(1) _____ the day of the contest Robin and (2) _____ 100 of his men gathered on the field of the
tournament. Robin ordered that (3) _____ he and the five best shots in his band would take (4) ____
in the match. The others were to crowd around them, (5) _______ that Robin would not be
recognised (6) _____ he stepped forward to aim at the target. For (7) _______ disguise, he wore a
hood over his head.
The Sheriff was watching from his chair, and he recognised the (8) villain ______ away, not from his
face (9) ______ he could not see, but from the way he walked. He said to himself, “Soon Robin Hood
will take his prize, and I shall have (10) _____.”
https://www.storynory.com/the-golden-arrow/
1 A - In B - On C - At D - Until
2 A - best B - top C - any D - over
3 A - just B - most C - not D - since
4 A - pride B - off C - part D - away
5 A - such B - so C - as D - already
6 A - how B - until C - for D - like
7 A - more B - less C - so D - yet
8 A - still B - far C - for D - right
9 A - which B - who C - whom D - where
10 A - me B - my C - mine D - more
Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a VII-a

Pagina 1 din 3
I.3. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that fits in each sentence. 5 points
1. He must be upset. He doesn’t usually behave in such a(n) …….. (FRIEND) manner.
2. You’re wrong! I …….. (AGREE) with you.
3. Don’t worry about that dog! It’s …….. (HARM): it just barks, it doesn’t bite.
4. I hope our new neighbour is not rude. I hate…….. (POLITE) people!
5. This man is a historian and that one is a …….. (PHYSICS).
SUBIECTUL al II-lea – READING COMPREHENSION (25 points)

Read the text below and choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).
Archaeologists identify the mummy of a lost Egyptian queen
by Melissa Kong
Egyptian archaeologists announced on Wednesday that they have identified a mummy
discovered in 1903 as that of Queen Hatshepsut, Egypt’s most powerful female pharaoh. The
mummy was originally found in the Valley of the Kings, a sacred burial site for kings and powerful
nobles located on the west bank of the Nile River in Egypt. Although the mummy was discovered
more than a century ago, it remained in a tomb until this past spring, when it was brought to the Cairo
Museum for testing.
Queen Hatshepsut was the only woman to rule ancient Egypt while the kingdom was at the
height of its wealth and power, from about 1502 to 1482 B.C. Hatshepsut was only the third woman to
become pharaoh in 3,000 years of ancient Egyptian history, and the first to attain the full power of the
position. Cleopatra, who also exercised such power, would rule some 14 centuries later.
Of all the female pharaohs–including Cleopatra and Nefertiti–Hatshepsut’s reign was the
longest and most successful. While in power, she established trade routes and built hundreds of
monuments and temples throughout Egypt. Despite her prosperous reign, both her mummy and her
legacy were virtually erased from Egyptian history. Many historians believe that Tuthmose III,
Hatshepsut’s stepson, destroyed records and monuments bearing her name. It may have been his
revenge. It is believed that she stole the throne from him.
Finding the mummy of this powerful queen may provide details about an important part of
Egyptian history.
1. As stated in the text, Queen Hatshepsut’s 2. Which of the following statements is NOT
mummy was buried true, according to the text?
A. last spring. A. Cleopatra, Nefertiti and Hatshepsut
B. a hundred years ago. were female pharaohs.
C. in 1903. B. Hatshepsut had more success than
D. more than a thousand years B.C. Nefertiti and Cleopatra.
C. Cleopatra and Nefertiti had more power
than Hatshepsut.
D. Hatshepsut ruled longer than Cleopatra
and Nefertiti.
3. As specifically stated in the text, 4. According to the text, a possible reason why
Hatshepsut had not appeared in the history
A. Queen Hatshepsut’s mummy was found on the
of ancient Egypt until now is
east bank of the Nile.
B. during Hatshepsut’s reign, ancient Egypt was A. because of her rivals, Cleopatra and
the richest ever. Nefertiti.
C. Cleopatra reigned much earlier than B. because the proof of her existence was
Hatshepsut. ruined.
D. there were more female pharaohs than male C. because her mummy had remained
pharaohs in the history of ancient Egypt. untested in the Cairo Museum since 1903.
D. because her mummy was buried in an
unknown place.

Pagina 2 din 3
5. As stated in the text, Tuthmose III was NOT
A. the natural child of Hatshepsut.

B. the rightful heir to the throne of Egypt when his father, the pharaoh, died.
C. angry on Hatshepsut for having stolen his throne.
D. seeking revenge when he destroyed records and monuments bearing her name.
SUBIECTUL al III-lea – WRITING (50 points)
Write a narrative essay beginning like this:
I looked in the mirror and I couldn’t believe my eyes: I was an Egyptian pharaoh!
Write your story in 120-150 words and give it an appropriate title. Pay attention to the
following:
 you don’t need to write long descriptions;

 use dialogues only if they are relevant to your characters or events;
 you should use this plan:
1. Introduction (paragraph 1 – set the scene)

2. Main Body (paragraph(s) 2/3 – develop the story)
3. Conclusion (paragraph 4 – end the story).
Don’t count the words given in the beginning.

Pagina 3 din 3
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a VIII-a

SUBIECTUL I – USE OF ENGLISH (25 points)
I.1. Read the following text and fill in the blanks with the correct verb forms. 10 points
I 1) (be born) _____in Japan but when I was a toddler we moved to Romania. I 2) (go) _____ to school
in Bucharest. While I 3) (study) _____ at University I 4) (have) _____ a serious accident. I 5) (never
think) _____that I would ever end up in a hospital bed for a couple of months due to an unfortunate
mistake. While I 6) (lie) ____ there I started using the computer to kill time. By the time I got out of the
hospital I 7) (already become) _____ very good at offering advice for all my friends’ troubles and I
realised I was able to cheer people up. So, I decided to go on-line and change that into a home-based
business. I 8) (work)_____ like that since then. I like the job because it allows me to speak to a lot of
people. That is why I am thinking about some ways of expanding my business: I 9) (take)_____a course
in psychology if I 10) (know) _____ that in five years I would double my income.
I.2. Read the following text and decide which answer (A, B or C) best fits in each gap. 10 points
"No letter (1) …… come from you since you (2) …… the Philippines, but I'm sure you are all fine
because no notice has come to me from the War Department as your next (3) …… kin. All I know is that
your regiment is in Peking, and I hope and pray you are with it, all safe and (4) …… . Sister Mary and I
are pretty busy, as there has been no one to help us (5) …… the place since your brother died last
spring. I know your enlistment isn’t up for (6) …… year, and it's wicked to desert, and they would shoot
you for it anyhow; but it does seem kind of (7) …… when we want you so much at home that you have
to be fighting the poor Chinamen. (8) …… as long as we all have our health there aren't any real
troubles I suppose.
I don't mean to (9) …… fault and you mustn't worry about us. I'm as active as a cricket and so is Mary.
It's been a good long spell of dry weather, and that's good for my rheumatism, but it wasn't very
encouraging for the crops. The (10) …… on the house and farm is due in six weeks, and I can't get a
renewal, though it's only six hundred dollars, as you know. The bank people are that haughty about the
thing that I don't exactly see how we can get around them.”
1. a. has 2. a. left from

b. had b. left
c. would c. left to
3. a. to 4. a. happy
b. of b. sound
c. from c. sane
5. a. at 6. a. lap
b. for b. the past
c. with c. another
Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a VIII-a

Pagina 1 din 3
7. a. hard 8. a. Although
b. great b. But
c. exciting c. Since
9. a. find 10. a. mortgage
b. lie b. auction
c. blame c. loan
I.3. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that fits in each sentence. 5 points
1. There are …… for the job in all local newspapers. ADVERTISE

2. I ……think she is the best for that job. HONESTY
3. This theory has not been …. proved yet. SCIENCE
4. Were you given …...when you were a child? ALLOW
5. Don’t ….. my message! This is not what I said! INTERPRETATION
SUBIECTUL al II-lea – READING COMPREHENSION (25 points)
Read the text below and choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, usually known as Kew Gardens, in Richmond upon Thames is a
major London tourist attraction and a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Founded in 1759, Kew began as a royal garden attached to the Royal Kew Palace, home to George III
and his many children. The Palace is now open to visitors, but probably the buildings most visitors come
to see are the incredible glasshouses. The Palmhouse is one of the largest surviving Victorian
glasshouses in the world, with over 16,000 panes of glass. The Waterly House, which contains some of
the world’s largest and smallest waterlilies, is also not to be missed.
However, Kew is more than just a garden and green space in the heart of Britain’s capital city. It is also
the world’s leading horticultural centre for botanical research and plant science. The Royal Botanic
Gardens, Kew, covers approximately three hundred acres of land, and attracts around a million visitors
every year. Its collections and laboratories illustrate the important part that plants play in our lives, and
highlight the need to protect and conserve them for the benefit of generations to come.
Kew is a vital research and scientific base, with multiple research projects and partnerships stretching
across the globe. A world leader in plant science, Kew employs around seven hundred people and is
home to about nineteen thousand species of living plants. Its Millennium Seed Bank holds seeds from
around ten percent of the world’s plant species for the benefit of humankind, curating around two billion
seeds from 28,000 species of plants, sourced from approximately 130 countries.
Around eighty percent of our daily calorie intake comes from just twelve plant species. Kew’s Millennium
Seed Bank’s Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change project recognizes the need for greater genetic
diversity in our crops and seeks to preserve food security for future generations. The project collects
seeds from the wild relatives of some of our most important food crop plants whose genetic make-up
can be used to breed new and useful traits back into modern agricultural crops so that they can better
adapt to future climates and other threats, such as pests and diseases.
1. According to the text, people’s most important reason for visiting Kew is that
A. they want to see the indoor plants.
B. it is attached to the Royal Kew Palace.
C. the descendants of George III used to play in this garden.
D. it is a source of oxygen.

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2. The role of the horticultural centre is

A. to gather money from the numerous visitors.
B. to sell seeds.
C. to warn visitors to keep off the grass.
D. to protect the seeds for the benefit of future generations.
3. Among its many functions, Kew is NOT

A. a garden in the middle of London.
B. a research establishment.
C. home to the Queen of England.
D. an important touristic attraction.
4. Kew employees work

A. exclusively for their own benefit.
B. exclusively for the benefit of the British people.
C. for the benefit of humanity.
D. for the royal family.
5. Kew’s Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change project aims

A. to change the climate in order to harvest more.
B. to store more than nineteen thousand species.
C. to ensure food resources for the coming generations.
D. to make people addicted to genetically modified plants.
SUBIECTUL al III-lea –WRITING (50 points)
Write a narrative essay ending like this:
She resisted the urge to wave. To acknowledge them was to make them real.
Write your story in 150-180 words and give it an appropriate title. Pay attention to the following:
 you don’t need to write long descriptions;

 use dialogues only if they are relevant to your characters or events;
 you should use this plan:
1. Introduction (paragraph 1 – set the scene)

2. Main Body (paragraph(s) 2/3 – develop the story)
3. Conclusion (paragraph 4 – end the story).
Don’t count the given ending.

Pagina 3 din 3
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a IX-a - SECȚIUNEA A

I. Read the following text and put the verbs in brackets into the correct form. 10 points
Henry lived in a boarding-house in Guildford Street. One day a new girl 1.

(COME)_____________ to the boarding-house, and 2. (SIT) ___________ next to Henry at meals.
Her name was Alice Weston. Henry was surprised to find that she was on the stage, in the chorus.
Previous chorus-girls at the boarding-house 3. (BE) ___________ of a more pronounced type—
good girls, but noisy, Alice Weston was different.
“I 4. (REHEARSE) ___________ at present,' she said. 'I 5. (GO OUT) ___________ on tour
next month in "The Girl From Brighton". What 6. (YOU/ DO) ___________, Mr Rice?'
'I'm a detective.'
'What's the matter?' he said, a little anxiously, for even at this early stage in their acquaintance
he was conscious of a strong desire to win her approval. '7. (YOU/NOT LIKE) ___________
detectives?'
'I don't know. Somehow I shouldn't have thought you 8. (BE) ___________ one.'
Naturally a detective does not want to look like a detective and give the whole thing away right at
the start.
'I think—you 9. (NOT BE) ___________ offended.'
'Go on.'
'I 10. (ALWAYS LOOK ON) ___________ it as rather a sneaky job.'
'Sneaky!' moaned Henry.
II. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that fits in each sentence. 10 points
1. John Glenn took great personal risks in his search for …. (KNOW)
2. Good role models don't think about being rewarded …(FINANCE) for their charity work.
3. Graphology is the study of people’s ……(WRITE) to reveal their personalities.
4. People often behave … (PREDICT) when under stress.
5. He shouldn’t have been so … (RESPECT) to his parents.
6. Her … (STRONG) impressed us all.
7. The beach was … (ACCESS) except by boat, and few people even knew about it.
8. Tomorrow I’m going to send off my … (APPLY) form for the job.
9. Our team is very … . (SUCCEED). We’ve won three competitions this year.
10. She tiptoed …(CARE) so as not to wake the others.
Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a IX-a secțiunea A

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III. Read the following text and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits in each gap. 10 points
We live in an age of television, video and interactive computing, in which children are skilled at
absorbing data from images at a glance. (1) ……… this makes them respond favourably to visual
learning, the disadvantage is that they sometimes lack confidence with words. So, what the
Eyewitness Guides have (2) ……… is to combine the two elements, words and pictures, (3) ……
them as just one thing-entertainment.
One of the main reasons (4) …… the books’ success is the discovery that, against a white
background, even the most (5) ……. objects can look wonderful. Often a single photographic
image will take up a(n) (6) ……. double-page spread, grabbing your (7) ………. Whatever the
image, you’ll always find the text (8) ………… alongside, building your understanding of the
subject.
Eyewitness Guides are the (9) ……. of a unique approach, in which photographs, models, maps
and diagrams are specially produced. Everything is done to make (10) …… that they compete with
the impact of television images
1 A – In contrast B - While C – Even so D - Despite

2 A - made B - done C - linked D - got
3 A - conducting B - treating C - operating D - applying
4 A - behind B - under C - beneath D - below
5 A - repeated B - habitual C - familiar D - accustomed
6 A - utter B - full C - whole D - entire
7 A - attention B - fascination C - involvement D - attraction
8 A - next B - nearby C - right D - quite
9 A - result B - formation C - effect D - production
10 A - firm B – certain C - definite D –guaranteed
IV. Translate the following text into English. 10 points
La dus era ușor. Recipientul mare, din plastic, conținea doar aer la dus. Nya, înaltă pentru
cei unsprezece ani ai ei, putea plimba toarta dintr-o mână în alta, putea flutura recipientul de o
parte și de alta sau îl putea cuprinde cu amândouă brațele. Putea chiar să îl târască după ea,
lovindu-l de pământ și stârnind un mic nor de praf la fiecare pas. Nu era deloc greu la dus. Trebuia
doar să facă față căldurii soarelui, care încingea aerul, cu toate că mai era mult până la prânz. I-ar
lua cam jumătate din dimineață, dacă nu s-ar opri pe drum. Căldura. Timpul. Și ghimpii.

Pagina 2 din 4
MEANWHILE the desire to express myself grew. The few signs I used became less and less
adequate, and my failures to make myself understood were invariably followed by outbursts of
passion. I felt as if invisible hands were holding me, and I made frantic efforts to free myself. I
struggled–not that struggling helped matters, but the spirit of resistance was strong within me; I
generally broke down in tears and physical exhaustion. If my mother happened to be near I crept
into her arms, too miserable even to remember the cause of the tempest. After a while the need of
some means of communication became so urgent that these outbursts occurred daily, sometimes
hourly.
My parents were deeply grieved and perplexed. We lived a long way from any school for the blind
or the deaf, and it seemed unlikely that any one would come to such an out-of-the-way place as
Tuscumbia to teach a child who was both deaf and blind. Indeed, my friends and relatives
sometimes doubted whether I could be taught. My mother's only ray of hope came from Dickens's
"American Notes." She had read his account of Laura Bridgman, and remembered vaguely that
she was deaf and blind, yet had been educated. But she also remembered with a hopeless pang
that Dr. Howe, who had discovered the way to teach the deaf and blind, had been dead many
years. His methods had probably died with him; and if they had not, how was a little girl in a far-off
town in Alabama to receive the benefit of them?
When I was about six years old, my father heard of an eminent oculist in Baltimore, who had been
successful in many cases that had seemed hopeless. My parents at once determined to take me
to Baltimore to see if anything could be done for my eyes.
The journey, which I remember well, was very pleasant. I made friends with many people on the
train. One lady gave me a box of shells. My father made holes in these so that I could string them,
and for a long time they kept me happy and contented. The conductor, too, was kind. Often when
he went his rounds I clung to his coat tails while he collected and punched the tickets. His punch,
with which he let me play, was a delightful toy. Curled up in a corner of the seat I amused myself
for hours making funny little holes in bits of cardboard.
1. The first paragraph shows
A. the girl’s growing need to communicate.

B. the passion by which she communicates.
C. the physical efforts she made to communicate.
D. the way she communicates with her mother.
2. The girl’s family was very sad
A. living too far from any important city.

B. because their chances to find a teacher were slim.
C. knowing that she couldn’t be taught.
D. realizing that she was blind and deaf.

Pagina 3 din 4
3. Her parents were not always optimistic about her chances to be educated
A. because the methods were not sure to have outlived the researchers.
B. because Laura Bridgman had not successfully been educated.
C. because nobody who was deaf and blind had managed.
D. because her mother vaguely remembered the sources she had read.
4. The girl’s parents had her seen by a doctor in Baltimore
A. that was experienced with blind and deaf children.

B. that had been fruitful in most cases.
C. that had been successful with blind children over six.
D. that knew how to treat only children with eye problems.
5. During her journey she made friends with a lot of people
A. who were having the same problems.

B. who tried to make her feel pleased and cheerful.
C. who gave her shells to strand in a necklace.
D. who allowed her to collect and punch tickets.
II. Write a narrative essay about an experience that taught you to appreciate life more.
(180-200 words) 50 points

Pagina 4 din 4
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a IX-a - SECȚIUNEA A

Henry lived in a boarding-house in Guildford Street. One day a new girl 1.

(COME)_____________ to the boarding-house, and 2. (SIT) ___________ next to Henry at meals.
Her name was Alice Weston. Henry was surprised to find that she was on the stage, in the chorus.
Previous chorus-girls at the boarding-house 3. (BE) ___________ of a more pronounced type—
good girls, but noisy, Alice Weston was different.
“I 4. (REHEARSE) ___________ at present,' she said. 'I 5. (GO OUT) ___________ on tour
next month in "The Girl From Brighton". What 6. (YOU/ DO) ___________, Mr Rice?'
'I'm a detective.'
'What's the matter?' he said, a little anxiously, for even at this early stage in their acquaintance
he was conscious of a strong desire to win her approval. '7. (YOU/NOT LIKE) ___________
detectives?'
'I don't know. Somehow I shouldn't have thought you 8. (BE) ___________ one.'
Naturally a detective does not want to look like a detective and give the whole thing away right at
the start.
'I think—you 9. (NOT BE) ___________ offended.'
'Go on.'
'I 10. (ALWAYS LOOK ON) ___________ it as rather a sneaky job.'
'Sneaky!' moaned Henry.
1. John Glenn took great personal risks in his search for …. (KNOW)
2. Good role models don't think about being rewarded …(FINANCE) for their charity work.
3. Graphology is the study of people’s ……(WRITE) to reveal their personalities.
4. People often behave … (PREDICT) when under stress.
5. He shouldn’t have been so … (RESPECT) to his parents.
6. Her … (STRONG) impressed us all.
7. The beach was … (ACCESS) except by boat, and few people even knew about it.
8. Tomorrow I’m going to send off my … (APPLY) form for the job.
9. Our team is very … . (SUCCEED). We’ve won three competitions this year.
10. She tiptoed …(CARE) so as not to wake the others.

Pagina 1 din 4
III. Read the following text and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits in each gap. 10 points
We live in an age of television, video and interactive computing, in which children are skilled at
absorbing data from images at a glance. (1) ……… this makes them respond favourably to visual
learning, the disadvantage is that they sometimes lack confidence with words. So, what the
Eyewitness Guides have (2) ……… is to combine the two elements, words and pictures, (3) ……
them as just one thing-entertainment.
One of the main reasons (4) …… the books’ success is the discovery that, against a white
background, even the most (5) ……. objects can look wonderful. Often a single photographic
image will take up a(n) (6) ……. double-page spread, grabbing your (7) ………. Whatever the
image, you’ll always find the text (8) ………… alongside, building your understanding of the
subject.
Eyewitness Guides are the (9) ……. of a unique approach, in which photographs, models, maps
and diagrams are specially produced. Everything is done to make (10) …… that they compete with
the impact of television images
1 A – In contrast B - While C – Even so D - Despite

2 A - made B - done C - linked D - got
3 A - conducting B - treating C - operating D - applying
4 A - behind B - under C - beneath D - below
5 A - repeated B - habitual C - familiar D - accustomed
6 A - utter B - full C - whole D - entire
7 A - attention B - fascination C - involvement D - attraction
8 A - next B - nearby C - right D - quite
9 A - result B - formation C - effect D - production
10 A - firm B – certain C - definite D –guaranteed
Vinni egyszerű volt. Vinni, a nagy műanyag tartály csak levegőt tartalmazott . Nya, aki tizenegy
éves korához képest magas volt, egyik kezéből a másikba tudta venni a fogantyút ,lógatni is tudta
egyik oldaláról a másikra, vagy mindkét kezével ölbe is tudta ragadni. Maga után is tudta
vonszolni, a földhöz ütődéstől minden lépéssel kisebb porfelhőt csapván. Vinni egyáltalán nem volt
nehéz. Csak a forróság volt. A nap már felhevitette a levegőt, bár még soká volt dél. Ha nem állna
meg közben, fél délelőttbe telne. Forróság. Idő. És tövisek.

Pagina 2 din 4
MEANWHILE the desire to express myself grew. The few signs I used became less and less
adequate, and my failures to make myself understood were invariably followed by outbursts of
passion. I felt as if invisible hands were holding me, and I made frantic efforts to free myself. I
struggled–not that struggling helped matters, but the spirit of resistance was strong within me; I
generally broke down in tears and physical exhaustion. If my mother happened to be near I crept
into her arms, too miserable even to remember the cause of the tempest. After a while the need of
some means of communication became so urgent that these outbursts occurred daily, sometimes
hourly.
My parents were deeply grieved and perplexed. We lived a long way from any school for the blind
or the deaf, and it seemed unlikely that any one would come to such an out-of-the-way place as
Tuscumbia to teach a child who was both deaf and blind. Indeed, my friends and relatives
sometimes doubted whether I could be taught. My mother's only ray of hope came from Dickens's
"American Notes." She had read his account of Laura Bridgman, and remembered vaguely that
she was deaf and blind, yet had been educated. But she also remembered with a hopeless pang
that Dr. Howe, who had discovered the way to teach the deaf and blind, had been dead many
years. His methods had probably died with him; and if they had not, how was a little girl in a far-off
town in Alabama to receive the benefit of them?
When I was about six years old, my father heard of an eminent oculist in Baltimore, who had been
successful in many cases that had seemed hopeless. My parents at once determined to take me
to Baltimore to see if anything could be done for my eyes.
The journey, which I remember well, was very pleasant. I made friends with many people on the
train. One lady gave me a box of shells. My father made holes in these so that I could string them,
and for a long time they kept me happy and contented. The conductor, too, was kind. Often when
he went his rounds I clung to his coat tails while he collected and punched the tickets. His punch,
with which he let me play, was a delightful toy. Curled up in a corner of the seat I amused myself
for hours making funny little holes in bits of cardboard.
1. The first paragraph shows
A. the girl’s growing need to communicate.

B. the passion by which she communicates.
C. the physical efforts she made to communicate.
D. the way she communicates with her mother.
2. The girl’s family was very sad
A. living too far from any important city.

B. because their chances to find a teacher were slim.
C. knowing that she couldn’t be taught.
D. realizing that she was blind and deaf.

Pagina 3 din 4
3. Her parents were not always optimistic about her chances to be educated
A. because the methods were not sure to have outlived the researchers.
B. because Laura Bridgman had not successfully been educated.
C. because nobody who was deaf and blind had managed.
D. because her mother vaguely remembered the sources she had read.
4. The girl’s parents had her seen by a doctor in Baltimore
A. that was experienced with blind and deaf children.

B. that had been fruitful in most cases.
C. that had been successful with blind children over six.
D. that knew how to treat only children with eye problems.
5. During her journey she made friends with a lot of people
A. who were having the same problems.

B. who tried to make her feel pleased and cheerful.
C. who gave her shells to strand in a necklace.
D. who allowed her to collect and punch tickets.
II. Write a narrative essay about an experience that taught you to appreciate life more.
(180-200 words) 50 points

Pagina 4 din 4
Etapa județeană/sectoarelor municipiului București a olimpiadelor naționale școlare -

2019
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a IX-a - SECȚIUNEA B

I. Read the paragraph below and do the tasks that follow. (20 points)
Algeria installed metal detectors at exam halls and video cameras in locations where question
papers were printed in a bid to avoid cheating. The whole nation of Algeria went offline on
Wednesday for the start of high school exams, the first in a series of internet blackouts to stop
the possibility of students cheating. Mobile and fixed internet connections were cut across the
country for a total of two hours, to coincide with the start of two school tests. Devices with
internet access, such as mobile phones and tablets, were banned from Algeria‟s more than
2,000 exam centres and metal detectors were set up at the entrance to the centres, education
minister Nouria Benghabrit said. In a further move to prevent questions being leaked, the
minister said mobile phone jammers and surveillance cameras had been installed in locations
where the exam papers were printed.
1. How many exam centers were subject to metal detectors setup?

2. When were the Algerians denied access to the internet?
3. What equipment was installed in order to prevent question leaking?
4. Where was extra precaution taken?
B. Choose the right synonym for the words given below, according to their meaning in
the text. 6 points
1. bid: a. initiative b. attempt c. offer d. bet

2. further: a. fresh b. supplementary c. helpful d. distant
3. to leak: a. to display b. to materialize c. to show d. to reveal
Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a IX-a secțiunea B

Pagina 1 din 4
1. Algeria installed metal detectors at exam halls.

Metal detectors ............. up at exam halls by Algeria.
2. Algeria installed metal detectors and video cameras in locations where question papers
were printed in a bid to avoid cheating.
What Algeria ....................................... metal detectors and video cameras in locations
where question papers were printed in a bid to avoid cheating.
3. The minister said mobile phone jammers and surveillance cameras had been installed in
locations where the exam papers were printed.
The minister said „Mobile phone jammers and surveillance cameras .......... printed.‟
Some people (1)____________ (BELIEF) that a school uniform can (2)

_________(IMPROVEMENT) learning by reducing distraction, (3)_________ (SHARP) focus on
schoolwork and making the classroom a more serious environment, allowing students to
perform better (4) ___________ (ACADEMIC). Perhaps most (5) __________ (IMPORTANT),
a uniform means students don't have to worry about peer (6) _________ (PRESS) when it
comes to their clothes. When (7) ___________ (ONE) is dressed the same, worrying about
what you look like isn't so important. There is no (8) ____________ (COMPETE) about being
dressed in the latest trend, which would put a great deal of (9) _____________ (FINANCE)
pressure on students and parents. (10) ____________(POTENTIALLY) bullies have one less
target for their insults; it's hard to make fun of what someone is wearing when you're dressed
exactly the same.
Ochii lui Salva erau înecați în lacrimi fierbinți. Unde au dispărut toți? De ce au plecat fără
să-l trezească? Știa deja răspunsul: pentru că era copil-ar fi obosit ușor și i-ar fi încetinit, s-ar fi
plâns că i-e foame, ori cine știe ce alte necazuri ar mai fi putut provoca. N-aș fi făcut niciun fel
de necazuri-și nu m-aș fi plâns de nimic! ... Ce o să fac eu acum?
Salva a făcut câțiva pași, să cerceteze puțin împrejurimile. În depărtare, spre linia
orizontului, cerul era cenușiu de la fumul bombelor. Cam la o sută de pași în fața lui, se zărea o
baltă micuță. Între baltă și hambar era o casă-și da, o femeie stătea la soare în apropiere.

Pagina 2 din 4
I had now the key to all language, and I was eager to learn to use it. Children who hear acquire
language without any particular effort; the words that fall from others' lips they catch on the
wing, as it were, delightedly, while the little deaf child must trap them by a slow and often painful
process. But whatever the process, the result is wonderful. Gradually from naming an object we
advance step by step until we have traversed the vast distance between our first stammered
syllable and the sweep of thought in a line of Shakespeare.
At first, when my teacher told me about a new thing I asked very few questions. My ideas were
vague, and my vocabulary was inadequate; but as my knowledge of things grew, and I learned
more and more words, my field of inquiry broadened, and I would return again and again to the
same subject, eager for further information. Sometimes a new word revived an image that some
earlier experience had engraved on my brain.
I remember the morning that I first asked the meaning of the word, "love." This was before I
knew many words. I had found a few early violets in the garden and brought them to my
teacher. She tried to kiss me: but at that time I did not like to have any one kiss me except my
mother. Miss Sullivan put her arm gently round me and spelled into my hand, "I love Helen."
"What is love?" I asked.
She drew me closer to her and said, "It is here," pointing to my heart, whose beats I was
conscious of for the first time. Her words puzzled me very much because I did not then
understand anything unless I touched it.
A day or two afterward I was stringing beads of different sizes in symmetrical groups–two large
beads, three small ones, and so on. I had made many mistakes, and Miss Sullivan had pointed
them out again and again with gentle patience. Finally I noticed a very obvious error in the
sequence and for an instant I concentrated my attention on the lesson and tried to think how I
should have arranged the beads. Miss Sullivan touched my forehead and spelled with decided
emphasis, "Think."
In a flash I knew that the word was the name of the process that was going on in my head. This
was my first conscious perception of an abstract idea.
For a long time I was still–I was not thinking of the beads in my lap, but trying to find a meaning
for "love" in the light of this new idea. The sun had been under a cloud all day, and there had
been brief showers; but suddenly the sun broke forth in all its southern splendour.
Again, I asked my teacher, "Is this not love?"
"Love is something like the clouds that were in the sky before the sun came out," she replied.
Then in simpler words than these, which at that time I could not have understood, she
explained: "You cannot touch the clouds, you know; but you feel the rain and know how glad the
flowers and the thirsty earth are to have it after a hot day. You cannot touch love either; but you
feel the sweetness that it pours into everything. Without love you would not be happy or want to
play."
The beautiful truth burst upon my mind–I felt that there were invisible lines stretched between
my spirit and the spirits of others.
Pagina 3 din 4
1. All children
A. get the meaning of words by miming.

B. acquire the language in a progressive way.
C. understand words by painful methods.
D. can trap the name of objects in a wonderful way.
2. During the process of learning words
A. the girl asked very few questions.

B. the more words the girl learnt, the more curious she became.
C. the girl returned to the same word.
D. each word revived a new experience.
3. The girl first learnt the meaning of the word “love”
A. by knowing many other words before.

B. when being kissed by her teacher.
C. by the heat coming from the sun.
D. when offering a bunch of flowers.
4. Stringing beads of different sizes was a process
A. used to identify mistakes.

B. of teaching the girl how to arrange them symmetrically.
C. of teaching the girl a new word.
D. used to notice sizes.
5. The teacher explained the feeling referring to
A. plants and earth reactions.

B. the sweetness that came from everything.
C. the joy that rain could bring for nature.
D. the happiness that came from playing.
II. Read the text again and write a narrative-descriptive essay (180-200 words) continuing
the story of how the girl discovered and felt a new word-friendship. 50 points

Pagina 4 din 4

2019
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a IX-a - SECȚIUNEA B

Algeria installed metal detectors at exam halls and video cameras in locations where question
papers were printed in a bid to avoid cheating. The whole nation of Algeria went offline on
Wednesday for the start of high school exams, the first in a series of internet blackouts to stop
the possibility of students cheating. Mobile and fixed internet connections were cut across the
country for a total of two hours, to coincide with the start of two school tests. Devices with
internet access, such as mobile phones and tablets, were banned from Algeria‟s more than
2,000 exam centres and metal detectors were set up at the entrance to the centres, education
minister Nouria Benghabrit said. In a further move to prevent questions being leaked, the
minister said mobile phone jammers and surveillance cameras had been installed in locations
where the exam papers were printed.
1. How many exam centers were subject to metal detectors setup?

2. When were the Algerians denied access to the internet?
3. What equipment was installed in order to prevent question leaking?
4. Where was extra precaution taken?
the text. 6 points
1. bid: a. initiative b. attempt c. offer d. bet

2. further: a. fresh b. supplementary c. helpful d. distant
3. to leak: a. to display b. to materialize c. to show d. to reveal

Pagina 1 din 4
1. Algeria installed metal detectors at exam halls.

Metal detectors ............. up at exam halls by Algeria.
2. Algeria installed metal detectors and video cameras in locations where question papers
were printed in a bid to avoid cheating.
What Algeria ....................................... metal detectors and video cameras in locations
where question papers were printed in a bid to avoid cheating.
3. The minister said mobile phone jammers and surveillance cameras had been installed in
locations where the exam papers were printed.
The minister said „Mobile phone jammers and surveillance cameras .......... printed.‟
Some people (1)____________ (BELIEF) that a school uniform can (2)

_________(IMPROVEMENT) learning by reducing distraction, (3)_________ (SHARP) focus on
schoolwork and making the classroom a more serious environment, allowing students to
perform better (4) ___________ (ACADEMIC). Perhaps most (5) __________ (IMPORTANT),
a uniform means students don't have to worry about peer (6) _________ (PRESS) when it
comes to their clothes. When (7) ___________ (ONE) is dressed the same, worrying about
what you look like isn't so important. There is no (8) ____________ (COMPETE) about being
dressed in the latest trend, which would put a great deal of (9) _____________ (FINANCE)
pressure on students and parents. (10) ____________(POTENTIALLY) bullies have one less
target for their insults; it's hard to make fun of what someone is wearing when you're dressed
exactly the same.
Salva szemei forró könnyben úsztak. Hova tűnt el mindenki? Miért mentek el anélkül, hogy
felébresztették volna? Tudta a választ: mert még gyerek volt, aki könnyen elfáradna és
lelassitaná őket. Éhségre panaszkodna, vagy ki tudja milyen gondot okozna. Nem okoztam
volna gondot és nem panaszkodtam volna. ... Most mit csináljak?
Salva tett néhány lépést, hogy kicsit körülnézzen. A messzi távolban, a láthatáron, az ég szürke
volt a bombák füstjétől. Előtte körülbelül száz lépésnyire kis tavacskát látott. A tavacska és a
csűr között egy ház volt, és igen, a közelben egy nő ült a napon.

Pagina 2 din 4
I had now the key to all language, and I was eager to learn to use it. Children who hear acquire
language without any particular effort; the words that fall from others' lips they catch on the
wing, as it were, delightedly, while the little deaf child must trap them by a slow and often painful
process. But whatever the process, the result is wonderful. Gradually from naming an object we
advance step by step until we have traversed the vast distance between our first stammered
syllable and the sweep of thought in a line of Shakespeare.
At first, when my teacher told me about a new thing I asked very few questions. My ideas were
vague, and my vocabulary was inadequate; but as my knowledge of things grew, and I learned
more and more words, my field of inquiry broadened, and I would return again and again to the
same subject, eager for further information. Sometimes a new word revived an image that some
earlier experience had engraved on my brain.
I remember the morning that I first asked the meaning of the word, "love." This was before I
knew many words. I had found a few early violets in the garden and brought them to my
teacher. She tried to kiss me: but at that time I did not like to have any one kiss me except my
mother. Miss Sullivan put her arm gently round me and spelled into my hand, "I love Helen."
"What is love?" I asked.
She drew me closer to her and said, "It is here," pointing to my heart, whose beats I was
conscious of for the first time. Her words puzzled me very much because I did not then
understand anything unless I touched it.
A day or two afterward I was stringing beads of different sizes in symmetrical groups–two large
beads, three small ones, and so on. I had made many mistakes, and Miss Sullivan had pointed
them out again and again with gentle patience. Finally I noticed a very obvious error in the
sequence and for an instant I concentrated my attention on the lesson and tried to think how I
should have arranged the beads. Miss Sullivan touched my forehead and spelled with decided
emphasis, "Think."
In a flash I knew that the word was the name of the process that was going on in my head. This
was my first conscious perception of an abstract idea.
For a long time I was still–I was not thinking of the beads in my lap, but trying to find a meaning
for "love" in the light of this new idea. The sun had been under a cloud all day, and there had
been brief showers; but suddenly the sun broke forth in all its southern splendour.
Again, I asked my teacher, "Is this not love?"
"Love is something like the clouds that were in the sky before the sun came out," she replied.
Then in simpler words than these, which at that time I could not have understood, she
explained: "You cannot touch the clouds, you know; but you feel the rain and know how glad the
flowers and the thirsty earth are to have it after a hot day. You cannot touch love either; but you
feel the sweetness that it pours into everything. Without love you would not be happy or want to
play."
The beautiful truth burst upon my mind–I felt that there were invisible lines stretched between
my spirit and the spirits of others.
Pagina 3 din 4
1. All children
A. get the meaning of words by miming.

B. acquire the language in a progressive way.
C. understand words by painful methods.
D. can trap the name of objects in a wonderful way.
2. During the process of learning words
A. the girl asked very few questions.

B. the more words the girl learnt, the more curious she became.
C. the girl returned to the same word.
D. each word revived a new experience.
3. The girl first learnt the meaning of the word “love”
A. by knowing many other words before.

B. when being kissed by her teacher.
C. by the heat coming from the sun.
D. when offering a bunch of flowers.
4. Stringing beads of different sizes was a process
A. used to identify mistakes.

B. of teaching the girl how to arrange them symmetrically.
C. of teaching the girl a new word.
D. used to notice sizes.
5. The teacher explained the feeling referring to
A. plants and earth reactions.

B. the sweetness that came from everything.
C. the joy that rain could bring for nature.
D. the happiness that came from playing.
II. Read the text again and write a narrative-descriptive essay (180-200 words) continuing
the story of how the girl discovered and felt a new word-friendship. 50 points

Pagina 4 din 4

2019
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a X-a - SECȚIUNEA A

Every time I visited him, he 1)...... (to sit) in an armchair almost on top of the gas fire, his white
head down to his knees. A chair he hardly moved from, a chair that 2)........(become) a bed. The
bulky black and white television, coated with dust 3) ..... (to murmur) to itself. Even the
programmes looked old. The whole room was mean and dark, cluttered with the debris of life. “I
4)..... (to have) a bad heart, you know ”, he said, using a sweet-old-man’s voice.”No one to look
after me since my wife 5) ......(to pass) away. That 6) ...... (to be) her, up there.”
A large, framed, studio portrait on the sideboard. A woman in her mid – forties, taken about
1950 from the look of her hair and jacket. It seemed the photographer 7) ..... (to catch) the end
of a smile... Or, maybe, I 8) ...(to think) then, maybe she couldn’t smile. I couldn’t get that look
out of my head. What 9)........(to happen) to make her do that ? And all through the summer, as
I 10) ....(to visit) him, the question grew in my head.
1. A local committee is finally taking action to do something about the (POLLUTE) ______ river
that runs through our town.
2. The (PROTECT) ______ of the environment should be a top priority for everybody.
3. Most animals attack when they feel (THREAT) ______.
4. The (DESTROY) ______ of the rainforest is causing many problems to the local community
and ecosystem.
5. I hate the adults’ (PATRON) ______ attitude towards teenagers.
6. You should help the poor and the (NEED) __________.
7. As it was very hot, she was wearing a (SLEEVE) __________ dress.
8. This is a very (PLEASE) __________way of spending your weekend.
9. I am surprised at the rapid (GROW) _____ of information.
10. The bankrupcy of this company is (AVOID) __________ in the next year or so.
Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a X-a secțiunea A

Pagina 1 din 4
III. Read the following text and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits in each gap. 10 points
Macaws are colourful tropical parrots. There are 17 different (1) _______ of macaws. most of
which can be found in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. They (2) _______
on seeds, fruit and insects, as well as on small mammals and reptiles. They grab their (3)
_______ using their toes and they also have very powerful beaks to help break open shells.
Macaws have many (4) _______ including monkeys, eagles, lizards and snakes, which can be
a great (5) _______ to them. There has been a decline in the macaw population mostly because
their natural (6) ________ is being destroyed due to (7) _______. Many of the species,
however, like the Indigo Macaw, are (8) _______ because they are hunted by local tribesmen
for their brightly-coloured (9) _______. Another threat macaws face is poaching, because they
have become increasingly popular in the pet bird trade. Two species, the Glaucous Macaw and
Spix's Macaw, might already be (10) ________.
1. A. types B. ways C. kinds D. species
2. A. food B. feed C. feet D. feeds
3. A. prey B. victim C. brute D. pray
4. A. animal B. beast C. predators D. pet
5. A. danger B. threat C. menace D. fear
6. A. home B. habitat C. house D. shelter
7. A. forestation B. forested C. afforestation D. deforestation
8. A. harmed B. protected C. unprotected D. endangered
9. A. skin B. pillow C. feathers D. tan
10. A. alive B. extinct C. absent D. active
Clara pretextă tot ce îi trecu prin minte ca să nu rămână singură cu mama ei. Dar atunci când,
după prânz, Isabel insistă să se plimbe în loc să doarmă, n-a mai putut refuza să o însoțească.
Plimbarea a fost scurtă. După ce au străbătut pajiștile, mama se așeză sub un gard viu. Clara
se așeză și ea, privind fix peste câmpurile ce coborau în pantă lină spre canalul nefolosit,
curgând ca un râu îngust printre pădurile rămase încă verzi. Pe malul îndepărtat al râului, era o
veche casă de țară din cărămidă.

Pagina 2 din 4
I have crossed borders with nothing but a rucksack on my back. Arrived in countries with a
holdall and that’s it. Last year, at midnight, I booked a plane ticket for 7am that morning from
London to Glasgow, packed a bag barely heavier than the quotidian, and off I went. I have gone
to Morocco and Egypt in similar circumstances.
Travelling is wonderful, but the downsides – with air travel in particular – are easy to
acknowledge: the dragging of heavy suitcases (often with a wonky wheel or broken handle); the
queueing; the waiting around for luggage – and the potential for it to be lost; the paying extra
for, seemingly, everything. The poor sods rifling through their carefully folded underwear to find
something of sufficient weight to remove, rather than pay an extortionate £40 surplus baggage
fee.
Smugness is not a quality to cultivate, but I can’t tell you that it isn’t immensely satisfying not to
have to worry about all of the above when travelling light. It isn’t always possible, of course –
work trips, longer holidays – but when it is, it’s perhaps the closest thing to feeling free. It’s a
twist on that hole-in-a-sack riddle: what can you pack that will make your bag light? Nothing.
My favourite lyrical paean to the practice is Jeffrey Lewis and Diane Cluck’s on their
appropriately titled Travel Light: “When I was an astronaut I didn’t take my boots / When I was a
record store I didn’t have the blues / I travel light and that’s the life for me.”
I have travelled in the opposite situation, too. When I moved back to the UK after living in
another country, a huge Klimt print I had bought in Moscow six months earlier had its own plane
seat. (I didn’t buy it its own seat, but the stewards were keen on protecting it.) It hangs in my flat
to this day, but it was incredibly stressful, moving with everything I owned.
I often travel alone. It is good for the soul, and all I need then is: my passport; a good book or
three (paperback, obviously); a playlist relevant to where one is going (surely I cannot be the
only nerd who does this?); a language app (if relevant); a rolling countryside view from a train
window, or a pointillist expanse from a plane window; and possibly, depending on mood, an
incredibly interesting seat partner from whom one learns new things.
Because how many pairs of jeans are you really going to wear? Why take weighty bottles of
shampoo when every hotel, Airbnb, or couch surfing host will have some? Not having much on
the back means one’s plans can always change on a whim, too. And, in my opinion, plans are
made for changing.

Pagina 3 din 4
1. According to the author, she has travelled to Morocco and Egypt carrying
A. no luggage.
B. several pieces of luggage.
C. a light bag.
D. a suitcase.
2. What disadvantage of airtravelling is NOT mentioned in the text?

A. carrying huge luggage
B. waiting in a line
C. removing extra weight
D. sitting in crammed spaces
3. A synonym for smugness in the third paragraph is

A. prejudice.
B. comfort.
C. pride.
D. modesty.
4. When the author moved back to the U.K., she felt stressed because
A. she had to carry a painting.
B. she had to move with everything she owned.
C. she had to hang the painting in her flat.
D. she had to buy the tickets six months earlier.
5. The tone of the article is

A. ironic.
B. subjective.
C. objective.
D. sarcastic.
II. Write a narrative-descriptive essay about a situation when you had to change your
plans while travelling. (200-220 words) 50 points

Pagina 4 din 4

2019
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a X-a - SECȚIUNEA A

Every time I visited him, he 1)...... (to sit) in an armchair almost on top of the gas fire, his white
head down to his knees. A chair he hardly moved from, a chair that 2)........(become) a bed. The
bulky black and white television, coated with dust 3) ..... (to murmur) to itself. Even the
programmes looked old. The whole room was mean and dark, cluttered with the debris of life. “I
4)..... (to have) a bad heart, you know ”, he said, using a sweet-old-man’s voice.”No one to look
after me since my wife 5) ......(to pass) away. That 6) ...... (to be) her, up there.”
A large, framed, studio portrait on the sideboard. A woman in her mid – forties, taken about
1950 from the look of her hair and jacket. It seemed the photographer 7) ..... (to catch) the end
of a smile... Or, maybe, I 8) ...(to think) then, maybe she couldn’t smile. I couldn’t get that look
out of my head. What 9)........(to happen) to make her do that ? And all through the summer, as
I 10) ....(to visit) him, the question grew in my head.
1. A local committee is finally taking action to do something about the (POLLUTE) ______ river
that runs through our town.
2. The (PROTECT) ______ of the environment should be a top priority for everybody.
3. Most animals attack when they feel (THREAT) ______.
4. The (DESTROY) ______ of the rainforest is causing many problems to the local community
and ecosystem.
5. I hate the adults’ (PATRON) ______ attitude towards teenagers.
6. You should help the poor and the (NEED) __________.
7. As it was very hot, she was wearing a (SLEEVE) __________ dress.
8. This is a very (PLEASE) __________way of spending your weekend.
9. I am surprised at the rapid (GROW) _____ of information.
10. The bankrupcy of this company is (AVOID) __________ in the next year or so.

Pagina 1 din 4
III. Read the following text and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits in each gap. 10 points
Macaws are colourful tropical parrots. There are 17 different (1) _______ of macaws. most of
which can be found in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. They (2) _______
on seeds, fruit and insects, as well as on small mammals and reptiles. They grab their (3)
_______ using their toes and they also have very powerful beaks to help break open shells.
Macaws have many (4) _______ including monkeys, eagles, lizards and snakes, which can be
a great (5) _______ to them. There has been a decline in the macaw population mostly because
their natural (6) ________ is being destroyed due to (7) _______. Many of the species,
however, like the Indigo Macaw, are (8) _______ because they are hunted by local tribesmen
for their brightly-coloured (9) _______. Another threat macaws face is poaching, because they
have become increasingly popular in the pet bird trade. Two species, the Glaucous Macaw and
Spix's Macaw, might already be (10) ________.
1. A. types B. ways C. kinds D. species
2. A. food B. feed C. feet D. feeds
3. A. prey B. victim C. brute D. pray
4. A. animal B. beast C. predators D. pet
5. A. danger B. threat C. menace D. fear
6. A. home B. habitat C. house D. shelter
7. A. forestation B. forested C. afforestation D. deforestation
8. A. harmed B. protected C. unprotected D. endangered
9. A. skin B. pillow C. feathers D. tan
10. A. alive B. extinct C. absent D. active
Clara mindenféle ürügyet kitalált, hogy ne maradjon egyedül az anyjával. Ám amikor ebéd után
Isabel ragaszkodott hozzá, hogy alvás helyett sétáljon, nem tudta visszautasítani, hogy elkísérje
őt. A séta rövid volt, miután átszelték a mezőket, az anyja leült egy sövény tövébe. Clara is leült,
bámulván a mezőket, amelyek enyhén lejtettek a használaton kívüli csatorna felé, amely
mintegy keskeny folyó folyt a még zölden maradt erdőkön keresztül. A folyó távoli partján volt
egy régi vidéki téglaház.

Pagina 2 din 4
I have crossed borders with nothing but a rucksack on my back. Arrived in countries with a
holdall and that’s it. Last year, at midnight, I booked a plane ticket for 7am that morning from
London to Glasgow, packed a bag barely heavier than the quotidian, and off I went. I have gone
to Morocco and Egypt in similar circumstances.
Travelling is wonderful, but the downsides – with air travel in particular – are easy to
acknowledge: the dragging of heavy suitcases (often with a wonky wheel or broken handle); the
queueing; the waiting around for luggage – and the potential for it to be lost; the paying extra
for, seemingly, everything. The poor sods rifling through their carefully folded underwear to find
something of sufficient weight to remove, rather than pay an extortionate £40 surplus baggage
fee.
Smugness is not a quality to cultivate, but I can’t tell you that it isn’t immensely satisfying not to
have to worry about all of the above when travelling light. It isn’t always possible, of course –
work trips, longer holidays – but when it is, it’s perhaps the closest thing to feeling free. It’s a
twist on that hole-in-a-sack riddle: what can you pack that will make your bag light? Nothing.
My favourite lyrical paean to the practice is Jeffrey Lewis and Diane Cluck’s on their
appropriately titled Travel Light: “When I was an astronaut I didn’t take my boots / When I was a
record store I didn’t have the blues / I travel light and that’s the life for me.”
I have travelled in the opposite situation, too. When I moved back to the UK after living in
another country, a huge Klimt print I had bought in Moscow six months earlier had its own plane
seat. (I didn’t buy it its own seat, but the stewards were keen on protecting it.) It hangs in my flat
to this day, but it was incredibly stressful, moving with everything I owned.
I often travel alone. It is good for the soul, and all I need then is: my passport; a good book or
three (paperback, obviously); a playlist relevant to where one is going (surely I cannot be the
only nerd who does this?); a language app (if relevant); a rolling countryside view from a train
window, or a pointillist expanse from a plane window; and possibly, depending on mood, an
incredibly interesting seat partner from whom one learns new things.
Because how many pairs of jeans are you really going to wear? Why take weighty bottles of
shampoo when every hotel, Airbnb, or couch surfing host will have some? Not having much on
the back means one’s plans can always change on a whim, too. And, in my opinion, plans are
made for changing.

Pagina 3 din 4
1. According to the author, she has travelled to Morocco and Egypt carrying
A. no luggage.
B. several pieces of luggage.
C. a light bag.
D. a suitcase.
2. What disadvantage of airtravelling is NOT mentioned in the text?

A. carrying huge luggage
B. waiting in a line
C. removing extra weight
D. sitting in crammed spaces
3. A synonym for smugness in the third paragraph is

A. prejudice.
B. comfort.
C. pride.
D. modesty.
4. When the author moved back to the U.K., she felt stressed because
A. she had to carry a painting.
B. she had to move with everything she owned.
C. she had to hang the painting in her flat.
D. she had to buy the tickets six months earlier.
5. The tone of the article is

A. ironic.
B. subjective.
C. objective.
D. sarcastic.
II. Write a narrative-descriptive essay about a situation when you had to change your
plans while travelling. (200-220 words) 50 points

Pagina 4 din 4

2019
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a X-a - SECȚIUNEA B

The immediacy of e-mail is very tempting. It‘s all too common for someone to sit at his or her
desk, bang out an e-mail message on the computer, and then fire it off to the recipient. One
piece of advice is to treat e-mail with the same thoughtful consideration that you do with
letters or memos you send out. While it‘s tempting to send off an e-mail in response to
something that has angered and disappointed you, resist the urge. Sure, type out the e-mail
if you want to, but then use the ‗‗save draft‘‘ function that most e-mail software allows. When
you‘re calmer about whatever triggered your wrath, go back and read the e-mail to see if it‘s
one you really want to send. There are no hard and fast rules about the appropriate length of
an e-mail, but a good rule of thumb is to keep the e-mail as short as possible and come
directly to whatever point you‘re trying to make. When you‘re using an e-mail in a
professional setting or e-mailing to someone in a business, you should follow the same rules
about grammar, usage, and the construction of your thoughts as you would if you were
writing a well-crafted business letter. While it may be faster to avoid capitalization and correct
punctuation, it‘s best to take the time to re-read your e-mail message and to make sure it is
correct, clear, and concise. While it‘s a good practice to do this with interoffice e-mail, it‘s
even more important to practise good writing skills with e-mail sent to outside parties. Just as
a letter will give an impression of your company, so will the e-mails you send.
1.
Explain the phrase bang out an e-mail in your own words.
When should you use the ‗‗save draft‘‘ function, according to the text?
2.
3.
What features must an e-mail have to make a good impression?
4.
Explain the phrase a rule of thumb in your own words.
.
the text. 6 points
1. fire off: a. spark off b. glow c. send d. light

2. urge: a. appetite b. desire c. longing d. incentive
3. wrath a. hate b. vengeance c. tantrum d. anger
Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a X-a secțiunea B

Pagina 1 din 3

1. ―Type out the e-mail if you want to! ―
He urged us .............. .
2. When you‘re using an e-mail in a professional setting, you should follow the same
rules about grammar.
When an e-mail .............. , you should follow the same rules about grammar.
3. While it may be faster to avoid capitalization and correct punctuation, it‘s best to
re-read your e-mail message.
Fast .............. , it‘s best to re-read your e-mail message.
II. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that best fits in each sentence. 10 points
Journalists like myself are (1)______________ (USE) poor letter writers. I have heard it said,
that this is because of the (2)______________ (TASTE) we feel at writing something we are
not going to be paid for, but I cannot believe we have quite such mercenary characters. It is
more (3)______________ (LIKE) that, since in our work we are always striving to get the
greatest possible effect, the (4)______________ (ESSENCE) spontaneity of a letter
escapes us. The real (5)______________ (CREATE) artist, who does not consciously work
on the effect at all – though he may re-write a passage dozens of times – does not have this
problem. I believe that it is in this (6)______________ (INHERE) grasp of the effect of his
words that there lies the only sure test of the real (7)______________ (ART). When
Shakespeare wrote some of his (8)______________ (FAME) lines, he surely never thought
(9)______________ (CONSCIOUS) that it was the contrast between polysyllables that
made them so (10)______________ (EFFECT), as well as showing him to be a great writer.
Am avut, totuși, succes. Trebuia să aduc din culise o cafea pentru comisar. Cum am ieșit pe
ușă cineva mi-a întins o tăviță și m-a sfătuit să pășesc încetișor, ca să nu răstorn ceașca sau
paharul cu apă. Sfatul m-a îngrozit. Eu îmi scosesem ochelarii, pentru că așa voise regizorul.
Când m-am întors, deci, cu cafeaua șefului, am căutat să calc cât mai prudent. Am apărut pe
scenă cu capul în jos, cu brațele tremurând și picioarele nesigure. Toți au crezut că aceasta
era o ‖creație‖ de-a mea și au apreciat-o.
(Mircea Eliade- Romanul adolescentului miop)
Read the following text and do the tasks.
―I‘m bored.‖ It‘s a puny little phrase, yet it has the power to fill parents with a cascade
of dread, annoyance and guilt. If someone around here is bored, someone else must have
failed to enlighten or enrich or divert. And how can anyone — child or adult — claim boredom
when there‘s so much that can and should be done? Immediately.
But boredom is something to experience rather than hastily swipe away. And not as
some kind of cruel Victorian conditioning, recommended because it‘s awful and toughens
you up. Despite the lesson most adults learned growing up — boredom is for boring people
— boredom is useful. It‘s good for you.
If kids don‘t figure this out early on, they‘re in for a nasty surprise. School, let‘s face it,
can be dull, and it isn‘t actually the teacher‘s job to entertain as well as educate. Life isn‘t
meant to be an endless parade of amusements. ―That‘s right,‖ a mother says to her daughter
in Maria Semple‘s 2012 novel, ―Where‘d You Go, Bernadette.‖ ―You are bored. And I‘m going
to let you in on a little secret about life. You think it‘s boring now? Well, it only gets more
boring. The sooner you learn it‘s on you to make life interesting, the better off you‘ll be.‖
The ability to handle boredom, not surprisingly, is correlated with the ability to focus.
It‘s especially important that kids get bored — and be allowed to stay bored — when they‘re
Pagina 2 din 3
young. That should not be considered ―a problem‖ to be avoided or eradicated by the higher-
ups, but instead something kids fight with on their own.
We‘ve stopped training children to do this. Rather than teach them to absorb material
that is slower, duller and decidedly two-dimensional, like a lot of worthwhile information is,
schools cave in to what they say children expect: fun. Teachers spend more time concocting
ways to ―engage‖ students through visuals and ―interactive learning‖ (read: screens, games)
tailored to their Candy Crushed attention spans. Kids won‘t listen to long lectures, goes the
argument, so it‘s on us to serve up learning in easier-to-swallow portions.
But surely teaching children to endure boredom rather than increasing the
entertainment will prepare them for a more realistic future, one that doesn‘t raise false
expectations of what work or life itself actually entails. One day, even in a job they otherwise
love, our kids may have to spend an entire day answering Friday‘s leftover email. They may
have to check spreadsheets. Or assist robots at a vast internet-ready warehouse.
This sounds boring, you might conclude. It sounds like work, and it sounds like life.
Perhaps we should get used to it again, and use it to our benefit. Perhaps in an incessant,
up-the-ante world, we could do with a little less excitement.
1. How does the author feel about the saying ―boredom is for boring people‖ in paragraph 2?
A. It is true.
B. It is awful.
C. It is good.
D. It is false.
2. What does Maria Semple‘s character suggest in paragraph 3?
A. Children will be surprised.
B. Life isn‘t meant to be amusing.
C. Life will get less boring.
D. Children should challenge and entertain themselves.
3. What does the author mean when she refers to the students‘ ―Candy Crushed attention
spans‖ in paragraph 5?
A. Games have reduced their attention span.
B. Games have increased their attention span.
C. Games have increased their candy craving.
D. Games have become useless in class.
4. A good synonym for entails in paragraph 6 is

A. results.
B. involves.
C. consists.
D. comes from.
5. Why does the author believe that ―we could do with a little less excitement‖ in the
concluding paragraph?
A. Too much excitement damages young minds.
B. Less excitement makes us sadder.
C. Coping with boredom prepares us for the future.
D. Coping with boredom makes us less depressed.
II. Starting from the text above, write a for-and-against essay on the following topic:
There are times when monotony and boredom may inspire people to do something
creative. (200-220 words) 50 points

Pagina 3 din 3

2019
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a X-a - SECȚIUNEA B

The immediacy of e-mail is very tempting. It‘s all too common for someone to sit at his or her
desk, bang out an e-mail message on the computer, and then fire it off to the recipient. One
piece of advice is to treat e-mail with the same thoughtful consideration that you do with
letters or memos you send out. While it‘s tempting to send off an e-mail in response to
something that has angered and disappointed you, resist the urge. Sure, type out the e-mail
if you want to, but then use the ‗‗save draft‘‘ function that most e-mail software allows. When
you‘re calmer about whatever triggered your wrath, go back and read the e-mail to see if it‘s
one you really want to send. There are no hard and fast rules about the appropriate length of
an e-mail, but a good rule of thumb is to keep the e-mail as short as possible and come
directly to whatever point you‘re trying to make. When you‘re using an e-mail in a
professional setting or e-mailing to someone in a business, you should follow the same rules
about grammar, usage, and the construction of your thoughts as you would if you were
writing a well-crafted business letter. While it may be faster to avoid capitalization and correct
punctuation, it‘s best to take the time to re-read your e-mail message and to make sure it is
correct, clear, and concise. While it‘s a good practice to do this with interoffice e-mail, it‘s
even more important to practise good writing skills with e-mail sent to outside parties. Just as
a letter will give an impression of your company, so will the e-mails you send.
1.
Explain the phrase bang out an e-mail in your own words.
When should you use the ‗‗save draft‘‘ function, according to the text?
2.
3.
What features must an e-mail have to make a good impression?
4.
Explain the phrase a rule of thumb in your own words.
.
the text. 6 points
1. fire off: a. spark off b. glow c. send d. light

2. urge: a. appetite b. desire c. longing d. incentive
3. wrath a. hate b. vengeance c. tantrum d. anger

Pagina 1 din 3

1. ―Type out the e-mail if you want to! ―
He urged us .............. .
2. When you‘re using an e-mail in a professional setting, you should follow the same
rules about grammar.
When an e-mail .............. , you should follow the same rules about grammar.
3. While it may be faster to avoid capitalization and correct punctuation, it‘s best to
re-read your e-mail message.
Fast .............. , it‘s best to re- read your e-mail message.
II. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that best fits in each sentence. 10 points
Journalists like myself are (1)______________ (USE) poor letter writers. I have heard it said,
that this is because of the (2)______________ (TASTE) we feel at writing something we are
not going to be paid for, but I cannot believe we have quite such mercenary characters. It is
more (3)______________ (LIKE) that, since in our work we are always striving to get the
greatest possible effect, the (4)______________ (ESSENCE) spontaneity of a letter
escapes us. The real (5)______________ (CREATE) artist, who does not consciously work
on the effect at all – though he may re-write a passage dozens of times – does not have this
problem. I believe that it is in this (6)______________ (INHERE) grasp of the effect of his
words that there lies the only sure test of the real (7)______________ (ART). When
Shakespeare wrote some of his (8)______________ (FAME) lines, he surely never thought
(9)______________ (CONSCIOUS) that it was the contrast between polysyllables that
made them so (10)______________ (EFFECT), as well as showing him to be a great writer.
Mégis sikeres voltam. Egy csésze kávét kellett hoznom a kulisszák mögül a
rendőrfelügyelőnek. Ahogy kiléptem az ajtón, valaki átnyújtott egy kis tálcát és azt
tanácsolta, hogy lassan lépjek, nehogy kiborítsam a csészét vagy a pohár vizet. A tanács
megrémített. Előtte levettem a szemüvegem, mert így akarta a rendező. Ezért hát, amikor
visszajöttem a főnök kávéjával,a lehető legóvatosabban próbáltam járni. Lehajtott fejjel
léptem a színpadra, reszkető karokkal és bizonytalan lábakkal. Mindenki azt hitte, hogy ez az
én „kitalációm‖, és értékelték.
(Mircea Eliade- Romanul adolescentului miop)
Read the following text and do the tasks.
―I‘m bored.‖ It‘s a puny little phrase, yet it has the power to fill parents with a cascade
of dread, annoyance and guilt. If someone around here is bored, someone else must have
failed to enlighten or enrich or divert. And how can anyone — child or adult — claim boredom
when there‘s so much that can and should be done? Immediately.
But boredom is something to experience rather than hastily swipe away. And not as
some kind of cruel Victorian conditioning, recommended because it‘s awful and toughens
you up. Despite the lesson most adults learned growing up — boredom is for boring people
— boredom is useful. It‘s good for you.
If kids don‘t figure this out early on, they‘re in for a nasty surprise. School, let‘s face it,
can be dull, and it isn‘t actually the teacher‘s job to entertain as well as educate. Life isn‘t
meant to be an endless parade of amusements. ―That‘s right,‖ a mother says to her daughter
in Maria Semple‘s 2012 novel, ―Where‘d You Go, Bernadette.‖ ―You are bored. And I‘m going
to let you in on a little secret about life. You think it‘s boring now? Well, it only gets more
boring. The sooner you learn it‘s on you to make life interesting, the better off you‘ll be.‖

Pagina 2 din 3
The ability to handle boredom, not surprisingly, is correlated with the ability to focus.
It‘s especially important that kids get bored — and be allowed to stay bored — when they‘re
young. That should not be considered ―a problem‖ to be avoided or eradicated by the higher-
ups, but instead something kids fight with on their own.
We‘ve stopped training children to do this. Rather than teach them to absorb material
that is slower, duller and decidedly two-dimensional, like a lot of worthwhile information is,
schools cave in to what they say children expect: fun. Teachers spend more time concocting
ways to ―engage‖ students through visuals and ―interactive learning‖ (read: screens, games)
tailored to their Candy Crushed attention spans. Kids won‘t listen to long lectures, goes the
argument, so it‘s on us to serve up learning in easier-to-swallow portions.
But surely teaching children to endure boredom rather than increasing the
entertainment will prepare them for a more realistic future, one that doesn‘t raise false
expectations of what work or life itself actually entails. One day, even in a job they otherwise
love, our kids may have to spend an entire day answering Friday‘s leftover email. They may
have to check spreadsheets. Or assist robots at a vast internet-ready warehouse.
This sounds boring, you might conclude. It sounds like work, and it sounds like life.
Perhaps we should get used to it again, and use it to our benefit. Perhaps in an incessant,
up-the-ante world, we could do with a little less excitement.
1. How does the author feel about the saying ―boredom is for boring people‖ in paragraph 2?
A. It is true.
B. It is awful.
C. It is good.
D. It is false.
2. What does Maria Semple‘s character suggest in paragraph 3?
A. Children will be surprised.
B. Life isn‘t meant to be amusing.
C. Life will get less boring.
D. Children should challenge and entertain themselves.
3. What does the author mean when she refers to the students‘ ―Candy Crushed attention
spans‖ in paragraph 5?
A. Games have reduced their attention span.
B. Games have increased their attention span.
C. Games have increased their candy craving.
D. Games have become useless in class.
4. A good synonym for entails in paragraph 6 is

A. results.
B. involves.
C. consists.
D. comes from.
5. Why does the author believe that ―we could do with a little less excitement‖ in the
concluding paragraph?
A. Too much excitement damages young minds.
B. Less excitement makes us sadder.
C. Coping with boredom prepares us for the future.
D. Coping with boredom makes us less depressed.
II. Starting from the text above, write a for-and-against essay on the following topic:
There are times when monotony and boredom may inspire people to do something
creative. (200-220 words) 50 points

Pagina 3 din 3

2019
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a XI-a - SECȚIUNEA A

„Pigeons can recognize individual human faces and the expressions on them,
(1)________(SHOW) that they are far more intelligent than they (2)_________(EVER/GIVE)
credit for,‟ Professor Wasserman of the University of Cambridge said yesterday. „We showed
the birds black-and-white photographs of four people, who (3)__________(EXHIBIT) four
emotions: happiness, anger, surprise and disgust,‟ the scientist explained. „In turn, each bird
was shown one picture, and made (4)________(CHOOSE) one of four keys. If it replied by
pecking the correct key, it (5)_________(REWARD) with pinches of grain, and so they all
learned to identify the person and the emotions correctly.‟ To make it more difficult, the four
people from the photographs (6)____________(NOT WEAR) distinguishing clothing or
jewellery. Surprisingly, the pigeons showed the same amount of intelligence as human babies,
who (7)__________(NOT BEAR) with the ability to recognize the expressions on people‟s
faces, but have to (8)_________(TEACH) it. Charles Darwin (9)___________(SPECULATE) in
the last century that some birds might have the ability, but it‟s amazing
(10)__________(IT/PROVE).
In an article published in the (1)_________(LATE) issue of the US Journal of Science,

geologists claim that a huge (2)______(TIDE) wave like the one that swept the whole Caribbean
region 65 million years ago could have been caused by the impact of an asteroid, probably five
to ten kilometres in diameter, plunging through the Earth‟s (3)________(SPHERE) and into the
sea. That (4)_______(SPECTACLE) picture fits well with the view that the sudden
disappearance of the dinosaurs along with a diverse range of other living things was caused by
a series of asteroid impacts. Proof of that view can be found in clays from the end of the
Cretaceous period. They are (5)____(RICH) in iridium by the numerous asteroid fragments. Of
course, the clinching evidence for this (6)_______(CATASTROPHE) view would be the
discovery of the remains of the craters. (7)________(FORTUNE), no crater of the right age has
been (8)__________(DEFINE) identified, although if they are all at the bottom of the sea that is
not so (9)______(SURPRISE). The (10)________(EVIDENT) comes in a puzzling layer of
sandstone found in the Brazos River Valley, Texas.
Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a XI-a secțiunea A

Pagina 1 din 4
III. Choose the correct answer A, B, C or D. 10 points

1. Mathematics…………… the only truly universal language.
A. are
B. were
C. is
D. had
2. Excuse me. Could you show me…

A. where is the bus station?
B. is the bus station where?
C. where the bus station is?
D. the bus station where it is?
3. I’m sorry, but I’m having…………………. about asking Jane to the party; I think she’ll
cause trouble.
A. a second thought
B. double vision
C. second sight
D. second thoughts
4. Not only …………………a keen painter, but she is also an aspiring musician.
A. is Maria
B. Maria is
C. Maria she is
D. does Maria
5. Louisa …………… me last week that she …………that she……………able to finish the
report the following day.
A. told; doesn‟t think; would be
B. was telling; didn‟t think; would be
C. has told; doesn‟t think; will be
D. told; wasn‟t thinking; would be
6. The judges are making a decision about the finalists as we speak.

A. A decision is made about the finalists as we speak.
B. A decision has been made about the finalists as we speak.
C. A decision was being made about the finalists as we speak.
D. A decision is being made about the finalists as we speak.
7. Once the storm ……………., we’ll take the boat out on the lake.
A. turns over
B. takes up
C. blows over
D. blows up
8. All those in favour of the motion, please ……………. your hands.
A. rose
B. raise
C. rise
D. arouse

Pagina 2 din 4
9. It’s ten o’clock. I……………………you…………….. a film now. You’ve got school

tomorrow.
A. would rather/didn‟t start watching
B. would rather/won‟t start to watch
C. had better/wouldn‟t start to watch
D. would rather/not start watching
10. I had never eaten sushi before.

A. It is the first time I‟m eating sushi.
B. It was the first time I was eating sushi.
C. It was the first time I ate sushi.
D. It was the first time I had eaten sushi.
Olguța era prietena doctorului și viceversa. Ea îl alimenta cu vin ales, în schimb doctorul Prahu
îi prescria băi de soare.
- S-o duc la mare ? întrebase doamna Deleanu, alarmată de spusele doctorului, fără să știe
că Olguța râdea după ușă, prea amatoare de râs ca să nu tragă cu urechea…
- Stimată doamnă, fiica dumneavoastră este agitată … și marea…
- Știu, doctore, enervează. Ce-i de făcut atunci ? S-o duc la munte ?
Auzind spusele mamei, Olguța intră în odaie, șoptind în treacăt doctorului substantivul ploaie.
- La munte plouă, stimată doamnă, spuse doctorul…
 (Ionel Teodoreanu, La Medeleni, text adaptat)
SUBIECTUL B- INTEGRATED SKILLS (60 points)
Students claim they managed to pass off a pineapple they bought for £1 at a supermarket as a
work of art, after leaving it in the middle of an exhibition at their university. Ruairi Gray, a
student at Robert Gordon University in Scotland, and his friend Lloyd Jack reportedly left the
fruit at the Look Again exhibition at RGU‟s Sir Ian Wood building, hoping that it might be
mistaken for art.
When they returned four days later he found that the pineapple had been put inside its own
glass display case at the event. Gray, 22, told the MailOnline: “I saw an empty art display stand
and decided to see how long it would stay there for or if people would believe it was art. I came
in later and it had been put in a glass case – it‟s the funniest thing that has happened all year.
My supervisor saw it and asked an art lecturer if it was real because he could not believe it.”
Natalie Kerr, a cultural assistant for the festival who had organised the display, said she wasn‟t
the one who included the fruit as an artwork because she is allergic to pineapple. “We were
moving the exhibition, and came back after 10 minutes and it was in this glass case,” she told
the Press & Journal. “It‟s a bit of a mystery – the glass is pretty heavy and would need two or
three people to move it, we have no idea who did it. But it‟s still there now, we decided to keep it
because it‟s keeping with the playful spirit of this commission.”

Pagina 3 din 4
The incident recalls a similar prank last year when a 17-year-old placed a pair of glasses on the
floor at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Apparently unimpressed with some of the
work on display and wanting to test the theory that people will try to interpret any object
provided it is in a gallery setting, TJ Khayatan placed the glasses on the floor and walked away.
Soon after, visitors to the gallery surrounded them and began taking pictures. Khayatan, who
had previous success with a baseball cap and a bin, was keen to defend modern art despite the
joke.
“I can agree that modern art can be a joke sometimes, but art is a way to express our creativity,”
he said at the time.
1. Ruairi Gray and Lloyd Jack left a pineapple in an art exhibition

A. by mistake.
B. because the exhibition featured works of art made of fruits.
C. because they hoped it would be bought by an art lover.
D. as a prank.
2. The pineapple was placed in a glass case

A. because it caused allergies.
B. because the organisers thought it was appropriate.
C. by two museum employees.
D. because it gave off a terrible smell.
3. According to paragraph four, TJ Khayatan believes that

A. any object can pass as art.
B. galleries should exhibit everyday objects.
C. art lovers find meaning only in unusual objects.
D. art lovers are gullible snobs.
4. Khayatan‟s conclusion is that

A. modern art is no good.
B. art stimulates creativity.
C. modern art is funny.
D. art is not for everybody.
5. The tone of the text is

A. callous
B. informative
C. critical
D. persuasive
II. Starting from the text above, write a for-and-against essay on the idea that ‘Everything
can be a work of art.’ (220-250 words) 50 points

Pagina 4 din 4

2019
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a XI-a - SECȚIUNEA A

„Pigeons can recognize individual human faces and the expressions on them,
(1)________(SHOW) that they are far more intelligent than they (2)_________(EVER/GIVE)
credit for,‟ Professor Wasserman of the University of Cambridge said yesterday. „We showed
the birds black-and-white photographs of four people, who (3)__________(EXHIBIT) four
emotions: happiness, anger, surprise and disgust,‟ the scientist explained. „In turn, each bird
was shown one picture, and made (4)________(CHOOSE) one of four keys. If it replied by
pecking the correct key, it (5)_________(REWARD) with pinches of grain, and so they all
learned to identify the person and the emotions correctly.‟ To make it more difficult, the four
people from the photographs (6)____________(NOT WEAR) distinguishing clothing or
jewellery. Surprisingly, the pigeons showed the same amount of intelligence as human babies,
who (7)__________(NOT BEAR) with the ability to recognize the expressions on people‟s
faces, but have to (8)_________(TEACH) it. Charles Darwin (9)___________(SPECULATE) in
the last century that some birds might have the ability, but it‟s amazing
(10)__________(IT/PROVE).
In an article published in the (1)_________(LATE) issue of the US Journal of Science,

geologists claim that a huge (2)______(TIDE) wave like the one that swept the whole Caribbean
region 65 million years ago could have been caused by the impact of an asteroid, probably five
to ten kilometres in diameter, plunging through the Earth‟s (3)________(SPHERE) and into the
sea. That (4)_______(SPECTACLE) picture fits well with the view that the sudden
disappearance of the dinosaurs along with a diverse range of other living things was caused by
a series of asteroid impacts. Proof of that view can be found in clays from the end of the
Cretaceous period. They are (5)____(RICH) in iridium by the numerous asteroid fragments. Of
course, the clinching evidence for this (6)_______(CATASTROPHE) view would be the
discovery of the remains of the craters. (7)________(FORTUNE), no crater of the right age has
been (8)__________(DEFINE) identified, although if they are all at the bottom of the sea that is
not so (9)______(SURPRISE). The (10)________(EVIDENT) comes in a puzzling layer of
sandstone found in the Brazos River Valley, Texas.

Pagina 1 din 4

1. Mathematics…………… the only truly universal language.
A. are
B. were
C. is
D. had
2. Excuse me. Could you show me…

A. where is the bus station?
B. is the bus station where?
C. where the bus station is?
D. the bus station where it is?
3. I’m sorry, but I’m having…………………. about asking Jane to the party; I think she’ll
cause trouble.
A. a second thought
B. double vision
C. second sight
D. second thoughts
4. Not only …………………a keen painter, but she is also an aspiring musician.
A. is Maria
B. Maria is
C. Maria she is
D. does Maria
5. Louisa …………… me last week that she …………that she……………able to finish the
report the following day.
A. told; doesn‟t think; would be
B. was telling; didn‟t think; would be
C. has told; doesn‟t think; will be
D. told; wasn‟t thinking; would be
6. The judges are making a decision about the finalists as we speak.

A. A decision is made about the finalists as we speak.
B. A decision has been made about the finalists as we speak.
C. A decision was being made about the finalists as we speak.
D. A decision is being made about the finalists as we speak.
7. Once the storm ……………., we’ll take the boat out on the lake.
A. turns over
B. takes up
C. blows over
D. blows up
8. All those in favour of the motion, please ……………. your hands.
A. rose
B. raise
C. rise
D. arouse

Pagina 2 din 4
9. It’s ten o’clock. I……………………you…………….. a film now. You’ve got school

tomorrow.
A. would rather/didn‟t start watching
B. would rather/won‟t start to watch
C. had better/wouldn‟t start to watch
D. would rather/not start watching
10. I had never eaten sushi before.

A. It is the first time I‟m eating sushi.
B. It was the first time I was eating sushi.
C. It was the first time I ate sushi.
D. It was the first time I had eaten sushi.
Olguta a doktor barátja volt, és az meg az övé. Ő (Olguta) különleges borral látta őt el, és
cserében Prahu doctor napfürdőt írt fel neki.
- Vigyem őt a tengerpartra? – kérdezte Deleanu asszony, megrémülvén a doktor által
mondottaktól, anélkül, hogy észrevette volna, hogy Olguta az ajtó mögött nevetett,
kiváncsiságában hallgatózását elárulva.
- Kedves hölgyem, az ön lánya zaklatott ... és a tenger ...
- Tudom, doktor úr, ez idegesítő. Akkor mit tehetek? Vigyem őt a hegyekbe?
Anyja szavait hallván, Olguta bejött a szobába, és elmenőben a doktor mellett, annak fülébe
súgta az eső főnevet.
- A hegyekben esik, kedves hölgyem – mondta a doktor.
SUBIECTUL B- INTEGRATED SKILLS (60 points)
Students claim they managed to pass off a pineapple they bought for £1 at a supermarket as a
work of art, after leaving it in the middle of an exhibition at their university. Ruairi Gray, a
student at Robert Gordon University in Scotland, and his friend Lloyd Jack reportedly left the
fruit at the Look Again exhibition at RGU‟s Sir Ian Wood building, hoping that it might be
mistaken for art.
When they returned four days later he found that the pineapple had been put inside its own
glass display case at the event. Gray, 22, told the MailOnline: “I saw an empty art display stand
and decided to see how long it would stay there for or if people would believe it was art. I came
in later and it had been put in a glass case – it‟s the funniest thing that has happened all year.
My supervisor saw it and asked an art lecturer if it was real because he could not believe it.”
Natalie Kerr, a cultural assistant for the festival who had organised the display, said she wasn‟t
the one who included the fruit as an artwork because she is allergic to pineapple. “We were
moving the exhibition, and came back after 10 minutes and it was in this glass case,” she told
the Press & Journal. “It‟s a bit of a mystery – the glass is pretty heavy and would need two or
three people to move it, we have no idea who did it. But it‟s still there now, we decided to keep it
because it‟s keeping with the playful spirit of this commission.”

Pagina 3 din 4
The incident recalls a similar prank last year when a 17-year-old placed a pair of glasses on the
floor at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Apparently unimpressed with some of the
work on display and wanting to test the theory that people will try to interpret any object
provided it is in a gallery setting, TJ Khayatan placed the glasses on the floor and walked away.
Soon after, visitors to the gallery surrounded them and began taking pictures. Khayatan, who
had previous success with a baseball cap and a bin, was keen to defend modern art despite the
joke.
“I can agree that modern art can be a joke sometimes, but art is a way to express our creativity,”
he said at the time.
1. Ruairi Gray and Lloyd Jack left a pineapple in an art exhibition

A. by mistake.
B. because the exhibition featured works of art made of fruits.
C. because they hoped it would be bought by an art lover.
D. as a prank.
2. The pineapple was placed in a glass case

A. because it caused allergies.
B. because the organisers thought it was appropriate.
C. by two museum employees.
D. because it gave off a terrible smell.
3. According to paragraph four, TJ Khayatan believes that

A. any object can pass as art.
B. galleries should exhibit everyday objects.
C. art lovers find meaning only in unusual objects.
D. art lovers are gullible snobs.
4. Khayatan‟s conclusion is that

A. modern art is no good.
B. art stimulates creativity.
C. modern art is funny.
D. art is not for everybody.
5. The tone of the text is

A. callous
B. informative
C. critical
D. persuasive
II. Starting from the text above, write a for-and-against essay on the idea that ‘Everything
can be a work of art.’ (220-250 words) 50 points

Pagina 4 din 4

2019
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a XI-a - SECȚIUNEA B

Sleeping badly? We are all these days. The regularity with which I hear complaints from friends
and colleagues that no matter how hard they try, they just cannot get to sleep, leads me to think
we have something of a non-sleeping epidemic at the moment. Recently, The Guardian has
reported that up to 51% of British people struggle to get to sleep – and women are three times
more likely than men to suffer from this problem. I‟m not saying we‟re all insomniacs for the
purpose of medical science – I‟m no doctor – but certainly I‟ve noticed something of a pattern,
and I‟m not alone in that. Professor Colin Espie of Glasgow University said that, “Insomnia
affects people‟s quality of life during the day, not just their sleep at night. Indeed, the survey
data show significant effects across different aspects of personal functioning. Living with poor
sleep and its consequences is not only very common, but it is in all likelihood degrading Britain‟s
health. This is not a trivial matter. It‟s time for NHS to pay attention to scientific evidence that
persistent poor sleep elevates the risk of developing new illnesses. This has been shown in
disorders such as diabetes, but also very convincingly in depression.” In light of the severity of
this problem and as someone who does rather well with sleep, I‟ve devised some top tips for
getting more kip…
(NHS = National Health Service)
1. What evidence is there in the text that a non-sleeping epidemic affects a specific group of the
British population?
2. Why does the writer mention the fact that she is not a doctor?
3. What is the connection between poor sleep and the quality of life?
4. How does the writer justify her decision to offer sleep-related advice?
the text. 6 points
1. pattern: a. markings b. diagram c. model d. template

2. trivial: a. meaningful b. insignificant c. frivolous d. silly
3. kip: a. sack b. sleep c. berth d. hay
Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a XI-a secțiunea B
Pagina 1 din 4
1. No matter how hard they try, they just cannot get to sleep.
Try ………………………………to fall asleep.
2. The Guardian has reported that up to 51% of British people struggle to get to sleep.
Up to 51% of British people………………………… to get to sleep.
3. Poor sleep elevates the risk of developing new illnesses.
The lower the quality of sleep, ……………………………….. new illnesses gets.
The Japanese have a strong aesthetic sense. Once I watched a man at the counter in a fish-
restaurant. Sushi and sashimi – the famous raw fish of Japan – comes in many forms and cuts.
It can be (1)______(CIRCLE), octagonal, or (2)________(STAR), and this is why it takes about
ten years for a man to reach the counters of a first-class (3)________(ESTABLISH). The man I
watched was not bored with his somewhat (4)_______(MONOTONY) job: he enjoyed every
moment of it to the full. Like any Japanese, he was (5)_______(ABLE) to touch anything
without (6)________________(BEAUTY) it, shaping it into something pretty and pleasing to the
eye. Later that night, as I was walking in one of the (7)_________(SLUM) suburbs of Tokyo, I
saw a heap of rubbish (8)________(SIDE) a factory. It was an immense mountainside of
rubbish, but it was not thrown out as it came: all the boxes were piled into a graceful if
somewhat (9)__________(WHIM) pyramid, and the loose rubbish was placed on top as artistic
and (10)___________(PICTURE) decoration. Someone must have spent considerable time in
converting that heap of rubbish into a thing of beauty.
Cartea era însă scumpă și tocmai fusese publicată. Ștefan era un cititor avid. Lectura îl fascina,
dar înca mai de mult, observase un lucru care îl surprinsese. Își făcea pentru perioade de luni
întregi liste de autori și cărți și își spunea după ce o sa le citesc pe toate, e sigur că mintea mea
va fi alta, voi vedea lumea cu alți ochi. Si se ducea la bibliotecă și începea să citească. (Ed.
Libris – text adaptat)
Joining a tech start-up is the number one trendy move for top graduates today. Graduates
nowadays are gravitating towards app development and other technology markets. Indeed,
these industries are welcoming graduates with open arms; there are plenty of opportunities in
search engine optimization and in pay per click advertising. However, many graduates do not
properly think through the options and opt for these roads all too quickly. It‟s depressing to see
young people just go and do something just because it seems „cool‟ rather than it‟s actually of
any use. They swan around thinking they are so on trend and yet most of them produce
nothing of value whatsoever. Further – a lot of their jobs are pretty dull in practice.

Pagina 2 din 4
More interesting, in my view, is a career in the arts – for instance a career as an art gallery
curator. This job involves the managing of collections of paintings and objects. Curators also
undertake art research, identifying paintings and other items. Moreover, they interact with the
public, answering visitors‟ questions and giving talks about the art collections they manage. The
job also involves organizing displays and negotiating the sale or loan of paintings to the art
gallery. One unfortunate consequence of the recession has been the cutting of government
provisions to the arts. Regardless, it is an exciting career path for those who have the strength
of character to overcome the difficulties the area is currently facing. The opportunity to create
and to help others to do the same has to be one of the most exciting things anyone could do in
their twenties.
Furthermore, jobs in finance may seem like a good idea for graduates but jobs in publishing
actually offer more opportunities for the truly talented. This is because publishers are much
more rigorous in their hiring procedures – and rightly so- and, as such, get a much better crop of
graduates. One type of job in publishing is that of the commissioning editor. These individuals
commission or buy new authors, book titles or ideas for publication. You‟ll choose books or
media products that you think will sell well. You‟ll also monitor the performance of published
titles. If you love reading and you are able to combine that with market research and spot
market trends, then this could be the role for you.
The point here is that although I‟m sure you‟ve been told that jobs in the industries that
graduates typically go into have a lot to offer, you should not close your mind to other options.
Think a little bigger!
1. What is the attitude of the author towards those who join start-ups?
A. She looks down on them.
B. She admires them.
C. She thinks they are selfish.
D. She doesn‟t understand their motivation.
2. In paragraph one, the phrase swan around refers to

A. a way of talking.
B. a way of behaving.
C. a way of thinking.
D. a way of travelling.
3. According to paragraph two, an art gallery curator needs to

A. have financial, management, communicative skills and a pleasant appearance.
B. have a strong character as well as foreign languages and leadership skills.
C. have a good knowledge of the history of arts, be good at organizing events and be a
good communicator.
D. be diplomatic, manage the gallery‟s budget, make decisions about what objects of art
are bought or sold.

Pagina 3 din 4
4. What view does the author take on hiring procedures in publishing firms?
A. She does not give a view.
B. She thinks they are not as good as hiring procedures in finance.
C. She thinks they are too hard.
D. She thinks they are the right approach.
5. What is the aim of the article?

A. to recruit people into publishing
B. to recruit people into the arts
C. to get students to consider less traditional career paths
D. to argue that careers in the arts are the best
II. Starting from the text above, write an opinion essay on the idea that ‘An interesting job
is not necessarily on - trend’ (220-250 words) 50 points

Pagina 4 din 4

2019
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a XI-a - SECȚIUNEA B

Sleeping badly? We are all these days. The regularity with which I hear complaints from friends
and colleagues that no matter how hard they try, they just cannot get to sleep, leads me to think
we have something of a non-sleeping epidemic at the moment. Recently, The Guardian has
reported that up to 51% of British people struggle to get to sleep – and women are three times
more likely than men to suffer from this problem. I‟m not saying we‟re all insomniacs for the
purpose of medical science – I‟m no doctor – but certainly I‟ve noticed something of a pattern,
and I‟m not alone in that. Professor Colin Espie of Glasgow University said that, “Insomnia
affects people‟s quality of life during the day, not just their sleep at night. Indeed, the survey
data show significant effects across different aspects of personal functioning. Living with poor
sleep and its consequences is not only very common, but it is in all likelihood degrading Britain‟s
health. This is not a trivial matter. It‟s time for NHS to pay attention to scientific evidence that
persistent poor sleep elevates the risk of developing new illnesses. This has been shown in
disorders such as diabetes, but also very convincingly in depression.” In light of the severity of
this problem and as someone who does rather well with sleep, I‟ve devised some top tips for
getting more kip…
(NHS = National Health Service)
1. What evidence is there in the text that a non-sleeping epidemic affects a specific group of the
British population?
2. Why does the writer mention the fact that she is not a doctor?
3. What is the connection between poor sleep and the quality of life?
4. How does the writer justify her decision to offer sleep-related advice?
the text. 6 points
1. pattern: a. markings b. diagram c. model d. template

2. trivial: a. meaningful b. insignificant c. frivolous d. silly
3. kip: a. sack b. sleep c. berth d. hay
Pagina 1 din 4
1. No matter how hard they try, they just cannot get to sleep.
Try ………………………………to fall asleep.
2. The Guardian has reported that up to 51% of British people struggle to get to sleep.
Up to 51% of British people………………………… to get to sleep.
3. Poor sleep elevates the risk of developing new illnesses.
The lower the quality of sleep, ……………………………….. new illnesses gets.
The Japanese have a strong aesthetic sense. Once I watched a man at the counter in a fish-
restaurant. Sushi and sashimi – the famous raw fish of Japan – comes in many forms and cuts.
It can be (1)______(CIRCLE), octagonal, or (2)________(STAR), and this is why it takes about
ten years for a man to reach the counters of a first-class (3)________(ESTABLISH). The man I
watched was not bored with his somewhat (4)_______(MONOTONY) job: he enjoyed every
moment of it to the full. Like any Japanese, he was (5)_______(ABLE) to touch anything
without (6)________________(BEAUTY) it, shaping it into something pretty and pleasing to the
eye. Later that night, as I was walking in one of the (7)_________(SLUM) suburbs of Tokyo, I
saw a heap of rubbish (8)________(SIDE) a factory. It was an immense mountainside of
rubbish, but it was not thrown out as it came: all the boxes were piled into a graceful if
somewhat (9)__________(WHIM) pyramid, and the loose rubbish was placed on top as artistic
and (10)___________(PICTURE) decoration. Someone must have spent considerable time in
converting that heap of rubbish into a thing of beauty.
A könyv azonban drága volt, és épp frissen nyomtatva. Stefan odavolt az olvasásért. Az olvasás
lenyűgözte őt, és már régebb észrevett egy dolgot, amely meglepte őt. Egész hónapokat töltött
azzal, hogy szerző- és könyvlistákat készített, és azt mondta magának, hogy miután mindet
elolvasom, biztos, hogy az eszem más lesz, és más fényben fogom látni az egész világot. És
eljárt a könyvtárba, és elkezdett olvasni.
Joining a tech start-up is the number one trendy move for top graduates today. Graduates
nowadays are gravitating towards app development and other technology markets. Indeed,
these industries are welcoming graduates with open arms; there are plenty of opportunities in
search engine optimization and in pay per click advertising. However, many graduates do not
properly think through the options and opt for these roads all too quickly. It‟s depressing to see
young people just go and do something just because it seems „cool‟ rather than it‟s actually of
any use. They swan around thinking they are so on trend and yet most of them produce
nothing of value whatsoever. Further – a lot of their jobs are pretty dull in practice.

Pagina 2 din 4
More interesting, in my view, is a career in the arts – for instance a career as an art gallery
curator. This job involves the managing of collections of paintings and objects. Curators also
undertake art research, identifying paintings and other items. Moreover, they interact with the
public, answering visitors‟ questions and giving talks about the art collections they manage. The
job also involves organizing displays and negotiating the sale or loan of paintings to the art
gallery. One unfortunate consequence of the recession has been the cutting of government
provisions to the arts. Regardless, it is an exciting career path for those who have the strength
of character to overcome the difficulties the area is currently facing. The opportunity to create
and to help others to do the same has to be one of the most exciting things anyone could do in
their twenties.
Furthermore, jobs in finance may seem like a good idea for graduates but jobs in publishing
actually offer more opportunities for the truly talented. This is because publishers are much
more rigorous in their hiring procedures – and rightly so- and, as such, get a much better crop of
graduates. One type of job in publishing is that of the commissioning editor. These individuals
commission or buy new authors, book titles or ideas for publication. You‟ll choose books or
media products that you think will sell well. You‟ll also monitor the performance of published
titles. If you love reading and you are able to combine that with market research and spot
market trends, then this could be the role for you.
The point here is that although I‟m sure you‟ve been told that jobs in the industries that
graduates typically go into have a lot to offer, you should not close your mind to other options.
Think a little bigger!
1. What is the attitude of the author towards those who join start-ups?
A. She looks down on them.
B. She admires them.
C. She thinks they are selfish.
D. She doesn‟t understand their motivation.
2. In paragraph one, the phrase swan around refers to

A. a way of talking.
B. a way of behaving.
C. a way of thinking.
D. a way of travelling.
3. According to paragraph two, an art gallery curator needs to

A. have financial, management, communicative skills and a pleasant appearance.
B. have a strong character as well as foreign languages and leadership skills.
C. have a good knowledge of the history of arts, be good at organizing events and be a
good communicator.
D. be diplomatic, manage the gallery‟s budget, make decisions about what objects of art
are bought or sold.

Pagina 3 din 4
4. What view does the author take on hiring procedures in publishing firms?
A. She does not give a view.
B. She thinks they are not as good as hiring procedures in finance.
C. She thinks they are too hard.
D. She thinks they are the right approach.
5. What is the aim of the article?

A. to recruit people into publishing
B. to recruit people into the arts
C. to get students to consider less traditional career paths
D. to argue that careers in the arts are the best
II. Starting from the text above, write an opinion essay on the idea that ‘An interesting job
is not necessarily on - trend’ (220-250 words) 50 points

Pagina 4 din 4

2019
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a XII-a - SECȚIUNEA A

No sooner (1) ________ (Mr. Pontellier/LEARN) of his wife's intention to abandon her home
and take up her residence elsewhere than he wrote her a letter of unqualified disapproval. She
(2) ________ (ALREADY/GIVE) reasons which he was unwilling to acknowledge as adequate.
He hoped she (3) ________ (NOT ACT) upon her rash impulse when having decided to leave;
he wished she (4) ________ (CONSIDER) first, foremost, and above all else, what people
would say. When he uttered this warning, he wasn’t even dreaming of scandal. It (5) ________
(NEVER ENTER) his mind to consider that thing in connection with his wife's name or his own,
(6) ________ (IT/NOT BE) for the reality of it all. At that point, he (7) ________ (SIMPLY
THINK) of his financial integrity. The Pontelliers might be rumoured (8) ________ (MEET) with
difficulties during the past few months, and, hence, they (9) ________ (FORCE) to conduct their
ménage on a humbler scale than before. It might do incalculable mischief to his business
prospects. But only on remembering Edna's whimsical turn of mind of late, and foreseeing that
she had immediately acted upon her impetuous determination, (10) ________ (HE/GRASP) the
situation with his usual promptness and handle it with his well-known business tact and
cleverness.
In many countries, success is like royalty: you must be born into it. In sharp contrast, here your
dreams are within your grasp. Why? This country has (1)__________ (TRADITION) invited
every citizen to exploit five basic American attributes that distinguish the U.S. from virtually
every other country in the world: our (2)___________(WILL) to give women the same
educational opportunities as men; our (3)___________(RIVAL) history of openness to
immigrants, who remain a(n) (4)__________(END) source of (5)__________(ECONOMY)
vitality; our easy (6)__________(ACCEDE) to higher education, as opposed to such nations as
Japan and Germany, where (7)_________(AGE) students must pass vigorous exams to (8)
_________(QUALIFICATION) for college; our tradition of upward (9)__________ (MOBILE)
which – more so than in the class-conscious societies of Europe and Asia – allows children to
escape the circumstances of their birth; and our uncommon acceptance of career change,
which lets people (10)__________ (INVENTION) themselves again and again until they unleash
their full potential.
Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a XII-a secțiunea A

Pagina 1 din 5
1. My friend ____ a degree at university so I ____ him very often lately, unfortunately.
A. is doing/haven’t seen
B. does/don’t see
C. has been doing/didn’t see
D. is doing/didn’t see
2. It’s the first time we ____ this rock band singing. They have released three albums so
far. However, popularity counts ____ nothing ____ they ____ a music award!
A. hear /as /if/ won’t win
B. have been hearing/ for/unless/win
C. have heard/as/ if/don’t win
D. have heard/for/unless/win
3. I ____ up all day and my feet ____ me! I don’t feel ____ to going out tonight.
A. have stood/kill/like
B. stand/are killing/able
C. have been standing/are killing/up
D. stood/kill/tempted
4. You’re acting completely ____. Just calm down and ____ yourself together! Stop
splitting ____ and look at the ____ picture!
A. irrationally/pull/hairs/big
B. irrational/pull/woods/large
C. irrational/get/stones/large
D. irrationally/put/wits/big
5. We _____ to figure ____ how the ____ got in. What we have found out so far is that
they tampered ____ the lock of the front door.
A. try/up/burglers/at
B. are trying/out/burglars/with
C. are trying/up/burglars/at
D. try/out/burglers/with
6. It’s too ____ for me to ____ in. Only when ____ the net ____ how to fill in the
application form.
A. much information/get/will I search/I will understand
B. much data/put/I search/will I understand
C. many data/set/I search/I will understand
D. much information/take/I have searched/will I understand
7. Why ____ Jane’s forehead?

I ____ she’s got a temperature. I wouldn’t be worried if she ____ earlier when we had dinner.
A. do you feel/am thinking/ate
B. are you feeling/think/had eaten
C. have you felt/think/would have eaten
D. did you feel/was thinking/has eaten

Pagina 2 din 5
8. This time tomorrow I ____ my statistics exam. Statistics ____ very difficult, you know!
Unless you ____ hard, you can’t ____ it!
A. will sit/are/don’t study/take
B. will be sitting/is/have studied/pass
C. will be sitting/is/haven’t studied/manage
D. am sitting/are/study/pass
9. You look great in that dress!
I ____ buy it then. Not since I returned from Paris ______ to find my size! It is ____ colour!
A. am going to/I have been able/such a bright
B. will/I was able/such bright a
C. will/have I been able/so bright a
D. am to/am I able/so a bright
10. I have just bought a ____ table. I ____ my kitchen redecorated and I want to buy some
new furniture. What ____ luck to find it!
A. brown round fashionable wooden/have/a
B. fashionable brown round wooden/am having/-
C. round fashionable brown wooden/have/a
D. fashionable round brown wooden/am having/-
O întrebă de ce râde, şi îi spuse că a înveselit-o privirea lui, cum nu-şi mai aducea aminte să fi
fost privită vreodată.
- Te uiţi la mine ca şi cum ai vrea să descoperi un secret.
- Da, vreau să descopăr un secret şi l-am descoperit, cred. E lucrul pentru care am venit aici, în
această vizită neobişnuită pe care şi dumneata ai acceptat-o. Te-am descoperit şi am să-ţi spun
cum eşti, parcă aş vedea lumea prin ochii dumitale.
(Alexandru Ivasiuc: Păsările)

Handwritten notebook entries, scrapbook pages, running lists in a computer file, hard drives full
of pictures — all are ways to record, remember and even tally your experiences. In the Sunday
Book Review essay ―My Life With Bob,‖ Pamela Paul describes her habit of writing the title of
every book she’s read since high school in a journal she calls Bob.
With no small amount of trepidation, I lay open here the first page of my diary - high-schoolish
stabs at intellectualism, fleeting girlish obsessions, deliberately obscure annotations and all.
After many failed adolescent attempts at keeping a journal, the summer after my junior year in
high school, I finally found a format I could adhere to: Never mind describing the back-and-lack-
of-forths of unrequited crushes and falling-outs with friends. I decided to list the books I read
instead.
And I’ve stuck with this Book of Books, or Bob, as I’ve come to call it, ever since. Were my
house to burst suddenly into flames, I would bypass the laptop and photo albums and even,
God forgive me, my children’s artwork in order to rescue Bob, the record of every book I’ve read
or didn’t finish reading since the summer of 1988.

Pagina 3 din 5
It’s also become an itinerary of where I’ve been and where I really was while I was there. During
my 20s, when I lived abroad and travelled frequently, I would annotate Bob with my location at
the time, recording the serendipity of reading a particular book in a particular place. I remember
how, lying in a dormitory in Mauriac, an unspectacular hamlet in central France where I was
staying on an American Field Service program, I read the subject of the first entry, inspired by
Baryshnikov’s performance in ―Metamorphosis‖ on Broadway: ―The Trial‖ (fittingly, an unfinished
work).
Location often dictated content. When I backpacked through western China in the early 1990s, I
picked up whatever discards I could get from passing travellers — Donna Tartt’s ―Secret
History‖; a middling Tom Sharpe satire; ―Ethan Frome.‖ I remember reading ―Moby-Dick‖ during
a lonely holiday on Ko Phi Phi, while most vacationers more reasonably nursed hangovers with
potboilers and romance. And reading ―A Distant Mirror‖ in northern France, where I could visit
the nearby Château de Coucy.
I admitted to Bob when I read self-help or reread old favorites or tossed aside ―Interview With a
Vampire‖ after one chapter, mystified by its raging popularity. Bob knew that I was perennially
behind on pop-cultural phenomena, that I read ―A Civil Action‖ and ―The Bonfire of the Vanities‖
years after the cocktail-party chatter faded. That I never finished ―Paradise Lost‖ for freshman
English. With 24 years of data, Bob reveals as much about my literary foibles, passing
curiosities and guilty pleasures as any other diary.
1. In her attempt at keeping a diary the author decided not to include in it
A. her strife to get along with her siblings.

B. the books she had to read for school.
C. the fights she had with her friends.
D. the serendipity of her love life.
2. We can infer from the text that Mauriac is
A. a rural area in France without too much appeal.

B. a very busy French market-town.
C. a French translator of British plays.
D. a boarding school serving the American Field Service program.
3. While travelling in China the author read
A. travel books.
B. books about the history of China.
C. books that other people had left behind.
D. English-Chinese dictionaries.

Pagina 4 din 5
4. What is the thing the author couldn’t understand about ―Interview With a Vampire‖?
A. its title
B. its characters
C. its plot
D. its popularity
5. What does Bob represent in the text above?

A. an epithet
B. an acronym
C. a metaphor
D. a pun
II. Some people keep track of things and places, and hold on to objects like ticket stubs
to concerts and plays. Write an opinion essay about archiving your life. (250-280 words)
50 points

Pagina 5 din 5

2019
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a XII-a - SECȚIUNEA A

No sooner (1) ________ (Mr. Pontellier/LEARN) of his wife's intention to abandon her home
and take up her residence elsewhere than he wrote her a letter of unqualified disapproval. She
(2) ________ (ALREADY/GIVE) reasons which he was unwilling to acknowledge as adequate.
He hoped she (3) ________ (NOT ACT) upon her rash impulse when having decided to leave;
he wished she (4) ________ (CONSIDER) first, foremost, and above all else, what people
would say. When he uttered this warning, he wasn’t even dreaming of scandal. It (5) ________
(NEVER ENTER) his mind to consider that thing in connection with his wife's name or his own,
(6) ________ (IT/NOT BE) for the reality of it all. At that point, he (7) ________ (SIMPLY
THINK) of his financial integrity. The Pontelliers might be rumoured (8) ________ (MEET) with
difficulties during the past few months, and, hence, they (9) ________ (FORCE) to conduct their
ménage on a humbler scale than before. It might do incalculable mischief to his business
prospects. But only on remembering Edna's whimsical turn of mind of late, and foreseeing that
she had immediately acted upon her impetuous determination, (10) ________ (HE/GRASP) the
situation with his usual promptness and handle it with his well-known business tact and
cleverness.
In many countries, success is like royalty: you must be born into it. In sharp contrast, here your
dreams are within your grasp. Why? This country has (1)__________ (TRADITION) invited
every citizen to exploit five basic American attributes that distinguish the U.S. from virtually
every other country in the world: our (2)___________(WILL) to give women the same
educational opportunities as men; our (3)___________(RIVAL) history of openness to
immigrants, who remain a(n) (4)__________(END) source of (5)__________(ECONOMY)
vitality; our easy (6)__________(ACCEDE) to higher education, as opposed to such nations as
Japan and Germany, where (7)_________(AGE) students must pass vigorous exams to (8)
_________(QUALIFICATION) for college; our tradition of upward (9)__________ (MOBILE)
which – more so than in the class-conscious societies of Europe and Asia – allows children to
escape the circumstances of their birth; and our uncommon acceptance of career change,
which lets people (10)__________ (INVENTION) themselves again and again until they unleash
their full potential.

Pagina 1 din 5
1. My friend ____ a degree at university so I ____ him very often lately, unfortunately.
A. is doing/haven’t seen
B. does/don’t see
C. has been doing/didn’t see
D. is doing/didn’t see
2. It’s the first time we ____ this rock band singing. They have released three albums so
far. However, popularity counts ____ nothing ____ they ____ a music award!
A. hear /as /if/ won’t win
B. have been hearing/ for/unless/win
C. have heard/as/ if/don’t win
D. have heard/for/unless/win
3. I ____ up all day and my feet ____ me! I don’t feel ____ to going out tonight.
A. have stood/kill/like
B. stand/are killing/able
C. have been standing/are killing/up
D. stood/kill/tempted
4. You’re acting completely ____. Just calm down and ____ yourself together! Stop
splitting ____ and look at the ____ picture!
A. irrationally/pull/hairs/big
B. irrational/pull/woods/large
C. irrational/get/stones/large
D. irrationally/put/wits/big
5. We _____ to figure ____ how the ____ got in. What we have found out so far is that
they tampered ____ the lock of the front door.
A. try/up/burglers/at
B. are trying/out/burglars/with
C. are trying/up/burglars/at
D. try/out/burglers/with
6. It’s too ____ for me to ____ in. Only when ____ the net ____ how to fill in the
application form.
A. much information/get/will I search/I will understand
B. much data/put/I search/will I understand
C. many data/set/I search/I will understand
D. much information/take/I have searched/will I understand
7. Why ____ Jane’s forehead?

I ____ she’s got a temperature. I wouldn’t be worried if she ____ earlier when we had dinner.
A. do you feel/am thinking/ate
B. are you feeling/think/had eaten
C. have you felt/think/would have eaten
D. did you feel/was thinking/has eaten

Pagina 2 din 5
8. This time tomorrow I ____ my statistics exam. Statistics ____ very difficult, you know!
Unless you ____ hard, you can’t ____ it!
A. will sit/are/don’t study/take
B. will be sitting/is/have studied/pass
C. will be sitting/is/haven’t studied/manage
D. am sitting/are/study/pass
9. You look great in that dress!
I ____ buy it then. Not since I returned from Paris ______ to find my size! It is ____ colour!
A. am going to/I have been able/such a bright
B. will/I was able/such bright a
C. will/have I been able/so bright a
D. am to/am I able/so a bright
10. I have just bought a ____ table. I ____ my kitchen redecorated and I want to buy some
new furniture. What ____ luck to find it!
A. brown round fashionable wooden/have/a
B. fashionable brown round wooden/am having/-
C. round fashionable brown wooden/have/a
D. fashionable round brown wooden/am having/-
Ő (fiú) azt kérdezte tőle, miért nevetett és ő (lány) azt mondta neki, hogy felvidította a figyelmes
és kutató tekintete, ahogyan emlékezete szerint még senki sem nézett rá.
- Úgy figyelsz engem, mintha titkot akarnál felfedezni.
- Igen, titkot akarok felfedezni és azt hiszem már fel is fedeztem. Ezért jöttem ide, erre a
szokatlan látogatásra, amelyet te is elfogadtál. Felfedeztelek és elmondom, hogy milyen
vagy, mintha a világegyetemet látnám szemeiden keresztül.

Handwritten notebook entries, scrapbook pages, running lists in a computer file, hard drives full
of pictures — all are ways to record, remember and even tally your experiences. In the Sunday
Book Review essay ―My Life With Bob,‖ Pamela Paul describes her habit of writing the title of
every book she’s read since high school in a journal she calls Bob.
With no small amount of trepidation, I lay open here the first page of my diary - high-schoolish
stabs at intellectualism, fleeting girlish obsessions, deliberately obscure annotations and all.
After many failed adolescent attempts at keeping a journal, the summer after my junior year in
high school, I finally found a format I could adhere to: Never mind describing the back-and-lack-
of-forths of unrequited crushes and falling-outs with friends. I decided to list the books I read
instead.
And I’ve stuck with this Book of Books, or Bob, as I’ve come to call it, ever since. Were my
house to burst suddenly into flames, I would bypass the laptop and photo albums and even,
God forgive me, my children’s artwork in order to rescue Bob, the record of every book I’ve read
or didn’t finish reading since the summer of 1988.

Pagina 3 din 5
It’s also become an itinerary of where I’ve been and where I really was while I was there. During
my 20s, when I lived abroad and travelled frequently, I would annotate Bob with my location at
the time, recording the serendipity of reading a particular book in a particular place. I remember
how, lying in a dormitory in Mauriac, an unspectacular hamlet in central France where I was
staying on an American Field Service program, I read the subject of the first entry, inspired by
Baryshnikov’s performance in ―Metamorphosis‖ on Broadway: ―The Trial‖ (fittingly, an unfinished
work).
Location often dictated content. When I backpacked through western China in the early 1990s, I
picked up whatever discards I could get from passing travellers — Donna Tartt’s ―Secret
History‖; a middling Tom Sharpe satire; ―Ethan Frome.‖ I remember reading ―Moby-Dick‖ during
a lonely holiday on Ko Phi Phi, while most vacationers more reasonably nursed hangovers with
potboilers and romance. And reading ―A Distant Mirror‖ in northern France, where I could visit
the nearby Château de Coucy.
I admitted to Bob when I read self-help or reread old favorites or tossed aside ―Interview With a
Vampire‖ after one chapter, mystified by its raging popularity. Bob knew that I was perennially
behind on pop-cultural phenomena, that I read ―A Civil Action‖ and ―The Bonfire of the Vanities‖
years after the cocktail-party chatter faded. That I never finished ―Paradise Lost‖ for freshman
English. With 24 years of data, Bob reveals as much about my literary foibles, passing
curiosities and guilty pleasures as any other diary.
1. In her attempt at keeping a diary the author decided not to include in it
A. her strife to get along with her siblings.

B. the books she had to read for school.
C. the fights she had with her friends.
D. the serendipity of her love life.
2. We can infer from the text that Mauriac is
A. a rural area in France without too much appeal.

B. a very busy French market-town.
C. a French translator of British plays.
D. a boarding school serving the American Field Service program.
3. While travelling in China the author read
A. travel books.
B. books about the history of China.
C. books that other people had left behind.
D. English-Chinese dictionaries.

Pagina 4 din 5
4. What is the thing the author couldn’t understand about ―Interview With a Vampire‖?
A. its title
B. its characters
C. its plot
D. its popularity
5. What does Bob represent in the text above?

A. an epithet
B. an acronym
C. a metaphor
D. a pun
II. Some people keep track of things and places, and hold on to objects like ticket stubs
to concerts and plays. Write an opinion essay about archiving your life. (250-280 words)
50 points

Pagina 5 din 5

2019
Probă scrisă
Limba engleză
CLASA a XII-a - SECȚIUNEA B

I. Read the text below and do the tasks that follow. (20 points)
Mardi Gras, meaning literally "Fat Tuesday", was first celebrated in Louisiana by French
colonists in the eighteenth century. As the last "normal" day before the austerity of Lent, "fat
Tuesday" was a day to make the most of, a day of carnivals and revelry. It has remained a
day of carnival ever since; but the original French celebrations are just a small part of today's
festivities. Mardi Gras, New Orleans style, owes as much to Afro-Caribbean customs and the
Latin American carnival tradition as it does to the French colonists.
The Mardi Gras celebrations actually last for several weeks. About a month before the main
carnival, a season of elaborate balls and parties begins, the official Mardi Gras program is
published, and shops start selling the very sweet and colorful "King Cake", a delicacy that
can only be found during this holiday season.
My first Mardi Gras party took place in a friend's apartment in New Orleans a few days before
the parade. The apartment was decorated out in the season's traditional colours of green,
gold and purple. On Fat Tuesday itself, I joined the hundreds of thousands of local people
and visitors to watch the processions wind their way through the streets of New Orleans. The
processions are organized by groups, which each have mythological or historic names, such
as Proteus, Endymion, or Bacchus. The one I liked best was Zulu, a parade organised by
members of the city's black community, resplendent with its colourful ornate floats and
costumes based on African themes.
Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of Zulu and other parades was the "throws". As the
floats move slowly through the crowds, tradition has it that those on them should throw all
kinds of trinkets into the crowd - plastic necklaces, engraved plastic cups, plastic medallions
(a coveted prize) and other souvenirs. Most parade-goers do all they can to catch these
materially worthless items, and I found myself quickly caught up in the frenzy, scraping on
the sidewalk among the surging spectators to proudly pick up my plastic prize. In the heat of
the moment, it's hard not to be caught up in the madness of this ritual. Traditionally, people in
New Orleans use the "throw cups" they pick up, and decorate their cars or homes with the
other souvenirs they take home by the bagful.

1. Which important religious holiday, as inferred from the text, can Mardi Gras be associated
with?
2. What makes Mardi Gras a multicultural event?
3. What local marketing strategies, prior to the event itself, are mentioned in the text?
4. According to the writer, what unexpected reaction did the parade trigger in him?

Pagina 1 din 4
B. Choose the synonym for the words given below, according to their meaning in the
text. 6 points
1. frenzy: a. excitement b. dizziness; c. procrastination d. serendipity

2. surging: a. increasing b. all jostling c. nudging one another d. all moving together
3. coveted: a. hidden b. rewarding c. desired d. worthless
1. My first Mardi Gras party took place in a friend's apartment in New Orleans a few days
before the parade.
It was __________ took place in a friend's apartment in New Orleans.
2. Perhaps the most astonishing aspect of Zulu and other parades was the "throws".
What __________ the "throws".
3. Mardi Gras owes as much to Afro-Caribbean customs and the Latin American carnival
tradition as it does to the French colonists.
Not only __________ to the French colonists.
Passed in 1974, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) is an (1) ________
(WIELD) piece of legislation affecting all institutions that receive funding from the Department
of Education.
The law's bottom line is: "Once a student reaches 18 years of age, he or she becomes an
'eligible student' and all rights under FERPA transfer from the parent to the student."
This essentially means that you have no right, as a parent, to know what or how your
children are doing in school. They can binge-watch "True Detective" rather than attend
classes, never (2) ________ (CLOSE) their grades, and you have to take their word for it
when they say "everything's fine."
FERPA affects rich and poor alike. "The university considers students as adults, regardless
of age or financial dependence," reads the law. (3) ________ (GRANT), there's a special
kind of pain associated with discovering that your kid took a gap year while still enrolled - if it
so happens you're (4) ________ (COUGH) up $60,000 a year. But taxpayers (5) ________
(FEET) the bill when students of any socio-economic stripe flunk out of or extend their
college experiences.
Some in Congress are agitating to revise the law. But perhaps it is time to throw it out (6)
________ (TOGETHER). Without FERPA, universities could send students' records directly
to their (7) ________ (GUARD), and allow administrators to immediately alert or respond to
families if a student is in crisis. Where's the harm in that? Of course, if a student has good
reason to keep her family in the dark, he/she should have the right to apply for an exemption
or (8) ________ (WAIVE) (inverting the status quo).
Transferring all power to the students is not fair to them; they never asked for that
responsibility. (9) ________ (RESCIND) this law may improve the shameful college (10)
________ (COMPLETE) or graduation statistics. Most important, it will keep families
connected and allow our children to remain young just a little bit longer.

În acea seară, eram în aşa hal de sfârşeală că n-aş fi crezut să mă pot scula pentru nimic în
lume. Dar deodată mă pomenii în mijlocul odăii, în picioare, uitându-mă disperat la
ceasornic. Mi-adusesem aminte că eram poftit la masă de Pantazi. Ce noroc că mă
deşteptasem! Privii acum cu recunoştinţă scrisoarea părintească; de n-ar fi fost ea, scăpam
întâlnirea cu cel mai scump prieten. Mă îmbrăcai şi ieşii. Deşi nu plouase, tot era ud;
șanțurile plângeau, ramurile goale ale copacilor picurau stropi groşi.
(Adapted from Craii de Curtea Veche, by Mateiu Caragiale]

Pagina 2 din 4
Now naturally, like many of us, I have a reluctance to change too much of the old days. But
there is no virtue at all in clinging as some do to tradition merely for its own sake. In this age
of electricity and modern heating systems, there is no need at all to employ the sorts of
numbers necessary even a generation ago. Indeed, it has actually been an idea of mine for
some time that the retaining of unnecessary numbers, simply for tradition's sake, - resulting
in employees having an unhealthy amount of time on their hands - has been an important
factor in the sharp decline in professional standards. Furthermore, Mr. Farraday had made it
clear that he planned to hold only very rarely the sort of large social occasions Darlington
Hall had seen frequently in the past. I did then go about the task Mr. Farraday had set me
with some dedication; I spent many hours working on the staff plan, and at least as many
hours again thinking about it as I went about other duties or as I lay awake after retiring.
Whenever I believed I had come up with something, I probed it for every sort of oversight,
tested it through from all angles. Finally, I came up with a plan which, while perhaps not
exactly as Mr. Farraday had requested, was the best I felt sure, that was humanly possible.
Almost all the attractive parts of the house could remain operative: the extensive servants'
quarters - including the back corridor, the two still rooms and the old laundry - and the guest
corridor up on the second floor would be dust-sheeted, leaving all the main ground-floor
rooms and a generous number of guest rooms … Even now, I would not go so far as to say it
is a bad staff plan; after all, it enables a staff of four to cover an unexpected amount of
ground.
(Kazuo Ishiguro - The Remains of the Day)
1. The narrator, Mr. Stevens,

A. confesses he is all for the new.
B. admits he is inclined to cling to the past.
C. expresses admiration for the past.
D. gives up the past
2. According to the narrator,

A. he is aware the number of employees should be reduced.
B. he is confident that he will effectively see to the organizational plan of the house.
C. employees have changed their habits.
D. Mr Farraday gave him a free hand to organize the house.
3. According to the text, Mr. Farraday

A. admired Mr. Stevens because he was dedicated to his duties.
B. wanted to get rid of Mr. Stevens.
C. expected Mr. Stevens to adjust to modern time.
D. asked him to make a staff plan.
4. What does the reader learn about Mr. Stevens, the narrator?
A. He was a reliable but hesitant servant.
B. He wanted to please his master at all costs.
C. He never contradicted his master.
D. He worked hard for the staff plan.

Pagina 3 din 4
5. The main idea of the text is

A. Mr. Stevens, the narrator, is a model servant.
B. Times change and there is nothing to stop that.
C. Mr. Stevens is a man who cannot easily break away with tradition.
D. The present is not as glorious as the past.
II. Starting from the text above, write an essay reflecting on tradition. (250-280 words)
50 points

Pagina 4 din 4

2019 - Subiecte Eng Jud

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Ministerul Educaţiei Naționale

Centrul Naţional de Evaluare şi Examinare

Etapa județeană/sectoarelor municipiului București a olimpiadelor naționale școlare –

CLASA a XII-a - SECȚIUNEA B

 Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii.

SUBIECTUL A – USE OF ENGLISH (40 points)

A. Answer the following questions, according to the text. 8 points

Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a XII-a secțiunea B

1. frenzy: a. excitement b. dizziness; c. procrastination d. serendipity

III. Translate the following text into English. 10 points

SUBIECTUL B – INTEGRATED SKILLS (60 points)

Read the text below and do the tasks that follow.

1. The narrator, Mr. Stevens,

2. According to the narrator,

3. According to the text, Mr. Farraday

Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a XII-a secțiunea B

5. The main idea of the text is

Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a XII-a secțiunea B

Etapa județeană/sectoarelor municipiului București a olimpiadelor naționale școlare - 2019

 Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii.

SUBIECTUL I – USE OF ENGLISH (25 points)

Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a VII-a

SUBIECTUL al II-lea – READING COMPREHENSION (25 points)

Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a VII-a

5. As stated in the text, Tuthmose III was NOT

A. the natural child of Hatshepsut.

SUBIECTUL al III-lea – WRITING (50 points)

Write a narrative essay beginning like this:

 you don’t need to write long descriptions;

1. Introduction (paragraph 1 – set the scene)

Don’t count the words given in the beginning.

Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a VII-a

Etapa județeană/sectoarelor municipiului București a olimpiadelor naționale școlare - 2019

 Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii.

SUBIECTUL I – USE OF ENGLISH (25 points)

1. a. has 2. a. left from

Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a VIII-a

1. There are …… for the job in all local newspapers. ADVERTISE

SUBIECTUL al II-lea – READING COMPREHENSION (25 points)

Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a VIII-a

2. The role of the horticultural centre is

3. Among its many functions, Kew is NOT

4. Kew employees work

5. Kew’s Adapting Agriculture to Climate Change project aims

SUBIECTUL al III-lea –WRITING (50 points)

Write a narrative essay ending like this:

 you don’t need to write long descriptions;

1. Introduction (paragraph 1 – set the scene)

Don’t count the given ending.

Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a VIII-a

Etapa județeană/sectoarelor municipiului București a olimpiadelor naționale școlare - 2019

CLASA a IX-a - SECȚIUNEA A

 Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii.

SUBIECTUL A – USE OF ENGLISH (40 points)

Henry lived in a boarding-house in Guildford Street. One day a new girl 1.

Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a IX-a secțiunea A

1 A – In contrast B - While C – Even so D - Despite

IV. Translate the following text into English. 10 points

Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a IX-a secțiunea A

SUBIECTUL B – INTEGRATED SKILLS (60 points)

Read the text below and do the tasks that follow.

1. The first paragraph shows