OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ, ETAPA PE SCOALA,

CLASA a IX-a

SUBIECTUL I (Use of English 75 points)

A. Complete the sentences by changing the form of the word in capitals. (10 items x 1,5 p=15 p)

1) I am pleased to hear that my son has made a big ................................ in history. IMPROVE
2) A diet high in vitamins and protein is extremely important for healthy ................................ in children.
GROW
3) There’s a/an ................................ rule on tabloid newspapers that the truth always takes second place to a
good story. WRITE
4) My sister is very ................................. She paints the most beautiful paintings. ART
5) ................................ enough, dad agreed to lend me his car. SURPRISE
6) I don’t think this car is very ................................ . It keeps breaking down. RELY
7) You can make your ................................ through a cash machine. PAY
8) The school ................................ in the education of children with learning difficulties. SPECIAL
9) There is increasing ................................ about missing children. ANXIOUS
10) We need to ................................ that all our citizens receive adequate medical care. SURE

B.For questions 1-10, read the text below and decide which answer (A, B, C or D) best fits each
gap. (10 items x 2 p = 20 p)

It can take a long time to become successful in your chosen field, however 1) ...................... you are.
One thing you have to be 2) ...................... of is that you will face criticism along the way. The world is
3) ...................... of people who would rather say something negative than positive. If you’ve made up
your 4) ...................... to achieve a certain goal, such as writing a novel, don’t let the negative criticism
of others 5) ...................... from reaching your target, and let constructive criticism have a positive
6) ...................... on your work. If someone says you’re totally 7) ...................... in talent, ignore them.
That’s negative criticism. If, however, someone advises you to revise your work and gives you good
reasons for doing so, you should consider their suggestions carefully. There are many film stars who
were once out of 8) ...................... . There are many famous novelists who made a complete
9) ...................... of their first novel – or who didn’t, but had to 10) ...................... approaching hundreds
of publishers before they could get it published. Being successful does depend on luck, to a certain
extent. But things are more likely to turn out well if you persevere and stay positive.

1) A talented B invested C mixed D workable

2) A alert B clever C intelligent D aware
3) A overflowing B full C filled D packed
4) A mind B brain C thought D idea
5) A cease B remove C avoid D prevent
6) A outcome B result C effect D consequence
7) A lacking B short C missing D absent
8) A career B business C job D work
9) A mess B rubbish C trash D garbage
10) A put off B bank on C keep on D drop in on

1
C. For questions 1-10, complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first
sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given. You must use between two and
five words, including the word given. (5 items x 2p = 10p)
1) It’s ages since I went on holiday.
BEEN
I ................................................................ for ages.
2) Did Tom pass his exam?
PASSED
Do you know ................................................................ his exam?
3) I understand what Jim was saying but I don’t agree with him.
POINT
I can ................................................................ but I don’t agree with him.
4) She expressed her thanks for all the presents she had received.
GRATEFUL
She said that ................................................................ all the presents she had received.
5) The concert was cancelled due to the soprano’s illness.
OF
The concert was cancelled ................................................................ soprano’s illness.

D. Read the following task and put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense. (10 x 2p = 20p)

Sue Thomas is a fashion designer. She 1) ………………...... (make) clothes ever since she 2)
………………...... (be) a young girl. She 3) …………………………. (get) her first job in a
clothes factory when she was sixteen. She 4) …………………… (sew) buttons onto a shirt one
day when she 5)………………….. (have) a brilliant idea for a design. After she 6)
…………………. (speak) to her bank manager, she got a loan and she 7) …………....……. (open)
her own little workshop. Now she 8) …………………………. (make) lots of money. Next year she
9) ………………….. (open) a shop which will sell all her own designs. She 10) …………………
(sell) clothes to a lot of famous people, including film stars and singers, and she thinks she will be
very rich soon.

E. Read the text below and think of the word which best fits in each gap. Use only one word in
each gap. ( 5 x 2 p = 10 p)

At the entrance to the Penn Services Parking Garage (1) ______ was a crowd of citizens, almost all of
them well dressed and almost all of them indignant, even furious.
They had been told, or (2) ______ being told, by uniformed police officers and detectives that the entire
Penn Services Parking Garage had been designated a crime scene and they could not reclaim their cars,
or even go to them, (3) ______ the investigation of the scene had been completed. And they had been
told, truthfully, that (4) ______ one could even estimate how (5) ______ the investigation of the crime
scene would take.

2
SUBIECTUL II – WRITING (25 points)
Write a narrative essay beginning with the following sentences:

“ The sudden, swift, severe summer storm caught me totally unaware. I was walking down an old
countryside road when the clouds started to gather........ (230-250 words)

NOTĂ
 Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii.
 Nu se acordă puncte din oficiu.
 Timp de lucru: 2 ore

3
BAREM DE CORECTARE
SUBIECTUL I (Use of English)
A. word formation 15 points
1) improvement
2) growth
3) unwritten
4) artistic
5) Surprisingly
6) unreliable
7) payment
8) specialise
9) anxiety
10) ensure

B. 1A, 2D, 3B, 4A, 5D, 6C, 7A, 8D, 9A, 10C 20 points

C. rephrase (5 items x 2 p = 10p)

1) haven’t been on holiday
2) if/whether Tom passed
3) see Jim’s point
4) she was grateful for
5) because of the

D. 1) has been making 20 points

2) was
3) got
4) was sewing
5) had
6) had spoken
7) opened
8) is making/ makes
9) is opening/ is going to open/will open
10) sells/ has sold

E. 1 - there; 2 - were; 3 - until/unless; 4 - no; 5 – long 10 points

Barem writing

QUESTION I (50 points)

 Content (10p)
 Organisation and cohesion(10p)
 Vocabulary (10p)
 Structures (10p)
 Effect on target reader (10p)