OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ

ETAPA LOCALĂ
17 februarie 2018
Varianta 1

CLASA a IX-a SECȚIUNEA B

SUBIECTUL A – USE OF ENGLISH

I. Read the paragraph below and do the tasks (20p).

Christopher Columbus, born in the Republic of Genoa, is remembered today as one of the
most famous explorers the world has ever had. He came from a respectable but impoverished
family. Columbus was not characterised by indolence as he learnt to sail from an early age
and later worked as a business agent, travelling around Europe to England, Ireland and later
along the West coast of Africa. Due to him taking to the sea at such an early age, Columbus
never knew how to write in his native language. But he was an enthusiastic self-educated
man, who was keen to read extensively on astronomy, science and navigation. And this was
not futile as he managed to become fluent in Latin, Portuguese and Spanish. Christopher
Columbus was a firm believer in the spherical nature of the world. An ambitious man,
Christopher Columbus hoped to find a Western trade route to the lucrative spice markets in
Asia. Rather than sailing east, he hoped that sailing west would lead to countries like Japan
and China. To gain the necessary funding and support for his journeys, he approached the
Catholic Monarchs of Spain. As part of his offer, he said that he hoped to be able to spread
Christianity to ‘heathen lands’ in the east. He persuaded the Spanish monarchs to fund his
efforts. His four voyages in quest of the East Indies were partially inspired by Marco Polo’s
writings. Columbus stands for the man who inspired a new era of exploration of the American
continents by Europeans.

A. Answer the questions (5x1p=5p):

1. What kind of family did Columbus come from?

2. How many languages could Columbus speak fluently?
3. Why was Christopher Columbus unable to write in his native language?
4. Who did Columbus persuade to support his journeys?
5. What influence did Marco Polo’s writings have on Columbus?

B. Choose the right synonym ((5x1p=5p):

1. Indolence: a. luxury b. hard labour c. deep sleep d. laziness

2. Futile: a. useless b. stubborn c. fruitful d. insane
3. Due to: a. however b. yet c. because of d. in spite of
4. To voyage. a. to hike b. to climb c. to trek d. to sail
5. To stand for a. to defend b. to represent c. to cover d.to protrude

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C. Rephrase the following sentences so as to preserve the meaning (5x2p=10 p)

1. It wasn’t necessary for him to sail west, but he did.

He ....................................................west

2. Christopher didn’t have a good reputation at the time.

Christopher....................................................at the time.

3. I’m sure she didn’t mean to reach America.

He....................................................to reach America.

4. I am sure that he was a good person

He...................................................

5. Despite his achievements, Cristopher was arrested in 1500.

Even...................................................., Cristopher was arrested in 1500

II. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that fits in each sentence (10 x
1p = 10 p)

At a meeting held in the Town Hall on Wednesday afternoon a wide (1)(VARY)

…………………….of opinions was expressed on building a new entertainment area in the
town. A (2)(REPRESENT) ……………………. of a group stated that it would give people
more (3)(CHOOSE)……………………. for spending time and would lead to a (4)(GROW)
…………………….in the number of jobs available in the town, which registers a high rate of
(5)(EMPLOY)…………………….. Although there was( 6)(AGREE) ……………………. on
increasing job offers, some of the people present claimed that the new entertainment area
would lead to a( 7)(LOSE)……………………. of green space right in the middle of the town,
making the inhabitants (8)(ABLE) ……………………. to have a healthy life. The discussions
were (9)(CONCLUDE) …………………….The final(10)(DECIDE) …………………….on
whether or not to build the entertainment area in the town will be made next month.

III. Translate the following text into Romanian (10p)

I was a bit of a bookworm as a child.  For every car journey, day trip or family holiday, a
stack of books was always packed to keep me busy. Since then, I’ve continued reading all
kinds of books but I’ll always love my childhood favourites. As a kid I read the book,
watched the film and listened to the tape. I really couldn’t get enough of The Lion, the Witch
and the Wardrobe. If you know it, you’ll know why. It’s an exciting tale set in a magical land
called Narnia. When you’re reading it, you’ll feel like you’re really there. You’ll get caught
up in the adventures of the four children and the characters they meet.

(https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/magazine/books/my-favourite-childhood-books)

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SUBIECTUL B – INTEGRATED SKILLS

Read the text below and do the tasks that follow.

Six months ago I made a rash promise. The leader of the youth club in our village rang
me in March saying, “We’re thinking of running a children’s playscheme for a day in October
half-term. Would you be prepared to help?” My response was “Sure, why not?” In truth I was
a little flattered to be asked, even though working as a care assistant with old people hardly
qualified me for the role. Still, I duly put the date in my diary and of course I forgot all about
it. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this but time has a habit of speeding along faster than a
police car chasing a robber and, before I knew it, the day was dawning.
I arrived at the youth centre that morning feeling full of trepidation. There was a gang
of 12 helpers including me and each pair had been allocated a particular age group. Mine was
the 10 to 11 year olds. Even with the planning meeting I had attended the week before, I
worried about whether I was up to the task. Why hadn’t I read through the copious lesson
plans we were given beforehand? And wasn’t the average 10-year-old more interested in the
latest Play Station game than making things with paper and glue?
All too quickly the children began arriving. The look of relief on parents’ faces as they
handed their offspring over to us was quite comical. A handful of the children were already
members of the club but the other forty five or so were from the local primary schools.

I. For each question choose the correct letter A, B, C or D (5 x 2p= 10p)

1. The leader of the youth club offered the writer

A. a game
B. a play to write
C. a club to manage
D. a job

2. The writer’s job

A. was to care about people
B. was to care about old people
C. was to care about young people
D. was to entertain the old people

3. When the first day of the job arrived the writer was surprised
A. that the day had come round so quickly.
B. because she'd forgotten to write down the date.
C. because she witnessed a car chase on the way.
D. that she woke up at dawn.

4. When the writer arrived to start her job she

A. put the children into pairs.
B. realised she should have done more preparation.
C. felt confident she could deal with 10 and 11 year olds.
D. saw the children had brought their own electronic games to play with.

5. According to the writer, the parents were

A. happy to stay with their children all day.

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 B. worried about children from the other schools.
C. nervous that their children might not behave themselves.
D. glad to leave their children.

II. Read the text again and write a narrative essay (200-220 words) continuing the story.
(50p)

N. B. Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii!

Punctaj total 100p

Timp de lucru 3 ore!

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