SIMULAREA EXAMENULUI DE ADMITERE – LIMBA ENGLEZĂ

I. Read the text below and choose the right answer:

For centuries, the common view of how domestication had occurred was that prehistoric people, realizing
how useful it would be to have captive herds of food animals, began capturing wild animals and breeding them.
Over time, by allowing only animals with "tame" characteristics to mate and produce offspring, human beings
created animals that were less wild and more dependent upon people. Eventually this process led to the
domestic farm animals and pets that we know today, many of which would fare quite badly in the wild, having
lost their ancient survival skills and instincts.
Recent research suggests that this view of domestication is incomplete. Prehistoric human beings did capture
and breed useful wild animals, and those species became tamer over time (they generally changed physically,
too, developing larger bodies and smaller brains than their wild cousins). But specialists in animal behavior now
think that domestication was not simply something people did to animals - the animals played an active part in
the process. Wolves and wild horses, for example, may have taken the first steps in their own domestication by
hanging around human settlements, feeding on people's garbage and crops and getting used to human presence
and activity. Individual animals that were not too nervous or fearful to live near people produced offspring that
also tolerated humans, making it easier for people to capture and tame them. In this version, people succeeded
in domesticating only animals that had already adapted easily to life around humans. Domestication required an
animal that was willing to become domestic. The process was more like a dance with two partners than a
triumph of humans over animals.
At first glance, the taming of cats seems to fit nicely into this new story of domestication. A traditional theory
says that after prehistoric people in the Near East and Egypt invented agriculture and started farming, rats and
mice gathered to feast on their stored grain. Wildcats, in turn, gathered at the same places to prey on the rats and
mice. Over time, cats got used to people and people got used to cats, until at some point cats were tame. New
studies of wildcats, however, seem to call this theory into question. Wildcats don't share hunting and feeding
territories, and they don't live close to people or seek out human settlements as food sources. Experts do not
know whether wildcats were partners in their own domestication. They do know that long after people had
acquired domestic dogs, sheep, goats. cattle, and horses, they somehow acquired tame cats. By mating the least
aggressive cats with one another, they produced animals with increasingly tame qualities.
1. According to traditional theories of domestication, how were wild animals tamed?
a. selective breeding b. capturing only smaller animals
c. aggression and control d. living with them inside the house
2. The word offspring in the first paragraph refers to:
a. parents b. herds c. food d. babies
3. What is suggested in the new theory?
a. that animals were less afraid than thought
b. that wolves and horses were the first to be domesticated
c. that animals had an active role in their domestication
d. that animals were fearless
4. Why is the word "dance" used in the 2nd paragraph? To show that …
a. animals and humans were close b. there were two active partners
c. it was complex and not simple to understand d. animals and humans felt happy together
5. What probably attracted cats to human settlements?
a. warmth b. other cats c. a place to sleep d. food
6. What characteristic of the cat causes a problem for the theory that cats were domesticated like wolves
were?
a. independence b. greed c. friendliness d. compassion
II. GRAMMAR AND VOCABULARY
Choose the correct answer:
7. I am looking forward to … a few days … before I … work as a lawyer.
a. having/off/start b. have/off/start c. having/off/will start d. have/of/start
8. You … that ditch all by yourself; we … you when we … back from the market. Why did you do that?
a. didn’t have to dig/might have helped/had come b. mustn’t have dug/could have helped/came
c. needn’t have dug/could have helped/came d. shouldn’t have dug/might help/had come
9. The statue of Holy Child from Santa Maria in Aracoeli … from an olive tree from Gethsemane and …
miraculous.
a. was said to be sculpted/believes to be b. is said to have sculpted/is believed to be
c. they said have sculpted/believed to be d. is said to have been sculpted/is believed to be
10. … they … short of money, they … a cheaper house.
a. Did they know/should run/would rent b. Had they known/would run/would have rented
c. Had they known/will run/would have rented d. They had known/would run/should have rented
11. She told her parents that she … stay home because some friends … to see her.
a. has to/will be coming b. will have to/are coming c. had to/were coming d. had to/come
12. Mount Caravans … in 1955 by the parents of the present director whose grandfather … in the
manufacture of touring caravans before the war.
a. was founded/had been involved b. had been founded/was involved
c. is founded/has been involved d. was founded/has been involved
13. The heavy rain … going out for a walk last night.
a. prevented us from b. took us off c. forbade us of d. held us from
14. I’m afraid there are no … in our company at the moment. We will keep your CV in case anything
comes up in the future.
a. wages b. contracts c. vacancies d. promotions
15. Do you think we are … of solving this problem in the near future?
a. able b. capable c. keen d. willing
16. How many … have been selected for the next round of the song contest?
a. competitors b. commuters c. communicators d. contestants
17. Mary … with her friend last night. They had a terrible argument.
a. fell down b. fell out c. fell in d. fell behind
18. Two friends of … have recently decided to … sky diving.
a. mine/take up b. mine/take out c. mine’s/take to d. my/take in