OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ

Etapa județeană
26 martie 2022
Clasa a XI-a
(standard)

Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii.

Nu se acordă puncte din oficiu.
Timp de lucru: 3 ore.

SUBJECT I USE OF ENGLISH – 40 POINTS

I. Put the verbs in brackets in the right form. (10 verbs x 1 point =10 points)

Emergency services (1) __________ (bombard) with phone calls from all over the north of
England last night by people who (2) __________ (report) seeing blue objects shoot across
the sky. Mrs. Linda Hayward, who (3) __________ (drive) along the B456 road at the time,
claims (4) __________ (see) a single bright blue light going across the road in front of her
car.
“It was travelling quite slowly from east to west and then it suddenly disappeared. Until now
I (5) __________ (never/ believe) in UFOs, although my son (6) __________ (forever/ try) to
persuade me that they exist. But now I think that maybe he was right. I wish I (7)
__________ (have) a camera with me to film the whole thing.”
At the height of the panic, police stations got around a thousand calls an hour from members
of the public saying they (8) __________ (witness) events similar to the one described by
Mrs. Hayward. Dr. Bart Mastow, a lecturer in astronomy at Trumpton University, offered a
simple explanation when he (9) __________ (interview) last night: “The reports suggest that
it (10) __________ (be) a meteor shower on a larger scale than usual.”

II. Use the words given in capitals to form new words that fit in the gaps. (10 words x 1
point = 10 points)

Sugar is the 1 __________ (PROVIDE) of around 13% of the energy we get from food. It can
be found in many plants, but the only 2 __________ (COMMERCIAL) important sources of
sugar are sugar beet and sugar cane. Sugar beet 3 __________ (PRODUCE) takes place in
temperate or cold countries. Sugar beet is grown 4 __________ (EXTENSIVE) in Russia,
Poland and Germany. Sugar cane is grown in tropical climates and provides more than half of
the world’s sugar supply. People are still 5 __________ (CERTAIN) about how 6
__________ (VALUE) sugar is to our diet. Although it is used to 7 __________ (SWEET)
many foods, there are those who believe that sugar is 8 __________ (HEALTH) and that we
should not add it to food products. For this reason, there has recently been an increase in the
sales of sugar-free foods. However, taken in 9 __________ (MODERATE), sugar is a tasty
and 10 __________ (HARM) part of our diet.
III. Complete the text with one suitable word for each gap. (10 words x 1 point = 10
points)

Psychology is the study of the mind, by far the 1 __________ sophisticated machine 2
__________ Earth. But how can 3 __________ as inaccessible as the mind be studied? Even
4 __________ we were to open someone’s skull and look inside, we would only see the
brain, not the mind in action. 5 __________ we cannot observe the mind directly, it controls
everything we do. Therefore, psychologists study human behavior in 6 __________ to
discover how the mind works. The behavior 7 __________ interests them ranges from simple
acts such as feeding, to much more complex skills 8 __________ language. Psychologists
measure behavior, and often use statistics to show that 9 __________ they find is reliable
evidence and not just down to chance. The scientific knowledge gained from this research is
then used by practising psychologists. For example, clinical psychologists, 10 __________
make up the largest group of specialists, help people with emotional problems cope with their
difficulties.

IV. 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 three and
eight words, including the word given. (5 sentences x 2 points = 10 points)

1. It’s a long walk home, so I advise you not to miss the last bus. BETTER
It’s a long walk home, so ________________________________ the last bus.

2. The President’s announcement surprised everyone. ABACK

Everyone ________________________________ the President’s announcement.

3. Nobody is forcing you to take up the offer. OBLIGATION

You are ________________________________ take up the offer.

4. Call me tomorrow if you’re still interested. ASSUME

If you ________________________________ you’re not interested.

5. I put up this sign because I didn’t want anyone to disturb me. AS

I put up this sign so ________________________________ anyone.

SUBJECT II INTEGRATED SKILLS – 60 POINTS

READING COMPREHENSION – 10 POINTS

For questions 1-5, choose the answers you think fit best according to the text. (5 questions x 2
points = 10 points)

HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW

I started to lose my hair when I was 16. It kept on falling out and my confidence went. The
other blokes had great mops of hair. It was the fashion in the Seventies. By the time I was 21
it was so bad that, when I saw this ad in the paper for a private hair clinic, I went along. I
asked them how much hair they thought I would lose and they said probably just a little at the
corners, and they could fill it in with some hair grafts.
With these hair grafts I had to have a local anaesthetic. It was so painful. They took bits of
hair from the side and back, and replanted them into cuts made in the balding patch. The
operation is very unpleasant, especially when the anaesthetic needles are stuck into your
scalp. But more hair fell out, and I needed more grafts. Over the next three years, I had more
grafts, but it couldn’t keep up with the hair loss. I had all these implants in front, and a bald
patch behind. It looked worse than before and my life was falling apart.
My engagement was called off. My fiancee never commented about my hair, but I just didn’t
feel worthy of her. I was so fed up I went to another clinic. This time a salesman “consultant”
came to my home.
He suggested more grafts, and something called a scalp reduction. I had four of these
operations over the next eighteen months. A piece of skin was taken from my scalp, and the
skin on either side was lifted and pulled inwards to be joined together with stitches. I had to
have a week off work after each operation because I couldn’t even smile. Even now my head
feels tight around my temples.
This time I felt better, and looked better. But the hair loss persisted. It left patches and gaps.
All the time the clinic kept promising me a full head of hair. I became so depressed that I was
sent to see a psychiatrist.
But I kept on with the grafts. This was at the same clinic. In the end I developed scars that
wouldn’t go away. They tried twice at the clinic to scrape the scar tissue away, but each time
the scars returned.
Then they tried steroid injections, but that didn’t work either. Then I started to really worry
about the hair at the back of my head. I’d had so many grafts that it had been severely thinned
down.” (At this point, not surprisingly, the specialists at the clinic decided there was nothing
more they could do. They did, however, recommend an expensive hair growth lotion. It had
no effect.) If only someone had listened to me. I feel cheated. Not just financially. I lost my
youth living in a limbo, hopping from transplant to transplant. I would give anything to be
able to walk down the street with long hair blowing in the wind.
I mean, things are better now. I have a doctor who has got me off the steroids and
tranquillisers I was taking. I have a girlfriend who is sympathetic, and we get along really
well with each other. But, I don’t know, it won’t go away. Only a few months ago, I ordered
an expensive wig from another clinic, and then cancelled. I still have to use this spray-on scar
camouflage and a hair thickener every morning. I cut my own hair. I mean, I just couldn’t go
to a hairdresser. And I always wear a hat when I’m out of doors.

1. He went to the hair clinic because

A. it advertised.
B. his hair was falling out.
C. his friends had a lot of hair.
D. he wanted to be in fashion.

2. The implant operations were not successful because

A. in the end his hair looked unnatural.
B. his life was going to pieces.
C. of the anaesthetic.
D. he needed more grafts.

3. He had this tight feeling at the side of his head because

A. his girlfriend had left him.
B. he couldn’t smile.
C. hair had been implanted..
D. skin had been taken away.

4. When they decided there was nothing more they could do, the specialists
A. gave him his money back.
B. offered him free cosmetics.
C. sold him a liquid hair restorer.
D. advised him to massage his head.

5. Looking back, he felt he

A. should have had better advice.
B. had wasted his youth.
C. had been very foolish.
D. had been unlucky.

ESSAY WRITING – 50 POINTS

Starting from the text above and the following statement: “We live in the image centric 21 st
century, so it is only natural that we should measure people’s value in terms of physical
appearance,” write a for-and-against essay of 220-250 words.