OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ– LICEU

ETAPA PE ȘCOALĂ – 18 IANUARIE 2024

CLASA a X-a, SECȚIUNEA A
Varianta 3

SUBIECTUL A – USE OF ENGLISH (40 points)

I. Read the following text and put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense. (10 x 1p = 10p)

Laura looked up her boyfriend’s phone number in the telephone directory because she 1)….. (forget) it.
She was quite surprised when his phone 2) …. (answer) by a woman. “Er, hello …. Is John there?” “Yes, but
he 3) …. (have) a shower at the moment “. So Laura asked the woman to tell him that his girlfriend 4) ….
(phone). Half an hour passed and she 5) …. (begin) to get impatient. She said to herself, “If he 6) …. (not /
ring) in two minutes, I 7) …. (phone) him back.” Two minutes later she phoned him back. This time a man 8)
…. (answer). “John Jacobs speaking.” “You aren’t my boyfriend!” exclaimed Laura. “I know,” he replied.
“That’s what I 9) …. (try) to tell my wife for the past half hour! Your phone call 10) …. (ruin) our day!”

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

LAUGHTER IS THE BEST MEDICINE

Do you ever wish there was a magic way to change 1) … (UNHAPPY) to 2)…. (ENJOY)? Well, don’t
worry, there is! Next time feelings of 3) …. (SAD) or 4) …. (ANGRY) are taking over your life, why not try
some medicine? I don’t mean that you should go to the doctor for some tablets. Instead, researchers now advise
us to laugh, tell some jokes or watch a funny TV programme.
Of course, it always helps to have 5) ….. (SUPPORT) friends when you are feeling down. Instead of
feeling 6) …. (SHAME) to say you are not in a good mood, share your feelings with your friends. You don’t
need to feel sorry for yourself, you can 7) …. (CHOICE) to go out and have fun and enjoy the feeling of 8) ….
(CONTENT) it brings.
Does that sound like madness? Well, research has proved that laughing increases a happiness hormone
in your body. Even just smiling at yourself in the mirror can create an 9) …. (IMPROVE) in your mood, so go
ahead – smile! Laughter is good for your health and reduces stress, so it certainly makes a 10) ……
(DIFFERENT)!

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 III. Read the following text and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits in each gap:
(10 x 1p = 10p)
Have you ever thought of taking up skateboarding? Well, here’s a bit of 1) …. for you. Skateboarding
was declared an official sport for the 2012 London Olympics. This was quite a step forward for an activity that
had always been 2) …. with certain kids. Since then, however, competitive skateboarding has become an 3)
…. part of the international athletics scene.
Vert - skating is where the boarders take off into the air and perform a number of tricks before they
land. They are judged on their 4) …. to gain height and land perfectly. Of course, there are no 5) …. on
skateboards so some crashes are unavoidable.
For Paul-Luc Ronchetti and Sam Beckett, two teenage British vert - skateboarders, there are only two
suitable skate parks where they can go to practise. Neither of them is 6) …. for where they live so the boys have
to make a five-hour round trip every weekend. Fortunately, the 7) …. of their parents means that they manage to
8) … these difficulties. It’s a tough life, though, for the two boys, who are both considering the possibility of
turning professional in the future. They need to work hard since they are also both 9) ... for the Olympics.
Skateboarding is a 10) … demanding sport but you could try it one weekend. You never know, you might get
hooked!
1. A advice B importance C decision D information
2. A popular B famous C enjoyable D exciting
3. A expert B essential C outdoor D alternative
4. A intelligence B ability C skill D fitness
5. A boots B helmets C wheels D brakes
6. A close B easy C convenient D necessary
7. A selflessness B usefulness C selfishness D independence
8. A complete B achieve C overcome D survive
9. A aiming B looking C thinking D dreaming
10. A nearly B healthy C physically D fully

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

Max had once read in one of his father’s books that some childhood images become engraved in the mind
like photographs, like scenes you can return to again and again and will always remember, no matter how
much time goes by. He understood the meaning of those words the first time he saw the sea. The family had
been travelling on the train for over three hours when, all of a sudden, they emerged from a dark tunnel and
Max found himself gazing at an endless expanse of ethereal light, the electric blue of the sea shimmering
beneath the midday sun, imprinting itself on his retina like a supernatural apparition.

(Carlos Ruiz Zafon -The Prince of Mist)

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SUBIECTUL B –INTEGRATED SKILLS (60 points)

Read the text below and do the tasks that follow:

NOTTING HILL CARNIVAL

Notting Hill Carnival takes place in London every August bank holiday, and is the most colourful and
largest street event in the UK. The festival celebrates the traditions of the Afro-Caribbean community, who
emigrated to England from the West Indies in the 1950s. They brought with them the Caribbean idea of the
carnival, with colourful costumes, processions, steel bands and street dancing. Preparations for the carnival start
many months in advance. Costumes need to be made, and floats built, ready for the carnival street procession.
Steel bands practise traditional Caribbean music on instruments built from used oil barrels. Just before the
festival, the streets are decorated with yellow, green and red streamers, and amplifying devices are set in place,
to carry the rhythmic sounds over the roar of the London traffic. The carnival is celebrated over three days, and
is full of music and colour. Processions of steel and brass bands, floats, and dancers in colourful costumes make
their way through the narrow London streets, watched by tens of thousands of people. The streets are lined with
stalls selling tropical fruits, such as fresh mangoes, watermelons and pineapple. Everyone dances - young and
old, black and white - and even the policemen on duty take part in the fun. For these three days in August, a
little Caribbean magic touches the streets of London.

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

1) What is the writer’s main aim in writing the text?
A. to encourage people to celebrate the traditions of black people
B. to talk about problems with Afro-Caribbean community
C. to recommend people spend more time outdoors
D. to understand and describe the Notting Hill Carnival.

2) According to the passage, Notting Hill Carnival ...

A. takes place every Bank Holidays
B. is held annually in August
C. is organized by the Bank of England
D. is held at the beginning of August.

3) During the Notting Hill Carnival,

A. the participants in the carnival decorate the streets with colourful streamers
B. preparations start early in the morning
C. music and colour fill the streets of London
D. traffic is banned from the main shopping streets.

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4) The writer claims that
A. this carnival has been organized since at least the 1950s
B. tens of thousands of people take part in the preparations for the carnival
C. dancers in the carnival wear special clothes
D. the dancers in the carnival are from the black community.

5) Although the carnival is a celebration of the traditions of black British ...

A. everyone seems to participate in it
B. only Caribbean people take part in
C. it is gaining in popularity among the white in recent years
D. people from all over the world come to watch it.

II. Write a narrative-descriptive essay about one time when you took part in a carnival/ festival
organized in your city. (200-220 words). (50 points)

TOTAL : 100 PUNCTE

TOATE SUBIECTELE SUNT OBLIGATORII. TIMP DE LUCRU : 3 ORE.
NU SE ACORDĂ PUNCTE DIN OFICIU.

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