INSPECTORATUL ȘCOLAR JUDEȚEAN GALAȚI

OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ

ETAPA LOCALĂ - CLASA a IX-a, SECŢIUNEA A
16.02.2019

Nota: Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii.

Timp de lucru: 3 ore

SUBIECTUL I - USE OF ENGLISH…………………………………………………. (40 points)

1. Read the following text and put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense. (10x1p=10p)
THE AUSTRALIAN SALUTE

Before I visited Australia, an Australian friend in London (1) ………. (tell) me I’d learn ‘the
Australian salute’. ‘What’s that?’ I asked. ‘You (2) ………. (find) out when you get there,’ he said.
‘I (3) ………. (arrive) in Perth last week. Since then, I (4) ………. (stay) at a nice hotel near a
beautiful beach. I (5) ………. (never visit) Australia before and I am enjoying my stay. I (6) ……….
(swim) every day from the time I (7) ……….. (arrive). Yesterday, an Australian friend suggested a
tour ‘into the bush’. I agreed at once. The first thing I noticed when we (8) ………. (be) in the bush
was the flies. After a while I remembered the conversation I (9) ………. (have) in London before I
came here. ‘What’s the Australian salute’?’ I asked suddenly, as I waved my right arm to keep the
flies away. ‘That’s it!’ my friend said as he (10) ………. (wave) back!

2. Read the following text and use the word given in capitals at the end of each line to form a
word that fits in the space in the same line (10 x 1p = 10p)

Sport in society
The position of sport in today’s society has changed out of
all (0) recognition. People no longer seem to think of sport as ‘just (0) RECOGNISE
a game' to be watched or played for the sake of (1) ________ . (1) ENJOY
Instead, it has become big business worldwide. It has become
accepted practice for (2) ________ companies to provide (2) LEAD
sponsorship. TV companies pay large sums of money to screen
important matches or (3) ________ . (3) COMPETE
The result has been huge (4) ________ rewards for (4) FINANCE
athletes, some of whom are now very (5) ________ , particularly (5) WEALTH
top footballers, golfers and tennis players. In addition, it is not
(6) ________ for some athletes to receive large fees on top of (6) USUAL
their salary, for advertising products or making personal
appearances.
A trend towards shorter working hours means that people
(7) ________ tend to have more free time, both to watch and to (7) GENERAL
take part in sporting activity; sport has become a (8) ________ (8) SIGNIFY
part of the recreation industry that we now rely on to fill our
leisure hours. (9) ________ sport is a vital part of that industry, (9) PROFESSION
providing (10) ________ for millions of ordinary people all over (10) PLEASE
the world.
 3. Read the following text and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits in each gap.
(10x1p =10p)
In America, the last Thursday in November is a national holiday called Thanksgiving. People
travel to be with their families and friends and to (1) ............ a special meal. In New York, there is
the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade. More than two million people (2) ............ the parade, and people
all over America watch it on television.
The turkey is the (3) ............ of Thanksgiving and the holiday is sometimes called Turkey
Day. This is because the dinner is roast turkey with lots of vegetables.
Americans love eating turkey. They now eat twice as much as they did twenty years (4) ............ –
the average American consumes eight and a half kilos of turkey each year. Forty-five million turkeys
are eaten each year at Thanksgiving.
Most farm turkeys live (5) ............ factory farms. Many people think that factory farming is
cruel (6) ............ up to twenty five thousand birds live in one shed with hardly any space to move.
About one hundred years ago, wild turkeys in America were nearly extinct because people (7)
............the forests where they lived in order to build houses. Now, there are (8) ............ programmes
to bring turkeys back to the countryside. In 1959, there were only 450,000 wild turkeys, but in 1990,
there were three and a half million.
Benjamin Franklin, one of the (9) ............ fathers of the United States, loved wild turkeys. He
wanted the wild turkey to be the emblem of America instead of the eagle which was finally chosen
to (10) ............ the country.

1. A. enjoy B like C benefit D promote

2. A. go B attend C arrive D come
3. A. badge B logo C signal D symbol
4. A. before B past C ago D formerly
5. A. in B at C on D into
6. A. as B like C while D though
7. A. defeated B destroyed C fought D conquered
8. A. reservation B renovation C restoration D conservation
9. A. founding B beginning C leading D establishing
10. A. demonstrate B express C reveal D represent

4. Read the following text below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use only one
word in each space.(10x1p=10p)

The London Marathon race is a long-running story. (1) ….. is was first held in 1981, (2) …..
when more than half a million marathon runners of various shapes, sizes and abilities have
completed the challenge of running the full 42 km of the course.
The London Marathon was the brainchild of Chris Brasher. The former Olympic champion brought
the idea home to London (3) ….. completing the New York Marathon in 1979. “Could London stage
(4) …… an event?” wondered Brasher, answering his (5) …… question by organizing the first
London Marathon on March, 1981, (6) ….. 6,255 runners completed the course.
The event has captured the public imagination and there are always (7) ….. many people to
(8) …..part. Last year (9) ….. amazing 98,000 people applied to run in it, although only 46,500 (10)
….. accepted.
For those who do take part, the day is about fun, achievement and raising money for charity-
with varying degrees of pain!
 SUBIECTUL II – INTEGRATED SKILLS……………………………………..(60 points)

1. Read the following text and for questions 1– 5, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think
fits best according to the text (5x2p=10p)

On an island in the middle of a quiet, slow-moving little river in the west of England, Jake
and Marianne Smith have been living like homeless people for the past thirteen months. Living
without a bathroom or running water for eight weeks, they were forced to take showers at a local
leisure centre. Yet they are very happy, and, in their words, ‘on a mission to create the perfect life’.
They are one of many fearless homeowners who have set about renovating rundown buildings in
order to create unique and interesting homes.
The couple is in the process of fixing up two former mills on an island in the middle of the
town of Frome.
The buildings are listed as being of historical importance, which means that any and every
piece of work they do on the buildings, has to be approved by the local authorities. In particular, they
have to retain the original external appearance of the buildings.
Homebuyers’ enthusiasm for converting everything from old schools to abandoned barns is
very popular.
The Ecology Building Society lists a railway signal box and a cemetery gate building among
properties purchased with the help of one of their loans. Their hope is to help people who want to
renovate old buildings, which are no longer used for their original purpose and convert them into
comfortable homes.
Buyers who want to change a building’s use need to apply for a planning permission. Some
buildings come with the planning permission already in place. In other cases, buyers should find out
what needs to be done before they begin to change the original building. In some instances,
permission is refused. Often, there is much more to converting old buildings into new homes, than
simply adding a cooker and a bathroom.
Unfortunately, a lot of builders and developers do not understand the construction of older
buildings. They can make the mistake of trying to fix or change things with modern techniques that
don’t always work with older materials. When this happens, the results can be disastrous.
Although work completed on historical buildings is controlled by government rules and
regulations, there is no guarantee the renovations will be done properly. Most of the restrictions
apply to the appearance of the building rather than the actual design and structure. Therefore, it is
important to look around for builders and developers who have plenty of experience and knowledge
when you have your heart set on converting an old building.

1. The couple on the island are described as being happy because they…
A. now have a bathroom and running hot water.
B. like being isolated from other people.
C. think they have an ideal lifestyle.
D. were able to have showers nearby.

2. The couple are restricted in what they can do with the mills since…
A. the buildings are located on an island.
B. the authorities do not approve of any changes.
C. the outside of the buildings must be kept the same.
D. they must use one of the mills for business.
 3. The Ecological Building Society…
A. sells old buildings to people.
B. helps people find a new home.
C. gives homebuyers technical advice.
D. lends money to homebuyers.

4. It can be a mistake to buy an old building because …

A. the authorities may not understand your needs.
B. it may not be possible to change the use of the building.
C. the land on which it has been built might be faulty.
D. you may have to change the outer appearance of the building.

5. According to the writer,

A. adding a bathroom to an old building is essential.
B. nobody knows how buildings were constructed in the past.
C. using modern building materials can make problems worse.
D. builders today have not been trained to convert old buildings.

2. Write a narrative essay on your most memorable volunteering project. The essay should end
with the following sentence: ’’It was a great experience and it made me think about my goals in
life.” (180-200 words) - (50p)