OLIMPIADA NAȚIONALĂ DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ – ETAPA LOCALĂ

27 IANUARIE 2018
CLASA a IX-a SECȚIUNEA B

SUBIECTUL A – USE OF ENGLISH

I. Read the paragraph below and do the tasks (10 x 2p= 20p).

The world’s natural and cultural heritage is disappearing fast but UNESCO is working hard to
preserve it. UNESCO has created a list of more than 900 places known as World Heritage
Sites. The sites on this list should be actively protected by all governments. Cultural sites on
this list include the Taj Mahal, the best-known building in India, the lively Islamic center of
Marrakesh and the Statue of Liberty, an extremely impressive gift from the people of France
to the people of the United States. The World Heritage List also includes natural reserves such
as the Galapagos Islands, a place that at one time had hardly any tourists but is now in danger
of being destroyed by them. UNESCO works well and without it, the future of many
fascinating Heritage Sites would look bleak, so it is worrying that for political reasons, some
countries, like the USA and the UK, have withdrawn from full membership.

A. Answer the questions:

1. How many places does the list include?
2. What does the Statue of Liberty represent?
3. Why are the Galapagos Islands endangered?
4. Why have the USA and the UK retreated from membership?

B. Choose the right synonym:

lively: a. terrifying b. bustling c. boring d. decent

preserve: a. maintain b. control c. correspond d. dispel
bleak: a. happy b. foggy c. unpleasant d. bored

C. Rephrase the following sentences so as to preserve the meaning:

1. The sites on the list should be actively protected by all governments.

All governments ………….. of the sites on the list.
2. The Galapagos Islands had hardly any tourists.
Rarely ……………… tourists.
3. The Galapagos Islands are in danger of being destroyed by tourists.
Tourists are …………….. the Galapagos Islands.
II. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that fits in each sentence (10 x 1p = 10
p)

One of the most amazing advances ever made in medicine began with an (1) ….. (EXPECT)
event. Sir Alexander Fleming, a Scottish (2) ….. (BACTERIOLOGY), had been conducting
an investigation looking into new ways of killing germs, when he came upon something (3)
….. (PUZZLE) in his own laboratory.
Some mould had (4) ….. (ACCIDENT) landed on one of the dishes and, for some (5) …..
(KNOW) reason, had killed the bacteria he was growing. At first he was (6) ….. (DELIGHT)
by his discovery and grew more of the mould, giving it the name ‘penicillin’. However, his
(7) ….. (EXCITE) wore off when he decided that penicillin would only be (8) ….. (EFFECT)
as an antiseptic against certain skin (9) ….. (INFECT) and soon lost interest as he believed
that antiseptics often did more harm than good. It wasn’t until ten years later that two other
scientists managed to isolate the substance that killed the bacteria, and (10) ….. (SUCCESS)
began to save people’s lives with it. In 1945 Fleming and two others were awarded the Nobel
Prize in Medicine.

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

It was in the late fall of an unusual year on the Bentley farms. Everywhere the crops had been
heavy. That spring, Jesse had bought part of a long strip of black swamp land that lay in the
valley of Wine Creek. He got the land at a low price but had spent a large sum of money to
improve it. Great ditches had to be dug and thousands of tiles laid. Neighboring farmers
shook their heads over the expense. Some of them laughed and hoped that Jesse would lose
heavily by the venture, but the old man went silently on with the work and said nothing.

SUBIECTUL B – INTEGRATED SKILLS

Read the text below and choose the right answer.

In 1997, a group of twenty British women made history. Working in five teams with four
women in each team, they walked to the North Pole. Apart from one experienced female
guide, the other women were all ordinary people who had never done anything like this in
their lives before. They managed to survive in an environment which had defeated several
very experienced men during the same few spring months of that year. Who were these
women and how did they succeed where others failed?
In the summer of 1995, an advertisement was put in several British newspapers: ’Adventurers
are being sought for the formation of an all-woman team to walk to the North Pole.
Applications are invited from women of any age, background and occupation who are willing
to put up with real pain and discomfort to achieve an important goal’. Nearly one hundred
women took part in the first selection weekend and then, after several training expeditions
designed to weed out unsuitable applicants, twenty women were chosen. The youngest of
these was twenty-one and the oldest fifty-one. In the group there was a mother of triplets, a
teacher, a flight attendant, a policewoman and a film producer.
They were a very mixed bunch but they all really wanted to take part in the venture and make
it a success. Each of the women agreed to raise the £2500 needed for expenses and the airfare
to Canada, where the expedition began. They also committed themselves to following an
intensive physical training programme before leaving the UK so that they were fit enough to
take part in the expedition without endangering their own or others’ lives. The women set off
as soon as they were ready. Once on the ice, each woman had to ski along while dragging a
sledge weighing over 50 kilos. This would not have been too bad on a smooth surface, but for
long stretches, the Artic ice is pushed up into huge mounds two or three metres high and the
sledges had to be hauled up one side and carefully let down the other so that they didn’t
smash. The temperature was always below freezing point and sometimes strong winds made
walking while pulling so much weight almost impossible.

I. Choose the best answer to these questions or unfinished statements (5 x 2p= 10p)

1. What was so extraordinary about the expedition?

A. There was no one to lead it.
B. The women did not have any men with them.
C. It was a new experience for most of the women.
D. The women had not met one another before.

2. What did the women who answered the advertisement have in common?
A. They were about the same age.
B. They had all suffered pain and discomfort.
C. They all had plenty of money.
D. They all wanted to achieve a goal.

3. What does the underlined word ‘these’ refer to?

A. All the applicants
B. The training expeditions
C. The women who went on the trip
D. The unsuitable applicants

4. What did each woman have to do before the start of the expedition?
A. Visit Canada
B. Get fit
C. Learn to ski
D. Meet the other women

5. On the expedition, the women had to be careful to avoid

A. Falling over on the ice
B. Being left behind
C. Damaging the sledges
D. Getting too cold at night

II. Read the text again and write a narrative – descriptive essay (200-220 words) about an
example of a difficult decision that you had to make.

Nota
Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii. Timp de lucru 180 minute.
 OLIMPIADA NAȚIONALĂ DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ – ETAPA LOCALĂ
27 IANUARIE 2018
CLASA a IX-a SECȚIUNEA B

BAREM
Subiectul A

I. (10 x 2p= 20p)

A. 1. The list includes 900 places.
2.The Statue of Liberty represents an impressive gift from the people of France to the
people of the USA.
3.The Galapagos Islands are in danger of being destroyed by tourists.
4.The USA and the UK have retreated/withdrawn from full membership for political
reasons.

B. lively – b
preserve – a
bleak – c

C. 1. should take active care

2. did The Galapagos Islands have any
3. the ones who destroy / will destroy

II. (10 x 1p = 10 p)
1. unexpected 2 bacteriologist 3 puzzling 4 accidentally 5 unknown
6. delighted 7 excitement 8 effective 9 infections 10 successfully

III. 10 p
Era toamna târzie a unui an neobișnuit la ferma Bentley. Pretutindeni recoltele fuseseră
bogate. În primăvara aceea Jesse cumpărase o bucată dintr-o fâșie lungă de pământ mlăștinos
în valea Wine Creek. A primit pământul pe o sumă derizorie, dar a cheltuit mult pentru a-l
îmbunătăți. Au trebuit săpate șanțuri adânci și puse mii de plăci. Fermierii vecini au dat din
cap la auzul cheltuielilor. Unii dintre ei au râs, sperând că Jesse va pierde mult în această
afacere riscantă, dar bătrânul a continuat să lucreze încet și fără să scoată o vorbă.

Obs.
Se vor lua in considerare orice alte variante corecte si care indeplinesc criteriul expresivitatii.
SUBIECTUL B – INTEGRATED SKILLS

I. 5 x 2p = 10p

1. C
2. D
3. C
4. B
5. C

II. 5 x 10 = 50 p

The 50 points for this subject will be given for the following areas (0-10 points per area):

CONTENT- relevance to the topic and task

ORGANIZATION AND COHESION- paragraphing, linking devices, mechanics, length

requirements.

VOCABULARY – range of vocabulary, meaning conveyed, spelling, register

STRUCTURES- grammatical structures, punctuation

EFFECT ON TARGET READER

Please, see the general marking scheme.