Ministerul Educaţiei Naționale

Centrul Naţional de Evaluare şi Examinare

Etapa județeană/sectoarelor municipiului București a olimpiadelor naționale școlare -

2019

Probă scrisă

Limba engleză

CLASA a X-a - SECȚIUNEA A

 Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii.

 Nu se acordă puncte din oficiu.
 Timpul efectiv de lucru este de 3 ore.

SUBIECTUL A – USE OF ENGLISH (40 points)

I. Read the following text and put the verbs in brackets into the correct form. 10 points

Every time I visited him, he 1)...... (to sit) in an armchair almost on top of the gas fire, his white
head down to his knees. A chair he hardly moved from, a chair that 2)........(become) a bed. The
bulky black and white television, coated with dust 3) ..... (to murmur) to itself. Even the
programmes looked old. The whole room was mean and dark, cluttered with the debris of life. “I
4)..... (to have) a bad heart, you know ”, he said, using a sweet-old-man’s voice.”No one to look
after me since my wife 5) ......(to pass) away. That 6) ...... (to be) her, up there.”
A large, framed, studio portrait on the sideboard. A woman in her mid – forties, taken about
1950 from the look of her hair and jacket. It seemed the photographer 7) ..... (to catch) the end
of a smile... Or, maybe, I 8) ...(to think) then, maybe she couldn’t smile. I couldn’t get that look
out of my head. What 9)........(to happen) to make her do that ? And all through the summer, as
I 10) ....(to visit) him, the question grew in my head.

II. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that fits in each sentence. 10 points

1. A local committee is finally taking action to do something about the (POLLUTE) ______ river
that runs through our town.
2. The (PROTECT) ______ of the environment should be a top priority for everybody.
3. Most animals attack when they feel (THREAT) ______.
4. The (DESTROY) ______ of the rainforest is causing many problems to the local community
and ecosystem.
5. I hate the adults’ (PATRON) ______ attitude towards teenagers.
6. You should help the poor and the (NEED) __________.
7. As it was very hot, she was wearing a (SLEEVE) __________ dress.
8. This is a very (PLEASE) __________way of spending your weekend.
9. I am surprised at the rapid (GROW) _____ of information.
10. The bankrupcy of this company is (AVOID) __________ in the next year or so.

Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a X-a secțiunea A

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 Ministerul Educaţiei Naționale
Centrul Naţional de Evaluare şi Examinare

III. Read the following text and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits in each gap. 10 points

Macaws are colourful tropical parrots. There are 17 different (1) _______ of macaws. most of
which can be found in the tropical rainforests of Central and South America. They (2) _______
on seeds, fruit and insects, as well as on small mammals and reptiles. They grab their (3)
_______ using their toes and they also have very powerful beaks to help break open shells.
Macaws have many (4) _______ including monkeys, eagles, lizards and snakes, which can be
a great (5) _______ to them. There has been a decline in the macaw population mostly because
their natural (6) ________ is being destroyed due to (7) _______. Many of the species,
however, like the Indigo Macaw, are (8) _______ because they are hunted by local tribesmen
for their brightly-coloured (9) _______. Another threat macaws face is poaching, because they
have become increasingly popular in the pet bird trade. Two species, the Glaucous Macaw and
Spix's Macaw, might already be (10) ________.

1. A. types B. ways C. kinds D. species

2. A. food B. feed C. feet D. feeds

3. A. prey B. victim C. brute D. pray

4. A. animal B. beast C. predators D. pet

5. A. danger B. threat C. menace D. fear

6. A. home B. habitat C. house D. shelter

7. A. forestation B. forested C. afforestation D. deforestation

8. A. harmed B. protected C. unprotected D. endangered

9. A. skin B. pillow C. feathers D. tan

10. A. alive B. extinct C. absent D. active

IV. Translate the following text into English. 10 points

Clara pretextă tot ce îi trecu prin minte ca să nu rămână singură cu mama ei. Dar atunci când,
după prânz, Isabel insistă să se plimbe în loc să doarmă, n-a mai putut refuza să o însoțească.
Plimbarea a fost scurtă. După ce au străbătut pajiștile, mama se așeză sub un gard viu. Clara
se așeză și ea, privind fix peste câmpurile ce coborau în pantă lină spre canalul nefolosit,
curgând ca un râu îngust printre pădurile rămase încă verzi. Pe malul îndepărtat al râului, era o
veche casă de țară din cărămidă.

Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a X-a secțiunea A

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 Ministerul Educaţiei Naționale
Centrul Naţional de Evaluare şi Examinare

SUBIECTUL B – INTEGRATED SKILLS (60 points)

Read the text below and do the tasks that follow.

I have crossed borders with nothing but a rucksack on my back. Arrived in countries with a
holdall and that’s it. Last year, at midnight, I booked a plane ticket for 7am that morning from
London to Glasgow, packed a bag barely heavier than the quotidian, and off I went. I have gone
to Morocco and Egypt in similar circumstances.

Travelling is wonderful, but the downsides – with air travel in particular – are easy to
acknowledge: the dragging of heavy suitcases (often with a wonky wheel or broken handle); the
queueing; the waiting around for luggage – and the potential for it to be lost; the paying extra
for, seemingly, everything. The poor sods rifling through their carefully folded underwear to find
something of sufficient weight to remove, rather than pay an extortionate £40 surplus baggage
fee.

Smugness is not a quality to cultivate, but I can’t tell you that it isn’t immensely satisfying not to
have to worry about all of the above when travelling light. It isn’t always possible, of course –
work trips, longer holidays – but when it is, it’s perhaps the closest thing to feeling free. It’s a
twist on that hole-in-a-sack riddle: what can you pack that will make your bag light? Nothing.

My favourite lyrical paean to the practice is Jeffrey Lewis and Diane Cluck’s on their
appropriately titled Travel Light: “When I was an astronaut I didn’t take my boots / When I was a
record store I didn’t have the blues / I travel light and that’s the life for me.”

I have travelled in the opposite situation, too. When I moved back to the UK after living in
another country, a huge Klimt print I had bought in Moscow six months earlier had its own plane
seat. (I didn’t buy it its own seat, but the stewards were keen on protecting it.) It hangs in my flat
to this day, but it was incredibly stressful, moving with everything I owned.

I often travel alone. It is good for the soul, and all I need then is: my passport; a good book or
three (paperback, obviously); a playlist relevant to where one is going (surely I cannot be the
only nerd who does this?); a language app (if relevant); a rolling countryside view from a train
window, or a pointillist expanse from a plane window; and possibly, depending on mood, an
incredibly interesting seat partner from whom one learns new things.

Because how many pairs of jeans are you really going to wear? Why take weighty bottles of
shampoo when every hotel, Airbnb, or couch surfing host will have some? Not having much on
the back means one’s plans can always change on a whim, too. And, in my opinion, plans are
made for changing.

Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a X-a secțiunea A

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 Ministerul Educaţiei Naționale
Centrul Naţional de Evaluare şi Examinare

I. For each question decide which answer (A, B, C or D) fits best according to the text. 10 points

1. According to the author, she has travelled to Morocco and Egypt carrying

A. no luggage.
B. several pieces of luggage.
C. a light bag.
D. a suitcase.

2. What disadvantage of airtravelling is NOT mentioned in the text?

A. carrying huge luggage
B. waiting in a line
C. removing extra weight
D. sitting in crammed spaces

3. A synonym for smugness in the third paragraph is

A. prejudice.
B. comfort.
C. pride.
D. modesty.

4. When the author moved back to the U.K., she felt stressed because
A. she had to carry a painting.
B. she had to move with everything she owned.
C. she had to hang the painting in her flat.
D. she had to buy the tickets six months earlier.

5. The tone of the article is

A. ironic.
B. subjective.
C. objective.
D. sarcastic.

II. Write a narrative-descriptive essay about a situation when you had to change your
plans while travelling. (200-220 words) 50 points

Probă scrisă la limba engleză clasa a X-a secțiunea A

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