OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZ

ETAPA LOCAL
Clasa a XII-a Sectiunea A
24 ianuarie 2015
I. ENGLISH IN USE
1. Write one word in each gap:

(50 points)
(10 points)

The number of people emigrating from Ireland is estimated at 30,000 annually. There is no doubt that the bulk of
young Irish emigrants .(1) up in London. ..(2) some of their problems are unique to this
generation, many of them work in the same jobs and live in the same conditions ..(3) endless previous
generations of emigrants to Britain. ..(4) some Irish take their degrees to London and use them to get
jobs in the burgeoning service industry, for many .(5) who left school in their teens and experienced
months, ..(6) not years, of unemployment their second act on reaching London ..(7) to sign
on for social welfare. Their first, and most difficult, is finding somewhere to live. Social welfare benefits are better in
England. For a young unemployed man or woman, this can ...(8) an attractive proposition, offering
independence, a subsistence income and at (9) the hope of a job in a city .(10)
unemployment is a lot lower than in Ireland.
2. For each question, write one word which can be used in all three sentences:

(10 points)

1. There is a great deal of trouble in for them if they persist in their ways.
With this economic recession and all, we should be careful and grain for the winter.
We need bread and milk from the .
2. If I could turn back the of time, I would not make the same mistake again.
To ride well, one must have good .
Notions such as these are what a generation down to the other.
3. After a thorough examination the inspector decided to. down the building as it posed a threat to the
dwellers' safety.
Be a man, Luke. yourself together and stop crying. The girls are looking at you.
Sally hated sitting at the first table in the classroom. The boys behind made it a point to
her long plaits and it hurt a lot.

4. Do all these lights in the stereo serve a .........., or are they just for decoration?
Jerry seems to lack a sense of .............since he retired.
I can't believe that Alfie would've sent you a computer virus on.................
5.

In this game, you compete against the ..............to collect as many gold rings as you can.
People in my office waste time surfing the Net and watching the ..........until its time to leave.
We provide full technical support for all our products around the....................

3. In the following text, complete the numbered spaces with a word formed from the one given in capitals:
(10points)
WHY DO WE FORGET?
Despite the remarkable (0) efficiency of the human brain, we still suffer from lapses of

(0)EFFICIENT

memory when we are (1) _______ to remember something that we thought was well
established in our mind. Why does this happen? One theory suggests that information
stored in the memory falls into (2) _______ unless it is activated fairly regularly. In other
words, we need to practise and revise what we have learnt, otherwise the new input will
gradually fade in the memory and (3) _______ disappear. This is called decay theory.
In (4) _________ to this theory is the idea of cue-dependent forgetting, which asserts
that information does in fact persist in the memory, but we may be incapable of recalling
it. In other words, the failure is one of (5) ______________ rather than (6) ____.
Evidence for this theory derives from a number of experiments. In one of these, the
subjects were given lists of words to (7) _______ and were then tested on their powers of
recall. Then they were tested again, only this time they were given relevant information
to (8) _______ recall. For example, if a list contained the words sofa, armchair and
wardrobe, the subjects would be given the superordinate word furniture as a cue to
help them. These experiments showed that recall was considerably (9) _____ by
appropriate cues, suggesting that the information was not permanently lost but only (10)
____.

(1) ABLE
(2) USE
(3)ULTIMATE
(4)OPPOSE

(5)RETRIEVE
(6) STORE
(7)MEMORY
(8)FACILITY

(9) STRONG
(10) LAY

4. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first sentence, using the word given. Do
not change this word and use between 3 and 8 words, including the word given: (20points)
1. It would have been a total catastrophe for her to be made responsible.
PUT
If she. , there would have been very serious consequences.
2. In spite of all my efforts, I didn't manage to persuade them to come to the concert. HARD
No matter , I didn't manage to persuade them to come to the concert.
3. The companys profits appear to be improving significantly this year. EVIDENCE

The companys ....this year.

4. He promised never to lie again.
TRUTH
He swore .now on.
5. Could you help me tackle a problem with my son?
DEALING
I'd be grateful for. a problem with my son.
6. Mrs. Brown bought a big house because she wanted to open a hotel.
VIEW
Mrs. Brown bought the big housea hotel.
7. The writers terse writing style contrasted sharply with his spoken language. CONTRAST
There..the writers spoken language and his terse written style.
8. You shouldn't be surprised at Kevin winning that tournament.
COME

It.. that tournament.

9. This new radio is not at all similar to the previous model.
The new radiothe previous model.
10. The board have failed to agree on the new budget.
REACHED

BEARS

The board .. on the new budget.

II. WRITING

(50 points)

You were recently selected by your college to attend a cultural festival, which included both daytime and evening
events relating to film, theatre and the visual arts. Your school principal has asked you to write a report describing your
stay, giving details and your opinions of some of the events that you attended, and mentioning how the visit has
benefited you. Write your report in 260-300 words.
NOT! Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii. Timp de lucru: 2 ore.