Ministerul Educaţiei, Cercetării, Tineretului si Sportului

Inspectoratul Scolar al Municipiului Bucuresti

OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZA 2011-2012 - Etapa pe sector – clasa a XI-a – varianta 1

I. (10 points) Read the text below and decide which variant (A, B, C or D) best fits each space.
I'd like to help (1).... a popular myth that is constantly being drummed into us by the media and in
general, people of a certain age. We are told that people in their teens and twenties have no (2)....
manners, are constantly using (3).... language at inappropriate times and generally display serious
(4).... problems. In this way, we have been led to believe that our society is (5).... into chaos at an ever
increasing rate and that everywhere you go nowadays, you will meet with loutish behaviour that
simply didn't exist thirty years ago.
As far as I'm concerned, this view of the current young generation is (6).... unfair, not least because of
the appalling behaviour I can remember witnessing (and occasionally participating in) during these so-
called golden decades. I was never permanently (7).... from a school but I can clearly remember those
who were. I can also remember the many occasions when I had to stay (8).... after school, kept in
(9).... for one of my many misdemeanours. To me, the current younger generation seems no better
and no worse than any other. It may simply be that when older people, expecting the worst, are apt to
give youngsters the cold (10)...., it is hardly surprising that they should take offence. In this way a
vicious circle is created, one that can only be broken with a lot of good will from both sides.
1. A) instill B) expel C) dispel D) dispense
2. A) table B) bedroom C) general D) daily
3. A) decent B) posh C) profanely D) foul
4. A) behaviour B) behaviourist C) behavioural D) misbehaving
5. A) descending B) capsizing C) landing D) dismounting
6. A) strongly B) badly C) mistakenly D) grossly
7. A) exploited B) exported C) excluded D) extracted
8. A) around B) back C) beyond D) behind
9. A) suspension B) detention C) expulsion D) exclusion
10. A) finger B) elbow C) shoulder D) face

II. (10 points) Fill the gaps in the text below with ONE suitable word:
In nearly every town or city centre in the UK, on most days of the week you can find one (1)........ more
people standing in the street, selling a newspaper called ‘The Big Issue’. These people are all
homeless, but they are (2)........ begging for money. Instead, they are selling the newspaper as a
means (3)........ making a small but respectable living.
‘The Big Issue’ newspaper (4)........ started in 1991 by Jon Bird and Gordon Roddick, after they saw
that there were many homeless people (5)........ were living on the streets of London. On a previous
visit to New York, one of them (6)........ seen homeless people selling a newspaper known (7)........ ‘The
Street News’ and they decided to set (8)........ something similar in the British capital.
Nowadays, ‘The Big Issue’ has spread (9)........ over the UK and there are even different versions of
the newspaper in different parts of the country. The sellers buy each newspaper from the organization
for seventy pence and then sell it to a customer for one pound fifty. By working with ‘The Big Issue’,
many people have (10)........ helped to escape from homelessness and many of them have eventually
moved on to new jobs and new lives.

III. (10 points) Read the text below and use the words given in capitals below to form words
that fit in the gaps. The words in capitals are given in the order in which you need to use them:
1-SELL 2-KNIGHT 3-ICON 4-VALUE 5-STYLE 6-MARK 7-SUPPOSE 8-SIMPLE 9-ANSWER 10-
HOUSE
Jonathan Ive, designer of Apple’s best-(1)…… iMacs, iPods, iPhones and iPads has received a (2)
…… from Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. This means he can now put “Sir” Jonathan on his business
cards. The honour is the highest award the Queen can give to a citizen. Sir Jonathan received it for
his services to design and enterprise – his (3)…… designs of Apple’s products helped turn the Silicon
Valley giant into the world’s most admired brand and most (4)…… company. He has worked with
Olimpiada de limba engleza, etapa pe sector 1
Clasa a XI-a, varianta 1
Apple since the mid-1990s and is Senior Vice President of Industrial Design. He shared Apple co-
founder Steve Jobs’ passion for high quality and (5)…… products. Many of these have few buttons
but are highly functional and easy to use.
Ive said of his award: “To be recognized with this honour is absolutely thrilling and I am both humbled
and sincerely grateful.” Ive told reporters his childhood dream was to be a designer, saying: “I
discovered at an early age that all I’ve ever wanted to do is design. I feel enormously fortunate that I
continue to be able to design and make products with a truly (6)…… group of people here at Apple.”
Steve Jobs (7)…… called Ive his “soul mate” because of their shared understanding of (8)…... in
design. He elevated the British designer to a special position within Apple, (9)…… only to Jobs. Six of
Ive’s works, including the original iPod, are (10)…… in a collection at the Museum of Modern Art in
New York.

IV. (20 points) Rephrase the following sentences so that they contain the words in capitals, and
so that the meaning stays the same:
1. Tony hasn’t been to Paris before. FIRST
It’s _____________________________ in Paris.
2. If I were you I wouldn't trust John. BETTER
You _____________________ John.
3. He realised what he had lost only when it was too late. REALISE
Only when it was too late ________________ what he had lost.
4. I'd like to be on a sunny island right now. WISH
I _____________________ on a sunny island right now.
5. The match was cancelled because it was raining heavily. TO
The match was cancelled ______.
6. It's forbidden to light a fire in the countryside. ARE
You _______________________ a fire in the countryside.
7. It is well-known that she lied to him. TO
She is ______________ to him.
8. I am fed up with his borrowing money from me. ALWAYS
He ___________ money from me!
9. I'll lend you the money if you pay it back next month. ON
I'll lend you the money __________________________ next month.
10. When we can’t do something one week, we sometimes postpone doing it. PUT
When we can’t do something one week, we sometimes _______ doing it.

V. (50 points) - ARTICLE WRITING - Your college magazine is inviting contributions on the topic of
virtual social networking and how it affects the young generation. You should address the following
points:

 The effects of virtual social networking on relationships

 How social networking sites influence your self-image
 What the future might bring in terms of virtual means of communication

Give your article a title. (200-220 words)

Think about the following:

 does the title attract attention?
 is the opening sentence interesting?
 is each ‘idea’ introduced with an expression (first…etc)?
 does it have an introductory and concluding paragraph?
SCRIETI RASPUNSURILE PE FOAIA DE RASPUNS (ANSWER SHEET). BARATI TOATE SPATIILE NECOMPLETATE.
TIMP DE LUCRU: 3 ORE. NU SE ACORDA PUNCTE DIN OFICIU.

Olimpiada de limba engleza, etapa pe sector 2

Clasa a XI-a, varianta 1