TRADUCEREA 22

.)
./I(\
rJ, · 1 dadea. Sa am
am grija sa nu inec era singurul sfat pe care mi-
Sa ma
in Dunare,
ma inec! Am avut grija. Saream , gol ,
grija sa nu lua
nu-mi
ieseam la suprafata, inotam in larg. N~meni
afundam,
nimanui nu-i era teama c-o sa mi se intample ceva. Stiam sa
seama,
Grija trebuia sa am totusi. Dunarea curgea repede, poate tot
inot.
de repede ca timpul, si era plina, tot ca timpul, de valtori .
atat
0
Daca te lua apa site ducea cu ea, dus erai, iar daca te prindea
Dar tatuta si mamuta mai aveau si
valtoare, prins erai. Ei!
alti copii si erau inca tineri . . .
Repede de tot trecea timpul pentru mine, care ma jucam in apa. Greu
de tot trecea timpul pentru tata si pentru toti barbatii aceia care
incarcau graul in slepuri . Eun fe l de a s pune. De fapt, pentru noi

toti timpul s-a s c u rs repede de tot, a trecut repede de tot.

Primaveri si veri. Toamne s i i erni . S i p e urma iarasi primaveri si

veri, toamne si ierni.

Si pentru mama a trecut repede timpul. Cop i la aproape , bunica de la
Cirlomanu a maritat-o cu Radu Ochian de la Stanicut. In doi ani,
mama i-a nascut lui Radu Ochian doi copii . Pe urma omul a murit.
Seara s-a culcat sanatos si dimineata .. . dimineata un copil din
vecini ii tragea clopotul si mama se uita la mart si nu-i venea sa
crealla ca mortul acela urat, barbatul acela neras de catev4 zile
fusese omul
ei. Ar fi vrut sa planga si lacrimile nu-i veneau in
ochi, ar fi vrut sa - 1 Je
· 1 easca si glasul n-o asculta.
Dupa ingroparea sotului s-a-ntors la Cirlomanu, la
N-a bunica.
trecut mult
sis-a maritat cu t ata . Si apoi
au mai venit si alti
copii. Unul dupa altul
Unul dupa altul. 0 fata, un baiat.
0
fata, un baiat. Panas-a umplut casa.

(Zaharia Sta nr11 - r o m •• , ..... ,

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6
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The Queen's Orders of Chivalry by Brigadier Sir Ivan de la Bere who was
for fifteen ye~rs the Secreta_ry of. the Central Chancery of the 'orders of
Knighthood, is a book which giues an accurate guide to the honours
system - its evolution, present-day ceremonies and the correct manner in
which the various insignia should be worn.
Until the beginning of the nineteenth century appointment to the orders
of chivalry in England was restricted to the members of noble families and
persons of high rank in the armed services. These appointments were
greatly sought after and valued. Naturally the more rare the award the
5 greater its fame and value in the general estimation. Examples of such
highly prized distinctions in European countries are the Portuguese Order
of Christ, the Dannebrog of Denmark, the Golden Fleece of the Spanish
Grandee and Austrian noble, the Annunziata of Italy and - probably the
10
,,,.
most coveted of all - the Garter of the English Knight.
In Continental countries the award of insignia on a somewhat lavish
' real value to their country and to mankind generally, such as the produc-
scale started much earlie~ than it did in England. In some European coun-
tries there were, long before the eighteenth century, numerous orders and
decorations, comprising several classes or grades, appointment to which
was by no means confined to those of high rank or noble birth.
15 In France, for instance, there appears to have been a very great variety
of orders and decorations - so much so that there is a story that General
Moreau, a famous Napoleonic general and a great gourmet, having been
particularly delighied by the gastronomic skill of the chef on a certain
occasion, sent for him and told him of his appreciation. He said that, as
20 there were so many existing French orders and so great a number of
holders of them, he intended to invest him with the insignia of a new order
of his own invention, to be called the 'Order of the Excellent Saucepan'.
Up to quite recently in France a man was considered rather a failure if he
had not been appointed to the Legion of Honour by the time he was forty
25 years of age, and even now there are about 300,000 members of this Order
which was founded in 1802. The present French Government aims at
reducing the present official quota by about two thirds. None the less
about one Frenchman in six has an order or decoration of one sort or
another.
30 Though nowadays in this country comparatively few people have a very
keen interest in the subject, the majority of the population would agree
that on the whole it is right for the honours not to be cast very widely .
They would agree, too, that in these days of democracy - used here in the
best sense of that much-abused word - if honours are to be 'given at all
35 they should be distributed in such a way that persons in all classes of the
community and in every walk of life are a~le to qualify for appropriate
recognition by their Sovereign for some particular brave action or some
meritorious achievement in the service of the country. In these days it
24
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would not be sufficient or advisable merely to reward the leaders of the
nation and a limited number of persons of high qnk and position in the 40
~~":;..-.
,..._ . .
Armed and Civil Services.
It is not suggested, therefore, that though it is now very large, the total
number of honours awarded should be greatly reduced, but rather that a
stricter scrutiny should be made in the selection of those who receive so
high an honour as Knighthood or the appointment to the comparatively 45
high third class of an order of chivalry such as Commandership of the
Order of the British Empire - namely the C.B.E. In the opinion of most
people far too many honours of a high grade are given for purely political
services.
Moreover, honours of so high a grade or class should not be given to 50
those who have really not done anything out of the ordinary for the good
of the country but have perhaps merely made themselves well known, and
usually highly paid, public figures by their ability to excel in the worlds of
entertainment and sport. A distinction ought to be drawn between the
awards given to such persons and to those who have rendered service of 55
tion of an invention of great benefit to the community, the conducting of
valuable life-saving medical research or the rendering of long and devoted
service to charitable institutions or welfare organisations.
Some think it would be a good plan to institute a new decoration which 60
could be given to those who have excelled in the world of sport and who
have rendered valuable administrative service in some particular sport.
Thus, while it is not the intention to suggest that the present total
number of honours given should be greatly reduced, it is essential that this
total should not be steadily increased, while the names of those to be 65
honoured should receive the strictest scrutiny. Otherwise these honours
will be cheapened and will no longer be sought and prized highly as
rewards for outstanding service and effort.
The preparation of an honours list on a sound and equitable system is a
very difficult matter. It is a subject on which it is easy to make critical 70
comment, but it is not possible to produce an honours list which would
please everybody. If too large a number of honours is given, the critics say
that they have been given too cheaply. On the other hand, if too few
honours are given there is equal criticism, but it is right and laudable to
endeavour to obtain some suitable recognition for a person who has served 75
his country well or has performed some brave or particularly meritorious
action deserving of an award of honour from the Sovereign.
(abridged)
"'
,'
'I'
; l1) Until the nineteenth century orders of chivalry were restricted to
"l
A certain types of aristocrats and people of high birth,
B all officers serving in the armed forces of that time ·
C members of the highest families in the country's service
D military officers of high rank and noble families
E members of the noble families who were on military service
25
 (2) Some appointments were accorded greater fame because
A they were very highly valued although widely distributed
B they carried a monetary award of great value
C they were only awarded to high foreign dignitaries
, D only a small number of these awards were made
E in the general estimation they had little value
/ (3) The word 'coveted' (line 9) as used in this context means
A perfected
B desired
C indiscriminate
D regretted
E stimulated
(4) The words 'lavish scale' (line 10) as used in the passage refer to
A the award of insignia in countries other than England
B continental countries which .follow the early English example
C the award of various insignia in non-European countries
D the insignia which are awarded only on special occasions
E the different types of insignia which are frugally awarded
(5) The numerous orders and decorations had several classes and grades
because
A they were confined to those of high rank or noble birth
B there were too many awards for those of noble birth
C there were too few awards for high rank
D they were awarded to people of varying stations in life
E only a very few awards were made before the eighteenth century
(6) General Moreau was known not only as a famous Napoleonic general
but also as
A an epicure
B a glutton
C a carnivore
D a depriver
E a philologist
(7) The chef was presented with the insignia of a new order because
A the meal showed very little gastronomic discernment or prepara-
tion
B the general could not be considered a true connoisseur
C the food had been prepared with extreme gastronomic skill
D the food prepare_d was not suited to the General's palate
E the saucepans he used for cooking had adulterated the food
(8) Failure in France was considered at one time in terms of
A the position a person held in the community
B the time taken for a person to reach maturity
26
C the age at which a person received the Legion of Honour
D the number of times a man had received the Legion of Honour
E the amount of money and land a man possessed
(9) The words 'official quota' (line 27) as used in this context refer to
A the number of Frenchmen who already have appointments to
the Legion of Honour
B the small number of appointments made to the Legion of
Honour in recent years
C the total number of living Frenchmen who hold an appointment
to the Legion of Honour
D the prese~t number of appointments to the Legion of Honour
approved by the Government
E the Government of France and its parsimonious attitude to
these awards
(10) The author refers to 'democracy' (line 33) as a much-abused word
because
A it has only one application and as such cannot be used generally
B the world is now completely democratic so the word cannot be
misused.
C pe6ple today do not need democracy and so seldom use the
word
D it is used to cover actions which in fact are far from democratic
E it is a way of life which can never be described incorrectly
(11) With which of the following ideas does the author agree?
A Honours should now be completely done away with
B The distribution of honours should be democratic
C Honours should be given only to the rich
D Honours should be distributed in increasing numbers
E The distribution of honours should be severely curtailed
(12) The author suggests that in the future award of honours there should
be
A a higher number awarded to the leaders of the nation
B a decline in the lower awards for political services
C a reduction in quantity of the awards made
D a much more severe examination of high honours
E an increase in the limited awards to Senior Military Personnel
( 13) It is suggested that a distinction between public figures in sport and
entertainment and other people should be made by
A only giving.the lesser awards to the other people involved
B the re-issuing of an order which has now gone into disuse
C increasing the length of service required in a particular pro-
fession
27
 D instituting a new set of rules for awarding the decorations
making a new decoration for sportsmen who excel
j
E

(14) To save the honours from being cheapened the author suggests
A that only the highest honours should in future be awarded
B that the honours list should be contracted steadily over a period
of time
C that the awards as a whole should be allowed to increase
gradually
D that the recipients of the awards should be selected at random
E that the honours awarded should be given only for outstanding
service

(15) The author says it is easy t o criticize the honours list but suggests it is
right and laudable to
A endeavour to reach a compromise in certain awards
B make awards where they would not normally be made
C encourage people to do brave deeds to receive awards
D. try to obtain an award for truly deserving cases
E serve one's country only with the desire for recognition

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