(1) According to the passage, last winter was extremely cold and snowy. The author's whole family agrees it was the worst winter they will ever experience. (2) At first, they enjoyed seeing the snow fall and cover the ground. But the children spoiled it by having snowball fights and leaving footprints. Hungry birds also left prints as they searched for food. (3) For the next three months, the entire countryside was firmly gripped by the cold weather.
(1) According to the passage, last winter was extremely cold and snowy. The author's whole family agrees it was the worst winter they will ever experience. (2) At first, they enjoyed seeing the snow fall and cover the ground. But the children spoiled it by having snowball fights and leaving footprints. Hungry birds also left prints as they searched for food. (3) For the next three months, the entire countryside was firmly gripped by the cold weather.
(1) According to the passage, last winter was extremely cold and snowy. The author's whole family agrees it was the worst winter they will ever experience. (2) At first, they enjoyed seeing the snow fall and cover the ground. But the children spoiled it by having snowball fights and leaving footprints. Hungry birds also left prints as they searched for food. (3) For the next three months, the entire countryside was firmly gripped by the cold weather.
Centrul Naional pentru Curriculum i Evaluare n nvmntul Preuniversitar
Proba scris la Limba englez
Examenul de bacalaureat 2008 Proba E/F Proba scris la Limba englez
Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii. Se acord 10 puncte din oficiu. Timpul efectiv de lucru este de 3 ore.
SUBJECT I 30 (points)
Read the text below and complete the following tasks.
According to the weather men, last winter was one of the worst in living memory. We live in the depths of the country, and my whole family agree that it was certainly a winter we shall never forget. (1). At first we were all thrilled to see it. It fell silently in large soft flakes until our garden had become spotless white. The children soon spoilt its beauty by having snowball fights and leaving their footprints all over it. Hungry birds too, in search of scraps of food made delicate prints on its surface. (2) For the next three months the whole countryside lay in a grip of iron. Every day the birds grew tamer, often waiting hopefully almost on our backdoor step. We fed them with bits of cheese, chopped up meat and any left-overs we had. (3) Indoors it was pretty cold too. Our central heating system proved both inadequate and unco-operative. To make matters worse there were tiny holes in the brickwork of many of the rooms. (4).
1. Four sentences have been removed from the text. Select the appropriate sentence for each gap in the text. There is one extra sentence that does not fit. 4points
A. As a result the water pipes froze so that for several weeks our water supply had to be brought in buckets from a nearby farm. B. We also put out bowls of water, which unfortunately within an hour had frozen solid. C. Snow began to fall at the beginning of the New Year and continued on and off for approximately ten days. D. Nobody expected the winter to be so frosty. E. It was now that a severe frost set in, hardening the snow into ugly lumps.
2. Who/What do the words in bold refer to? 6 points
3. Give the antonyms of the following words. 10 points 1. the worst 2 agree 3. at first 4. the next 5. tamer
4. Answer the following questions. 6 points
A. What do the authors family agree on? B. How was the beauty of the snow spoilt? C. Why did the birds grow tamer?
5. Comment on the following sentence: For the next three months the whole countryside lay in a grip of iron. (50 words) 4 points