LICEUL TEHNOLOGIC NR.

1
LOCALITATEA SALONTA
STRADA ŞARCADULUI NR.1
JUDEŢUL BIHOR
E mail: salontagsa@gmail.com
Web: www.gsas.ro
Tel: 0259373228
Fax: 0259370567

OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ

ETAPAPE ȘCOALĂ
21 ianuarie 2019
Varianta 1
CLASA a IX-a

SUBIECTUL A – USE OF ENGLISH

I. Read the paragraph below and do the tasks (20p).

Christopher Columbus, born in the Republic of Genoa, is remembered today as one of the most famous
explorers the world has ever had. He came from a respectable but impoverished family. Columbus was not
characterised by indolence as he learnt to sail from an early age and later worked as a business agent,
travelling around Europe to England, Ireland and later along the West coast of Africa. Due to him taking to
the sea at such an early age, Columbus never knew how to write in his native language. But he was an
enthusiastic self-educated man, who was keen to read extensively on astronomy, science and navigation.
And this was not futile as he managed to become fluent in Latin, Portuguese and Spanish. Christopher
Columbus was a firm believer in the spherical nature of the world. An ambitious man, Christopher
Columbus hoped to find a Western trade route to the lucrative spice markets in Asia. Rather than sailing
east, he hoped that sailing west would lead to countries like Japan and China. To gain the necessary
funding and support for his journeys, he approached the Catholic Monarchs of Spain. As part of his offer,
he said that he hoped to be able to spread Christianity to ‘heathen lands’ in the east. He persuaded the
Spanish monarchs to fund his efforts. His four voyages in quest of the East Indies were partially inspired
by Marco Polo’s writings. Columbus stands for the man who inspired a new era of exploration of the
American continents by Europeans.

A. Answer the questions (5x1p=5p):

1. What kind of family did Columbus come from?

2. How many languages could Columbus speak fluently?
3. Why was Christopher Columbus unable to write in his native language?
4. Who did Columbus persuade to support his journeys?
5. What influence did Marco Polo’s writings have on Columbus?

B. Choose the right synonym ((5x1p=5p):

1. Indolence: a. luxury b. hard labour c. deep sleep d. laziness

2. Futile: a. useles b. stubborn c. fruitful d. insane
3. Due to: a. however b. yet c. because of d. in spite of
4. To voyage: a. to hike b. to climb c. to trek d. to sail
5. To stand for a. to defend b. to represent c. to cover d. to protrude

C. Rephrase the following sentences so as to preserve the meaning (5x2p=10 p)

1. It wasn’t necessary for him to sail west, but he did.

He ....................................................west

2. Christopher didn’t have a good reputation at the time.

Christopher....................................................at the time.

3. I’m sure she didn’t mean to reach America.

He....................................................to reach America.
 LICEUL TEHNOLOGIC NR.1
LOCALITATEA SALONTA
STRADA ŞARCADULUI NR.1
JUDEŢUL BIHOR
E mail: salontagsa@gmail.com
Web: www.gsas.ro
Tel: 0259373228
Fax: 0259370567
4. I am sure that he was a good person
He...................................................

5. Despite his achievements, Cristopher was arrested in 1500.

Even...................................................., Cristopher was arrested in 1500

II. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that fits in each sentence (10 x 1p = 10 p)
At a meeting held in the Town Hall on Wednesday afternoon a wide (1)(VARY) …………………….of
opinions was expressed on building a new entertainment area in the town. A (2)(REPRESENT)
……………………. of a group stated that it would give people more (3)(CHOOSE)…………………….
for spending time and would lead to a (4)(GROW) …………………….in the number of jobs available in
the town, which registers a high rate of (5)(EMPLOY)…………………….. Although there was(
6)(AGREE) ……………………. on increasing job offers, some of the people present claimed that the new
entertainment area would lead to a( 7)(LOSE)……………………. of green space right in the middle of the
town, making the inhabitants (8)(ABLE) ……………………. to have a healthy life. The discussions were
(9)(CONCLUDE) …………………….The final(10)(DECIDE) …………………….on whether or not to
build the entertainment area in the town will be made next month.

III. Translate the following text into Romanian (10p)

I was a bit of a bookworm as a child. For every car journey, day trip or family holiday, a stack of books
was always packed to keep me busy. Since then, I’ve continued reading all kinds of books but I’ll always
love my childhood favourites. As a kid I read the book, watched the film and listened to the tape. I really
couldn’t get enough of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. If you know it, you’ll know why. It’s an
exciting tale set in a magical land called Narnia. When you’re reading it, you’ll feel like you’re really there.
You’ll get caught up in the adventures of the four children and the characters they meet.

(https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/magazine/books/my-favourite-childhood-books)

SUBIECTUL B – INTEGRATED SKILLS

Read the text below and do the tasks that follow.

Six months ago I made a rash promise. The leader of the youth club in our village rang me in
March saying, “We’re thinking of running a children’s playscheme for a day in October half-term. Would
you be prepared to help?” My response was “Sure, why not?” In truth I was a little flattered to be asked,
even though working as a care assistant with old people hardly qualified me for the role. Still, I duly put the
date in my diary and of course I forgot all about it. I don’t know if you’ve noticed this but time has a habit
of speeding along faster than a police car chasing a robber and, before I knew it, the day was dawning.
I arrived at the youth centre that morning feeling full of trepidation. There was a gang of 12 helpers
including me and each pair had been allocated a particular age group. Mine was the 10 to 11 year olds.
Even with the planning meeting I had attended the week before, I worried about whether I was up to the
task. Why hadn’t I read through the copious lesson plans we were given beforehand? And wasn’t the
average 10-year-old more interested in the latest Play Station game than making things with paper and
glue?
All too quickly the children began arriving. The look of relief on parents’ faces as they handed
their offspring over to us was quite comical. A handful of the children were already members of the club
but the other forty five or so were from the local primary schools.
 LICEUL TEHNOLOGIC NR.1
LOCALITATEA SALONTA
STRADA ŞARCADULUI NR.1
JUDEŢUL BIHOR
E mail: salontagsa@gmail.com
Web: www.gsas.ro
Tel: 0259373228
Fax: 0259370567

I. For each question choose the

correct letter A, B, C or D (5 x 2p= 10p)
1. The leader of the youth club offered the writer
A. a game
B. a play to write
C. a club to manage
D. a job

2. The writer’s job

A. was to care about people
B. was to care about old people
C. was to care about young people
D. was to entertain the old people

3. When the first day of the job arrived the writer was surprised
A. that the day had come round so quickly.
B. because she'd forgotten to write down the date.
C. because she witnessed a car chase on the way.
D. that she woke up at dawn.

4. When the writer arrived to start her job she

A. put the children into pairs.
B. realised she should have done more preparation.
C. felt confident she could deal with 10 and 11 year olds.
D. saw the children had brought their own electronic games to play with.

5. According to the writer, the parents were

A. happy to stay with their children all day.
B. worried about children from the other schools.
C. nervous that their children might not behave themselves.
D. glad to leave their children.

II. Read the text again and write a narrative essay (200-220 words) continuing the story. (50p)

N. B. Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii!

Punctaj total 100p

Timp de lucru 3 ore!