OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ, ETAPA LOCALĂ – 17 FEBRUARIE 2018

CLASA a IX-a, SECȚIUNEA B

SUBIECTUL A

I. Read the paragraph below and do the tasks (10 x2p=20p).

Notorious for their sharp teeth and voracious appetites, piranhas inhabit several of the major river
basins in South America. These omnivorous fish are known for their taste for meat, although attacks
on human beings are quite rare, despite breathless accounts from early explorers.
In a historic visit to Brazil, Theodore Roosevelt famously saw a group of piranhas shredding pieces of
a cow carcass in seconds. His dramatic account would color popular imagination for years, even
though it was based on a manipulated spectacle in which fishermen blocked off a group of the fish
and starved them beforehand.

The truth is that the piranha is really a much more nuanced animal than the mindless killer depicted in
the media. In fact, piranhas are a group made up of approximately twelve different species. Each
piranha species occupies its own ecological niche. One type of piranha takes chunks out of the fins of
other fish. Another type eats fruit falling from trees into the river. Piranhas are also hard to tell apart in
terms of species, diet, coloration, teeth, and even geographic range. This lack of knowledge adds a bit
of dark mystery to the creatures. Each piranha species plays a unique role in the ecology of the
rainforest floodplains. So what should you do next time you hear someone talking about the “deadly
piranha”? You can remind them that the piranha is not always the notorious killer fish that the tough,
muscular heroes of popular nature television shows would have us believe.

A. Answer the questions

1. Which is the primary purpose of the author?
2. What are piranhas known for?
3. Why do piranhas have a bad reputation ?
4. Why are they considered to be mysterious?

B. Choose the right synonym:

unique: a) irreplaceable; b) important; c) individual; d) unusual
notorious: a) celebrated; b) disreputable; c) notable; d) renowned
niche: a) habitat; b) market; c) situation; d) kind

C. Rephrase the following sentences so as to preserve the meaning.

1. I don't have any money, so I can't come to Amazon rainforest with you.
If I …………………………..……………………………………come to the Amazon rainforest with
you.
2. What the marine biologist discovered when they studied the piranhas was amazing.
The discovery …………………………..……………………………………when they studied the
piranhas was amazing
3. Although Benny was ill, he went on a trip to Amazon to see the piranhas.
Despite his…………………………..…………………………………… a trip to Amazon to see the
piranhas.

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II. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that fits in each sentence (10 x 1p = 10p)

After the recent floods, conservationists are calling for beavers to be reintroduced to Britain. You may
wonder how animals that build dams prevent floods when (1)__________( SURE) the opposite is
true.
However, beavers construct dams in upland areas, creating small pools and (2) _________(DIVERT)
that retain water and release water to lowland areas much more (3) _______(GRADUAL). Until the
16th century, Beavers lived wild in parts of Britain, but they were hunted to (4)________(EXTICT)
for their fur. However, recently (5)______( VARY) British wildlife organisations have applied to
reintroduce beavers to the countryside. Along with their potential value in flood (6)
_________(PREVENT), they would create wetland habitats and promote (7) ________(TOUR)
But such measures are (8)______( CONTROVERSY) . Beavers recently reintroduced to Estonia have
flooded large areas of forest and (9)______ (AGRICULTURE) land, and this, in turn, has damaged
crops. As a result, it has been necessary to cull beavers when the population becomes too large. Many
people think it (10) __________(ETHIC) to reintroduce a species which will then be killed.

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

Only after I had reached home did I realize that I had taken care of everything except the most
important thing of all: the place that was going to shelter my friend. He had talked to me about a
chalet in the mountains, but this chalet had to be found, and we had to reach it before daybreak, lest
we should be noticed. Our plan appeared childish: we should start climbing the mountain,
carrying a dozen blankets and food on our backs, without knowing where we were heading for,
afraid my friend might stop after only a few hundred metres, because he had not eaten for a week, and
especially because he would almost certainly have to climb in his socks only, as I did not
know whether I should be able to find a pair of boots his size during the six hours that I would have at
my disposal to look for them. Despite that, his flight could no longer be postponed.At all costs, we
had to leave the next evening. But we knew we could hardly hope to find at once an empty chalet
which would be waiting for us there, up the mountain, away from people, as if expecting us; we had
to be content with less than that.

SUBIECTUL B – INTEGRATED SKILLS

I. You are going to read part of a story about a mountain climber. For questions 1-5, choose the
answer (A,B,C or D) which you think fits best according to the text. (5 x 2p= 10p)

We have left the hut too late that morning. When we stepped outside, the sky beyond the mountains to
our east was already livid with colour, it meant the day would be a hot one, and the warmth would
loosen rocks that were gripped by ice. As soon as we stepped out on to the face, it became obvious
this was going to be an awkward route.

The main problem was talus, the debris that collects on mountainsides. Talus* is despised by
mountaineers for two reasons. First, because it can be easily pushed off on to you by people climbing
above. And second, because it makes every step you take insecure. For about 30 minutes we moved
steadily up the face. The rock was in poor condition. When I tried to haul myself up on a block of it, it
would pull towards me, like a drawer opening. My hands became progressively wetter and colder.
Then came a shout ”Calloux! Calloux!”

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I heard yelled from above, in a female voice. The words echoed down towards us, I looked up to see
where they had come from. There were just two rocks at first, leaping and bounding down the face
towards us, once cannoning off each other in mid-air. And then the air above suddenly seemed alive
with falling rocks, humming through the air and filling it with noise. Crack, went each one as it leapt
off the rock face, the hum-hum-hum as it moved through the air, then crack again. The pause between
the cracks lengthened each time, as the rocks jumped further and further. I continued to gaze up to the
rocks as they fell and skipped towards me.

A boy who had been a few years above me at school had taught me never to look up during a rockfall.
”Why? Because a rock in your face is far less pleasant than a rock on your helmet”, he told us. ”Face
in, always face in.” I heard Toby, my partner on the mountain that day, shouting at me. I looked
across. He was safe beneath an overhanging canopy of rock. I could not understand him. Then I felt a
thump, and was tugged backwards and round, as though somebody had clamped a heavy hand on my
shoulder and turned me to face them. A rock had hit the lid of my rucksack. I looked up again.

A rock was heading straight towards me. Instinctively, I leant backwards and arched my back out
from the rock to try to protect my chest. What about my fingers, though, I thought: they'll be crushed
flat if it hits them, and I'll never get down. Then I heard a crack directly in front of me, and a tug at
my trousers, and a yell from Toby. ”Are you all right? That went straight through you.”

The rock had passed through the hoop of my body, between my legs, missing me but snatching at my
clothing as it went. Toby and I spent the evening talking through the events of the morning: what if
the big final stone hadn't leapt sideways, what if I'd been knocked off, would you have held me,
would I have pulled you off? A more experienced mountaineer would probably have thought nothing
of it. I knew I would not forget it.

*talus – large, loose, broken stones on the side of a mountain or an area covered with stones like this.

1. Why was it ”too late” by the time they left the hut in the morning?
A. It would be uncomfortable climbing in hot weather.
B. The livid colour of the sky would hurt their eyes.
C. Rocks loosened by melting ice could be dangerous.
D. They wouldn't be able to walk on the melting ice.

2. The climbers
A. thought that the face was too dangerous to climb.
B. thought the weather conditions unsuitable for climbing.
C. tried to pull blocks of rock towards them.
D. moved up the face with some difficulty

3. The first reason given to explain why mountaineers hate talus is

A. that climbers above you might cause it fall on you.
B. that it allows people climbing above you to push it off.
C. that it makes people climbing above you feel insecure.
D. that it can cause other people to push you off the mountain

4. In what sense was Toby ”safe”?

A. The overhanging rock would protect him.

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B. He felt a hand on his shoulder.
C. His rucksack was protected.
D. He has hidden under a canopy.

5. What will the writer never forget?

A. being hit by a rock
B. almost being hit by a rock
C. not being able to hold his friend on the end of a rope
D. not being a very experienced mountaineer

II. Write a narrative essay about an event which taught you a valuable lesson. (230-250 words)
(50p)

NOTĂ
 Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii.
 Nu se acordă puncte din oficiu.
 Timp de lucru: 3 ore

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KEY & MARKING SCHEME CLASA a IX-a SECTIUNEA B

SUBIECTUL A ( 10x2=20p)
IA
1) The primary purpose of the author is to correct misconceptions about the
piranhas.
2) They are known for their taste for meat.
3) Piranhas have a bad reputation because they are depicted as mindless killers in
the media.
4) They are considered to be mysterious because they are hard to tell apart in terms
of species, diet, coloration teeth and geographic range.
IB unique (adjective): c) individual.
notorious (adjective): b) disreputable
niche (noun):a) habitat
IC 1. IF I HAD ANY MONEY I WOULD
2. ….THE MARINE BIOLOGISTS MADE …….
3. …..ILLNESS, BENNY WENT ON …
……
II(10p) 1. SURELY; 2. DIVERSIONS; 3.GRADUALLY; 4.EXTINCTION; 5.VARIOUS;
6. PREVENTION; 7.TOURISM; 8 .CONTROVERSIAL 9. AGRICULTURAL, 10.
UNETHICAL
III ( 10p) De abia după ce am ajuns acasă mi-am dat seama că mă gândisem la toate, afară de
Suggested lucrul cel mai important-locul unde se va adăposti prietenul meu. Îmi vorbise de o
answer cabana în munți, dar trebuia găsită această cabana și trebuia să ajungem la ea înante de
a se lumina bine de ziuă, ca să nu atragem atenția. Planul nostru părea copilăresc-să
începem a urca pe munte cu o duzină de pături în spinare, cu merinde, fără să știm
încotro ne îndreptăm, riscând ca prietenul meu să se oprească după câteva sute de metri,
pentru că era nemâncat de o săptămână și, mai ales, pentru că va trebui să urce, aproape
sigur, doar în ciorapi, neștiind dacăîi voi putea găsi o pereche de ghete pe măsura lui în
cele șase ore cât mai aveam la dispoziție să le caut. Și cu toate acestea fuga nu mai
putea fi amânată. Trebuia cu orice risc să plecăm a doua zi seara.Numai că, știind că nu
puteam spera în găsirea imediată a unei cabane goale, care ne-ar fi așteptat acolo sus pe
munte, departe de oameni, anume pregătită pentru noi, trebuia să ne mulțumim cu mai
puțin

1C, 2D, 3A, 4A, 5B.

SUBIECTUL B
I(5x2p=10p)
II 50 p