Roxana Alexandru

I. Listen to the following text and choose one of the possible answers (A), (B), or (C) for
the questions based on what the speakers state or imply. Only one variant is correct.
Write the number of the sentence and the LETTER (A), (B), or (C) on your answer
sheet. An example is given:
STUDENT 1: What topic are you researching for your economic history assignment?
STUDENT 2: Well, I’ve decided to look at the history of postage stamps.
STUDENT 1: That’s different.
STUDENT 2: Yes, well … postage stamps played an important role in the development of
19th century commerce. They were quite a novel idea at the time of their introduction.
STUDENT 1: Oh, were they really?
STUDENT 2: Yes … because … you know … before they had stamps, the addressee – that’s
the person receiving the letter, not the sender – used to have to pay for the letter to be
delivered, and of course, if he didn’t want to pay …
STUDENT 1: … Or maybe he couldn’t pay …
STUDENT 2: Yeah, if he couldn’t pay, he could refuse to accept the letter and in effect the
post office had to cover the cost. So, they came up with the brilliant idea of having a pre-paid
stamp which the sender always paid for.
STUDENT 1: So, when was the first stamp produced?
STUDENT 2: Well … the idea of an adhesive postage stamp – one that you could stick onto
your letter –was initially devised in Great Britain around 1834. But it took the government
until 1839 to accept the idea, and the first stamp was produced in 1840. And that’s when they
introduced the uniform price.
STUDENT 1: And how much was that?
STUDENT 2: It was one penny for each letter …
STUDENT 1: … No matter where the letter was being sent within Britain?
STUDENT 2: Yes, that’s right, because previously each letter was charged, not so much by
size or by weight, but according to its destination.
STUDENT 1: Oh, really?
STUDENT 2: The first stamp was called the Penny Black. If you’ve got one these days,
they’re worth an absolute fortune!
STUDENT 1: They’re always bringing out new stamps, though, aren’t they, so I figure they
must be quite easy and economical to produce.
STUDENT 2: Well, yes, but more to the point it’s quite a lengthy business because there are
so many stages to go through.

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Example: (0) The introduction of stamps was considered.

(A) unusual
(B) uneconomical
(C) unnecessary
Answer: 0. A
(1) Before the postage stamp was introduced, who usually paid for the delivery of a letter?
A. the sender
B. the receiver
C. the post office
(2) The pre-paid adhesive postage stamp was …
A. a clever scam
B. an ingenious invention
C. a preposterous trick
(3) When was the single rate for a stamp introduced?
A. 1834
B. 1839
C. 1840
(4) Before stamps, the cost of sending a letter depended on …
A. where it was going
B. how much it weighed
C. how long it took to arrive
(5) Today the Penny Black stamps are …
A. extremely valuable
B. very fortunate
C. worth a penny
(6) The process of stamp production is …
A. expensive
B. difficult
C. time-consuming

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II. Translate into English:

(1) Își face datoria de când era copil.
(2) De n-aș fi atât de ocupată, mi-ar plăcea să cultiv flori.
(3) Trebuie să se acomodeze cu noua slujbă.
(4) Ai zburat vreodată peste capitală?
(5) Ar fi trebuit să iei și tu parte la acele discuții.
(6) Mi-a spus că se grăbește să ajungă acasă.

III. Give the letter of the correct answer (A), (B), or (C). Only one variant is correct. Write
the number.and the LETTER (A), (B), or (C) on your answer sheet.
(1) … out anything about the trains (2) … Liverpool yet? – No. I rang the station last night
but the man who (3) … the phone did not seem to be (4) … the times. He (5) … something
about a new (6) …
(1) A. Have you found B. Did you find C. Did you found
(2) A. for B. towards C. to
(3) A. has answered B. was answering C. answered
(4) A. certain in B. sure about C. assured as to
(5) A. said B. sayed C. was saying
(6) A. going of trains B. timetable C. calendar

IV. Write a short paragraph (9-10 lines) about a member of your family you like.

V. Read the following text and choose one of the possible answers (A), (B), or (C) for the
questions based on what the text states or implies. Only one variant is correct. Write the
number of the sentence and the LETTER (A), (B), or (C) on your answer sheet.
The giant panda lives mainly in the bamboo forests of the steep mountains of Western China.
About 1600 giant pandas still survive in the wild, but only a very few have ever been seen
alive outside China. It was adopted as the symbol of the World Wildlife Fund when it was
formed in 1961 and since then the panda has become a familiar sight on T-shirts, badges and
car-stickers. It is probably the most valuable and popular zoo animal. The arrival of a panda
at a zoo can turn a loss into a healthy profit.
Giant pandas can live for up to 20 years, and a big male can weigh 150 kilos. Their diet is
famously dull, with bamboo representing 99% of their intake (which is rather strange given
that their physiology is typical of a carnivore). They can eat 4 kilos at a sitting and may chew

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for 14 hours a day. Unable to store fat effectively, they continue eating in the bitterly cold
winter, at a time when many other bears hibernate.
A new born panda weighs barely 125 grams and measures less than 15 cm. The female panda
is 800times heavier than her baby at birth and the baby is 3-4 months old before it can crawl.
It is pinkish-whiteish birth without dark markings and the familiar black eyes.
Their dependence on bamboo is the main threat to their survival. The bamboo plant dies off
about every 100 years and when this last happened in 1975, nearly 150 pandas died. This
threat of extinction has led to the setting up of a panda research centre in China with $1
million being contributed by the WWF.
The first breeding in captivity was at Peking zoo in September 1963. More than 50 giant
pandas have been born alive only in Chinese zoos since then. Although very slow-moving
and peaceful, the panda can be vicious when angry. For most of us, however, the giant panda
remains a lovable, cuddly, living teddy bear. It is certainly very popular with children and
regularly rates in the top ten of children’s favourite animals.
(SOURCE: The Giant Panda, World Wildlife Fund leaflet – adapted)
(1) C
(2) A
(3) C
(4) A
(5) B
(6) B

(1) ‘About 1600 giant pandas still survive in the wild’, means there are approximately 1600
giant pandas and …
A. they are all very savage
B. their movements are controlled
C. they still live outside zoos in their natural habitat
(2) ‘It was adopted as the symbol of the World Wildlife Fund’ means that …
A. they decided to use a picture of a panda to represent their organisation
B. they decided to fund only the protection of the giant pandas
C. they have found parents for one giant panda at their headquarters
(3) ‘The arrival of a panda at a zoo can turn a loss into a healthy profit’ means that …
A. a zoo which buys a panda can sell it for more money to another buyer

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B. the zoo has more money to look after the animals’ health, and can sell them for a higher
price
C. more people pay to visit a zoo, and it stops losing money and starts making a profit
(4) ‘They can eat 4 kilos at a sitting’ means that the panda …
A. is able to eat 4 kilos at one mealtime
B. eats 4 kilos every time it sits down
C. can only eat 4 kilos in a sitting position

(5) ‘Their dependence on bamboo is the main threat to their survival’ means that …
A. the bamboo is dangerous because they often fall from these plants and injure themselves
B. the unreliability of the bamboo is the greatest danger to them, since it is the only food,
they eat
C. pandas use bamboo sticks to defend themselves against other pandas
(6) ‘The panda regularly rates in the top ten of children’s favourite animals’ means that …
A. the panda is the favourite animal of all children
B. the panda is usually voted as one of the ten most popular animals by children
C. children consider the panda one of the ten most ordinary animals in the world