MINISTERUL EDUCAȚIEI

INSPECTORATUL ȘCOLAR JUDEȚEAN BACĂU

OLIMPIADA NAȚIONALĂ DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ – ETAPA LOCALĂ

17 FEBRUARIE 2023

CLASA a VIII-a

SUBIECTUL A – USE OF ENGLISH (50 PUNCTE)

I. Read the following text and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits in each gap. (10 x 1p =
10p)

BECOMING A COSTUME DESIGNER

It is difficult to find a job in costume design. As it is very popular. But 1.______________ you work
hard and you are good 2.______________ it, you will do well. Costume designers research, design and
prepare costumes, 3.______________ for theatres but also for film and TV productions. To be a
costume designer, you have to be 4.______________ in theatre, film and drama and have a knowledge
of fashion and art. You will 5.______________ meetings with directors and managers to
6.______________ the costumes and how much will be 7.______________ on them. You
8.______________ to be able to draw and work hard because costumes are often produced in a very
short time. There are 9.______________ ways of learning how to be a costume designer. Some people
10.______________ a job with a company and learn while they are working. Others do a course at an
art school.
1. A although B if C while D unless
2. A to B by C from D at
3. A greatly B mainly C hugely D fully
4. A excited B keen C interested D pleased
5. A go B stay C attend D come
6. A discuss B talk C argue D chat
7. A paid B charged C bought D spent
8. A need B should C must D can
9. A lots B plenty C much D several
10. A search B get C become D look

II. Read the following text and put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense. (10 x 1p = 10p)
I 1. ______________ (not like) to admit to disliking anyone, but I have to confess that there is one of
my classmates who I particularly dislike. This classmate – let’s call him George –
2. ______________ (try) to help me with an exercise in our text book. I realised immediately that he
really 3. ______________ (not know) what he 4. ______________ (talk) about. This was not a
problem but what annoyed me was the fact that he 5. ______________ (refuse) to listen to my
explanations. The exercise consisted of reading a text and answering questions on it and I don’t think
that he 6. ______________ (read) the text before that day. I wanted to tell him that he 7.
______________ (be) childish, but I risked sounding rude. So I just sat and said nothing. Now every
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time we 8. _____________ (have) classes together I get a little nervous. Maybe next semester things 9.
____________ (get) better because I 10. _____________ (never, feel) that strange before.

III. Read the text about tea and think of ONE word that fits into each space. (10 x 2p = 20 p)
Tea is one of the world's (1) _________________ popular beverages. According to a legend, it
originated in China thousands of years (2) _________________, when leaves from a tea bush fell (3)
_________________ a hot water pot of the Chinese emperor. At first, only wealthy British families (4)
_________________ able to afford drinking tea, which was brought from India by merchants and
traders. Some people even locked it up to prevent it from (5) _________________ stolen. There are
many ways to drink tea. (6) _________________ most people just drink their tea pure, others add milk
or a lemon. The most common forms are black and green tea. Vanilla or fruit flavouring (7)
_________________ often added to tea to give it a special taste. Some people brew their tea in
convenient tea bags, others pour boiling (8) _________________ over crushed tea leaves. Tea drinking
has a long tradition in Britain. Every Briton (9) _________________ about 5 cups of tea per day, or
about 1,700 cups a year – the largest per capita consumption in the (10) _________________.

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

1. Jake is as tall as Peter. They are the same…………………………. (HIGH)

2. Mark refused to give her any ….................................about the new invention. (INFORM)
3. I wish you all the…………………………..in the world. (HAPPY)
4. The Prime Minister made a ...............................to the new law in his speech. (REFER)
5. Mrs. Smith is sure to have a good reason for her ................................ (ACT).
6. “I’ve made an incredible .................,” shouted the scientist. (DISCOVER)
7. Being a builder requires a certain amount of physical................................... (STRONG)
8. The doctor said that the..................... of the lump would be a simple operation. (REMOVE)
9. The new flat is not……………………...It’s too expensive. (AFFORD)
10. He gave me some good…………………on where to go shopping. (ADVISE)

SUBIECTUL B – READING COMPREHENSION (25 PUNCTE)

Read the text below and do the tasks that follow.

JACQUES COUSTEAU: A REMARKABLE MAN

Jacques-Yves Cousteau was an explorer, ecologist, filmmaker, inventor, and conservationist. He was a
man who spent nearly his whole life underwater exploring the hidden depths of the ocean and who did
more to educate the world about the mysteries of the deep sea than any other scientist before or since.

He was born in June 1910 in the village of Saint-André-de-Cubzac, in southwestern France. Jacques was
a sickly boy and spent much of his time in bed, reading books and dreaming about a life at sea. In 1920,
Jacques' family moved to New York, and he was encouraged to start swimming to build up his strength.
It was the beginning of his fascination with water, and the more he learnt through his own experiences,
the more passionate he became about "looking through nature's keyhole."

Nevertheless, his career in underwater exploration came about by accident. After entering France's naval
academy and travelling around the world, he was involved in an almost fatal car accident that left
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him seriously injured with two broken arms. He began swimming in the Mediterranean Sea to
strengthen his arm muscles as part of his recovery process and rediscovered his love for the ocean.
Cousteau developed a pair of underwater breathing apparatus that allowed him to stay underwater for
long periods. His experiments led to the development of the first Aqua-Lung, which was a huge
commercial success.

During World War II, he worked for the French Resistance and experimented with underwater
photographic equipment. He helped get rid of German mines and was awarded the Legion D'Honneur
and the Croix de Guerre medals for his bravery. In 1942, he filmed his first underwater film Sixty Feet
Down. It was 18 minutes long and entered the Cannes Film Festival.

I. For each question choose the correct letter A, B, C or D (5 x 5p = 25p)

1. Being a child, Cousteau had…
a) strong will.
b) bright mind.
c) heart attacks.
d) delicate health.

2. In a car accident he ...

a) burnt both of his arm.
b) broke his extremities.
c) injured his leg.
d) Hurt his eyes

3. Cousteau developed underwater breathing equipment....

a) to extend his underwater investigations.
b) to gain fame.
c) to achieve commercial success.
d) having no certain goals.

4. During World War II Cousteau collaborated with ....

a) Polish resistance movement.
b) German antifascists.
c) American troops.
d) Underground resistance fighters in France.

5. What is the writer trying to do in the text?

a) Teach readers how to make films.
b) Explain how Jacques-Yves Cousteau has made a lot of money.
c) Introduce readers to the filmmaker Jacques-Yves Cousteau.
d) Describe particular films directed by Jacques-Yves Cousteau.

SUBIECTUL C – WRITING (25 PUNCTE)

I. Write a story which ends with the following sentence: Alex put the book back of the self and said:
“This is our secret. All’s well that ends well.” (150-180 words).
Do not forget the stages of a narrative when writing your composition:
a) An introduction: in which you set the scene (who was involved, time, place) in an interesting
way
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 b) A main body: two or more paragraphs in which you develop your story, presenting the events,
generally in the order in which they happened
c) A conclusion: in which you say what happened in the end and the final comment.
You should also give a catchy title to your story.

Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii.

Timp de lucru 120 minute.
Nu de acordă puncte din oficiu.

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