Ministerul Educaţiei

Centrul Naţional de Politici și Evaluare în Educație

Etapa județeană/sectoarelor municipiului București a olimpiadelor naționale școlare - 2023

Probă scrisă

Limba engleză

CLASA a X-a - SECȚIUNEA A

• Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii.

• Nu se acordă puncte din oficiu.
• Timpul efectiv de lucru este de 3 ore.

SUBIECTUL A – USE OF ENGLISH (40 points)

I. Read the following text and put the verbs in brackets into the correct form. 10 points

A sport that 1.___ (know) to the world for over a century, this game from England is perhaps
India’s favourite sport. There’s no feeling that comes close to the exhilarating joy that a cricket fan
feels when their team 2. ___(win) a match. And they show it too! It is not uncommon to see fans
3.__(break) into a dance with joy in groups in front of the TV. For most of these fans cricket is a
religion even! The game is believed 4.___( start) in South East England during the time of Saxons
and/or Normans. In fact, the game 5. ___(play) by children in the countryside. If it 6. ___(not/be)
for cricket becoming more of an adult sport during the 1700s, there would have been no
advancements in the design of bats. Cricket came to India around 1721 some time after British
sailors 7.___(reach) the coast of Kutch. They 8. ___(play) cricket as a recreational activity and it
9. ___(draw) the attention of the locals in the region. And thus 10.___(begin) the story of cricket!

II. Use the word given in brackets to form a word that fits in each sentence. 10 points

1. There has been a great (REDUCE)_____________in unemployment lately.

2. He was the (ABBEY)_______________ of the monastery until he died.
3. Do you have any (COMPLAIN)_______________ to make?
4. The arrow flew so swiftly that I couldn’t follow its (FLY)_____________.
5. Killing him was a (MONSTER)_________________ deed.
6. Sooner or later, you’ll have to (APOLOGY)________________________.
7. It was (MISCHIEF)________________of you to say such a thing.
8. He lay (CONSCIOUS)____________________on the floor for minutes on end.
9. He knew that the (UPHEAVE)________________spelt disaster for people like him.
10. She (RELUCTANCE)_______________ accepted to be the first to try.

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 Ministerul Educaţiei
Centrul Naţional de Politici și Evaluare în Educație

III. Read the following text and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits in each gap. 10 points

Samuel Cunard’s first ship, the Britannia, 1_____ its first voyage from Liverpool in England to the
US in 1850. In those days there was little choice about 2 _____ of travel. Anyone who 3_____ to
go to the US from Britain had to sail across the Atlantic. 4 _____ that, there was no way of getting
there. The Britannia was 5_____ a mail ship, but it also 6 _____ passengers. On that first
7 _____ , as records show, there was a 8 _____ of sixty three of them, including Samuel Cunard
and his daughter and, 9 _____ for that time, the ship had private bathrooms.
But Samuel would find it hard to 10 _____ much similarities between his beloved Britannia and
the Cunard company’s most famous liner, the QE2, named after Queen Elisabeth II of England.
1. A. sailed B. held C. crossed D. made
2. A. procedures B. processess C. courses D. means
3. A. thought B. wished C. dreamed D. fancied
4. A. Apart from B. Else C. Instead of D. Otherwise
5. A. at most B. above all C. strictly D. vastly
6. A. delivered B. rode C. took D. sent
7. A. incident B. occasion C. event D. circumstance
8. A. total B. sum C. number D. quantity
9. A. distinctly B. differently C. extremely D. remarkably
10. A. see B. know C. tell D. catch

IV. Translate the following text into English. 10 points

Se dădu jos și o luă spre Belvedere. Pe-aproape se afla clădirea marelui cotidian in redactța
căruia fusese angajat de curând, de către chiar proprietarul ziarului, stârnind neîncrederea celor
cărora , pentru a fi acolo unde acest tinerel ajunsese dintr-o dată, le trebuiseră ani lungi de
ucenicie și corvoadă. Ce-o sa facă, cum o să se descurce? Nimeni n-avea chef să-l învețe sau să-l
cruțe. Nimeni nu știa însă că,imediat ce tânărul părăsise spațiosul birou al patronului, acesta
chemase imediat secretara:
(Marin Preda – Delirul)

SUBIECTUL B – INTEGRATED SKILLS (60 points)

Read the text below and do the tasks that follow.

The top priority of any newspaper is to sell. Never before has this been as important as it is today.
The sudden growth of online news reporting means that printed newspapers have to struggle to
maintain circulation figures. As a result, they are heavily dependent on commercial concerns and
marketing. While many journalists and editors try to be as objective in their approach as possible,
a certain amount of bias is inevitable. Be aware of this and keep a lookout for certain
characteristics and you will become a more discerning reader.

Editors know that eye-catching 'shock stories' shift more copies. For this reason, you are more
likely to see news of a bombing on the front page than an account of firemen saving someone's
life. Similarly, coverage of national parliamentary elections will take precedence over everything
else, including major world news. Positioning other stories further back subconsciously affects the
reader's view of their significance. What's more, restrictions on the number of stories in any one
issue may mean that some stories will simply be omitted.

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 Ministerul Educaţiei
Centrul Naţional de Politici și Evaluare în Educație

Some newspapers may try to avoid seeming overtly sensationalist, but they still influence the
reader indirectly by using language to convey excitement, to show approval or to criticise. For
example, a public demonstration attended by 560 protesters can be described in positive terms
with 'Over 500 people took to the streets to protest against the proposal’ or, conversely, in a
negative way with ‘The protest march was marked by a poor turnout of fewer than 600 people'. It
all depends on the journalist's point of view. Headlines are often particularly revealing in this
respect and are often the deciding factor for a reader when considering whether or not to buy the
newspaper. Editors will aim to make stories sound more dramatic, knowing that the headline "Six
die in train crash' will probably attract more attention than ‘Two trains collide outside station'.
Newspapers make choices about the kind of pictures they show in order to influence public
opinion. A photograph of a presidential candidate, for instance, could be taken from a flattering or
unflattering perspective. At a football match, the camera angle can be narrowed onto a scene of
hooliganism, suggesting that violence was widespread, or widened to play it down as one isolated
incident.
Newspapers rely heavily on advertising for revenue. Those that receive a large part of their income
from a particular company are therefore unlikely to publish information to the detriment of that
company's products. They may even include press releases promoting the firm's latest creation,
while ignoring that of its chief competitor.
To obtain a broader view of what's happening in the world, it is best to read widely. Luckily, major
newspapers now have their own websites, so it is easier than ever to access information on news
items from a range of sources.
I. For each question decide which answer (A, B, C or D) fits best according to the text. 10 points
1. Printed newspapers today are subject to
A. fewer restrictions.
B. rising expenses.
C. fierce competition.
D. falling advertising revenue.
2. Editors don't put some stories on the front page because
A. they are too sensationalist.
B. important stories require more room.
C. political news doesn't sell papers.
D. they aren't exciting enough.
3. In the third paragraph, the writer explains that some papers try to affect readers' opinions
by
A. selecting words to achieve a particular effect.
B. using highly sensationalist language.
C. explicitly criticising people or actions.
D. exclusively using exciting language.
4. In the writer's view, effective headlines
A. do not need to exaggerate the facts.
B. reflect the editor's political views.
C. can boost newspaper sales.
D. are less important than good quality articles.
5. The writer's attitude towards the printed press is best described as
A. critical.
B. positive.
C. dismissive.
D. cautious.
II. Write a narrative-descriptive essay about an unusual event which might attract the
attention of a newspaper. (200-220 words) 50 points
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