Ministerul Educaţiei, Cercetării şi Inovării

Centrul Naţional pentru Curriculum şi Evaluare în Învăţământul Preuniversitar

Examenul de bacalaureat 2009

Proba E/F
Proba scrisă la Limba engleză
L1 - Bilingv

• Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii. Se acordă 10 puncte din oficiu.

• Timpul efectiv de lucru este de 3 ore.

SUBIECTUL I (30 de puncte) Varianta 028

Read the text below and complete the following tasks.

The role and importance of memory have changed dramatically through time. In the Middle
Ages (a period lasting from about the 400’s through the 1400’s), a powerful memory ranked as one
of the most highly prized of all mental attributes, more valued than a vivid imagination or reasoning
skills. (1) … Reading gave them access not only to their own individual memory - their personal
experiences and knowledge - but also to an external collective memory - the collected experiences
and knowledge of others.
Today, collective memory is available to a much larger number of us on a much bigger
scale. When we need to know about the beliefs, history, lifestyles, science, and technology of other
individuals or groups – whether past or present- we can read about them. (2) … Once we learn
the information, we can build on it. As a result, we need not, for example, reinvent the coffeemaker
or figure out the ingredients for headache remedies. Over the centuries, the availability of collective
memory and its effect on science and technology have improved the quality of life for countless
people in the world.
(3) … This term refers to the use of computers and computer applications to process huge
amounts of information. Today, at the touch of a button or the click of a mouse, we have acess to
an almost unlimited amount of information. Has this abundance decreased our dependence on our
internal memory? (4) …
At the same time, scientific advantages have dramatically increased our knowledge of the
brain in general and memory in particular. For example, researchers have learned that we have
different types of memory.

1. Four sentences have been removed from the text. Select the appropriate sentence for
each gap in the text. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
4 points

A. The growth in collective memory that resulted from the development of writing and, later, the
printing press laid the foundation for the development of information technology.
B. If people with an excellent memory could read and had access to the handwritten books of the
time, they could accumulate knowledge to an extent that others could envy.
C. Will internal memory grow increasingly less important as information technology grows?
D. We can also listen to audio recordings or watch films or videos.
E. Memories may last for just a short time or for a lifetime.

2. Give the antonyms of the following words. 6 points

1. powerful
2. knowledge
3. abundance

3. Sum up the text in about 50 words. 10 points

 Ministerul Educaţiei, Cercetării şi Inovării
Centrul Naţional pentru Curriculum şi Evaluare în Învăţământul Preuniversitar

4. For the following questions choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which fits according to the
text. 6 points

1. In the Middle Ages a powerful memory was ranked as …

A. less important.
B. more important than a vivid imagination.
C. personal experience due to reading.
D. an individual memory.

2. Collective memory stands for …

A. information we can build on.
B. the quality of style and technology.
C. a scale according to which people reinvent things.
D. the quality of life for countless people in the world.

3. What do people use the term ”information technology” for?

A. The growth in collective memory.
B. The development of printing and writing press.
C. The use of computer applications to process info.
D. The information stored in a P.C.

5. Comment on the following in about 100 words: Over the centuries, the availability of
collective memory and its effects on science and technology have improved the quality of life for
countless people in the world. 4 points