Inspectoratul colar Judeean Cluj

Olimpiada de limba englez etapa judeean, 18.03.2017

Subiect Clasa a VIII-a
I. Read the text carefully, then choose the right answer: (25p)

Claudio Bonifacio is a treasure hunter who finds most of his bullion (gold and silver) in libraries full of ancient
documents. He has spent the past 14 years searching the Spanish naval records in Seville, from which he has located
the positions of more than 2,500 sunken galleons Spanish sailing ships of the 15 th-18th centuries. For large sums of
money, he gives this information to companies with resources to raise the bullion from the wrecks. Such is his fame as
a marine archaeologist that he can demand very large fees for his research work.
Bonifacio, a 48-year old from Italy, who now lives in Seville, has worked for several Latin American
governments, including Cuba. The Cuban government asked him to discover the location of galleons which sank
somewhere off the Cuban coast. He has also carried out some survey work for the Spanish government and the Italian
research council.
However, Bonifacio is unwilling to reveal the name of his private clients, or say how much money they have
made from the wrecks. They want to remain anonymous due to the uncertainty about exactly who owns the ocean
floor. Countries such as Honduras, where Bonifacio has discovered many wrecks, insist on claiming all the treasures
found in their territorial waters. One of the richest wrecks Bonifacio has located is the San Roque, near an island in
Honduran waters, which contains an estimated 180 chests of gold and silver. Honduras itself now plans to recover the
treasure from more than 20 Spanish galleons in its territorial waters, including the San Roque, in order to pay back
some of its huge national debt. This means that the company who hired Bonifacio to locate the San Roque will not
have a share of the profits.
Bonifacio himself is unsure of exactly how much bullion has been found by others as a result of his research, but
he is sure it must be worth many millions of dollars: I hear reports, but in this type of work there is a great amount of
secrecy, not only because of the problems of governments demanding the entire treasure, but also for tax reasons.
Bonifacios research is not only directed at locating wrecks. His passion for old documents has led to the
discovery of old Spanish and Portuguese gold mines in South America, Mexico and the Caribbean. In the 1560s and
1570s, most of the gold and silver transported to Europe was stolen from the Incas and the Aztecs; but later, mining
was the main source of bullion. Mining technology was obviously very basic, and the mines were not worked
efficiently. Now, with modern techniques, the worlds mining companies are only too happy to pay me to find them.

1. Where does Bonifacio look for clues to hidden treasures?

a. in public offices
b. in archaeological manuals
c. around the Spanish coast
d. in old records
2. How does Bonifacio make money?
a. selling his research results
b. raising Spanish wrecks
c. selling bullion to South American governments
d. giving advice on mining techniques
3. The government of Honduras
a. shares its treasure with whoever finds it.
b. has recovered all its sunken treasure.
c. claims that it has more treasure than other countries
d. will use its treasure to solve economic problems
4. How much money has been made as a result of Bonifacios information?
a. very little, because of taxes
b. he doesnt know the exact figure
c. one million dollars
d. he wants to keep it a secret

5. Who ran the South American mines?

 a. The Aztecs and Incas
b. Europeans
c. the Cuban government
d. international mining companies

II. A. Re-phrase the following : (14 p)

1. She started reading the novel in May and she hasnt finished it yet. SINCE
She .
2. The grandparents took care of the child. BY
The child .. the grandparents.
3. I didnt write to you straight away because I didnt realise how serious the situation was. IF
I how serious the situation was.
4. They have already reported the news to the person in charge. BEEN
The news .to the person in charge.
5. Sarah doesnt drive very well so I dont want to go in her car. CARELESSLY
If Sarahin her car.
6. When I called the police about my lost wallet, they told me it was already there. HANDED
By the time I in.
7. How long have you been working here?, she asked. HOW LONG
She wanted to know ..

B. Fill in the text with ONE word: (6p)

It was late ..(1) night when I stopped in front of Petes house. I had to meet him and tell him about the
briefcase full of money I had found near the school. I wasnt a tough guy and I knew he wasnt (2),
but he was my friend and we needed to cope .(3) this situation together. I called him outside, in
. (4) of the late hour, and showed him the money. He asked me where I had got (5) from
and I told him. He thought for a minute and then only asked me to .(6) him a favour: take the
money back. And that is what I did! Adventure had to wait

C. Fill in the text with words related to the ones written in capital letters: (5p)

Bigfoot
Few people might want to meet this controversial figure,
while others are more ..(1) about seeing ENTHUSE
one. Depicted in films as being .(2) tall, in fact, AMAZE
its actual (3) is only between 2 to 3 HIGH
meters. However, its feet are said to grow to an
..........................(4) 43cms. But, theres little BELIEF
(5) for its existence as no bones or bodies EVIDENT
have actually ever been seen.

III. Write a narrative composition of about 150-180 words beginning with:

Nobody knew much about Sammy. He was just a boy in 8th grade, a boy of no particular talent, a bit shy,
rather lonely. But then, one morning, we were all quite shocked when.. You may give it a title.
(50 p)

Inspectoratul colar Judeean Cluj

Olimpiada de limba englez - etapa judeean, 18.03.2017
 Clasa a VIII-a

BAREM:

I. Reading comprehension: 5x 5p/correct answer- 25 p

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

II. Use of English

A. Re-phrase: 7x 2p = 14p
1. She has been reading the novel since May.
2. The child was taken care of by the grandparents.
3. I would have written to you right away if I had realised how serious the situation was.
4. The news has already been reported to the person in charge.
5. If Sarah didnt drive so carelessly, I would go in her car.
6. By the time I called the police about my lost wallet, somebody had already handed it in.
7. She wanted to know how long I had been working there.

B. Open cloze text: 6x1p= 6p

1. at
2. either
3. with
4. spite
5. it
6. do

C. Word formation: 5x 1p = 5p
1. enthusiastic
2. amazingly
3. height
4. unbelievable
5. evidence

III. Narrative composition - 50 p

(conform fiei de evaluare a compunerilor narative)