MINISTERUL EDUCAŢIEI NAȚIONALE

INSPECTORATUL ȘCOLAR AL MUNICIPIULUI BUCUREȘTI

OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ 2018-2019, ETAPA PE SCOALA,
SECȚIUNEA A - CLASA A IX-A - VARIANTA 1

QUESTION I (75 POINTS): USE OF ENGLISH

I. (1px10=10p) Read the text below and decide which variant (A, B, C or D) best fits each space.

I’ve always enjoyed listening to music. It helps me calm down after a busy day, and I’m also one of those people who
can listen and study at the same time. I’m not (1) ____ on jazz music, but (2) ____ that, I like many types of music –
(3) ____ on how I feel. Last year I went to a pop festival. It (4) ____ for three days, so we decided to camp on the field
provided by the concert organisers.
The weather was awful and it rained all weekend. We were (5) ____ wet and I began to wish that I (6) ____ at home or
found a hotel! The organisers were (7) ____ a fortune selling umbrellas and plastic raincoats. Anyway, the concert
continued (8) ____ the weather. The organisers (9) ____ us to keep to the special walk-ways that they had (10) ____
up over the mud and gave us plastic sheets to put over our tents.

1. A. enthusiastic B. keen C. excited D. fond

2. A. apart from B. instead of C. because of D. by means of
3. A. relying B. counting C. turning D. depending
4. A. lasted B. carried C. longed D. kept
5. A. soggily B. soaking C. streaming D. heavy
6. A. would stay B. should stay C. stayed D. had stayed
7. A. doing B. having C. making D. giving
8. A. despite B. regardless C. even D. whereas
9. A. suggested B. informed C. announced D. advised
10. A. worked B. dropped C. set D. brought

II. (2px15=30p) Put the verbs in brackets in the correct form:

The ancient Egyptians used a form of writing known as “hieroglyphics” for over three thousand years. But with time
hieroglyphics 1) ________(BECOME) replaced by another form of writing and eventually no one 2) ________ (CAN)
read it anymore. That 3) ________ (MEAN) that the things the Egyptians 4) ________ (WRITE) on the sides of their
pyramids 5) ________ (BE) a mystery. Then, in 1799, the “Rosetta Stone” 6) ________ (FIND) on which Egyptian
scribes 7) ________ (WRITE) the same piece of information three times: in hieroglyphics, in ancient Egyptian and in
Greek. The discovery of the “Rosetta Stone” 8) ________ (ENABLE) linguists to figure out how to read hieroglyphics.
The key person in the breakthrough was Jean Francois Champollion. Before the “Rosetta Stone” 9) ________
(DISCOVER), many people 10) ________ (TRY) to understand hieroglyphics but no one 11) ________ (HAVE) any
luck. Finally, Champollion 12) ________ (REALISE) that Egyptian hieroglyphics 13) ________ (REPRESENT) sounds
of the Egyptian language. Since then, due to this realization, the mystery of the ancient script 14) ________ (BE)
accessible to many people and 15) ________ (STILL/ATTRACT) the interest of ancient culture admirers.

III. (2px10=20p) Rephrase the following sentences so that the meaning stays the same, using the word in
capitals. You must not change the word in capitals.

1. I’d rather buy clothes online than scour shops. BUYING

I ____________ shops.
2. I'm sure she isn't feeling sick now. BE
She _____________________ now.
3. Austin and his father are very similar, aren’t they? AFTER
Austin __________________________, doesn’t he?
4. Only people whose names are on the guest list can see the fashion show. LET
They _____________ see the show unless your name is on the guest list.
5. Because he was injured he couldn't play in the next game. PREVENTED
His ____________________ in the next game.
6. It’s a week since I last saw him. SEEN
I _________________________ a week.
7. ‘Whose iPad is this? THAT
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Clasa a IX-a_Sectiunea A_V1
 MINISTERUL EDUCAŢIEI NAȚIONALE
INSPECTORATUL ȘCOLAR AL MUNICIPIULUI BUCUREȘTI
OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ 2018-2019, ETAPA PE SCOALA,
SECȚIUNEA A - CLASA A IX-A - VARIANTA 1

The teacher asked _____________ to.

8. Back home, we told mum that an old friend had driven us back into town. BEEN
Back home, we told mum that _________________ an old friend.
9. She only left so early because she didn't feel well. FELT
She __________________ well.
10. He asked me: ‘Do you know how wide this river is?’ WHAT
He asked me if ________ river was.

IV. (1px15=15p) Read the text below and use the words given in capitals to form words that fit in the gaps. The
words in capitals are given in the order in which you need to use them.

Susan Bird, 57, is a driving (1) __________________ in South London. ‘I was working as 1. INSTRUCT
a shop (2) ____________________ and I realized I wanted to do something more 2. ASSIST
(3) ___________________. I saw an 3. EXCITE
(4) __________________ in the newspaper and I decided to apply. That was twenty 4. ADVERTISE
years ago. You certainly need to have a great deal of (5) __________________ to do this 5. PATIENT
job, as well as the (6) _________________ to repeat things several times without getting 6. ABLE
(7) ___________________. Although they are sometimes accused of being bad drivers, 7. ANNOY
women tend to drive more (8) _______________ than men and they don’t mind 8. CARE
(9) __________________ told what to do. Men, on the other hand, usually have more 9. BE
(10) ___________________, but they aren’t very good listeners. Generally speaking, 10. CONFIDENT
other drivers understand what it’s like to be a (11) ___________________ and are very 11. TRAIN
(12) ___________________. Unfortunately, however, some can be rather 12. CONSIDERATION
(13) ___________________; I have been shouted at and insulted by 13. TOLERATE
drivers who haven’t been able to (14) ___________________. It’s an extremely 14. TAKE
(15) _____________________ job, though, particularly when your students pass!’ 15. SATISFY

V. QUESTION II (25 POINTS) - PARAGRAPH WRITING

Write an 8-10-line narrative paragraph (Don’t count the words given!), starting with the following:

‘Every Sunday morning, Gwen liked to go for long walks on the trail behind her house. Most of the time she would pass
one or two people and they would nod greetings or exchange a brief sentence or two about the weather. Overall they
never made an impression on her and vice versa. That was until the first Monday in August when, after a long day of
typing catalog descriptions, she looked up from her supper to the nightly news and saw the face of a man she had
passed the day before. She turned up the volume in time to hear...’

TOTAL 100 PUNCTE

TOATE SUBIECTELE SUNT OBLIGATORII. TIMP DE LUCRU 3 ORE. NU SE ACORDĂ PUNCTE DIN OFICIU.

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