MINISTERUL EDUCAṬIEI NAṬIONALE
INSPECTORATUL JUDEṬEAN CLUJ
OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZӐ
ETAPA LOCALӐ – 18 FEBRUARIE 2017
CLASA a XI-a, SECṬIUNEA B
Varianta 2
SUBIECTUL I: Reading comprehension (25p)
1. Read through the text below and then answer the questions that follow ( 10 points):
Dirty Britain
Before the grass has thickened on the roadside verges and leaves have started growing on the trees is a perfect time to look around and see just how dirty Britain has become. The pavements are stained with chewing gum that has been spat out and the gutters are full of discarded fast food cartons. Years ago I remember travelling abroad and being saddened by the plastic bags, discarded bottles and soiled nappies at the edge of every road. Nowadays, Britain seems to look at least as bad. What has
gone wrong?
The problem is that the rubbish created by our increasingly mobile lives lasts a lot longer than before. If it is not cleared up and properly thrown away, it stays in the undergrowth for years; a semi-permanent reminder of what a tatty little country we have now.
Firstly, it is estimated that 10 billion plastic bags have been given to shoppers. These will take anything from 100 to 1,000 years to rot. However, it is not as if there is no solution to this. A few years ago, the Irish government introduced a tax on non-recyclable carrier bags and in three months reduced their use by 90%. When he was a minister, Michael Meacher attempted to introduce a similar arrangement in Britain. The plastics industry protested, of course. However, they need not have bothered; the idea was killed before it could draw breath, leaving supermarkets free to give away plastic bags.
What is clearly necessary right now is some sort of combined initiative, both individual and collective, before it is too late. The alternative is to continue sliding downhill until we have a country that looks like a vast municipal rubbish tip. We may well be at the tipping point. Yet we know that people respond to their environment. If things around them are clean and tidy, people behave cleanly and tidily. If they are surrounded by squalor, they behave squalidly. Now, much of Britain looks pretty squalid. What will it look like in five years?
1.The writer says that it is a good time to see Britain before the trees have leaves because
a. Britain looks perfect.
b. you can see Britain at its dirtiest.
c. you can see how dirty Britain is now.
d. the grass has thickened on the verges.
2. According to the writer, things used to be
a. worse abroad.
b. the same abroad.
c. better abroad.
d. worse, but now things are better abroad.
3. For the writer, the problem is that
a. rubbish is not cleared up.
b. rubbish last longer than it used to.
c. our society is increasingly mobile.
d. Britain is a tatty country.
4. Michael Meacher
a. followed the Irish example with a tax on plastic bags.
b. tried to follow the Irish example with a tax on plastic bags.
c. made no attempt to follow the Irish example with a tax on plastic bags.
d. had problems with the plastics industry who weren't bothered about the tax.
5. The writer thinks that
a. people are squalid.
b. people behave according to what they see around them.
c. people are clean and tidy.
d. people are like a vast municipal rubbish tip.
2. Answer questions 1-10 by referring to the magazine article which four critics review newly-released jazz albums.
Jazz Albums: Pick of the Month
BBC Music Magazine reviews this month's new jazz releases.
A. Ian Carr - Lynne Arriale Trio: Inspiration
It's always thrilling when a new star shines in the "jazz universe", but pianist Lynne Arriale is an exceptional talent. After training in classical piano, she turned to jazz because she wanted "the challenge of combining performance and composition on the spot". She says she was mainly influenced by artist Keith Jarrett, but it's clear she has her own concept of how jazz music can be played to an audience and this is what lies behind the frequent creative surprise of her work. Not only this, there's often a magical rapport between Arriale and her trio colleagues, Anderson and Davis. "Inspiration" is a celebratory investigation of the songs, composers and performers that have made their mark on them over the years. They take a few daring liberties with some of the pieces: "It don't mean a thing" by legendary musician Duke Ellington is given a slow, tender performance, but over a reggae beat; Thelonious Monk's "Bemsha Swing" begins with the whole trio making up the music as they go along, during which fragments of the original melody gradually emerge, a rhythm is established and the crazily inventive piano phrases magnify Monk's peculiar style. This is a great album.
B. Richard Cook - Instant Composers Pool Orchestra: Oh, My Dog!
Dutch jazz artists have been stereotyped by some music critics as very theatrical and this image is largely a result of the light-hearted approach of Han Bennick, Misha Mengelberg and Willem Breuker, the three musicians who founded the Instant Composers Pool Orchestra concept nearly 40 years ago. The three have now been joined by six others, and their album "Oh, my dog!" will not confound their reputation: it's comic and theatrical, as well as urgent and rather profound. The opening four-minute improvisation, "Write down exactly", is a little miracle of nine people making a decent noise without getting in each other's way. Musician Ab Baars pays peculiar homage to the composer Charles Ives with "A close encounter with Charles's country band" while Misha Mengelberg's "A la Russe" starts as a stately Russian folk-tune before gradually transforming into mild disharmony. Michael Moore plays his pieces with a tight delivery that is an excellent counter to Baars' gloomy style. It is a bizarre world, where you're never sure whether you should be grinning or flinching in alarm. Serious fun!
C. Chris Parker - Bobby Previte & Bump: Just Add Water
Since rising to prominence on the crest of the "downtown-style" wave in the early eighties, drummer/composer Bobby Previte has epitomised that influential movement's open-eared adventurousness: in other words, its restless search for inspiration from diverse music styles. His own projects, ranging from the electronically oriented Empty Suits, to the futuristic sounding rock band Latin for Travellers, draw on everything from minimalism to film music, as well as jazz and rock. But whatever the genre in which his widely disparate bands operate, Previte himself is right at the centre of the action. "Just add water" is thoughtful and carefully constructed, yet I also found it infectiously exuberant and irresistibly uplifting. All the band members, save the peerless electric bassist Steve Swallow, are long-time Previte associates, and the rapport between them - particularly on such vigorous pieces as the lengthy, rousing "Put away your crayons" - is the key to the album's considerable subtlety and power.
D. Stuart Nicholson - Wibutee: Eight Domestic Challenges
Wibutee made its debut album in 1999, but it has taken until this, the ensemble's second album, to define its voice. Wibutee has dropped the keyboards and vocals heard on its first album and replaced them with a sampling machine. This modern piece of technology has given many previously "traditional" jazz artists the opportunity to explore a whole new world of sounds. Hakon Kornstad, the group's leader, clearly demonstrates that he is well up to the challenge on this album. A prodigiously gifted young man, he also leads his own Kornstad Trio, but with Wibutee, however, all the members of the group are equal and are all concerned to focus their considerable individual talent into making an integrated collective sound. As might be expected from a contemporary jazz group, there is a certain amount of eclecticism; a broad selection from, for instance, contemporary classical music, house music and free jazz. But of course it is the end not the means that counts, and on a track like "First there was jazz", the group achieves its artistic purpose through its insistence on perfection and clarity.
Which critic
1. feels that the group's current album proves they now have a clearer sense of musical identity?
2. says that the album affected his mood in an extremely positive way?
3. praises the album for its sense of drama and deeper meaning?
4. believes that it is the result which is important, not the process through which it was achieved?
5. believes this album lives up to expectations?
6. suggests that the group has taken a very free approach in their adaptation of certain established musical pieces?
7. mentions that the music featured on the album has been chosen due to the impression the original artists had made?
8. expresses surprise that all the performers can successfully create a reasonable sound together?
9. feels that two musicians' very different approaches to musical performance are complementary?
10. praises a previously unknown musician for standing out as an extraordinary performer?
SUBIECTULII:Writing (75p)
- You have read a report on artificial intelligence from now onwards referred to as AI. Here is an excerpt:
“Artificial intelligence received $974m of funding as of June 2016 and this figure will only rise with the news that 2016 saw more AI patent applications than everbefore. 62 per cent of organisations will be using Artificial Intelligence (AI) by 2018 according to Narrative Science. At present, predictive analytics is the most used form of AI in enterprise and companies are focusing on innovation, patenting their AI developments at a faster rate than everbefore.
AI isn’t limited to the business sphere, in fact the personal robot market, including ‘care-bots’, could reach $17.4bn by 2020. Care-bots could prove to be a fantastic solution as the world’s populations see an exponential rise in elderly people. Japan is leading the way with a third of government budget on robots devoted to theelderly.Fujitsu holds the most Artificial Intelligence patents, its human-centric AI Zinrai incorporates sensory-media technologies that can process people’s feelings, knowledge processing that can provide medical decision-making support and mathematic technology that is able to assist in mitigating airtraffic.IBM comes in close second with 88 AI patents. IBM inventors have developed new technologies that can help machines learn, reason, and process diverse data types, for example, IBM Research’s China lab patented a system that helps machines interpret emotion-laden words so they can converse in a more naturalmanner.
The most AI based venture capital deals were in deep learning/machine learning. Naveen Rao, founder and Chief Executive of Nervana Systems explains, “the method allows computers to process tasks through ‘neural networks’, systems that mimic the structure of the human brain in order to learn, improve and, in the case of AlphaGo, become capable of decision-making that resembles human intuition more than it does brute computation.”
Programs that rely on deep learning are commonplace, for example Facebook’s newsfeed relies on deep learning to organise the news that is of most relevance to you personally and auto-tagging also uses this type ofAI.”
the information in the text appropriately, write an article for your school online magazine, outlining the impact artificial intelligence (AI) has on modern society in our country. Write 200-220 words. (25 points)
- You have read a speech on food today. Here are some excerpts:
“My name's Jamie Oliver.I'm 34 years old.I'm from Essex in Englandand for the last seven yearsI've worked fairly tirelessly to save lives in my own way.I'm not a doctor;I'm a chef,I don't have expensive equipmentor medicine.I use information, education.
I profoundly believe that the power of foodhas a primal place in our homesthat binds us to the best bits of life.We have an awful, awful reality right now.America, you're at the top of your game.This is one of the most unhealthy countries in the world.
We, the adults of the last four generations,have blessed our children with the destinyof a shorter lifespan than their own parents.Your child will live a life ten years younger than youbecause of the landscape of food that we've built around them.Fact: diet-related disease is the biggest killerin the United States, right now, here today.This is a global problem.It's a catastrophe.It's sweeping the world.England is right behind you, as usual.
Supermarkets as well.Big companies. Big companies.Thirty years ago, most of the foodwas largely local and largely fresh.Now it's largely processed and full of all sorts of additives,extra ingredients, and you know the rest of the story.Portion size is obviously a massive, massive problem.Labeling is a massive problem.The labeling in this country is a disgrace.The industry wants to self-police themselves.What, in this kind of climate? They don't deserve it.How can you say something is low-fat when it's full of so much sugar?
Home.The biggest problem with the homeis that used to be the heart of passing on food culture,what made our society.That is not happening anymore.And you know, as we go to work and as life changes,and as life always evolves,we kind of have to look at it holistically —step back for a moment, and re-address the balance.It hasn't happened for 30 years, OK?”
the information appropriately, write an essay suggesting ideas that can help young people avoid and solve the problems presented. You may be inspired by the following quote: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” ~Hippocrates. Write 350 words. (50 points)
Nota: Toatesubiectelesuntobligatorii; nu se acordapuncte din oficiu! Timp de lucru: 3 ore.
MINISTERUL EDUCAṬIEI NAṬIONALE
INSPECTORATUL JUDEṬEAN CLUJ
OLIMPIADA DE LIMBA ENGLEZӐ
ETAPA LOCALӐ – 18 FEBRUARIE 2017
CLASA a XI-a, SECṬIUNEA B
Varianta 2
Barem de corectareclasaa 11-a Intensivsibilingv
I.1 .5x2p=10p 1c 2a 3c 4b 5b
I.2. 15x1=15 p 1d 2c 3b 4d 4b 6a 7a 8b 9b 10 a
Question II: ARTICLE (50 Points)
The article should include vocabulary to express the required functions and approach the topic
appropriately. The use of quotations and/ rhetorical questions is not compulsory, but desirable. It should present and justify points of view, express a cause –effect relationship, synthesise information. The register (reader –writer acquaintanceship) must be adapted to the target reader. The ideas in the given text must be rephrased if they are used in the article. The reference should be to both good and bad aspects of reality show and the impact they have on the young people in our country. The 50 points for this subject will be given for the following areas (0-10 points per area):
TASK ACHIEVEMENT-relevance to the task, development of content points, format, purpose of writing, register, length requirements
ORGANIZATION AND COHESION-progression of ideas and arguments, paragraphing, topic sentences, cohesive devices
VOCABULARY-appropriateness and accuracy in the choice and use of vocabulary; meaning
conveyed; spelling
STRUCTURES-grammatical structures; punctuation
EFFECT ON TARGET READER
Question III: ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY -‘SOLUTIONS TO PROBLEMS’ (50 Points)
The essay should include lexis related to the topic and vocabulary to express the required
functions, approach the topic and provide solutions to problems. It must identify specific
problems mentioned in the text, offer solutions to prevent young people from having to face them and make use of the ideas presented in the text by rephrasing, if any idea is used. It may make use of the quotation given, but this is not compulsory; the candidates may choose to
incorporate the quotation as such or not refer to it at all; it may only serve as a starting point for the essay.
The 50 points for this subject will be given for the following areas (0-10 points per area):
CONTENT-relevance to the topic and task, relevance of arguments
ORGANIZATION AND COHESION-paragraphing, linking devices, mechanics, length
requirements
VOCABULARY-range of vocabulary, meaning conveyed, spelling, register
STRUCTURES-grammatical structures, punctuation
EFFECT ON TARGET READER-the originality and practicality of solutions should be
considered