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LIMBA ENGLEZA evaluarea competen,e or lingvistice de com icare
30 de variante pentru scris 90 de variante pentru oral
Tania MU$INA (coordonator) © Editura "AULA" S.c. AULA MAGNA S.R.L. a.p. 11, c.P. 962, Bra~ov, 500610 Telefon/Fax: 0268/31.86.47; 32.66.47; 0725.915.335 editura _au
[email protected] www.aula.ro Redactor: lonela Cerbu Tehnoredactare: lonela Cerbu Corectura: autoarele Coperta: Radu Silvestru
Descrierea CIP a Bibliotecii Nationale a Romaniei Limba engleza: bacalaureat scris ~i oral Tania Mu~ina (coord.) Bra~ov: Aula, 2010
811.111(075.5) 371.279.8:373.5
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LIMBA ENGLEZA evaluarea competentelor lingvistice de com unicare - 30 de variante pentru scris -
- 90 de variante (subiecte) pentru oral -
AULA
EXAMINARE SCRISA.·
.WRITTEN EXAMINATION .
30 de variante rezolvate - 30 de subiecte de tip I A (Reading Comprehension)
- ~O de subiecte de tip'I B (Writing)
Pentru Examinarea scrisa (Writing Examination), care dureaza 90 de minute, exista doua tipuri de cerinte (subiecte), fiecare cu doua niveluri de dificultate (elevii pot alege unul din cele doua niveluri).
- 15 variante cu 7 itemi (mai u~oare) - 15 variante cu 10 itemi (mai dificile)
"Write an email to your English speaking friend explaining that you would like to apply to do a course at one of the colleges in the city he lives. Tell him/her what type of studies you have been doing for the past few years and ask for assistance in contacting an appropriate institution. Write your answer in 80-100 words."
"You have seen this announcement in a high school magazine: "Describe you best experience as a student. ". Write your answer in 180-200 words."
Indiferent de ce veti alege la examen, rezolvarea tuturor variantelor va asigura 0 pregatire completa pentru Limba engleza. Examinare scrisa (Writing Examination).
Read the text below. Are the sentences 1-7 'Right' (A) or 'Wrong' (B)? If there is not enough information to answer 'Right' (A) or 'Wrong' (B), choose 'Doesn't say' (C). Mark A, B, or C on your exam sheet. I moved from Korea to the USA when I was 14 years old. The first few weeks were great - everything was exciting and different. Going to the supermarkets was an adventure: the foods were all new to me and everything was so big! The biggest culture shock for me was going to high school. First of all, I looked different. All the other girls looked so much older than me. They wore make-up and coloured their hair. And I never went to a school with boys before. So the first thing I did to try to fit in was have a perm. I also started wearing makeup, but I wasn't very good at putting it on. My eye-liner always seemed to smudge and my lipstick was always the wrong colour. I loved nail polish though. I used to wear different colours on each finger. I also got my ears pierced. I found Americans a lot more open than Koreans. When I ate my dinner in the cafeteria, I always tried to ignore the boys and girls kissing each other over the table. People don't do that in Korea. I found it hard to eat my dinner! The other thing I found hard was holding hands (or not holding hands). In Korea girls hold hands with girls, but in America people think that's really weird. Instead girls hold hands with their boyfriends. I thought that was really weird! I wasn't cool either. In Korea it's good to be clever and do well at school, but in America I was a nerd for liking study (and I wore glasses, which made it worse). I found making friends really hard. (www.hveser.de)
round face is framed by a mass of wavy white hair and her sparkling blue eyes show her humour and friendliness. She prefers wearing casual, comfortable clothes. I don't think I have ever seen her in a perfectly ironed suit. As for her personality, Mavis's most striking characteristic is her generosity. My house, as well as most of our neighbours', nearly always has a vase of flowers from her garden in the living room. Mavis is very good-natured and always has time for a chat. She is also patient. She hardly ever gets annoyed about anything, except her children pick her favourite roses and lilies. However, she tends to be quite stubborn - once she has made a decision, nothing can change her mind. All in all, Mavis is the perfect next-door neighbour. Since the day she moved in, we have grown very close and I am very fond of her, even if I am woken up by the noise of her lawnmower early in the morning!
Read the text below. Are the sentences 1-7 "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B)? If there is not enough information to answer "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B), choose "Doesn't say" (C). Mark A, B, C on your exam sheet.
Mavis has been my neighbour for six years. I first met her when she knocked on my door and asked for a spade because she hadn't yet unpacked hers. She had arrived in our neighbourhood two days before. Physically, Mavis looks younger than most other women in their late sixties. She is of average height, neither fat nor thin. Her plump
Read the text below. Are the sentences 1-7 "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B)? If there is not enough information to answer "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B), choose "Doesn't say" (C). Mark A, B, C on your exam sheet.
Remembrance Day takes place in Britain every year on the Sunday closest to November II tho It is held to remember all the heroes who died while fighting in World Wars I and II. Prior to the actual event, many schools and organizations rehearse for the parades which will be held on the day. Paper poppies are sold to the public, and they wear them in their lapels for a week or so before the event. The poppy flower, due to its bright red colour, symbolizes the blood shed by the soldiers during the war. On the actual day, war veterans join the parades, proudly displaying their medals, and they march or are pushed in wheelchairs down the streets to the cheers of the crowds. In the evening there is always a remembrance service, held at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which is televised live. Hymns are sung, speeches are made, and at the end of the service, thousands of poppies are dropped from the ceiling onto the audience below. Remembrance Day is a very important event. We should respect and feel proud of those peopl~ who died fighting in the wars as they played a very significant role in securing our country's freedom.
Read the text below. Are the sentences 1-7 "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B)? If there is not enough information to answer "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B), choose "Doesn't say" (C). Mark A, B, C on your exam sheet.
As I was just making my nightly rounds on Monday evening, I noticed a light coming from a third floor window of Scope Ltd. It must have been about 11.15 p.m. because I had checked my watch just minutes earlier. As I was proceeding to the maIn entrance to check for signs of a break-in I saw two men running out of the door towards the gate.
Both men seemed to be in their mid thirties and were rather tall with short brown hair. The) were wearing dirty ripped jeans and black leather jackets. They must have been professionals because they managed to get in and out of the bui Iding without setting off the sophisticated alarm system. 1 tried to go after them but was unable to catch them because they got into a black Ford Cortina and drove off in the direction of Tackinton. About two minutes later 1 heard a bomb explode and saw flames coming out of the third floor windows. The fire soon spread to other floors, and the whole building was in flames within minutes. I quickly called the police and the fire brigade who arrived at 11:30.
Read the text below. Are the sentences 1-7 "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B)? If there is not enough information to answer "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B), choose "Doesn't say" (C). Mark A, B, C on your exam sheet.
Over the past few years, people have begun to travel to places they would only have dreamt of visiting thirty years ago, thanks to the possibilities offered by air travel. In my opinion, travelling by aeroplane cannot be compared with any other means of transport. To start with, there really is no faster way to travel. You can go from one country to another in a few hours which gives you more time to enjoy your trip, rather than waste time travelling and dragging your luggage around. Furthermore, you always feel well looked after on an aeroplane. You are served drinks and meals and offered newspapers and blankets which all help to make the journey mo~e comfortable and enjoyable. Of course, there are people who consider that travelling by plane can be a nightmare, with airport delays, cramped seats and turbulence to put up with. What is more, aeroplanes and airports are often targeted by terrorists, which makes some people think that travelling by plane in not safe. What they forget is that the number of deaths caused by cars is larger than that caused by planes. 1 consider that air travel will always remain popular. Its speed, comfort and convenience are very hard to beat. 1. Thirty years ago people only dreamt at the places they are travelling to now.
Haven to help wash the birds. They say the effects of the oil disaster will last for at least two or three years. Planes are now flying over the sea, spraying the sea with detergents to stop the oil. The accident happened when the "Sea Empress" was going to an oil refinery at Milford Haven. Organizations, such as Greenpeace and World Wide Fund for Nature, are calling the situation a disaster and are asking the Government to check the standard of oil tankers. The Government says that the Department of Transport will investigate the accident.
Read the text below. Are the sentences 1-7 "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B)? If there is not enough information to answer' "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B), choose "Doesn't say" (C). Mark A, B, C on your exam sheet.
5. The birds, the dolphins and other species will be affected by the accident.
Helicopters rescued 28 sailors from the oil tanker the Sea Empress last night. The tanker is spilling tons of oil into the sea from its broken tanks. It crashed into the rocks near Milford Haven in bad weather on Thursday night. The tanker is now losing oil from five of its twelve tanks and there are already reports that hundred of sea birds are covered in oil. Philip Rothwell, from Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, said that the news was extremely bad: "This accident will affe~t n~t o~ly. the birds but also dolphins and many underwater species. Wildlife experts and volunteers are waiting near Milford 14
Read the text below. Are the sentences 1-7 "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B)? If there is not enough information to answer "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B), choose "Doesn't say" (C). Mark A, B, C on you r exam sheet.
Another day has passed and I am still here. I am alive.b~t n?w all my friends and relatives are gone. Today I. went to VISIt Nicolas Smith, my only friend, and when I got to his house, I saw the red cross painted on the door. This cross shows that the people in the house have the plague; nobody can enter into the house. It is one way to try 1'0 stop the disease. An?ther way is. to ma~e big fires outside in the streets, to clean the air. But there IS nothmg that can stop the plague. . This terrible illness began last year and already there are at least 60000 people dead. The same symptoms appear all the time: the victims feel pains all over their body, especially under the arms, and their bodies get hotter and hotter and then they go mad. After a few days, they die. I think that there is no cure for the plague. A lot of people get special medicine from the doctors, but it does not help the patients; they still die. . . Where does the illness come from? Many people thmk It comes from God. He is angry with us for the bad things that happen in the evil city. Some people say that dogs and cats are responsible; they think that animals carry the disease, so they kill them. Now, there are more rats than usual; I can see rats everywhere in the streets. When will this plague disappear? How long will I live? ("The Diary of Samuel Pepys from 1659-1669", in "The Shorter Pepys ", London, Bell & Hyman, 1989)
Read the text below. Are the sentences 1-7 "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B)? If there is not enough information to answer "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B), choose "Doesn't say" (C). Mark A, B, C on your exam sheet.
I've lived in Chalham all my life. In general I like living here, but there are problems. For example, my school is 30 kilometres away. in Benton, and I need two hours to get there by bus. That is very boring. Finding things to do during the weekend is also difficult. Generally there aren't enough things to do in the village. There's only a sports club, and there are no discos. The closest town is Milton, but we can't go to the disco there, because the last bus to our village is at 6 pm. There exist only three busses a day, so we are a bit isolated around here.
The village changes very much in summer. Normally. around 1000 people live here, but in July and August, there are about 3000 peo~l~ here. Some of the visitors were born here, and they return to VISit their relatives; others are tourists. I'm not a big fan of summer, for me the noise is a problem too. Riding your bike becomes dangerous. That is one of the advantages of living in a village: you don't have traffic problems, and there is no pollLltion, at least in winter.
Read the text below. Are the sentences 1-7 "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B)? If there is not enough information to answer "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B), choose "Doesn't say" (C). Mark A, B, C on your exam sheet.
Two years ago Steve and Margaret Smith took a very difficult decision. They decided to sell their house and buy a new home. Their family thought they were mad and their friends couldn't believe their ears. Why such a change? Well, what's unusual about the Smiths is that they left a house with three bedrooms in London for something totally different. " Where they live now, they don't have neighbours, there's no traffic and they only see countryside from their wi.ndow. When they get tired of one place, they simply move to a new place. Up t6 now they moved three times - they stay in one area forpbout six months. Of course, this can be a problem because their friends never know where they can find them. Their new home is very small. In fact Steve and Margaret sleep, cook, eat and relax in a single room. The kitchen area has a sink and a cooker, and there is a separate bathroom. But they are not bothered by the size - they say it's very comfortable and they have .everything they need. They have a television set and a microwave too. For the Smiths shopping is very difficult as the shops at a big distance from their home. Steve says that the next stop will be outside a supermarket! Now they are thinking of the summer holiday. Hotels won't be a problem for them!
5. When they are bored of one place the Smiths can change their address. .
penguins to advertise fridges. and a cat to advertise heating. In the commercials \:ick 's character move and speak. Although th; adverts were only around one minute long, the process of making them was extremely slow as every movement needed to be fi Imed and there were thousands of movements in each advert. Since the film "Creature Comfort", Nick has won more Oscars for cartoons using plasticine characters. These films last 30 minutes. In the near future Nick intends to make a full-length film. The only problem is ti me!
2. Nick started to be interested in animation at the age of ten.
Read the text below. Are the sentences 1-7 "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B)? If there is not enough information to answer "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B), choose "Doesn't say" (C). Mark A, B, C on your exam sheet.
Nick Park is famous all over the world for his animations. His interest began when he was 12. He saw a documentary about Walt Disney and the way he made his cartoons and decided to experiment with his father's old film camera. He created his first ·animated cartoon at the age of 13. Twenty years later, Nick was awarded the Oscar for a short film entitled "Creature Comforts". After this big success an electricity company decided to use the animals to advertise their electrical products, for example they used
6. In the commercials
ick's characters moved but didn't speak.
Subiecte
Read the text below. Are the sentences 1-7 "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B)? If there is not enough information to answer "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B), choose "Doesn't say" (C). Mark A, B, C on your exam sheet.
3 . ·The author can remem bel' the faces of the persons who ran the k Ind ergarten. A
Right
B
W
rong
C
Doesn't say
4. The author is sure the persons who ran the kindergarten were nice. A It is amazing how little we remember about our life before the age of seven or eight. I can tell you different things that happened to me from eight onwards, but just a few things before that. I went for a year to Elmtree House, but I can't remember how my classroom looked. Nor can I picture the faces of Mrs Corfield and Miss Tucker, the two sisters who ran the kindergarten. although ('m sure they were very nice and kind. I vaguely remember sitting on the stairs and trying over and over to tie my shoelaces. This is what I can remember at this distance of the school itself. On the other side, I can remember very well the journeys I made to and from the school as they were extremely exciting. This because every day I rode my tricycle on my way to school, together with my sister and her tricycle. We used to race at enormous tricycle speeds down the middle of the road and then, most glorious of all, when we came to a corner, we would lean to one side and take it on two wheels. This is about all that I can remember from my kindergarten period, sixty-two years ago. It's not much but I treasure it!
(Excerpts from "Boy: Tales of Childhood " by Roald Dahl (Jonathan Cape/Penguin Books» . 1. People don't remember age of seven or eight.
Right
5. The author shoelaces: A
Right
remembers
B
W
very well his
rong
C
experience
with the
Doesn't say
6. The author was a beautiful child in kindergarten. A
R.ight
B
W
rang
C
Doesn't say
7. The author liked riding the tricycle with his/her sister. A
Right
" Read ~,hete?xt below. Are the sentences 1-7 "Right" (A) or ,,:r~~,~ (B). If there is not enough information to answer Ig (A) or "Wrong" (B), choose "Doesn't say" (C). Mark A, B, C on your exam sheet.
too much about their life before the
If There ar.e only two types of dinner party: successes and failures e~erythlng go.es well, you will have the satisfaction of bein~ c~nsldered a SOCIal:uccess by all your acquaintances; if it doesn't ~ llyour ~ay, you WIll encourage the silences that will explore the u meaning of the word "awkward". B The most sensible. course of action is never choose to be a host ut you want to be m the lime-light, so here it is. .
Although it might seem a contradiction, wherever possible, avoid having dinner parties in your own home. An alternative location with great success is a restaurant. You don't have to serve the guests and you don't 'have to cook. The most satisfying aspect is the fact that you split the cost of the evening with your guests. If you have no choice and throw a dinner party at home make sure you don't have too many guests, the ideal .is to have three or four couples and a single person who will be your rescuer. At the table try to involve your guests in serving the food by telling them that this an old Tibetan custom. This will be a conversation point. Try to avoid talking about politics as it is all the time an argument for contradictions. .
("The Observer ", "Protocol: a guide to modern living: how to hold a dinner parry ", "High-tech disaster threatens police computer systems" by Robin McKie and Richard Sharpe)
5. A good choice for a dinner party place is the restaurant. A
Right
B
Wrong
f
C
Doesn't say
Read the text below. Are the sentences I~7 "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B)? If there is not enough information to answer "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B), choose "Doesn't say" (C). Mark A, B, C on your exam sheet.
Butterflies have from early time been associated with human souls. In ancient Egypt, the soul at death was considered to leave the body just like the butterfly leaves the chrysalis. In Burma the soul-butterfly is believed to fly abroad when its owner sleeps, meeting the soul-butterflies of other persons and animals and returning when the person wakes up. The children from Burma learn to never awaken anyone too suddenly because it is believed that if the soulbutterfly can't come back in time the person will die. In Gaelic tradition, the persons who died recently were thought to be sometimes visible in the form of a butterfly hovering over the corpse. In Ireland, this was a sign of everlasting happiness for the soul. In Scotland, a golden butterfly over a dying person was considered to be a very good omen for his or her future welfare. A legend tells how a soul wandered through time and place, and came back to the body in butterfly form. When it almost entered the man's mouth a neighbour killed it. It is said that the man died at once.
(A P Watt Ltd on behalf of Edith M Horsley and Christina Hole for "Butterflies" from "The Encyclopedia of Superstitions " by E and M A Radford, edited and revised by Christina Hole)
In the south west of England, one can find small villages for fishing purposes and also for a peace and quiet period. In the north east of England you can walk along the coast of J\orthumberland without meeting anyone at all. On the south coast you can enjoy the sun and the beautiful beaches of the English Riviera. If you prefer a holiday with a lot of people and a lot of fun then you can go to a big holiday resort like Blackpool on the west coast of England or Brighton on the south coast. Or maybe you would like to spend your holiday in a cam. You can find them allover the country, especially near the popular resorts. In a camp you have dances, palties, special arrangements for children and a lot of games and Sport. 5, In Scotland golden butterflies A
Right
8
Wrong
are considered C
good omens.
Doesn't say
6. The butterfly from the legend managed to enter into the man's mouth.
2. In Britain people have two weeks of holiday.
3. July is the only popular month for going on a holiday.
4. On the roads to the seaside you can't find motorbikes.
Read the text below. Are the senten~es 1-7 "~ight" (A) or "Wrong" (B)? If there is not enough mformatlOn to answer "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (8), choose "Doesn't say" (C). Mark A, 8, C on your exam sheet. HOLIDAY DESTINATIONS Some towns on the English coast have only small population~ in winter but in summer there come thousands and thousands oftounst~. Most 'people in Britain have at least two weeks to spent .thelr holiday. July and August are the most popular months for .holIdays and there is always a lot of traffic on the roads to the seasIde.
5. You can fish in the south west of England.
6. Beaches can be found on the English Riviera.
Read the text below. Are the sentences 1-7 "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B)? If there is not enough information to answer "Right" (A) or "Wrong" (B), choose "Doesn't say" (C). Mar:k A, B, C on your exam sheet.
The common meals in Britain are breakfast, lunch, tea, and supper. Traditionally, breakfast is a bigger meal than on the continent, but during the week, when everybody works. there is no time for a rich breakfast, just for a cup of coffee or tea, a piece of toast or a bowl of cereal. On Sundavs breakfast consists of half a grapefruit or orange juice, porridg~, bacon and eggs and toast and marmalade, if you are very hungry. On a weekday, lunch is not a big meal. The people who work eat sandwiches, or a salad, and some fruit, or yoghurt. If you want a hot meal you can go to the canteens. Sunday lunch is the main meal of the week. Now you can eat roast beef or chicken, accompanied by potatoes a'nd one or two vegetables. Desert can be anything: ice-cream, apple-pie or a h'ot pudding. The traditional practice of afternoon tea, consisting oftea., sandwiches, cake and biscuits, is not so frequent- nowadays. as people don't have time. The evening meal is the meal for all the family. Dinner takes place early in the evening, around six 0 'clock when all the members of the family come home from work or school. This is a hot meal, usually with meat and vegetables. Supper is usually later, or out at a restaurant. I. During the week the British eat a lot in the morning.
Read the text below. For questions 1-10, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
In ancient societies, athletics and especially competitive contact game~ aI.ways have been, but aggression in the past was tempered by a~ II1slstence that playing hard, playing to win, did not countenance playll1g to cheat and to hurt. One of the very first nations that expresse~ a~hleti: ideals, were the Greeks. As enunciated by Pindar, t~e ~thletlc Id~all~corpora,ted courage and endurance with modesty, dl~lty, and falr-mmdedness, thpse elusive qualities the Greeks called :'ldos .. As spo~s becan;e more specialized, the general populace mcreaslngly Withdrew mto spectatorship. Sports history reveals that al~hough Greek sports had increasingly marred by corruption and bnbes, nonetheless they flourished in an era which witnessed the rapid expansion of stadiums and arenas under the Roman Empire.
During the Roman Empire. violence in sports became the generally accepted principle and spectators not only endorsed it but also embraced it as a social norm. [n recent years sports violence has become to be perceived as a social problem. Commissions have been appointed in Canada and England to investigate violence among hockey players and soccer fans. Numerous examples of violence in professional sports exist today, as countries like the United States, Canada. Greece. [taly and Germany, report court cases have been heard which concern the victims of violence perpetrators. Newspapers, magazines and television programs portray bloodied athletes and riotous fans at hockey, boxing. football, soccer. baseball, and basketball games with what appears to be increasing regularity. But are sports violence incidents actually increasing, and if so. what is the reason of such a negative increase? Or does the heightened public attention and media focus on sports violence reflect not an increase in the incidence or severity of aggression, but greater public concern with moral issues and political discourse? Contrary to popular belief, there appears to be growing dissatisfaction with sports violence. Changes in sports rules, developments in the design of equipment and even the physical characteristics of modern sports arenas evolved in an effort to reduce violence or its consequences. But still, among athletic management teams, government officials, fans and athletes themselves, there is an ambivalence attitude towards sports violence. The ambivalence takes the form of justifying the existence of violence in sports, but not taking personal responsibility for it. Coaches and managers tend to blame fans, saying that violence is what attracts people into stadiums, as the risk entailed makes the game more "interesting". Athletes frequently admit that they are opposed to violence, but it is expected of them by coaches. Fans justify it by attributing aggressiveness to athletes and to situational aspects of the game. Spectators view violence as an inherent part of some sports as one cannot play games like hockey or football, without accepting the necessity of violent action. Nevertheless, public opinion tends to focus more and more on sports violence as major advances in the technologies used have increased media coverage making information available to a vast
global audience. Thus. contemporary critics tend to consider sports violence as a worldwide phenomenon with highly disturbing future course and social outcomes. (Jonathon Hardcastle. ).11).1111'. enzinearticles. com) I. A B C D
[n ancient societies athletics and competitive contact games were rough. football and contact games were rough. only competitive contact games were rough. no game was rough.
2. A B C D
During the Roman Empire, spectators tried to tolerate violence in sports. detested any type of violence in sports. regarded violence in sports as a social norm. did not support violence in sports.
3. Sports violence has started to be regarded as a social problem A lately. B since the 70's. C these days. D since the beginning of the 20th century. 4. Canada and England A are able to explain violence among hockey players. B are trying to discover the cause of violence among hockey players. C show no concern about sports violence. D are in favour of sports violence. 5. A B C D
Regarding sports violence there seems to be a feeling of appreciation. dissatisfaction. indifference. support.
6. A B C D
In order to reduce violence only sports rules have been changed. mass media coverage has been banned. sports rules and equipment design have been modified. sport rules, equipment design and sports arenas have been adjusted.
7. Government officials, fans and athletes A have the same attitude towards sports violence. B are ambivalent towards sports violence. e take personal responsibility for sports violence. D try not to justify sports violence. 8. Risk makes the game more interesting according to A coaches. B fans. athletes. D government officials.
e 9. A B C D
The tendency of the public opinion towards sports violence is to show less interest. to be more concentrated on it. to show disapproval. to accept it.
10. Critics regard sports violence as A an international reality. B a local reality. a regional reality. D a national reality.
e
cultures are, by way of contrast to the British, much less concerned to avoid conflict private or personal encounters. Perhaps there is a principle in '"aggression management" here: every culture has developed some ways of fetting off steam, has some areas in which people are allowed to express their true feelings. The immediate linguistic consequepce of open conflict - avoidance is that you need to know what to do and what to say, for example, when someone takes a position in a queue in front of you, accidentally stand son your toe in a bus or disagrees with you in a public gathering. In the public gathering, depending on the nature of the meeting, the British reaction may be to confront disagreement openly and respond vigorously. In the other more personal situations, the same individual may work hard at taking a middle route between doing nothing and engaging in open conflict. In doing so, he or she will expect a similar cooperative response from the other person, such as an apology like, '"Oh, sorry, I didn't realise .. :'. In other cultures, behaviour might well be the opposite - a great effort to reduce conflict in a public meeting and robust responses in the private situations. Within our own cultures, w.e understand the conventions and know when people are being normally polite or normally outspoken. The difficulties come when we make errors in an unfamiliar environment.
("British Shibboleths, One language, different cultures ", edited by Eddie Ronowicz and Colin Yallop, The Continuum International Publishing Group Ltd.) Read the text below. For questions 1-10, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
An underlying principle of cultural behaviour, which is closely reflected in the language, is the need to avoid face-to-face conflict. Even though the British may appear unpleasantly blunt when compared with some Asian cultures, they are on the whole concerned to offer a way out whenever a potential conflict between individuals occurs. This may be compared with public confrontations in large committees or the Parliament where much more confrontation goes on. Some
1. An underlying principle of cultural behaviour language is: A avoiding face-to-face conflict B using face-to-face conflict creating face-to-face conflict D understanding face-to-face conflict
reflected in the
e
2. The British A don't want a way out from conflicts B are just like the Asians regarding conflicts are preoccupied to find solutions for conflicts between individuals D ignore face-to-face conflicts
e
3. A B C D
Other cultures are more concerned to avoid conflicts don't talk about conflicts consider conflicts insignificant are less concerned by avoiding conflicts -
4. A B C D
Every culture the same way to calm down has its own way to calm down tries to have less confl icts lets off steam with a lot of work
5. A B C D
When you want to avoid a conflict you must know what to do you must be careful you must know what to do and what to say you must know what to say
6. A B C D
In public confrontations the British avoid open conflict are vigorous in response are confronting openly are vigorous in response and confront openly
7. A B C D
In personal situations the British are less conflictive are more agressive are extremely diplomatic are looking for the middle route
8. A B C D
In other cultures, in public confrontations people make a lot of efforts to reduce the conflict make less efforts to reduce the conflict ignore the people around don't do anything
9. In other cultures, in private conflictuaI situations people A offer more vigorous responses B show more respect
C show more respect and offer more vigorous responses D are extremely violent 10. A problematic situation is A when we make a mistake in unknown environment B when we make errors in another country C when we don't care about the others D there is no problematic situation
Read the text below. For questions 1-10, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
INTERVIEWER: Considering you belong to one of the glitziest professions there is, along with showbiz, you seem to have your feet pretty much on the ground. HELENA CHRISTENSEN: I truly believe that who you are is because of your family, you know, the way that you were brought up, the love that you get from your family, the discipline from them. It all goes back to childhood no matter what happens later in your life. And also, probably, coming from Denmark has kept me very grounded because there's not too much about fame, the same way that other countries are obsessed with it. In Denmark it's who you are and you shouldn't think you are more than anybody else. And, all in all, I would really say that it has helped me coming from a country like Denmark. INTERVIEWER: You have a really good reputation in the industry for being very professional; you come in, you do the job, you go home. There's no baggage, noJantrums and tempers. HELENA: Well, that's nice to hear, but, for me, that was the only way to deal with the job because it's such a strange job. If I didn't do it that way, if I created problems for myself, not just coming in, showing up, doing the job and leaving, if I thought too much about it, then I don't know if I would've been able to do this job. I think the only way to do it was just actually doing it that way.
INTERVIEWER: I know it's a difficult question, but why do you think you rose to the top? Was it a mixture of talent and luck, being in the right place at the right time? , HELENA: It was a mixture of all that. You know, you can't reilily define your look, or why your look was perfect for the time. But I was really lucky. When I went to Paris for the first time I didn't really have any intentions of working as a model. I came down to eat, basically because I was invited to a week-end of good food, and it was the show week that week, and I went to see some clients and met some of the most amazing people in the industry. But it was not really that important to me. It wasn't what I wanted to do at that time. INTERVIEWER: What did you want to do? HELENA: I· wanted to travel the world and take photos. Most people think I'm starting photography now, but actually, I did it before and did a bit of modelling in between. INTERVIEWER: Did a bit of modelling in between! That's one way of putting it. Do you think that all those years that you spent in front of the camera make you a better photographer? HELENA: Obviously, working with some of the most amazing photographers in the world, you soak it all in and get a bit of their experience. And I'm very curious about everything I see in life. INTERVIEWER: What kind of photographs do you take, is it glamour shots or do you tend to go more for the real person as it were, showing them 'as they really are, warts and all? HELENA: I'm definitely more into taking portraits of people as they really are, getting something from them deep inside out through their faces. And i.t's an amazing thing taking photographs, portraits, as every time it's such an intimidating sensation when you take portraits of someone, and I know it makes me feel a little shy and nervous and it also makes the person that you do portraits to feel a little strange about it because it's a very naked feeling to be that close to someone. I. A B C
o
Helena considers that a person's that person's family that person's friends that person's family and friends all kind of factors
way of being is due to
2. A B C
o 3. A B C
o
In Denmark people are not preoccupied by fame are obsessed by fame crave for fame consider fame useless Coming from Denmark was an insignificant aspect was the best thing in Helena's life didn't matter too much helped Helena in her career
4. A B C
For the reporter being professional means just do your job come in time to work go home after you've done your job o come in, do your job and go home
5. A B C
o
Being a model is the strangest job in the world is a strange job to have is a pleasant job is a prosperous job
6. Helena got to the top A because she was lucky B because she was in the right place at the right time C because she had talent, luck and she was in the right place at the right time o because she had talent and she was lucky 7. A B C
The first time Helena went to Paris was for a photo shooting to eat good food during one weekend for a shooting and for good food o to take photos
8. Helena started taking photos A when she was a model B before she was a model
C before she was a model and during her model career
o after 9. A B C
o
her model days
Helena takes more portraits because people's face is expressive this way things from the inside are taken out the eyes show everything people are easy to work with
10. When one takes a portrait A the photographed person feels a little bit naked B the photographer feels naked C it's a great feeling o the photographer and the photographed person are too close
were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men. black men as well as white men. would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead ofhonoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people'a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds". But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of oPPOltunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this checka check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood.
(Martin Luther King, "/ Have a dream ", Speech delivered on 28 August /963, At the Lincoln Memorial) Read the text below. For questions 1-10, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
Five years ago, a great American signed the Emancipa:ion Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon I1ght of hope to millions of negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exiled in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the "Constitution" and the "Declaration of Independence", they
I. A B C
o 2. A B C
o 3. A B C
o
The Emancipation Declaration a wonderful American a great American great Americans a great president
was signed by
"The Proclamation" is a sign of hope for all the people hope for the white people freedom hope for the black slaves One hundred years later the Negro is in his own land has a big role in the American society feels isolated in his own land has a better life
4. The architects of the country are A all the citizens B the white people
C the rich people D the leaders 5. A B C D
The promissory note was for black people and white people the young people the young people, for black people and white people the rich
6. A B C D
All men were guaranteed the right to life to happiness to freedom to life, happiness, freedom
7. A B C D
The author considers America has respected the promise made to all men hasn't respected the promise made to black people has respected the promise made to the citizens of colour has repe~ted the promise made to white people
8. The Africar-Americans A B C D
were given a bad check received no money received a blank check got what they wanted
9. A B C D
The Afro-Americans want to cash the check which gives them everything they wished for riches freedom freedom and justice
10. The author wants all the people to be A solid like the rock B brothers C friends D equals
Read the text below. For questions 1-10, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
The world's scientists have given their harsh warning yet that failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions will bring devastating climate change within a few decades. As droughts affect more areas for more prolonged periods. it is estimated that global food production will fall by 10%. Conversely. we are experiencing more .powerful hurricanes which result in both human tragedy and costly damage to infrastructure. There are dire predictions of 80 millio[l people being exposed to malaria and 2,5 billion to dengue fever. The 2007 report the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (JPCC) concludes that average temperatures could increase by as much as 6.,4°C by the end of the century if emissions continue to rise at the present rate. However, they do concede that a rise of 4°C is more likely. The forecast is still higher than previous estimates because scientists have discovered that the Earth is less able to absorb carbon dioxide than previously believed. What would a 4°C increase in temperature mean? According to the IPeC, it would wipe out hundreds of species, bring extreme food and water shortages in vulnerable countries and hundreds of millions of people would be displaced as a result of catastrophic flooding. As warming is likely to be more severe towards the poles, the melting of the Greenland and west Antarctic ice sheets would accelerate. Dr. Wainwright explained that the 2007 report painted a gloomier picture than the 200 I report because scientists have discovered "feedbacks" in the global carbon cycle that seem to be adding to the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and producing a cumulative effect. She goes on to suggest that this could mean at least another 1°C should be added to present estimates. Moreover, Dr. Wainwright concludes that there is little room for doubt that human activity is to blame for the global warming. However, Mark Gibson of Environment Watch goes to. great lengths to point out that such an outcome is not inevitable. If there
were a significant switch to clean and resource efficient technologies, we should cut expected temperature rises by half. He stresses that what is needed is international political commitment to take action something which has been absent so far. (Extract ii'om "What's the Weather? " in New Scientist J 6. 09. 2000, www.Newscientist.com )
1. The greenhouse gas emissions A will cause devastating changes in future B are devastating C will be devastating for nature o are not dangerous yet 2 Global food production A won't be a problem B will be better by 10% C will be affected by 10% o will be by 10% bigger 3. The powerful hurricanes A determine human tragedies B cause material damages C have no solution o cause human tragedies and material damages 4. IPCC says A temperature will be affected in future B temperature will decrease C temperature will be dangerous for people o nothing about temperature changes in future 5. Scientists discovered A that the Earth can absorb more carbon dioxide B that the Earth can't absorb carbon dioxide as it did in the past C the Earth has big problems D noth~ng new 6. If temperature increases A floods will appear . B animal species disappear
C hunger may appear . .. . o hunger and big floods will appear and species will disappear 7. Dr. Wainwright says A it's people's fault'for global warming " B we can doubt about people's contribution to global warmIng C global warming is not dangerous yet . o it's not just the people to blame for global warmIng 8. A B C
o
Mark Gibson says . there is no chance for us to stop temperature rises we might be able to cut temperature rises we can't find solutions to our problem nothing about temperature cuts
9. A B C D
Mark Gibson considers politics can't help politics not important politics should get involved politics a cause for our problem
10. Politicians A have been preoccupied by global warming B don't have an opinion C showed no interest in global warming o wanted to take action
Read the text below. For questions 1-10, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text. YOU'RE FAT? IT'S NOT YOU, IT'S THE GENES CHOCOHOLICS no longer need to feel guilty about their craving. They are simply the victims of their genes, scientists have found. The so-called "sweet tooth gene" has been identified by separate teams of researchers and helps explain why some find it harder to . resist chocolate bars and cream cakes.
It also raises the possibility of designing a drug which could "switch off' the geNe and help people resist sugary foods. Children. in particular, risk their health by eating too many sweets and chocolates. To identify the gene, the research teams - based at Harvard Medical School in Boston and Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York - conducted almost .identical experiments using mice which have differences in their ability to taste sweet foods. They compared the DNA of the two types of mice and noticed differences in the gene called TI R3.Dr. Gopi Shanker, of the Mount Sinai team, said: "It contains information which produces a protein called «the sweet taste receptor». This recognises the sweet content of food and initiates a cascade of events which signal to the brain that a sweet food has been eaten. Dr. Shanker added: "Exactly the same gene exists in humans, so it means that, if your parents have a sweet tooth, then you probably will as well." Research by the Harvard team has come to the same conclusion. But Aubrey Sheiham, professor of dental public health at University College. London. said the results did not provide chocoholics with an excuse to give up dieting. He said: "We have always known that some people have a sweeter tooth than others. But it has also been proved that if you gradually expose people to less sugar. then the body becomes accustomed with a lower level of sweetness. Mr. Sheiham warned against any form of gene therapy which sought to deactivate the sweetooth gene. We have produced this gene through evolution because sweet foods in nature are not poisonous and also give us energy. We all need to have some sugar in our diet. The U.S. researchers are using their discovery to develop artificial sweeteners without an aftertaste.
("If bingeing on chocolate ... " by Paul Kendall, "Daily Mail 23.0-1.2000, "Daily Mail") l. A B C D
Scientists have discovered is not healthy is caused by the genes is our fault make as stronger
that eating too much chocolate
2. The sweet tooth gene explains A-why we eat so much chocolate B why we eat creamy cakes C why we eat chocolate bars D wl~y it's so difficult to resist to eat sweets 3. A B C D
A possible drug would make us eat less sugar be a huge progress help us resist the temptation not be good for the sweets companies
4. In their experiments
with mice the researchers A different things in a gene B the mice were identical C the mice eat the same sweets D nothing relevant
noticed
5. A B C D
The sweet taste receptor tells the brain what sweets have been eaten announces the brain that the person has eaten a sweet announces the brain how the body feels doesn't offer crucial information
6. A B C D
If your parents have a sweet tooh you will have a stronger sweet tooth you might not have a sweet tooth a sweet tooth for you is out of the question you will have a sweet tooth too
7. A B C D
The results of the experiments were an excuse for chocoholics to give up dieting didn't represent a reason for chocoholics to give up their diet were not concludent were the perfect excuse to continue eating
8. If people don't see/eat too many sweets/more sugar A the body gets used to fewer sweets/less sugar B the body craves for sweets
C it's dangerous for chocoholics o it's not a problem 9. A B C
o
One can have a diet without any sugar with a lot of sugar with some sugar with candies
10. The A want B want C want o don't
American researchers to create new kinds of sweets to create artificial sweeteners to develop natural sweeteners want artificial sweeteners
Read the text below. For questions 1-10, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
"My aunt will be down presently, Mr. Nuttel", said a very confident young lady of fifteen; "in the meantime you must try and put up with me." Framton Nuttel endeavoured to say the correct something which should duly flatter the niece of the moment without unduly discounting the aunt that was to come. Privately he doubted more than ever whether these formal visits on a succession of total strangers would do much towards helping the nerve cure which has supposed to be undergoing. "I know how it will be", his sister had said when he was prepairing to migrate to his rural retreat; "you will bury yourself down there and not speak to a living soul, and your nerves will be worse than ever from moping. 1 shall just give you letters of introduction to all the people 1 know there. Some of them, as far as 1 can remember, were quite nice."
Framton wondered whether Mrs. Sappleton, the lady to whom he was presenting one of the letters of introduction, came into the nice division. . "Do you know many of the people round here?" asked niece, when she judged that they had had sufficient silent communion. "Hardly a soul", said Framton. "My sister was staying here, at the rectory, you ~now; some four years ago, and she gave me letters of introduction to some of the people here:'He made the last statement in a tone of distinct regret. "Then you know practically nothing about my aunt?" pursued the self-possessed young lady. "Only her name and address", admitted the caller. He was wondering whether Mrs. Sappleton was in the married or widowed state. An undefinable something about the room seemed to suggest masculine habitation. "Her great tragedy happened just three years ago:' said the child; "that would be since your sister's time:' "Her tragedy?" asked Framton; somehow in this restful country spot tragedies seemed out of place. "You may wonder why we keep that window wide open on an October afternoon," said the niece, indicating a large French window that opened on to a lawn. "It is quite warm for the time of the year:' said Framton; "but has that window got anything to do with the tragedyT'
(Extract from "The Open Window", by Saki (H. H. Munro) from www.classicsshorts.com ) 1. A B C
o
Mr. Nuttel has to take care of the young lady has to stay with the little lady while waiting for her aunt has to tolerate the young lady is the girl's guest
2. A B C D
Framton Nuttel was embarassed by the situation was distant with the niece ignored Mrs. Sappleton flattered the young lady
3. A B C D
Framton \luttel considered the visits useful for the nerve cure wasn't sure the visits were useful for the nerve cure wanted the visits to help the nerve cure was sure of the success of his visits
4. A B C D
Framton Nuttel moved to a big rural mansion moved to a rural house moved to a rural retreat moved in with his sister
5. A B C D
Framton Nuttel receive letters of introduction all the people his sister knows all the families a few people the richest people in the area
6. A B C D
Framton Nuttel knew Mrs SappIeton knew Mrs. Sappleton knew Mrs. Sappieton didn't know whether
7. A B C D
Framton Nuttel knew something about Mrs. Sappleton a lot about Mrs. Sappleton only the woman's name and address nothirig about the woman
8. A B C D
Framton Nuttel was sure a man lived in Mrs. Sappleton's house had a feeling that a man lived in Mrs. Sappleton's house wanted to know about the masculine presence in the house didn't see a man in the house
C the French window is opened on an October afternoon D the French window is not opened in October 10. Mr. Nuttel A looks at the French window B wonders if the window has a connection with the tragedy C wants to know if the window is French D wants to know if the winodow has a tragic story
fo
was from the nice category would receive him could help him Mrs. Sappleton was from the nice category
9. In the house A the windows are opened on an October afternoon B the windows are opened on a September afternoon
Read the text below. For questions 1-10, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best ~ccording to the text.
f
TRAVELLING BY PLANE - "I FEEL ABOUT AIRPLANES THE WAY I FEEL ABOUT DIETS." "They are wonderful things for other people to go on," Jean Kerr, an American dramatist once quipped. Flying has become safer, faster and cheaper but it seems ever more stressful. One frequent cause is the noise that children, especially bored ones, inflict on the other travellers. A year ago one magazine proposed that all planes should have child-free zones, just like no-smoking zones; children (and parents) should be confined to the back of the plane. As yet, sadly, no airline seems to agree that children should be screened and not heared. Un'deterred, we would like to raise another case of what economists call a negative externality. i.e. something which is nice for you but imposes costs on others. This is excessive carry-on luggage. In America six out often passengers now take a suitcase on to a flight rather than check it in, three times as many as in 1990. The result is delay, because flights take longer to board. Passengers trying to squeeze 3-foot suitcases into 2-foot bins hold up, people trying to board behind them. Some travellers have tried to take refrigerators, television sets and even a stuffed moose-head on board. The problems of both children and luggage could be solved in one stroke by putting the children in the hold, to make more space for carry-on luggage. But that, we concede, might be unacceptable. Instead, to reduce delays, most airlines are rightly imposing str icter
49
limits on the size or weight of bags that can be carried on to planes. This has provoked outrage as passengers are forcibly separated from their belongings at check-in. Understandably: if you put luggage in the hold, you have to wait ages for it at the other end if it shows up at all. Once you have experienced the nightmare of waiting at the luggage carousel until it stops, with no sign of the suitcase you checked in, it is clear why people prefer to lug their cases on board. You took a flight from London to Tokyo; your luggage and your smart clothes decided to hop on to one to Los Angeles. Not an externality but certainly negative. In America only 0,5% of bags go missing, but if you are a frequent traveller, that risk is too high. A survey of 150 frequent fliers found that two thirds had experienced some sort of delay or loss to their luggage in the previous 12 months. And, if luggage remains lost, your likely compensation is paltry - a maximum of$I,250 regardless of whether your clothes were bought at Wal-Mart or Armani. If airlines are to restrict carry-ons, therefore, they also need to offer better compensation for delayed or lost luggage. At the least they should extend frequent-flier miles to luggage as well as its owner: if your luggage travels to Tokyo via Los Angeles, you should get triple frequent-flier miles. In addition, passengers could be made to pay if they want to take extra luggage on board. Better still, given the frequent correlation between the size of the traveller and the weight of his (yes, his) carry-on, why not take a tip from Papua New Guinea? When flying within the country, a passenger used to be weighed along with his luggage before boarding the plane. Fight the flaband you can bring your bag on board. Aeroplanes and diets would then indeed be closely connected.
(Extract from "Gh, what a carryon! ", The Economist Newspaper Limited, London) 1. For Jean Kerr flying is A B C D
cheaper and faster safer, faster and more stressful safer, faster, cheaper and more stressful cheaper, faster and safer
2. A magazine suggested A children should not be allowed on planes B that the planes should have special chairs for children C that the planes should have zones where children shouldn't allowed D more non-smoking zones
be
3. Airlines A take into consideration putting the children and their parents at the back of the plane B don't agree with the isolation of the children on planes C want to keep the children screened and not heard D ignore all the problems 4. A B C D
Another problem regarding flying is the luggage the pilots the food and the blankets the the food, blankets and luggage
5. A B C D
Unchecked luggage causes much money to be paid nerves boarding delay much money to be paid and nerves
6. A B C D
Travellers put too many things for the number of suitcases they have take only what they need take stupid things from the duty free shops take many suitcases
7. A B C D
Airlines are imposing weight limjts for the bags size limits for the bags size and weight limits for the bags nothing
8. Passengers A B C D
don't like when they are separated from their belongings have to respect weight limits have to take one bag with them on the plane are separated from their belongings at the check-in
9. When you travel by plane there is a risk that A you take 'other person's luggage B your luggage is stolen C your luggage doesn't appear at the carousel D your luggage is confiscated 10. Planes and diets A have nothing in common B are both useful C are for men and women alike D have the weight as common element
Read the text below. For questions 1-10, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
They're a lesson in life! . George Marsh, head of posh Dulwich College Preparatory School in London, probably thought he was doing kids and parents a favour with his rousing speech at the annual prep school conference this week. He spoke of the pressures facing young people, who need to be nurtured during difficult pre-teen and teenage yea:s. Ab.ove all,. he said, we had researched a stage where the obsesSIOn wIth passmg exams was "killing the fun" of school. . We've all read this before. We've heard of the burnout kIds, pushed by ambitious parents until they're at the end.oftheir tethers, and gasped at the stories of the hothouse tloer chddren who feel
weak and tired in the real world. We've seen the headlines. "Pressures of work too much for our teenagers", they scream. Now we have Mr. Marsh's contribution about too many horrid exams spoiling the school's broth. In our child-obsessed society, the worst sin of all is to stop a child having ·'fun". It is right up there with smacking in the new millenium book of bad parenting. Children must be endlessly indulged, treated with kid gloves, escorted to amusement parks, given computer games and showered with pocket money. They must never have a minute when they're neither protected nor enjoying themselves. Heavens forbid that they should be told to study, strive and compete - words which seem to have taken on the quality of blasphemy. But whoever said school was meant to be fun? Yes, school is a place where a child develops and a rounded curriculum is vital. Our children should play sports, do drama, join choirs, hang out at playtimes. The rest of the time, however, they are there to learn and to achieve some basic qualifications that will, whether they want to accept it or not, cushion them when life gets really hard. Yet, in the current climate, saying that exams matter is tantamount to saying that our children should spend their teenage years at an Army boot camp. This is the same mentality that dictates there should be no winners at sports day in case other children get upset by coming second. It's the same misguided attitude that drives parerts to spray their kids with antiseptic to protect them from all known germs when actually they only end up sickly because their immune system never develops. Cosseting children in cotton wool does them few favours in the long run. Mr. Marsh is right when he says that we should shelter our children from the pressures of growing up too soon but there is a difference between sheltering and smothering. If he really wanted to do us all a favour in his speech, he should have told parents to get real. School can be tough and exams always are but then so is life - and it's best that children learn that particular lesson ~s early as possible.
(Extract from "Don't criticise exams ... ", "Daily Express, 28.09.2000)
1. George Marsh talked about A being a teenager B the pressures faced by the youngsters C teenager problems D parents and teenagers
C with treatments against germs D with vitamins 8. Mr. Marsh underlines A the problems in raising a child B the importance of sheltering the children C the importance of smothering the children D the difference between smothering and sheltering
2. A B C D
People are familiar with the idea that the children are burnt out the idea that parents are very ambitious children being great children being burnt out because of ambitious
3. A B C D
The headlines scream that there is too much pressure on children children aren't left alone parents spoil all the fun children are tired
4. A B C D
In our to tell to tell to tell to tell
5. A B C D
At s'chool the children play sports and do drama join the choir study, play sports, do drama, join the choir, socialize make friends
6. A B C D
Some people consider it's better to have no winners at sports to have all the children on the second place at sports not to have competitions at sports competition is not important
society a child a child a child a child
it to to to to
parents
is considered like a blasphemy work hard, study, compete and respect work hard compete, to work hard and to study study
7. Some parents protect their children A by spraying them with antiseptic B by giving them antiseptic substances
9. A B C D
Mr. Marsh should have told the parents to be careful to be real parents to get real to pay attention
10. It's best for the children to learn that schooL exams and life are tough A very early B later in life C as early as possible D when it's possible
Read the text below. For questions 1-10, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
When the 27-year-old Susan Maushart arrived at her marital home with her new husband after their honeymoon, she found herself suddenly acting very strangely. She proceeded directly to the bathroom and started cleaning and didn't stop until it had been scrubbed and polished from top to bottom. When that was done, she moved to the kitchen, pulled out a recipe book and started work on a casserole. Perfectly normal behavoiur for some blushing brides maybe, but for Maushart, an ardent feminist and hardened New Yorker who'd previously existed on fast food, this was decidedly out of character. "It was like some
weird way of marking out female territory", she says. "Scrubbing the bathroom felt good. Wifely, even." What Maushart had unwittingly found herself doing was participating in what she now terms "wifework" - that is the extra, unpaid labour that a woman takes on when she ties the knot. "I thought I was the last person it would happen to", she says. "But when I got married a metaniorphosis happened to me, it was bizarre." In her book, entitled "Wifework", Maushart sets out to explain . why an intelligent PhD student like herself should suddenly regress into archetypal fifties housewife mode. And by contemplating marriage in terms ofa simple calculation - a balance sheet, if you like, of the cost of getting hitched weighed up against the benefits - Maushart draws some disturbing conclusions. "The moment a man gets married", Maushart says, "his domestic workload almost disappears. He immediately gets about 70 per cent less cleaning, 50 per cent less cooking and 90 per cent less laundry. There are nowhere near these benefits for a woman when she gets married. And these days you're at pains to deny that you're doing it because apart from being exhausted by it, you're ashamed of yourself. " Maushart's motivation comes perhaps from her own marital experiences. Perhaps the alarm bells should have started ringing prior to tying the knot on her happy day. "[ remember being surprised when he requested, rather firmly, that [ refrain from smoking during our outdoor wedding reception.", she writes of her husband-to-be in the book. "But why now?" I wanted to know. "My cigarettes have never bothered you before. And everybody else will be smoking." "I'd just prefer that you didn't", he replied evenly. Things quickly went from bad to worse and within three years, the marriage had broken down and they went their separate ways. Drawing together research from the UK, America and Australia, "Wifework" is littered with some highly revealing nuggets of information. That two thirds to three-quarters of divorces are initiated by women, that ex-wives are much slower to re-marry than husbands, and that wives reported levels of depression two or three times higher than unmarried women. (Extract from "A woman's work is never done" by Lena Corner
copyright Independent News and Media Limited/Lena Corner 2002. first published in "The Independent" on 14.01.02)
1. Susan Maushart married A when she was very young B at the age of twenty-seven C very quickly D in her husband's home 2. When Susan came from her honeymoon A cooked B washed the clothes C cleaned the bathroom Date
she first
3. A B C D
When she cooked Susan used a recipe she knew by heart cooked her favourite dish used a cookery book an old recipe book
4. A B C D
Susan's behaviour at her return from the honeymoon was normal wasn't normal for a feminist like her was of great character was great
5. Susan A B C D
lives in New York considers that it is hard to live in New York hates New York wants to leave New York
6. For Susan "wifework" A B C D
means a wife's work a woman's work in the house unpaid work done by the wife unpaid work done by the wife after she has married
7. After a man and a woman get married A B C D
the the the the
man works less around the house woman works less around the house man works more woman works more around the house
was
8. After getting man-ied A the man has more benefits B the woman has more benefits, the mas has fewer benefits C the mas has fewer benefits D the Woman has fewer benefits, the man has more benefits 9. At the wedding reception, Susan's husband asked her A to quit smoking B not to smoke during the reception C to smoke less D to smoke just a few cigarettes 10. Who A wives B single C lonely D lonely
have stronger depressions? women women wives
Read the text below. For questions 1-10, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
"So, who was the last person to see Grace before she disappeared?" "We don't know". His voice rose again in agitation. "Well, the police aren't sure, which amounts to the same thing. After Charlie got back from school, Grace took him over to Mum's ..." "She drove?" "Yes. She stayed for a while, then drove back home." "At what timeT "About four, I think." "So, after Maggie, no one else seems to have seen her?" "Well, no one so far. But someone might well have seen her driving back or parking the car or going into the house. Or .. ." I thought he was being rather optimistic. Marsh House stood alone at the end of the quay some distance from the nearest house. It was perfectly possible that she had returned home - or travelled elsewhere - unseen.
"Well, it seems to me that here are at least three areas worth looking into, I announced. following close behind Will. as he advanced up the slope in long strides." The first is to check out the London end, which I'll arrange. The second is to make sure that no local infonnation has been missed - make sure the police have made sufficient house-to-house enquiries, asked the neighbours if they saw anything odd, that sort of thing. Sometimes neighbours don't realize the value of what they've seen, don't think of telling anyone about it until they're actually asked. The third ... "Will. listening hard, slowed down and I almost bumped into him ..." is to decide if the police search was adequate, to make sure they haven't gone to or"' - it had to be said - "been taken to. I would add a fourth area - forensic testing, fingerprints and so on - but ifit wasn't done almost immediately ..." ,'It wasn't", he reported darkly. "And vou didn't notice anything when you got back that morning - or si;ce? Tyre marks, smears of dirt, footprints, things like that?" "No!" The agitation had come back into his face and I added hastily, "It was only a thought. It's very rare to find anything like that." Reaching the path, Will paused. "Look... perhaps it might be the best if you did go and talk to the police", he said awkwardly. "you know which questions to ask." I said, in a rush, "Of course." "I always get so angry when I see them! I feel they're being so bloody useless! And the way they look at me, Alex! I know what they're thinking - they made it so bloody obvious!" He gave a short bitter laugh before shooting me a quick glance to see if I could guess what was coming. "They think I'm responsible! They think I must have done away with her." "They're bound to think that." He wasn't quite sure how to take this remark. "The great majority of disappearances are linked to family situations," I explained. "To stress or money worries. Or violence within the family. It's a statistics that gets drummed into the police, I'm ~farid. They're apt to get tunnel vision." He gave a long ragged sigh which was almost a laugh. "So I shouldn't take it personally?" "Absolutely not." "You're sure about that?" But he wasn't really expecting an answer and, walking on, we fell into step. Aware of his eyes on me, I looked across at him. He said, in a rough voice, "Glad you're here, Alex." "Me too." And I reached for his hand and squeezed it.
(Extracts from "A Dark Devotion ". by Claire Francis copyright Pan Macmillan/Calire Francis 1997)
1. The missing person is A Grace B Charlie C Maggie D not known 2. Charlie is A a boy B a girl C it doesn'{ say D we don't know 3. A B C D
The last person who saw Grace was Charlie Maggie the policeman the author
4. A B C D
There is the possibility that Grace returned home went to another place went to another place without being seen by anybody went to another place and being seen by somebody
5. The search has A three options B two options C four options D no solutions 6. The police A looked for fingerprints immediately B found some fingerprints C ignored the fingerprints D didn't look for fingerprints immediately 7. Will considers A the police are angry B the police are of no use
C the rolice are awkward D the police are suspicious 8. The person who knows which questions to ask the police is AAle>-. B Will C Grace D Maggie 9. Will A thinks the police consider him responsible B is responsible for the disappearance C is afraid to go to the· police D has no problems 10. Disappearances are connected with A family situations, stress B money worries and family C money worries, stress or family situations, violence in the family D money worries and vilence
Read the text below. For questions 1-10, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
For the first time in my life I have been dumped by a friend. I should have seen it coming: the phone calls not returned, the excuses about "not feeling very sociable right now", the emails that I~nguished unreplied in the ether. Yet the letter suggesting that the time had come for us to move on still came as a shock. It didn't seem to fit in with our modern ideal of friendship. As growing numbers of us live alone, friends are becoming more important. They are our families of choice, we're told, taking on·the roles of parents, spouse, sibling - and best friend. Tula and I had been firm friends for nearly ten years. We met at a singing workshop and took to each other immediately. She was
warm and vivacious, and we shared an enthusiasm for grappling with life's conundrums over glasses of wine or long walks in the country. She helped me to move house and, when her long-term partner walked out, I put the kettle on and supplied tissues. But life changed for both of us: I got married and she responded to her newly single status by developing a fresh set of social networks. Then she took a long holiday, reviewed her life and decided what to keep and what to throw out. In her letter she described our friendship as a "borderline" case and suggested it might be time we "let each other go." I'm all for letting go of bad habits and boxes of old school exercise books. I've even deleted the names of acquaintances not seen for one year to the next from my address book.' But surely close friends are not consumer. goods to be discarded or replaced at he first hint of trouble. We are encouraged to believe that friends will be around for ever. "You've got a friend", sang Carole King and "I'll be there for you" promissed the theme tune of "Friends". Such sentiments have sunk deep into the collective unconsciousness, or into mine, at least. So, what did I do with Tula's letter? I re-read it umpteen times, agonized over where I'd gone wrong. And then I wrote back. "Yes, you're right", I wrote, "things have changed. But aren't we good enough friends to hang in there?" Since then we have exchanged a couple of e-mails. A walk has been suggested. It would be easy not to make the effort and let this friendship go, but "Stay" is a charming word in a friend's vocabulary!" (Extract from "End of the Friendship" by Jane Munro The Times/Jane Munro 2006, first published in The Times on 04.03. 06)
t. The author A knew her friend would dump her B didn't expect to be dumped by her friend C didn't want to be dumped by her friend D ·wanted to dump her friend 2. The ending point of the friendship was represented by A the not returned phone calls B the unreplied emails C different excuses D a letter
3. Tula's break up letter A was unexpected B was expected C was quite long D was rather short 4. Tula and the author had been friends A for ten years . B since the age of ten C for almost ten years D for life 5. The long-term-partner dumped A Tula B the author C it doesn't say D a young lady 6. When the author married, Tula A went on holiday to the seaside B was happy C was the same person she was before D met new people 7. The author considers close friends A can be replaced B are like consumer goods C can't be replaced D useful 8. !he id~a of friends being around for ever can be found A 10 movIe soundtracks . B songs C movie soundtracks and songs D books 9. In her letter the author A gives up her friendship with Tula B doesn't give up her friendship with Tula C is distant D doesn't want Tula back
10. The author A is willing to make efforts to keep their friendship B doesn't like the word "stay" C wants to stay D wants Tula to stay
Read the text below. For questions 1-10, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
There was a man who had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, "Father, give me the share of property that falls to me". And he divided his living between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took his journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in loose living. And when he had spent everything, a great famine arose in that country, and he began to be in want. So he went and joined himself to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he would gladly have fed on the pods that the swine ate; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, "How many of my father's hired servants have bread enough and to spare but] perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; treat me as one of your hired servants:' And he arose and came to his father. But while he was yet at a distance, his father saw him and had compassion and ran, embraced him and kissed him.And the son said to him: "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you; I am no longer worthy to be called your son." But the father said to his servants: "Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found". And they began to make merry. 64
Now his elder son was in the field; and as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. And he called one of the servants and asked what this meant. And he said to him: "Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fatted calf, because he has received him safe and sound." But he was angry and refused to go in. His father came out. and entreated him, but he answered his father, "Look, these many years I have served you, and I never disobeyed your command; yet you never gave me a kid, that I might make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours came, who has devoured your living with harlots, you killed for him the fatted calf!" And he said to him, "Son, you are. always with me, and all that is mine is yours. It was fitting to make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead, and now is alive; he was lost, and is found."
("The Parable of The Prodigal Son", in The Gospel of Luke, The New Testament of The Bible, 15: 11-32) 1. A B C D
The father gave the share of property to the elder son none of his sons the younger son both his sons
2. A B C D
When the younger son spent all his money he gave fOQd to the swine bought swine to make profit ate swine killed swine
3. A B C D
The younger son intends to make money again ask for his father's forgiveness ask for much money from his father steal from his father
4: A B C D
The younger son is willing to administrate his father's money be his brother's right hand work as a servant what his brother tells him to do
5. A B C D
The younger son receives from his father money a robe and a ring . some shoes, a robe, a ring and money shoes, a robe and a ring
6. A B C D
The elder son is happy for his brother is angry wants to make merry with his familly goes to the party
7. A B C D
The elder son disobeyed his father in the past made merry with his friends didn't disobey his father in the past wanted his share
8. A B C D
The elder son complains he didn't get a kid from his father about his father's attitude about crucial things about nothing
9. A B C D
The parent didn't care about the elder son didn't care about the younger son loved his sons loved the younger son more
10. The parent A the younger B of the party C the younger D the younger
is happy because son came back son came back and has changed son has changed
Read the text below. For questions 1-10, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
I had scribbled in my diary as if to make it irrevocable: "I shall take a child out of Sarajevo when I leave. Check orphanage about little girl Natasha! A decision had been made and that was that! But I had overlooked a rather crucial point; would the orphanage allo"w Natasha to leave and did she want to go with a complete stranger? That evening 1 persuaded our interpreter, Jacko, against his better judgement, to take me back up to the Ljubica Ivezic orphanage, a dangerous journey at dusk through the hills, when the gunners began to adjust their sights on the city in readiness for their night's deadly employment. The streets were empty, the city's people already back in their attics or their cellars to hide the night away in darkness and much fear. "Why Natasha?" Vera Zoric, the director, was not as surprised as I had expected. I explained there were other children in her care I could choose if she thought Natasha was not the right choice or if she felt another boy or girl had a greater priority. I would leave it to her to decide, assum ing I had her agreement and support. "But why Natasha?" she asked again. I shrugged. Why do you select one among so many? Why is one face remembered above the rest? "She shines", I said. Mrs. Zoric did not understand but Jacko explained and she laughed. I went on: "She doesn't seem to belong here." "None of them belong here." "She seems different to me." She came to me and held my hand in both of hers. "You want to take this child out of Bosnia and in normal times you could not. But these are not normal times. My children are in danger and every day I am working to find a way to get them out... anywhere, to anyone who will look after them. I do not care where they go as long as they are safe, where there are no shells and no bombing, away from Sarajevo."
(Extracts from "Welcome to Sara;evo" by Michael Nicholson Faber and Faber Publishers/Michael Nicholson 1994)
1. The author A !s not sur~ about taking a child OLitof Sarajevo B IS determmed to take a child out of Sarajevo C has doubts about taking a child out of Sarajevo D doesn't know what to do 2. A B C D
The author wants to take Natasha from the orphanage the streets a poor family dangerous orphanage
3. A B C
o
Jacko wanted to take the author back to the orphanage didn't want to take the author back to the orphanage had to take the author back to the orphanage got a lot of money to take the author back to the orphanage
4. A B C D
The jourey to the orphanacre was made during the day '=' when it was dark i.n the morning in the afternoon
5. A B C D
People hid in cellars in attics in attics or cellars where they could
6. A B C D
The author wanted to take out of Sarajevo any child only Natasha if not Natasha then another child a boy
7. The author wants Natasha A because she has a shining face B because she is different
C because she is nice o without any reason. 8. In normal time A the author couldn't take Natasha B the author could take Natasha C it would be easy to take Natasha D Natasha wouldn't want to leave
9. Safety for the children means A no bombs B no shells C being away from Sarajevo D no bombs, no shells, being away from Sarajevo 10. Vera Zoric A cares about the children B doesn't care about the children C wants to get rid of the children o doesn't want to help the children
Read the text below. For questions 1-10, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.
Few people would contest the value of the arts in a civilized society. Great art enriches people's lives by providing pleasure, stimulation and an escape from the pressures of everyday life. However, it is also true that many of the arts, such as classical music, the ballet, and the visual arts have always attracted a minority audience. The question is whether the arts should be publicly funded, or whether it is the consumers who should pay. It is my view that the government should subsidize the arts, for a number of reasons. First of all, without 'subsidies, many artists
would undoubtedly be unable to survive financially. Government grants can enable them to work with artistic freedom and integrity, whereas if they worked independently or relied on private subsidies they might be subject to market pressures and the need to make profit. Secondly, the arts contribute to a nation's cultural heritage and can create a sense of social cohesion and identity. They can also play an important role in education, comlnunity regeneration and even crime prevention. However, the main argument for public funding of the arts is not social usefulness, but rather because they are important for their own sake. Of course, there are those who argue that public money would be better spent on meeting the needs of the poorer members of society, and on healthcare, education, and social welfare schemes, rather than catering for the interests of an elite. However, I believe that a healthy society is one in which art and creativity are valued alongside these basic needs. Indeed, a civilized society ought to make the arts accessible to everyone, regardless of their background or income. In conclusion, the arts should be funded across a broad spectrum of activities, for example: by supporting community or school theatre projects, or bringing sculptures and art installations to public places. This is not for purely social reasons, but because enjoyment of art is part of what it means to be human. 1. The art offers A pleasure and stimulation B an escape from everyday life pressures, pleasure and stimulation, relaxation C pleasure, stimulation and an escape from everyday life pressures o relaxation 2. A B C
o
The arts attract a lot of people not that many persons the majority of people the minority of people
3. The author considers the arts A should be helped financially by the Government B should be helped with publicity by the Government
70
C should be helped by its consumers o need no help
4. A B C
Money from the Government ensures the artist's objectivity the artist's popularity the artist's richness o the artist's integrity and objectivity
5. A B C
The arts mean richness poverty unity o richness and unity 6. A B C
Funding the arts is good because they are useful from the social point of view from the financial point of view for old people o for rich people
7. A B C
In a healthy society we have to cherish. creativity the art the art and creativity o everything 8. A B C
The arts should be should be should be o shouldn't
accessible to accessible to accessible to be accessible
the educated persons the rich all the people to any kind of people
9. Bringing sculptures to the public places is A good for the artistic area B bad for the artistic area
e not
important for the artistic area D a way to make money
10. To be human in some part means A to organize artistic events B to adore the art e to enjoy the art D to help the art
I. The author moved to the USA when she was in kindergarten. B
Wrong
2. The author liked her first weeks in the USA. A
Right
3. High school girls wore uniforms in the USA.
e
Doesn't say
4. The author had a perm. A Right 5. In Korea girls hold hands with girls. A Right 6. It is good to do well at school in Korea. A
Right
7. It was not difficult for the author to make friends. B Wrong
I. Mavis is the author's neighbour for seven years. B Wrong 2. Mavis asks for a spade as her things weren't unpacked. A
Right
3. Mavis is sixty years old.
e
Doesni
say
4. Mavis has a sense of humour and she is friendly. A Right
5. Mavis wears perfectly ironed suits. B Wrong
3. The witness saw two men. A RighI
6. Mavis has different types of flowers in her garden.
4. Both men were quite ugly. C Doesn't say
C Doesn.'t say 7. The author likes Mavis very much.
A Right
l. Remembrance
5. The alarm system was very expensive.
C Doesn't say
Day is a British event.
A Right
6. The two men got into a black Ford Cortina. A Right 7. A part of the building was in flames in a few minutes. B Wrong
2. On Remembrance Day people remember the Heroes from Vietnam. B Wrong 3. Paper poppies are made by children. C Doesn't say 4. The war veterans feel proud at the parades.
A Right 5. The service is held at the castle. B Wrong 6. The poppies are dropped from the ceiling by little children. C Doesn't say 7. Remembrance A Right
Day is a v~ry important event in Britain.
1. Thirty years ago people only dreamt at the places they are travelling to now. A Right 2. Travelling by plane can't be compared to anything else. A Right 3. The plane is not that fast. B Wrong 4. You can go from U.S. to U.K. in a few hours. C Doesn't say 5. In a plane you are well taken care of. A Right
l. The witness saw a light coming from the third floor.
A Right
6. Airports and aeroplanes C Doesn't say
2. The witness is sure it was J I. I 5 when he saw the light. B Wrong
7. For the author travelling A Right
are targeted by terrorists every day.
by plane wi)) remain popular.
6. In the city there is no rat that one can find. B Wrong . I. We don't know how many sailors were saved
B U'rong
.
7. People think the illness comes from God. A Right
2. The tanker looses tons of oil into the sea A Right .
e
3. On Thursday night it was a storm. Doesn't say
e
1. The author wants to leave from his village. Doesn't say
4. The tanker is loosing oil from six tanks. B Wrong
2. The author needs two hours to get to school. A RighI
5. T~ed birds, the dolphins and other species will be affected by th e aCCl ent. A RighI 6. Expensive detergents e Doesn't say
3. The author has fun on his/her way to school. B Wrong 4. In the village there aren't too many things to do. A Right
are dropped into the sea .
7.TDhe Gov,emment will take drastic measures against the companv e oesn t say .'
5. You can go to a swimming club in your free time. Doesn't say
e
6. In summer the village is completely A Right I. The author's A Right
relatives and friends are dead
7. Visitors come in the village with expensive Doesn'l say
.
2. Nicholas Smith is the author's B Wrong
1. Margaret and her husband decided to move in a big house .. Doesn't say
faith.
e
2. Their family and friends were not very surprised. B Wrong
4. People wash their clothes very often. C Doesn't say 5. On~ of the symptoms
cars.
e
best friend.
3. The cross on the door symbolizes B Wrong
A RIght
different.
is the pain under the arms .
3. The Smiths left from a house with a big kitchen. Doesn't say
e
4. Now the Smiths have a few new neighbours. B
Wrong
5. When they are bored of one place the Smiths can change their address. A
Right
6. The new home is very comfortable. A Right 7. The only problem the Smiths have is shopping. A Right
I. People don"t remember too much about their life before the age of seven or eight. A Right 2. The author remembers very well how his/her classroom looked. B Wrong 3. The author can remember the faces of the persons who ran the kindergarten. B Wrong 4. The author is sure the persons who ran the kindergarten were nice.
I. Nick Park is not that famous. B
2. Nick started to be interested in animation at the age of ten. B Wrong 3. Nick's first experiment was made with his father's camera. A
A
RighI
Wrong
5. The author remembers very well his experience with the shoelaces. B Wrong 6. The author was a beautiful child in kindergarten. e Doesn't say
Right
7. The author liked riding the tricycle with I)is/her sister. 4. Nick received an Emmy for his animation. B Wrong 5. A famous electricity company offered Nick a contract. Doesn~ say
e
A. Right
I. In the text are mentioned three types of dinner parties. B
6. In the commercials Nick's characters moved but didn't speak. B
Wrong
7. Nick's future plan is to make a full-length film. A
Right
Wrong
2. A successful dinner party means a social success. A RighI 3. If you cook very well you can be a good host. e Doesn~ say 4. We are recommended to avoid dinner parties at our home. A Right
5. A good choice for a dinner party place is the restaurant. A
Right
6. At the restaurant you can have any type of food you wish. C
Doesn't say
4. On the roads C
7. Politics should not be a discussion theme at the table. A
3. July is the only popular month for going on a holiday. B Wrong
Right
(0
the seaside you can"t find motorbikes.
Doesn't say
5. You can fish in the south west of England. A Right 6. Beaches can be found on the English Riviera.
1. Butterflies are just like the people. C Doesn't say 2. In Burma the soul at death is compared with a butterfly. B
Right
.
4. In Burma the children are awaken suddenly. B
Wrong
5. In Scotland golden butterflies are considered good omens. A Right 6. The butterfly from the legend managed to enter into the man's mouth. B
Wrong
7. Butterflies are protected species. C Doesn't say
1. On the English coats people come in winter. B
Right
7. You can also have fun at youth hostels. C Doesn't sa)'
Wrong
3. In Burma the people believe in the soul-butterflies. A
A
Wrong
2. In Britain people have two weeks of holiday. A Right
1. During the week the British eat a lot in the morning. B Wrong 2. In the morning the British drink coffee or tea. A Right 3. On Mondays breakfast is very rich. B Wrong 4. The British usually have lunch at restaurants. B
Wrong
5. On Sundays lunch is the most important meal. A
Right
6. In the evening guests are expected at dinner. C Doesn't say 7. One can have supper either at home or at a restaurant. A Right
2. The British C are preoccupied to find solutions for conflicts belVl'eenindividuals I. In ancient societies A athletics and competitive contact games were rough.
3. Other cultures
D are less concerned by avoiding conflicts 2. During the Roman Empire, spectators C regarded violence in sports as a social norm.
4. Every culture B has its own way to calm down
3. Sports violence has started to be regarded as a social problem A lately.
5. When you want to avoid a conflict
C you must know what to do and what to say 4. Canada and England B are trying to discover the cause of violence among hockey pla1'ers.
6. In public confrontations
the British
D are vigorous in response and confront openly 5. Regarding sports violence there seems to be a feeling of B dissatisfaction. 6. In order to reduce violence D sport rules, equipment design and sports arenas have been
ad;usted.
according to .
A coaches. 9. The tendency of the public opinion towards sports violence is B to be more concentrated on it.
principle of cultural behaviour
A avoiding face-to-face conflict
situations people
10. A problematic situation is A when we make a mistake in unknown environment
1. Helena considers that a person's way of being is due to A that person family
s
10. Critics regard sports violence as A an international reality.
1. An underlying language is:
8. In other cultures, in public confrontations people A make a lot of efforts to reduce the conflict 9. In other cultures, in private conflictual A offer more vigorous responses
7. Government officials, fans and athletes B are ambivalent towards sports violence. 8. Risk makes the game more interesting
7. In personal situations the British D are looking for the middle route
2. In Denmark people A are not preoccupied by fame
reflected in the
3. Coming from Denmark D helped Helena in her career 4. For the reporter being professional means D come in, do your ;ob and go home
5. Being a model B is a strange iob to have 6. Helena got to the top C because she had talent, luck and she was in the right place at the right time 7. The first time Helena went to Paris was B to eat good food during one weekend 8. Helena started taking photos C before she was a model and during her model career 9. Helena takes more portraits because B this way things from the inside are taken out
7. The author considers B America hasn ~respected the promise made to black people 8. The African-Americans A were given a bad check 9. African-Americans want to cask the check which gives them D freedom and iustice 10. The author wants all the people to be B brothers
I. The greenhouse gas emissions A will cause devastating changes in the future
10. When one takes a portrait A the photographed person feels a little bit naked
I. The Emancipation Declaration was signed B a great American 2. The Proclamation is a sign D of hope for the black slaves 3.' One hundred years later the Negro C feels isolated in his own land 4. The architects of the country are D the leaders 5. The promissory note was C for the young people, for black people and white people 6. All men were guaranteed the right D to life, happiness, freedom
2 Global food production C will be affected with 10% 3. The powerful hurricanes D cause human tragedies and material damages 4. TPee says A temperature will be affected in the future 5. Scientists discovered B that the Earth can i absorb carbon dioxide as in the past 6. [ftemperature increases D hunger and big floods will appear and species will disappear 7. Dr. Wainwright says A it s people s fault for global warming 8. Mark Gibson says B we might be able to cut temperature rises
9. Mark Gibson considers C politics should get involved 1. Mr. Nuttel B has to stay with the little lady while waiting for her aunt
10. Politicians
C showed no interest in global warming
2. Framton Nuttel D flattered the young lady 1. Scientists have discovered B is caused by the genes
the need to eat too much chocolate
B wasn ~sure the visits were useful for the nerve cure
2. The sweet tooth gene explains D why it so difficult to resist to eat sweets
4. Framton Nuttel
s
C moved to a rural retreat
3. A possible drug would
5. Framton Nuttel receives letters of introduction
C help us resist the temptation 4. In their experiments with mice the researchers A different things in a gene
3. Framton Nuttel
A to all the people his sister knows noticed
5. The sweet taste receptor B announces the brain that the person has eaten a sweet 6. If your parents has a sweet tooh D youl will have a sweet tooth too
7. The reuslts of the experiments
B didn ~represent a reason for chocoholics to give up their diet 8. If people don't eat too much sweet food/many sweets A the body gets used to less sweet food/fewer sweets
6. Framton Nuttel knew
D didn ~know whether Mrs. Sappleton was from the nice category 7. Framton Nuttel knew
C the woman s name and address 8. Framton Nuttel . . B had a feeling that a man lived in Mrs. Sappleton shouse 9. In the house
C the window is opened on an October afternoon 10. Mr. Nuttel B wonders if the window has a connection with the tragedy
9. One can have a diet
C with some suggar 10. The American researchers
B want to create artificial sweeteners
1. For Jean Kerr flying is
C safer, faster, cheaper and more stressful
2. A magazine suggested C that the planes should have zones where children shouldn ~he
allowed
4. In our society it is considered like a blasphemy C to tell a child to compete, to work hard and to study 5. At school the children
3. Airlines B don ~agree with the isolation of the children in planes
C study. play sports, do drama, ioin the choir, socialize 6. Some people consider it's better
4. Another problem regarding flying is A the luggage
A to have no winners at sports
5. Unchecked
A by spraying them with antiseptic
7. Some parents protect their children luggage causes
C boarding delay 6. Travellers A put too many things for the number of suitcases they have
8. Mr. Marsh underlines D the difference between smothering and sheltering 9. Mr. Marsh should have told the parents
7. Airlines are imposing
C size and weight limits for the bags 8. Passengers don't like D when they are separated from their belongins at the check-in
C to get real 10. It's best for children to learn that school, exams and life are tough
C as early as possible
9. When you traveJ by plane there is the risk
C that your luggage doesn't appear at the carousel 1. Susan Maushart married 10. Planes and diets
B at the age of twenty-seven
D have the weight as common element 2. When Susan came from her honeymoon
she first
C cleaned the bathroom 1. George Marsh talked about B the pressures faced by the youngsters
3.- When she cooked Susan
2. People are familiar with D children being burnt out because of ambitious parents
4. Susan's behaviour at her return frQm the honeymoon
3. The headlines scream that A there is too much pressure on children
5. Susan A lives in New York
C used a cookery book
B wasn ~normal for a feminist like her
6. For Susan "wifework" means o unpaid work done by the wife after she has married
9. Will A thinks the police consider him responsible
7. After a man and a woman get married o the woman works more around the house
10. Disappearances are connected with C money worries, stress or family situations, violence in the family
8. After getting married o the woman has fewer benefits, the man has more benefits 9. At the wedding reception, Susan"s husband asked her B not to smoke during the reception 10. Who have stronger depressions? A wives
1. The author B didn 1 expect to be dumped by her Mend
2. The ending point of the friendship was represented by o a letter 3. Tula's break up letter A was unexpected
A Grace
4. Tula and the author had been friends C for almost t.enyears
2. Charlie is A a boy
A Tula
3. The last person who saw Grace was B Maggie
6. When the author married, Tula o met new people
4. There is the possibility that Grace C w~nt to another place without beeing seen by anybody
7. The author considers close friends C can 1 be replaced
5. The search has C four options
8. The idea of friends being around for ever can be found C movie soundtracks and songs
6. The police o didn 1look for fingerprints immediately
9. In her letter the author B doesn 1 give up her friendship with Tula
7. Will considers B the police are of no use
10. The author A is willing to make efforts to keep their friendship
1. The missing person is
8. The person who knows what questions to ask the police is A Alex
5. The long-term-partner dumped
3. Jacko B didn ~want tv fake the author back to fhe orphanage I. The father give the share of property to C the younger son
4. The journey to the orphanage was made
B when it was dark 2. When the younger son spent all his money he
A gave food to the swine
5. People hid
C in attics or cellars 3. The younger son intends to B ask {or his {ather S {orgiveness 4. The younger son is willing to
C work as a servant 5. The younger son receives from his father
o shoes, a robe and a ring 6. The elder son B is angry 7. The elder son
C didn ~disobey his father in the past 8. The elder son complains A he didn't get a kid from his father 9. The parent
C loved his sons 10. The parent is happy because
C the younger son came back and has changed
6. The author wanted to take out of Sarajevo
C ifnot Natasha then another child 7. The author wants Natasha B because she is di{{erent 8. In normal times A the author couldn ~take Natasha 9. Safety for the children means
o no bflmbs, no shells.
being away {rom Sarajevo
10. Vera Zoric
A cares about the children
1. The art offers
C pleasure. stimulation and an escape (i-omeveryday life press.ures 2. The arts attract
D the minority of people 3. The author considers the arts
1. The author
B is determined to take a child out of Sara/evo 2. The author wants to take Natasha from A the orphanage
A should be helped financially by the Government 4. Money from the Government
o the artist s integrity
ensures
and objectivity
5. The arts mean D richness and unity 6. Funding the arts is good because they are useful A from the social point of view 7. In a healthy society we have to cherish
C the art and creativity 8. The arts
C should be accessible to all the people 9. Bringing sculptures to the public places is
A good for the artistic area 10. To be human in some part means
C to en;oy the art
Write an email to your English speaking friend explaining that you would like to apply to do a course at one of the colleges in the city he lives. Tell him/her what type of studies you have been doing for the past few years and ask for assistance in contacting an appropriate institution. Write your answer in 80100 words. Dear Tom, How are you? How is your family? I hope everybody is well. I am writing to let you know that I am planning to apply for a course at one of the colleges in your city. I am also asking for your help in finding the best course that can help me in my future career as an accountant. Let me tell you a few words about my studies. For the last 4 years I've been studying maths and economy and I really enjoyed working with numbers so I decided to try and go in that direction because I believe that being an accountant is a very interesting job. I really hope that you can help me in choosing the appropriate course at the right college. Your friend, Tom
Write an informal letter inviting a friend to a party. Don't use your real name. Dear lIinca, Thank you for your letter. I'm sorry I didn't reply sooner but I've been on holiday in Italy. I had a wonderful time and want to show you all my photos very soon! Anyway, I was wondering if you'd like to come to a small dinner party at my house on Saturday 23rd at 8 pm. Alex and Margaret
will be there and two other friends that you don't know yet. Do let me know if you can come. I hope you can! Looking forward to seeing you very soon! Love, Steve
It is a lovely place to go in every season and the weather is not important. When it's very hot, you can keep cool under the trees. I also like walking in the woods in the rain. My favourite time to go is autumn when the leaves are fantastic colours - red, yellow, orange and gold. Leers Wood is a very special place for me. It is an escape from the noisy, crowded city I live in. The wood is beautiful and peaceful and I always feel well when I go there.
Write a formal letter requiring information about a summer course. Ask for specific details. Don't use your real name. December Blvd. Brasov City 52919 Romania Sutton School of English Sutton Coldfield Birmingham BA822f 16 May 2010 Dear Sir/Madam, I have recently seen your advertisement for Summer Intensive Courses and I would like some more information. Firstly, can you tell me the specific dates of the course during June and July? Secondly, do you know how many students will be in one class? Finally, c.an you tell me if you arrange accommodation with local families or is that something I have to do myself? Yours faithfully, George Balasescu
One of my favourite natural places is a wood near where I live called Leers Wood. Many of the trees are very old - some of them have been there for hundreds of years.
96
Write a story about a frightful and interesting experience you lived. It all happened last summer. I was staying at my cousin's house in the mountains and I was bored. I really wanted something exciting to happen so I decided to go for a walk alone. At first, it was sunny, the mountains were beautiful and I felt happy. But time passed quickly and I realised that I was far from my cousin's house and I was completely lost! Suddenly, I heard a bizarre noise and I saw a huge bear. He was making some sort of noise and he seemed to be asking me to go with him. So, I decided to follow. After a while, he took me to my cousin's house. He disappeared in the night and I never saw the huge bear again.
Write a formal e-mail inviting Mr. Thomas to dinner. Don't use your real name.
I would like to invite you to dinner after your visit to our company next week, if you have time. Our Managing Director, Alison McDermott, will also come.
] will book a table at a Chinese restaurant in Nightingale Road, for 7, 30 p.m. on Friday evening. The restaurant is next to your hotel in Blueberry Road. ' I hope you can join us. Please, can you let me know this week?
Write a letter offering a position in your company to a personthat came to an interview. Don't use your real name.
Best wishes, John Smith John Smith - Head of PR Thompson Welding Box 79 , London 82
Write an informal e-mail to a colleague offering information about a new product your company sells.
I made an interesting contact at the seminar last week. Paul Young is in charge of the Acquisition Department at HMC in Dublin. He is very interested in our new product and wants you to contact him. At this time I think it is a very happy situation for us to receive such demands for our products. I am really happy I can help and be sure that every time I will meet a possible client I will put him/her in contact with you.
Hope it's useful for you!· CU Tina
73 West Street London BC2 Mr. Gary Thompson 64 Thames Rd Alton-on- Thames Surrey 6T63FR
Dear Mr. Gary Thompson, We are pleased to inform you that you have been successful in your application for the position of PR assistant in our company. As agreed in the interview, we would like you to start on I March in our Central office. Your starting salary will be £32,000 per annum. Please sign and return a copy of the contract enclosed to confirm acceptance of this offer. We look forward to hearing from you soon. Sincerely yours, Patrick Smith HR Manager
Is the time for beginning a child's education important? Should children begin their formal education at a very early age and should spend most of their time on school studies or should they spend most of their time playing? In my opinion, children should learn playing and communicating with their friends and parents. I think that such basic qualities as
kindness, self-confidence and just a good sense of humour cannot be achieved from studying at school. Children should spend more time with their family, playing and learning. Imagine that a child is not playing with his friends but he does his homework and feels exhausted and tired. Another important issue is that children at very early ages need more physical exercise because at this age the development of their body is an essential aspect. Children, first of all, must be healthy.
Which movies do you prefer? Those that make you think or those that make you laugh? Different people like different types of movies and this is a very good reason for having so many kinds of movies nowadays. Some people like to watch a movie that makes them think. They prefer movies with a murder investigation or some kind of complicated plan. Other people prefer movies that make them laugh. Personally, I. like comedies more than anything, but sometimes my friends insist on watching a fantastic or a scary movie and I go with it. Comedies make us laugh. People can just sit and relax at home, drink a bottle of soda and have some popcorn while enjoying these moments. It is a means of eliminating stress and tension.
If you decide to give a few hours to improve the community you live in what is one thing you will do? I know a couple of families with little children, who cannot afford to spend much money on paying for a baby-sitter. I'm thinking now .of a single mother with a little girl. Julia, this is her name, is a waitress in a restaurant. She is a great person and we have become close friends lately. So, sometimes I offer her my help with her child when she has to work in the evenings. Another
family has two funny little twins. Once, their parents asked me to babysit their chi Idren because they had to attend an unexpected presentation.
Parents influence greatly their children for a lifetime. I think people are modelled by two factors, family and the society. they are living in. From birth, human beings are influenced by the envlronme~t they grow up in. Parents have a big role in bringing up thw children, which affects their lives for ever. In their early years, babies are looking to their mu':ls' and da~s to learn basic manners so that they can be accepted In the socIety. Some of these manners include not running around in restaurants or hitting other kids. As they grow up, they learn more from their parents about social etiquette, which makes them more properly trained for living in the society.
It is known that nowadays people live longer lives. Use specific reasons and details to develop your essay. Statistics show that people live longer nowadays. There are sev~ral reasons for this. First of all, hundreds of years ago, mankInd suffered from many different kinds of diseases which have found a cure only now. The success of conteIl}porary medicine allows people to live with artificial arms, hands, legs ~nd even hearts. Secondly the life conditions have greatly Improved. A person does not h;ve to sleep on the wet and cold ground, defend himself from predators in the wild forests and fight for his life on cruel wars with the sword in his hands. All of these things mentioned above allow people to maintain a healthier life, to spend more time with the family and friends and make their lives longer and happier.
Write a formal letter answering an offer to live in a different city for a while. Don't use your real name.
Thank you very much for the letter. I am very pleased that I've won the prize. I would like to go to Washington because I have never been to the USA-before. Still, there are several questions I would like to ask. First of all, I would like to know whether the return flight is a direct flight or not. I would like to book a direct flight because it is so much easier for me. Secondly, I wtluld like to know for how many hours we are going to study every day and of course if there are classes in the morning or in the afternoon. Finally, I would like to ask you if it is possible for me to stay at school for an extra week. If that's possible, please let me know the price I have to pay. . I want to thank you in advance for your assistance and I'm looking . forward to hearing from you. Faithfully yours, Michaela lonescu
Would you prefer to be self-employed, work for someone else, or own a business? Basically, people work for money and personal success. However, some people prefer to be self-employed and others prefer to work for an employer. As for myself, I haven't made my choice yet. I think that each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages. Working as an employee brings many benefits. First of all, one can spend more time with his family helping his child with the homework, spending time with the whole family etc.
Being self-employed has many benefits too. One knows that the more he works the more he earns. I think that being self-employed is not as easy as it may seem. A person must be self-confident, strong and patient. He must know exactly what he wants and to be ready to sacrifice all his time to it. To sum up, we all take decisions that are right for us. There are no good or bad ... decisions in our lives just decisions .
You have seen this announcement in a high school magazine. Describe you best experience as a student. Write your article in 180-200 words. I love high school. In my opinion it is the best period in one's life. I enjoy every minute of my high school experience. I can't really say that I love learning and being the best student in my class, but I really love the weekends I spend with my class mates, the trips we're. planning, the concerts we're going to. I remember about one trip we've planned so attentively. We were so excited about going to a rock concert to Sighisoara. We were in the 11th grade. Ii was spring time and we were very happy to leave for two days and see that concert. We considered every single detai I, but the reality was totally different. We wanted to go by coach but we ended up travelling by train because one of us had forgotten to set the alarm clock the night before and woke up only when we rang him. On the train it was great, we sang, we laughed, we even danced and got on very well so that we were surprised when we saw that we arrived in Sighisoara. The town was wonderful. A festival was also organized at that time so we enjoyed listening to country music, painting our faces and drinking and eating all sorts of traditional things. The concert was fantastic and I happily remember this as the best experience I have had so far as a student.
Do you think advertising encourages us to buy things we really do not need or by watching advertisements, we find information about new products that may improve our lives? Use specific re,asons and examples to support your answer.
Objects around make us what we are, help us develop and improve the world we live in. If you could make a gift to a child, what gift would you give him to be sure that this is about to help him in his development?
I think that everyone can divide all advertising products and services into useless and Llseful ones. It is like scanning a brochure and paying attention to those messages that interest you. Take me for example. I do not like jewellery. It does not mean I do not have any. I have some inexpensive rings as gifts from my parents and friends. I just think people pay too much attention to it. I believe this is the result of mass advertising. Every day when we are watching TV, listening to the radio or reading the newspaper we notice way too many ads about getting an expensive ring, a chain, a necklace or some earrings. From my point of view these types of commercials are overwhelming us. We are definitely encouraged to buy things we do not really need. They make us believe we need such products in order to succeed or be happy. From the other side, I think that advertisements of the new detergents with up-to-date formulas to help us maintain our clothes in perfect condition, the new cars with some extra features that make our trips more comfortable and sports goods that make us healthier can help us in improving our lives. Recently I saw an ad on the Internet for a very interesting and inexpensive vacation to Japan for a week. Is it not awesome? I like travelling. So now I am planning to find out more about it and, probably, make reservations. I believe that without advertising we would be unaware of the multitude of opportunities that can make our lives happier, easier and less stressful. In my opinion, every person has his own scale of values. We can watch advertisements but we should not forget that we don't need so many things to keep us happy.
People learn and develop throughout their entire lives. I think that in our modern world it is very important to be familiar with the computer technology. 'So, if I had a chance to give a child ~ gift it would be a computer. I think that computers play an essential role in our lives and they bring many benefits to our society. Moreover, children can learn a lot of interesting and useful things by using computers. In the following paragraphs I will give my reasons to support my answer. First of all, by the use of computers children can play .many games which help to improve their abilities like: thinking logically, better coordinating their moves, improve their imagination, etc. Furthermore, playing games develop many important qualities such as attention, patience, perseverence and many others. . Secondly, computers help children to learn more about thmgs they are interested in by the use of the Internet. They can ~nd new friends even from other countries. Children will, as well, Improve their communication skills, gain more knowledge and experience. Furthermore, children have the great opportunity to learn more about other countries, their history, traditions and customs. Finally, computer skills can help a child to find his or her first job. A child can find an ad on the Internet about a job offer an~ he or she can make a resume and send it in order to apply for that Job. Personally, I think it is a great experience and a big step forward towards a future career. . In addition to those practical benefits, computer technology helps children to do their homework faster. They can type their data into the computer, easily check the grammar, correct.mistakes ~nd then print it out. Moreover, there are plenty dIfferent kmds of educational programs that can help children learn how to read, write, draw and even how to behave and speak a foreign language. To sum up, I believe that children should learn how to use. a computer because this knowledge will help them in the future III
being more self-confident and innovative. Also, computers can greatly improve and simplify their lives if children know how to use them.
What subject would you like to study if this opportunity were given to you? Explain your choice, using specific reasons and details. If I had the opportunity to study a subject I would be interested in I would choose to study the outer space. You might wonder why. Well, because I have been interested in the exploration of space since I was a young· boy. . . In my opinion, it is a very interesting and chal.lengm~ Job, tha~ of working on a space ship and gathering diffe:ent kmds oflOfor~l1atlOn, probes and specimens. Many people thmk that these kmds of experiments are a waste of time and money. . Nevertheless I believe that humankind is making steps forward in understandi~g the outer space. We need to know what is beyond our solar system. We need to know what is beyond our uni~e~se. That is not only for our own safety, but also for our future. Llvmg in a better world with all the resources that we need is a dream we have for our followers. Another important aspect of studying the space is that scientists are always about to make new discoveries. I. ~hink it is a .great feeling to give people new knowledge, opportumtles and expenence. Scientists often find and study new constellations. They launch satellites and monitor them from land. When I was a child I used to collect stamps and cards about space and I dreamed that someday I would be able to fly into the outer space. However, my plans changed but my dream has ~ot vanished. I believe that in a not such a far away future people wIll be able to visit the space just like they go to a museum now. To sum up, I think that by having the chance to stud~ the space I would improve my knowledge and hopefully sometimes all my research will help in creating a better world for those to come.
Compare and contrast the knowledge gained from experience with the knowledge gained from books. In your opinion, which source is more important? Why? Give arguments. People are learning and practicing throughout their entire life. I believe that life experience and practice are the basic reasons of the humankind's evolution. However, in my opinion, knowledge gained from books plays a very important role in one's life. The most important advantage of books is that they hold all knowledge gained by previous generations. People write books about their discoveries and inventions, which are acquired by practice and experience. This knowledge is fastened into books that are passed on from generation to generation. So, basically, people get all the knowledge about the previous achie~ements from books, analyze it and then, according to their experience and new data, write new ones. Personally, I think that books are very important because they give us the basic and fundamental knowledge. Books store the history, the important events and the discoveries. Without them, it is difficult and sometimes impossible to move forward, make new discoveries and inventions. To summarize, I think a person should take basic knowledge from books because all this will help him/her to make his own inventions, conclusions and discoveries. Only using both books and one's experience we can move forward.
In your opmlon, should businesses do everything to keep afloat and be profitable? Give arguments and examples to sustain your point of view. I definitely disagree with the assertion that businesses should do anything they can to be profitable. In my opinion, every company should have its moral values. It means that a company ought to treat its clients properly and respect
their rights. Of course, a company may lose a part of its profits but the clients' protection must come first. Otherwise, clients will switch to another company never to return. For instance, a few years ago a company produced a new type of painkillers. Unfortunately, this product was not properly tested. As a result of this slip, many people got sick. The president of the company made a crucial decision in withdrawing all the painkillers from all distributors and paying to all ill-treated customers for their healing. It cost a lot of money for the company but it saved its image and clients. It was a very difficult decision, but the president of the company understood that it would cost him even more in the future because he would not be able to return his clients' respect. For a company, loosing its clients means loosing its profit. Of COl,lrse,in order to succeed in the modem world companies have to compete against each other. Many companies record profit loss due to decreasing prices on their products. They do not aspire for extra profit but for their clients' satisfactiQIl. Companies do it because they want their products sold and their customers satisfied. They offer discounts, free delivery, free service, free Internet access, good refunding service, etc. All these are. done to make their present customers happy and to attract new clients. To sum up, I think a company that has as its sole goal the profit will certainly not succeed nowadays. Otherwise, companies that respect their clients and want to see them satisfied will be in a better position of making a fortune.
The contributions of artists to the society are crucial. Art is one of ~he.important flJ:1d<1J~lentals that form people's spiritual sense, their ,":Iewsand person-:.l.~les.People learn about history, the traditions of their country because of art. We also watch movies that entertain and at t~e same tim~ extend ~ur range of interests. Another important aspect IS that art IS an ancIent means of communication. In old times people depicted the herds of mammoths on the walls of their ca,":es. They performed all sorts of rituals around the fire asking theIr gods for health and good harvest. Our language is a result of people's need to communicate. From the other side, the scientists' contribution shouldn't be exaggerated. All humankind is indebted to the scientists because of their work and achievements. Scientists make our lives easier. We have cars and airplanes to move fast from one place to another. We have microwaves and processed food to make cooking much easier. W~ h~ve differen~ devices that simplify everything we do. Finally, SCIentIstsare makmg great achievements in medicine that make our lives longer and happier. Nowadays people have the great opportunity of doing many things faster by the use of computers. To sum up, I believe that artists nurture our souls when scientists and technology feed our minds. So, in the end, we cannot eliminate or underestimate neither.
In your opinion, what are some important characteristics of a co-worker (someone you work closely with)? Use reasons"to explain why these characteristics are important. Who brings more to society, artists or scientists? Whose contribution do you think is valued more by the society? Give specific reasons to support your answer. From my everyday experience and observation I think that artists as well as scientists bring many benefits to our society. This controversial question whether the artists' contributions to the society is more or less important then that belonging to the scientists' has been discussed. so many times before and it will be in the future. For several reasons, which I will mention bellow, I think that both are valuable, priceless and irreplaceable. 108
A large num ber of people spend most of their time at work. Our everyday lives are divided into three equal parts: 8 hours -sleep, 8 hours - work, 8 hours - family time. So, in most of the cases, one's co-worker plays an important role in one's life. In my opinion, the ess~ntial characteristics of a co-worker are the following. FIrst of all, a person who works closely to me must like his or her job. I think it is very important for a person to feel the satisfaction of daily achievements on his or her job. Sec?nd. of all, my co-worker must be persistent and never give up. I lIke It when people who come across a problem try to solve it,
find a good decision instead of looking for another person to pass the responsibility to. Another important aspect is that a good worker should always ask himself"What can I do more?" and suggest new solutions. In addition, he must be a good team player. In the modem world good communication and team work are among the most important demanded skills when applying for a job. Personally, I think it is great to help each other, share new ideas, develop new solutions, etc. It helps to create a team spirit and improve our work. Finally, my co-worker must be punctual. He or she should finish the job on time. I think that it is unacceptable to make the rest of a team wait while a person finishes his or her job. Also, my '"ideal co-worker" should always be ready to offer his or her help and be supportive. To summarize, I think that whether a co-worker possesses all of these qualities mentioned above he can make work with him really enjoyable and also he can generate a positive atmosphere.
Write a letter in which you praise a restaurant for the quality
of their food and the improved menu. Dear Manager, I am a reporter from the News Weekend. Because of the demand of my work, I often come to London to take interviews. Your hotel is one of my favourites, because of the comfortable living conditions, and the good facilities and, of course, especially for your excellent food. The restaurants in your hotel have many disht.:s such as Chinese food, Japanese food, and French food. Choosing from all these delicious dishes, I must say I like the Beijing Roasted Duck best, not only because of its Chinese characteristics but also because of its special taste. Consequently, every time I come here I always choose this course. Furthermore, what impressed me most is the high quality service. It always makes me feel at home. Waiters and waitresses are so kind and warm-hearted that they always earnestly' recommend
every new or special food of the restaurant. I wi II recommend your hotel and restaurant to my friends without any hesitation. I hope your hotel and restaurant will be even more prosperous in the future. Sincerely yours, Tom Jones 01.03.2010
Write a letter of request asking for information about facilities offered for a party. . Dear Sirs, We are planning a full day party to celebrate the completion of our Business Language Training Course on July 27, 20 I O. One of our professors has suggested your hotel for our celebratory party informing us about the many recreation facilities offered by your hotel. Therefore, we would like to make your hotel the venue for our party. We would like to reserve the following rooms: a big meeting room, the entertainment room and also 20 standard rooms. We would also want a buffet lunch including soft drinks, sweets and champaign. Let me offer you more information about the party. It starts at 10:00. The president of our institute is delivering an opening speech. After lunch it comes the singing and dancing show, followed by sweets and champagne celebration at 17:00. Karaoke and disco begin at 18:30 and end at about 12:30. There are 40 to 50 attendees for the event and half of them will stay overnight at the hotel. Please let us know the term of payment and other useful information. Should you have further questions, please feel free to contact me. Tel: (8610)68882150/68882151 Fax: (8610)68882250 Thank you for your kind assistance we are looking forward to your reply. Yours faithfully, Tina Jones Celebration Party Preparation
Committee
Do you prefer to work for a big or for a small company? Use specific reasons and examples to support your choice. The issue whether woFking for a large company is better than working for a small company is a controversial one. From my everyday experience and observation I think that every option has its advantages and disadvantages. I support my opinion on the following statements. From one side, working for a large company brings many benefits. First of all, one has better working conditions and a higher salary. Often, employees of a large company have fewer responsibilities. Moreover, they feel more secure because their company has more clients and this means a better chance to survive on the nowadays, so instable, market. However, if you work for a large company you may not have the chance of being promoted because your manager is not promoted, as quickly as you might. Also, from my observations, managers of larger companies do not pay much attention to one's solutions and suggestions because of the big number of employees. From the other side, working for a small company has its advantages too. Firstly, one has a better chance to be noticed. Secondly, one can talk to the owner of the company about any improvements that can be done in order to get more profit that is because of the small number of employees. Another important aspect of working for a small company is the opportunity of finding out more about how a company works. As a result, one can gain more experience and get better recommendations. We can also refer to the disadvantages one may have by working in a small firm. For instance, one can get a smaller salary, worse working conditions, etc. To sum up, I think that every person chooses for himself what we want or suits us. If one wants to climb the career ladder faster and acquire more responsibilities then it is important to think it through very carefully when choosing his or her job.
In so many parts of the world we are losing important natural resources, such as forests, animals, or clean water. Choose one resourc~ that is disappearing and explain why it needs to be saved. Give arguments and examples to support your ideas. As human's population is dramatically ri,.,ing every year, people's requirements are increasing too. We need more food, more fresh water, more space to Iive. As a result, many parts of the world are losing essential and sometimes irreplaceable resources, such as forest, animals, or fresh water. In this essay I will focus on the threat ofthe extinction of many wild animals. - The reason why I think that animals should be preserved is that all living creatures on this planet are connected to each other. As it is, the disappearance of only one species can cause dramatic changes in the planet and even the death of many other living creatures. For example, the disappearance of bats will cause the huge increase of insect population and this will reflect on all the animals and the plants. Furthermore, if the bat population increases, the insect population will decrease significantly, and this will cause the disappearance of many plants. So, I think that it is very important to preserve all species on our planet and live in harmony with our environment. It is also very important to leave the entire wilderness as heritage to our children, nephews and nieces so that those to come can enjoy, as much as we do, all that nature has to offer us. I do not want my children to learn about ditferent animals from books and not to be able to see them alive. In conclusion, I believe that together we can make the difference. From my point of view, the first problem we should find a solution for is human's overpopulation. As I mentioned above people's demands are growing and this means we consume more and more natural resources. Another important issue on my list is the pollution, one of the most important dangers we are confronting with nowadays and which is affecting our beautiful blue planet in so many ways. I believe we should never forget that being here is a privilege, and we need to try and keep everything in the best condition we can.
Which are the changes the latest years have brought in our lives as far as eating is concerned? Use specific reasons and details to develop your essay. The latest years have brought along many advances. With those improvements human lives have changed dramatically. In some ways life is worse, but mostly it is better. Changes in food preparation methods, for example have improved our lives greatly. The convenience of preparing food today is amazing. Even stoves have gotten too slow for us. Microwave cooking is much easier. We can press a few buttons and a meal is completely cooked in just no time. People used to spend hours preparing oven-cooked meals, but now they can use that time for other, better things. Moreover, there are all kinds of portable, pre-packaged foods we can buy at the supermarket. Heat them in the office microwave, and lunch at work is quick and easy. Food preparation today allows for more variety. With refrigerators and freezers we can preserve a lot of different foods in our homes. Since technology makes cooking so much faster, people are willing to make several dishes for even a small meal. Parents are more likely to let children be picky, now that they can easily heat them up some pre-packaged macaroni and cheese. Needless to say, adults living in the same house may have different eating habits as well. If they don't want to cook a lot of different dishes, it's common now to eat out at restaurants several times a week. Healthful eating is also easier than ever now. When people cook, they can use new fat substitutes, and cooking sprays to cut out fat and calories. This reduces the risk of heart disease and high cholesterol. Additionally, we can buy fruit and vegetables all throughout the year. They are easy to prepare, so many of us eat more of those nutritious items daily. A hundred years ago, we couldn't imagine the process of taking some frozen fruit and ice from the freezer, adding some low fat yogurt from a plastic cup and some juice from a can in the refrigerator, and putting it all together in a blender and making a delicious dessert. Our lifestyle is fast, but people still love a delicious meal. Today, we can prepare food that is more convenient, healthier and of greater variety than ever before. But, we also should be very careful because processed food can eventually be bad for our health.
Write a cover letter applying for a teaching job. Don't use your real name. June 4, 2010 2049 Palmers Court Washington, WL 16293 Mr. James Stuart Amax Independent School District 4109 Blueberry Drive Amax, IZ 28366
The Education Service Center has recommended Amax as a school district participating in their 20 I0-20 II Alternative Certifying Program (ACP). As a participant in ACP, I am seeking for a teaching position in English as Second Language (ESL). My commitment to working with students extends beyond my involvement in ACP. Over the past five years, I have been a teaching assistant, advisor, mentor, and tutor working with international students of all language backgrounds. I spent last summer tutoring adult immigrants in English and helping them to prepare for the Citizenship Exam. While a student at State University, I taught English part-time to ten limited-English proficient children at the local elementary school. I enjoyed working with these students and watching their progress in English. I would bring the same joy and patience to your school district as an ESL teacher this fall. By sharing my enthusiasm and knowledge, I can make a worthwhile contribution to your school. If you have any questions about ACP or my training, please contact Martin Lukas ACP Coordinator. Please contact me if you have any questions about my background. I will call you next week to talk about setting up an interview.
Customer services China Express 312, Bluebird Lane London, JC2 2B 45, Book Avenue Birmingham, BSB IMH 14th February 20 I0
EXAMINARE ORALA SPEAKING
I am writing to complain about the books I bought recently from your company on the Internet and about the way I was treated by a member of your staff when I phoned to complain. I ordered them on 8th of January and I was promised they would arrive in three days but they weren't sent to me for over two weeks. Then, when they arrived and I opened the box, I was shocked to see that one of them was badly damaged. When I phoned to complain, I was very disappointed by the way in which I was treated. The member of the staff who I spoke to was extremely rude and did not offer me any form of refund or replacement. I would be grateful if you could send me a replacement book as soon as possible, or if this is not possible, I would like a refund. Thank you for your help with this matter.
30 de bilete complete/90 de variante - 30 de subiecte de tip II a
(univers personal) - 30 de subiecte de tip II b
(relatareldescriere) - 30 de subiecte de tip II c
(pdrere personalli argumentatd)
La proba de Exprimare oraHl (Speaking), care dureaza 10- I 5 minute, se of era 30 de bilete; fiecare bilet va contine cate 3 subiecte de dificultate progresiva, In total 90 de subiecte (variante), ~i &nume:
- 30 de subiecte care contin 0 parere personala, pe 0 tema de interes, tip II c:
cu argumentare,
"Does modern technology make life more convenient or was life better when technology was simpler? Give reasons for your answers. " Rezolvarea tuturor variantelor va asigura 0 pregatire pentru Limba Engleza. Exprimare orala (Speaking)
completa
Thinking about future and taking decisions about our career is not easy especiaJly when we are still young. Some of us discover a path to foJlow in life from a very early age, some of us don't. But for aJl of us taking the best decision is not easy. Nowadays, after high school graduation teenagers start working because either they find it difficult to be financially supported by thei~ parents or they want to be on their own, tc be able to do whatever they want with their future. Having no experie:1,.:e is not helping them in achieving the job of their dreams I·mt on the way they gain a lot of experience and understand what workmg ir,\'o!ve~. Regardless of having a job or not, all the new grads realis~ that going to university is important in climbing their own career lacldcr and becoming successful people. So, they enrol for different COU1~es at different universities according to their own skills, interests or even taking in consideration the money they want to invest in the;r education or the distance they want to take from their birthplac.:. In the end, it is very important to do what you like, to study anc work in a domain that makes you happy, money will eventually some. As for me, it would be very important to find a job w!Ier~ i can work with numbers. Being an accountant is the job I want ~o do for now. I also believe that regardless the economic changes this is a job that I can also do in the future. Everybody needs someone to help them with their bookkeeping, everybody needs r~ople to take care of their financial situation and of course, they h8.'.e to hire a professional to do that. Nonetheless, there are so many pr()grammes that specialists can use in order to make their job easier, bookkeeping is not as difficult to do as it was in the past. If you have a computer that is connected to the internet at home you can do this job from the comfort of your own abode. This is also a great advantage. In the future more and more people will be working from home because of the development of the technology and my job is a one for the future.
It hasn't been easy for me to choose my job, and I really hope I made the right choice, so please come and ask me in a few years' time if I still have the same opinion.
Speak about the importance of friendship in one's life. You may give yourself as an example. Having friends is very important in everyone's life because friends are always there for us, whenever we need them. We need friends to share our problems, worries, all the moments of joy and happiness. Those friends are not easy to find, but when we find them we know they will be like family to us. Whenever we need them they will be there for us, no matter the late hours we call to ask them for advice or support. We need friends to go out with, to go skiing, clubbing, and have barbeques, go hiking, share music, talk about boys and girls, and many other things. It's great to have many friends because each'person is different, and, in this way, we can learn from different people different things, or we can share common things and ideas with people who have the same interests. At school, we can share, for example information about papers, tests, homework with our colleagues. If we like computer games and one of our ffiends likes that as well, it is so nice to share with him our passion because he can understand us b~rter than others. Sometimes friendships last for a lifetime, and this is the most extraordinary thing, to share memories with our lifetime friends who were there for us in the most important moments of our lives. When young, we find it either easy or difficult to make friends. 'ome of us are introverts and have a hard time in making friends, others are extroverts and this is the reason they have a lot of friends. Teenagers can, sometimes, be cruel in their appreciations towards someone's appearance, and this can lead to hurting other people's feelings. We must try and respect each other more, and try to know the others much better and so we could make new and good friends. I have many friends, and I truly believe that friends and friendship ·~rethings we cannot live without.
My favourite means of transport is the train. In my opinion travelling by train can be very funny and relaxing. I don't travel by train that often, only when I'm going on holidays with my family or friends. In summer I go to the Black Sea and travelling by train to the seaside has always been interesting. When I voyage by train is really nice because I can relax and enjoy the beautiful view in front of me, especially if I travel through new places. Looking at the marvellous landscapes I can see from the window can be a very enjoyable activity. The change of scenery can be very fast or very slow, and the anxiety arid the curiosity at the thought that something unexpected is going to be seen are very nice experiences. When I go to the seaside I.am always anxious to arrive closer to the sea and wait impatiently for that very moment when the sea is going to reveal in front of me. Also the rising of the sun out of the sea watched with small and sleepy eyes is one of my favourite times during the journey. When I travel by train, I can have a nice time reading a book, I am not worried about the traffic jams on the highway. This is a huge advantage ... to know that I can be on time and have no worries about it. Yes, sometimes trains are late, but this happens more rarely than when I am driving because roads are so busy nowadays. Another reason why I prefer travelling by train is that, when I travel for a long time, I can always buy a ticket at the sleeping car and I can have someone to wake me up on my arrival. In this way I gain more time for visiting around and I don't have to waste time sleeping because I had to drive the whole night. Travelling by train is my favourite means of transport but this does not mean I don't like to travel by car, by plane, or by bus depending on where I'm going. It's nice today to be able to choose from so.many means of transport and to use them whenever I want to get in time and safe to my destination.
My favourite holiday is the winter holliday. I know it is neither the longest, nor the hottest holiday we have, but it's the greatest, in my opinion. There are so many things to do then: it's Christmas, a time of magic and fairy-tales, the New Year's Eve, with new wishes and hopes for the following year. Like everyone else, I'm waiting for Santa, too, with the same enthusiasm I had in childhood. I so much love it when the entire family gathers in front of the fir-tree beautifully decorated by my mother, we sing Christmas carols and we have a cup of hot chocolate. Now we have the chance to forget all the unpleasant moments and start it allover again. Or, at least, this is the way I see it. We all wish for the better and hope to make our dreams come true. For me, this is the perfect moment to visit my relatives, spend more time with my family and stay around with my friends. We have long chats over a cup of tea and make it up for the weeks we haven't seen each other so often because of the busy schedules, all sorfs of tests and exams, school preparations etc. As you can see, there are so many things to think about and do over Christmas. Definitely, there is no time to get bored. On the contrary, I may not have enough time to relax and sleep too much. What is sure is that I really enjoy my Christmas holiday.
Being a healthy person is a fortunate thing Fate treated you with, but keeping yourself in good health is something you should do all your best to achieve. That is what I am trying to do all the time: preserve my innate health, and, to this outcome T, for one, have taken several steps. First of all, I practice sports. It has been proven that physical exercise keeps the body in good shape. I know that many of us only consider sports during the summer time, as a way of entertainment,
or when trying to lose weight. But let's not forget the Latin saying "Mens sana in corpore sano"! What other better way is there to keep healthy, and in a good mood than keeping ourselves on the move? Besides, not only doctors recommend it. Wherever I look, I see or hear slogans favouring it. If I turn the TV on, there are all sorts of commercials which promote healthy bodies. The same thing happens when I turn the radio on, or when I go downtown: huge banners with smiley healthy faces seem to invite me to the gym, to the swimming-pool, or on the tennis ground. Secondly, I try to eat as healthily as possible. I've learned to love balanced meals, eat a lot of fruits and vegetables and avoid fats. chips, burgers, or any other junk food which is really dangerous for our bodies. Foods like cereals, white meat, greens, beans, fruits, vegetables, eggs and low-fat dairy products are always a better choice than fast food. Thirdly, I do not drink alcohol and I do not smoke. This is also another important aspect of keeping fit. Everybody knows and agrees that they are real health-killers. Alcohol and cigarettes are in fact poisonous drugs, and they destroy our bodies. One starts with small doses and before he knows it, his doses increase up to addiction. I do not wish that for myself. Then, I try not to exaggerate with anything. At my age, it is easy to do that. And no"rmal, responsible teenagers will agree with me. Partying too much, overdrinking, smoking and eating junk food are surely not good for anyone.
I really think that fashion is very important for everybody. The way one dresses up is crucial. I know that there is a saying in Romanian which states that the human personality is more important than the items of clothing. Well, I tend to partly disagree with that. First of all, people seem to be judged according to the way they dress. For example, if you often wear a suit at the office, people tend to refer to you as a serious and reliable person. If, on the contrary,
you often wear jeans and a T-shirt people will consider you sloppy and disrespectful. Of course, there are cases when a certain outfit is more appropriate than another. This is imposed by the degree of formality of the event or situation. You must identify these situations, act and dress accordingly. On the other hand, you must keep up with the fashion, or at least try to adopt some elements. As I said before, people tend to judge you by the way you look. If you are in fashion, you feel good and accepted everywhere. On the contrary, if people say you are not in fashion, you may feel rejected. Another important aspect of this discussion is the statement psychologists make: human personalities are strongly influenced by fashion, because this brings them acceptance, or rejection in the society. And not only that, but fashion also settles hierarchies among the members of a certain community. In conclusion, I also consider fashion an extremely important factor for us and I try to keep up with it as much as I can.
What do you think about hobbies? One of the things that sometimes help us forget how tough and dull life can be and that give us the joy of living is the pleasure of doing something in particular - the hobby. Be it reading, dancing, writing poems or dreaming, our hobby always makes us feel great. helps us find our balance after days of doing what we have to do (or what we are supposed to, whether we like it or not). Many people have decided to make a permanent job out of their hobbies. There are so many lawyers that have chosen this career because they like to plead and talk; or successful designers that reached the top doing something that they've always loved to do: drawing ... and so on. They are the most fortunate people, I think. I don't know about the future of my hobby as a career (as a matter of fact I doubt this will happen), but I know this: what I like most to do is to dance and to enjoy every minute of being with my. friends.
I've always dreamt to be a great dancer but, above this, I've discovered that dancing is my way of living. Not just being, existing but living with passion. When I hear music, my body becomes possessed by the beauty of tunes and rhytms and I let myself seduced by sounds. I free myself of thoughts and worries and bad feel ings, and the only thing that I keep on my mind is the music. It's a hundred per cent effective therapy!
My favourite season is summer. I simply love it from its beginning, when the joy of the spring turns, little by little, into a symphony of energy and colours and warmth until its end, when the time gets the grave sounds of holidays, of adventure, of hot love ... No matter where you decide to spend it, it can be the time of your life. You may go to the mountains where the silence of the woods makes you forget about the civilised world where everything is so fast and stressful. Just listening to the wind, the rustle of the leaves, the song of the birds, the ripple of the running streams, yo!.!r thoughts can help you find a new meaning to your life, balance for your inner world. The decision to·spend the summer at the seaside can prove to be a good choice, too. Just think about the crowded beaches,full of life during the day when the hot sun and the temptingwaves of the salty waters give you so much pleasure ...The friends you can make, the great parties organised here, the dance and 'wild experiences ... the freedom! Watching the magnificent show of the sunrise that makes you feel on top of the world, or the splendour of a sunset is the most romantic part of a day ... Long walks with the one you love along the beach when everything is golden-red... . If I were to define summer in few words, I think these would be: freedom, light, passion, day-dreaming ... wild love, friendship.
My favourite sport is basketball. It has become a very popular sport in Romania recently. For the less knowledgeable ones, I will make a short presentation of this game: it is an indoor game played between two teams of usually five players each, in which each team tries to throw a large ball through the other team's basket. Any sport helps you develop your entire body harmoniously. and so does basketball. They say it even helps you grow taller, but I am not sure this is true. Apart from keeping me in good health and shape, playing basketball has helped me a lot to develop my innate skills and speed at throwing and catching the ball, my attention and even my imagination. Being a team game, it also teaches you very special things, such as team spirit, fair-play, thoughtfulness, devotion. All this help you not only in sports, but also later on in life. I always feel great when I play basketball and I hope I will play it in future, too, for as long as I can. And when I am old and grey, I will probably spend time watching others playing my favourite game.
What do you think about having a pet? It is true that having a pet involves a lot of responsibilities. This is like a commitment taken towards the animal in cause be it a cat a dog, a bird, a hamster etc. Some take things further a~d state tha~ having a pet is like having a baby: permanently watching out for it, taking care of it and loving it. I know how many responsibilities one has to cope with when having a pet, as I myself own a dog. I can say that he has been in my family for many years now and he has turned into 'one of us'. We got so much attached to little Sunny that we cannot have a complete picture of ourselves without him.
We walk him first thing in the morning, and then all the family has breakfast. After that, each of us leaves for school or for work and S'.mny stays at home watching the property for us. When I get back from school, I walk him again and then we have fun playing together, or he assists me when I'm doing my usual chores. In the evening he is to be walked again, and then we go to sleep. But this is not everything I have to do for my dog. There is a lot more to be done, such as going regularly to the vet's practise, washing him, cleaning him every time we get back after a long walk, carefully watch the food he eats etc. Apart from that, when I am to leave the house for a long time, I have to take him with me, as I can't leave him in the house all by himself. But all these efforts are really worth it, because Sunny knows and feels he is well t~ken care of and he pays it back twice by his unconditional love he always proves.
Do you believe in eating habits, as far as you are concerned? I can say that I do believe in eating habits. The first things that come into my mind right now are Christmas and Easter. The two holidays are both opportunities to give and receive presents and also occasions to prepare and eat specific dishes: at Christmas there is pork cooked in all possible ways and the various Christmas cookies; at Easter there is lamb and Easter cakes. People who celebrate Christmas and Easter all over the world will consider such eating habits part of their celebrations. In America and Canada, people also celebrate Thanksgiving Day, when they eat turkey. The peoples around the world have probably all gained an "inheritance" of specific foods: the French fries, the English tea with milk, or the Romanian traditional foods, such as stuffed cabbage rolls. Apart from eating habits related to holidays or traditions, certain families and individuals make their own eating habits according to their tastes or for a purpose-keeping a slimming diet or a healthcondition diet. I've known people concentrating on eating vitaminrich food, vegetarian food, or foods that are not rich in fats or sugar.
Besides, in different walks of life, eating habits are quite different, most often determined by the financial aspect. This argumentation could probably go on for hours on end. So, 1 don't think that anybody can pretend not to believe, more or less, in eating habits.
What is your favourite free-time activity?, What is great about adolescence years is the possibility to have much free time. Youth is the time when we, the teenagers, know best how to enjoy every break, how to be happy without having any special reason for that, how to feel good when being with our friends, how to laugh at poor jokes just because we like the way they are told, how to be romantic ... Music, dance, "smart lines", this is our world. Give me free time and don't worry about how I would spend it, because I have lots of things to do. When I feel full of energy, I can turn to a simple going out downtown or to one of the best disco-clubs. In my quiet moments, when I feel like asking someone some questions about this weird life, I meet my friends to have a chat on the topic, or I grab a book to look for answers. Books also help me relax and forget about my anxiety. And so do movies. Whenever I don't have the patience to read some pages, or I simply can't find the mood for that, I watch a movie, according to my state of mind in that moment: a comedy, if! am happy, a romance if! feel in love, an action movie, if 1 feel calm etc. These are my favourite free time activities, but I cannot forget about the responsibilities I have within my family, and those I have for school: I have do my homework, I have to study, 1have to help my parents with some chores - and here, my biggest responsibility is to keep my room clean. That's a lot of work to do, isn't it?
What do you like about your home-town? Braov is a beautiful town lying at the foot of Tampa Hill, in a valley surrounded by majestic mountains. . In old times it used to be a fortress amid trick walls and bastIOns, whose ruins can still be seen today. The White Tower and the Black Tower still stand as landmarks of the past. Ecaterina's Gate is still intact and the Weavers' Bastion hosts classical music concerts quite often. In the Council's Square visitors can admire the Old City Hall and, not far from it, The famous Black Church. 1t is the old district of the Town, with old houses, narrow streets and alleys paved with cobble stone, where, history is hiding behind modem stores and restaurants. An authentic mediaeval town like many others in Europe. v The highlight of a sightseeing tour would be Poiana Braso , a mountain ski resort, 12km far from the town. The.re are museums, theatres, concert halls, swimming-pools, discotheques, restaurants; one can never get bored here. If you love the view from the top of the mountain, there are cable cars and a gondola that can take you there in just few minutes. In spring the dales are carpeted with flowers and the town co~e back to life; in summer the hikers enjoy the paths and t~e mountaInS in all their glory; autumn sees the trees resplendent In shades of russet, gold and green; winters are long and cold with plenty of snow, but the landscapes are fairytale pictures ... Who would want' to live elsewhere?
What is the present you would like to get for your birthday? Celebrating birthdays is something special and unique. It is about having a good time together with your friends and family. And when it comes to presents, everybody is in a sort of trouble: what would be the best present? What exactly does the celebrated person wish for, or really needs? And so, the hunting for the right present
begins. So as to be sure, some even pop the big question: "What do you wish for your birthday?" Well, such a question was raised to me, too and, to be honest, this came as a total surprise both for me and for the person who had asked. And this happened because I did not know what to answer. It may seem strange to you, but this is how it really was. I know that everybody else would have taken advantage of such a situation and begin listing what they wished to get for their birthday: perfumes, cosmetics, various objects, items of clothing, electronics etc. But surely, this is not like me at all. I've never wished for anything special for my birthday. I just wanted it to be a happy day celebrated with my family and friends. Nothing more. What] really want to get is what I enjoy every year, namely special moments shared with my loved ones, the good thoughts they convey and the feeling they truly are happy to be there, by my side. If I am to think more, this is what really matters to me and if it happens for me to get some presents, it's even better: I appreciate them all; equally, and I let my friends see this, because I know every single one of them comes from the very bottom of their hearts. I consider that those feelings are what really matters in the end, and not the gift proper.
There comes a time when chi Idren become adults and demand to be treated as such. That happens usually when we turn 18, or "of age". But, being a full-time adult implies being responsible for our actions, as well. Now, we can no longer hide behind Mum or Dad every time we make a mistake. Of course, everybody makes mistakes, but the secret is not to be afraid to admit it, stand up for our deeds and bear the consequences. Adulthood has no secret recipe; we have to find our own way into this and try to be responsible adults. For instance, if we do something remarkable by ourselves, the success will be totally ours. We can be
proud of having been capable of something like that. Nevertheless if our actions have proved to be wrong, we should not blam~ anyone else and face the problem. Apart from that, we have to think twice before doing something, because there can be more than one person affected by our decisions. Besides, impulsiveness never turned ?ut to be the best choice. Then, the voice of experience makes It all! We would not be that stubborn and not listen to the advice given by our parents or wiser friends. Growing up is a difficult process and we must use all the help we can get. When we are children or teenagers, we can hardly wait to turn 18, be~ause we think that this is the age of all possibilities, without being aware of the fact that it is more difficult nowadays to be 18 or over 18 than ever was. Being responsible for every step we make into this world is not an easy task at all.
When it comes to weekends, the only thing I regret is that they are too short. There are so many things for me to do! My activities depend on the weather. If it is fine, I meet my friends and we have long walks or go swimming, fishing ... If the weather does not permit, we usually meet at my place and see what we can do indoors: we borrow a DVD and we watch it together over a bowl of pop com, we play computer games, we play cards, or we simply have long chats. If I am all by myself, I watch my favourite programmes on TV. When I have had enough 'intellectual junk-food' I listen to the radi~, write in my diary, read silly stories from tabloids, or I simply medItate upon no matter what hot-issue which happens to be bothering me that very day. . .1enjoy especially the last activity: meditation. Lying on my coach WIth my body relaxed, my mind wandering ... Imagining places I've always dreamt to be in, trying to find answers to merely rhetorical questions ... Or just trying to know myself better. As I am not tired at the end of the day, I go dancing, or have my own party at home. Music is so relaxing and, moreover, it speaks
for us whenever we are too shy to say nice words to our partners ... Still, there are days when I feel the need to be alone. In such cases, a good book is my true companion together with my dog, Max, who follows me everywhere. It does not matter how many friends I have, he holds a special place in my heart.
What do you think about the way in which your parents brought you up?
Other guiding principles inspired by my parents are self reliance, taking responsibility for my own actions, overcoming the tendency to blame others for difficulties, trusting my own potential. Modesty is another attitude I have learned from my parents. Modesty has made me see that there is greatness all around us. These are just some of the values my parents educated me to believe in.
have
I consider myself fortunate to have been born in a family like mine. My parents love me dearly and they have tried to give me what is best in life all the time; they have tried to give me best quality education, constant care and genuine love, financial and spiritual support. When I say 'education', I mean both the one I've got in my family, and that in the schools I have attended so far. My parents • have always been kind .but firm, understanding, tolerant, but also very strict when circumstances demanded it. Like every child, I was often very unhappy about their decisions. I often considered my parents too unyielding, but now I'm grateful for their being demanding. As regards my studies, my parents have always considered that school is extremely important and studies should never be neglected. They have sent me to the best schools, they encouraged and supported me, checked on my progress, made sure there was progress, gave me strength when I was weak, trusted me all the way, rejoiced at my success. I have been taught that honesty matters, that honesty should be expressed in all circumstances, with other individuals, with institutions, with society, with myself. It is the inner strength and 'confidence that is brought about by exacting truthfulness, trustworthiness and integrity. My parents have taught me to be brave. We need courage to sustain life's grieves and failures without being torn by them. We need to be daring to attempt difficult tasks that are good, acquire strength not to follow the crowd, to say 'no' and mean it. Courage means being true to one's convictions and following good impulses, even when they are unpopular or inconvenient
Smoking has turned into one of the most serious "hot issues" that our society has to face today. I will begin by saying that I also consider smoking as a threat to our health and even to our life. It is true that smoking is considered to be a legal drug, but, like any other drug, it seriously affects health and finally kills. Maybe it would give us a thought if we considered all the breathing disorders, tumors and/or types of cancer it certainly causes: every minute, one of three persons die because of this! Smoking affects people of all ages alike: children, adolescents, old men and women. Here we are not only talking about active smoking. We should also take into consideration the phenomenon of passive smoking, which affects people sitting around an active smoker. Why should we be forced to assist our own process of destruction and not refuse it? This would be safer and healthier. Generally, people take up smoking for fun, out of curiosity, to gain importance in a group etc. That is how they have become addicted to smoking before they know it and cannot quit it, unless they have an extraordinary will to do it. And, unfortunately, most of them actually lack it. . What smokers must understand is that taking up smoking is not an act of courage, or mature thinking. It's not even an act of bravery, or importance. It's merely an act of cowardice and selfishness, of lack of conscience and a sure way to embrace a slow, painful death. I will end my point here, but not before saying again that smoking does not bring us anything good, it does not help you relax and it
certainly does not help anyone lose weight, as it is generally believed, especially by girls. It only "helps" you destroy yourself. I, for one, am more than aware of all this and certainly refuse to take up smoking.
What do you think about school uniforms being compulsory? Well, the problem of school uniform has always been a problem of controversy. And, according to various periods of time, school uniforms have either been in or out. Generally, past times could be traced by the model ofthe uniform, and every school was to be recognized in its form and colour. I remember the time of my school years. It was a real pride to belong to a certain school and wear its uniform. And when seeing other students on the street, I could say immediately what school they .belonged to. And this is what my parents and grand-parents tell me. They have worn them throughout their school years. Our current education system does not keep this rule now. Nevertheless, most of nowadays students feel it as a relief and a way to express their personalities. The way they see it, items of clothing and colour help them show who they are and how they think. They wish to state and defend their unique way of being by arguing that a school uniform tends to annihilate this aspect. In this way, they would all be equal, and this is exactly what they wish to avoid. I, for one, sustain their point of view, but also agree with school authorities. They rightly voice that, as long as students are not forced to wear a uniform, they should, at least, wear something decent. Students are to come to school and study, after all. And schools are public institutions which are to be respected. We all agree that a pair of jeans, or a skirt and a jacket would do, but we should be attentive to how short that skirt is, or how worn out the jeans are. Equally, the colours we may choose for our clothes for school are to be neutral, and not striking at all. But, after all, this is a matter of taste and decency.
What is your opinion about mobile phones being used freely in schools? I can say the mobile phone is a piece of technology one cannot live without; everyone owns a mobile phone which helps the owner stay in touch with the rest of the world anytime, anywhere. To be honest, I for one got so much used to it that I can't conceive life without it. It's impossible not to have forgotten your mobile phone at home and left to work or to school without it. And we must admit how bad and how useless we have surely felt when not having it! One might even call it a kind of dependency, a phoneaddiction. However, there are some situations when we should not use them at all, such as in meetings, at church, during classes etc. Using the cell phone in such cases may turn into a real nuisance and shows mere lack of respect on our part. . Some argue that in schools, children do not really need to use a mobile phone extensively, as they do not have so many urgent problems to solve; they are not as busy as adults are, and have no business to run or errands to make. Besides, using mobile phones during classes disturbs both students and teachers, or there may even appear cases when mobiles phones are lost during school time. Situations like those cause rurnours, tears and hard moments at school. That is why school regulations forbid taking mobile phones or any other modern technology device to classes: to avoid disturbance or stealing. Students must be aware of the risk they are exposed to if they fetch their fancy, expensive mobile phones to school. I myself wouldn't go that far as to agree with total prohibition of ~obile phones in schools, but I agree that they can be, at least, kept In a safe place and turned off, or on the silent mode when in class. This will show respect and good breeding. And I'm sure that, in this way, nobody will ever feel offended or disturbed by the respective device.
What do you hate most in life? It's difficult for me to answer such a question, especially because there are so many things to be hated around us. And there are also many things I could hate in this life, but, if I give it a thought, I think that what I most hate is hatred itself. I cannot stand seeing and feeling so much hatred among us and it seems, sometimes, we were born to hate each other. Nowadays, everywhere I turn, there is harshness, indifference,opressionand a lot of sadness. When I walk on the streets; I can see people's faces - they are all so preoccupied, gloomy, upset. Thei: ey~s are half-closed, as if thinking about the injustice and suffenng In t~e world, their looks down the road and hurried steps betray their concern ... and all that make me sad. But, in spite of that, I never give up my hope that, one. day, everything will have a good turn. I keep hopi~g that people. wIII.go smiling down the road and merry laughter WIll fill the aIr, Just ltke in the days of my infancy. Those were happy moments, when everything was perfect and I felt great. I will always treasure these and keep them hidden in my soul, expecting to live them once more, in adolescence, or adulthood. I know that it's hard for us to change everything for the better, all of a sudden. But it's not impossible, either. Each and every one of us can help a little. It doesn't cost much, but it makes the difference. What if we smiled more often? What if we used a more polite tone in our requests? And what if we forgot a little about our fights and think twice before we make an unpleasant or mean remark?
Do you think a relative may be considered your best friend? I am not sure whether I can speak for somebody else, but I can certainly say that my best friend is my brother. However, things are not as simple as some people, who have.no brothers ,or sisters, may believe. Brothers and sisters always thmk they know best, especially when they are older than you.
My brother, for example, is my elder by four years. And this difference accounts for my life"s being, so many times, a "hell on Earth". Or, more exactly, it used to be. I have to tell you that not even my father was so bossy as my dear brother was: "Do this", "Go over there", "Don't touch that", "Be careful with that" etc. But as we grew up, I understood he was trying to protect me and my rage against him changed into admiration. Whenever I was facing a problem, I knew from the beginning I could totally rely on my brother: he was there to comfort me in my hard times, and was still the one who really listened to my problems, striving to find a solution for me. And I repaid this with my gratitude and the little help I could offer him. Now I can say that he was the one who taught me the hardships of life, but also the value of brotherhood and family. Of course, my parents also gave me good pieces of advice and all the help and support in the world, but somehow, I found it easier to share all my thoughts, frustrations and happy moments with my brother. It wasn't easy for us to get to such a nice solid relationship, we built it in years, with a lot of patience and understanding, especially from his side. But I surely can say that it was all worth it.
No earthly creature can do it all - walking, swimming, flying. For exemple, humans cannot fly. Should this be a more or less conscious wish of each of us: to be able to float freely in the air and watch everything from above? Travelling by plane has now&days become very common, especially in the U.S., where the distances to cover are huge. I have never flown, but I would never miss the opportunity to do so. I don't think it's more dangerous than travelling by car or even by train. Accidents have happened with all means of transport, even if the latest technology has made travelling both fast and safe. It is maybe everybody's fate to reach the destination safe and sound. Besides, flying is believed to be the safest way of travelling in the world! And let's not forget that so many people travel by plane
everyday! For exemple, on Heathrow, the busiest airport in Europe every 45 seconds a plane takes off or lands. Apart from that, travelling by plane takes less time. And that is an important aspect, especially for businesspeople, who have to cover long distances in short time. In my opinion, flying is not about additional risk, but it is about fast, comfortable travelling and more time saving.
Considering that school attendance is compulsory in Romania up to 10th grade and that with no education you cannot make it in the real world, I think it is rather false to pretend that we attend any school because we like something about it. Being 'young and restless', usually children and teenagers miss the real point of education and seem to be quite fond of wasting their time on unimportant things, on complaining about how much homework they have to do, about a teacher's being unfair, or about the shortage of spare time they have. I have to admit school is fun, after all. Of course, I can only speak for myself because I don't know what things are like in other schools. Even though it is a very serious school when it comes to preparing for certain examinations, be they term papers, or school graduation exams, pupils studying here know they can have as much good time and relaxation during the summer holiday or over the week-end. Today I can pin-point the aspects that made me love my school over all these years: first and foremost, it must have been the teachers - so serious and fond of the subject-matters taught as one could imagine; secondly, it must have been the colleagues I have had since I came to this high-school. I must tell you that all my best friends are my former colleagues. Apart from that, some of my former teachers are among my role models in life.
When it comes to famous persons, it's so difficult to talk about them and especially choose one of them as your favourite. All of them are special and original in their own way. . However, I decided to speak about a famous singer who has impressed me: Kylie Minogue. At a first glance, one can see an agile little Australian girl, extremely beautiful and delicate. When hearing her voice and listening to her songs, one can sense her talent, her sensitivity as well as her power. It is impossible not to admire her determination when building her career. Though, at the beginning, it was so hard for her to get herself known and appreciated, she persisted in singing with the same enthusiasm and passion. And soon, her efforts were to be noticed, her voice praised and her songs became famous all over the world. Now everybody knows them and can even quote some verses by heart. Who can forget hits like "I should be so lucky", "Where the white roses grow", "Red blooded woman", "Giving you up" or "Can't get you outta my head"? But this is not all. As fragile as she may seem, Kylie has proved to be a winner. In May 2005 it was officially announced that she had breast cancer, but she was not to give up her fight for life. After long exhausting chemo sessions and even longer moments of despair and depression, she has finally won it. Now she is stronger, more beautiful and more ready to continue her "Showgirl" project. As this was not enough, soon after announcing she had surpassed her cancer, she broke up with her boyfriend, the one who was thought to be the love of her life. This was another turning point in her life, another difficult moment, but, as a real "showgirl" ready to fight it all, Kylie is still standing up and continues smiling. From my point of view, this is a lesson. of life she gives, but a lesson learnt the hard way. She is now a living model for all those strong persons who fight their destinies and are determined to win. Now I can say that not only do I admire her, but she also serves as a role-model for me.
What is your 0plDlon about the way in which television influences your life? Of all the media, television seems to have the greatest impact on people's life. I think it influences people, especially teenagers, in a negative way. I, for one, dedicate less time to my friends, [ don't go out so often, and [ have given up going to the theatre, cinema or sporting events. Not to mention reading books or listening to music. All my free time'seems to be controlled by television. For the sake of a programme I neglect my meals or I replace them by a sandwich. The family no longer sit at table and exchange the news of the day. Thus, communication among the members of the family is broken. Sometimes I even neglect my homework and the chores and, most of all, [ go to bed very late. I think that this leads to the alienation of the individual. The most dangerous thing is that, sometimes, [ am tempted to watch diplays of sadism and violence which, to a certain extent, may distort my perception of what is normal. Not to mention the fact that television encourages passive enjoyment and it cuts people off from the real world. [ prefer to stay at home and watch TV rather than go out with my friends for a walk or just to take some fresh air. It is also true that television is the best source of news, fast and accurate information from any corner of the world. Never before has communication been better Television provides information, knowledge from all fields, entertainment, political debates, music of all kinds, for all tastes. Used wisely, with discernment and parental guidance, television can really change young people's life for the better.
.C?ur town has gone through a lot of changes lately, but the most vIsIble one has been the work that has been done to its roads. All the r~ads, wide or narrow, have been altered in a certain way lately, to adjust to the huge wave of cars that has appeared in the recent years. Our cit,Yis old, with many narrow streets and alleys, especially in the old cIty centre. There are not enough parking lots, the roads' are always crowded and it is difficult for drivers and pedestrians, equally, to find their way. The sidewalks became narrower so that t~e roads can get a second lane. [n this way, sometimes, it's very difficult to walk because the sidewalks became so very crowded. If [ were to change something in this city I would definitely change the way people try to make more space for the cars without taking into consideration the pedestrians, especially in the old part of the town where people go to enjoy the view, to shop, to sit around the fountain in the Council Square, to listen to the concerts organized there. What ,:"ould [ do? I would restrict the car access to the city centre, and, as In other European cities, [ would add a road-tax for the drivers who cross to the city centre. In this way, I think there would be fewer traffic jams, and we won't end up without sidewalks. . I. would.als~ add some bike lanes, so that children should enjoy ndm~ theIr bIkes particularly because the bike lane they already have 10 the Central P~rk is very narrow and difficult to use. [ totally agree that cars should play their part in our lives, but we should fight against pollution that affects the old buildings and the noise that people living downtown have to put up with. When we do something we have to think about all of us. we have to consider all the options, not to see just one side of the coin.
What was the life experience that has taught you a positive lesson?
[ love my hometown, Brasov. I believe it is a very interesting town, with both old historic places and modern buildings.
Last year, me and Dan, one of my classmates, one of those arrogant kind of boys, had a very "dangerous" idea, in order to solve some misunderstandings .between us. I must admit that it wasn't
the best way: a car race in the streets of our village. We arranged everything as if it were the date of a ball. The place where from, at a certain hour we would have started the race, the route, and finally the "chicken test" - he who would stop first on the road that went out of town and ended up in a precipice would have been declared "yellow", "coward" a.s.o. Dan and I chose as our race car Dan's "Peugeot" - whose brakes were known to be rather weak but, otherwise, everything seemed to be allright. The former half of the race was fine, but the latter lacked in Hollywoodian glamour and turned out to be a "lesson". As expected, the police patrols eventually spotted the two racing cars and, when the brakes of Dan's car gave way, the inevitable occurred: our both cars crashed into the police patrol car exactly when it was trying to overtake the two cars while they were colliding. Fortunately, nobody was really hurt, but we both had to pay damages for the police car and our driving licences were suspended. Eventually we realised that this was not at all a good idea. We learned that it really didn't matter who the first in class was, or who the best at doing something was, as long as we are friends. Our 'chiken test' could have ended up in a really tragic way. That was the moment I realised that one s life is more important than any of his ambitions, and that the only thing we managed to prove to ourselves and to the others equally was how stupid one can get when one refuses to think twice before acting.
I cannot say that I'm a mere dreamer or, on the contrary, a grounded person. But what I can say about myself is that I've always thought about future. I cannot state that I have drawn a perfect line for my future and not all my dreams have come true .. But still, plans, goals and dreams are what I generally do. It IS true, sometimes they do happen, sometimes they don't, but I keep setting goals for myself all the time. Someone told me once to set up high goals so that I can reach higher and higher. That person was right and this is what I do. 142
I have studied hard in highschool for my better future. I am certain that all I've learned will help me at some point in my career. After my graduation J want to enroll to classes at university and to study even harder. I will probably work as well, during university years, because .gaining experience for my career is another aim of mine. These two are the most important goals for the near future, as far as my career is concerned: to study and to gain experience.
Speak about what makes us live longer. Give reasons for your answer. I have recently read an article that stated that we, people, can choose how long we want to live. There are moments when we say "It's enough!" and that's it. Hmmm ... Could it be that easy? In my opinion, eating healthy is very important if one wants to live longer. A recent study has shown that the life-span has increases in the past 100 years. Now people live longer, up to their 70s or even 90s, and it seems there is not actually a pattern to be followed in order to live longer. There are people who smoke, or eat fats, do no physical exercise whatsoever and live a long and healthy life. Then again, there are people who lead a healthy life, and still don't live that long. In the end there are no rules. Another study I've read concluded that it is all in our genes. ]fwe have good genes, we can live longer, if we don't we just don't. This is not a matter of personal choice, is not something we can do better or fail at. It is said that happier people live longer and sad people shorter 1ives. It is easy to smile. Well, not all the time but still, we can try to see the best in everything and keep our optimism regardless of the difficulties we encounter in our lives. I think that we should keep a balance in all we do, and keep our fingers crossed for a happy, healthy and, hopefully, long life.
I love watching movies. This is one of my hobbies. I love going to the cinema. I love the smell of the popcorn while watching a good movie. If I were to choose of.all the movies I've seen just one to describe that would be "The Sound of Music". You might wonder why? The answer is simple, because it's the story of the love you feel for your family, of going together as one through all the difficulties of life with a smile one your face and with a song coming out of your mouth and of staying together even though you make mistakes. The storyline is very simple. In 1930's Austria, a young woman named Maria is failing in her attempts to become a nun. When the Navy captain Georg Yon Tr~pp writes to the convent asking for a governess to handle his seven ill-behaved children. Maria gets job. The Captain's wife is dead, and he is often away, but when he is at home he runs the household very strictly as if his children were army soldiers. The kids are unhappy and not very pleased with the governesses their father keeps bringing at home, and they try and work together on making their lives miserable. But, when Maria arrives, even though she is not liked by the children with kindness, understanding, and sense offun she soon succeeds in drawing them to her and bringing some much-needed joy into all their lives including their father's, who eventually falls in love with Maria. ' I know you might say that "The Sound of Music" is an old movie. It mi.ght be, but till today it is a true story, a real story of joy, happiness and finding your way in life, even though at a certain moment you thought there was impossible. I really enjoy this movie, the music, which is always so optimistic, the landscapes and the children. I believe that Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer were great in this movie, and I hope,that in real life people can try . to end up that happy as in the movies.
I have to admit that we all need some sort of adventure in our lives - without a slight touch of adventure everything would be so dull, the routine would change us into walking mummies, indifferent to what is happening around us. I also think that Iife itself can be seen as an adventure - considering the ups and downs that we are going through, the problems, and their solutions, which may sometimes appear illogical. On the other hand, there are so many those who have this strange idea that adventure means risking everything. The idea that two young men I know were obsessed with that of confronting danger so close to death as a man can face. For them, everything that broke the rules or endangered their lives was either "hot" or "cool". Mihai and Gabriel seemed to have the energy of twenty of their age, when it came to driving someone mad or responding stupid challenges. ' . . One of these challenges was that cast by one of the boys from ~nother neighborhood: a car race in the streets of our village ... The Idea was for the contestants to rove their "courage", skill at driving a car and nerve in challenging the local police forces was something like "The Outer Limit" for them. Not for a minute had they given a thought to what they were risking. So they arranged everything as if it were the date of a ball. This "adventure" gave me chills. On the surface it might have seemed something "heroic", but when giving it a second thought, I real1zed how dangerous it could be and I tried to stop them but the two boys wouldn't listen to me ... They laughed at me and called me "chicken". I was invited to stay home that night, which I did. Later on I found out that the police tried to trace them and, after a real c~r race in the village - this time the police chasing the boys, the vehicles crashed and the adventure ended up hospital. Fortunately, nobody was seriously hurt, but all the cars were badly damaged. Now the boys have to pay damages, and their driving licenses are suspended. So much for an adventure!
The house I live in is simple and comfortable. It has tWo bedrooms, a livingroom, a bathroom, a balcony and a terrace. It is nothing unusual. Not too small, but definitely not very large, it is the place I feel safe in; it is my own private space, my domestic world. Private doesn't mean isolated - I don't have anything against neighbours, in fact most of them are my friends. What I meant to say is that here I feel free from the tensions of the outer world; I can have a rest and relax. People say I am lucky to live in a house, and not in a block of flats, because I have a backyard. This is true, but I must tell you that I've also lived in such an apartment. In my opinion, what really matters is the atmosphere, and not the number of rooms, how big they are and 'what kind of furniture you have in it. Of course, everyone wishes to arrange it according to his personality, but let's not exaggerate! I like the minimalist style, because it surely is functional and simple, as I said before. I have everything I need here and I don't feel suffocated by useless things. My favourite colours are brown and beige, so that is how my house is painted: it represents my preference for warm, earthen shades which bring peace and harmony.
Speak about a day in your life when something changed your life.
happened
My parents had never allowed me to have a pet, because they said I could no take responsibility for myself, not to mention a pet. In a way, they were right: I was reckless, disobedient, stubborn and lazy. But I wanted so much to have a pet, especially a dog ... They say that dogs are the best friends a human being can have. They are extremely loyal, they love you no matter what. They try to make you feel better even when you are not in the mood, you can play with them all the time etc. On the other hand, for giving you so much, they have to get something back, namely your attention and care. They need to be fed, washed, walked, taken to the vet's etc. and this is something you have to do daily. So, I wanted a dog badly, and, one day, a miracle happened. It was a cold rainy afternoon and I was walking back form school. I was all wet and frozen and I was hurrying to get home. Suddenly, I heard a noise, like a baby crying at the corner of a little street. I got curious and I approached. There was a little puppy all wet, like myself, trembling and whimpering. You can magine my happiness! I took it home immediately, bathed it and fed it. When my parents got home, I was proud to show them I could be a responsible person, too. They were amazed and finally ceded my appeals, allowing me to keep it. I named it Leah, after my favourite heroine in Star Wars. From that day on, Leah and I are inseparable. We share all my free time all my hopes and dreams, and all my sorrows, equally. That was the day when I became a truly responsible person and I hope I will stay that way.
and
It is difficult to speak about a special day in my life, a day which really made a difference. There have been many good days, or bad ones for me, like in anyone else's life. Looking back, we sometimes realize what made it special for us and see certain days either happiness and melancholy. In my case, such a day that made me change my behaviour and my attitude towards life itself, was the day I got my little dog, Leah.
Strangely enough, my best friend is not a person, but an animal, a little spotted dog, Cooky. He (because my dog is a he) is a wonderful terrier found in the street. I remember that it was cold, and he was lying there, almost frozen. I took him to the vet and he prescribed some pills and vitamins, as the dog was weak. Of course I took the dog to my place and took care of him day and night.
Step by step. the entire family fell in love with the little wonder. and we decided to keep him. I felt like a rescuer, and he felt it, too. Every day he seems to thank me by doing all sorts of tr)cks. When I get up in the morning, he cheers me up while bringing my slippers and newspaper. Then, jumping in my lap, he likes to nest there and lay his funny head on my arm. Then, it is the time for his walk in the park: He knows it, so he brings his leash as if he were saying:" It's a beautiful shiny day, let's go out at once!" When I get back home, after a day's hard work and I'm exhausted, he is the first to welcome me and try to make me feel better. Still, the thing I appreciate most is his behaviour when I'm ill or sad. He would do anything to make me smile. If I do, he is the happiest dog alive. How could I not consider him my best friend if whatever he does is just to help me and make my day?
When speaking about best friends, there are not many choices that come to my mind. Of course, I have many friends, and all of them have something that I appreciate a lot, but I cannot say that I have many best friends. I know that this may sound like a cliche to you, but my best friend is my mother. She's been there for me since the day I was born; she is the one who knows all about me: my joys, my fears, the strongest and the weakest points of my character. She can understand all this and supports me unconditionally. Whenever I feel sad or I have a problem and I don't know how to solve it, mom is there to comfort me. Or when I am happy, she is the first person 1 can share that with. My entire world is centred around this wonderful woman. Physically, I look very much like her: a tall and thin brunette with blue eyes. But her hair is short and straight, and she wears it with a French fringe. while mine is long and curly. She wears glasses, which give her a bossy appearance. Her style is classic, nothing unusual or strange. She wears casual items of clothing which are well cut and fit her very well.
People who know her would say that she has a pleasant personality, and they can find a good piece of advice with her, whenever they need it. I can definitely say that, too. I know she is there for me and for all the members of our family, as well. From my point of view, she is the best example of someone who can combine family and career extremely well. I've never seen anyone doing this so well before. One can say that this is her greatest hobby, apart from travelling and going to the gym with her friends. Unfortunately, this does not happen too often. Her work and her family take most of her time, and she tends to forget about herself She says that our happiness and smiles make her joy and satisfaction. If! am to continue speaking about her, I will probably never end, so I think I should stop here for the time being and close my presentation hoping that one day, I can be like her.
Both discos and parties are about having fun and sharing pleasant moments with friends. Generally, these are moments to be treasured and remembered for a long time. If you decide, on the spot, to have fun together with your friends, you go to a disco. There you can find good music and the possibility to dance a lot and spend your time in an entertaining atmosphere. On the other hand, most of the parties are planned and organized in advance and you know what the occasion is some time before, so you can get prepared for this. I like going to discos, but I'm not a disco-girl. so I can't say for sure that I remember the last time I visited such a place. Yet, I can certainly talk about the last party I had. It was my 'birthday and all my friends wanted to make me a surprise, so they joined together at my place. It was something unexpected, I hadn't planned it in advance, but I guess this was the charm and made it unforgettable. . As it was my birthday, there was plenty of food, cakes and drinks waiting for them. We turned the music on and, out of the blue ...
there was a real party, and I was the star! Imagine how important and happy I felt that day! It wasn't a big party, there was no special place, fancy tables and chairs, no formal dress, nor fireworks as this may have happened in an organized party. It was only a small apartment, with just one big table and lots or regular chairs, my friends were dressed casually, but the air was filled with joy and this wa~ what mattered to us. T had the time of my life together with my loved ones. We danced a lot and I can say that the small talk and jokes made everything special. It was definitely my best party ever!
Ever since I started to learn English I've heard so many things about England, and especially about London, I've seen so many postcards and sl ides, even documentary movies and I've read so much about London and the royal family that it has become a dream to see London with my own eyes. This summer I've had the chance to fly to London due to a penfriend of mine who invited me to spend two weeks there. The day [ arrived in London was the happiest day in my life. It was like a dream come true. Everything began at Heathrow airport where my friend was expecting me. It is one of the largest airports in the world and the busiest in Europe. They say that every 45 seconds a plane takes off or lands here. Can you imagine that ... !? My friend and I met in the Arrivals Hall and we went by car to her place. I could hardly believe I was in London. I saw Buckingham Palace and the change of the Royal Guards at II :30am. Then we passed through Trafalgar Square and we went and visited the National Art Gallery. This took us a lot of time because it houses an impressive collection of paintings - one of the richest in the world. The next day we went to the British Museum where we could see. among others, displays ofvestigies from Egypt, Western Asia, Greece and Rome.
I also visited St. Paul's Cathedral that impressed me by its hugeness - it is the second largest cathedral in the world. What was both impressive and amusing was Madame Tussaud's Wax Models Museum, where you can recognize a lot of famous characters in all possible fields - politics, cinema, literature, music, sports etc. - and even take photos of and with them. Of course, I saw the Tower Bridge, 10 Downing Street - the residence of the British Prime Minister, Westminster Abbey and many other place. London is really worth seeing. My memories are so vivid that I feel as if I were still there. I am very happy that I saw UK and,of course, London. A piece of my heart is still there ...
Choose a building you like and decribe it.
I will speak about a monument that I find impressive in the old centre of our town: the Black Church, which was built around the year 1380 and probably known, at that time, under the name of St Mary's Church. . One of the oldest monuments in Brasov, this old Gothic church stands as its symbol and testimony of the past. Dominating all the other buildings, it got its name the name the Black Church, after the great fire in 1689. It was then that the old walls got their tint by smoke and fire, which, otherwise, could not destroy its strong arch itecture. Every year, the Black Church attracts many foreign tourists charmed by its majesty and history. What they find fascinating is its organ made up of 4000 pipes, which is amongst the greatest in south-eastern Europe and renown for its wonderful sound. And one cannot talk about the organ of the black Church without mentioning its choir and its organ-player, Mr Eckart Schlandt, famous all over the world. Apart from that, the pictures in the interior of the church are extraordinary, especially those representing the Holy Virgin, Saint
Katherine (with a wheel and a sword) and Saint Barbara (with a tower). The Holy Virgin is placed between the two. The most precious treasures of art in the Black Church are the Anatolian carpets of the 17th and 18th century. They form the richest collection of this kind in all Europe. These carpets were given to the church by native merchants and citizens. The diversity of motives and the rich colours give a particular charm to the interior. The exterior shows all sorts of impressive columns, sculptures and statues representing religious figures, such as Virgin Mary, little angels etc. All in all the Black Church is also known for its dimensions, being 89 meters long and 38 meters wide. This is the most important gothic building we have in our country. Taking all this into consideration, you can now understand why I have chosen to speak about such an important building. It is not always impressive through its architecture, but it also represents hundreds of years of history and art.
Speak about your favourite actor/actress. I have chosen to speak about Keanu Reeves, who is so different from other actors, that people say it would not be an exaggeration to say that he lives on another planet from the rest of us. Born in Beirut in 1964, to a British mother and a Chinese-Hawaiian father, Keanu (his name means "~ool breeze over the mountains") spent his childhood years in Australia and New York before his· mother eventually settled in Toronto after splitting up with her husband. He had a difficult childhood, drinking heavily and partying wildly while studying at the High School of Performing Arts in Toronto. But he eventually dropped out and began making TV Commercials for Coke and other products. At the age of 19, Keanu decided enough was enough, packed up his car and drove to Los Angeles, where he has lived ever since. His first serious movie was "River Edge". Later that year he made his name as Ted in "Bill and Ted's excellent adventure". Since then his most notable roles have been as an FBI agent Shakespearean rogue in 'Much ado about
nothing" and as a male prostitute in Gus Van Sant's "My own private Idaho", perhaps his strongest performance to date. Recently, he was also highly acclaimed for the part in "Matrix". Despite his reputation of "sex symbol", he has only been linked with few women. What I particularly like about this intelligent and mysterious actor is that he doesn't believe in the material world where men and women are trapped in the "reality" perpetuated by TV shows and advertising. He remains aloof from it. 'The question of faith is important for Reeves. He is a searcher and this quality prompted Bertolucci to cast him in "Little Buddha". Every director Reeves has worked with has sought to exploit the ethereal quality of his physique, the innocence they see in him. Keanu Reeves has an inner drive which impresses the directors and appeals to the public.
It is so difficult to choose one particular object in my house which represents me. I consider that the entire house is centred on the owner's personality and all the objects in it reflect it in a certain way. For example, the style and colour ofihe furniture can speak about the vision and tastes of the people who live in it. Equally, the paintings hung on the walls show another aspect of their personalities. In my case, I do not own a house entirely by myself, so what I can say for now is that my room reveals all about me. The style I adopted is extremely simple and functional: a bed with blue covers, because blue is my favourite colour, a wardrobe, a looking glass, a desk, a TV set and of course, a computer. Judging by the pieces I chose for my room, one can easily understand that this is my style. Everything is simple and ordinary, like me. . If I am to think well, definitely my computer represents me. My choice may seem strange to you, but you can imagine the personality I have: I love technology and I try to keep up with it.
My computer is the piece I use extensively when I stay in my room. It is my best friend, my diary, my connection to the world, and my possibility to do my homework. I am a rather quie.t person, and in this way, I find it easier to stay in front of my computer and open up my heart. If I want to finish a project for school, all I have to do is turn it on and write it immediately. If! need to talk to my friends, a simple click will do. If I need a piece of information, the same simple click displays it immediately in front of my eyes. As I am quiet and shy, the computer helps me communicate and makes it easier for me to socialize in my own style and rhythm. It represents an entire universe which offers a multitude of choices and possibilities to build a character. The music, movies and information one can choose with the help of the computer says a lot about one's personality and way of thinking. In my case, the soul music, the psychological movies and good comedies reveal a peaceful and quiet person. That is why the computer is the thing that best represents me.
My birthday is an occasion for me to meditate upon the passing of the years and to become more aware of the fact that every minute of my life should be fully lived and enjoyed. Most of the time, my birthday is the perfect excuse for me to throw a party. I love music, dancing and being surrounded by my friends and family. I love entertainment and good time, having fun and ... opening presents. I must admit I love presents, too. And not only getting them, but also giving. I adore making presents to my beloved ones and most of all, I like surprising them ... seeing the reaction on their faces. And knowing this, my friends do the same with me: they like to see how I look when J myself open presents! Every year, for my birthday, I invite my friends over, and we have a party... if there's not room enough for all of us, we move
downtown ... But I think this year, I will give this "'tradition' up: I want something much smaller, no big parties for now: definitely, I got older! .Party or no party, the most important thing is that my friends be wIth me. No matter how and where we spend this day, where or if we dance, whether we enjoy ourselves or find ourselves lost in deep philosophical discussions, my satisfaction is always the same: I am satisfied with having banished once more time fear and loneliness which tend to overwhelm me on my birthday.
I can say that my room is an ordinary teenager's room, reflecting my personality and preoccupations. If you are to take a quick look, you could definitely say it really represents me. I will begin by saying it is placed in a peaceful comer of my house, away from my parents' eyes! I'm only joking, but this location confers me peace and privacy, which J so much appreciate. . The furniture there is all white and blue, my favourite colours. J ~ante? to c?mbine the two, because one represents purity and sIncerity, while the other one stands for serenity and tranquility. An entire wall of my room is occupied by a huge wardrobe with a big mirrored door, meant to shelter all my pieces of clothing. And I have so many of them, as you have rightly guessed. Another important piece of furniture is my bed with two small side bed-tables on which you will always find some books, fresh flowers, my sunglasses and the phone. Next, you can imagine that a TV set could not miss from my room. It is fixed up on the wall on a special device and when sitting comfortably in my bed, I can watch my favourite movies until I fall asleep. Of course, I cannot forget my desk on which my computer presides, the piece I cannot live without. My computer is so dear to me that I may safely say that it has turned into one of my best friends. I spend hours on end working on it, listening to my favourite music, watching movies and revealing all my secrets to its electronic diary.
To preserve the tone of the .entire room, the window-si lis are white, while the curtains covering them are very simple and bluish, with darker hangings. Excepting some enlarged pictures of myself and the shelves full of books and CDs, I have no other ornaments in my room. I like to keep it clean and simple. As you can grasp from my description, my room is an ordinary one, but, to me, it is special, because I live in there.
Saturday - the most expected day of the week. A day to rest and make plans for the other five days, when you have to work. For me, it is a day when I can afford to spend my weekend the way I like, a day when I pay more attention to my hobbies, without having the feeling that I waste valuable hours that should be dedicated to learning .. First of all, on Saturday I never wake up early. If it rains, I even wake up very late, around noon. Without thinking of what I have to do on that day, I spend another half an hour just lying in bed. Eventually, I get out of bed and open all the windows and have my morning shower. Of course, I don't do that in winter! After cleaning my room and having breakfast, or brunch, I do my very best to enjoy every minute of a day when I do ... nothing. Nothing 'constructive' for my future, anyway ... Turning on the TV set, I watch my favourite programs. Eventually, I contact my friends and we make plans for the weekend, or we just hang on together. Sometimes we meet at my place, or some friend's and we have fun. We watch a movie, or we playa game on computer. Weather permitting, we go for a walk in the park, or we go downtown. Rarely do we spend our Saturday night in a disco. This only happens on Saturday night, because we can sleep more the next day. Indeed, weekend is a great thing! To.rest after a week of hard work and tension is something everyone deserves!
I live in a very interesting neighbourhood with very sociable and fascinating people. I love watching them, talking to them, attending their parties and asking for their help or offering mine. I've been living here with my parents since I was vas born, so I can say that my friends are my neighbours and I hope that I will never change them for others because in my opinion they are the best neighbours anyone can have. All of them have something special and all of them have their hobbies, interests and funny personalities. But there is one that is really interesting and funny. Actually, he is my next-door neighbour. Our house is next to Mr. Petrescu, only one very small fence divides our yard from his. Every day when I go out he is in his small flower garden mending his flowers and he waves to me and asks me about a new film I've seen because, I have to tell you that, we both enjoy very much watching movies. We can talk for hours and laugh remembering all the funny scenes from different movies we've seen and discuss all the interesting and unusual scenes. In winter, when it's really cold and so much snow Mr. Petrescu is enjoying spending time shovelling the snow and sometimes he is making a snowman for his grandchildren who come to visit him for the winter holidays. I love going out and helping him with the snowman "look" and we try to make a more interesting and hilarious snowman every year. For example, last year we made a snowman inspired from the main character of "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs". In conclusion, I think all my neighbours are funny but Mr. Petrescu is my favourite.
Talk about the ideal Romania. A country you would like to happily live in. I must say I love the internet. I think it is so very useful to go online and spend time watching movies, listening to music, browsing for useful information or just relax playing a new and interesting game. I spend about two or three hours a day on the internet and I never get bored searchingJor interesting things. First of all, I must say that I use Google for searching all sorts of fascinating and useful information. I use Google because I find it very clear and it also offering me the possibility of finding sites in Romanian and this is helpful especially if you need to find information in your native tong. Another site I'm using is Yahoo. I love Yahoo because I can find a lot of information from different fields in here. For example, if I want to find a new movie to watch I go on Yahoo Movies, if I want to know more about music or listen to a new and interesting song I go on Yahoo Music. There are also Facebook for socializing with my friend, Messenger for chatting and so on. One more site that I enjoy reading is wikipedia.org. In here I can find useful information about anything really from music to art, books and even science. What I really love about this site is that the information is well structured and I can go very quickly through it. Also, there is information in so many languages and that is very good because for example if you need to know more about a person and of course you speak more that one language, you can get information from different sources on just one single site without the hassle of searching in other places. These are only few examples I can give regarding useful, funny and interesting sites.
I love my country. I think we are very lucky to live in here and very unlucky at the same time. We have a beautiful country. Even though this may look like a cliche I know that this is very true. We have mountains, we have meadows, we have wild goats, we have bears, we have fields, and we have seaside, the Danube Delta and so much more. I could go on and on forever enumerating all the great things we have in this country. But still, we appreciate all of them so little. Why? I don't know. Maybe because we got bored of them, because since birth we've been having air of these and we got used to them. It's like having the same pair of shoes for a very long time and you just feel like don't wearing them any more. This can be an explanation, but still, there can be plenty more. I would be very happy if people rediscovered all the beauties our country has and try to show them to the world. We should be very proud with everything we have and should be very happy and grateful we have them. If I were to change something in this country to make it a better place to live in I would firstly try to change the way Romanians see their country, then I would change the way we behave towards our country, since we hardly give a penny on it. All these being said I think it's a very hard work to do these two tasks just to think further more. Let's start with these and then, we'll move forward.
I love watching TV. I spend enough time watching TV every week and I find it useful, r~laxing or just a waste of time. Watching news on TV is useful because in my opinion we have to know of what's going on in the word. Also, I believe that watching movies or entertainment shows is funny and relaxing. We need to relax at times also.
One of the most interesting and funny shows on TV, for me, still remains "How It's Made". I love this show because it's quite unusual just to watch how things are done and, at the same time, we can learn a lot about the world we live in. Did you know that the show is actually a documentary program showing how common, everyday items (including foodstuff like bubblegum, industrial products such as motors, musical instruments such as guitars, and sporting goods such as snowboards) are manufactured? There is always an offscreen narrator who explains each and every process. Each show usually has three or four main segments, with each prbduct getting a demonstration of about five minutes, with exceptions for more complex products. It's very interesting because you can see closely the process of fabrication for interesting products, and you can be really amazed by the way too many stages items can go through to end up the objects we need. To sum up, I would say that there are a lot of TV shows worth watching but we should be careful with using our time in a useful manner so that we try to learn every day something new and interesting.
Talk about a country you would like to live in, besides your own .. I love travelling. I love seeing new countries and understanding and learning about new cultures. This is why I would like to live for a few years in another country so ~hat I can learn more about myself and others. This is a good experience for us as social beings, for our general culture and for our career. The country I am planning to live in for a few years is America. Yes, America, the brave new world that can help anyone in seeing the world with different eyes. I've heard a lot about American culture, the way different nationalities live in there and I believe I could fit in very well. I am still to see if I am right. The city I am thinking about living in is New York. This is a very big city with numerous possibilities and chances to find a new job
very quickly. Even though it is not a very cheap city, I believe that with the money I earn I can set myself living comfortably enough in there. I have no high hopes regarding accommodation. A room would be sufficient for me at the beginning. This is my dream and this is the country I would love to live in. So, please, keep your fingers crossed for me!
Talk about your highschool highschool? Why or why not?
experience.
Did you
enjoy
I am so close to graduation now that I can almost say I.graduated from high school. For me, studying at highschool was a great and useful experience. Even though it was not easy I must say that there were good til\les and bad times, difficult and funny moments. During the school year we had to learn a lot, to study for big marks and that was not easy at times, it would be exhausting and difficult. But we managed to move forward, Iearn, and pass the exams with good, not so good and very good marks. Still, besides learning I had a great time with my friends. I have now a lot of friends, close and good ones that I've made in highschool. I am so grateful for them. Because of them my life was easier, more interesting and funnier, and because of our friendship we managed to go through difficult exams. That's because we've been supporting each other at all times. At weekends, in the summer holiday we went on trips, we went camping or by train, to the seaside. We used to sing, have fun, eat junk food, drink fizzy drinks and go late to bed. All in all, my highschool experience made me what I am now. I've become a more responsible person (I don't take decisions on the spot, but I think carefully and not only about myself but the people around me as well), a more interesting person (I remember the time my two best friends and decided to get ourselves a tattoo on the left hand), a more reliable person (whenever my friends need me I am there for them helping with whatever they need).
I love walking, especially in summer, when the weather is nice, when it's warm and the wind blows just enough to give you a little bit of chill. In summer people are more relaxed, happier, and joyful. They are usually on holiday and don't take things too seriously. Last summer I was also on holiday and I was walking by a river in a big and beautiful city and on the promenade there were a lot of street performers that were entertaining the walkers by. They were colourfulles dressed and everybody was looking at them in awe. I remember seeing at that particular time all sorts of characters, from the tin-man to some weird animal. They were dressed as their, probably, favourite characters in books and movies. They had all sorts of crazy hats, magic wands, and weird pets to complete their looks. It was an image to remember. Some of them sat still for minutes in a row not even blinking with their faces painted in beautiful colors, some of them were having a whole show put together while others were resting. All the people gathered in front of them laughing, singing with them, watching them carefully and of course taking pictures ... a lot of pictures. That day was a very interesting one for me because as that was not a theatre not even an organized activity, people gathered around and participated in this show. This was one of the most interesting things I have ever seen happening in the street.
I have always loved summer, because it is the time of travels for me. It's a time for discoveries and fun and a wonderful occasion for building long lasting memorifls. Such an occasion was the summer
holiday I've spent two years ago, when, for the first time in my life, I had the chance to go on camp with my school-mates. I was on my own for the very first time, without any of my relatives to tell me what to do and especially, not to do! It was quite an experience. No bed time restrictions, nobody to tell me to clean my room, do my homework, cut the lawn, walk the dog ... but this freedom wasn't the only great thing about the camp. Not at all. The relationship between me and my classmates got better. We were doing everything together. Everyday we were downtown or on the beach, having sun-baths, playing volleyball or other funny games, swimming in the sea ... in the evening we were still full of energy, so the discoclubs were the places where we were dancing all night. When we felt like staying in, we were talking about ourselves, our work, dreams, or we were organizing small parties inside the camp. It was our opportunity to make new friends and also to get to know ourselves. And, of course, to taste the freedom of what· we were to become ...
What is your favourite computer game? Give reasons for your choice. I like playing computer games. They help me relax after a long and difficult day. The computer games I love are hidden object games. Further, I will tell you about my two favourite games. "Mystery P.1. - The Lottery Ticket" is my favourite traditional hidden object game. This one has great pictures to search through, with tons of hidden items. It has a medium level of difficulty. It has a few side games, which are all pretty straightforward. While solving the mystery you get to unlock the "unlimited seek" and the "find mode" where you get to find all of the objects in each of the pictures. I've played through this one many times. I also had a lot of fun with the second game in the series, "The Vegas Heist". I have not yet played the newest "Mystery P.1. game, The New York Fortune". I hope it lives up to its predecessors! My second favourite hidden object game, "Yard Sale Hidden Treasures: Sunnyville", was fun, but, unfortunately was too short.
The basis of Hidden Treasures is that you are trying to decorate a house with items found in yard sales. Many of the items need to be refurbished, which is done in several simple mini games. I finished it in a few days. These are the computer games I like. I am really anxious to go to the next quest of hidden objects.
What do you think about You Tube? Do you have a favourite video that you watch? In love surfing the internet. I love finding new and interesting things on the internet that I can watch and send to my friends. There are so many interesting sites that show funny movies and I love watching them and finding out what people do to entertain the others. One complex internet site that presents all sorts of movies is You
Tube. . You Tube is very easy to use. If you have a Google or a Yahoo account you can sign in with that email account and you can watch all sorts of funny, useful and weird movies. You Tube videos are divided into categories so you can watch whatever you are interested in. The categories are: Autos & Vehicles, Comedy, Education, Entertainment, Film & Animation, Gaming, How to & Stzle, Nusic, News & Politics, Nonprofits & Activism, People & Slogs, Pets & Animals, Science & Technology, Sports, Travel & Events, Shows, Movie, Contest and Events. I like this division because in this way I can find easier what I am searching for. As for my favourite video, I love watching movie trailers and every time I find out about a new movie I check the trailer on You Tube to see if I like it. I cannot say that I have a favourite You Tube video. I find new and interesting ones every day. .
Did you like your teachers? What teacher did you like best? Looking back at all my school years I can say that I've spent a lot of time at school with my teachers, maybe sometimes more time than I spent with my parents at home. I had a lot of teachers: nice, funny, old or young. I can definitely say that I learned from every teacher that I had throughout time. In my opinion, the best quality a teacher should have is to like his or her job. If you are happy with your work it is easier to make the others like it as well. When you hear a teacher passionately speaking of a subject he is teaching, it catches your attention and makes you also interested in that subject. I remember my history teacher from the 8th grade. Our teacher wanted us to like history and not just learn dates and events. She krlew how to make us understand that behind any historical event there were people who put most of the times their lives in danger to make important things happen. We used to watch and listen to her telling us the stories of our wonderful heroes with our eyes wide open and we learned so many extraordinary things from her . I totally believe that she was the best teacher I have ever had and I know that we all have a teacher like Mrs. Tanase.
Speak about your family. Do you have any brothers or sisters? I am really happy with my family. We are a big and loud family and we get along very well. I have one brother and one sister and my parents love us equally and we love them back. We spend a lot of time together and we never get bored. We travel a lot. At the weekends in summer we go to the countryside to enjoy the fresh air and play all sorts of games. In winter we go skating or skiing and we have lots of fun. My brother is the oldest so he is always teaching me how to skate or ski or how to play badminton. He definitely thinks that I can do better. I know, but, at times, I am really lazy and I don't feel like
playing so seriously. He is a severe person even though he is just two years older than me. My sister is the youngest and she is only ten, so I sometimes am the boss of her as my brother is the boss of me. She has to listen to me otherwise her life is not easy most of the time. My parents try to keep us happy and teach us to be good to each other. We do our best and we enjoy all the time we still have to be together because soon we'll be on our own feet and lead our own lives.
Have you got a hobby? Is having a hobby useful? I might say that learning English has started as a hobby for me and I am really happy that I've developed this hobby. For me, watching movies, listening to music or reading all sorts of interesting articles on the internet were just hobbies. Later, I realized that my English has improved and I can understand easier what actors say in movies without using Romanian subtitles, or the lyrics of the songs I like. All this have led me to the conclusion that hobbies can be useful. I must say that hobbies are important and we should all have hobbies. As Lady Bracknell in Oscar Wilde's "The Importance of Being Ernest" said, we "should always have an occupation of some kind". I know that I have to do more to speak good English. I have to transform my hobby into a serious activity. I am planning for now to learn more grammar. Knowing all the grammar theory is not easy, but in order to be a good English speaker, I have to work on my grammar. It is not an easy job but not that difficult either. I am also planning to start reading small books that can help me with my vocabulary .. Speaking is also very important and this is why I am planning to travel to an English speaking country to combine another hobby of mine, travelling, with improving my English. In conclusion, hobbies are useful because you can always transform your hobby into an activity that can help you in life. .
Speak about a colleague of yours that is very funny. I enjoy spending time with my colleagues at school and outside school. I am so happy that I have great friends at school and great colleagues. We've been together for almost four years now and I am so sad that we won't be together after the graduation. We've spend so many merry time, together and I will always remember laughing all the crazy things we did. We .all have our different and fascinating personalities. We are happy, smart, funny, interesting people. But one of us, the one that keeps us together and the one that has the most interesting and fascinating personality is our very funny colleague Robert. He always has a smile on his face, he is always jolly. Whenever there is some tension in our group he comes with a prank or with a joke and we all relax and laugh. Nobody can be sad or serious around him. He always has something amuing to say to make you smile. Robert is not only funny, he also has a good heart, he is very generous with everyone and he always help us. These are the reasons why I am voting for Robert as the funniest and the most extraordinary colleague.
My best friend is Andrei. He is tall, with big brown eyes and short black hair. We spend every day together, studying and having fun at each other's home. I have been to his place so many times that I know his family very well now. Andrei comes from a large family. He has three brothers and one sister. As he is the youngest in the family, his grandparents and parents love him very much.Andrei's parents are both economists. They are very hardworking people that have always tried to do their best for the wellbeing of their children. The children have always understood their parents' sacrifice and respect them so much more for that.
I really like and respect Andrei's family, alI of them being role models for me because they stay together and respect each other at all times and this, for me is the image of a real family. I love Andrei's grandparents. They are very kind and generous old people. Whenever I visit them, they make s.ome de~sert for me. I think Andrei is very lucky to have such a 10vlOg famlly.
Speak about your favourite advertisement/so Some people like advertisements, others don't. I, for one, am somewhere in between. I can't say I don't like advertisements but] rarely watch them on TV. , Some ads are only made for people to see the products and t~eir qualities, not for the fun of watching them. As it is, it can be bOTlng sometimes just to watch the different presentations of some products, that you've actually seen for a million times before. The commercials that [ like are those that have a story that you can remember and laugh at on the bus or tell the story to your friends. I always laugh remembering the Coca Cola commercials. ] love those with the body parts that are quarrelling over the Coca Cola Zero taste. AII those creatures are really funny. Other commercials that [ love are those for Schweppes drink. The stories are interesting, always with a twist. The characters are so funny and memorable. You can see that the company ~as inv~st~d money not only in the presentation of the product, but 10 creativIty as well. Commercials are more that a simple presentation of a product but companies really needs to invest a lot of n;oney in order t? make a commercial that sells the product and not Just a commerclal. ['11 keep watching commercials and [ hope to see more and more interesting presentations and stories.
Does modern technology make life more convenient or was life better when technology was simpler? Give reasons for your answers. In my opinion modern technology is very useful. It helps us so very much in our everyday activities. Using mobile phones we can phone our friends and family to talk to them, see how they are during the day, and ask for their help in any situation. I'm only thinking how life was before the mobile phone has become so popular. It was difficult to talk to someone, to go to a pay phone which was sometimes not so easy to find. Another means of communication is the internet. Today it is so easy to talk to people who are far away from you, in another city, in a different country. You just download Skype or Yahoo Messenger and there you are ... face to face with someone you haven't seen in a long time. But the internet is so much more than communication. The internet is keeping up to date to the world's issues (joys, wars, holidays ... major events), is finding information about all sorts of things. Working on a project for school is not as difficult as was once. Now, you just Google the information and there you are, finding a lot of different sources for your project. Of course, the internet is very useful, but there are drawbacks. Sometimes, people forget there is a world outside their computer screen. There are real people they can communicate with, face to face. The internet can also be very dangerous for children who begin using it at a very young age forgetting how to play outside the house. [ remember someone saying. "We had no electricity for about two hours a few days ago and I went to make toast not realizing [ actually ... couldn't because I had no power." We depend so much on technology to breathe fresh air, to eat, to drink, to keep warm or . cold, to travel, etc. If there were no electricity for a week, what would happen to us? We hardly ever cook ... we eat precooked meals that we put in the microwave, we drink juice that is squeezed
in a juice squeezer, we drink coffee made in an espresso machine, and we eat sandwiches made in a sandwich maker. We are now at the point where we depend on technology very much and this is helping us and is making our lives so much simpler and easier especially when we know how to use it. In the past, people used to spend way much time. trying to do ~ha~ technology does for us today. Were they happIer, are we happIer. It's a difficult answer to ask but what we should know IS that regardless the technology we are still human beings and we should try and be ourselves as much as we can.
following day we have to wake up at six to go to school. The next day the same thing may happen. And the situation may keep repeating again and again ... In this respect, addiction is harmful not only in itself, but as distraction and time-eater, as well. To draw a line between necessity and addiction may be very difficult, especially if we talk about something that is not at all harmful from the beginning as alcohol, cigarettes or drugs are. We can properly enjoy technology as long as we think that computers are useful to accomplish one particular task, find some more advanced information than we have in our school-books, but we should also remember that there should also be a time for going out, for spending time with friends, riding bicycles or read a good book someone has recommended to us.
We tend to become addicted to computers. Is this addiction a good thing or should we be more suspicious of its benefits? People love the new technology that evolves so quickly nowadays. Everywhere we go we can see advertisements to the latest personal computer, laptop or mobile phones that have almost all the characteristics of a pc. Yes we are becoming overwhelmingly addicted to computers becau~e they make our lives so much easier. Having a computer helps us with our homework, for instance. If I am a studen~, for example, I am in need of writing an essay, a report or of mak10g .a pres~ntation for a particular subject matter, so that ~ can present It to the teacher in a proper manner, but, at the same tIme, I may use the computer to play games or chat with friends, ~.s.o .. It's true sometimes we have to spend a lot of tIme 10 front of a computer because we have to find information for tasks or assi?"nments we have at school and this can take time because, on the 1Oternet, we can find a lot of things and it surely is difficult to choose from between one thing and another. .. But sometimes, between the moment we search for 1OformatlOn and the writing itself, one of our friends can tell us via 'the messenger', that he has just discovered a new game and he is sending it t.o us so we may try it as well. At that moment we leav.e !he p~pe.r aSide ~nd try the new game, of course, and we fi~~ out It IS q~lte. 1Oterest1Og. So , until we've killed all the monsters It IS almost mldmght and the
Do you agree with the idea that children should be raised by their grandparents? Parents are - or should be - the most important persons in their children's lives. They become role-models for their off-springs and they shape their children's personalities in the long run. But, sometimes, being a parent proves to be very difficult. In the past years in our country was hard to find a well-paid job and this is the reason why parents either found work in another toron or abroad. This is the reason why they had to find someone to look after their children who needed a stable environment to grow up in. Under these circumstances, parents rightfully consider that the most reliable persons to bring up their kids are grand parents. In this way, children rriove in with grandparents who try, for a long or short period of time to replace the parents. Whether it is right or wrong that children are raised by grandparents is difficult to say. That depends on the circumstances and the outcome of each and every situation. Though, it is much better that parents raise their son or daughter. Why is that? Because, sometimes, grandparents tend to spoil too much the child, either being over-permissive with them, or by overwhelming· them with too much affection trying to replace the emptiness left by the parents' departure.
Another problem raised by the substitute-parents is that the gap between generations is twice wider this time, and this may cause irreconcilable problems. For example, the 2000's has a generation totally different view on life than that of their parents', to say nothing about that of their grandparents' who surely find it difficult to adjust to these new times we are living, to the new technology; lifestyle, and needs of the youngsters. All this can lead to either giving too much freedom to their grand-daughter or grandson, or to isolating him/her too much. In the end this leads to strong arguments between them, arguments that may degenerate in mere quarrels and end up in children's losing their bearings. Which may, consequently, lead to drug consuming, running away from home, or finding untrustworthy friends. Parents, on the other hand, because they see their children not as often as they would like, don't understand their real problems and, similarly, tend to offer too much affection and compensatory gifts which, in their opinion, can replace parental presence. Of course, grandparents are great people and they can definitely raise a child properly but, in my opinion it is much better that children live with their parents
Damage of the environment is an inevitable consequence of worldwide improvements in the standard of living. Discuss. The environment suffers because of the growth of the population. There are so many people living in urban areas lately, big cities get bigger and bigger each day. People consider - sometimes starting from wrong assumptions - that they need more things to make their lives easier, more comfortable or more pleasant. For example, we watch, on TV, every day commercials that try to persuade us to buy new appliances for our homes new gadgets for our computers, new and more comfortable cars. But what do we do with all the old stuff that we don't need any longer? Well, we might throw them away not realizing that thus we cause huge damage to the environment. We love to go shopping at the new, big and welcoming supermarkets . or malls. We buy so many products at once. We put them into the
shopping bags we get for free at the checkout. But what we don't realize is that all those plastic bags destroy the environment because it takes between 20 and 1,000 years for them to break down and they may float and blow long distances polluting the environment. By their presence in the air, on the water, or in the soil, may choke, suffocate, and cause intestinal blockage in thousands of species including birds, fish, whales, turtles and many other living creatures. Because we want to improve our living standards we use the earth's resources too quickly, too fast and sometimes on unnecessary things. Cars consume too much gas; home appliances consume too much electricity. We cut down the forests that need thousands of years to grow back, and the worst pal1 is that we don't try to find - quickly· enough - ways to replace every source of energy we consume. We don't even care about all the trees we cut and never think to plant new ones, destroying our source of clean air and oxygen'. Pollution is one of the main factors that destroy our environment. This is all due to global industrialization. Big industrialists don't' even consider closing down or, at least, change the aggressive technologies they use, they do not invest parts of their benefits for researches to cut down pollution. The steps - rarely taken - are, unfortunately, not fast enough for the already over-polluted cities or regions of the earth. We should be more aware of the way in which our actions affect the environment. We should, also, try to think that there are future generations to come after us, and they also need to enjoy their lives as much as we do.
Which place would you prefer to live in: a small town or a big city? Living in a small town is quite pleasant, everybody knows everybody, you breathe fresh air, and you live in a safer environment. But I would never change my town for a small place. Why do I love my town, Brasov, so much?
Because whenever I want to have a good time I have several places to choose from. I never get bbred because every time I may select a different place and make new friends from among people I haven't met before. And this is great. I even meet tourists that come to my city because they love the history and the landscapes of the region. In winter, my friends and I use to go skating and skiing and have a lot of fun; in summer, spring or autumn we ride our bikes, go to the movies or - very frequently, enjoy trips in the mountains or walks in the park. Another reason why I love my town is that I have many places where I can go shopping. Lately, several malls have been built in the city with movie theatres where I can go with my friends and have a great time watching the latest movies sitting in comfortable chairs. My city is also a beautiful old fortress that once was surrounded by defense-walls and towers that protected it against the enemies. In smaller places - be they towns or villages - you cannot find so many beautiful buildings, monuments and that much history as you can find in a city like mine. There are so many history lessons I can learn just from my everyday living in this interesting city that has grown so much lately. In our city we have an Opera House, theatres, skating-rinks, tennis, basketball and football courts and some swimming pools, the new Aqua Park for those who enjoy practicing different sports, both outdoors indoors, all around the year. Brasov also hosts a well known international music contest called the "Golden Stag", that is organized every summer, and the most important national Contemporary Theatrical Performance Festival. Important jazz concerts are held here, as well al the Ethnics Festival 'Etnovember' . Another thing that I like about my city is that, in summer, there are organized many rock concerts in the Council Square, which is a beautiful square located in the old city centre. There are many famous singers and bands that come and play here and this is great because I don't have to travel to other cities to see my favourite rock bands or find entertainment. These are just some of the reasons I like living in a city, the city I grew up in.
What is your opinion about the way in which movies and television influence people's behaviour? Since 1895 when the Frenchman Luis Lumiere invented the first motion picture camera, more than 100 years have passed. The movie industry has evolved, becoming one of the most popular means of entertainment. Throughout the time, different topics were the viewer's favourites, from great books, to war stories, science fiction movies, and many others. The movies changed with the viewers' tastes and the industry developed very much. Most of the movies people watch nowadays are made by the biggest "industry of dreams" called Hollywood. Nowadays there are movies made for children, for teenagers, for gown ups, for the whole family and for every age. In my opinion, children are the first affected by what they see on TV in cinemas or on DVD. They are too young to understand the difference between reality ·and fiction, and, sometimes, mix these two up. In children's movies there is a lot of violence. The heroes fight for rights, territories, in the name of a greater good. Children identify themselves easily with all sorts of characters and end up copying their behaviour, fighting with the colleagues at school, hitting them or behaving badly at home with parents. But this does not only happen with children; teenagers and grown ups are equally exposed to the danger of copying their models from the small or big screen. Teenagers start smoking easier if one of their idols is smoking; similarly, they may start drinking alcohol if their hero gets drunk. Many teenagers, especially girls, this time, want to copy the stars' appearance and try to lose weight ending up with serious diseases like bulimia. Whether we watch TV or movies is one and the same thing. We can watch on TV or on DVD, the same movies we watch at the cinema. And furthermore, on TV there are a lot of channels dedicated to children entertainment and many shows or cartoons; some of them are quite harmful in themselves, others become harmful by means of the unhealthy habits they bring about. For example, there are children who spend too much time in front of the TV and so
they lose contact with real life, they start to overeat; lose selfconfidence, and social abilities, become lonely and pessimistic, in the long run. In my opinion parents should be very cautious and look after their children, encourage them to make friends, and restrict drastically their time in front of the TV set. They should be those who drag the young ones from the world of unrealistic dreams to firm ground. Life is not always a TV show and we must not remain passive viewers. We have to make the most of our qualities and the time given, we have a duty to ourselves to live our own lives and not the others'!
What is better: to enjoy your money when you earn it or to save it for some time in the future? But again, when we are young we need a lot of things that we consider of utmost importance at the beginning, for later on to realize they are nothing but trifles. Therefore, even if we enjoy our first salary we end up thinking it is not enough and we should make additional work to have more money so we can buy everything we need. Probably people are rarely happy with their salary because nowadays we have to buy so much. There are so many things we have never thought about in the past and now we have got to have them. Moreover, there are so many places to visit, holidays at the seaside or to exotic countries to make, new clubs and restaurants to go to. For all these we need money. So, how can one possibly save money? Or, better said what money is there to be saved when our salary is hardly helping us to keep up with our pressing wishes and dreams? Generally, people think - especially when young - what for to save money? They will have enough time to save money when they are older, because then they won't need so many things. But this is a wrong assumption, because our needs sometimes grow with the age. We get married, have children, our expenses grow and sometimes
it is more difficult to put money aside when we are older. And, again, we need to save money for the children, for their education, for their needs .. In my opinion we have to think about saving money even since we start working. We can make a life insurance or a health insurance, save money into a private pension account or just put a sum of money into a bank account. In this way, whenever we need money we know that there is a place we can go and get it. There are moments in our lives when we need money and even if we are old or young we have to think about those moments and, I believe, it is very useful to have an account for "the rainy days". .
Do you agree or disagree with the following Grades (marks) encourage students to learn.
statement?
In my opinion grades are important for the school system because in this way a student knows how much information acquires in a certain amount of time. Marks are those that tell parents if their child learns enough. When we graduate from high-school and want to apply for a job or consider university admittance, our marks can prove to be extremely important. Some universities give much consideration to high school record when it comes to in the admission process. All these aspects should not be disregarded by high-school students or graduates. Marks or grades are very important nowadays not only in school, but also for our future. Students should be very proud when they get a high mark, and also should try and work harder when their marks are not as high as they should be. High grades give more self-esteem and make you feel more confident in your ideas, and thoughts. It's easier to talk if you know that you're appreciated. Sometimes students who get poor marks don't believe that much in themselves and are afraid to express their opinions for fear that what they say may be wrong or inaccurate. Poor grades can be harmful and, sometimes, students even end up hating one particular subject-matter just because of the grades he has got.
Of course, sometimes, students say that teachers are subjective and they get lower marks then they deserve and declare that marks do not reflect their knowledge. Indeed marks can be subjective only when we think that we are all humans, we have good and bad days. This is the reason why probably once at one particular test we can do well because we feel well and, sometimes, we don't. There are topics that we enjoy learning and topics we don't, and this reflects into our marks or grades. In my opinion, high grades should not be the main motivation for a student in the learning process. We should not learn for grades, we should learn for ourselves, for our future. Only if we learn in school we will have enough knowledge to help us "in life regardless of what domain we are going to work in.
If you could go back to some time and place in the past, when and where would you go? If I were to travel in the past I would be very curious to visit the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was one of the most powerful empires in history. The Romans succeeded in not only conquering, but also civilizing an important part of their known world. The Romans built the first roads to help their big army to move. The Romans had a big army which was very well organized in legions and auxiliaries. The army was self sufficient having doctors, aids, cooks, everything needed in order to function properly on its own during military expeditions. The City of Rome still witnesses displays of building, architectural and artistic skills embodied in structures like Columna Traiani or the Colosseum. The latter huge architectural masterpiece was built to feed the Romans' thirst for blood. Gladiators fought one another for their lives and, sometimes, they had to fight against animals too. In the Colosseum, you could watch boxing-matches, archery-tournaments and chariot races. There were also sea battles in which case the whole Colosseum was flooded.
The Roman houses were built differently from one another, according to their respective owner's social and financial status. The rich lived in the so called 'Domus', which were spacious houses with beautiful gardens, whilst the poor lived in flats, in buildings of three or more storeys, which were very small, made of wood and stone. Another interesting aspect of the Roman way of living is played by the eating habits of the Romans'. They cooked meat, fish and eggs. They also ate a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables like apples, pears, apricots, turnips, carrots, coriander and asparagus, which leads us to the conclusion they used to have a complete and healthy diet. Romans spoke Latin, and everywhere the Romans went and whatever place they conquered they imposed their language and, subsequently, their culture and civilization. That is the reason why so many of to day's Romance languages developed from it: Spanish, French, Portuguese, Romanian. Even languages of Germanic origin, as English is, for example, contain many Latin words: colloquium-a, addendum-a, sanatorium-a etc. The Latin literature is as extraordinary as the empire itself, and remained as a proof of what an extraordinary people the Romans were. Let us just to remember the famous works of Aeneas' or ' "Metamorphoses", Julius Caesar's '''De Bello Gallico" or Publius Ovidius Nasso's "Odes". For me, the Roman Empire is a great example of ancient civilization and I would travel anytime to see it with my own eyes.
You have the opportunity to visit a foreign country for two weeks. Which country would you like to visit? The country I would like to visit is Australia. The country Down Under is a beautiful place to visit, I believe, first of all because of its warm and nice climate which makes it so different from our country. Australia has beautiful beaches where I can enjoy swimming and surfing but not only that. What is really extraordinary about Australia is its wildlife. There are over 500 national parks on the continent. The scenery is
extraordinary. I love swimming and I would really love to go and see the Great Barrier Reef that was explored by the captain Petrescu and which holds a great variety of swimming creatures like: green turtles, whales. and dolphins. Another thing I really want to see is the koala bears. They are the most popular animals on the continent and they are so nice, cuddly and lovely. Together with the koala I want to see the kangaroos because, I think, they are so interesting and strong animals. On our continent it is difficult to see all the animals and fish and birds that live in Australia, and I believe it's a great opportunity to go and enrich my knowledge of wildlife on one of the most interesting continents on Earth. A city I would like to visit in Australia is Syd.ney where there are beautiful beaches, but I also can enjoy a lovely time if I decide to take the ferry from Sydney Harbour and unwind on a lovely cruise vessel and sail around the harbour. The city of Sydney is very cosmopolite and very modern in its architecture. The skyscrapers in the business district, the amazing Sydney Opera House, the impressive Bridge which is one of Australia's symbols and the Sydney Olympic Park. All in all I would love to go and visit Australia some one day, and many other countries, to see the beauties our planet has to offer.
State your opinion Internet.
about the negative
aspects
of using the
The Internet can be very useful for finding information for work, school or fun. There are many positive aspects of the internet because the internet has helped us a lot in improving our lives. But the internet may also have major disadvantages. For example, if I want to write an essay for school, I go online and Google for the information I need. But I have to be very careful with the information I'm choosing because on the internet everyone can post whatever information they want, be it true or false, accurate or inaccurate in good faith or in ill-faith. A positive aspect of the internet that can become negative is that of being able to communicate with other people who are miles away
from you. We may now communicate through e-mails, the Messenger, , send videos and photos etc. This means of communication is very . useful in business, where business paltners can discuss business problems even if they are far away from each other. This internet communication is very popular among us, the teenagers. We love to talk to our parents who sometimes are far away from us, or with our dear friends, sending them all sorts of funny pictures; music and movies. But all this can lead to estrangement, lack of real communication, isolation if we use it in excess. On the other hand, when children use the internet without an adult person's supervision, they expose themselves, sometimes, to complete strangers who may mislead them as regards their identity and hidden interests. In my opinion this is a topic that should become a major concern for their parents, since their children could easily become victims of some vicious minds. Some people believe that the internet is greatly helping in the spreading of globalization and this can be very damaging for small cultures, due to their absorption by the bigger and more powerful ones. People use the same language' on the internet, share the same values, find useful information, and communicate at the same level. Young people are not concerned that much anymore with their own ancestors' values, but with the new values, the ones belonging to the world's community, that of the 'global village' we are all creating with more or less awareness. In my opinion, using the internet to find information, to talk to friends is ok, as long as we don't forget that there is a whole wide world outside the four walls we live in that waits for us to discovered and thus enrich our living and to help us not lose - in this electronic communication era - the natural human touch.
State your opinion about the importance of being well-mannered in one's life. Being well-mannered has always been a matter of controversy: whether it is fashionable or not, whether people of all ages follow and respect the same conduct rules.
I think I should begin by stating how important it is to define good manners for each and every of the ages under discussion. For example, for our grandparents, good manners meant not to contradict an ~Iderly person, to date a girl only in a public place, to hold the chaIr when a lady wants to sit at the table, to help her put her overcoat on etc. For?ur parents, things changed a little. They were not as rigorous as theIr parents, and good manners have got slightly different meanings. I can't say for sure if these are only good changes, or bad ones, but what I can see is that adolescents and children nowadays seem to be totally "reckless" as the their parents and grand-parents tend to complain. And everything starts with the same argument: "well, in my time, everything was different. We certainly knew how to behave. You, the young generation, do not know this ... " and so the story goes on and on all the time. Sometimes it is difficult to start such a discussion, because children tend to get impulsive whereas adults get angry. It does not matter what 'good manners' means for any of the ages, everybody. agrees that it is really important to behave nicely and prove to be a well mannered person. Well-mannered persons are alw.ays more appreciated and might be easily promoted in our society. We all tend to behave more elegantly in the presence of such a person and we certainly feel good doing that. On the other hand, rude people (who are the opposite of wellmannered people) are not easy to tolerate. We tend to become angrier and more agitated when we are in the company of such persons. It's impossible not to change your mood or not react in any :vay to this. To s.um it up, good or bad manners have a strong Impact ~n our attitude to people behaving in one particular way, and, at tlme~ that may even change one's personality, even if we may not realize that. . Good-manners are not difficult to follow. They generally refer to morals, ethics, common sense and education. My opinion is that this is a vital factor for someone who wants to be successful in any aspect of personal, social or professional life.
Starting from an early age up to the end of our lives, every one of us dreams to become a famous person. It's true that there is a lot of hard work, luck and many responsibilities involved, but still it's impos~ible not to consider all the advantages that celebrity enjoys. Just Imagine yourself in such a position ... everybody knows you, loves you and even worships you! You are in the eyes and heart of the media all the time, everybody is watching you, and even look up to you. Think about all those fan clubs full of people dying to know everything about you, eager to predict or comment on your moves. Every single statement you make is seen as a new law, any style you may adopt projects you in the filed of fashion settlers. Step by step, you have become a role model for them. Children wish to be like you when they grow up, teenagers tend to imitate you and adults admire your attitude. Isn't that great? Apart from that, you travel all over the world and you are able to . see even the remotest comers of this planet and people may have a contact with them through your eyes. I, for one, would be honoured to know this and accomplish the wishes of so many who cannot otherwise make the dream come true. They would travel with me this way, through the cameras following me and have a glimpse of the beauty abroad. . It is said that celebrities own a lot of money and enjoys luxury. And it is true. They are able to fulfil all their dreams and other people's wishes, equally. Most of them are known to be charitable helping the poor, the sick and the unfortunate. I think that this is what really makes you feel great and important... showing your feelings and compassion to those who really need it. Moreover, they will surely appreciate it a lot and turn you into a kind of hero ... . their hero. And now, 'not only that you feel great by doing this, but people will love you even more. All this being said, I cannot stop thinking about all the advantages I have mentioned above and dreaming to be such a person, even for one day or, at least, half of it!
Speak about the disadvantages of being a famous person. Give arguments and examples to sustain your opinion. When it comes to speaking about famous persons, i.e. celebrities, everybody wishes, more or less secretly, to really become one. And I say that because most of us only see the advantages of being famous: money, luxury, travels, fan clubs, the possibility to make all the dreams come true etc. How many of us have really given a thought to the drawbacks of being famous? What is the price paid by celebrities? And, more, important, is it really worth it? First of all, celebrities are may not have a personal life, as ordinary people do, they are not allowed to go out with their lovers, to take their kids to the park, to shop or go to movie, Paparazzi are everywhere, watching every step they take, rephrasing everything they say, turning simple events into flashing news and their lives upside down. Once you have become a star, your privacy is something between you and the rest of the world! I'm sure that sometimes, this comes as a real burden. As a consequence to this, celebrities are not allowed to have bad days, or feel down. Everybody else is, but role models have to be a sort of super-men or super-women, always smiling, looking young, and ,being happy. You must agree that this is something really difficurt'to cope with. Because of that, many celebrities become depressed and do not know how to handle the tremendous pressure they are permanently exposed to. Therefore, they appeal to therapists and spend a lot of both their money and valuable time trying all sorts of remedies meant to ease their burdens, pains and anxieties. Nevertheless, everyone agrees that the therapy they really need is their own privacy, which they cannot have. But pressure and stress also appear as a result of hard continuous work and efforts are being made from their part to always maintain themselves at those high standards people impose on them. Again, this is not easy al all. All this being taken into consideration, how many of us do now seriously consider undertaking this hard task of becoming a celebrity?
State your opinion about the benefits of doing sports. Talking about sports is a common subject for everyone nowadays. It is like saying "Hello", "Good day" or "How are you?" Not everyone feels the same about sports, but people always find something to discuss about it, be it football, basketball, baseball, polo etc. And when doing this, t\:!ere are different opinions: some say that sports are healthy and bring people together, some others argue that on the contrary, this is not true. P~ople who say that sports bring us together refer to the possibility to socialize. Every sport needs a team. And its members need to cooperate. This offers us the chance to work .together, get alon~ and play side by side. In a way, this could be mterpreted as ~ bIgger family. All its members have a common goal and work for It. There are many hours of training and a lot of time spent together. As a result, tight friendships can be created and they are likely to last forever. On the other hand, those who argue against this point of view refer to the spirit of competition, which is taken too far. For instance, there are the examples of various national and international competitions, when the competitors take it too personal. A: a consequence, winning the cup becomes their final goal and nothmg else matters. In this· way, the competition becomes forceful and all the beauty of it is lost. My opinion is that sport brings out the best in us. It is about that spirit of working together that helps us succeed. Moreover, doctors, too, recommend exercise sports, to improve the body condition, to lose weight, to entertain etc. In conclusion, I think sport is the best recipe for a healthy body and a healthy mind.
What is your opinion about the statement: opportunities for self-development abroad?
One has more
When speaking of opportunities and where to find them, it's impossible not to hear different opinions. On the one hand, there are those who say that one can find more opportunities here, in" Romania, and on the other hand, there are those who do not agree with this point of view. In Romania, more and more people are convinced that there are better opportunities for them abroad and act accordingly. They find work in other countries and, in time, most of them end up living there and even moving their entire families up there. They feel their work is more appreciated and their life-styles improve significantly. I, for one, do not feel this way. The way I see it, good opportunities and chances to make a nice career can also be found in Romania. And you do not need to stay away for such a long time and miss your family and friends. They are always there for you, to support and comfort you when you need them, and are also there to be happy for you when you succeed. I think that one can find recognition and appreciation in this country, too. There are good jobs waiting for the right people and there is also the possibility to advance and have a nice career. In my opinion, this is also possible here, in Romania. If you are good in what you do and you wish to make a good career, you may earn the money you wish. In this way, you may feel accomplished from this point of view, and do not need to look for better opportunities abroad. We need good specialists in every field. If you want to find work, I am sure you will find exactly what you are looking for and you will" be satisfied with that.
in the eyes and hearts of all the family members. It's impossible not to love them, play with them and take care of them. In this way, they have become to be seen and treated as true members of the family. My family owns a pet, too. We have a little black dog called Memo. I know this name may sound strangely to you. We call him "Memo", because this comes from ·'memory". He is the one who reminds us we need to smile, and everything he does is to accomplish this task. Sometimes it is difficult, because we are tired, exhausted, angry, or nervous. But, no matter our states of mind, Memo is there with his merry barking, waving his tail, playing all sorts of tricks meant to make us feel excellent. Because of his presence in the house, the whole atmosphere is more relaxed, and our house is filled with merry laughter all the time. It is generally said that people who own a pet tend to have more open personalities, children raised in the presence of a pet begin speaking and expressing their feelings more rapidly. Apart from that, later on, they seem to develop tight friendships and are able to socialize easier. This is a general idea sustained by many psychologists nowadays. Moreover, according to this theory, pets can cure children from some illnesses. Dolphins are the best example. Everybody knows, or at least, has heard of the benefits the presence of dolphins can bring to small children. They seem to communicate well with them, they laugh together, and they sometimes swim and play together. In this way, they are taught not to be afraid of large amounts of water, forget about their fears and disabilities, improving their condition in this way. Another good thing pets can do is to fill up the loneliness sensed by certain people. I've seen elderly people proudly walking their dogs in the park. All this being said, no matter what reason brings a pet into a family, I can say that this is a real joy.
More and more families now own a pet. Be it a parrot, a dog, a cat, or another more exotic animal, they surely have a special place 187 III
State your manipulation?
opmlOn about
advertising:
information
or
The society we live in right now is unthinkable without advertisement. Everywhere you look there are advertising banners hung on huge walls, stickers displayed on the means of public transportation, thousands of commercials on TV, or on the radio etc. It's impossible to watch a movie, or a show without being interrupted several times by them, which is really annoying But what is there behind these advertisements? Some may think that there is information, that in this way we can be up-to-date to the new products on the market and definitely, this is a good thing. On the other hand, some others consider that advertising is, in fact, meant to manipulate, to induce some hidden ideas to the human subconscious. From this point of view, they analyze advertisements minutely and try to find the actual ideas behind apparently innocent words and beautiful images. Personally, I do not tend to be that intricate about this subject. When referring to this subject, I ten.d to look at the surface and understand the words literally. I do not look for hidden meanings, or subtle ideas meant to invade our subconscious. I just want to know what is new in the world of some products and which of them can be used in various situations. For instance, I once needed to remove some stubborn spots, and all the detergents I had used before c;lid not work. Watching a commercial on TV, I heard about a new "wonder product". I used it and it worked. In this case, the information I got turned to be very useful. And this is how I take all the advertisements: purely informational and functional.,From my point of view, they are there to promote new products on the market and inform people about their appearance, features and capacities. Unfortunately, advertisements only emphasize and/or raise the good aspects of such products, while their limitations or negative aspects tend to be hidden or not mentioned at all. In this way, people may be misled and disappointed by their efficiency.
In conclusion, I still consider that advertisements are created only to offer information and let people know about various new products which appear on the market.
Do you think a disability of some kind makes a person more determined to succeed? There are two types of disabilities: mental and physical. According to the type of the disability we are speaking about, we can try to find an answer. Personally, I have never met anyone with any kind of disability up to now, but I think that people with mental disabilities are unlikely to know exactly what is happening around them. On the other hand, people with physical disabilities have more desire to be accepted and integrate in the society. That is why I will direct my discourse only towards such persons. It is generally known that they often feel rejected by the society, because they do not look or act 'normally'. As a consequence, they become introvert and find it hard to communicate. Having a physical disability means that someone cannot use a part or parts of their body, and that is why other senses they have are increased. For example, wheeled-chaired people cannot use their feet, but they use their hands extensively. Blind people cannot use their eyes to see, but they hear extremely well. As I said before, these people wish to be accepted by the society and treated as normal persons. This may be a possible explanation for their fight to accomplish this. I heard about such cases of people with disabilities who have worked for it, and have succeeded to do
so. For example, I can quote the handball championships for the wheeled-chaired persons, where they can prove their strengtb of character and their determination. Another good example from my point of view is the presence of blind people among us. They try to walk and act like us, managing by their own. And such examples can go on like this hours on end.
I do think that these persons are definitely more motivated to succeed. And they do this out of their need to integrate in the society of 'normal' people. They feel the need to be accepted and treated like any other member of the community. I cannot say whether they are more determined than the rest of us to make it, but I surely admire them for their strong will. .
It is true that, when being your own boss, you can happen to get at the office later, but this may mean to work at late hours. This is exhausting, and an important disadvantage is Jhe lack of time. Being permanently on the rush, friends and family are sacrified for the sake of career and business. You may earn more money, but you may ala lose beloved persons.
State your opmlOn about the following statement: there is a will there is a way. Being your own boss supposes having your own business, and this may bring you both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, it is such a nice feeling to know that you are the most important person in that company, that many things depend on you and on your decisions. These can make you feel important and powerful and in this way change your way of thinking and acting. You can have a nice big office, the way you have always dreamt it
to be. There is nobody else you have to report to all the time and nobody can fire you. And again you can afford to make your own working schedule and if it happens for you to get late to the office, there is no problem. You will not scold yourself. On the other hand, there is a big responsibility and stress to have a leading position and knowing that everything depends on you. Your decisions may turn to be the best or the worst for everybody in the company. You have to work extensively, maybe more than anyone else and prove to be a capable person to keep good relations with your partners, close contracts and try to make the best choices. This may sometimes mean travelling a lot, talking on the phone, driving a lot and, more importantly, work with money. It's important to take the best decisions so that the dealings you close should be successful and your employees get their salaries on time. In this case, you can truly feel a good manager, able to lead and develop a company. The employees see you as a reliable person and you can be congratulated. But, at time you may not take the best decisions, and everybody suffers because of that, including you.
Where
This is an intlt'!'esting saying. I think the general idea is that when someone is determined to do something, he/she always finds a solution to his/her problems, no matter how difficult and impossible they may seem. In this light, I can give the example of my best friend, who had a car accident last year. Doctors told her that it was extremely difficult for her to walk again, but she desperately wished to be able to drive her car and run in the fields again. So, she worked hard day and night together with her trainers and doctors and slowly, her recovery was evident. Slowly, but surely, her steps became firmer and firmer, and, in the end, she was able to walk again. Of course, she needed a lot of time and strong will until she succeeded, but this demonstrated her courage and -determination to do that. Now, she is my best example as far as determination is concerned. She demonstrated that when you really want something, you will surely find a way to accomplish that. When discussing this aspect in school, I heard a beautiful metaphor reflecting it. My teacher told us that when you wish for something, you may not know the entire way from the beginning, but you know where you have to get, and this is very important. It is like driving a car late at night. You know the destination, but you do not know the.entire road from the beginning. Your lights are on, and the more you drive, the clearer you see the road, until you reach the final destination. I don't know if I have the same strength of character and determination to accomplish my goals as my friend, but I will
definitely try to do so, especially when my best friend is there 0 remind it to me all the time. Simply her existence is enough for me not to forget it.
Having a career is a crucial aspect of our lives. From early childhood to adolescence, everybody and everything is meant to prepare you for a future career: parents, family, teachers, friends, acquaintances etc. The little child always plays with his/her mates various games trying to perform careers: thus, they play doctors, lawyers, sellers etc. They are meant to introduce them to the needs of the society and the responsibilities of their selected field of activity. Let's not forget the eternal question posed to us when infants, "What do you wish to become when you grow up"? I think this is the first step of making the child aware of the future responsibilities he/she must take in society. Later on, schools use numerous programs and projects meant to help students decide and choose their future careers. I can say that everyone of us has to have a career chosen according to one's abilities, skills and preferences. A fulfilled career brings self-esteem, respect, admiration and success. In a way, this also means power, the power to decide over your own life, your own future. I think it is the greatest gift one can have for himself. We all need it and it is very easy to get it: the answer is seriousness and study.
Nowayadays, people travel a lot and they travel everywhere. It is easier, especially because we have so many possibilities to do it. First of all, the desire to travel has increased a lot, lately. People
tr:a~el for. so many reasons: for business reasons, for pleasure, to VISit certam places etc. Secondly, there are many means of transport to ?elp us cover long distances: planes, boats, yachts, personal cars, trams etc. . Now we can visit even the remotest places of the world we can come in touc.h with new peoples, new cultures, new ways ~f living and new habIts. From my point of view, this can help us enrich our knowledge and our possibility to socialize. Thus, the whole world does not seem so unknown any more, and these places do not look so impossible to get to any longer. Travelling brings the possibility to open up; it otTers the key to others ways of thinking and coping with life. In most cases, it also bring~ new friends (the people you travel with, or some oth~ you meet m the places you visit). Apart from that, when getting back, y~u always have the possibility to share the experience with your friends, speak about the habits you got from your travels show souvenirs etc.' , All this together can be seen as benefits to our own development as human beings, maybe a solution to our miscommunication.
Do you agree with the theories that state that more people sufTerfrom obe~ity, nowadays? There are more and more people that sutTer from obesity in the world. Chronologically, the first cause seems to have been the industrial revolution that in its turn triggerd economic growth and developement of urban areas. Living in an urban area differs in n:any ways. from living in the countryside. One of the major differences IS to be found in the way people feed themselves. In urban areas fast foods have become more and more popular esp~c.ially among children and teenagers, and are preferred to the tradItIOnal and more rural home cooked meal. This has also happened in Mexico where 20 years ago there were almost no obese people. But the situation has changed dramatically in the past few years and now more than 45% of adolescents are overweight.
We all are what we eat, and that isn't because people notice the actual food we are eating, but because this can be seen in the change of our figure, the colour of our skin, our weight, our health. Even though eating at a fast food might look easier or more interesting it affects us, and it is the reason why we should turn back to basics, to what people in rural areas used to eat, because that food (the food we nowadays call "organic food") is feeding us properly and is offering the health we need so much. Secondly, obesity became a disease that somehow we are causing to ourselves, by eating junk food in exces, sometimes oblivious of the problem we are going to deal with in the future. The good news is that governments have woken up and are banning the unhealthy products that cause so much harm.
Today's teenagers spend more time listening to music or watching TV than socializing. Music is part and parcel of the teenagers' personalities. It's shaping their language, behaviour the way they dress, defining them as part of a special clique, creating the environment for their gatherings and probably one of the most important things is that they have models in the image of the singers who become their idols. At the same time, there is some sort of segregation between teenagers according to the type of music they listen to and this leads to strong language at times. Music does not only express feelings and personalities but it's a way of shutting off the world around you. Teens generally have problems with parents, and listening to music, using an IPod is an easy way out from a parent's iritating chatter. Even though TV plays an important role in influencing teenagers' views, music has a greater influence upon adolescents. That is if they listen to music that sends a positive feeling they become happy or if they listen to music that has lyrics referring to suicide or death this can lead to acts of violence.
In my opinion music is definitely a part of us and recommends us as social beings, but nothing should influence us so much in life. We have to make the difference between what is right and what is wrong, between what is good and what isn't good for us, we have to shape our own personalities by other means, too: reading good books, watching theatrical performances attending social meetings a.s.o.
What are, in your opinion, the particular qualities that help a teenager be admired in high-school? The high school years coincide with the tremendous physical and social changes of adolescence. Both body and mind change, inducing powerful feelings of self-consciousness and self-awareness. It is.a period in life when we are certain of everything and we doubt about everything. It is a time of anxiety, when it is better to have friends than be alone. That is why different groups, with few exceptions, attract adolescents. If you are an athlete or you have a macho attitude, you will feel at home being one of the jocks. A liking for rock music will probably make you one of the metal-heads. A passive attitude, coupled with not caring for much in life makes you an emo. There are many types of sub-cultures that you can adhere to while in high school. What they have in common is their own behaviour, their own speech patterns, their own tastes in clothes and music. Being "in" or "out" can be both a cause and a cure for teenage insecurities. The particular qualities that help teenagers be admired in high school are different, depending on the point of view. Teachers admire a student who works hard, is intelligent, asks questions, wants to learn and to know and gets involved in all kinds of activities. Students nowadays seem to admire quite the opposite, .plus breaking the rules, being as disrespectful as possible, doing exactly the other way around than what you are asked to, not doing your homework, smoking, for that is what they consider being "cool" means. And if you are cool you've got everyone in your back pocket, in the palm of your hand, you are the Alpha male/girl...
State your opinion about the following statement: better to watch the film than rather read the book.
It's much
I think that everybody agrees on how important it is to take up reading. This not only helps you spend your time in a pleasant way, but it also helps you enlarge your knowledge and, why not, build your own personality, It is true that books offer a wide view on the innermost human feelings and on the difference between right and wrong, beautiful and ugly, real and false, kindness and meanness etc. Sometimes, one can really find himself in the characters of a book, or in the situations present there. However, television plays an iinportant role when it comes to transferring a book into action. As a matter of fact, video-books, because this is what we are talking about, tend to be preferred by the majority of us. Why? First of all, because of our lack of time. Reading a book may take us several days, or even several weeks; while watching a film only takes two or three hours! Secondly, films help you actually "see" the book from a different perspective. When reading, you can only imagine sceneries, characters, actions etc., but television introduces you to those ~ceneries and actions. It shows them to you, helps you become a part of them and therefore, live them. Everything is right there, under your eyes and sometimes you get so much caught by the action, that you even have the impression that it happens to you. Characters have become ,your friends, or, on the contrary, your enemies, their feelings have become your feelings, you can really touch them and feel them, not only imagine them, as you would have done when reading the book. . Apart from that, films have the possibility to combine pictures with movements and sound, which gives a tri-dimensional view. That is why people are more likely to enjoy and remember the whole action. Besides, more emotions seem to be involved this way. Another important aspect which is worth being taken into consideration is the way how teenagers react when choosing between
the. n:vo, They actually tend to consider watching a film much better as It IS entertaining and vivid-than reading a book - which is felt as boring. Therefore, in the light of these arguments, and being a lazy adolescent myself, I definitely agree with the above statement.
Argue in fav~ur of the importance young generatIOn.
Qf school in educating
the
Edu.cation is 'one of the essential pieces of any society. And when speakmg about the system of education, one primarily classifies it under t~e general term of "sch?ols'·, No matter if we are talking about kmder gardens, gyms, hIgh-schools, universities, students, teachers etc, they all refer to the same system of education we cannot jive without. Starting from an early age up to adolescence sometimes even maturity, people get to school to get proper ed~cation. And this does not only refer to acquiring large bulks of information in vari?us subjects, Education is something much more than that. It IS true that teachers and students alike are mainly there to study to~ether, to gather kn?wledge, to form their ways of thinking, but let s not forget the SOCIalaspect of education. By simply being there together,. ~hese people learn how to react, inter-relate, shape their personalItIes and, what is more important, they learn how to manage things in the future. Apart from that, schools are the ones to settle the models and specific of eve~y country. This is due to the way in which they trace and fol~ow theIr own system of education. People are trained within a cert~m pattern and after they leave the system, they will act accordmg to ~hat.they ~ave learnt in schools. Later on, they are able to take good Jobs, regIster work performance form families etc. and in this way, t~ey become relia,ble member~ of the community, Reg~:ded from thIS aspect, educatIOn gets to be synonymous with tradItIon. . It is com.monly said that an educated person can be easily traced and appreCIated, because he follows the norms of education acquired
in school. As contrasted to such a person, the uneducated does nbt know these rules and consequently, will not follow them. The result is disastrous: he will not be regarded favourably by the society and will therefore become an outcast. To conclude with, if one is to look for the key to education, they are sure to find it in school, because this is the institution where everything starts and where all ultimately ends.
Should mobile phones be allowed in schools? Give arguments and examples to support your opinion. I can say that mobile phones are a piece of technology one cannot live without; everyone owns a .mobile phone which helps stay in touch with the rest of the world anytime anywhere. And to be honest, I got so much used to it that I can't conceive life without it. It's impossible not to have forgotten your mobile home at home and left to work or to school without it. And we must admit how bad and how useless we have surely felt by not having it! One might even call it a kind of dependency, a phone-addiction. However, there are some situations and places where we cannot use them all the time, such as in a meeting, a church, classes etc. Over-using them in such cases may turn into a real nuisance and shows a lack of respect from our part. Some argue that in schools, children do not really need to use a mobile phone extensively, as they do not have so many urgent problems to solve: they are not that busy as adults are, and have no business to run or errands to make. Besides, using mobile phones during classes disturbs both students and teachers, or there may even appear cases when mobiles phones have been lost during school time. Situations like that cause rumors, _ tears and hard moments. That is why school regulations forbid taking mobile phones or any other modern technology device to classes: to avoid disturbance or stealing. Students must be aware of the risk they are exposed if they fetch their mobile phones to school and take a good care of them, especially that there are some very expensive models amongst them.
I myself wouldn't that far as to agree with a total prohibition of ~obile phones in schools, but I agree that, at least, they can be kept In a safe place and turned off, or on the silent mode when in class. This will show respect, obedience, safety and a good education. And I'm sure that, in this way, nobody will ever feel offended or disturbed by them.
Comment on the following statement: from the city centre.
Cars should be banned
The city centre is supposed to be the most beautiful place in the entire city. It represents the essence f the town, with the most beautiful and imposing buildings, the most important shops, a large park etc. That is why many people consider it should also represent a place of relaxation, where everybody can feel at ease and walk peacefully amongst friendly pigeons and running children. And this is their main argument when sustaining the idea that cars should be banned from ~he city centre, not to disturb the peace and tranquility and, most Important, not to keep polluting the air. Maybe that is why authorities tend to respect international ecological days when, once in awhile, cars are really forbidden in the city centre and people are supposed top walk and feel the pulse of the city. These are some days meant to slow people down and let them see the beauty of the city, hear the roaring of the street, notice the people walking on it and value the small things which can make us happy. If you want, this can also mean a little intent to go back Jo nature, simplicity and a possibility to socialize. On the other hand, drivers have their own point, arguing that nowadays, we live in such a hurry that one needs to drive a lot and cars represent a way to get in different places in a shorter time. Therefore, they can solve more problems at once. And this means they have no time to waste by walking. They are too occupied and in a continuous rush, so that they definitely to do everything faster and faster. After all, we are living in the age of speed, aren't we?
I can say that our authorities seem to have given a serious thought to both parties and tried to solve the problem nicely for them. So, we now have an important street in the medieval centre of the town where cars are banned, but this does not mean the entire city centre. There are some other streets where cars are allowed. In this way, everybody is happy, I guess. People in a rush have the possibility to pass through the city centre by cars, and the ones wishing for peace and serenity have an entire street available. Isn't this the best solution?
30 de subiecte de tip I A. Reading Comprehension I. I moved from Korea to the USA 2. My special next-door neighbour }:Remembrance day in UK 4. Witness statement 5. The aeroplane 6. Ecological accident at sea 7. A Diary 8. Life in a small village 9. Special homes ..: J O. Animation creator II. Childhood stories 12. Dinner parties 13. The world of butterflies 14. Holiday destinations 15. Eating in Britain 16. Sports violence 17. Conflict management 18. Being famous 19. I have a dream : 20. Environmental problems 21. You're fat? It's not you, it's the genes 22. The open window 23. Travelling by plane 24. Exams and the young generation 25. Women and marriage 26. A missing person 27. Friendships are hard 28. The prodigal son 29. Natasha 30. The value of arts
:
:
:
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7 8 10 11 13 14 16 17 19 20 22 23 25 26 28 29 32 35 38 41 43 46 49 52 55 58 61 64 67 69
30 de subiecte de tip I B. Writing I. Write an e-mail to your English speaking friend explaining that you would like to apply to do a course at one of the colleges in the city he lives 2. An informal letter inviting a friend to a party 3. A formal letter requiring information 4. A description of a place you visited 5. A story about a frightful and interesting experience 6. A formal e-mail inviting to dinner 7. An informal e-mail about a new product. 8. A letter offering a position, following an interview 9. Is the time for beginning a child's education important? 10. What movies do you prefer? 11. One thing you will do to improve your community 12. "Parents are the best teachers." Comment. 13. It is known that nowadays people live longer lives 14. A letter answering an offer to live in another city 15. Would you work for someone else, or would you rather own a business? 16. Describe you best experience as a student. 17. Do you think advertising encourages us to buy things we really do not need? 18. If you could make a gift to a child, what gift would you give him to be sure that this is about to help him? 19. What subject would you like to study if this opportunity were given to you? 20. Compare the knowledge gained from experience with the knowledge gained from books 21. Should businesses do everything to keep afloat and be profitable? 22. Who brings more to society, artists or scientists? 23. Some important characteristics of a co-worker 24. Write a letter in which you praise a restaurant. 25. Write a letter of request asking for information about facilities offered for a party 26. Do you prefer to work for a big or for a small company? .. 27. Choose one natural resource that is disappearing and explain why it needs to be saved 28. Which are the changes the latest years have brought in our lives as far as eating is concerned?
29. Write a cover letter applying for a teaching job 30. Write a letter of complaint to a virtual bookshop 95 95 96 96 97 97 98 99 99 100 100 101 101 102 102 103 104 105 106 107 107 108 109 110 111 I 12 113 114
IJ 5 116
30 de subiecte de tip II a - univers personal I. What kind of work would you like to do in the future? 2. Speak about the importance of friendship in your life 3. What is your favourite means of transport? 4. What does Christmas mean to you? 5. What do you do to have a healthy life? 6. How does fashion influence your personality? 7. What do you think about hobbies? 8. What is your favourite season? : 9. What is your favourite sport? 10. What do you think about having a pet? 11. Do you believe in eating habits? 12. What is your favourite free-time activity? 13. What do you like about your home-town? 14. What is the present you would like for your birthday? 15. What are your feelings about turning 18? 16. What do you like to do over the weekends? 17. What do you think about the way in which your parents have brought you up? 18. How do you think smoking may affect you? 19. What do you think about school uniforms being compulsory? 20. What is your opinion about mobile phones being used freely in schools? : 21. What do you hate most in life? 22. Do you think a relative may be considered best friend? 23. What do you think about travelling by plane? 24. What did you like about the school you attended? 25. What person/personality do you admire? 26. What is your opinion about the way in which television influences your life? 27. What would you change about your hometown? 28. What was the life experience that has taught you a positive lesson?
119 120 121 122 122 123 124 125 126 126 127 128 129 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 136 137 138 139 140 140 141
29. What are your goals for the future? 30. Speak about what makes us live longer.
142 143
30 de subiecte de tip II b - relatare/descriere 1. Describe you favourite film 2. Relate an adventure you were involved in 3. Describe the house you live in 4. Speak about a day that has changed your life : 5. Describe your pet. 6. Speak about your best friend : 7. Speak about the last time you went to a disco 8. Speak about the happiest day in your life 9. Choose a building you like and decribe it. 10. Speak about your favourite actor/actress II. Describe an object in your house which represents you 12. The way in which you celebrate your birthday 13. Describe your room 14. Describe a habitual Saturday afternoon of yours 15. Talk about a funny neighbour that you have 16. The most interesting, funny and useful internet sites 17. Talk about the ideal Romania -18. Talk about one of your favourite shows on TV. 19. A foreign country you would like to live in 20. Talk about your highschool experience 21. Talk about something interesting you saw in the street. 22. Speak about the holiday you will always remember 23. What is your favourite computer game? 24. What do you think about YouTube? Do you have a favourite video that you watch? 25. What teacher did you like best? 26. Speak about your family 27. Have you got a hobby? Is having a hobby useful? 28. Speak about a colleague of yours that is very funny 29. Describe your best friend's family 30. Speak about your favourite advertisement/so
144 145 146 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 159 160 161 162 162 163 164 165 165 166 167 167 168
30 de subiecte de tip II c - parere argumentata 1. Does modern technology make life more convenient...? 2. We tend to become addicted to computers. Is this addiction a good thing ?
.... 169 170
3. Do you agree that children should be raised by grandparents? 171 4. Damage of the environment is a consequence of worldwide improvements in the standard of living. Discuss 172 5. Which place would you prefer to live in: a small town or a big city? 173 6. What is your opinion about the way in which movies and television influence people's behaviour? 175 7. What is better: t6 enjoy your money when you earn it or to save it for some time in the future? 176 8. Grades encourage students to learn. Do you agree? 177 9. ]f you could go back to some time and place in the past, when and where would you go? 178 10. Which country would you like to visit? 179 II. Negative aspects of using the Internet. 180 12. The importance of being well-mannered 181 13. What are the advantages of being a famous person? 183 14. The disadvantages of being a famous person : 184 15. State your opinion about the benefits of doing sports 185 16. What is your opinion about the statement: One has more opportunities for self-development abroad? 186 17. State your opinion about the benefits of keeping pets 186 18. Advertising: infonnation or manipulation? 188 19. Does a disability make a person more detennined to succeed? 189 20. State your opinion about being your own boss 190 21. 'Where there is a wiWthere is a way.' Comment ~.. 19] 22. The importance of having a career 192 23. State your opinion about the advantages of travelling 192 24. Do you agree that more people suffer from obesity, nowadays? 193 25. Does music influence teenagers? 194 26. The qualities that help a teenager be admired in high-school. 195 27. Is it better to watch the film rather than read the book? 196 28. Argue in favour of the importance of school education 197 29. Should mobile phones be allowed in schools? 198 30. Comment on the statement: Cars should be banned from the city centre 199
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