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Ministerul Educaiei, Cercetrii i TineretuluiCentrul Naional pentru Curriculum i Evaluare n nvmntul Preuniversitar

Examenul de bacalaureat 2008Proba E/F

Proba scris la Limba englezL1 - Bilingv

Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii. Se acord 10 puncte din oficiu.

Timpul efectiv de lucru este de 3 ore.

SUBIECTUL I (30 puncte) Varianta 007

Read the text below and complete the following tasks.

Today we are accustomed to seeing huge SUVs (Sports Utility Vehicles) crowding our urbanstreets. Many loathe these vehicles for the environmental damage and congestion which theycause. (1).The original off-roader was a hugely over-powered motor car which was developed bythe US army to do anything from pulling light artillery to taking troops across difficult terrain.Because they could do almost anything, these vehicles were called General Purpose Vehicles,which soon became shortened to G.P. and then to 'jeep'. (2) Because they could drive off-roadand carry all sorts of loads, they became a popular utility vehicle with farmers. But the powerful

engines put a huge strain on other parts of the motor, such as the gearbox. By the end of the1940s, the world's jeeps were starting to wear out. Two British engineers saw this as anopportunity. In the post-war austerity, there was not much demand for motor cars, and workers atthe Rover factory were underemployed. So in 1947 Maurice and Spencer Wilks designed the firstLand Rover. This vehicle had the boxy shape which was to be associated with Landrovers fordecades after, but it was built with aluminium because steel was in short supply. The steeringwheel was in the centre of the vehicle to help the farmer line up his plough, since another functionof the Landrover was to serve as a replacement plough-house . (3). But the Landrover turned outto be a great success. Only 8,000 were produced in the first year, but in the second year demandhad risen three-fold, and it kept on rising. Now, almost 50 years later, the Landrover is still inproduction and millions of them have been built and sold all around the world. Another reason forthe Landrover's success is that it replaced the jeep as a military general purpose vehicle. (4) TheLandrover was also used by explorers, emergency medical teams and peacekeepers of the United

Nations, which gave it a kind of glamour which the sellers of today's SUVs still trade on.

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

A. When the Second World War ended in 1945, jeeps were sold off in huge numbers as warsurplus material.

B. Rover expected to produce about 50 vehicles a week for a few years, after which productionwould be abandoned.

C. When the Second World War ended, all the cars were in great demand, but jeeps were thebest.

D. Yet there was a market for this type of vehicle long before they became a status symbol for theaspiring middle classes.

E. It was not long before armies and police forces all over the world adopted this rugged vehiclewhich could get them into places which other motorcars just could not reach.

2. Explain the underlined words. 6 points

A. loadsB. put a huge strainC. accustomed

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Ministerul Educaiei, Cercetrii i TineretuluiCentrul Naional pentru Curriculum i Evaluare n nvmntul Preuniversitar

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

4. For the following questions, choose the answer (A, B, C, D) which fits according to thetext.

6 points

1. Which is notgiven as a fault of SUVs?A. They block up the roads.B. They use a lot of petrol.C. They can be unsafe.D. They are over-powered.

2. What was the main strength of the Jeep?A. It was versatile.B. It was very powerfulC. It could drive off-road.D. It could pull light artillery.

3. Rover's plans for the Landrover were intially ...A. pessimistic.B. unrealistic.

C. long-term.D. unambitious.

5. Explain the phrase in about 100 words:The original off-roader was a hugely over-poweredmotor car which was developed by the US army to do anything from pulling light artillery to takingtroops across difficult terrain. 4 points