CONCURSUL DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ „QUEST”

ETAPA NAȚIONALĂ, APRILIE 2024

Clasa a X-a
I. READING COMPREHENSION _________________________________________________________20p
Read the text below. For questions 1-5, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to
the text. (4p x 5 = 20p)

I first meet Daniel Radcliffe at the offices of his agent, just before he takes to the stage for an
evening performance of The Cripple Of Inishmaan. He's wearing tight jeans, no glasses, and is a
super ball of energy. He is extraordinarily polite, slim, well turned out. If you'd never seen him
before, you might assume he was a children's television presenter. But at the age of just 24 he has
16 movies behind him, eight of them Harry Potter blockbusters. It feels as if he's been with us
forever. The funny thing is, apart from the facial hair, he doesn't really look any different from the
schoolboy wizard who made his screen debut in 2001.
Yet over the past half-dozen years, it seems he has done everything he could to distinguish
himself from Harry in the parts he has chosen to play. Radcliffe disagrees with this, saying "I pick
films based on scripts and directors and parts. I'm not interested in making films I've seen before.
There's nothing more exciting to me when I read a script than originality. That's all it's governed
by, there's no master plan to distance myself from Potter."
He says he doesn't want to sound ungrateful. “I know that Potter is going to be with me for
the rest of my life, so to try to stop people talking about that any more is stupid. It's just a fact of
your life, so you can't get annoyed by it. You have to accept the fact that you were involved in this
incredibly cool thing and though you might not always be happy with the work you did on it, the
opportunity it has given you to make a career for yourself is amazing.”
Was he aware how much Harry would change his life when he was offered the part? 'No,
I knew I was signing on for the first two, that four books had come out. Warner, the film company,
genuinely didn't know at that stage if they were going to make more than one film. If it flopped,
then they certainly weren't going to put up all that money again." Did he ever consider exercising
his opt-out clause? 'By the third film, I thought, if there's a time to get out, it's now; there's still
enough time for another actor to come in and establish himself. For a while, I thought, if I do all
of them, will I be able to move on to other stuff or should I start doing other stuff now? But in the
end I decided I was having way too much fun. And actually there aren't many great parts out there
for teenage boys, certainly not as good as Harry Potter.
Nowadays, of course, he is incredibly wealthy. I ask whether he sometimes worries people
might socialise with him purely because of that. He laughs, and says people are going to be sadly
disappointed if they befriend him for his lavish spending. Anyone who is my friend knows that I
don't spend money. So they can hang around with me as much as they like and they still aren't
going to get anything. Haha!' But, he says, he has never had a problem with working out who to
trust. 'I'm a fairly good judge of character, and I have a small but very close circle of friends. I'm
not looking to recruit new friends, though I'm actually very open with people. I had a similar
conversation with myself when I was about 17, the first time somebody had really betrayed that
trust, and I said to myself you have two options: you either become totally insular and shut down
and not let anybody into your life ever, or you can continue to be open and amiable when you meet
people, and trusting, and occasionally get hurt.

1. What do we learn about Daniel in the first paragraph?

A. He is now working in TV programmes for children.
B. His appearance has changed considerably since his childhood.
C. He is currently acting in the theatre.
D. He is amused by the way he looked in his early films.
2. What does Daniel say about his current work?
A. He likes to make changes to the film scripts he is given.
B. He sometimes has to accept roles he would rather reject.
C. He finds it difficult to play roles that are not Harry.
D. He denies he chooses roles as unlike Harry as possible.

3. What does Daniel appear to be criticising in the third paragraph?

A. Some of his acting in the Harry Potter films.
B. The overall quality of the Harry Potter films.
C. The effect of playing Harry Potter on his career.
D. Attempts to talk to him about Harry Potter.

4. When Daniel was first asked to play Harry Potter

A. He thought the first film would be made on a low budget.
B. He thought that only two Harry Potter books would be published.
C. He had no idea how many films in the series there would be.
D. He only wanted to be in the first film in the series.

5. Why did Daniel eventually decide to be in every film?

A. He thought nobody else could play the role of Harry.
B. He was enjoying making the films so much.
C. He never considered doing any other kind of work.
D. He knew it would eventually lead to different roles.

II. ENGLISH IN USE ____________________________________________________________________40p

II.A. OPEN CLOZE. For questions 1-10, read the text below and fill in with ONE word that
best fits each gap. (1p x 10 = 10p)

Eating at university

According (1) ………. a recent study, 59 per cent of university students miss lunch each
week, and 65 per cent can't (2)………. bothered having breakfast. Eating regular meals, it seems,
is very (3)…….. one of the student's top priorities, yet the same study shows that well (4)………
half of those questioned wish they (5) ……..learnt how to cook at school.
Having a good diet can make settling into life at university much easier. That's (6)……it
makes such good sense to learn how to prepare a few meals, even (7)……….. they are only basic
things like soup or egg on toast.
If there's a shared kitchen, it's a good idea to take turns cooking for everyone, (8)……than
making meals one after the other, (9)……..can lead to tensions when people are feeling hungry.
Sharing the cooking means there's a variety of meals, nobody has to cook every day, and (10)…….
is more, it saves money.
II.B. WORD FORMATION. For questions 1-10, use the word given in capitals at the end of the lines to form
a word that fits in the gap in the same line. (1p x 10 = 10p)

Sharing your living space is never easy but is it better to share with family or friends or complete
(1) STRANGE............. ? Living with your family is certainly not (2) COMPLICATE......... : it
can cause all sorts of problems, but at least with your family you know the other people in your
house very well. And (3)GENERAL ......... you like each other and try to be nice to each other.
At some point though most of us want some (4)DEPEND........ and so we end up moving out of
the family home. Nowadays it is (5)USUAL ....... for young people to be able to afford to rent
somewhere by themselves and living alone can be frightening and lonely, (6)SPECIAL .... if it is
in a strange new city, so lots of people decide to share. If you have friends in the same place in
similar situations then it makes sense to live together and this can be very (7)SUCCESS ..........
However, living with someone will put all kinds of pressures on your (8)FRIEND....... You find
out all sorts of things about someone when you share the same living room, kitchen and
bathroom. Choice of TV programme, (9)TIDY...... and length of time spent in the bathroom are
all common causes of (10)AGREE....... Sometimes it is better to move in with someone who is
not your friend.

II.C. MULTIPLE CHOICE.

Read the following text and decide which answer A, B, C or D best fits in each gap (10 x 1p
= 10p)
Have you lost anything on public transport? An umbrella, perhaps, or a pair of gloves? Your (1)…..
teeth, a lawnmower, a wedding dress or maybe your favourite park bench? All of these and many
other unusual items have been (2)…….. and handed in to London's lost property office in Baker
Street over the (3)……….75 years. If you go to their office you will be amazed at the enormous
number of things people (4)......... while travelling in the city on buses, trains and the underground.
Last year 36,852 books were found: that's enough to fill a library. 28,550 bags were handed in,
with things in them, and 27,174 (5)......... of clothing. The manager of the lost property office says
she loves being reminded how (6).......... Londoners are when they hand in lost property. Of course
not everything gets handed in but stories (7)......... the time a bag was handed in with 10,000 pounds
in it help restore your faith in human nature. The office is quite (8)……at getting things back to
their owners too. If you lose something you can (9)......... it to the lost property office and assuming
someone has kindly handed it in their computer system Sherlock will try to find it for you. The
office (10)......... you to give as much information as possible as this obviously makes the search
easier. However, if you lose something and it finds its way to the lost property office they won't
keep it forever.

1 A artificial B false C untrue D fake

2 A discovered B found C searched D recovered
3 A last B recent C ultimate D close
4 A lose B forget C miss D drop
5 A parts B quantities C details D pieces
6 A sincere B true C honest D loyal
7 A like B as C such D example
8 A well B great C good D fine
9 A demand B report C tell D announce
10 A suggests B makes C asks D insists
II.D. KEY WORD TRANSFORMATIONS. Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to
the first sentence, using the word given. You may use between two and five words. (5x2p=10p)

1. A professional is going to do her make up for her. HAVE

She's going to........................ by a professional.

2. I think you should ask your teacher for help. WOULD

If I............... your teacher for help.

3. He'll probably arrive late, he usually does. NOT

He............................. on time, he doesn't usually.

4. Mark left the flat before Lauren got home. ALREADY

When Lauren got home Mark....................... the flat.

5. Could you please turn down the radio? TURNING

Would............................... the radio?

III. WRITING
You see this advertisement in your local English-language newspaper.

Shop assistants wanted for summer work

We require shop assistants to work with English-speaking customers in our department stores
this summer. Positions are available in the following departments:

• fashion
• music
• electronic equipment

Write to Emma Murphy at Holiday Stores saying which department interests you and why, and
explain why you would be suitable for the job.
Write your letter in 140-190 words in an appropriate style
 CONCURSUL DE LIMBA ENGLEZĂ „QUEST”
ETAPA NAȚIONALĂ, APRILIE 2024
BAREM CLASA A X-A
I READING COMPREHENSION (4p x 5 = 20p)
1-C; 2-D; 3-A; 4-C; 5-B

II A. OPEN CLOSE ( 1p x 10 = 10p ) 6. why

1. to 7. if
2. be 8. rather
3. Rarely/seldom 9. which
4. over 10. what
5. had
B. WORD FORMATION ( 1p x 10 = 10p )
1 strangers 6 especially
2 uncomplicated 7 successful
3 generally 8 friendships
4 independence 9 tidiness
5 unusual 10 disagreement

C. MULTIPLE CHOICE ( 1p x 10 = 10p )

1B
2B
3A
4A
5D
6C
7A
8C
9B
10 C

C. KEY-WORD TRANSFORMATION (2p x 5 = 10p)

1. have her make up // done
2. were you, // I would
3. probably// won’t arrive
4. had // already left
5. you mind // turning down

III. WRITING (30p)

• organization and cohesion ……………………....5p
• language accuracy …………………………….....5p
• content ……………………………………….….....5p
• range of vocabulary ………………………….......5p
• register …………………………………………......5p
• impact on the reader …......................................5p
Se acordă 10p din oficiu.