BAC ENG, 2009, SCRIS, L3-4h, V-1, Sb-1, [ sub + rezolv ]

[musa paradisiaca]

Ministerul Educaţiei, Cercetării şi Inovării
Centrul Naţional pentru Curriculum şi Evaluare în Învăţământul Preuniversitar

Examenul de bacalaureat 2009
Proba E/F
Proba scrisă la Limba Engleză
L1 - Intensiv 3 - 4 ore

Varianta 1

SUBIECTUL I ( 30 de puncte)
Varianta 001
Read the text below and complete the following tasks.

Vicky Halls is a “cat behaviour counselor”. The idea of such a person would have been incomprehensible to those brought up on Rudyard Kipling, who plainly didn't think much of cats and thought they could manage perfectly well without humans. (1) … We know better now, yet it's still surprising how little we understand them.

Vicky Halls has often been called in to sort out some wretched animal that's making messes all over the house or obnoxiously wetting the furniture (2) …, and has discovered that either it is frightened of another cat in the household, or is missing a dead one, or is jealous of other cats or of humans, or it can't stand the wood chips in its litter tray, while (3) …

Sometimes the problem is obvious enough, as in the case of a cat called Chester whose owner let him sleep with her when her husband was away, and who then became so jealous that he actively and sometimes painfully came between husband and wife when all three were in bed. (4) …, but instead they summoned Ms Halls who eventually broke up this absurd triangle by arranging alternative pleasures for Chester, such as a comfy bed of his own and more time outdoors.

Ms. Halls prescribes a range of devices to distract the indoor cat: a few card boxes to hide in, or a high shelf to sit on with a view through another window.

1. Four sentences/groups of words have been removed from the text. Select the appropriate sentence / group of words for each gap in the text. There is one extra sentence/group of words which you do not need to use.
4 points

A. its doting owners have had no idea what has been going on in its unhappy head.

B. Cats in those days were generally thought effeminate anyway, not like gruff and manly dogs.

C. Most of us would have got rid of the cat

D. the commonest symptom of anxiety or distress

E. Cats make our lives better.


My word explanation:

● incomprehensible = not understandable;
● be brought up on smth / smbd = educate;
● plainly = obviously;
● call in = ask a person / organization that provides a service to come and deal with smth;
● sort out = solve a problem, deal with a difficult situation;
● wretched = distressed, unfortunate;
● obnoxiously = very rudely, very offensively, very unpleasantly;
● chips = small pieces;
● summon = call to a place;
● comfy = ( inf. ) comfortable;
● doting = loving, affectionate, devoted;
● gruff = bad-tempered, rude;

Solution
My answer:

● ( 1 ) – B;
● ( 2 ) – D;
● ( 3 ) – A;
● ( 4 ) – C;



2. Explain the underlined words.
6 points

Solution
My answer:

● counselor = adviser, representative;
● wood chips = small pieces of wood;
● obvious = clear, evident, undeniable, no doubt;


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

Solution
My answer:

● As a cat behaviour counsellor, Vicky Hall deals with strange conducts in cats. One of her cases was Chester, a smart cat, with whom his / her owners got into trouble. Vicky was able to solve the case appropriately : a special cat-bed and more time spent outdoors. This helped the owners to find some other solutions, too. ( 56 words )


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

1. What can we infer about cat behaviour counsellors?

A. People felt that they were strange in the past.
B.They believe that cats shouldn't be domesticated.
C. They claim dogs are generally viewed in a more favourable way than cats.
D.They are a relatively new breed of professionals.

2. What does Vicky Halls say about the mess cats make?

A. It demonstrates that they should be put out at night.
B. It can be put down to stress.
C. It is normally the cat owner's fault.
D. It is natural if there is more than one cat at home.

3. What is Vicky Hall's view of indoor cats?

A. They should be encouraged to go out.
B. They are more likely to suffer from extreme anxiety.
C. She pities them.
D. She believes they enjoy being able to see outside.

Solution
My answer:

● ( 1 ) – D;
● ( 2 ) – B ( put down to = caused by [ that thing ] -- see, a symptom of anxiety and distress );
● ( 3 ) – B;

5. Comment on the following sentences:

Vicky Halls is a “cat behaviorur counsellor”. The idea of such a person would have been incomprehensible to those brought up on Rudyard Kipling.

(100 words) 4 points

Solution
My answer:

● The idea of a cat behaviour counsellor would not have been understood by those people living in Rudyard Kipling’s time, mainly because of some mentalities that kept human minds captive in those times. First of all, people had the slightest consideration for cats. Secondly, people believed that cats could manage perfectly well without humans. Thirdly, cats were generally thought effeminate – an assumption which reveals some sort of a male-oriented society. This male-oriented society did not have much consideration for cats, whom they did not regard in the way they did with dogs, for whom they usually had very high esteem. ( 100 words )