BAC ENG, 2009, SCRIS, L1-L2, V-5, 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 normal – L2

Toate subiectele sunt obligatorii. Se acordă 10 puncte din oficiu.
Timpul efectiv de lucru este de 3 ore.

Varianta 5

SUBIECTUL I (30 de puncte)

Read the text below and complete the following tasks.

The effects of climate change are being most acutely felt in developing countries where extreme weather conditions in vulnerable regions have become more frequent as the earth’s temperature climbs.

… (1) A report last year by Christian Aid, a non-governmental organization (NGO), predicted that by the end of the century 182 million people in sub-Saharan Africa would die of disease directly attributable to climate change. … (2)

With such devastating predictions, the developing world itself is making moves towards addressing climate change and reducing harmful emissions. China, the biggest producer of greenhouse gases after the US, has said it is committed to improving energy efficiency and will reduce harmful emissions by 20% in the next five years. The country’s leading meteorologist, Qin Dahe, attributed recent droughts in north-west China, where up to 300,000 people are short of drinking water, to climate change.

… (3) “President Hu Jintao has said that climate change is not just an environmental issue but also a development issue.”

A recent informal meeting of EU development ministers put the topic high on the agenda and a Commission proposal for a Europe-Africa energy partnership due out later this year will also focus on development and climate change. … (4)

Climate change will reduce food security and water security and make vulnerable people lose even more. But how do poor African or Asian states haul themselves out of poverty without developing their economies and encouraging industry, both of which, will almost certainly drive up global emissions?
(Judith Crosbie, Development and Climate Change)

1. Four sentences have been removed from the text. Select the appropriate sentence for each gap in the text. There is one extra sentence that does not fit.
4 points

A. “The Chinese government is taking climate change extremely seriously,” he said.

B. For the future, the estimates are nothing short of dire.

C. “Millions more face devastation from climate-induced floods, famine, drought and conflict,” the report says.

D. “Certainly donor agencies are becoming more concerned about their investments,” she said.

E. “It is obvious that Africa is not to blame for anthropogenic climate change, but Africa is hit particularly hard by the consequences of climate change,” said German Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul.

My word explanation

● vulnerable = exposed to, liable to, open to attack; [from Latin VULNUS = wound ];
● attributable = caused by ( a particular event, situation, activity or person );
● devastation = destruction;
● devastating = destructive;
● to address = to devote effort to something;
● to be committed to DOING something = to agree to do something important;
● drought = dryness, shortage of rain, rain-deficiency, rainlessness;
● up to = rising to the level of ;
● due = 1. adj. appropriate, proper; 2. adv. exactly, right, straight;
● to haul oneself out of = to succeed in reaching a higher position using a lot of effort;
● to drive up = to make ( the amount ) rise to a higher level;
● dire = saying that something very bad is going to happen;
● nothing short / little of ( something ) = used when saying how extreme a situation is;
● to be to blame = to be accused;
● anthropogenic = man-created, man-produced;
● informal = unofficial

Solution
My answer:

● 1 – E;
● 2 – C;
● 3 – A;
● 4 – B;

2. Who/What do the words in bold refer to?
6 points

Solution
My answer:

● where = developing countries;
● it = China;
● both of which = economy and industry;

3. Give the synonyms of the following words.
10 points

1. to climb 2. disease 3. issue 4. also 5. development

Solution
My answer:

● 1 – [ to climb ] = to go up, to rise, to ascend;
● 2 – [ disease ] = ailment, affliction, illness;
● 3 – [ issue ] = point in discussion, argument, matter, problem, question, subject;
● 4 – [ also ] = too, as well;
● 5 – [ development ] = evolution, growth, advancing, advancement, augmentation, enlargement;

4. Answer the following questions.
6 points

A. Where are the effects of climate change being most acutely felt?

B. What did the report by Christian Aid predict?

C. What does president Hu Jintao think about climate change?

Solution
My answer:

● A -- in developing countries where extreme weather conditions in vulnerable regions have become more frequent as the earth’s temperature climbs;
● B -- that by the end of the century 182 million people in sub-Saharan Africa would die of disease directly attributable to climate change;
● C -- that climate change is not just an environmental issue but also a development issue;

5. Comment on the following sentence:

Climate change will reduce food security and water security and make vulnerable people lose even more.

(50 words)

4 points

Solution
My answer:

● It is quite evident that climate changes can devastatingly affect us. One extreme would be the lack of rain, thus endangering agriculture, and our food. The other would be too much rain, which can endanger both agriculture and men’s dwelling places. The most vulnerable to these extremes are the poor people’s lives and properties. ( 54 words )