BAC ENG, 2009, SCRIS, L3-4 h, V-2, 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 2

SUBIECTUL I ( 30 de puncte)

Read the text below and complete the following tasks.

Listening to an iPod while walking across the street could soon become illegal in New York. State Senator Carl Kruger wants a law introduced that outlaws crossing roads while listening to music, talking on a mobile phone or using video games and personal organizers. The fine for breaking this law could be as much as $100. The Senator said he had witnessed too many near misses whereby pedestrians had not heard or seen oncoming traffic because (1) … Mr. Kruger told reporters: "Government has an obligation to protect its citizens. This electronic gadgetry is reaching the point where it's creating an atmosphere where we have a major public safety crisis at hand." (2) …

Kruger may have a point. (3) … They all walked into busy traffic because they were distracted by an electronic device of some sort. In one case, bystanders shouted at someone to be careful seconds before they were knocked down and became another traffic accident statistic. Despite the alarming increase in deaths caused by distractions from iPods, New Yorkers are likely to ignore any new law forbidding their use in the streets. Many residents believe Kruger is going too far and that (4) … Brooklyn resident Mary Alberto was outraged at Kruger’s proposal. She said: “Enough is enough. I have been able to cross the street since I was eight.” She also joked that one day people might be fined for not looking both ways.

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

A. Three pedestrians have been killed in the past four months in New York’s Brooklyn district.

B. He is concerned that it’s becoming a nationwide problem.

C. It is now illegal to use music players in New York streets.

D. the law treats people as though they had no common sense.

E. they were too involved in gaming, chatting on their phone.

My Word Explanation

● iPod = electronic device ( from i = internet / or I = ego; & pod = place to keep things );
● to outlaw = to prohibit;
● near miss = occasion when accident / injury almost happens, but does not;
● whereby = by which, in which;
● gadget = mechanical device, ingenious article;
● bystander = chance spectator;


Solution
My answer:

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


2. Match the words in bold with their synonyms.
6 points

penalty, furious, preoccupied.


My remark

● To distract = to divert attention, not to preoccupy.
So a better synonym for DISTRACTED would have been DIVERTED ( not preoccupied ).

Solution
My answer:

● penalty = fine;
● furious = outraged;
● preoccupied = distracted

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

Solution
My answer:

● New York Senator Carl Kruger wants to enforce a law which should punish any New Yorker listening to an iPod while crossing the street. Kruger envisages his co-citizens’ street security, yet his personal views are shared neither by his colleagues nor by New Yorkers, who do not mind their Senator’s proposal. ( 51 words )

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

1. What does the US senator want to introduce against using technical appliances while crossing a street?

A. a law
B. a referendum
C. a warning
D. a warrant

2. Why did three people die on roads?

A. because they didn’t wear helmets.
B. because they didn’t see the traffic lights.
C. because they were using gadgets.
D. because nobody had told them there was a street there.

3. How do residents feel about the measure?

A. They do not all agree with it.
B. They believe it to be too late.
C. They all applauded it.
D. They have yet to find out about it.

Solution
My answer:

● ( 1 ) – A;
● ( 2 ) – C;
● ( 3 ) – A;


5. Comment on the following statement: (100 words)

Listening to an iPod while walking across the street should become illegal.

4 points

Solution
My answer:

● The issue whether listening to an iPod should become illegal or not is shallow-grounded. If it should become illegal, why not also punishing a suicide-committer or a street-crossing drunkard? Street-crossing drunkards represent a very old issue, yet it could not be outlawed for too long. Anyway, it is sure that people do not intend to commit suicide by listening to an iPod while crossing a highly-trafficked street. It is just an accident among many other street-accidents. In my opinion, it sounds as if it is a matter of Krugerian preoccupation, not for others’ sake, but just for one’s own image. ( 100 words )