Catedra de LSS Graduation Test of English, April 4 2009

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 Catedra de LSS Graduation Test of English, April 4 2009
Această secţiune se completează de către candidat. Se vor utiliza doar majuscule de tipar.
Numele şi Prenumele (cu iniţiala/iniţialele tatălui, aşa cum se găsesc in catalog)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Facultatea de______________________________________________________________________________
Specializarea (daca este cazul se va menţiona IDD)_______________________________________________
Anul de Studiu (III, IV, V)_____________
Această secţiune se completează de către examinator.
Nota obţinută (în cifre): ________________ Menţiunea (admis/ respins) _______________

GRADUATION TEST of ENGLISH

I. LISTENING COMPREHENSION (20 points)

1. Listen to the controversial Linguistics expert Professor McKenzie talking about the future
of the English language. 10 p.
Decide whether these statements are TRUE or FALSE according to Professor McKenzie.

1. If you do not know English you can be at a disadvantage.

2. English will soon be spoken by everybody in the World.
3. By 2010 half the World’s population will speak English.
4. Competitors at the Eurovision Song Contest will never be unanimous in choosing to sing in
English.
5. Native English and Majority English will become the two predominant types of English.

2. Listen again and comment on the first statement using information from the audio (no more
than 50 words). 10 p

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Catedra de LSS Graduation Test of English, April 4 2009
II. READING COMPREHENSION (20 points)
1. Fill in the gaps in the following text with a word from the list below. 5 p.
both drop each increased returned rising rise rose
was was financed was spent

Expenditure on Education in Hong Kong 1995 to 1998

Academic year 1995-1996 1996-1997 1997-1998
Total expenditure ($ million) 33,611 39,165 45,315
As % of government budget 17.6% 18% 18.2%
% spent on
 primary education 22.2% 21.5% 21.6%
 secondary education 33.7% 33.2% 33.5%
 tertiary education 35.9% 36.7% 35.9%
Source: Hong Kong 1998. Hong Kong: Government Printer

Public expenditure on education in Hong Kong (1) increased continuously from 1995 to 1998. In academic year
1995-6 it (2)_________________ HK$33,611 million, (3)______________ to $39,165 million in 1996-7 and
$45,315 million in 1997-8. As a percentage of the government’s budget spending on education also increased
(4)______ year, from 17.6% to 18% and then to 18.2%.
However, the percentage of expenditure spent on primary, secondary and tertiary education did not show the
same consistent (5)_______. In 1995-6 expenditure on primary education was 22.2% of the education budget,
33.7% (6)_________ on secondary, and 35.9% on tertiary.
In 1996-7 an increase of 0.8% in spending on tertiary education (7)_____________by a (8)_________ in
spending of 0.7% in primary and 0.5% in secondary schooling.
In 1997-8 tertiary spending as a percent of the education budget (9)_________to its 1995-6 level. The
percentage spent on primary education (10)__________ to 21.6% and that on secondary to 33.5%,
(11)________ figures being less than 1995-6 levels.

2. The headlines below are from news stories where aid or relief was needed. Match the headlines
A-G to the help needed 1-6 in each situation. 5 p.
A. 50 Houses Collapse in Earthquake – Searching for Survivors Continues
B. Town Planners Ignored Needs of Disabled
C. Motorway Pile-up Injures
D. Famine Worsens – 1000s Starving
E. Children Orphaned after family Holiday Disaster
F. No Place for Refugees

1. ……………….. improved access to buildings / ramps into shops etc, lifts onto public transport
2. ……………….. ambulance, hospital treatment
3. ……………….. financial aid, food, medical treatment, training to improve agricultural techniques
4. ………………. rescue operation, medical treatment
5. ……F………. hostels, temporary accommodation, advice about rights / employment / permanent residency
6. ………………. foster care, counselling, trust fund

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Catedra de LSS Graduation Test of English, April 4 2009
3. Read the text and solve the following tasks.
Martin Jacques on why age and wisdom have been cast out of our infantilised society
There is a strange phenomenon. Britain is getting older. In fact, the population is older now than it has been for
over a century. Yet at the same time our culture has never been more adolescent. Young people may be a
dwindling minority, but they exercise an extraordinarily powerful influence on the cultural stage, from television
and newspapers to film and art.
The turning point, of course, was the 1960s. Until then, young people were largely ignored in a culture that was
stiflingly middle-aged. A generation, who were brought up in very different conditions from those of their
parents, rebelled in a way that remains unprecedented in western society. It is not difficult to explain or
understand the 60s. The young were a product of the long postwar boom, not war and unemployment, and the
baby boom lent them exceptional demographic weight. What is far more difficult to comprehend is why our
culture, in the decades since, has become progressively more infantile. It is as if the 60s gave birth to a new
dynamic, which made young people the dominant and permanent subjects of our culture.
It started with the birth of pop music as a youth genre, but the concerns and attitudes of the young generation
have since permeated areas that were never adolescent. One only has to think of Britart, for example, whose
motif has been the desire to shock, or film, whose preoccupation with violence as spectacle is driven by the
appetite of the young, to see how powerful these adolescent values have become. It is not that they are simply
negative or offer nothing: on the contrary, there is much to be admired in their energy, skepticism and
commitment to innovation. But they are also characterised by transience and shallowness, a desire to shock for
shock's sake, and a belief that only the present is of value. A culture that succumbs to adolescence is a culture
that is drained of meaning and experience, not to mention history and profundity.
But why is it happening? It can be argued that the 60s unleashed a new cultural dynamic, which is still working
its way through society. A new mindset was formed, which gave priority to the young. It is plausible to suggest
that parents and grandparents who themselves were the rebels of the 60s are more inclined to respect, and defer
to, the sensibilities and demands of youth. And this tendency has been reinforced by a new technological
dynamic, manifest in the internet, mobiles and the like, which has left older generations feeling a little left out,
and lent credence to a misplaced technological determinism among the young.
There is more than a grain of truth in all this. But as the proportion of young people steadily declines, one would
still expect the sheer weight of growing age to assert itself. So far there is absolutely no sign of this. In fact,
extraordinarily, the opposite is happening. The underlying reason for all this could not be more fundamental. It
concerns the western condition. For over half a century we have only known prosperity, never experienced mass
unemployment, never fought wars except on the edges at other people's expense, never known the extremes of
human existence, comfortable in a continent that has enjoyed, for the most part, a similar existence and, having
turned its back on grand visions, opted for the quiet life. Yet it is extremes, personal or political or both, that
teach us the meaning of life. Without them, the excesses of the young provide a little of the excitement
otherwise lacking. The outcome is a growing shallowness. Britart may shock, but it hardly provides us with a
deeper insight into the human condition. Hollywood movies may entertain, but they barely ever enlighten. An
adolescent culture is one that lives on the surface, unencumbered by memory, light on knowledge and devoid of
wisdom.(The Guardian Weekly)

3.1. Read the newspaper article. Which is the best summary of the article? 1p.
1 Culture is dominated by the concerns of young people. This is a bad thing because this culture is shallow and lacks a
sense of history.
2 The vibrant, energetic culture of young people is transforming our society and culture, making it more profound and
meaningful

3.2 Read the passage again and complete the sentences with the correct ending. 5 p.

1 The tastes and concerns of young people are
dominant
a. because there are more young people nowadays.
b. despite the fact that there are more old people nowadays. 4 According to the writer, youth culture
2 Key factors in the social and cultural change that began
in the 1960s were
a. economic prosperity and peace
b. unemployment and hard work
3 The concerns of young people
a. are only reflected in pop music
b. are reflected in many areas of the arts
a. is negative and dull
b. is only interested in the present
5 According to the writer, our culture is shallow because
a. life is too easy
b. life is demanding and hard

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Catedra de LSS Graduation Test of English, April 4 2009

3.3. Circle the correct definition for the words from the article. 4 p.

1 stiflingly 5 succumbs
a. unencouragingly b. encouragingly a. loses the fight against something b. wins the fight against
2 baby boom something
a. increase in the birth rate b. decrease in the birth rate 6 plausible
3 motif a. incredible b. believable
a. repeated idea b. shape 7 manifest
4 transcience a. clearly shown b. unclear
a. lasting a long time b. lasting a short time 8 devoid
a. lacking b. possessing

III. WRITING (20 points)

Write an essay of no more than 200 words on ONE of the following

topics:
1. Why did you choose the career for which you are preparing? Mention at least three
reasons.
2. Write about advantages and/or disadvantages of higher education. You can
exemplify by mentioning your personal case and the way you expect your university
education to change the rest of your life.
3. ‘Teenage culture is shallow, transient and lacks a sense of history.’ Do you agree?