Ministerul Educaţiei, Cercetării şi Tineretului

Centrul Naţional pentru Curriculum şi Evaluare în Învăţământul Preuniversitar

Examenul de bacalaureat 2008

Proba E/F
Proba scrisă la Limba Engleză
L1 - Intensiv 3-4 ore

SUBIECTUL I ( 30 puncte) Varianta 023

Read the text below and complete the following tasks.

You may find it hard to believe that teenagers are naïve. In fact, you may think I am an idiot
for saying it. So why do I say it, and why is it one of the key facts of life? Here is something to
ponder that will help you to understand: (1)… If you were stranded on a desert island and if you
didn’t know how to read, could you teach yourself to read if a whole box of books washed up on
shore? No. Once you understand what that says, (2) … It is only in recognizing your naïve nature
and understanding what "lack of experience" means that you can go about fixing the problem. You
cannot start to become "worldly" and "informed" (3)… Then you can start to learn your way out of it
by asking questions, reading books and carefully observing the world around you. It is the act of
recognizing that you lack experience that lets you correct the problem and become an adult.
Mark Twain had an interesting saying: "When I was a boy of fourteen, my father was so
ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be twenty-one, I was
astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years." Of course Twain’s father had
not changed at all - it was Twain himself who changed. Twain simply could not see how smart his
parent was until then. That problem afflicts all teenagers. As soon as you realize, for whatever
reason, that you don’t have all of the answers, but that many of the adults standing all around you
actually do, (4)… The sooner that transformation occurs, the better.
(The Teenager’s Guide to the Real World)

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

A. until you understand your naïveté.

B. no one can teach himself to read.
C. apply it to your lack of experience.
D. teenagers should grow up faster.
E. you begin to become an adult.

2. Explain the underlined words. 6 points

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

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

1. You get to be “informed” and “worldly” only after you …

A. read books B. understand your naïveté
C. work hard D. socialize
2. What is the person that lacks experience called?
A. stupid B. young
C. naïve D. obedient
3. What is one of the key facts of life?
A. obeying rules B. adults are ignorant
C. teenagers are naïve D. teenagers can’t stand old people
 Ministerul Educaţiei, Cercetării şi Tineretului
Centrul Naţional pentru Curriculum şi Evaluare în Învăţământul Preuniversitar
5. Comment on the following statement: It is only in recognizing your naïve nature and
understanding what lack of experience means that you can go about fixing the problem. (100
words) 4 points