Subiecte BAC engleza oral 2008

EXAMENUL DE BACALAUREAT 2008
Proba orală la Limba Engleză
L1 Normal / L2
TOPICS FOR SUBJECT 2

1.
We are becoming overwhelmingly dependent on computers. Is this dependence on computers a good thing or should we be more suspicious of their benefits? Give arguments and examples to support your ideas.
2.
Do you agree with the idea that children should be raised by their grandparents? Why yes/no?
3.
Damage of the environment is an inevitable consequence of worldwide improvements in the standard of living. Discuss.
4.
Some people prefer to live in a small town. Others prefer to live in a big city. Which place would you prefer to live in? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.
5.
How do movies or television influence people's behaviour? Use reasons and specific examples to
support your answer.
6.
If you could change one important thing about your hometown, what would you change? Use reasons and specific examples to support your answer.
7.
Is it better to enjoy your money when you earn it or is it better to save your money for some time in the future? Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
8.
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Grades (marks) encourage students to learn.
Use specific reasons and examples to support your opinion.
9.
If you could go back to some time and place in the past, when and where would you go? Why? Use specific reasons and details to support your choice.
10.
You have the opportunity to visit a foreign country for two weeks. Which country would you like to visit? Use specific reasons and details to explain your choice.
11.
Speak about the importance of friendship in one’s life. You may give yourself as an example.
12.
Speak about a person or personality you admire most. Give reasons for your choice.
13.
Speak about the negative aspects of using the Internet. Give arguments and examples to support your
ideas.
14.
Speak about your favourite means of transport. Give arguments and examples to sustain your opinion.
15.
Speak about your favourite holiday and the traditions related to it. Give arguments and examples to
support your ideas.
16.
Speak about the things you do to have a healthy life. Give arguments and examples to sustain your
ideas.
17.
Speak about the importance of being good – mannered in one’s life.
18.
Speak about the way in which fashion influences one’s personality. Give arguments and examples to
sustain your ideas.
19.
Speak about your favourite actor / actress. Motivate your choice.
20.
Speak about a day in your life when something happened and changed your life.
21.
Describe the town where you live or another place in which you would like to live.
22.
Speak about the advantages of being a famous person. Give arguments and examples to sustain your
opinion.
23.
Despite some critical opinions, sport is believed to bring out the best in us. Speak about the benefits of
doing sports.
24.
Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: One has more opportunities for selfdevelopment
abroad? Bring arguments and examples to sustain your opinion.
25.
Pets occupy an esteemed place in many of our households, often being treated as members of the
family. Speak about the benefits of keeping pets.
26.
Describe your best friend (physical appearance, moral qualities - supported by examples -
hobbies/interests) and say why he/she is special to you.
27.
Speak about a hobby you have or you would like to have.
28.
Speak about the impact of music on your life.
29.
Describe an object in your house which represents you.
30.
What does advertising mean to you: information or manipulation? Give arguments to support your
ideas.
31.
Do you think a disability of some kind makes a person more determined to succeed? Give arguments
to support your ideas.
32.
Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of being your own boss. Give arguments and examples to
support your ideas.
33.
Comment on the following statement: Where there's a will there's a way. Bring arguments and
examples to sustain your ideas.

The Orthodox Easter

CHRIST IS RISEN!
According to the 2002 census over 86% of the Romanians are Orthodox (like the Russians, Greeks, Serbs, Bulgarians). The Orthodox Christians usually celebrate Easter at different dates than the Catholics and the Protestants but this year, after 6 years of separate celebration, the three major Christian denominations celebrate Easter on the same day – the 8th of April 2007.
In Romania Easter is the most important religious celebration in the Orthodox calendar and its complete observance requires a period of 40 days fast. Coloured and painted eggs are mandatory for any traditional Easter feast. The eggs are painted on the Thursday before Easter in red (a reminder of Christ’s blood), yellow and other vivid colours. The eggs are beautifully decorated with traditional patterns, following an old technique preserved only in several areas of Romania, especially in the north of the country in Bucovina and Maramures.
Food plays an important role in the Easter feast. The main dishes are the painted eggs followed by ‘drob’ – a coarse lamb pâté, ‘sarmale’ – stuffed cabbage leaves, and then ‘pasca’ – a sort of cheesecake, and ‘cozonac’ – a traditional home baked cake resembling a brioche.
Traditionally, the feast starts when the family comes home after the Resurrection midnight liturgy (mass). After breaking the eggs and uttering the words - ‘Christ is risen!’ - the entire family will enjoy the banquet and begins the celebrations.
On the next morning the family pay visit to their relatives – grandparents, God father, etc. The traditions vary from one region to another. In Transylvania for example the boys sprinkle the girls with perfume. In other regions the young men in the village gather on a nearby hill and set on fire straws to scare the evil spirits. Some traditions associated with Easter trace their origins back to pagan times but in the Orthodox Church they were perfectly integrated within the accepted religious practices.

Romania - Moldavia

Moldavia (Moldova) – The land of legend and history.

Last summer I was in the UK, in Lancaster, to be more precise. Meeting a lot of people from all over Europe meant a lot for me. Many of them when hearing I was from Romania started asking me questions about Dracula, Ceausescu or Ion Ţiriac and Nadia Comaneci. It was a pleasure to answer their questions. One day when asked where I was from I answered I was from Romania and I added “From the north-east of the country to be more exact. From Moldova or Moldavia how it is pronounced by the foreigners”. Oh dear!!! After that the History teacher within me came out and gave a short lesson about this historic region of modern Romania. Many people do not know anything about Moldavia and the Republic of Moldova, yet.
In the ancient times this land was not under the Roman rule as other regions of Romania. The Romans under Trajan’s command came in Dacia in 101 and established the Roman province of Dacia Felix (in the south of present day Romania) and they stayed here until 271 when the imperial administration quitted the area. On the occasion of conquering Dacia Trajan erected a wonderful column in Rome. This ancient monument still exists today and can be admired by the tourists.
What is now Moldavia, or Moldova in Romanian, was inhabited by the Dacians who remained outside the direct influence of the Romans. There are pseudo-historians who claim that the Dacians from what is today Moldavia had no contact with their brethren in the south. There is nothing more ridiculous! They kept contact and actually developed to the same rhythm as the south. The Roman settlers who came to Dacia influenced the pattern of everyday life, language and culture of the locals both in the province and outside its borders. Thus the Romanian people emerged as a synthesis of the Romans and the Dacians. The language they spoke was a mixture of local elements (of which little is known today but for some 200 words) and of Latin (Latina vulgaris).
In the Middle Ages the Romanian people lived in three principalities: Wallachia (Tara Romaneasca - in the south between the Carpathians and the Danube), Transylvania and Moldavia (between the Carpathians in the west and Tyras or Nistru in the east). During the Middle Ages the principality of Moldavia became one of the most prosperous region inhabited by the Romanians. Stefan cel Mare (1457-1504), or Stephen the Great in English, fought the Turks and other invaders and kept his country free and independent.
The 19th century was not the best period ever for Moldavia. The Russian tzars considered the strategic and economical potential of this region and in 1812 they occupied the area between the Prut River (west) and Nistru (east). The occupied part of Moldavia was transformed by the Russian authorities into a guberniya. The Romanian majority population was forced to use Russian in their relations with the administration, the local Romanian elite was prevented from reaching good jobs and many intellectuals were taken to Siberia. This brutal act separated the two halves of the largest Romanian principality. To a great extent the Moldavians on the left bank of Prut lost their national Romanian identity and language due to the lack of contact with the rest of the Romanians and to the brutal policy of the Russians.
Meanwhile on the right bank of Prut the Romanians in the three principalities decided to unify. So in 1859 Wallachia and Moldavia joined their administration under a single elected prince, Alexandru Ioan Cuza. In 1918 Transylvania, after holding a special council, decided to unify with Romania. This is how modern Romania appeared on the map of the world.
Today Moldavia is still divided into two parts by the Prut River. On the right side – which is in Romania – there are 8 counties (from north to south: Suceava, Botosani, Iasi, Neamt, Bacau, Vaslui, Vrancea and Galati). The Romanian region itself spans over 46,173 km² (19.5% of Romania's territory) and its total population is 4,681,555 as of 2002 (21.6% of Romania's population).
On the left side of the Prut was proclaimed the Republic of Moldova. This part of the historic Moldavia remained under direct Russian control until 1991 when it gained its independence from Moscow, at least formally. There were some attempts to unify with Romania but there was no real political intention to do this. The government form Chisinau still has problems with Transnistria, the region on the left bank of Nistru, which under the Russian unofficial control proclaimed its independence from the national authorities on the right bank.