Surname, class____________________________
ENGLISH LANGUAGE OLYMPIAD GRADE 11.-12. VALMIERA PĀRGAUJA
GYMNASIUM, 14 NOVEMBER, 2012
TASK 1 READ THE ARTICLE AGAIN AND CHOOSE A HEADING FOR EACH
PARAGRAPH FROM THE LIST BELOW. THERE IS ONE EXTRA HEADING
WHICH YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE. THE FIRST ONE HAS BEEN DONE FOR
YOU. SCORE 5 POINTS
A An old problem with serious consequences.
B Two new approaches, but can they solve the
problem?
C A potentially tragic error.
D But are they here to stay?
E Experts say 'Bring back maths!'
F Old methods are no longer satisfactory.
G We couldn't live without them.
When a computer error is a fatal mistake
Our lives depend on computers. They control our money, transport, our exam results. Yet
their programs are now so complex that no one can get rid of all the mistakes.
Life without computers has become unimaginable. They are designed to look after so many
boring but essential tasks - from microwave cooking to flying across the Atlantic -that we
have become dependent on them.(1____)
But as the demands placed on computers grow, so have the number of incidents involving
computer errors. Now computer experts are warning that the traditional ways of building
computer systems are just not good enough to deal with complex tasks like flying planes or
maintaining nuclear power stations. It is only a matter of time before a computer-made
catastrophe occurs.(2____)
As early as 1889, a word entered the language that was to become all too familiar to
computer scientists: a 'bug', meaning a mistake. For decades bugs and 'de-bugging' were
taken to be part of every computer engineer's job. Everyone accepted that there would
always be some mistakes in any new system. But 'safety critical' systems that fly planes,
drive trains or control nuclear power stations can have bugs that could kill. This is
obviously unacceptable.(3___)
One way to stop bugs in computer systems is to get different teams of programmers to work
in isolation from each other. That way, runs the theory, they won't all make the same type
of mistake when designing and writing computer codes. In fact research shows that
programmers think alike, have the same type of training - and make similar mistakes. So
even if they work separately, mistakes can still occur. Another technique is to produce back
up systems that start to operate when the first system fails. This has been used on
everything from the space shuttle to the A320 airbus, but unfortunately problems that cause
one computer to fail can make all the others fail, too.(4___)
A growing number of computer safety experts believe the time has come to stop trying to
'patch up' computer systems. They say programmers have to learn to think clearly and to be
able to demonstrate through mathematical symbols that the program cannot go seriously
wrong. Until programmers learn to do this, we will probably just have to live with the
results of computer bugs. (5__)
Of course, more often than not the errors are just annoying, but sometimes they can come
close to causing tragedies. On the Piccadilly line in London's Underground a driver who
was going south along a track got confused while moving his empty train through a crossover point. He started to head north straight at a south-bound train full of people. The
computerised signalling system failed to warn him of impending disaster and it was only
his quick human reactions that prevented a crash.
TASK 2 FIND WORDS OR PHRASES IN THE TEXT WITH THE FOLLOWING
MEANINGS, SCORE 10 POINTS
1 impossible to imagine (para. 0)
...........
2 needing support from (para. 0)
............
3 long-established, conventional
(para. 1) ............
4 sudden great disaster (para. 1)
............
5 often seen or heard (para. 2) .............
6 not good enough (para. 2) .............
7 separately (para. 3) .............
8 support (para. 3) .............
9 terrible events that cause great
sadness (para. 5) ..............
10 about to happen (para. 5)
TASK 3 READ THE FOLLOWING TEXT AND DECIDE WHICH LINES ARE
CORRECT AND WHICH HAVE AN ADDITIONAL INCORRECT WORD. THERE
ARE TWO EXAMPLES AT THE BEGINNING (0 AND 00). SCORE 15 POINTS
0 l have received a really nice long letter last week.
have
oo from a girl called Laura I met on holiday last summer. ✓
1 In the letter she told to me about her new boyfriend. ___
2 He goes to her school, but is quite a lot more older.
__
3 At first her parents did not like to him very much
___
4 because they went out together and she got home late. ___
5 When she told her mother he had a motorcycle, she was ____
6 very upset and refused that to allow Laura to go out with ___
7 him again. Laura was very upset and went to the family doctor ___
8 for to discuss her problem with her. The doctor suggested ____
9 that Laura should to be more honest with her parents. She spoke ___
10 to my friend's mother and advised her to be more of understanding. ___
11 Eventually my friend's parents met her new boyfriend and ___
12 got on quite well with him. He promised to make sure Laura ____
13 always gets at home before eleven o'clock and suggested ___
14 taking Laura's younger brother when they go out. ____
15 Laura says me her parents really like her boyfriend now. ____
TASK 4 READ THE FOLLOWING TEXT AND THEN CHOOSE THE CORRECT
ALTERNATIVE BELOW FOR EACH OF THE NUMBERED GAPS. REMEMBER
THAT IN THE EXAM THERE WILL BE FOUR ALTERNATIVES FOR YOU TO
CHOOSE FROM. SCORE 10 POINTS
EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA
In Australia most children (1).....................primary school from the age of five. Only two
per cent of children of primary school age are (2).....................at home. Some children who
go to school also take up extra activities such as learning to play a musical instrument or
dancing, and they go to (3)............. classes for these and for school (4).....................they
find difficult or particularly interesting, such as languages, mathematics or computing.
Ninety-five per cent of the population go on to secondary school, but a much smaller
percentage (5)..................... the final year of secondary school examinations and complete a
university (6)......................At the moment university (7).....................and graduates make
up less than a third of the total population. Australian universities are modern and wellequipped. Most teaching is by a combination of (8)....................., tutorials and practical
classes. The humanities courses like History and Philosophy, usually involve a lot of extra
(9).....................in the library. To become a primary or secondary school (10)....................,
it is usually necessary to study at a university for three years or more.
streets are much more (7).......................than they were in the past, the last fifty DANGER
years have seen the (8).......................of more and more sophisticated games, CREATE
(9)......................., of course, the thousands of computer games on the market. INCLUDE
Too much time spent alone with a computer may damage the child's (10).................. ABLE
to form friendships with other children.
TASK 6 READ THE TEXT BELOW AND THINK OF THE WORD WHICH BEST
FITS EACH SPACE. USE ONLY ONE WORD IN EACH SPACE. THERE IS AN
EXAMPLE AT THE BEGINNING (0). SCORE 15 POINTS
WHAT'S IN A NAME?
How do people choose names (0) ...for. their babies? In the past, many names were chosen
for (1).......... religious associations or because of national or family tradition. If a boy's
great-grandfather, his grandfather and father were all called Patrick, then(2)..........was very
likely that the new-born baby would be called Patrick as (3)...........Sometimes parents
wanted to please a wealthy or much loved relative (4)..........naming the baby after him or
her and in countries (5)..........as Spain a child was often given the name of the saint whose
feast day coincided (6)..........the birth. Mostly names (7)..........good connotations, though
there are exceptions. Parents in some parts of the world gave their babies names like 'Ugly'
or 'Disagreeable' so as to (8)..........the child unattractive to demons.
Nowadays the main consideration in most English-speaking countries seems to be fashion
combined with (9)..........the name sounds. New names are sometimes invented simply
(10)..........they sound pleasant. In Britain the influence of television soaps, pop music and
Hollywood is clear as is the increasing appeal (11)..........less common names. In the United
States current naming trends include naming children after places, using traditional last
names as first names and borrowing (12).......... other languages and cultures.
There are hundreds of books and even web sites devoted (13)..........listing names for
anxious parents who still can't make (14)..........their minds. Despite the almost bewildering
range of choices plenty of children still end up in classrooms where three, four or even
more of their classmates have the (15)..........name.
TASK 7. WRITE AN ESSAY IN 250 WORDS: CHEATING AND LYING CAN
SOMETIMES BE HELPFUL. CONVINCE YOUR READERS BY GIVING BRIGHT
EXAMPLES.
TASK 5 read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end of each line to form a
word that fits in the space in the same line. There is an example at the beginning (0). In the
actual exam you will write your words on the separate answer sheet.
HOW PLAY HAS CHANGED
The way children play has changed (0) considerably. over the last fifty years CONSIDER
In the past, parents did not have to fear for the (1).......................of their children SAFE
if they went out to play. Most (2).......................were communities in which NEIGHBOUR
everyone knew everyone and children could be left to play (3)....................by SUPERVISE
adults. In (4).......................there was hardly any traffic and a street could ADD
be (5).......................transformed into a football pitch or used for a game of tag. EASY
(6)...................things are very different today. Apart from the fact that our FORTUNATE