English Language
Time: 2 hours
SECTION 1
Find
1.
the missing words and complete the sentences below
If you open the door, the dog ........................................................
2. The children played with him, .........................................................?
3. What ....................................... the film like?
4. The buildings ...................................... demolished.
5. I can ...................................... five languages.
6. The two boys are reported ........................................ started the fire.
7. They ............................................ here since this morning.
8. He is.......................................... intelligent boy in the class.
9. We ....................................... go walking every day when we were on holiday.
10. It’s not late so we ........................................... to hurry.
10 marks
SECTION 2
Translate the following sentences into English
1. Il ragazzo guardava la rivista quando siamo entrati nella stanza.
2. Si dice che gli studenti abbiano rifiutato di partecipare alle lezioni.
3. L’allenatore ha fatto comprare dei nuovi palloni per la sua squadra.
4. Se le piante non fossero così trascurate, il giardino sarebbe più bello.
5. Ieri ho incontrato un amico alla stazione che non avevo visto da molto tempo.
6. Che pensi della tecnologia? E’ vero che rende la nostra vita migliore?
7. La casa è stata venduta ma non è abitata da nessuno.
8. Quando arrivo all’università, prima vado al bar e poi a cercare i miei amici.
9. Il giardino inglese è importante perché è un simbolo della cultura della nazione.
10. Se avessero saputo dell’incidente, sarebbero venute a visitarti.
20 marks
1
SECTION 2

2
SECTION 3
Read the passage carefully, choose the right answer and circle the corresponding letter
As you're reading this, two German ships are heading for the Dutch port of Rotterdam, having set sail
(partire) from South Korea in late July. Nothing remarkable about that. Except that by Sept. 16, both vessels — the
Beluga Fraternity and Beluga Foresight — had passed Novaya Zemlya, the crescent-shaped (falciforme) island off
Russia's north coast that to many marks the end of the Northeast Passage.
Shunning (Evitare) conventional shipping routes between Asia and Europe in what appears to be the first
commercial navigation via the treacherous Arctic sea-lane, Beluga, the shipping company behind the voyage, said
in a statement that "we are all very proud" (orgogliosi) to have "successfully transited the legendary Northeast
Passage."
Plenty have tried. For centuries, sailors have searched for a shortcut (scorciatoia) between the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans through the icy waters off Russia's northern coast. Otherwise known as the Northern Sea Route, the
passage — from Siberia to the Bering Strait — promised a speedy sea route between Europe and Asia for anyone
who could make it. But caked in ice during winter and pretty much inhospitable because of floating ice in summer,
the route has remained largely off-limits. Global warming may change that. "The Northeast Passage offers
unmatched chances for efficient sea traffic," Beluga CEO Niels Stolberg wrote in an e-mail to TIME, and "plenty [of]
trade potential."
Sailing from Korea to the Netherlands via the Northeast Passage could shave 3,500 miles (5,500 km) and
10 days off the traditional 12,500-mile (20,000 km) route via the Suez Canal. Other routes could offer even bigger
time savings. For Beluga, quicker trips and reduced fuel costs have saved the firm some $300,000 per ship. The
company plans to sail even bigger ships through the passage next summer and expects to save about $600,000 on
those voyages.
So could the melting of the Arctic actually help warm up global trade? Despite Beluga's enthusiasm, the
benefits of the Northeast Passage may be as patchy (irregolari) as the Arctic ice. Even with global warming, the
route will be viable for just a couple of months each summer, and then only by spending tens of thousands of
dollars on chartering Russian icebreakers to help clear the way. What's more, cargo ships would themselves need
to be "ice class": built with an extra layer of steel, at roughly 15% more than the cost of a regular vessel, reckons
Kamar Zaman, a director at London-based shipping consultants Drewry. With around 10% of the world's merchant
ships already idle amid the economic downturn, and with a flood of new boats due off slipways in the next few
years, "I can't see orders being rapidly placed for stronger ships," Zaman says.
Then there will be disruptions because of unpredictable ice. This might not be a problem to operators of
dry-bulk-cargo ships ferrying less time-sensitive goods — fertilizer from Norway to China, say. But for "shipping
operations which need to run on a schedule, like container shipments that need to arrive on a special day, you can't
do that via the Northern Sea Route," says Claes Lykke Ragner, an expert on the passage at Norway's Fridtjof
Nansen Institute, which specializes in environmental and energy research. "Not even in August and September."
1. the Beluga Fraternity and Beluga Foresight:
a)
b)
c)
d)
are Russian.
left from Novaya Zemlya.
are new ships .
have sailed in dangerous seas.
2. Taking a shortcut between the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans is:
a) not difficult .
b) what many have wanted to do .
c) making people happy.
d) easier when it rains.
3. Choose the best definition for ‘Off limits’:
a) bad.
b) turned off.
c) forbidden.
d) expensive.
4. Sailing from the Atlantic to the Pacific via the
Northeast Passage:
a) is very cheap.
b) makes the trip very short.
c) is expensive.
d) is a big achievement.
5.Global warming:
a)
b)
c)
d)
might help cut shipping costs.
is not something negative.
is what people want .
might make oceans disappear.
10 marks
3
SECTION 4
Summarise the text in SECTION 3, in about 80 words.
20 marks
4
5