Ministerul Educaţiei, Cercetării şi Inovării

Centrul Naţional pentru Curriculum şi Evaluare în Învăţământul Preuniversitar

Examenul de bacalaureat 2009

Proba E/F
Proba scrisă la Limba Engleză
L1 - Intensiv 3 - 4 ore
SUBIECTUL I ( 30 de puncte) Varianta 059

Read the text below and complete the following tasks.

The British have always been peculiarly obsessed with accents, what they signify and how
much they matter. At the moment the topic of accent is tender because officially accent does not
matter while privately it does.
As linguist John Honey, author of Does Accent Matter?, has said, “the subject is virtually
taboo in our schools. “(1) … .” No longer do job adverts in newspapers specify well-spoken
candidates, as still did in the 1980s.
The adoption of English Estuary, generally taken to signify collapsing class distinctions, is
an unprecedented phenomenon. The middle class and the privately educated take on some of the
elements of what has always been one of the lowest status accents: Cockney. Academic studies
confirm that, socio-linguistically, Cockney has shared the bottom rung with Scouse, Glaswegian,
West Midlands and Belfast.
Almost certainly this is because, historically, they have all been essentially working-class
accents-unlike Yorkshire, say, which might be middle class. This is one reason why Scots voices,
and to a lesser extent Irish and Welsh ones, are different. (2) … When Ted Hughes died it was his
voice reading his poetry that laid hold of the TV viewer, the Yorkshire accent a guarantee of its
harsh lyricism. The accent was evidence of origins in a writer whose poetry is all about what is
elemental. (3) …
Anyway, traditionally ambitious grammar-school pupils would try to escape their localities,
and therefore their accents. Most famous is Mrs. Thatcher, whose elocution lessons are usually
mentioned mockingly.
(4) … For a long time people have been uneasy-like Hardy, proud yet defensive-about
where they came from. The rise of the Estuary English is unsettling because it seems to tell us that
we do not come from anywhere in particular.
(Lost Voices, by John Mullan)
1. Four sentences have been removed from the text. Select the appropriate sentence for
each gap in the text. There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.
4 points
A. Regional accent has often been a sign of achievement without corruption.
B. This is what seems to be changing.
C. Officially we should not think that one particular accent is any “better “than the others
D. Yet a strong sense of correct pronunciation was well established by Shakespeare’s day.
E. A middle-class Scottish accent can signify a good education (lawyers, doctors).

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. What have the British always been concerned with?

A. the British educational system
B. the weather
C. their accent
D. social status
 Ministerul Educaţiei, Cercetării şi Inovării
Centrul Naţional pentru Curriculum şi Evaluare în Învăţământul Preuniversitar

2. Why is Estuary English such a particular phenomenon?

A. because it has become a common feature both for the middle class people and
the educated people in private schools
B. because it is the latest fashion in London
C. because it is widely spoken in the UK
D. because it is a compulsory request for the candidates in the show business

3. Why is it important for writers not to change their accent?

A. to make themselves better understood
B. to guarantee professional success
C. to be authentic and original
D. to have more readers

5. Comment on the following statement: Traditionally ambitious grammar-school pupils would

try to escape their localities, and therefore their accents. (100 words) 4 points