EXAMEN DE LICENŢĂIUNIE 2014

I. EXERCISES (9+1)a) Gerund or Infinitive? Insert the appropriate verb form. (0,25x4=1pt)1. I don’t blame him at all for (try) (horrify) the susceptible with tales of what he went through.2. He won’t be able (resist) (let) me know what he paid for me.

b) Finish each of the following sentences in such a way that it is as similar as possible in meaning to the sentence before it: (1x3 =3pts)1. Nico's not very good at maths so he can't become an accountant.Were ...........................................................................2. Should anything happen to make you change your mind, let me know.If by ........................................................................3. Kindly calm down so I can explain what I mean.If you would . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

c) Give the negative counterparts of the sentences below. (0,5x3=1,5pts)1. Someone came here sometimes after 5.2. She managed to find something appropriate somewhere else.3. If you don’t like it here you can move someplace else.

d) Turn the following sentences into Nominative + Infinitive constructions; passivize the main verb (0,5x3=1,5pts)1. It is supposed that Jim is aware of the truth.2. It is thought that Henry told on his classmates.3. It is said that Bob ran over Mr. White’s dog.

e) Use the correct form of the verb: (0,25x8=2pts)“As I … (1) (tell) him yes, he …. (2) (lay) it on the table, and, resting, his beard upon his hand, …. (3) (begin). He ….. (4) (read) not far, when he …. (5) (rest) his beard upon his two hands – to hide his face from me. In a little while he …. (6) (rise) as if the light …. (7) (be) bad, and …. (8) (go) to the window.

II. TRANSLATE INTO ROMANIAN (9+1):Bosinney appeared determined that he should see everything, and had not James been of too ‘noticing’ a nature, he would certainly have found himself going round the house a second time. He seemed so anxious to be asked questions, too, that James felt he must be on his guard. He began to suffer from his exertions, for, though wiry enough for a man of his long build, he was seventy-five years old. He grew discouraged; he seemed no nearer to anything, had not obtained from his inspection any of the knowledge he had vaguely hoped for. He had merely increased his dislike and mistrust of this young man, who had tired him out with his politeness, and in whose manner he now certainly detected mockery. The fellow was sharper than he had thought, and better-looking than he had hoped. He had a ‘don’t care’ appearance that James, to whom risk was the most intolerable thing in life, did not appreciate; a peculiar smile, too, coming when least expected; and very queer eyes. He reminded James, as he said afterwards, of a hungry cat. This was as near as he could get, in conversation with Emily, to a description of the peculiar exasperation, velvetiness, and mockery, of which Bosinney’s manner had been composed. (J. Galsworthy – The Forsyte Saga)

III. TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH (9+1):Ileana îl privi deznădăjduită. I se păru mai înalt, mai depărtat, asa cum se oprise în fața ei, cu ochii arzători și fața foarte palidă, cu un surâs irezistibil în colțul buzelor. Se priviră, așa, în tăcere, multă vreme. “Îmi pare rău, atunci, spuse Ileana ridicându-se. Cred că am avut pentru tine un anumit sentiment ciudat, de mare simpatie, pe care nu-l înțelegeam nici eu prea bine, dar pe care l-am fi putut numi, dacă vrei, un început de dragoste. N-aș fi recunoscut-o acum câteva luni, dar pentru că sentimentul nu mai există, ți-o pot spune acum.” “Așteptam de mult să-mi spui asta.”, vorbi Ștefan încet. “E un fel de declarație postumă, continuă Ileana aprinzându-și o țigară. Acum câteva luni îmi erai foarte simpatic, îmi erai aproape drag. Dar acum, nu mă pot uita la tine decât ca la un prieten… Nu cred, de altfel, că asta va aduce vreo schimbare în felul tău de a fi, în purtarea ta. Tot de trei, patru ori pe an o să ne vedem…” “Dar nu te logodești”, o întrerupse Ștefan. Ileana îl privi mirată, zâmbi și lăsă fumul să i se prelingă încet, alene, în păr. Apoi se așeză pe canapea. “Nu te logodești, repetă Ștefan cu același glas. E un lucru foarte important ce-ți spun. Nu te logodești, nu-i așa?…” “Am să-ți răspund mai târziu. Deocamdată, povestește-mi ce-ai mai făcut. Vorbește-mi despre tine, despre prietenii tăi. Spune-mi ce mai face Biriș…” (M. Eliade – Noaptea de sânzâiene)

IV. WRITING (9+1) Consider the following excerpt:

Picture a late-June morning in 1918, a time when Montgomery wore her prettiest spring dress and finest floral perfume – same as I would wear that evening. Our house, a roomy Victorian on Pleasant Avenue, was wrapped in the tiny white blooms of Confederate jasmine and the purple splendor of morning glories. It was a Saturday, and early yet, and cloudy. Birds had congregated in the big magnolia tree and were singing at top volume as if auditioning to be soloists in a Sunday choir.

From our back stairway’s window I saw a slow horse pulling a rickety wagon. Behind it walked two colored women who called out the names of vegetables as they went. Beets! Sweetpeas! Turnips! they sang, louder even than the birds.

(Therese Anne Fowler, Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 2013, p. 9)

1. What does the atmosphere of this introductory paragraph suggest in point of: a) (cultural) location;b) narrator’s gender and age.Give your interpretation supported on (at least) three arguments for each one of the two points. (5 pts)

2. Mention (at least) two characteristics of the 1st person narrative strategy and identify them in the above-quoted text. Can you give another example of 1st person narrative from your literary lectures’ bibliographies? How could you compare the two instances of 1 st person narrative: this one you are contemplating right here and the other one from your mandatory literary bibliography? (4 pts)