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7 September, 2009

 

7 September 2009     Write your name here: ____________________________________________
Write the answer which best completes each sentence in the little box.
 
 
1. Ted Kennedy, ..................... his liberal reputation, wrote many bills with Republican colleagues, too.
A. despite                  B. nevertheless               C. even though         D. in spite                                    
 
2. Brain cancer, diagnosed last May, killed Edward Kennedy ................... Tuesday August 25th.
A. at                      B. the                     C. in                    D. on                                           
 
3. For seven years, we have been a nation ............  We are now carefully reviewing our policies in both wars.
A. in war                      B. at war                    C. on war              D. over war                       
 
4. We appreciate your hard work and look forward ……………. to some conclusion in the very near future so we can get America moving again.
A. to come                    B. to coming                C. come              D. coming                                    
 
5. So ..................., Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic have not ratified the Lisbon Treaty, yet.
A. now                       B. until                         C. yet                 D. far                                            
 
6. Like any EU Treaty, the Lisbon Treaty must be ratified by all Member States before it can come ..........
A. in force                  B. into force                C. in effect            D. into vigour                                
 
7. But, ........... the end of the day, you have to keep asking yourself: are you listening to what people say?
A. in                            B. at                         C. to                        D. on                                          
 
8. Can I tell you from the bottom of my heart what ............... honour and what a privilege it is to be here this evening at the celebration of one of the greatest achievements of the 21st century.
A. a                            B. /                        C. an                      D. the                                       
 
9. The Treaty of Lisbon .................................... on 13 December 2007 in Lisbon in the Jerónimos Monastery.
A. was signed             B. is signed              C. has been signed        D. had been signed        
 
10. The Irish .............................. in June 2008 was very low: only 53% of the people went to the polls.
A. turn-over                B. turn-in                 C. turn-off                    D. turn-out                      
 
11. We ......................................................... schools for the last ten years. 
A. build                     B. are building            C. have been building          D. will build                 
 
12. This is something that Condoleezza Rice had been working on diligently .................. a long time. 
A. since                     B. for                         C. by                        D. from                       
 
13. Malta and Cyprus have recently adopted the euro, but the Maltese lira and the Cyprus pound have been legal ………………. for the first few months.
A. tender                B. currency             C. money                 D. exchange                            
 
14. I want every child in this country .......................... the same chance that America gave me.
A. have                 B. having                 C. to have                 D. had                                        
 
15. These people are cold-blooded killers, they will kill you just like................., in order to create fear and intimidation.
A. this                  B. that                       C. these                  D. those                              
 
16. We have to make quicker progress if we want to respond to the threats we face. Science tells us that time is running ............................ .
 A. over                 B. of                          C. out                      D. out of                                 
 
17. Barack Obama took people who had …………………. and gave them hope.
A. taken up         B. given up            C. put up                D. picked up                              
 
18. I had the privilege and the opportunity to meet Americans from all ............... of life and both ends of the political spectrum.
A. parts               B. areas                  C. walks                D. classes                                   
 
19. Ted Kennedy was sworn .................... as a senator in 1962 and, by comparison with his brothers, seemed colourless.
A. out                   B. off                     C. in                          D. over                                       
 
20. We want a Europe of nations not a super-state. So don't …………… Europe. Work with it.
A. give up            B. give up on     C. give on               D. give in                                    
 
21. I ran …………….. President to renew the promise of America. To rebuild the middle class and sustain the American Dream
A. down                  B. like                    C. up                   D. for                                      
 
22. At the general election in 2005 the European Constitution was voted .................... by the French and Dutch before the British had had their say.
A. up                    B. along                  C. over                 D. down                                    
 
23. The rejection of the Lisbon Treaty on 12 June 2008 by the Irish electorate means that it cannot be currently ratified (the proposal was defeated by 53.4% of votes to 46.6%, with a turn-………... of 53.1%).
A. out                 B. off                           C. in                          D. up                                         
 
24. Hold ................ a second. I want to thank President Lee and his entire delegation. Korea is one of America’s closest allies and greatest friends.
A. up                     B. in                           C. on                          D. with                                      
 
25. To any student who’s watching, I say this: Don't even think about ................ out of school. Don't even think about it. (Applause)
A. giving              B. dropping                   C. going                    D. coming                                          
 
26. I hope you don't mind, I'm going to take ............. my jacket. If you guys are hot -- (applause)
A. on                   B. out                           C. off                           D. up                                                       
 
27. We should not put ............................................... so many failing schools.
A. up                   B. up with                      C. with                        D. on                                         
 
28. Gordon Brown took ……………………………… as British Prime Minister in June 2007.
A. up                   B. on                             C. up                         D. over                                       
 
29. The Lisbon Treaty will provide countries with the option to opt ................. of certain EU policies in the area of police and criminal law.
 A. out                B. over                           C. for                           D. along                                  
 
30. So today the Chancellor is spelling ..................... his plan to negotiate with each bank a lending responsibility agreement. 
A. for                  B. in                               C. across                     D. out                                

 

 
Part 2 – September 7, 2009
The use of the dictionary is not allowed.
 
 
A Translate the following passage into Italian (15 points)
In October 2004 Tony Blair announced he would not lead the party into a fourth general election, but would serve a full third term. On 7 September 2006 Tony Blair announced that he would step down within a year. Gordon Brown was the clear favourite to succeed Blair. Brown ceased to be Chancellor of the Exchequer and, upon the approval of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, became the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 27 June 2007. 
At the general elections which are likely to be held next June in the United Kingdom, the favourite candidate does not seem to be Gordon Brown: the 42-year-old David Cameron is the favourite to become prime minister, only nine years since he entered Parliament, and four-and-a-half years since he was elected leader of the Conservative Party.
On foreign affairs, Mr Cameron has been inscrutable. His hostility to further integration of the European Union is clear enough, although he remains vague on what he would do if the Lisbon treaty, which his party hates, is ratified before the elections.
 
 
 
B Translate the following passage into English (5 points)
Dopo l’esito negativo del primo referendum in Irlanda del 12 giugno 2008, e dopo tante incertezze, fu deciso che il popolo di San Patrizio avesse la possibilità di esprimersi nuovamente sul trattato.
l’Irlanda ha quindi deciso di tenere un secondo referendum il prossimo 2 ottobre. Si può immaginare che la profonda crisi economica che ha colpito il paese porterà questa volta a un voto positivo; un altro “NO” complicherebbe ulteriormente la situazione. Nonostante ciò, il risultato di una seconda votazione rimane ancora incerto, e un “SI” garantirebbe in effetti che il Trattato entri in vigore entro la fine dell’anno. Ma l’Irlanda non è la sola a portare sulle spalle il fardello della ratifica; ci sono problemi anche in alcuni paesi membri: Germania, Repubblica Ceca e Polonia non hanno ancora definitivamente approvato il testo.
 
 
 
C Read the following passage and then answer the questions below (10 points)
Barack Obama addresses the US after the first 100 days of his presidency.
The crisis that we’re confronting was many years in the making. It will take us time to overcome it. We’ve come a long way. We can see the light on the horizon, but we’ve got a much longer journey ahead.
And one of the encouraging things for me is the fact that the American people know this. You know that our progress has to be measured in the results that we achieve over many months and years, not the minute-by-minute talk in the media.
And you know that progress comes from hard choices and hard work, not miracles. I’m not a miracle worker. We’ve got a lot of tough choices, and hard decisions, and hard work ahead of us.
The 100th day might be a good time to reflect on where we are, but it’s more important to where we’re going that -- that we focus on the future, because we can’t rest until our economy is growing and we’ve built that new foundation for our prosperity.
We are going to seek the goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world. We’re going to do it by 2020.
1.      Explain the meaning of “We can see the light on the horizon, but we’ve got a much longer journey ahead” (2.5 points)
2.      Explain the meaning of “We are going to seek the goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.” (2.5 points)
3.      Write your opinion on how Barack Obama is handling the American crisis. (5 points)