BACCALAUREATE ENGLISH EXAM LM HSC JULY 2009 WITH CORRECTION

BACCALAUREATE ENGLISH EXAM LM HSC JULY 2009 WITH CORRECTION

Nadia was born in France and now lives in Douar Inchaden, her family's home village, in a valley in the Atlas Mountains. After studying Business Administration in Nantes (north-east of France), Nadia spent six years working in the sales department of a semiconductor factory and for an Internet provider in France.

In 2006, she returned to Morocco to set up her own business in Inchaden, 40 km south of Agadir. Today, she buys prickly pears from a dozen farmers' families in the area. After collecting these pears, ten female workers gather the flowers and manually extract oil from the seeds. While previously only the fruit was sold on local markets, today Nadia also successfully exports the flowers and the oil of the prickly pears to Europe. Since last year, the company has become financially independent. Its annual profit is increasing constantly. This year, Nadia already hopes to offer permanent employment to her workers.

Some of the women in her village have managed to gain a seat on the village council, previously a purely male domain. Several of the village women are divorced; others, even though they are married, have to support their whole family. They work 13 hours a day in the fields, with only one day off every fortnight. In the village council, they enforced school lessons for children from the age of six and a regular waste collection service.

Nadia is also a member of the village council and she advises a small cooperative of women who produce goats' cheese. She helps them advertise and sell their products. She also advises them on production hygiene in cooperation with professors from the university in Agadir. As a lecturer at the Faculty of Agriculture, she intends to popularise a the large-scale production of Argan oil.

The cultivation and processing of prickly pears is traditionally a women's domain. This native plant has adapted to the natural water shortage in the region. The oil and extracts of the prickly pears and the Argan trees are sold to European and international companies. The extracts are used in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry and exported abroad. This helps women enter new sales markets and earn more money.

*Prickly pears:الهندية / كرموس النصارى / صبير / تين شوكي

I. COMPREHENSION (15 POINTS)

A. WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WOULD BE THE BEST TITLE FOR THE PASSAGE? (1 pt)
CIRCLE THE APPROPRIATE NUMBER

1. A successful university student.

2. A successful businesswoman.

3. A successful parliament member.

B. ARE THESE SENTENCES TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY ( 3 pts)

1. Nadia studied business in Morocco.

2. Nadia's business depends on financial help from the government now.

3. In Inchaden, some women are members of the village council.

C. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS. ( 3 pts )

1. Where did Nadia work before she returned to Morocco?

2. How far is Inchaden from Agadir?

3. What does Nadia export to Europe?

D. COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES ( 3 pts )

1. Nadia helps women in the cooperative to……

2. The village council provides lessons …….

3. European and international companies use the extracts of the prickly pears in……

E. FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS THAT MEAN THE SAME AS: (2 pts)

1. Start ( parag. 2)

2. Free day ( parag. 3 )

3. Very big ( parag. 4)

4. Gain ( parag. 5 )

F. WHAT DO THE UNDERLINED WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS IN THE TEXT REFER TO ?(3 pts)
(THE WORDS IN ITALICS)

1. Its:

2. Them:

3. This native plant:

II. LANGUAGE (15 POINTS)

A.GIVE THE CORRECT FORM OF THE WORDS BETWEEN BRACKETS. (3 pts)

The United Nations is an international (organise)…….. which aims at the (establish)…… of a (peace)…….. world.

B. FILL IN THE GAP WITH THE CORRECT PHRASAL VERB. (3 pts)

( fill in - look after - break down - take up - get on - look up )

1. Saida and her eldest sister often……. their small brother when their mother is out.

2. The student didn't……. his application form correctly. So, it was rejected.

3. This car is too old. It's likely to…… at any time.

C. REWRITE THESE SENTENCES AS INDICATED. (3 pts)

1. The local authorities build a new school every five years.

A new school………

2. "Why don't we go out for a walk?" my friend asked.

My friend suggested……

3. It's a pity Ibrahim does not revise his lessons regularly.

The teacher wishes ……

D.PUT THE VERBS BETWEEN BRACKETS IN THE CORRECT TENSE. (3 pts)

1. While I (watch)…… a film the other day, I (hear)…….. my neighbour quarrelling with a stranger.

2. By the year 2020, the government (solve)……. the problem of unemployment.

E. JOIN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES WITH THE WORDS GIVEN. (3 pts)

1. The government has launched a project. The government wants to reduce illiteracy rates. (in order to)

1……..

2. Aziza did a nice project. The teacher rewarded her. (because)

2………

3. Many African countries have natural resources. They still suffer from poverty, (however)

3…………

III. WRITING (10 POINTS)

Civic associations play an important role in society. Write a short article to your school magazine about the role of these associations and the benefits young people can get from participating in their activities.
(approximately 250 words)

The following suggestions may help you:

Role of associations

* give /offer literacy classes
* help the poor/ the handicapped, etc.
* protect the environment
* defend human rights.

Benefits for young people

* be good citizens
* develop personality (self-confidence - autonomy)
* gain values and new experience
* serve the community.

KEY / CORRECTING SCALE

I. COMPREHENSION (15 POINTS)

(While scoring comprehension, testees should not be penalized for any spelling or grammatical mistakes.)

A. Multiple Choice : (1 pt):

2.A successful business woman

B. True or false with justification (3 pts: lpt for each correct and justified answer)

1. False (In Nantes / in north-east of France /in France)

2. False (the company has become financially independent)

3. True (some of the women have managed to gain a seat on the village council)

C. WH questions (3pts; 1 pt for each appropriate answer)

1. In France/ in the sales department of a semiconductor factory and for an Internet provider.

2. forty/40 km (away from south of Agadir/ from Agadir)

3. fruit, flowers and oil of prickly pears.

D. Sentence completion (3pts: 1 pt for each appropriate completion)

1 advertise and sell their products/She also advises them on ....

2 for children (from the age of six.)

3 the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry.

E. Word meaning (2 pts: 0.5 pt for each correct answer)

1: set up

2: day off

3: large-scale

4. earn

F. Pronoun reference (3 pts: 1 pt for each correct answer)

1. Its: the company

2. Them: women/cooperative of women

3. Prickly pears

II. LANGUAGE (15 POINTS)

A. Word Form : (3pts: 1 pt each correct answer)

organisation/ organization - establishment - peaceful

B. Gap Filling : (3 pts : 1 pt for each correct answer)

1. look after

2. fill in

3. break down

C. Sentence Rewriting : (3 pts : 1 pt for each correct answer)

1. A new school is built every five years (by the local authorities).

2. My friend suggested going out/ that we should go out for a walk/that we go out...

3. The teacher wishes Ibrahim revised his lessons regularly.

D. Verb Tense (3 points, 1 pt each)

1. was watching - heard

2. will have solved

E. Sentence Joining (3pts: 1 pt each correct answer)

1. The government has launched a project in order to reduce illiteracy rates.
OR
In order to reduce illiteracy rates, the government has launched a project...

2. The teacher rewarded Aziza because she did a nice project.
OR
The teacher rewarded Aziza because of her nice project.

3. Many African countries have natural resources; however, they still suffer from poverty, (only 0.5 pt if not appropriately punctuated)