THE MOROCCAN BACCALAUREATE ENGLISH EXAM

THE MOROCCAN BACCALAUREATE ENGLISH EXAM

In Morocco, each year thousands of young girls from poor families are sent to work in houses in the city. They are often ill-treated and exploited. No official numbers exist, but one non-governmental organisation called Dari has counted 23,000 child maids in Casablanca alone.

Halima is one of them. When she was 8 years old, her family sent her to Casablanca to work as a maid. Her father had some financial trouble, so he got in touch with an intermediary whose job was to find maids for rich families. The little girl agreed because she thought that she could be of some help to her parents. But being a maid was not what she really dreamed of. She worked all day long, slept in the kitchen, and was often beaten up by her host family. But she managed to escape from the house where she was working.

Later, someone found her in the street all in tears and helpless, and took her to Dari. Thanks to Dari, Halima now lives in a shelter for former child maids where she is learning cooking and hairdressing. "For the first time since I was 8,1 have finally found a place to rest," Halima said.

Dari's director says: "the majority of child maids come from the countryside where most families have little money and a lot of kids. If they send a girl away to work as a domestic, that means an important source of income and one less mouth to feed. The parents think that they are doing something nice for their daughters, saving them from the harsh conditions in the countryside, and hoping for a better future for them. But child maids often end up suffering twice: as kids and as adults. When they grow up, they are often exploited by crime gangs".

Dari's director further explains that their association works to educate poor parents about the reality of child maids and their exploitation. It also runs programmes to sensitise the wealthy families to the rights of their maids: fair treatment, good pay, and basic education.

This issue of child maids is now being addressed by many civil associations. The abuses are being exposed on TV, and more voices are heard against employing child maids, believing that all children should have the right to enjoy their childhood and get a proper education.

L COMPREHENSION

BASE ALL YOUR ANSWERS ON THE TEXT.

A. ARE THESE SENTENCES TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY.

1. Halima started working as a maid at an early age.

2. Parents expect their daughters to have a better life in the city.

3. The abuses of child maids are completely ignored by the media now.

B. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS.

1. Why did Halima accept to work as a maid? ,

2. How was Halima treated by her host family?

3. What rights should children have according to the media?

C. FILL IN THE CHART WITH THE RIGHT INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT.

People concerned Assistance given to them by Dari

Child maids give shelter to former child maids/
teach them cooking and hair dressing

Poor parents …………………………………………………………………………….

Wealthy families ……………………………………………………………………………..



D. COMPLETE THESE SENTENCES.

1. Because they are poor, parents in the countryside …………………………………………

2. When child maids get older, they are often ……………………………………………….

E. FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS THAT MEAN ALMOST THE SAME AS:

1. Run away (paragraph 2) ……………………………………………………………………..

2. Relax (paragraph 3) ………………………………………………………………………….

3. Severe (paragraph 4) ………………………………………………………………………….

F. WHAT DO THE UNDERLINED WORDS IN THE TEXT REFER TO? ( WORDS IN BOLD TYPE AND ITALICS )

1. Them: (paragraph 2)………………………………………………………

2. It: (paragraph 2)…………………………………………………………….

II- LANGUAGE

A. FILL IN EACH GAP WITH AN APPROPRIATE WORD FROM THE LIST.

formal / defend / achievement / prevent / agreement / global

1. We should do our best to …………………….people from employing children.

2. Many world leaders attended last year's conference on ……………………….warming.

3. Hind's parents are satisfied with her ……………………………at school.

B. REWRITE THE SENTENCES BEGINNING WITH THE WORDS GIVEN.

1. "I have already read that novel," Rebecca said.

Rebecca said………………………………………………………….

2. Mr Parker was poor; however, he managed to educate his kids well.

Despite…………………………………………………………………

3. Emma didn't save enough money; she couldn't buy a computer.

If Emma ……………………………………………………………….

4. The local council will build a new school in our area.

A new school …………………………………………………………….

C. PUT THE VERBS BETWEEN BRACKETS IN THE CORRECT TENSE.

In a press conference, the president of El Amal Association said: "Last October, we (start) …………….a project to fight illiteracy. We (work) ……………………..with the ministry of education on the same project since then. I guess, by the year 2016, we (achieve) ……………………..our goals."

D. MATCH EACH STATEMENT WITH ITS APPRORIATE FUNCTION.

1. "In my view, parents are too tolerant with their kids," Harry told his classmates.

2. Brain drain refers to the emigration of educated and skilled people.

3. Computers are used not only for learning but also for entertainment.

4. "Our team trained hard so as to be ready for the final match," the coach said.

FUNCTIONS

a. purpose

b. opinion

c. defining

d. addition

1……………………… 2…………………………. 3…………………………… 4………………………..

E. FILL IN EACH GAP WITH AN APPROPRIATE WORD FROM THE LIST.

place / care / taking / fun / solving

1. Some students have problems with note……… techniques.

2. Betty always takes ………..of her little sister when her mother is busy.


III- WRITING

Write an email to your friend telling him / her about what you do in your free time.
((Approximately 200 words)
TThese cues may help you:

- play computer game, watch TV, practise sports, - entertain/enjoy oneself

- listen to music, surf the Internet, etc... - get information(Internet)

- have a wonderful time with friends - gain experience

- relax / - keep fit/......