Combatant Tfridj Mahmoud Secondary school

Stream: 3rd year Foreign Languages

Date : 22/02/2015
Time : One Hour

The Second Term Test Two

Part One: A) Comprehension.
A) Read the text carefully then do the activities,

(09pts)

Egypt was the birthplace of one of the world's first civilizations. This advanced culture rose about
5,000 years ago in the Nile River Valley in north-eastern Africa. It thrived for over 2,000 years and so
became one of the longest lasting civilizations in history.
The mighty Nile River was the lifeblood of ancient Egypt. Every year, it overflowed and deposited a
strip of rich, black soil along each bank. The fertile soil enabled farmers to raise a huge supply of food.
The ancient Egyptians called their country Kemet, meaning Black Land, after the dark soil. The Nile
also provided water for irrigation and was Egypt's main transportation route. For all these reasons, the
ancient Greek historian Herodotus called Egypt "the gift of the Nile."
The ancient Egyptians made outstanding contributions to the development of civilization. They created
the world's first national government, basic forms of arithmetic, and a 365-day calendar. They invented a
form of picture writing called hieroglyphics. They also invented papyrus, a paper like writing material
made from the stems of papyrus plants. The Egyptians developed one of the first religions to emphasize
life after death. They built great cities in which many skilled architects, doctors, engineers, painters, and
sculptors worked.
The best-known achievements of the ancient Egyptians, however, are the pyramids they built as
tombs for their rulers. The most famous pyramids stand at Giza. These gigantic stone structures-marvels
of architectural and engineering skills-have been preserved by the dry climate for about 4,500 years.
They serve as spectacular reminders of the glory of ancient Egypt.
1-Choose the best choice a,b or c to complete Statements A and B.
A- 2,000 years were enough to make Egyptian civilization .
a) fall
b) evolve
c) rise
B- The Nile floods ..to the fertility of soils on its banks.
a) contributed
b) damaged
c) spoiled
2-Are the following statements true or false?
a-The Egyptian civilization rose 2000years ago.
b-Ancient Egyptians created the first national government in 365 days.
c-The Pyramids marked the pride and honour of ancient Egypt.
3-Answer the following questions according to the text.
a- What was the major source of Egyptians' life?
b- Were Egyptians illiterate?
c- Why did Egyptians construct pyramids?

01pt

03pt

03pts

4- What or who the underlined words refer to in the text.

1.5pt

5- Give a title to the text.

0.5pt

B) Text Exploration (11points).

1- Find in the text words whose definitions follow.
a- evolved, flourished or grew up.1
b- productive, rich or capable of producing abundant vegetation or crops..3
c- The place underground where a dead person is buried.4

03pt

2- Which adjectives can be derived from the following nouns?

Culture- religion- climate - glory

02pt

3- Join the pairs of sentences using the appropriate connectors. Make necessary changes. 04 pt
Provided that

In spite of

Although

a-The Egyptians developed great civilization/The Egyptians believed in myths and after death.
b- A student understands Egyptian civilization/ A student studies and reads historical books. .
4- Reorder the following sentences to get a coherent text.

02pts

a- They could set broken bones, care for wounds, and treat many illnesses.
b- They studied the structure of the brain and knew that the pulse was in some way connected with
the heart.
c- Ancient Egyptian doctors were the first physicians to study the human body scientifically.
d-Some doctors specialized in a particular field of medicine, such as eye defects or stomach
disorders.

There is no elevator to success; you have to take the stairs

4-What is the final 'ed' pronounced like /d/, /t/, or /id/? 1.5pt
Developed- achieved- invented- flourished- ended- overflowed.
5-Which syllable is stressed? 1.5pt Example: civilian
Civil-civilization- preserved- engineer- philosophy-Mathematics.
Part Two: Writing. Chose either topic 1 or topic 2.
Topic 1: Summarize the reading text in not more than 10 lines.
Topic2: There are many threats to human civilization: diseases, wars, pollution and natural
catastrophes. Write an expository essay about the challenges faced by human modern civilization.

"Be Better Than You Were Yesterday!"

"You Don't Have to Be Great to Start,
But You Have to Start to Be Great"

Combatant Tfridj Mahmoud Secondary school

Stream: 3rd year Literature & Philosophy

Date : 02/02/2014
Time : One Hour

The Second Term Test One

Part One: Comprehension.
A) Read the text carefully then do the activities,

(8.5pts)

I believe that there are five major factors that predispose societies and civilizations to collapse. The
first is the damage that the inhabitants of an environment inflict on it. For example, the Norse settlers in
Greenland thought the land resembled the countryside that they were used to, and expected any trees they
chopped down to grow back. But they knew only the heavy clay soils of Norway.
The second factor is climate change: Sudden, abrupt changes in climatic conditions can push societies
that have already reached the limits of their environmental capacity of resistance. Climate change is a
feature of human society, not something invented by global capitalism. According to archeologists, it is
the climate change that might well have been the main cause behind the collapse of the Maya civilization.
The third factor is hostile neighbours. The hostility of neighbours can precipitate societies into
destruction. Like change in climate, external attacks can push a society into collapse.
Conversely, and fourth, comes the loss of support from friendly neighbours when either direct
subvention or mutually beneficial trade is withdrawn.
The fifth factor is an unhelpful response from the society to its own problems. A number of societies
have faced similar problems. Some have reacted unsuccessfully and have either vanished from earth or
are in crisis.
(Adapted from The Financial Times, issue of January 22nd 2005, Page: 26)

1- Circle the choice (a, b and c) that best completes statements A, B and C. (03pts)
A) the text is:
(a) a film story
(b) a newspaper report
(c) an economic report
B) the author writes about:
(a) historic truths (b) past war accounts
(c) natural catastrophes
C) the text answers the question:
(a) why did the Maya civilization disappear?
(b) why may all civilizations collapse?
(c) why did the Greek civilization vanish?
2- Are the following statements true or false?
(2pts)
a) The climate, wars and wrong response to problems may lead a civilization to fall into ruins.

b) It is believed that the Maya civilization disappeared because of war.

c) Norse settlers used to live in the countryside.
d) Neighbouring civilizations are always helpful and good friends.
3- Answer the following questions according to the text.
(02pts)
a. Which civilization fell into ruins because of climate change?
b. Can neighbour support or unfriendliness cause a civilization to decay?
4- What do the underlined words in the text refer to?
(1.5pts)
a) the first (1) =.
b) their (2)=. c) its (4)=.
B) Text Exploration (11.5pts)
1- Find in the text words that are
A-closest in meaning to the following:
a) main (1)
b) invasions (3)
B-opposite in meaning to the following:
a) rise (1)
b) internal (3)
(5)

(03pts)
c) commerce (4)
c) different

2- Which nouns can be derived from these verbs? Settle- grow-know-believe-achieve

3- Join the pairs of sentences below using the conjunctions given in brackets:

(2.5pts)

(04pts)

a-The Pharaoh was an unskilled economist. /The Ancient Egyptian civilisation collapsed. (because)
b- The Mayans were scientifically overdeveloped. / The Mayans could not resist
the fatal diseases which faced them.
(despite the fact that).
4- Classify the following words according to the pronunciation of their final "ed"
resembled chopped-invented -faced

(02pts)

"Be Better Than You Were Yesterday!"

"You Don't Have to Be Great to Start,
But You Have to Start to Be Great"