THE MOROCCAN BACCALAUREATE ENGLISH EXAM

THE MOROCCAN BACCALAUREATE ENGLISH EXAM

In a small town in Africa, a young hairdresser named Teresa was given an old sewing machine by her uncle, Jeremiah. She watched as her brother Joseph experimented with the sewing machine and began to design shirts for his friends. There was nothing in the shops that was similar to those shirts and more and more friends asked Joseph to make them a shirt. Teresa began to see a way to make money for the family.

As Teresa continued her work in the hairdressing shop, she began to ask people what clothes they would like to buy. She also began to study what people wore, how much they would spend on shirts, and where the most popular shops were located. When she saw that Joseph’s shirts would sell easily, she started thinking about financing her new business. She realised that she would need to borrow some money. Her uncle, Jeremiah, who had his own business, arranged for Teresa to see a friend of his. Mrs Ngechu, who worked for an organisation which helped women start small businesses. She showed Teresa how to prepare a business plan carefully.

Teresa’s plan to start a fashion business with her brother, Joseph, started making progress. She wrote a business plan and when she went to the bank to get a loan, she was successful. Her uncle Jeremiah was also useful in another way: he had a building that was willing to rent. So he suggested that she could set up her fashion business there. A big order to make clothes for a wedding gave the business a good start and she had to employ extra workers.

A businesswoman in the town, Miss Sylvia, had seen Teresa’s wedding dresses and she liked them so much that she wanted to sell them in her shop. She invited her to a meeting of businesswomen who meet regularly to discuss matters. This gave her a chance to exchange views with other entrepreneurs.

I- COMPREHENSION

A- ARE THESE SENTENCES TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY:

1- Joseph’s friends didn’t like his shirts.

…………………………………………………………………………

2- The bank agreed to lend money to Teresa.

…………………………………………………………………………

3- Sylvia wasn’t interested in Teresa’s wedding dresses.

………………………………………………………………………

B- ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS

1- When did Teresa start thinking about financing her project?

……………………………………………………………………………

2- State two things Jeremiah did to help Teresa start her business:

…………………………………………………………………………

3- When did Teresa decide to recruit more workers?

…………………………………………………………………………

C- COMPLETE THESE SENTENCES.

1- Before starting her fashion business, Teresa worked as…………………………………………………………….

2- Teresa’s meeting with businesswomen would………….……………………………………………………………

3- Mrs Ngechu works for an organisation which……………………………………………………………………….

D- FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS THAT MEAN THE SAME AS; ( WORDS IN BOLD TYPE AND ITALICS )

1- The same as (paragraph1) ………………………………

2- Create (paragraph 3) :………………………………

3- Opinions (paragraph 4) :…………………………… …

E- WHAT DO THE UNDERLINED WORDS REFER TO IN THE TEXT?

1- Them: (paragraph1) ………………………………………

2- There: (paragraph3) …………………………………………

II- LANGUAGE

A. MATCH THE WORDS IN COLUMN A WITH THOSE IN COLUMN B TO MAKE AN APPROPRIATE COLLOCATION.


COLUMN A

1. Population

2. Coastal


COLUMN B

a. supply

b. term

c. status

d. density

e. areas

1. ____________ 2. _________________


B- GIVE THE CORRECT FORM OF THE WORDS BETWEEN BRACKET:

1- The USA has got a (heterogeneity)………………………….society; many ethnic groups live there.

2- Women have become very (action) ………………………… members in a number of NGO’s.

3- Mary is thinking of leaving her job because it is not very (interest) …………………

4- The European Union is discussing new policies to stop (legal) …………………… … immigration.

C- FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE APPROPRIATE WORDS FROM THE LIST:

Set up - find out - look after - set off - fall for

1- Due to bad weather conditions, the captain of the ship decided not to ……………………that day.

2- I was surprised to …………………..…..that I had left my car door unlocked for the whole day.

D- REWRITE THE SENTENCES BEGINNING WITH THAT WORDS GIVEN,:

1- It didn’t rain enough last year in Morocco, so fruit exports decreased considerably.

If……………………………………………………………………………

3- Parents shouldn’t keep medicines within children’s reach.

Medicines……………………………………………………….………

III- WRITING

Environmentalists warn that water pollution is a real danger to humanity and nature. Write an article for your school magazine describing the causes of this phenomenon and suggesting some practical solutions. (Approximately 150 words.)