THE MOROCCAN BACCALAUREATE ENGLISH EXAM

THE MOROCCAN BACCALAUREATE ENGLISH EXAM

Frederick Douglas was born a slave in Maryland in 1817. He was taken from his mother as a baby and raised by his grandmother. He learned to read and write by himself, though slaves were forbidden to do so. Before long, he was teaching other slaves to read and write, for which he was punished severely. One day, he was sent to a slave breaker’, a man who punished slaves and broke their spirits’. Douglas refused that; and at the age of twenty-one, he ran away to the North for freedom.

Douglas lived first in New York, then in Massachusetts. He was always in danger of being caught by ‘slave catchers’ and returned to slavery in the South. In 1841, he attended an anti-slavery meeting and was asked to tell of his life in slavery*, though this was a dangerous thing to do.

Douglas was only twenty four years old, but his speech was so forceful that all the people stood up and applauded when he finished.

For the newt twenty years, Frederick Douglas was an anti-slavery speaker. He travelled in the country and to Europe speaking against slavery. During the war between the north and the south, he helped recruit black soldiers for the Union Army. His own sons served as soldiers.

When the war was over, Frederick Douglas was the most respected black leader in the United States. He had government posts and continued to speak out for justice. He died in 1895, at the age of seventy eight, still fighting for human rights. He spent his last day at a meeting defending women’s rights.


I- COMPREHENSION:

BASE YOUR ANSWERS ON THE TEXT

A/ ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FAKSE? JUSTIFY:

1.Frederic Douglas went to school when he was young.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

2.He refused to speak in an anti-slavery meeting.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

3.He didn’t have any children.

……………………………………………………………………………………………


B/ ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1.Why did Frederic Douglas go to the North?

……………………………………………………………………………………………

2.What was he afraid of in New York and Massachusetts?

……………………………………………………………………………………………

3.What did he fight for all his life?

……………………………………………………………………………………………


C/ FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS WHICH MEAN APPROXIMATELY THE SAME AS:

1.after a short time (paragraph 1): …………………….

2.strong (paragraph 2): ……………………….

3.ended (paragraph 4): …………………………..


II-LANGUAGE:

A REWRITE THESE SENTENCES AS SUGGESTED:

1.Don’t go to Agadir without booking your hotel room.

You’d better ………………………………………..

2.He doesn’t have a computer, so he wastes too much time doing little work.

With a computer …………………………………….

3. Some students took two reference books out of the library.

Two reference books …………………………………

4.The new secretary is always on time, she does not want to lose her job.

The new secretary is always on time so as ……………………………..


B/ FILL IN EACH BLANK WITH THE APPROPRIATE WORD FROM THE LIST:

1. Samir and his brothers emigrated to Canada like many friends of _____________

their them theirs they

2.The journalists have interviewed the parents ……….daughter won the TV contest.

who whom which whose

3.Could you show me _____________ to start this machine, please? I can’t read the instructions.

who how what why

4.Mounia’s parents are optimistic _____________ her interview for the job.

At about of in


C/ PUT THE VERBS BETWEEN NRACKETS IN THE CORRECT TENSE:

My uncle (offer)………………..me a present last night but I (not/open) ………………… yet.

I’ll open it as soon as I (get) …………………….. home this evening.

III- WRITING:

You have just come back from a holiday in another city or a village in Morocco where you met some young people who became your friends.

Write a letter to one of them. Tell him/her about what you liked in the trip and invite him/her to spend a few days with you next holidays.