Baccalaureate National Exam 2010 July Arts

Baccalaureate National Exam 2010 July Arts

Bill Gates was born on October 28, 1955, in a family having rich business, political, and community service background. His grandfather was vice president of National Bank and his father was a lawyer. Bill strongly believes in hard work. He also believes that if you are intelligent and know how to apply your intelligence, you can achieve anything. From childhood, Bill was intelligent, ambitious, and competitive. These qualities helped him
to attain top positions in the profession he chose. In school, he had an excellent record in mathematics and science.

Bill’s parents noticed their son’s intelligence and decided to send him to a private outstanding school, where he was first introduced to a computer. It was a very important decision in
Bill‟s life. Bill and his friends were very much interested in computers and formed the “Programmers Group” in late 1968. In the next year, they got their first opportunity in Information Sciences Company where they were selected as programmers. So, they started making money although they were still students.

Bill and his close friend Paul Allen started a new company of their own named Traf-O-Data. They designed a small computer to measure traffic density. From this project, they earned around $20,000. In 1973, he left home for Harvard University. There, he almost forgot about the world of computers because he spent many nights studying one of the toughest mathematics courses.

Bill and his friend Paul remained in close contact even though they were away from each other. They would often discuss new ideas for future projects and the possibility of starting a business one day. At the end of Bill’s first year at the university, Paul came close to him so that they could work on some of their ideas. That summer, Paul kept on pushing Bill for
opening a new software company.

Within a year, Bill dropped out of Harvard. Then, he formed Microsoft. Bill’s vision is: “A computer on every desk and Microsoft software on every computer”. Bill is a visionary person and works very hard to fulfill his vision. His belief in high intelligence and hard work has put him where he is today. Microsoft is good competition for other software companies and Bill will continue to crash his competitors. His powerful beliefs have helped him increase his wealth and his monopoly in the industry.

Bill is not a greedy person. In fact, he is quite a giving person when it comes to computers, the Internet, and any kind of funding. He visited Chicago’s Einstein Elementary School and donated a total of $110,000. He offered computers and provided internet connectivity to many schools. Also, Bill donated $38 million for the building of a computer institute at Stanford University. Bill plans to give away 95% of all his earnings when
he is old and grey

I. COMPREHENSION (15 POINTS)

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

1. Bill was good at science subjects.
   ……………………………………………………………….
2. Bill neglected working on the computer when he was in Harvard.
   …………………………………………………
3. Bill graduated from Harvard University.
   …………………………..………………………

B. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS. (3 pts)

1. Where did Bill first use a computer?
   ………………………………………………………..…………….
2. Who encouraged Bill to open a new software company?
   …………………………………..……………..
3. How did Bill help Stanford University?
   ….………………………………….………………

C. CHOOSE THE RIGHT ANSWER FROM THE LIST GIVEN. (2 pts, 0.5 pt each)
Tick four qualities that best describe Bill Gates.
 helpful  hesitant  hard-working
 greedy  competitive  wealthy

D. PICK OUT FROM THE TEXT SENTENCES OR PHRASES WHICH SHOW THAT: (3 pts)

1. Bill comes from an educated family background.
   ….……………………………………………………..
2. Microsoft was not the first company Bill and Paul set up.
   ….……………………………………………………..
3. Bill’s view of the future is that everybody can have a computer with a Microsoft programme. ………………………………………………..
   

E. FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS THAT MEAN THE SAME AS: (3 pts)

1. excellent (paragraph 2) ………………………….
2. computer programme (paragraph 3) ………………………….
3. achieve (paragraph 4) ………………………….

F. WHAT IS THE WRITER’S PURPOSE? TICK ONE ANSWER. (1 pt)
 To tell the readers about Bill‟s university results.
 To inform the readers about Bill‟s success story
 To explain Bill‟s relationship with his grandfather.
 To give an opinion about Bill‟s Microsoft Company.

II. LANGUAGE (15 POINTS)

A. FILL IN EACH GAP WITH THE APPROPRIATE WORD FROM THE LIST. (2 pts)

brain – go – take – equal – make – health – sense – turn

1. Whenever you …………………………. through a crisis, remember to talk to your best friends.
2. My uncle has a good …………………………. of humour; he always tells jokes.
3. All children should have …………………………. opportunities to be educated.
4. The World Football Cup will …………………………. place in South Africa soon.

B. MATCH EACH STATEMENT WITH ITS APPROPRIATE FUNCTION. (4 pts)

C. CORRECT THE UNDERLINED MISTAKES. (3 pts)

1. The boy has been working on the computer since three hours. ……………………….
2. That’s the song who got the first rank in the „top ten‟. ……………………….
3. Whenever I see this film, I can‟t stop laugh. ………………………

D. GIVE THE CORRECT FORM OF THE WORDS BETWEEN BRACKETS. (2 pts)

1. NGOs receive (finance) …………………………………….. help depending on their activities.
2. “I didn‟t order all these tables; it was just a (misunderstand) …………………………………… ”.
   The secretary said.
   

E. PUT THE VERBS BETWEEN BRACKETS IN THE CORRECT TENSE. (4 pts)

1. After Nabil (retire) ……………………… from work, he moved to the countryside.
2. The heavy rainfalls (damage) ……………………… a lot of roads last December.
3. I stayed at home all afternoon last Sunday. If I had known about the concert, I (attend)……
4. I wish I (not miss) ……………………… my friend‟s wedding; he was really disappointed.

III. WRITING (10 POINTS)
People in your area complain about problems of the environment.
Write an article for “Environment” magazine to explain the problems in your city, town or village and suggest solutions to solve them. (Approximately 300 words)

These cues may help you:

• problems of the environment in your area – causes of these problems
• consequences of these problems. – solutions – …etc.
  …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Key Answers to Baccalaureate National Exam Arts July 2010

I. COMPREHENSION (15 POINTS)
A. TRUE/FALSE (3 pts, 1 pt for each correct and justified answer)

1. True. He had an excellent record in maths and science.
2. True. There (Harvard), he almost forgot about the world of computers.
3. 3. False. Bill dropped out of Harvard.His grandfather was vice president of National Bank and/or his father was lawyer.

B. WH-QUESTIONS (3 pts, 1 pt for each correct answer)

1. … in the private school.
2. Paul Allen/his friend
3. … by donating $38 million/ building of a computer institute.

C. CHOOSING FOUR QUALITIES (2 pts, 0.5 pt for each correct answer)

helpful – hardworking – competitive – wealthy.

D. PICKING OUT … (3 pts, 1 pt for each appropriate answer)

1. His grandfather was vice president of National Bank and/or his father was a lawyer.
2. Bill and Paul started a new company of their own named Traf-O-Data.
3. A computer on every desk and Microsoft software on every computer.

E. WORD MEANING (3 pts, 1 pt for each correct answer)

1. outstanding
2. software
3. fulfill

F. WRITER’S PURPOSE (1 pt)
To inform the writer about Bill’s success story.

II. LANGUAGE (15 POINTS)
A. GAP FILLING (Collocations) (2 pts, 0.5 pt for each correct answer)

1. go
2. sense
3. equal
4. take

B. MATCHING FUNCTIONS. (4 pts, 1 pt for each correct answer)

1. b. cause and effect
2. a. purpose
3. d. concession
4. c. opinion

C. MISTAKE CORRECTION (3 pts, 1 pt for each correct answer)

1. for
2. which/that
3. laughing

D. WORD FORMATION (2 pts, 1 pt for each correct answer)

1. financial
2. misunderstanding

E. VERB TENSES (4 pts, 1 pt for each appropriate answer)

1. had retired/retired
2. damaged
3. would /could have attended
4. hadn’t/had not missed