Baccalaureate National Exam 2012 July Arts

Baccalaureate National Exam 2012 July Arts

[1] Kapour is eight years old and works with his father in a shop in a village near New Delhi. Every morning, while carrying bags of vegetables to the shop, he runs into children wearing school uniforms. He feels ashamed at not being in a school uniform and carrying books instead of vegetables. Kapour is one of India’s five million school dropouts. These are children of migrant workers who come to the Indian capital and end up living in slums. Many of them can’t afford to send their children to school. Others are unable to provide birth certificates or proof of residence for their children, which are necessary for admission to the school. Besides, there are some families, such as Kapour’s, that need their children to help around the house and look after their younger siblings.

[2] However, two yellow buses – equipped as mobile schools with a TV screen, books, puzzles, and toys- are helping to provide these children with primary education. They are part
of a government’s project which started in 2003, to get dropouts back into school. Every morning, the buses arrive near four selected slums. “If the children can’t go to school, we
have to take the school to them, to their doorstep,” saidSudhama, a school bus teacher.

[3] Funded by the Department for InternationalDevelopment in India, the project has reduced the number of dropouts from 25 million to 5 million. One powerful incentive for parents is that the books are free and their children receive a piece of fruit every day. The project’s local representative said that it took time to build the parents’ confidence. At first, they hesitated to send their children because they were afraid of child trafficking. But they were eventually persuaded to do so. Some kids have lost a whole year; others have never been to school. The school bus teachers get them up to the right level and then send them to public schools.

[4] The children are proud because the school bus comes especially for them. It has changed their lives and given them hope. After joining the bus, Shivam, aged 9, was very happy with his new life and would run home to tell his mother everything he had learned. Lately, he has been leading the class in chanting the Hindi alphabet. His mother was so impressed that she persuaded other mothers to send their children, too. Shaheen, who has spent a whole year attending the school bus, is one of the 200 children who have successfully joined
primary schools. Her life has been transformed since she joined the school bus.” I couldn’t count and I could write only a few words of Hindi,” she said. “Now I do multiplication and division, and I know some English, too.” What she had learned there helped her to pursue her studies at the local primary school without any difficulty.

Adapted from aljazeera.net/english

1. Kapour never went to school.
   ……………………………………………………
2. Parents have to pay for their children’s books in the school buses.
   ………………………………………………………….
3. The school bus project has helped millions of children to go back to school.
   ……………………………………………………………

B. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS. (3 PTS)

1. What does Kapour do when other children go to school?
   …………………………………………
2. Why is it difficult for migrant workers to send their children to school?
   …………………………………………
3. Who is financing the school bus project?
   ……………………………………………………………

C. COMPLETE THESE SENTENCES. (2 PTS)

1. Because of child trafficking, some parents …………………
2. When Shivam’s mother noticed her son’s progress at school, she ………………..

D. FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS THAT MEAN THE SAME AS : (3 PTS)

1. brothers or sisters (paragraph 1): ………………
2. strong (paragraph 3): …………………………
3. continue (paragraph 4): ………………

E. WHAT DO THE UNDERLINED WORDS IN THE TEXT REFER TO? (2 PTS)

1. them (paragraph 1) …………………
2. she: (paragraph 4)……………………

F. CHOOSE THE BEST TITLE FOR THE PASSAGE. (2 PTS)

a. City buses in India
b. Mobile schools in India
c. School dropouts in India

The best title is: ………………………………

II. LANGUAGE (15 POINTS)

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

1. The Internet, ……………… is widely used in many aspects of life, may have a negative impact on teenagers.
   who – whose – which
2. I don’t feel like …………………. any work this afternoon; I just want to relax.
   do – to do – doing

B. FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH THE APPROPRIATE PHRASAL VERBS. (2 PTS)
go out – turn on – find out – break down – show up

1. If Ahmed doesn’t ……………………………….. in five minutes, we’ll call him up.
2. The detectives are still trying to ……………………………….. the person who killed the singer.

C. PUT THE VERBS BETWEEN BRACKETS IN THE CORRECT TENSE. (3 PTS)
Mike: Have you heard from Jennifer? (She / manage) ………………….. to catch her train last night?
David: Unfortunately not. When she (get) …………….. to the station the train (already / leave)………………

D. GIVE THE CORRECT FORM OF THE WORDS IN BRACKETS. (2 PTS)
A lot of (art) ………… and cultural events take place in the Imilchil festival. The (popular)
………… of this festival is increasing year after year

E. REWRITE THE SENTENCES BEGINNING WITH THE WORDS GIVEN. (2 PTS)

1. We should respect old people.
   Old people ……………………………………
2. It’s a pity you didn’t take part in the school competition .
   I wish you …………………………………

F. JOIN THE PAIRS OF SENTENCES USING THE WORDS IN BRACKETS. (2 PTS)

1. Many students are dropping out of school. The school conditions have improved a lot. (although)
   …………………………………
2. The Browns went to a famous restaurant. They wanted to celebrate their wedding anniversary. (in order to)
   ………………………………………………

G. WHAT DO YOU SAY IN THE FOLLOWING SITUATIONS? (2 PTS)

1. Your friend: I’ve just got my Baccalaureate.
   You: (congratulate him or her) …………………………
2. Mr White: Teenagers are not interested in politics.
   You: (express disagreement)……………………………

ΙΙΙ. WRITING (10 POINTS)
Your English friend wants to know more about cultural events in Morocco. Write an email to him/her describing a Moroccan cultural event ( a festival, a celebration, a moussem, a feast, …etc)

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