Baccalaureate National Exam 2021 June Humanities

Baccalaureate National Exam 2021 June Humanities

[1] Natividad Sanchez is a 7-year-old girl from El Salvador. She is the youngest of ten children, and their daily life is really hard. Every morning, her mother Maria goes to the local market to sell fish. Her older sister finishes the morning chores and her father José takes the youngest children to school.

[2] After school, Natividad and her brothers and sisters return home where their mother is either cooking or washing clothes. Their father is an electrician. Every day, he goes to the nearby villages to look for work. This routine posed a challenge for the family. Children had no safe and fun activity to do in the afternoon. “There’s not much room at home, our street is quite dangerous and when the children wanted to play with other children, they had to go far away,” says the mother. For the father, the main concern about letting them play in the street was insecurity: the town is known for its high rates of violence and crime.

[3] Everything changed for the family when the mayor of the city invited the children to attend free swimming lessons at the local sports center. The invitation to join sports activities was extended to all children in town. This was part of UNICEF’s violence prevention program. Today, more than 1,000 children participate in these activities three times a week.

[4] The swimming coach, Wilson Galán, says that Natividad and her siblings were outstanding. “Their results were surprising; in two months they mastered all the styles pretty well,” he says. The children have now accumulated a collection of 47 medals they have won in different local and national competitions. For Natividad, who has won 8 of the medals, these triumphs have boosted her confidence. “I feel very excited when I hear my family encouraging me ‘go, go, go’ and I keep my strength till the end,” Natividad says.

[5] Through the program, Natividad got a scholarship that covers some of her school expenses. “For us, this is of great help so that she doesn’t stop going to school,” says her father. Both parents agree that playing sports has changed their children’s lives. “It has been good for their health and their mind,” says the mother. “They are active doing exercise; they have a purpose in life and are more disciplined in school.” For her father, one of the greatest benefits of the program is that it keeps the children safe from street violence.

I-COMPREHENSION (15points) N.B.Base all your answers on the text

 A. COMPLETE THE CHART WITH THE RIGHT INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT. (2 pts)

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

1. Natividad is from a large family. 
………………………………….

2. Natividad’s father has a permanent job in a factory. 
……………………………

3. The children had to pay for the swimming lessons. 
……………………………….

C. ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS. (3 pts)

1. What does Natividad’s mother do? 
……………………………………………. 

2. Why did the children have to go far away to play? 
……………………………….. 

3. How has Natividad benefited from winning the medals? 
……………………………….

D. COMPLETE THE SENTENCES WITH INFORMATION FROM THE TEXT. (3 pts)

1. The swimming coach was surprised because…………………………… 

2. The scholarship helped Natividad to ……………………….

3. According to the mother, the program helped the children to …………………………..

E. FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS THAT MEAN ALMOST THE SAME AS (2 pts)

1. worry (paragraph 2): ……………… 
2. victories (paragraph 4): …………

F. WHAT DO THE UNDERLINED WORDS IN THE TEXT REFER TO? (2 pts) 

1. he: (paragraph 2): ……………..
2. They: (paragraph 5): …………..

II- LANGUAGE (15 points).

A. FILL IN THE GAPS WITH THE CORRECT WORDS FROM THE LISTS. (4 pts)
1. The presidential elections in the USA ………………… place every four years.
2. Jessica ………………… have seen me because she walked past without saying ‘hello’. can’t – won’t – shouldn’t 

3. The burglar ………………… the house and stole all the money and jewelry. 
broke up – broke into – broke away 

4. Tom was wearing a mask ………………… made him look like an old man. 
who – which – whose

B. PUT THE WORDS IN BRACKETS IN THE CORRECT FORM. (2 pts).

The Nobel Committee awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2020 to the World Food Programme for its efforts to (prevention) ………………… famine in the world and its (contribute) ………………………………. to peace in areas of conflict.

C. PUT THE VERBS IN BRACKETS IN THE CORRECT TENSE. (2 pts)

1. I usually (drive) ………………….. to work, but yesterday, I (take) ………………… the bus because my wife needed the car.
2. We (live) ……………………………………….. in this neighborhood since 2016, but by the time my son finishes high school, we (move) ……………………………………….. to another area outside the city.

D. REWRITE THE SENTENCES AS INDICATED. (3 pts)

1. The firemen asked the tourists to leave the hotel immediately.
The tourists …………………….. 

2. “Don’t play on the grass boys,” said the teacher.
The teacher ordered the boys. ………………… 

3. It was raining but we enjoyed the festival.
Despite ………………………….

E. MATCH EACH EXPRESSION WITH ITS APPROPRIATE FUNCTION: (2 pts)

1. ……… 2. …….. 3. ……. 4. ……

F. WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IN THE FOLLOWING SITUATIONS? (2 pts)

1. You bought new Bluetooth headphones but when you arrived home you found out they are not original.
You: (Complain to the shop assistant) ………………………….

2. Your friend cannot decide where to spend the summer holiday.
You: (Make a suggestion) ……………………….

III- WRITING (10 points) DO TASKS 1 AND 2

TASK 1: Complete the following paragraph about your primary school. (4 pts)
I still remember a lot of things about my primary school. …………………………………………………………………………….

……………………………………………………………..

TASK 2: (6 pts)
You have seen the following advertisement on a website:

Summer Jobs

We need people to work in our restaurant as waiters, cooks, and cleaners.
If you are interested, write an email to: staff@basmarestaurant.com
Mr. Naji is the manager of the restaurant. Write him an email to apply for one of the jobs.
Include: personal information, qualifications, work experience, personal skills, and interests.
Dear Mr. Naji,………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. …………………………….