THE MOROCCAN BACCALAUREATE ENGLISH EXAM

THE MOROCCAN BACCALAUREATE ENGLISH EXAM

The night has been cold but Ratma and her family will sleep outside again, their belongings beside them. Last month, French police forced Rarma, her husband and two children to leave the flat they squatted in for years, but she then decided to stay on the pavement in front of the building until Paris city authorities offer them a permanent home. “All I want is dignity, a place to live,” said Ratma, whose parents came from Senegal, a former French colony.

Dozens of families of African origin have been expelled from Paris squats in the past few weeks. Anti-racism groups say their expulsions show the difficult situation of immigrants and their descendents in France, where many live a half-life on the fringes of society, discriminated against for jobs and housing because of their origins.

In the past five months, fires in crowded and dilapidated Paris buildings have killed almost 50 people, many of them immigrants and children. The deaths not only shocked a city best known abroad for its spacious boulevards and historic monuments, but also revealed the living conditions of immigrants and exposed a grave housing shortage. Officials say Paris had about 60 unsafe squats and around 1,500 families live in flats that are considered unhygienic. Many poor people say they have no choice. “Rather than staying outside with our children, we came in,” Ratma said. “ The walls were clamp and mouldy. There was no electricity in the bathroom; I have been washing in the dark for years”.

In Paris, more than 100,000 families – many of whom are immigrants - are waiting for permanent social housing, officials say. For now, they live with friends or stay in shabby hotels or squats. Rene Dutrey from Paris’ Green party says it is hard to say how many of these are foreigners but a majority of those living in unhygienic flats have an immigrant background. “They are the most vulnerable,” he said. “They face discrimination on the private housing market because many landlords don’t want black people. And they are discriminated against because they don’t have the resources”. Others say the discrimination extends to the job market. “Many immigrants are doing the work the French don’t want.” said Jean-Pierre Dubois from human rights group. “They are more likely to take on short-term contracts”.

In 2004, unemployment was at 9.9% of France’s African population out of work, official statistics show. ‘Immigrants more often hold no-qualification jobs, and are most affected by unemployment,” it was said in a study.

Ratma, who has lived in France all her life and works in a retirement home, said it did not surprise her that the main victims of the recent fires were immigrants.

Squats: houses or flats where people live without permission and without paying.

Dilapidated: متلاشي

I- COMPREHENSION

A- CHOOSE THE RIGHT ANSWER FROM THE LIST:

The text is about African immigrants’:

a. housing and employment problems in Paris

b. cultural and identity problems in France

c. working conditions and schooling in Paris

B- ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS:

1- Where are Ratma’s parents originally from?

……………………………………………………………………………

2- What is one of the consequences of the fires in Paris?

……………………………………………………………………………

3- Why is it difficult fro African immigrants to find houses or flats to rent? (give two reasons)

……………………………………………………………………………

C- ARE THESE SENTENCES TRUE OF FALSE? JUSTIFY:

1- Ratma is spending her first night in the street.

……………………………………………………………………………

2- Because of their colour, many African immigrants find it difficult to get jobs.

……………………………………………………………………………

3- Ratma and her family used to live in a well-equipped flat.

……………………………………………………………………………

D- COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES:

1- Ratma and her family will go on living in the street unless the French government …………………………………………………………………………

2- Thousands of immigrants’ families in Paris want the government to ……………………………………………………………………………..

E- WHAT DO THE UNDERLINED WORDS REFER TO IN THE TEXT? ( WORDS IN BOLD TYPE AND ITALICS )

1- Their (paragraph 2) : ……………………….

2- They (paragraph 4) : ………………………

F- FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS OR PHRASES WHICH MEAN THE SAME AS:

1- Children and/or grandchildren (paragraph 2) : …………………………………

2- People who own and rent flats or houses (paragraph 4 ) : …………………….

II- LANGUAGE

A- FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH AN APPROPRIATE WORD FROM THE LIST:

Put up with - pick up - make up - look up

1-Don’t believe what she says. She likes to ……………………………..stories.

2-It’s difficult to …………………………….with noise in big cities.

B- PUT THE VERBS BETWEEN BRACKETS IN THE CORRECT TENSE:

1- By the end of next month, the committee (take) ……………………… a final decision.

2- An important multinational (organize)…………………………. a seminar in our country last month.

C- GIVE THE CORRECT FORM OF THE WORDS BETWEEN BRACKETS:

1- “Don’t forget to (signature)……………………… your application form before sending it.

2- this project concerns the (improve)……………………….. of life in rural areas.

3- “Moussems” are important (culture) …………………….. events in Morocco.

D- REWRITE THE SENTENCES BEGINNING WITH THE WORDS GIVEN:

1- Sociologists are conducting research studies about immigrants in France nowadays.

Research studies ……………………………………………………………

2- Ratma didn’t find a house because she was an immigrants

If …………………………………………………………………………

3- “I didn’t attend my philosophy class yesterday”.

I wish ……………………………………………………………………

4- We should respect blacks.

Blacks ….………………………………………………………………

E- COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES WITH THE APPROPRIATE LINKING WORD:

Although - in spite of - because - owing to

1- …………………………..it was cold, we went to Ifrane.

2- ………………………….. our efforts, we lost the match.

3. I didn’t come to school last week ……………………a terrible headache I had.

F- FILL IN THE BLANKS WITH “MAKE” OR “DO”:

1- I couldn’t ………….my homework because I was sick.

2- Laila is going to ……………..a party for her birthday.

3- Did you……………..any mistakes in the last test?

4-Karima often ……………the housework before coming to school.

5- I want to ………….a course in English this summer.

III- WRITING

After finishing your education, would you like to live in Morocco or in a foreign country? Write an essay stating your preference and giving reasons for your choice.