THE MOROCCAN BACCALAUREATE ENGLISH EXAM

THE MOROCCAN BACCALAUREATE ENGLISH EXAM

Rachida was born in a rural Moroccan village, Ain Jdid, in 1973. She is married and has four children. Her husband is a seasonal agricultural worker who earns about 700 dhs per month when he works.

When and aid organization offered literacy classes in her village, Rachida immediately recognised that an excellent opportunity was suddenly offered to her. The class signalled a new beginning for Rachida -if she took classes, she would be able to read and write, add and subtract, and acquire skills that were always reserved for others. When she first learnt how to write her name on a slate, and then on paper, she was overjoyed. Although Rachida and her classmates were laughed at by some villagers as they walked to school each day, they ignored them and were proud of their accomplishment.

The course went a step beyond providing basic literacy training to the women of Ain Jdid. Those who performed the best on the final exam were also offered support in setting up a business- a farm animal cooperative. Armed with their newly acquired numeracy and literacy skills, and with technical assistance from the organisation, they started a successful business. Their example gave rural women a new image –that of independent female entrepreneurs who could manage their own businesses. They were no longer field workers.

Rachida now buys and sells farm animals through the cooperative and earns enough income to support her family. More importantly, she can share the joy of learning with school-aged children and help them with their homework. She is confident about the future. She says her new skills have given her more than just an income. “Through this programme, women have paved the way to a new life”, she said.

As a proof to the programme’s success, now even some of the men in the village who had criticised Rachida and her classmates want to attend literacy classes.

I- COMPREHENSION

BASE YOUR ANSWERS ON THE TEXT

A- Are these sentences true or false? Justify:

1- Rachida is originally from a big city.

…………………………………………………………………………

2- Some villagers made fun of women going to literacy classes.

…………………………………………………………………………..

3- Some women of the village became independent.

……………………………………………………………………………
B- ANSWER THESE WORDS IN YOUR OWN WORDS:

1- What opportunities did literacy classes offer to Rachida?

………………………………………………………………………………

2- Which group of women benefited from technical assistance?

……………………………………………………………………………

3- How do Rachida and children benefit from her literacy?

……………………………………………………………………………

4- Why did some villagers change their opinion about the literacy programme?

……………………………………………………………………………

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

1- They: ( paragraph 2 ) …………………………

2- Them: ( paragraph 2 ) ……………………………

D- FIND IN THE TEXT WORDS OR EXPRESSIONS THAT MEAN THE SAME AS :

1- Periodical (paragraph. 1): ……………………………………

2- Very happy (paragraph 2): ……………………………………

3- Starting (paragraph. 3): ………………………………………

4- Money (paragraph. 4): …………………………………………

E- WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WOULD BE THE BEST TITLE FOR THE PASSAGE?

1- Female entrepreneurs change rural men’s life.

2- Literacy changes a rural woman’s life.

3- Rural men change rural women’s life.

III- LANGUAGE

A- Give the correct form of the words between brackets:

1- Moroccan NGO’s have made efforts to combat illiteracy. They help youths with basic knowledge and (manage) ………………………….. skills. They also train them to become (financial)…………………… independent.

B- FILL IN THE GAPS WITH AN APPROPRIATE PHRASAL VERB:

Picked up / found out / grew up / went through / turned down

1- Jane was accepted to work in a bank but she ………………………….the job because the salary was not interesting.

2- My uncle Ibrahim …………………………….his American accent when he was working in the USA.

C- MATCH THE WORDS THAT GO TOGETHER TO MAKE APPROPRIATE COLLOCATIONS:

COLUMN A

1. Have

2. Information

3. Fun

COLUMN B

a. care

b. technology


1. _______. 2. _______.

D- REWRITE THE SENTENCES BEGINNING WITH THE WORDS GIVEN:

1- “Do we need a lot of money for the project?” some villagers asked the manager.

Some villagers asked …………………………………………………………

2- The cooperative awarded a prize to Rachida.

Rachida………………………………………………………………

3- Salah didn’t buy the farm because he didn’t get financial support from the bank.

If ………………………………………………………………………

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

1- The city council (to build)…………………………….. a new stadium two years ago.

2- Before she became a doctor, Salma (already/ to work) ……………………….... as a biology teacher for two years.

3- At the moment, a foreign NGO (to prepare)…………………………………… a huge project for human development in rural areas in Yemen.

F- JOIN THE FOLLOWING PAIRS OF SENTENCES WITH THE LINKING WORDS GIVEN :

1- The local authorities opened new schools. They wanted to save their community better. (so as to)

…………………………………………………………………………

2- The government invests a lot of money on tourism. Not many tourists visit our town. (however)

…………………………………………………………………………

3- Tom and his wife needed more money. They decided to work over time. (because)

………………………………………………………………………

III- WRITING

Countries around the world celebrate different events (national/ international, cultural, or religious). Choose one of the events celebrated in Morocco (e.g. Aid Al Fitr, Imilchil festival, New Year’s Eve, Moussems, etc) and write a letter to tell your pen friend about it. (Approximately 150 words)

These ideas might help you:

- The event/festival celebrated.

- Where and when it is celebrated

- How people celebrate it (any special meals, clothes, visits, feelings etc)

- The importance of this celebration in our culture.

- Your own feelings, opinions and/or attitudes.