موضوع الإنجليزية — مناظرة التاسعة، دورة 2018

I. READING COMPREHENSION 6 marks

Read the text and answer the questions

THE TEXT

① I'll never forget the day when one of my ten-year-old students shyly raised his hand and said that he had never received a gift. We were discussing a reading story about a boy who was not going to get anything for his birthday. Jace's honesty surprised the whole class. Was he exaggerating ? He was not the type. Then I remembered that Jace was from a poor family and that his father didn't have a permanent job.

② A couple of weeks later, Jace was absent from school. This happened to be the period of the classroom gift exchange. Traditionally, each pupil had to bring a gift for another pupil. As we were talking about the event, one of the pupils suggested that we buy gifts for Jace instead.

③ With great excitement, the gifts began to come in. I remember being so proud of my thoughtful, selfless and helpful students. After several days of absences, we learned that Jace moved away because his father lost his job. I decided to call Jace and I explained the story to him. Then I drove to his house and together, we filled the room with all the wrapped gifts. He was so surprised and grateful.

④ As I went to sleep that night, I thought about my students and I was thankful to be a part of one of the most important "lessons" of their lives.

Adapted from Chicken Soup for the Soul
Jack Canfield

Comprehension questions

1. Tick (✓) the right alternative (1 mark)
   The text is mainly about Jace's
   a) frequent absences.
   b) classmates' solidarity.
   c) birthday presents.

2. Fill in each blank with only one word from paragraph 1. (2 marks)
   Although he was a shy student, Jace dared tell the whole class about the birthday
   ………… . This unexpected truth showed his ………… .

3. Answer the following question with reference to paragraph 3. (1 mark)
   How did the teacher feel about her students' act ?

4. What does the underlined word in the text refer to ? (1 mark)
   "event" in paragraph 2 refers to …………

5. Give a personal justified answer to the following question : (1 mark)
   What do you think of the teacher's behaviour towards Jace ? Why ?
   I think …………
   ………… because …………

II. LANGUAGE 8 marks

1. Fill in the blanks with six (6) words from the list below. (0.5 x 6 = 3 marks)

Earth Day is celebrated every year. It was meant to encourage respect ………… life on earth and highlight growing concern about different kinds of pollution. It seems we have ………… what a beautiful gift planet Earth is. It is our home that we need to ………… in order to stay healthy and ………… . Over 20 million people participated in ………… to mark the first Earth Day. It turned out to be so contagious that today, over a billion people all over the ………… celebrate Earth Day.

2. Match the sentence parts in column A with those in column B to get a coherent paragraph. There is one extra part in column B. Write your answers in the space provided. (0.5 x 4 = 2 marks)

Answers: | 1 + ………… | 2 + ………… | 3 + ………… | 4 + ………… |

3. Circle the right option. (0.5 x 6 = 3 marks)

I can remember my first day of school like it was yesterday. I didn't need (wake / to wake / waking) up to my alarm clock. I was (too / enough / so) excited that I couldn't wait to meet my new teacher. My mum dropped me off at school making sure that everything was all right. I was very quiet at school. I was (safe / shy / indifferent) and didn't know who to talk to. My school year went by fast; and here ten years later, I (wish / imagine / want) I could go back to those days and not have a care in the world. I (advice / advise / advised) everyone to cherish those days because if you don't, then you (will regret / are regretting / regretted) it.

⁦III⁩. ⁦WRITING 6 marks⁩

⁦You believe that success is the result of hard work while some of your classmates think that they can achieve it through cheating⁩.
⁦Write a ten-line post in your school forum to explain that cheating does not help learning and to suggest some solutions to stop this nasty habit⁩.

⁦DO NOT WRITE YOUR NAME AND YOUR SCHOOL NAME⁩.

[شكل: إطار مستطيل كبير مخصص للكتابة يحتوي على أسطر منقّطة فارغة تمتد على عرض الإطار]