Ahmed Chetibi High School School year: 2020/2021

……………………… ..……:Second year foreign languages Name

Second Term English Exam
Part one: (14pts)
.Read the text carefully then answer the questions that follow

It is essential to realize the extreme seriousness of the environmental problems that confront us. The
world's forests are going at about 20 million hectares a year an area the size of Britain. Nearly always this
means a reduction in rainfall, the transformation of rivers into seasonal torrents, the drying up of springs,
.and the erosion of unprotected soil
Massive deforestation in West Africa is almost certainly the main cause of the drying up of much Africa,
.where famine, for the first time in the human experience, is now endemic on a continental scale
Soil degradation- through erosion and salinisation is now so severe that we are said to be losing 26
billion tons of topsoil a year. The extent of the damage is masked by the increasing use of fertilizers, but
.this is a temporary expedient
Land is being paved over at a terrifying rate. China, since it started industrializing, is said to have paved
over nearly one tenth of its agricultural land. Egypt, 97% desert, is losing 0.5% of its agricultural land
.every year
Our air, soil, beaches, seas, oceans, rivers, ground water, food and drinking water are increasingly
polluted with sewage, chemicals, heavy metals and radio nuclides. Tens of thousands of different pesticide
formulations are regularly sprayed over agricultural lands. Nuclear waste is dumped into holes in the
.ground or deep injection wells , polluting drinking water too
The Ozone Layer, which protects life from ultra-violet radiation, is being depleted at three times the rate
we thought it was a couple of years ago. This can be attributed to emissions of chlorine-based chemicals,
.in particular to the tons of CFCs that are annually dumped into the atmosphere

Adapted from, The Sunday Times, May 31st, 1992

A) Reading comprehension: (07pts)

A/Choose the correct answer(0.5pt): a) a radio talk b) a magazine article c) a newspaper article -1
B/ The text is about: a) the different types of pollution b) the real global threat c) global warming
Are these statements true or false? Correct the false ones. (02pts) -2
.a- Deforestation leads to drought
.b- Famine is rare in Africa
.c- China has paved half of its agricultural lands
.d- CFCs are the main reason for air pollution

Answer the following questions according to the text. (03pts) -3

?a- How can deforestation affect our planet
.b- Is our drinking water polluted? Justify your answer
?c- What does the Ozone Layer protect us from

What or who do the underlined words in the text refer to? (01pt) -4
a- where (2§) , b- its (3§)

B) Text Exploration: (08pts)

Find in the text words that are closest in meaning to the following: (1.5pt) -1
..........…… = a- Starvation (2§) = …………… b- contaminated (5§) = ……………. c- insecticide (5§)
 Complete the following table: (1.5pt) -2
Verb Noun Adjective
reduce ...........................
.......................... .................

.......................... ................. transformation

.......................... .................
.......................... .................
.......................... ................. different

Rewrite sentence (b) so that it means the same as sentence (a): (1.5pt) -3
.a- The pollution in the air hurts our eyes, our noses and our throats )1
………………………………………………………… b- Our eyes, our noses and our throats
.a- We must take decisions to preserve nature )2
.…………………………………………………………………………………… b- Decisions
.a- we are losing tons of topsoil a year )3
.b- Tons of topsoil……………………………………………..a year

Put the verbs between brackets in the right tense. (1.5pt) -4

?a- What (to happen) if you (to cut down) half of the Amazonian forest trees
.b- If the trees destruction (to continue), there (to be) nothing left by the year 2016

Fill in the gaps with words from the giving list. (01pt) -5
.disappear – produce – danger – production – contains – preserve
Our environment is in………………….. . Seas and oceans are polluted. One million species that are alive
today will ………………. In 20 years. Forests are destroyed. The Amazonian forest, ………………….. 1/3
of the world trees. Its trees provide 50% of the world's ………………… oxygen. However, this forest is
.disappearing because many trees are cut down every year

:/Classify the words according the pronunciation of their final /S -6

.Contains - pollutants – chemicals – experiences

Part two: Written Expression. Choose one of the following topics: (05pts)
."Topic one: Use the following notes to write a short description of: "Making paper
.Put the verbs in present simple passive / Use the suitable discourse markers *
.Trees/ to grow/in tree plans -
Trees/ cut down; new trees/ to plant -
The wood/ to take/ the trucks/ to paper mills -
Wood/ to cut down/ small pieces (chips) -
The chips/ to cook/ a lot of water -
The mixture/ to press/ large metal sheets -
The sheets of paper/ to dry/ to put/ big rolls -
The rolls of paper / to send/ factories -
The paper/ to make/ books, magazines…etc -

Start like this : Paper is an amazing invention. Millions of tons of paper are used in schools and offices
...………………………………………………………………………… ?every day. But how is it made

:Topic two
Suppose that you are in a dilemma. In no more than 12 lines, write a letter to an agony aunt; in which you
.search for help

Best of luck