Democratic and Popular Republic of Algeria - Ministry of National Education

School: Aoun Ali middle school –Hessasna- Teacher: Nazereg Nourelhouda

Level: 4 MS Time: 1h:30

First Term Exam

Text: Ahlam Mostagheghanemi

Ahlam Mosteghanemi is a contemporary Algerian poet and novelist. She is also arguably the
most successful Arabic writer of her time. She was born on April 13, 1953 in Tunis, Tunisia while her
family was in exile. Her father, Mohamed El Cherif was wanted by the French government for his
involvement in the Algerian liberation war. Ahlam attended the first Arabic school in the country.
In 1970, she worked as a daily poetry show host on the national radio. She was only 17 years
old. In 1973, she graduated from the University of Algiers with a B.A. in Arabic literature. In 1976, she
moved to Paris where she was awarded a PhD in sociology from La Sorbonne in Paris in 1982. Her
collection of poems, ‘On the Harbor of Time’ shocked the newly independent Algerian society. An Algerian
woman was not only writing poetry in Arabic; she was freely sharing her thoughts and ideas on subjects
such as, women’s rights and romance. The Trilogy including ‘Memory in the Flesh’ (1993), ‘Chaos of the
Senses’ (1997), and ‘Bed Hopper’ (2003), which explore human tragedy and unfulfilled dreams made her a
best-selling sensation in the Arab literature world.
Ahlam was awarded the literary Naguib Mahfouz Priz in 1996. She was named as UNESCO Artist
for Peace in 2016 in Paris. Her novels have been translated into several languages notably English as
well as incorporated into the curricula of secondary schools and universities around the world.

Adopted from: https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ahlam-mosteghanemi,Oct. 13. 2017

Part One: (14pts)

A. Reading Comprehension(07pts):
Read the text carefully and do the following activities:
Activity One: Complete the bibliographical notes (02pts):
Bibliographical notes :
Author :……………………………………………………
Source :………………………..………………………….
Date of publication :………………………………..
Type of document: a-Blog article-b-press article-c-web
article
Activity Two: Answer the following questions (03 pts):

1) Why was her family in exile?

2) Why was the newly independent Algerian society shocked by her poetry?
3) What did she explore in her trilogy?

Activity Three: Complete the following table with events that correspond to the dates (02pts):

Dates Events
1970 ...................................................................................................................................
1973 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
1982 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
1996 ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
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 B. Mastery of Language (07pts):

Activity One: Rewrite the following sentences (02pts):

 Mohamed El Cherif was wanted by the French government for his involvement in the
Algerian liberation war.
The French Government………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
 Mohamed El Cherif was in exile. Mohamed El Cherif was wanted by the French government for
his involvement in the Algerian liberation war. (because)

Activity Two: Rewrite the following passage using the right tense of the verbs (03pts):
When Ahlam Mosteghanemi’s father (to be) unable to provide for the family, she (to decide) to take care
of them. But he was against her working. He (to want) her to study Arabic; that is what he (to have
fought) for. Somehow she (to manage) to do both. She was first noticed for her bold Arabic poetry which
(to have), until then, always belonged to Algerian men.

Activity Three: Write the following words in the write box according to their vowel sound (02 pts):
Main – fight – found - time
/eɪ/ /aɪ/ /aʊ/

Part Two: Situation of Integration (06 pts):

Your teacher asked you to write about one of the most outstanding figures in the Algerian history for your school
magazine. You chose Assia Djebar.
Use the information below and write a short biography about her.

Name : Fatima-Zohra Imleyen, known by her pen name Assia Djebar.

Date and place of birth: 13/06/1963 Cherchel- Algeria.

Occupation: novelist, feminist, translator and filmmaker.

Education: studied in Algiers and Tunis. Her university education was in Tunis

Life events: In 1957, she chose the pen name Assia Djebar

Djebar taught at the University of Rabat (1959-1962)

Was awarded the 1996 Neustadt International Prize for Literature.

In 2000, she won the Peace Prize of the German Book Trade

In 2005, Djebar was elected to France's foremost literary institution.

She was known as a voice of reform for Islam across the Arab world

Notable Works: La Soif, 1957 (English: The Mischief), Les impatients, 1958, Les
Enfants du Nouveau Monde, 1962 (English: Children of the New World), Le blanc
de l'Algérie, 1996 (English: Algerian White).

Date and place of death: Djebar died in February 2015, aged 78. Paris, France

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