……………… Secondary School School year  

:
2021/2022
Level: 3as Foreign L FIRST TERM ENGLISH TEST
Read the text and do the following activities
Phoenicia was an ancient civilization composed of independent city-states located along the coast of
the Mediterranean Sea stretching through what is now Lebanon. The Phoenicians were a great maritime
people. They were very talented sailors and became famous across the Mediterranean as traders of a rare
pigment used to create purple dye for clothing. This dye was so rare and expensive that it became the
color of royalty in most places, and only the most powerful could afford to wear it. The word Phoenician
actually comes from the Greek word phoínios, meaning purple.
After the decline of the Egyptian civilization, Phoenician city-states rose to power and became the
dominant seafaring traders of the Mediterranean Sea. They established ports along the coasts of Europe,
the Middle East, and northern Africa. Their dominance lasted from roughly 1200-800 BCE. The
Phoenicians controlled their trade routes and ports until the Persian empire, under Cyrus the Great,
conquered the Phoenician city-states in 539 BCE. Alexander the Great later took control of Tyre in 332
BCE after a bloody battle, and soon conquered the rest of the Phoenician kingdoms peacefully. From this
point on, Phoenicians were assimilated into the Greek civilization, and most of their culture slowly died
away.
https://www.historytoday.com/reviews/who-were-phoenicians

Comprehension:
1-Choose the right answer. (1pt)
The text is: ………………………………….
a. an extract from history book b. Web article c. a newspaper article

2- Say whether the following statements are True or False according to the text. (1.5pts)
A. Ancient Phoenicians rose and flourished along a river.
B. Only rich people could buy clothes made of rare pigment.
C. Ancient Phoenicians were skillful sailors and traders.
D. Phoenician city-states were invaded by Alexander the Great.
3- Answer the following questions according to the text. (4pts)
A. Where did the Phoenicians arise?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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B. What did the Phoenicians do to promote their trade?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
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C. How was the Phoenicians civilization destroyed?
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………
4- What or who do the underlined words refer to in the text? (1pt)
It (§2) = ……………………………… Their (§2)= ……………………………………………

B/Text Exploration:

1- Find in the text words that are closest in meaning to the following. (2pts)
a. merchandisers (§1) = …………………….. b. collapse (§2) = …………………….. c.
defeated (§2) = ……………………..

2- Complete the following table

Verbs Nouns Adjective

Civilization

To invent

Productive

3- Combine the pairs of sentences using the connector between brackets. Make the necessary
changes.
a. The Phoenicians were defeated. The Phoenicians were powerful and wealthy. ( Despite)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

b. Alexander the Great took control of Tyre in 332 BCE . Alexander the Great conquered the rest of the
Phoenician kingdoms peacefully. (After)
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

4- Fill in the gaps with four words from the list below.
City - became - invented - Paper
Phoenicians also used papyrus from Egypt to make rolls of ……….………., for books. The words
bible and bibliography come from the Phoenician ………….……… of Byblos. Phoenicians traded with
peoples all around the Mediterranean sea. As merchants, the Phoenicians needed a simple
alphabet to erase the burden of keeping records. They therefore ………..……….. a phonetic alphabet
consisting of 22 letters. After alterations by the Greeks and Romans, this alphabet ………………… the
one we use today.

5- In 4 sentences, write 4 factors that led to the rise and flourish of ancient civilization
……………………………………………………………………………..………………………………

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Full name : ……………………………………