Level: 3rd Year Literary & Philosophy Stream Duration: 02 Hours

FIRST TERM ENGLISH EXAM

PART ONE: Reading (15 points)
A/Comprehension: (07pts)
Read the text carefully then do the activities.

The Mayan Indians had lived in Mexico for thousands of years before the Spanish arrived in the
1500s. The Maya were intelligent, culturally rich people whose achievements were different. They had
farms, beautiful palaces, and cities with many buildings. The Mayan people knew a lot about nature and the
world around them. This knowledge helped them to live a better life than most people of that time, because
they could use it to make their lives more comfortable and rewarding. Knowledge about tools and farming,
for instance, made their work easier and more productive.
In ancient Mexico there were many small clearings in the forest. In each clearing was a village with fields
of corn, beans, and other crops around it. To clear the land for farms, the Maya cut down trees with stone
axes. They planted seeds by digging holes in the ground with pointed sticks. A farmer was able to grow crops
that produced food for several people. But not every Maya had to be a farmer. Some were cloth makers,
builders, or priests.
The Maya believed in many gods. They built large temples to honor their gods. Skillful workers built cities
around these temples. It was difficult for them to construct these cities, because they had no horses to
carry the heavy stone they used to build with. Workers had to carry all of the building materials themselves.
Today, many of these ancient Mayan cities and temples are still standing.
The Mayan priests studied the Sun, Moon, stars, and planets. They made a calendar from what they
learned. The year was divided into 18 months of 20 days each with five days left over. The Mayan calendar
was far more precise than the European calendars of the time.
Around the year 800, the Maya left their villages and beautiful cities, never to return. No one knows why
this happened. They may have died from an infectious disease. They may have left because the soil could no
longer grow crops. Archaeologists are still trying to find the vanished secrets of the Maya. They are still one
of our greatest mysteries.

1. Say whether the following statements are True or False according to the text.
a) The Maya cut trees to build houses.
b) The Maya used horses to carry the heavy stone used to build the temples.
c) It was easy for the Maya people to build cities around the temples.
d) The reason why the Maya left their cities is still unknown.

2. In which paragraph is it mentioned that the Maya practised other jobs than farming

3. Answer the following questions according to the text.

a) Why did Maya live a better life than most people of that time?
b) How did the Maya farmers plant crops?
c) When did the Maya leave their villages?

4. What or who do the underlined words refer to in the text?

a) it (§1) b) themselves (§3) c) they (§5)

5. Give a title to the text.

B/Text Exploration: (08pts)

1. Find in the text words or phrases that are opposite in meaning to the following:
a) poor (§1) b) small (§3) c) stayed (§5) d) emerged (§5)
 2. Complete the chart as shown in the example.
Verb Noun Adjective
Example to civilize civilization civilized
……………………… ……………………… believable
to produce ……………………… ……………………
……………………… achievement ……………………

3. Ask questions that the underlined words answer.

a) The Mayan people knew a lot about nature.
b) The Mayan Indians lived in Mexico for thousands of years.

4. Connect each pair of sentences with one of the words given. Make changes where necessary.
a- The Mayan Indians lived in Mexico for thousands of years / the Spanish arrived in the 1500s.
(After)
b- The Maya worked hard to build beautiful cities /the Maya left them around the year800. (Although)

5. Classify the following words according to the pronunciation of their final "ed".
Planned - noticed - tried - provided - attacked – protected
/ t/ /d/ / Id/

6. Reorder the following sentences to get a coherent paragraph.

a) Advances such as writing, epigraphy, and the calendar did not originate with the Maya;
b) due to the high degree of interaction and cultural diffusion that characterized the region.
c) however, they fully developed them.
d) The Maya civilization shares many features with other Mesoamerican civilizations

Part Two: Written Expression (05 points)

Choose ONE of the following topics.
Topic One: Using the following notes, write an essay about the Sumerian civilization.
period place Beliefs and jobs Science writing
religion achievements
Priests, -Astronomy Form called
About 4000 B.C. Upon the banks -gods and peasants and (calendar) cuneiform
of the Tigris goddesses craftsmen. -Literature
and Euphrates -they believed in (poem)
river. afterlife
- they
celebrated many
holy days with
ceremonies and
processions.

Topic Two: Write an essay in no more than 120lines answering the following question:
Why is it so important to explore the past and know about ancient civilizations?

GOOD LUCK