Lycée Secondaire Devoir De Synthèse N°2

Ghannouch
Anglais Classe : 1ere année S2+3
A.S : 2013-2014
Durée : 2 heures
Full name: ……………………………………………………………………………………….

1. I felt helpless wandering around the living room. 'There's a war going on,' I
complained to my sister, Beryl, 26. 'How can I help?'
'Why don't you write a letter to a soldier?' she said. It was 1945 and I was 16. I knew
our fighting boys were homesick and I wanted to help somehow. ‘Our neighbour’s
son is in the army,' she told me. 'You could write to him.'

2. Beryl explained that Bill, 18, was completing his training at the army base in
Canungra, Queensland. ‘I suppose I could send him a note,' I said. Two months later,
a letter from Bill arrived. Thank you for writing, he wrote, I look forward to your
reply. I was usually shy, but, after reading Bill's unusually short letter, my words
flowed easily onto the page. I described what I looked like and talked about my family
and future visions, before I knew it, I'd written two pages. Your pen friend, Hazel, I
signed.

3. Over the next two months, we continued writing then, one day, Bill said he wanted
to meet me during his next leave. I was giddy with nerves when Bill arrived. He was
tall and looked incredibly handsome in his uniform. ‘It’s a pleasure meeting you', he
smiled. That day we had an unforgettable time together.

4. We continued writing all through Bill's army training, but, just as he was ready to
fight for Australia, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in Japan. We're being
shipped to Japan to conduct peacekeeping duties, Bill wrote months later. I
prayed he'd stay safe and realized I liked him as more than just a pen friend. It
seemed Bill felt the same. My love, he wrote. I’m coming home!

5. When Bill returned in 1946, I couldn't stop smiling. 'I've missed you,' he said. Two
years later, on October 2, 1948, Bill and I married. 'It's amazing what putting pen to
paper can do,' Bill told guests. We went on to have a daughter, Helen, and four boys,
Peter, Ricky, Keith and Neil. Bill and I celebrated our 60th wedding anniversary last
year. He's not my pen friend any more, he's my best friend and I couldn't love him
more.

Hazel Black, 80, Victoria Point,

Queensland

I- Reading Comprehension: (15 marks):

1-Tick the correct answer: (1mark)

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The text is: a) narrative b) descriptive c) argumentative

2- Complete the following summary with words from the text (4 marks)
Hazel tells the story of how, at 16, she became a …………………………..with Bill
who was training in the Australian army. Their friendship began in
……………………………, time when the world was in war. Soon the relationship
changed into ………………………………. and the two got ……………………………
in1948.
3- Correct these false statements with information from the text (3 marks).
A-Bill’s first letter was so long. (prg2)
………………………………………………………………………………………………...
a- Hazel was calm and relaxed when she met Bill the first time. (prg 3)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………

b- Hazel and Bill’s marriage didn’t last for a long time. (prg 5)
…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

4-Answer the following question: (1mark)

Did Hazel and Bill fall in love? Yes / No.
Justification: ………………………………………………………………………………

5-Choose the best explanations of the underlined expressions (3 marks).

*‘Our ‘fighting boys’ (prg1) means: friends / enemies / soldiers
*‘Future visions’ (prg2) means: future jobs / future life/ future dreams

*‘putting pen to paper’ (prg5) means: buying pens / writing letters / having pen
friends

6-What do the underlined words in the text refer to? (2marks)

A-She (prg1) refers to……………………….
b-We (prg3) refers to………………………..
7-What do you think of friendship between a man and a woman? (1mark)
………………………………………………………………………………………….............
...........................................

II- Language (10 marks):

1-Fill in the gaps with the correct option. There are 2 extra words. (3. 5mks)

Having/ of / practise / yourself / advice / learners / improve / language / reading

Dear Tim,

Thanks for your last email. I think it’s great you want to brush up on your English and
of course I’m only so happy to help. Here are a few things you can try. First of all, it
would be a good idea to start ……………….. more English. You probably won’t have
time to read novels but there are plenty ……………………magazines that also help
you improve your English. Another suggestion is to watch films on DVD without the
subtitles. That way you force ………………. to listen to the language very carefully.
For a film lover like you, that’ll be learning while really ………………. fun! The best
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……………… I can give you, though, is to get more English speaking pen friends and
email friends. That method really worked for me when I wanted to …………………my
Italian. Not only will you learn a lot of new phrases, but you’ll also ……………… the
language actively yourself. I hope these ideas will help.

2- Choose the correct alternative (3, 5 mks)

Having a best friend is a blessing. An old saying states that a true (friendly – friends
– friendship) 1 never dies. But can it last for forty years without a single (meet – met
– meeting) 2? That’s what happened to me and my French pen (pal – pale –peel) 3
Michelle. We (start – started – have started) 4 writing to each other in our teens, 36
years ago. She was fifteen, six months (old – older – oldest) 5 than me, as I sent
her my first letter. Over the years, I (have sent – have been sent – have been
sending) 6 more than two hundred letters by Michelle. We have always talked about
seeing each other (so – but – that’s why) 7 somehow it has never happened.

3- Supply the correct tense/ form to the verbs/words (3 marks)

I didn't do my college education in the traditional classroom based manner. In fact, I
(leave)…………………college in the second semester of my senior year. I felt that
the traditional way of (learn)………………….. wasn’t for me; everything from showing
up to classes to taking notes and face-to-face interactions with teachers were so
(bored)……………….... and frustrating. I was 23, raising two (child)
………………….. and working full time to support my family. After 2 years, I realized
that my Bachelor’s Degree had to be obtained to ensure a (good)………………….life
and more income. So when I found about online education, I felt my life (be saved)
……………………. as I could complete my studies without going through the
nightmare of traditional tutoring.
III- Writing (15marks):

1/ Read the conversation and complete it with suitable information. (5 mks)

Alberto and Mary met for the first time in Helen’s birthday, they had the following
conversation
Helen: Mary, can you introduce yourself to Alberto? He is studying English here.
Mary:
Hello!.............................................................................................................................
Alberto: Pleased to meet you too.
Mary:....................................................................................................................... ?
Alberto: I’m from Italy.
Mary: And why are you studying English?
Alberto: I need it for my job.
Mary:Really?So..........................................................................................................?
Alberto: I work in a bank, an international bank.
Mary:.........................................................................................................................?
Alberto: I have been learning English for six months. And
you,...................................... ?
Mary: No I don’t speak Italian.

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 2- Essay (10 marks).
While you were surfing the net you came across the following question on “parent/child

forum” website.

My name is Sam. I’m fifteen. I feel that my life has

no meaning especially when I think about my life at
home. I feel that I don’t belong to my family. I feel
constantly neglected. Neither my mom nor my dad
shows me real love or affection. Besides, they are
too strict. They don’t understand me and they
always try to impose their opinions and beliefs on
me. I’m lost. What shall I do to fix things at home?
Please help me.

Feeling concerned, you decided to write this boy an e mail in order to give him some advice so that
he might be able to improve his relationship with his parents.

Dear Sam,

…………………………………………………………………………………………………
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…………………………………………………………………………………………………
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PLENTY OF LUCK
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