Ezziania Secondary School 2025 / 2024
Level: 3rd Year Foreign Languages Duration : 01h30
Full Name : ………………………………………………………
FIRST TERM ENGLISH TEST N01
A/Comprehension:
Read the text carefully then do the activities.
The name Mesopotamia (meaning "the land between the rivers″) refers to the geographic region
which lies near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and not to any particular civilization. In fact, many
civilizations developed, collapsed, and were replaced in this fertile region. The land of Mesopotamia is
made fertile by the irregular and often violent flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
Given the combination of fertile soil and the need for organized human labor, perhaps it is not
surprising that the first civilization developed in Mesopotamia. By 3500 BC, the Sumerians had built
towns and cities, and an early form of pictographic writing was used, metal working had begun, and
temples were built on a monumental scale.
Generally speaking, however, true civilization is said to have begun around 3100 BC with the
development of cuneiform writing. After its development, cuneiform became the dominant system of
writing in Mesopotamia for over 2000 years. Even after Sumerian became dead as a spoken language,
many other Near Eastern cultures continued to write using cuneiform. As a result of its extensive use of
several centuries, many cuneiform tablets have survived. These tablets provide historians with
information about the culture of the ancient Mesopotamian civilizations.
1. Are the following statements true or false?
a. The Name Mesopotamia refers to an ancient civilization.………………………
b. The Sumerians made important achievements.………………………
c. The Sumerians invented a new form of writing.………………………
d. Thanks to Cuneiform tablets , historians learn about the Mesopotamian culture .
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2. Reorder these sentences according to their occurrence in the text
a) writing helps specialists to study the Sumerian civilization. ………………
b) floods were beneficial to the development of the Sumerian agriculture. ………………
c) two factors contributed to a modern civilization in Mesopotamia. ………………
3. Answer the following questions according to the text.
a) Is the Sumerian the only civilization that developed in Mesopotamia?
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b) Mention two signs of development the Sumerian civilization brought.
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c) How are tablets useful to historians?
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4. Choose the most appropriate title for the reading passage.
a) The Sumerian Civilization b)The Sumerians c)Writing in the Past d)A Fertile Region
B/Text Exploration:
1. Find in the text the words whose definitions fellow:
a. fell (§1)→…………………………… b) continued to exist (§3)→……………………
2. Divide these words into roots and affixes:
Uncivilised / irrigation / writing
Prefix root suffix
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3. Combine pairs of sentences using the appropriate connector (Make any necessary
changes). (3pts)
as soon as – until – despite
a. It rarely rained in Mesopotamia. The Sumerians developed a strong system of irrigation.
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b. The Phoenicians arrived in Phoenicia. They became town-dwellers.
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c. The Romans stayed in Greece. The Germans invaded Greece.
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4. Reorder the following sentences to make a coherent paragraph.
a) Consequently, many civilizations could write their history.
b) The letters were written on clay tablets
c) It was the Sumerians who first used a writing system.
d) because paper had not been invented yet.
1 2 3 4
5. Classify the following verbs according to the pronunciation of their final “ed”.
believed – attended – developed – memorized – worked – educated
/t/ /d/ /id/
Writing:
Write a short paragraph about the reasons why ancient civilisations collapsed.
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!!Best Wishes of Success
