Baccalaureate English National Exam Sciences June 2012

A. Are these sentences true or false? Justify. (4 pts)

1. False. “I had to drop out of school to help care for my brothers and sisters.” (paragraph 1)
2. False. “I got married and began having children while doing different jobs to support my family.” (paragraph 1)
3. True. “He earned the rest in scholarships because he had good grades.” (paragraph 2)
4. False. “we have three children still in high school” (paragraph 3)

B. Complete the sentences. (2 pts)

1. …Ruth’s dream (she kept dreaming of it but was never able to go back to school).
2. …he is suffering from a mortal illness.

C. Answer these questions. (4 pts)

1. At a vocational school.
2. He died of cancer, at home (Ruth cared for him until he died).
3. Because her employers considered her unskilled (she had no certification).
4. She had a lot of patience and explained everything in simple words.

D. Find in the text words or phrases that mean the same as: (3 pts)

1. go back
2. the elderly
3. improve

E. What do the underlined words in the text refer to? (2 pts)

1. Ruth’s father
2. Ruth’s (three) children

A. Fill in each gap with an appropriate word or expression from the list. (1 pt)

1. used to
   used to + verb: a past habit.
2. whose
   whose shows possession.

B. Rewrite the sentences beginning with the words given. (3 pts)

1. The coach told the swimmers (that) they had done well in the competition.
2. Two films were selected by the committee for an international festival.
3. If they had played well, our team would have qualified for the final match.

C. Put the verbs in brackets in the correct tense. (3 pts)

1. had worked (past perfect)
2. started (past simple)
3. could (wish + past)

D. Fill in each gap with the correct phrasal verb from the list. (2 pts)

1. breaks down
   break down means to stop working.
2. calms down
   calm down means to become calm.

E. Give the correct form of the words in brackets. (2 pts)

1. addiction
2. entertainment

F. Join the following pairs of sentences with the words given. (2 pts)

1. Many people learn computer skills so as to get better jobs.
2. Taoufik couldn’t concentrate on his work because of his family problems.

G. Complete the following dialogue. (2 pts)

1. Yes, I’m afraid I’m not happy with the service. We have been waiting for an hour and the waiter was rude to us.
2. I’m terribly sorry, sir. I will talk to the waiter immediately.

Writing: The emigration of skilled workers is a real problem for their countries of origin. Write an email to the editor of the website www.globaldebate.org in which you explain why these people emigrate and suggest ways to encourage them to stay in their own countries. (10 pts)

Subject: The emigration of skilled workers

Dear editor,

I am writing about the emigration of skilled workers, which is a real problem for developing countries.

There are several reasons why these people leave. First, they look for higher salaries, because wages in their own countries are often low. Second, they want better working conditions and more opportunities for research and promotion. Finally, some of them are attracted by a better quality of life abroad.

To encourage them to stay, governments should increase salaries and offer them modern equipment and laboratories. They should also create more jobs and give skilled workers a chance to take part in important projects. In addition, companies could offer them bonuses and good housing.

I believe that if these measures are taken, many experts will choose to serve their own countries.

Yours faithfully,
Hamza