Literary Stream
First Term Exam
PART ONE: READING
(15pts)
Read the text carefully then do the activities.
For decades, I had longed to visit Spain
for its legendary charm and
picturesque beauty, but more importantly to experience the heritage of almost
800 years of Islamic presence. In December 1998, I travelled to Spain
for the purpose of participating in a colloquium sponsored by the Paris-based
International Society for the study of Arab and Islamic History and Science (in
conjunction with the Spanish universities).
The conference theme pertained to
the contributions of Cordoba’s
most important figure, Ibn Rushd (known as Averroes) in commemoration of his
800th death anniversary. The trip also provided me an opportunity to
experience Spain’s
Islamic heritage.
That heritage, indeed, has its
reminders in every nook and corner of contemporary Spain,
but especially in the province
of Andalusia. That is where the two most prominent
monuments of Islam’s legacy are located: Granada
(Arabic Gharnata) and Cordoba
(Arabic qurtoba); both are United Nations’ “Heritage of Humanity” cities. Of
course, these cities are
well-maintained by Spanish Government for, aside from the “heritage” aspect,
both are huge sources of tourist revenue, even though, in times past, Catholic
fanaticism had tried to destroy all vestiges of the Islamic heritage. Soon
after landing in Madrid, I took a night train
to Granada,
arriving there the next morning.
A/ COMPREHENSION AND
INTERPRETATION (07pts)
1) The text is about:
a) Islamic culture and heritage in Spain?
b) The Islamic civilisation?
c) The biography of Ibn Rushd?
2) Say whether the
following sentences are true or false. Write (T) or (F) next to each statement.
a) The writer went to Spain as a visitor in 1998.
b) Ibn Rushd is known as Averroes.
c) Many visitors are attracted by Cordoba and Granada.
d) The writer spent a night in the
train.
3) Answer the
following questions according to the text.
a)
When did the writer travel o Spain?
What for?
b) What was the conference theme about?
c) Why are Granada
and Cordoba
well-maintained by Spanish Government?
4) What do the
underlined words in the text refer to?
*Its (§1) *Where (§3) * These cities (§3)
5) Find in the text
words that are synonymous to the following:
*
Chance (§2) * situated (§3)
B/ TEXT EXPLORATION
1)
Find in the text words
that are opposites to the following:
* to construct (§3) * day (§3)
2) Divide the following words into roots and affixes: science,
participating, international, Islamic.
Prefix
Root
Suffix
3) Give the correct
form of the verbs in brackets:
a) After Charles Martel (to blunt) their forays
into France, the Muslims in Spain
(to begin) to focus their attention on Andalusia.
b) It’s high time they (to hold) a
conference about Islamic presence in Spain.
4) Rewrite sentence
(b) so that it means the same as sentence (a):
a) Muslims established Cordoba
as the most sophisticated city in Europe.
b) Cordoba …………………………..as the most sophisticated city in Europe.
a)
I will visit Cordoba if I arrive there before the
Conference.
b)
Provided that I ………………, I …………………………….. .
5) Classify the
following words according to the pronunciation of their final “ed”/
Travelled, pertained, provided, located, asked,
tried.
/t/
/d/
/id/
PART TWO: WRITNG (05pts)
Choose only one topic:
Topic one:
Write a short summary of the text.
Topic two: A
lot of civilisations emerged, flourished and collapsed. Write a paragraph of
about twelve (12) lines on the causes of collapse of civilisations using these
notes/
*wars
*climate changes
*famines
*diseases
:study: :study: :study: :study: