Bac Sample Stream:Foreign Languages
Part One: Reading and Interpreting (14)
Read the text carefully then do the activities:
Text: The History Of Writing
Archeologists in China discovered signs curved into 8,600-year-old tortoiseshells ( from the late Stone Age ,or Neolithic Age ). The earliest known writing dates from shortly before 3000BC , and is attributed to the Sumerians. It was mainly logographic and occurred long before a cuneiform script developed in southern Mesopotamia in the 4th century BC . It consisted of signs made with a cut reed on a moist clay tablet then sun-dried or baked in an oven.
Egyptian hieroglyphic writing is known from about 100 years after the Sumerian writing began , and it is also the earliest authentication of the principle of phonetic transfer . The Semitic peoples of Palestine and Syria borrowed it from the Egyptians , during the last half of the 2nd millennium BC . Semialphabetic writing is found in the Nile valley in Egypt , dated at about 1900 BC TO 1800 BC.
The Shang Dynasty ( 1570-1045BC) produced the earliest known written record in China. The Shang inscribed animal bones with records of the king's predictions. Later on, the Greeks took the final step of separating the consonants from the vowels and writing each separately , thus arriving at full alphabetic writing about 800BC.
Since the 3rd century AD , thanks to the perfection of the manufacturing techniques , the spread of the use of writing on parchment ( a sheet made from treated animal skin) took place. After this kind of parchment came the codex , which more or less took the form of the books we have today. Thinner parchment was used for more precious codices which generally contained sacred texts.
The reform of writing took place during the reign of Charlemagne ( 8th -9th centuries AD ) and a regular legible new script was introduced.
In the 12th century AD , Gothic writing came into prevalence borne out of Carolingian script but using angles instead of curves.
While the Gothic script continued to be used for religious and legal works , in the 14th century , the Humanistic script came into use in Italy for classical texts . It was used in printed books. It was the Renaissance and the Western world replaced parchment with paper using techniques learnt from Arabs who in turn learnt them in China.
The first printed book in movable metal type ( in Europe) is generally accepted as being the Bible , produced by Gutenberg in 1456 using the Gothic script . From the 16th century illustrations were adapted to the new techniques of the xylograph.
A/ Comprehension:
1-What type of discourse is the reading passage ? Choose the best answer :
a) argumentative b) narrative c) expository
2- Skim the text to order these events in chronology then match them with their dates:
a) Charlemagne reign b) Adaptation of illustrations c) The Renaissance
d) Stone Age e) Parchment writing f) Semialphabetic writing
Chronological order of events Corresponding dates
3- Answer the following questions according to the text:
a) Name the first script in the history of writing . To which era did it belong?
b) What did the Shang Dynasty bring out to existence?
c) How did the Greeks contribute to the history of writing?
d) What did the Renaissance witness?
4- In which paragraphs are statements 'a' and 'b' mentioned?
a) The wide use of the parchment writing.
b) The different fields where the Humanistic and the Gothic scripts were used.
5- What or who do the underlined words refer to in the text?
a) It consisted of signs made……..(§1) =
b) …which generally contained sacred texts. (§4)=
c) …who in turn learnt them in China. (§7)=
B/ Text Exploration:
1- Find in the text words or expressions whose definitions follow:
a) system of writing (§1)= b) of great value (§4)=
2- Ask questions for which the underlined words answer:
a) The Egyptian hieroglyphic started about 100 years ago after the Sumerian writing.
b) It was produced by Gutenberg in 1456.
3- Rewrite the second sentence so as to mean the same as the first:
a1) Illustrations were adapted to the new techniques of the xylograph.
a2) They………………………………………..
b1) " Among evidence about the influence of African civilization on other cultures is the original statues of Buddha ", some archeologists said.
b2) Some archeologists said……………………
4- Complete the following chart with the correct words whenever it is possible:
Verb Noun Adjective Adverb
Know
Movable
Shortly
5- Join the pairs of sentences using the appropriate connectors from the box. Make any necessary changes:
Providing that / while / such…that / although
a) The perfection of the manufacturing techniques. The spread use of writing on parchment took place.
b) Gothic writing used angles. Carolingian script used curves.
6- Put a stress mark on the stressed syllable in each word below:
Authentication / alphabetic / humanistic.
Part Two : Written Expression(6) /
Choose one of the following topics:
Topic One : Write a short summary of the text.
Topic Two : Write a composition of about 120 to 150 words on the following topic:
What were the major causes of Islamic Civilization ?
Prepared by Mrs. Kelli Zohra
CORRECTION SAMPLE
Part One : Reading(14)
A) Comprehension (07) The History Of Writing
1-The reading passage is ( c ):expository (0,75)
2- Chronological order of events: (3)
Chronological order of events Corresponding dates
1-Stone Age
2-Semialphabetic writing
3- Parchement writing
4- Charlemagne reign
5- The Renaissance
6- Adaptation of illustrations -8,600 year-old tortoiseshells
-1900 BC to 1800 BC
-3rd Century AD
-8th – 9th Centuries AD
-14th Century AD
-From the 16th Century.
3-Answering Questions: ( 02)
a) The first script in the history of writing was logographic script. It belonged to the Sumerians ( before 3000 BC) .
b) The Shang Dynasty brought out to existence the written record.
c) The Greeks contributed to the history of writing by arriving at full alphabetical writing.
d) The Renaissance witnessed the use of paper in writing instead of parchment.
4- Locating information in a § : ( 0,5)
a) = §4 b )=§7
5- References ( 0,75)
a) It = a cuneiform script (§1) b) which= precious codices (§4)
c) them= Arabs(§7)
B) Text Exploration (07)
1- Definitions: a) = script b) = precious
2- Asking Questions:
a) How long did the Egyptian hieroglyphic start?
b) Who produced the first printed book ' the Bible' ?
3- Rephrase:
A2) They adapted illustrations to the new techniques of the xylograph.
B2) Some archeologists said that among evidence of African civilization on other cultures was the original statues of Buddha.
4- Chart Completion:
verb noun Adjective Adverb
know knowledge knowledgeable /
Move movement movable movingly
shorten shortness short shortly
5- Joining pairs of sentences:
a) The manufacturing techniques was of such perfection that the spread use of writing on pachment took place.
b) Gothic writing used angles while Carolingian script used curves.
6- Stress : authenti´cation / alpha´betic / huma´nistic .