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PART ONE : READING (8 points)
Read the text below and do the tasks that follow.
BACK TO SCHOOL
On Monday January 5, school started again. It was after two weeks of holiday. Our school, Collège
Moderne Plateau, was full of pupils. We stood under the trees and told stories about our villages. Other
pupils talked about their travels in December. But my friend Kouassi wasn’t under the trees. His
classroom is on the other side of the school. Just then the bell started ringing, so I ran quickly past the
5 other classrooms, I ran up the stairs and looked for Kouassi, but I couldn’t find him unfortunately. It was
also time for me to go home, so I went out. Then, I heard, ‘Esmel, Esmel ! Where were you ?’ It was my
friend Kouassi calling me.
My friend and I went to the end of a very long line of pupils. They were waiting for the Headmaster to
give them their bus-cards. It was a very long line. I told Kouassi about my holidays in the village, where I
10 helped my grandfather on his farm. We killed a few animals and cooked them over a fire. We ate a lot of
fufu too. It was good fun being at the farm. Kouassi also told me about his holidays. He had stayed in
Abidjan, polished shoes and played basketball. But he promised to go to his village too, next vacations.
Adapted from Come Back and Other Stories, EDILIS
COMPREHENSION CHECK
A- Vocabulary :
Read the text and match each word in column A with its synonym in column B. The lines are indicated to
help you. Do like in number 1. Example: 1 = I
COLUMN A COLUMN B
1- started again (line 1) A- much
2- full (line 2) B- Principal
3- talked (line 3) C- unhappily
4- looked for (line 5) D- prepared
5- unfortunately (line 5) E- holidays
6- Headmaster (line 8) F- crowded
7- Cooked (line 10) G- searched for
8- a lot (line 10) H- spoke
9- vacations (line 12) I- resumed
B - Comprehension questions
Read the statements below and decide if they are True or False. Write (T) for true and (F) for false. Then
justify your answers like in the example. 1- T (Line 1)
1- Classes resumed on January 5th.
2- Vacations did not exceed 14 days.
3- Kouassi and the Esmel are in the same classroom.
4- Esmel never went to his grandfather’s farm.
5- The two boys went hunting during their holidays.
PART TWO: LANGUAGE IN USE (6 points)
Task 1 : the paragraph below is about Esmel’s last holiday. Read the paragraph and choose the correct
forms between brackets. Do like in the example. 1- spent
My name is Esmel, I 1 (spending / spent / spend) my last holiday in a small village. When I arrived
there, I 2 (am / were / was) welcomed by my grandparents. I also met my cousins there. And together,
we 3 (worked / works / working) on grandpa’s cocoa plantation. Each night after having dinner, grandpa
4 (narrates / narrated / narrating) really interesting.
Task 2 : Here are pieces of information about Esmel. Read the sentences and fill in each gap with the
correct word of the list below. Do your work like in the example. 1 = was
did not – used – was - would
1- Esmel was Kouassi’s friend.
2- He…………...to play marbles with his friends at primary school.
3- He………….travel if he passed his exam
4- He……………..win any prize at primary school.
PART THREE: WRITING (6 points)
You are back to school to begin a new academic year. And one of your friends asked you to talk about
your last holidays. In a paragraph, tell him:
• where you spent your last holidays.
• who you visited and
• Mention three (3) activities that you did.
