Here are texts for Form IV (BEPC)

Test 1        

EXERCISE 1:  Present Simple / Present Progressive :         

Put the verb in the correct tense. (5 pts)
1.Mother ..... some food at present; she always ...at night. (cook)
2.Cars ...... from Ouahigouya to Ouaga in three hours. (travel)
3.Look, a man .... after the train. He ... to catch it. (run; wants)
4.John .... to Titao tomorrow. (go)
5... French? (you; speak)        

EXERCISE 2:  Present Perfect / Simple Past :         

Put the verb in the correct tense. (5 pts)
1.I ... since 1929. (live)
2.Last year, I .. Bobo for two weeks. (visit)
3.She ...a holiday for four years. (have)
4.Mariam ...in the river yesterday. (swim)
5... to England? (you; ever; travel)        

EXERCISE 3:  Use since or for in these sentences.
1.He has been selling cars ..... ten years.
2.I've been waiting ... one o'clock.
3.My friend has been running ... one hour.
4.This cemetary has been here ... centuries.
5.She hasn't bought any new clothes ... the beginning of the year.        

EXERCISE 4:  Translate into English.
1.'Ouą es-tu?'   'Ici. Je mange.'
2.Je vis a  Yako depuis des annees.
3.Hier j'ai travaille pendant trois heures.
4.Quand as-tu achete cette robe?
5.Madi dort . Reste tranquille.Go Top  

TEXT 2 : A WOMAN'S LIFE

(N°2 &3 sent by Emile KAHOUN Lycee Yadega, Ouahigouya nekemile@hotmail.com)

I was married before I left school , and pregnant within a year. For some time after my son was born , things were all right. I worked in several houses and brought home some money .But then ,my husband who didn't have a regular job started to drink a lot. He used to drink and abuse me. Most days we didn't have enough money for food.
Then I had a second child , a daughter, who got polio . My husband's behaviour didn't get any better. Finally , after seven years , I could take it no longer. I began to spend more and more time with my mother who had a brothel.
They say that every woman's story is like her mother's story . My mother used to be the main earner in the family because my father had a stroke , then he died . She sold old bottles and papers and then she got into the trade and took a house on rent. As a child I used to visit my mother. But when I grew older and was able to understand what was going on , she stopped me coming . She did everything for us , sent me and my brothers to school.
Whenever I ran away from my husband , she tried to send me back to my married home. But there comes a time when you know that things won't get better . So I began to live here too , in my mother's brothel , with my children . It was strange at the beginning . I don't know how I would be able to accept living like this . But I got used to it and the years have gone by.
                        Adapted from THE NEW INTERNATIONALIST. February 1994 , page 27.
VOCABULARY
A brothel : a house of prostitution.

I) COMPREHENSION :choose the letter a,b,c,or d, that is in front of the correct answer (4pts)
1) THE WOMAN TELLING THE STORY WAS PREGNANT
a) before going to school
b) while at school
c) after leaving school
d) before her marriage.
2) THE WOMAN GOT MARRIED
a) when she was old
b) when she was at school
c) too early
d) when she was a child
3) SHE USED TO WORK IN
a) the farm
b) people's houses
c) schools
d) people's fields
4) HER HUSBAND
a) was very old
b) drank too much alcohol
c) worked very much
d) got a lot of money
5) AFTER THE WOMAN GOT HER SECOND CHILD
a) her husband got polio
b) her husband's behaviour didn't change positively
c) her husband got a good job
d) her husband stooped working
6) THE WOMAN'S MOTHER
a) worked in a factory
b) had a brothel
c) exploited her children
d) sold in a shop
7) THE WOMAN'S MOTHER RENTED A HOUSE TO
a) receive her relatives
b) receive men and to get money
c) sell bottles and papers
d) teach her children
8) WHEN THE WOMAN COULDN'T SUPPORT LIVING WITH HER HUSBAND , SHE
a) travelled to a different town
b) went to her mother's
c) stopped living with her children
d) gave the children to the husband
II- GUIDED ESSAY
1) Was the woman's husband a good one ? Why ? (2-3 lines) (2pts)
2) Who long did the woman stay with her husband ? (2-3 lines) (2pts)
3) In your opinion , what can bring a girl to prostitute herself ? (8-10 lines) (6pts)
III- GRAMMAR
A) PUT THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES INTO THE FUTURE TENSE
1) The woman cannot eat
2) Soon she must walk to the lake
B) COMPLETE WITH THE APPROPRIATE FORM OF THE VERB
1) The woman left the office without................ a word
a) to say ; b) saying ; c) say ; d) not saying
2) She made me...................some salt water
a) drink ; b) to drink ; c) drinking ; d) drank
C) TURN THE SENTENCES INTO THE REPORTED SPEECH
1) " Where are you going ? " the policeman asked me.
2) " Don't tell lies " , the old man told us .
D) PUT THE VERB INTO THE CORRECT TENSE
1) Ali (to work) here more than ten years now.
2) Since the last market day , we ( not meet)
IV- TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH
1) Elle pleure depuis des heures
2) Allons en ville.
3) L'enfant est si gentil que tout le monde l'aime.
4) Si vous faites un sacrifice , il pleuvra .Go Top

Text 3: THE EPIC OF YENNEGA
Yennega , daughter of the king of Gambaga (present day northern Ghana ) had reached the age of puberty without her father offering her in marriage because, so history tells us , she was an outstanding amazon and she did not want to loose her . She decided to teach her father a lesson and had a field of okra planted in front of the palace and never harvested it . The king of Gambaga asked her why and her only answer was << what do you think of the old okra ? >>. Her father showed no sign of anger and continued to neglect the question of her marriage . Yennega then found someone herself and became pregnant .When her father discovered this his revenge was simply to have her sentenced to death . But the prince , hearing of her father's wishes, left the palace , fleeing on horseback in the company of a large number of attendants. Because of the riding , she miscarried , yet she continued her way , still accompanied by her faithful attendants, finally stopping in the present day region of Yanga , home at the time to the Bissa people (then known as the Boussancé people ) . Yennega stopped in the bush in front of a hut she thought was isolated and abandoned but it was the home of an elephant hunter named Rialé . According to some , he was a Malinka prince without a throne , while others say he was a Bissa. When Rialé returned from hunting , he extended a warm welcome to this << powerful foreigner >>. In fact Yennega was disguised as a man , giving orders as a king would to his subjects , demanding great respect and it was extremely difficult to guess her real sex . One day she went to Rialé and told him her secret , explaining that she was the daughter of the king of Gambaga . She and Rialé soon celebrated their solemn marriage . They had a son ; Riale wanted to choose the name but Yennega did not agree and called the child << Ouedraogo >> , (literally <<stallion >> ) as a tribute to the horse on which she had fled her father's palace and which had led her to her husband , the source of her delight.

                                From BALAFON N°116 Juin - Juillet 1994
Vocabulary
okra : a name of a local vegetable ( gombo )
delight : happiness

I ) COMPREHENSION
1° Where is Gambaga located in the present day ?
a) In Burkina Faso ; b) in present northern Ghana ; c) in present Tenkodogo ;
b) in neither of these places
2° Yennega was :
a) a courageous man fighting his ennemies ; b) a well known warrior ; c) a sorcerer ; d) a bandit attacking people .
3° The field of okra was meant
a) to have green vegetables ; b) to teach the king a lesson ; c) to challenge the king ; d) to show the king that she could farm.
4° Why didn't the king want his daughter to get married ?
a) because she was very young ; b) because he didn't want to loose her ; c) because she was pregnant ; d) because the king was jealous .
5° What did the king do when he discovered that she was pregnant ?
a) he congratulated her ; b) he ordered her to be killed ; c) he sent her to Ghana ; d) he welcomed her boy-friend .
6° When Yennega fled her father's palace :
a) she went straight to Ouagadougou with her attendants. b)she settled down in the region of Yanga ; c) she stopped in the Ibo Land ; d) she founded the kingdom of Tenkodogo.
7° In the region of the Bissa
a) she fought the boussancé people ; b) she miscarried ; c) she burnt all the bush ; d ) she did nothing of this kind.
8° Why did Rialé extend a warm welcome to his host ?
a) because he was very handsome ; b) because he fought that his host was a king ; c) because the host was submitted ; d) because the host threatened to kill him .
II ) GUIDED ESSAY
1° Why had the princess to flee her father's palace ? ( 2 - 3 lines )
2° Who was Rialé and why did he settle down in the bush ? ( 2 - 3 lines )
3° Is it acceptable for a girl to be pregnant before being married ? Why or why not ? (8 - 10 lines )
III ) GRAMMAR
A ) Put the following sentences in the future ( 1 mark)
1° Riale may be a Malinka prince without throne.
2° Yennega mustn't flee from the king's palace.
B ) Put the verbs in brackets inn the correct tense.
3° She was made ( to harvest ) her old okra.
4° The king had seen his daughter ( to ride ) away .
C ) Report the following sentences .
5° The king asked : ' what do you think of the old okra ? '
6° Princess Yennega said : <<I shall have to choose whom I want to marry >> .
D ) Complete with the correct prepositions
7° I did not agree ..............what you had said.
a) to ; b) with . ; c) in ;
8° She believes .............. her god.
a) in ; b) with ; c) of .
IV ) TRANSLATE INTO ENGLISH
1° Le roi a rencontre ses sujets il y a une semaine .
2° Il y avait plusieurs annees qu'il racontait des histoires a  la radio.
3° La princesse , ayant appris les intentions de son pere , quitta le palais.
4° Yennega ne doit plus revoir ses parents encore. Go Top

(Texts 4,5 and 6 sent by Edouard ILBOUDO, Lycee Yadega, Ouahigouya: eilboudo@hotmail.com )

Text 4: Keletigui and the mysterious voice

Once upon a time, there was a boy called Keletigui which means "Fighter". He was a strong boy, a good fighter able to defeat any other boy.
One day his mother told him to go to the river and call his brother who was on the other side. When Keletigui stood at the bank of the river and began calling his brother, he heard a voice on the other side calling in exactly the same way as he did.
Keletigui called out:"Who is mocking me over there?" The voice replied:" Who is mocking me over there?" Keletigui cried out:" You come over here and I'll beat you", and again the voice came:" You come over here and I'llbeat you". This made Keletigui very angry and he shouted out:" Fellow! Come out!" And the voice replied again:"Fellow! Come out!"
When Keletigui found that he could not cross the river, he returned home to his mother and told her all about it, saying:" Mother as I was calling my brother, a very proud and arrogant boy on the other side of the river began to mock me. I challenged him to come and fight me, but he would not come."
When she heard this, his mother laughed and told him:"Keletigui , you wanted to fight against yourself because it was your own voice coming back to you."

An African tale

QUESTIONS

I.Comprehension: Choose the letter that is in front of the correct answer. (0.5 x 6)

1. What happened after Keletigui challenged the boy?
a) the boy came out to him
b) Keletigui's mother called him
c) A voice challenged him back
d) Keletigui's brother came out.

2. The voice that Keletigui heard was
a) his mother's voice
b) his own voice
c) a mysterious voice
d) his brother's voice.

3. The boy did not come because
a) he was afraid of Keletigui
b) he did not exist
c) he was proud and arrogant
d) he could not cross the river.

4. When she heard the story, Keletigui's mother was
a) angry
b) ashamed
c) afraid
d) amused.

5. Which of the following statement is false?
a) Keletigui liked fighting
b) Keletigui never heard about echoes
c) Keletigui wanted to fight his own brother
d) Keletigui could not cross the river.

6. Keletigui went to the river
a) to call someone
b) to challenge the mysterious voice
c) to swim and wash his clothes
d) to look for his mother.

II. Guided essay

1. Did Keletigui try to cross the river? Why? (2 pts)
2. Why did he feel so sure to beat the "arrogant boy"? (2 pts)
3. Was Keletigui an intelligent boy? Explain. (8-12 lines for 6 pts)

III.Grammar

A. Complete with since, for or ago.(2.5 pts)

1. She 's worked .................this morning.
2. Ten years ......,we lived in a little village.
3. I 've been waiting.......10 o'clock.
4. He's run........half an hour.
5. The party started an hour.......

B. Use the correct form of the verbs in brackets( 2.5 pts)

1. If Keletigui saw the boy, he (beat) him.
2. His father (wash) his bike last week.
3. The boy (stay) at the riverside for only 10 minutes.
4. In 2003, my sister (leave) school.
5. The women (cross) the river if they need water.

IV. Translate into English(2pts)

1. Le commercant est parti depuis onze heures.
2. Est-ce que sa fille est a  la maison?
3. Ne te moque pas de tes camarades.
4. Notre moto est tombee en panne depuis une semaine. Go Top

Text 5:  YOU DID IT FOR YOURSELF

Once there lived in a Dian village, a few kilometres from Nbonjigui sub-prefecture of Diebougou, a man named Tinako. He was nicknamed "you did it for yourself" because he only ever answer any kind of greeting with the expression "you did it for yourself". When he met a kinsman or a kinswoman who greeted him "Good morning" he always replied, "you did it for yourself".
In the same village there lived a jealous woman named Ini. Tinako's nickname "you did it for yourself" did not please her. One day, when she was on the way back from the forest where she used to go to gather karite nuts for making butter, she saw "you did it for yourself" working in his field. "Good morning Tinako" she said. "You did it for yourself" he answered in his usual good humoured way.
Ini, jealous and angry continued her way without saying anything else. When she got home, she made a lot of pancake mixture with water that she had poisoned with crocodile bile and took it to Tinako.
"Tinako! I have brought you something to drink to give you strength after all that you have done and still have to do". " Thank you! Put it under the nere-tree over there", he answered before adding "you did it for yourself".
Very pleased by having successfully carried out her plan, Ini went back home. By that, Ini's sons who went hunting were on their way back and when they reached Tinako's field, they asked him for something with to refresh themselves. Tinako showed them the under which their mother had laid the poisonous pancake mixture.
" Go and look under the nere-tree. Just now a woman brought me something to drink. I asked her o leave it there".
Without any doubt the two boys drank the pancake mixture. After a while asleep and they never woke up again. The news of the disaster reached Ini who was screaming with pain and anger, "I have cut off my nose to spite on my face"
The funerals lasted two days during which Tinako took time to explain to the people who came, the meaning of his nickname "you did it for yourself".
The moral of the story is-we are sooner or later rewarded for our actions, be they good or bad.

QUESTIONS

I. Comprehension (4pts) Write down the letter that is in front of the correct answer.

1. When Ini brought the drink to Tinako…
a) he drank it with Ini's sons
b) he refused to take it
c) Ini's sons drank the poison
d) He hurried home to show it to the people.

2. Ini gave the pancake mixture to Tinako because…
a) she wanted to kill him
b) she wanted to give him strength
c) she wanted him to give it to her sons
d) Tinako asked her for some drink.

3. A nickname is a name given ¦
a) to you at your birth
b) to people living in villages
c) to bad and dangerous people only
d) to someone instead of his real name.

4. After drinking the pancake mixture the boys…
a) sat down and rest under the tree
b) died under the tree
c) felt ill but didn't die
d) thanked Tinako and went home.

5. When Tinako answered Ini's greeting…
a) she told him she didn't like his nickname
b) she said nothing
c) she sat down and waited for her sons
d) she went away to gather karite nuts.

6. How did Ini feel after giving the drink to Tinako?
a) she was satisfied
b) she was afraid
c) she was indifferent
d) she was sad.

7. Ini didn't like Tinako because…
a) they were not kinsmen
b) he had a good nickname
c) she disliked his nickname
d) he worked harder than her sons.

8. Tinako's nickname means that…
a) every one should work hard
b) we are always paid back for our actions
c) we must cut off our noses to spite on our faces
d) women are bad and jealous.

II. Guided essay (10pts)

1. Why did the young boys ask Tinako for some drink? (2pts)
2. When did Tinako explain the meaning of his nickname to his kinsmen ? (2pts)
3. Have you ever been jealous of someone? Tell us the story in at least 8 lines. (6pts)

III. Grammar (4pts)

A) Complete the following sentences with a question tag

1. I've brought you something to drink,………….?
2. She won't sit under the nere-tree,………………?
3. This man never works on Saturdays,…………….?
4. My son saw Tinako working in his field,…………….?

B) Put into the passive

1. The teacher gave me extra work.
2. Ini will carry out her plan successfully.
3. The boys drank the poison.
4. He was repairing another computer.

VI. Translate into English. (2pts)

1. Les élèves sont déjà partis, n"est-ce pas?
2. Nous l'avons attendue pendant une semaine.
3. Il viendrait me voir s'il n'Ă©tait pas malade.
1. La boutique a été attaquée par des enfants affamés. Go Top

Text 6:  A mysterious accident

When Xuma got to the mines there was confusion everywhere. Myriad of lights glowed everywhere and a confusion of voices greeted him. Whistles blew and a little group of men moved about. He pushed his way through the men and saw that some of them belonged to Johannes' gang. "There must have been an accident". He grabbed a man near him and shook him.
"What is it ? "
"There is an accident" the man said.
"Where is Johannes ?"
"I don't know"
"He's down there " another man said.

Xuma pushed his way through till he stood beside Paddy; grabbed his arm. "Johannes and Chris are down there. I am going down."
"I will go with you " Xuma said.
"It is dangerous" another white man said.
""Wait for the engineers to go" the manager said.
"There are two men there" Paddy said and moved towards the little cage. Xuma followed him. They got in and the cage shot down. An ambulance arrived. Then people heard the cage coming up. There was dead stillness as Xuma stepped out carrying the body of Johannes, an d was followed by Paddy with the body of Chris. The doctors looked at Chris and Johannes. They were dead.

"They kept the place up with their bodies so that we could get out!" a mine boy cried. The engineers went down and were soon back.
"Well ?" the manager asked.
"It was a minor collapse, " one of the engineers said.
"It's all right now! The beams were soaked through and rotten at one place. They gave nothing serious. If those fellows had kept their heads and stayed where they were instead of panicking and trying o keep the place open with their bodies everything would have alright."

NOTE: stillness: silence; a collapse: un effondrement; the beams: les poutres


I. Comprehension: Select the letter that is in front of the right answer. ( 4 pts )

1. Before he talked to anybody…
a. Xuma was sure an accident had happen,
b. Xuma supposed an accident had happened,
c. Xuma was completely ignorant about any trouble,
d. Xuma though there was a strike.

2. Who was Johannes ?
a. a leader of a political party,
b. a mine worker,
c. a policeman,
d. a thief.

3. The manager thought that the two miners died because….
a. the ambulance didn't come on time,
b. their friends were cowards,
c. the engineers were absent,
d. they tried to save the other workers.

4. When Xuma and Paddy came up….
a. it was clear that Johannes and Paddy were dead,
b. everybody could see that they hardly breathing,
c. nobody could give a diagnosis,
d. Johannes and Chris were still alive.

5. The mine boy said that ….
a. Johannes and Chris caused the accident,
b. The two miners could have escaped,
c. He was volunteer to look for the miners,
d. Johannes and Chris sacrificed themselves to allow others to escape.

6. He grabbed a man means that ….
a. he called a man,
b. he hit a man on his face,
c. he firmly held a man,
d. he pushed a man away.

7. According to the engineer, the accident….
a. was a little one,
b. was a very serious one,
c. was a joke,
d. a good thing.

8. Everything would have been alright….
a. if the workers had tried to keep the place open,
b. if the workers had stopped working,
c. if the workers remained where they were,
d. if the workers were not black.

II. Guided essay

1. Why didn't Xuma and Paddy obey the manager ? 2pts
2. Where did Johannes and Chris die ? 2pts
3. You have seen an accident when going to school; tell us what happened (8-10 lines) 6pts

III. Grammar (2 pts* 2)

A. Give the correct tense of the verbs between brackets

1. If I were rich, I ( build ) a mosque in my village.
2. When the exam ( be ) over I'll travel round the country.
3. If Xuma had known, he ( not go ) to town.
4. They ( sleep ) when we arrived.

B. Complete with who, which or whom.
1. The man ……………….is coming is a schoolmaster.
2. Where's the book…………….I gave you yesterday.
3. The dog is an animal……………….I dislike much.
4. The boy………………….you met at the stadium is my brother.

III. Translate into English. 2 pts

1. Johannes aurait dĂ» rester avec son Ă©quipe.
2. Les travailleurs n'ont pas encore fini de manger.
3. Un mineur doit ĂŞtre un homme courageux.
4. Cette fille que tu vois une amie de Chris. Go Top