Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.

“Time with Grandpa”

            Ben jumped from bed as soon as the first bit of sun peeped through his window. He grabbed his bag from his closet and opened it on the floor. Ben put in some of his favorite things to take with him on his trip to visit Grandpa. He put in a book on building citadels, a book on making go-carts and a new book he had gotten from the library about a kid detective who creates his own spy gear. He also put in a model car kit and his stuffed bear.

            He was ready to go! Going to visit his grandfather for a week by himself was always Ben’s favorite part of summer vacation. Grandpa would take him fishing and to baseball games. Grandpa also taught Ben how to fix things around the house. Last year, when he was eight-years-old, Ben had learned how to replace a broken doorknob and how to fix a leaky faucet.

            Grandpa was patient and did not mind taking many hours to show Ben how to use his tools. Ben’s mom stuck her head in his bedroom door. “Grandpa’s here,” she said with a smile. Ben grabbed his bag and ran into the kitchen where Grandpa was waiting. “Ready, big guy?” asked Grandpa. “Or do you want to eat breakfast before we leave?” “Ready,” said Ben. As he kissed his mother goodbye, he felt his stomach rumble. “We can eat later!”

I. Reading comprehension: (08pts)

A) Multiple choices (03pts)

1) Judging by the things Ben put in his backpack, what does he like to do most?

A. make things

B. ride go-carts

C. spy on people

D. read big books

2) According to the story, what is one of the things Ben’s Grandpa taught him to do?

A. use a drill

B. build a fort

C. fix a leaky faucet

D. build a model car

B) True or false statements: say whether the following sentences are true or false. Justify by quoting from the text. (03pts)

1. Ben had put a lot of food and drink in his bag.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

2. Ben is nine-year-old this year.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

3. Ben was hungry while leaving his mother.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………

C) Vocabulary in context (01pt)

Give the synonyms of these words in the text

1. Castles (parag.1) = ……………………………

2. Holiday (parag.2) = …………………………..

D) Referencing: what does this word refer to in the text? (01pt)

a) Her (head….) ………………………

b) We (leave….) ………………………

II. Linguistic competence: (07pts)

A/ Complete this boy’s thought. (02pts)

He said that: “Children …………… (may/could/should) respect old people. Those …………… (who/whom) do it will succeed very easily in their lives, because old people ……………. (must/can) bless you. But if you ill-treat ………… (they/him/them), you will regret it all your life. ”

B/ Put the verbs into comparative or superlative. (02pts)

A: Where do you spend your holidays?

B: In Dakar

A: I spend my holidays in Saint-Louis

B: My holidays will be (wonderful) …………………………yours

A: Why do you say that?

B: Because Dakar is (good) ………………..city in Senegal

A: Saint-Louis is (cold) ………….. and (polluted) ……………………….. Dakar

B: Anyway I prefer Dakar.

C/ Put the verbs into the right tense or form (03 pts)

Ali said: “I usually (spend) ……………. my holidays to my grandfather’s. But last year, my father (take) ………………………... me to France. But this year I (not/go) ………………………back to France, I am looking forward to (see) …………. my grandpa again. Before, I (like) …………… France too much but now I (hate) …………..it”

III. Essay writing (05pts) choose one topic and deal with it. (max.10 lines)

Topic1: Many people have very specific places to spend their holidays. You, where do prefer to spend your holidays and why?

Topic2: Two boys are discussing about the role of a grandfather in a family. Try and imagine their conversation.