First Term Exam (The Maya Civilization)

by tanita Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:00 pm

PART ONE: READING (15pts)

TEXT:

Maya Civilization

Maya Civilization, an ancient Native American culture, represented
one of the most advanced civilizations in the western hemisphere
before the arrival of Europeans. The people, known as the Maya, lived
in the region that is now eastern and southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, and western Honduras. They thrived for more than 2,000 years.

The Maya built massive stone pyramids, temples, and sculpture;
developed a system of writing using hieroglyphs; and recorded their achievements in mathematics and astronomy. Archaeologists long believed that Maya culture reached its highest development from about ad 300 to 900, during what is known as the Classic period. Recent discoveries in northern Guatemala, however, have challenged that assumption. There,
archaeologists have found highly developed cities, sophisticated art,
and examples of Maya writing that date from as early as 600 years
before the Classic period began.
After 900 the Maya mysteriously declined in the southern lowlands of Guatemala. They later revived in the north on the Yucatán Peninsula
and continued to dominate the area until the Spanish conquest in the
16th century. Descendants of the Maya still form a large part of the
population of the region.

Adapted from Encarta

I- Comprehension / Interpretation (07pts)

1/ the text is: a) argumentative b) narrative c) descriptive (0.5pt)

2/Are these statements true or false? (01.5pt)

a) The Maya civilization came from Europe.

b) The Maya cities were not very developed.

c) The Maya civilization collapsed in the sixteenth century.

3/Answer the following questions according to the text. (03pts)

a) Where did the people of Maya live?

c) What were the achievements of the Maya civilization in architecture?

d) When did Maya civilization collapse?

4/In which paragraph is it mentioned that: (0.5pt?)

“The Maya civilization flourished and prospered for more than two centuries”?

5/what or who do the underlined words refer to in the text? (01.5pts)

a) their achievements (§3) = … b) its highest (§3) = … c) There, archaeologists (§3) = …
II- Text Exploration (08pts)

1/ Find in the text words that are opposite in meaning to the following. (0.5pt)

a) underdeveloped (§1) ≠ … b) flourished (§2) ≠ …

2/Ccomplete the table below: (01pt)

Verb	Noun	Adjective
………………….	………………….	Colonized
To destroy	………………….	………………….

3/Complete the second sentence so that it means the same: (03pts )

a) The Maya built massive stone pyramids.

► Massive stone pyramids ……………………………

b) He said, “The Maya built massive stone pyramids.”

► He said that ………………………………….

c) He does not know the history of Algeria.

►He wishes he ……………………………………

4/Reorder the following sentences into a coherent paragraph. (02.5pts)

a) It built cities and towering temples

b) It was destroyed after the Spanish conquest.

c) The Aztec civilisation was one of the most advanced civilisations in America.

d) And created huge sculpture for the purpose of worshiping their gods.

e) It emerged in about 400 AD.

5/Classify the words below according to the pronunciation of their final “s”: (01pt)

(Advances - means - groups - seas)

PART TWO: WRITTEN EXPRESSION (05pts)

Choose one of the following topics.

Topic1: Write a composition about the factors behind the disappearance of ancient civilizations.

Use the following information:

- Climate change and natural disasters: droughts, floods, earthquakes...

- spread of epidemics and diseases ... cholera, malaria …

- Wars and external invasion …

Topic2: In which way are the studies of ancient civilizations important?