First Term Exam (Bribery)

by tanita Tue Dec 11, 2012 11:04 pm

PART ONE: Reading (15pts)

TEXT:

Bribery

Bribery is the crime of giving or receiving something of value to
influence official action. Both the person giving and the person
receiving the bribe are guilty of bribery. Bribery is illegal for two
reasons. First, it usually involves a public official using his or her office for personal gain. Second, it can cause officials to make unfair decisions that affect citizens.

Usually, a person who bribes a public official is paying to get
special treatment. This special treatment can come in many forms. For
example, a company might bribe an official to win a government
contract. Bribing a public official is the most common type of
bribery. In the United States,
officials convicted of bribery may be fired, removed from office, and
sent to prison for up to 20 years. Commercial bribery, the bribery of
owners or employees of private companies, is also illegal in many
places, but it is less commonly punished.

No one knows how often people commit bribery, but many experts
believe that most people who bribe officials are never caught. Bribery
is more common in some countries or parts of countries than in
others. Many countries have made it illegal to bribe
officials from other countries. Bribery and similar illegal transactions
in the political sphere alone cost the world an estimated one
trillion dollars every year. Poor nations have been found to be
particularly exposed to bribery and other corrupt activities, though
even the wealthiest nations are not safe.

(Adapted from” NEW YORK TIMES”, Nov2007)

I- Comprehension / Interpretation (07pts)

1/ Choose the answer that best completes each statement. (01pt)

A) The passage is: a) narrative b) expository c) descriptive

B) The text is: a) a letter b) a report c) a newspaper article

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

a) Neither the person giving nor the person receiving the bribe is innocent of bribery.

b) In the United States, officials convicted of bribery are rewarded and given special favours.

c) We can catch people who bribe officials.

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

a) What is bribery?

b) Why is bribery illegal?

c) What are the nations that suffer most from bribery?

4/ what / who do the underlined words refer to in the text? (01.5pt)

a) Second, it can cause (§1)

b) but it is less (§2)

c) have made it illegal (§3)
II- Text Exploration (07pts)

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

a) Causes (§1) = … b) a lot of (§2) = …

2/ Find in the text words opposite in meaning to the following. (0.5pt)

a) Innocent (§1) ≠ … b) lose (§2) ≠ …

3/ Cross the odd one out. (01pt)

1	teacher	electrician	cooker	farmer
2	fake	property	counterfeit	copy

4/ which nouns can be derived from the following adjectives? (01pt)

a) Possible

b) hospitable

c) honest

d) ethical

5/ Rewrite sentence (b) so that it means the same as sentence (a). (02pts)

A/ (a) I am afraid our government can’t stop corruption.

(b) I wish our government …………………………..

B/ (a) “The banknote is counterfeited,” the cashier said.

(b) The cashier said that ............................................

6/ Fill in the gaps with words from the list so that the text makes sense. (01pt)

(dishonest - sit - internet - illegal )

Many people find it .....(1)...... to infringe some copyright through the..........(2)...... . They put the copyright theft in a pirate .........(3)....... in order to share them with other internet users. So, it is something ........(4)........ and unethical.

7/ Classify the following words according to the pronunciation of their final “S”: (01pt)

a) chances

b) citizens

c) ethics

d) cases

PART TWO: Written Expression (05pts)

Choose one of the following topics.

Topic 1:

Our country is witnessing unethical behaviours in different fields. If you are elected president

what measures will you take in order to eradicate this kind of behaviours?

The following ideas may help you:

- punish dishonest (corrupted) people …

- appoint honest civil servants …

- pass strict laws …

- fight tax evasion …

Topic 2:

Next December, there will be an anti-corruption summit in Strasbourg
organized by a group of states against corruption. What would you
suggest if you had the opportunity to attend the summit? - Write a
paragraph about your suggestions.