Part One: Reading Comprehension (score: 12)

Read the following newspaper article that shows some of the advantages and disadvantages of means
of transportation, and then answer the questions that follow.

Transportation Changes

1. Along History, people have had the necessity and the curiosity of moving from some places to
others, and in this sense means of transportation have played an important role. Nowadays,
there is a great variety of means of transportation and all of them have advantages and
disadvantages.

2. Regarding private transportation, I think that the car is the king. Cars provide autonomy and
they are seen as being more convenient and reliable. They also provide access to more
destinations than public transportation. Besides, cars are seen to confer prestige and other
socially more desirable attitudes.

3. But, on the contrary, cars are expensive to support. Owning a car means spending a lot of
money in a garage, an insurance, fuel (petrol) and tax. In addition the main problem which
affects us all, car owners and non-car owners, I think that nowadays we can find very modern
public transportations as the tube , the tram , High Speed Train which are more ecological ;
they use less energy and make the traffic easier through the cities among other advantages .

4. Besides, in modern cities, bicycles are being introduced as a public transportation because they
are more efficient than some public transportation in some conditions, as speed, flexibility and
energy saving.

5. If you have seen the latest news in big cities, the governments are asking people to use public
transportation because the level of pollution is very high. But on the other hand, governments
promote the sale of cars because they consider it necessary to help car industry because of the
economical crisis.

Questions:

A. Answer questions 1 to 3 in complete sentences using your own words.

1. Based on paragraph 1, how have means of transportation played an important role in
people’s life? (Score: 1)
2. According to paragraph 2, why are cars considered expensive to support? (Score: 1)
3. How does the writer think governments contradict in their laws of using public or private
transportation? (Score: 1)

B. The following statements misinterpret the meaning of the text, correct each statement. (Score: 1)
1. Developing countries encourage the use of bikes because they cost less than cars.
2. Bikes are not as good to use because they increase the traffic jam.
C. Based on the selection, what do the underlined pronouns refer to? (score: 01)
1. Them (paragraph 1) 2. They (paragraph 2)
3. They (paragraph 3) 4. They (paragraph 4)

D. Read the pie chart carefully then answer the following question: (score: 01)

Refer to the chart, which mode of Mode of

transportation do Lebanese people
transportation used
use the most to go to work?
to work in Lebanon
Walking
8%
Public
bus
17% Private
car
Taxi 58%
17%

E. Use contextual clues to figure out the meaning of each word in the box below. Then fill in the
blanks with the correct words to complete the following sentences. (score: 02)

necessity ( paragraph 1) – convenient (paragraph 2) – expensive (paragraph 3) -

public (paragraph 5)

1. Ferrari cars are considered the most ________ cars in the world.
2. Without a car, living close to work is a ________.
3. People prefer to use ________ transportation than using private cars.
4. Getting around by bus is great, but there are times when it’s more _______ to just to take a
taxi.

F. Each sentence contains one grammatical error. Identify this error and correct it: (Score: 2)
1. Underground trains are most reliable than taxicabs.
2. Today we have huge shipes powered by steam turbines.
3. During the 18th century a important invention made transport faster.
4. The titanic was considered the safest ship, for it sank when it stuck the iceberg.

G. Fill in the blank spaces with the simple present tense of the verbs in brackets. (score: 2)
1. Today most airliners ____________ (have) jet engines.
2. Now passengers ____________ (use) airplanes to travel.
3. An airplane ____________ (be) able to fly at a speed of 200 km per hour.
4. That truck ____________ (carry) heavy loads.
Part two: Writing (Score: 8)

Prompt (A): In spite of the great progress in the modern means of transport, these means
(cars, ships, trains, airplanes, etc.) are still risky due to many accidents and crashes. Write a
well-organized narrative paragraph (100-150 words) in which you tell about a
transportation accident that you experienced or heard about.

Copy and fill in the following graphic organizer. Provide your paragraph with a suitable title.

Title
What happened
When it happened
Where it happened
Who was involved
How it ended
Your impression

Prompt (B): The progress of transportation from the earliest times to the present has
changed people’s lives. Based on this, write a well organized paragraph of (100-150 words),
comparing between means of transportation in the past and nowadays.

Copy and fill in the following graphic organizer into your booklet. Provide your paragraph
with a suitable title, and use the ideas that you have filled to develop your paragraph.

Title
Means of transportation In the past Nowadays
Speed
Description

Your paragraph will be evaluated based on:

Title and chart (2) Ideas (2.5) Language (2.5) Tidiness and handwriting (1)

Let me be proud of you

Think before you answer