I. READING COMPREHENSION
1. I am Anne-Marie Bonneau, 56. My interest in environmental causes began when I was a kid growing up in Eastern Ontario, Canada. When I was a teenager in the 1980s, I helped my dad, who was freaked out about the oil crisis, build a solar heater for our pool. It was so simple and worked so well and saved us around $1,000 each summer. Some of our neighbors thought we were nuts and others thought my dad was brilliant. That made a big impression on me.
2. In 2011, my older daughter and I decided to break up with plastic. One of the first things we did was to make our own really simple reusable produce bags and we've been using them ever since. In 2018, I organized a produce-bag sewing bee to get more bags out into the world. Since then, my friends and I have met every month or two to sew the bags out of unwanted fabric, and we give them out at a local farmers' market in Sunnyvale, California.
3. When we give out the bags for free, people are so excited. You'd think we were giving away winning lottery tickets. People mob our table at the farmers' market. Some look at us suspiciously and ask: “What's the catch?” I tell them: “The catch is you have to use it.” People are really generous and they've donated money for thread and equipment, like a secondhand serger machine to speed up the line.
4. We've given away over 4,000. I've sewn the bags in person twice now at Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco for Zero Waste Month. The giveaways start conversations on plastic pollution. At the farmers' market, people will say things like: “I don't like all of this plastic, but I don't know what else to do.” I've had people say they're going to make their own bags at home. People ask: “Can we steal this idea?” and I say: “Please do!”
The Guardian, December 2024
(adapted)
B. COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
(12 marks)The text is mainly about:
▸ More details: why this answer?
The whole text is about Anne-Marie, her daughter and her friends working together to fight plastic. They sew bags and give them out for free at a market. This is a group effort by ordinary people, so it is community-driven.
b is wrong: she does not sell the bags. She says “we give out the bags for free.”
c is wrong: the text is not a step-by-step guide on how to make bags. Making bags is only one small part.
So the answer is a.
“… we give them out at a local farmers' market in Sunnyvale, California.”
“People are really generous and they've donated money for thread and equipment…”
“People ask: ‘Can we steal this idea?' and I say: ‘Please do!'”
▸ More details: why these details?
You must copy one detail from the text that proves the sentence is wrong. Do not just write “No” or change the words.
a. They do not go door to door. They give the bags out at a farmers' market.
b. Interest was not limited. People were generous and donated money for thread and a machine.
c. She did not object. When people ask to copy her idea, she happily says “Please do!”
1 mark for each correct detail.
| Problem | Effect on Anne's father | Solution | Benefit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oil shortage | a. He was freaked out (very worried). | b. He built a solar heater for the pool. | c. It saved them around $1,000 each summer. |
▸ More details: why these answers?
All the answers come from paragraph 1.
a. The effect: the oil crisis made the father “freaked out” — this means very worried or upset.
b. The solution: to fix this, they “build a solar heater for our pool.”
c. The benefit: the heater “worked so well and saved us around $1,000 each summer.”
1 mark for each correct box.
▸ More details: why these words?
a. nuts: the text says some neighbors “thought we were nuts.” Here “nuts” means crazy or silly.
b. mob: the text says “People mob our table.” To “mob” a place means many people come together around it.
1 mark each. Write only the word from the text.
▸ More details: why these answers?
a. our: just before, she says “my older daughter and I…” So “our” means Anne-Marie and her older daughter.
b. giveaways: a “giveaway” is a thing you get for free. Here it means the bags she gives away for free.
1 mark each.
What do you think of Anne and her daughter's initiative?
I think Anne and her daughter's initiative is wonderful and very useful, because it fights plastic pollution in a simple, free way and pushes other people to do the same.
▸ More details: what makes a safe answer?
This is your own idea, so there is no single right answer. Just pick a side and give a reason that makes sense.
Safe pattern: “I think it is + (good / useful / nice) because + reason.”
II. WRITING
(12 marks)| Foundation | 1966 / Tahar Chriâa / collaboration / Tunisian Ministry of Culture |
| Purposes | – primarily intended / highlight / sub-Saharan African / Arab cinema – offer / meeting place / filmmakers and moviegoers / all backgrounds |
| Main award | Tanit d'or / grand prize / festival |
The Carthage Film Festival was founded in 1966 by Tahar Chriâa in collaboration with the Tunisian Ministry of Culture. It is primarily intended to highlight sub-Saharan African and Arab cinema. It also offers a meeting place for filmmakers and moviegoers from all backgrounds. Its main award is the Tanit d'or, the grand prize of the festival.
▸ More details: how to build it from the notes
Turn each note into a full sentence. Do not just copy the words.
Foundation: “was founded in 1966 by Tahar Chriâa in collaboration with the Tunisian Ministry of Culture.”
Purposes: “is primarily intended to highlight sub-Saharan African and Arab cinema, and offers a meeting place for filmmakers and moviegoers from all backgrounds.”
Main award: “Its main award is the Tanit d'or, the grand prize of the festival.”
Bringing Every Child Back to School
A recent UNESCO report shows that 270 million children are out of school around the world. This is a sad and serious problem, but I believe we can all help to solve it.
First, governments should make school completely free and give poor families money or food. In this way, parents can send their children to class instead of to work. Second, we need to build more schools and train more teachers, especially in villages and faraway areas, so that no child has to walk for hours to learn. Finally, free school buses and online lessons can reach the children who live far away or who cannot leave their homes.
In short, with free education, more schools and modern technology, we can give millions of children the future they deserve. Education is a right, not a luxury.
▸ More details: the safe plan
Use a simple plan you can repeat in any article:
Title, then Intro (say the problem and that it can be solved), then three solutions (one idea each: free school, more schools and teachers, transport and online lessons), then a Conclusion (repeat your main idea in new words).
Each solution must be a real, clear idea, not just “we should help them.”
III. LANGUAGE
(6 marks)Green = used · crossed out = the two extra words you do not need.
▸ More details: why each word?
① from: we say “from X to Y.” Here, “from entrepreneurs to artists.”
② thrived: after “have” we need a past participle (a verb). “Have thrived” means they have done very well.
③ adaptive: we need an adjective before “skills.” “Problem-solving and adaptive skills.”
④ deficits: this is the opposite of “strengths.” “Strengths rather than deficits” (weaknesses).
⑤ pursue: after “to” we need a verb. To pursue an area means to follow it or work on it.
⑥ well: we need an adverb. “Serve them well” means help them a lot.
The two extra words are trouble and among.
▸ More details: why each form?
(type) → typical: we need an adjective before “hand movements.” The adjective of “type” is typical (the usual movements).
(flash) → flashes: present simple. The subject “an alert” is singular, so we add -es.
(offer) → offering: this is a “-ing” clause that describes the message: the message offering support.
(breath) → breathe: we need the verb here, not the noun. The verb “to breathe” has an “e” at the end.
(be) → have been: passive voice. “How many cigarettes have been smoked” (a count up to now). “Were smoked” is also accepted.
(entire) → entirely: we need an adverb. The app runs entirely (= completely) on a smartwatch.