From Suffering to Happiness (BEPC 2017)
Yaniya, a very pretty girl, came to Lagos from Benin to look for a job In spite of her father's refusal to let her go. Things were not easy for her there; in addition, men would deceive her and leave her heart-broken and hopeless. She gave birth to a child who died a few months later.
She became pregnant again. An abortion followed; it nearly killed her.
She was determined to have no more men in her life but to work hard and get enough money to pay her rent and buy herself clothes.
Men ran after her, but they were always rejected and they came to the conclusion that such a beautiful girl must be abnormal. She could have continued her celibate life, but Wilson’s kindness opened her heart again.
He used to go out with her. They were living together for about three weeks. Yaniya was very happy. One day, she told Wilson that she was pregnant. He immediately decided to marry her. She was overjoyed. They got married and went to Accra for their honeymoon. She wanted to contribute to the well-being of their new family; for this reason, she decided to have training in dressmaking; something she could do while keeping her house. It was her big dream. She was so happy of her new life that she often told Wilson how she had been deceived by Lagos men whose tongues were faster than their hired cars and whose lies could always put women in bed but never feed them.
Adapted from Beautiful Feathers by Cyprian Ekwensi; pages 25-26
Vocabulary
to deceive: tromper
rent: loyer
honeymoon: lune de miel
hire: louer
QUESTIONS
I- Comprehension (8 pts)
A- Read the text and write the letter that is in front of the correct answer (2 pts)
1 - Yaniya came to Lagos to...
a- give birth to a child,
b- look for a job.
c- get married,
d- buy herself clothes.
2- The sentence “Wilson’s kindness opened her heart again” means:
a- Yaniya had many boyfriends.
b- Yaniya rejected Wilson,
c- Yaniya was indifferent to Wilson, d- Yaniya started loving again.
3- Life with Wilson was...
a- interesting
b- difficult
c- boring
d- sad
4- For Yaniya, most of Lagos men are...
a- kind
b- honest
c- dishonest
d- good
B- Read the text and write True (T) or False (F) in front of each statement (2 pts)
1- Yaniya’s father was happy when she decided to go to Lagos,
2- The abortion killed Yaniya.
3- Yaniya was pregnant before getting married to Wilson.
4- After their wedding, they went to Benin.
C- Read the text and answer these questions (4 pts)
1 - Where did Yaniya come from? (1 pt)
2- What happened to Yaniya’s first child? (1 pt)
3- Why did Yaniya reject men’s advances? (2 pts)
II- Vocabulary (2 pts)
A- Find in the text, two nouns deriving from these verbs (1 pt)
1- to refuse (Paragraph 1)
2- to lie (Paragraph 4)
B- Complete the following sentences with an adverb from the text (1 pt)
1 - You must work very____.to earn your living, (Paragraph 2)
2- The baby is sick; you should take him to hospital____ . (Paragraph 4)
Ill- Grammar (6 pts)
A- Write the correct form of the verb between brackets (l pt)
1. Yaniya is busy (to work).
2- Yaniya’s father did not let her (to go) to Lagos.
B- Put the verb in brackets into the correct tense (1 pt)
1 - When they (to get) married Wilson will buy her a new car.
2- They (to be) in Lagos two years ago.
C- Turn the following sentences into the interrogative from (1 pt)
1- Wilson loves Yaniya.
2- Yaniya can speak English.
D- Complete the following sentences with the correct tag Question (1 pt)
1- Yaniya is living in Lagos, ____ she?
2- Wilson will not abandon Yaniya, ____ he?
E- Choose the right reflexive pronouns (1 pf)
1- The man cut.. .with a blade (itself, himself, herself)
2- I did not do the exercise by.. .(herself, itself, myself)
F- Choose the correct preposition to fill in the gaps (1 pt)
1- Yaniya is listening ____ the radio (at, to, for)
2- She did not agree ____ her father (for, in, with)
IV- Writing (4 pts) Write a short essay
Is life in town easy? Justify your viewpoint. (40 to 50 words)