Baccalauréat de l'enseignement
général
Madagascar
Session 2000
anglais – Série : A
Text
Computers in the third world
Computers are on their way to
invading the Third World. Although the poor countries are considered
technologically lagging tens of years behind compared to advanced countries,
they cannot avoid looking at computers.
These brain-machines are, as we
know, very profitable to the users : their rapidity and their technical
capacity have made them an important partner for finance executives*,
factories, transport, chemistry and medical care in very technologically -
advanced countries which are able to pay for them.
Rapid world economic and technical
development do not allow any country in the world to overlook computers.
Business people who need rapid results or want to know the present state of
their book-keeping find them very necessary. Many small or medium-sized
companies begin using them, too.
Although their prices are going
down, high-performing computers are still beyond the purse of many who should
use them in their work.
Anyway, these machines have now
proved of great necessity for our modern and technical age.
Many important fields and
executives find them indispensable for the correct and rapid fulfilment of
their task. Banks are frequently the first to use them for the satisfaction of
their clientele. Competitivity in business is now partly based on the use of
computers in factories.
_________________
*An executive: “Un cadre”, “un chef de service”.
QUESTIONS
I. Reading
comprehension (7
pts)
A. Find
in the text words or expressions which mean: (0,5 pt x 2)
a.
Associate
b.
Expensive
B. Say
if these statements are True, False, or ING (Information
Not Given). If false, correct
it.
(0,5 pt x 2)
1.
Computers
have become essential in the world of business.
2.
People
who invented computers were lazy.
C. Choose the
right answer (0,5 pt x 2)
1.
In
the use of computers, Third World countries are :
a. quite advanced
b. quite late
c. as late as advanced
countries
d. very advanced
2.
a.
Even if computers are getting cheaper, many can’t afford them.
b. Computers can be
bought although their prices are getting higher.
c.
Since
their prices are high, many companies can afford computers.
d.
There
are high-performing computers on the market and many can afford them.
D. Answer the following
questions (1
pt x 2)
1.
Why
are computers very profitable to their users in developed countries?
2.
Why
are computers indispensable to business people?
E. The
sentences below are a summary of the ideas in each paragraph, but they have
been scrambled. Arrange them as they are presented in the text. (2
pts)
§
Computers
do a lot of service in various domains.
§
Nowadays,
competition in business has made computers indispensable.
§
Developing
countries are technologically late, however they cannot overlook computers.
§
Rapid
development makes the use of computers necessary.
II. Language
test (6
pts)
A.
Grammar
Fill in with the
appropriate grammatical items (2
pts)
What I’m going to tell
you about happened recently. Two weeks …, I went to the disco with some friends
… asking for my Dad’s permission; … when I was back home the next morning, he
said angrily that he … waited … me all night, adding that if I had not returned
by two o’clock, he … gone to the police. … then, I have no more … given
permission to go out at weekends.
B. Language
functions (4 pts)
Complete the following
dialogue
Carol: You know, Kate, I and
Rick have decided to get married at last.
Kate: Rick? I don’t know him.
………………………..…………………. ?
Carol: Of medium height,
with blue eyes and a rather long nose. He’s a doctor.
Kate: You’re lucky, Carol.
Bill has left me. I think I can’t love anybody any more. I wish
……………………………………………………………………….. .
Carol: Don’t say that. Come
to my wedding and I’ll introduce you to my cousin Gerry. He’s very nice. It’s
just in a month. On 25 July.
Kate: ……………………………………………………………………..….
Carol: What a pity! I know
you’re a good cook. What would you advise me for dessert that day ?
Kate: ………………………………………………………………………..
III.
Writing
(7
pts)
A friend who lives
abroad will soon be visiting you. Write a letter telling him (or her) about the
weather at the moment and the clothes that would be suitable.
(About 60 words)