Mid-term Exam

Final Exam

FINAL EXAM

Course: Academic English

Level: Intermediate

Duration: 2 Hours

Instructor: Prof. Jamal Bahmad

IMPORTANT:
1. The exam assignment will close automatically at 19h00. Make sure to submit your answers on
CANVAS (not by email) at least 5 minutes before. Email submissions will not be accepted.
2. Please download the exam assignment and work on it as a Word document. Please upload your
answers as a Word document.
3. Write your answers in the spaces provided after each question.
4. All answers should be original. Any answers copied from the Internet, other classmates or any
other sources will be considered a form of plagiarism. The anti-plagiarism software URKUND is
activated for this assignment.
4. I am live on TEAMS from 17h to 19h if you have questions. 
 GOOD LUCK!

Student’s name: …………zerouali nour el-houda ……………………………….

I. READING COMPREHENSION (6 POINTS)

Read the text below and answer the questions that follow in your own words:

Starbucks received a tax credit worth £4.4m in the UK because of losses in 2020, despite the coffee
chain’s US parent company making a profit during the same period of $1.2bn (£870m).

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The loss comes after a year in which Starbucks was forced by the pandemic to temporarily close all of
its 935 UK shops, leading to a steep fall in revenues.

However, the revelation that a global American corporation is claiming tax credits from the British
government will add impetus to a planned international agreement on reforms designed to prevent profit
shifting by multinationals.

Starbucks uses a complex corporate structure in Europe, and it has faced heavy criticism for its lack of
transparency from tax campaigners. Its UK arm made cumulative losses after tax of well over £100m
between 2010 and 2020, according to Guardian analysis of its accounts. In only four out of 11 years did
it report a profit, but tax experts say it is unclear whether they are a true reflection of the business.
The UK arm of Starbucks reported that it lost £41m during the year to the end of September 2020,
according to accounts filed at Companies House. The UK accounts show a “gross profit” of £32m for
the year, but then count unspecified “administrative expenses” of £70m.

The loss translated into a “negative tax charge” of £4.4m, Starbucks said, meaning it can claim back
taxes previously paid on profits. Starbucks’s UK arm paid £1.9m in UK corporation tax in the 2019 tax
year, and £4m in 2018.

The company said the losses were down to lockdown restrictions. Starbucks was forced to suspend
trading, although it did not furlough any of its 4,300 workers or opt to use any government support. UK
revenues for the year dropped to £243m, down almost a third on the year before.

Nation states are working on way to tax multinational companies more effectively. Leaders of the G7
group of wealthy economies, including the UK and US, earlier this month agreed a framework for a deal
that would mean companies pay a percentage of their profits in markets where they make large sales, as
well as setting an unprecedented global minimum corporation tax.

Starbucks Corporation, the US parent company, made profits before tax of $1.16bn (£830m) in the year
to 27 September 2020, on sales of $23.5bn.

Starbucks’s European business paid a dividend worth $183m to the US parent company. Dividends
between companies in the same group are not subject to tax.

UK coffee shops are run by Starbucks Coffee Company (UK) Limited, but it pays royalties to Starbucks
EMEA Limited, another UK registered company, which collects earnings from subsidiaries across
Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

A Starbucks spokesperson said: “Starbucks Coffee Company (UK) Ltd did not pay any dividends, as the
accounts make clear. There are royalties paid by all subsidiaries in the EMEA region to EMEA Ltd for
use of the brand. EMEA Ltd also paid no dividends.”

1. Did Starbucks Coffee Company (UK) Ltd cheat the tax authority in the UK?
Yes, because the starbucks coffee company declares only 4 years of 11 years of its profits and
increases its expenses to minimise its taxes or benefit from a tax credit

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2. How does Starbucks manage to pay less tax around the world?
Starbucks manage to pay less taxes around the world, through a frame work for a deal in which
companies pay a percentage of their profits in markets where they make large sales.
In addition, Starbucks' European company paid a dividend of millions of dollars to the American parent
company. while dividends between companies of a same group are not taxable.
Also, UK cafes are managed by Starbucks Company Limited, but the company pays royalties to EMEA
Limited, another UK registered company, which income from its subsidiaries in Europe, the Middle
East in Africa

3. Summarize the main idea of the text in less than 50 words or 5 lines.
The text identifies the financial situation of Starbucks coffee during the period of the pandemic and how
it practises tax evasion to minimise its tax burden and increase its profits in each of its subsidiaries
around the world. But the latter was constrained by a tax audit in which tax experts say that it is unclear
whether they are a true reflection of the business.

II. GRAMMAR (6 POINTS)

1. Change the following sentences into the passive voice:
a. The teacher is explaining the passive voice to the students.
The passive voice is being explained by the teacher to the students……………..

b. The dog scared him.

He was scared by the dog……………..

2. Complete the following sentences in reported speech:

a. “I have been sick,” he said.
He said that he had been sick ……………..

b. “Never mind!” John said.

John asked me not to mind ……………………

3. Make one sentence by changing the sentence in italics into a defining relative clause.
a. The dog was lost. The dog was born last year.
The dog which was born last year, was lost…………………

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b. She met a man. I used to often drink coffee with the man.
She met the man, whom I used to drink coffee with ……………….

III. WRITING (8 POINTS)

Write a FIVE paragraph essay of at least 300 words about the topic below:

Morocco should replace French with English in the education system. Do you agree?
Note: International students (Esso-Wazam and Rethis) can write about the English vs French debates in
their own countries.

After the independence of Morocco, the government has declared the Classical Arabic as the official
language and French the second language of the country. That second language became part of the daily
life of Moroccans since it remained widespread even after the independence from French colonisers,
especially in the business sector and schools. Now the question that must be asked is : is it best for
Morocco to keep things as they are today and let French stay the second language especially in the
educational system or do as most countries of the world did and change it to English?

Firstly, In most Moroccan cities, a vast majority of Moroccan teenagers today refuse to speak French
and only see it as an exclusive language whereas English is associated modernity, science,
globalisation… which makes them now big competitions especially in the education system. That is
why in the past few decades, Morocco has been introducing more English speaking educational
institutions, such as the American school, Al Akhawayn University, the British international school in
Casablanca… and some of those schools have already gotten accreditation to be recognised in
international universities.

Secondly, there’s no denial that English is the “universal language” and that it’s the language of the
world and economy and Morocco is heading for an improvement in economy and business that is why
in order for Morocco to open up to the world and achieve this goal, the English language must be
expanded in educational institutions as the second language rather than French because as long as
there’s the English speaking obstacle this dream will not be achieved.

Finally, after the recognition of America of the Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara, the relationship
between the two countries has improved, and there’s a chance that French will be abandoned in favour
of English. Moreover, this will offer many opportunities for young Moroccans that are interested in
studying or working in the United States. However, they will not be able to do this without knowing
how to properly speak the language. In addition, unlike French or other languages spoken in Morocco,
the English language is not a colonial heritage which makes it a neutral international language that’s
way too far from any negative connotations.

In conclusion, regardless of what a lot of Moroccans say replacing French with English as the second
languages education-system is what’s best for Morocco today. The French replacement situation has
been happening for a very long time now among younger generations it’s just had not yet been declared

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officially, and there’s no need to wait any longer and I personally could agree more with this potential
change.

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