The Sudanese International Academy ‫األكاديمية السودانية العالمية‬

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs) )‫(وزارة الخارجية‬

Mid-Term Examination
Academic year 2023 - 2024

Candidate Name:
Subject: English
Grade: 10
Time Allowed: 1hour
Date: ________________

READ THESE INSTRUCTIONS FIRST

• Write your name on all the work you hand in.
• Write in dark blue or black pen.
• Candidates must answer on the question paper.
• You may use a soft pencil for any diagrams, graphs or rough
• working.
• Do not use staples, paper clips, highlighters, glue or correction fluid.
• Answer ALL questions.
• At the end of the examination, fasten all your work securely together.
• The number of marks is given in brackets ( ) at the end of each question or part
question.

For Examiner Use Only

Obtained Marks
For Examiner Use Only

Total Marks 30 Obtained Marks

Total Marks 30

[Turn over
 Exercise 1

Read sections A–D of a magazine article about a man who owns the largest private collection of letters
in the world. Then answer Question 9(a)–(j).
Dear Pedro…
One man’s passion for handwritten letters
A

Pedro Corrêa do Lago owns 100 000 handwritten letters – the largest private collection of letters in
the world. Not all of them are addressed to him, and some he has paid a substantial sum of money
for. The letters are stored in several filing cabinets, which are so heavy that they have to be kept on
the ground floor of his home in Rio. When he began his collection, it was the senders’ signatures
he was mainly interested in – at that time, collecting autographs was a popular hobby. Pedro says
that these days most young people are much more interested in selfies. Even so, he has no plans
to stop collecting letters. It is a passion that goes back about 50 years and began as a result of a
fascination with a large red book called Who’s Who, which his father had bought. This listed details
of a wide range of celebrities, including their home addresses.

When he was 12 years old, Pedro wrote to JRR Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings, and
François Truffaut, whose film The Wild Child he had just seen, asking for their autographs. Tolkien’s
secretary was quick to respond, explaining that the author received so many requests like this
that he had decided to decline them all. From Truffaut, there was nothing. Two months passed, and
during this time Pedro forgot about the letters and was moving on to other hobbies typical lof
12-year-old boys. Then one day, when he came home from school, he was surprised to find a parcel
with his name on it waiting for him in the hallway. He opened it, and discovered it contained a copy
of the book that had inspired Truffaut’s film. Inside the front cover, he found a message beginning
‘Dear Pedro…’ that the director had written to him.

‘That message changed my life,’ says Pedro. ‘I was so excited, I wrote to many more famous people.
I would rush home from school to see if people like the artists Miró, Picasso and Chagall, or the
writer Iris Murdoch had sent me a letter.’ And one by one they all did, apart from Picasso. After a
few years, Pedro had received dozens of letters, and he has been expanding his collection steadily
since that time. These days, he says the collection is less about his favourite authors and artists,
and he is focusing more on a broader project about western culture. He is collecting letters from the
four or five thousand people he feels have played the most important roles in the fields of history,
music, literature, art, science and entertainment. He regularly goes to sales, and hasan eye for a
good deal. Even so, he has to work overtime in his day job as an art dealer to pay for some of his
more expensive purchases.

When Pedro was 13, he spent four weeks’ pocket money on a letter from the painter Édouard Manet.
Even then he understood that this letter was worth much more, as letters by the painter are relatively
rare. He also owns many letters by world leaders and royals, and one by psychologist Sigmund
Freud to his mother on her birthday, enclosing $6 to spend as she pleased. When Pedro reads the
letters he owns, he says it’s like visiting the people who wrote them. ‘You’re holding a little piece of
their life.’ However, there are still several people whose letters he has not managed to purchase,
and he has no plans to stop trying. Some of his collection featured in a solo exhibitionat the Morgan
Library & Museum in New York in 2018, and in the same year his book The Magic of Handwriting
was published.
[Turn over
 3

1 For each question, circle the correct letter A, B, C or D.

Which section includes the following information?

a. a reason why someone was unwilling to reply to him [1.5]

A B C D

b. an object that first inspired him to start writing letters [1.5]

A B C D

c. a time when he realised he had bought a bargain [1.5]

A B C D

d. an unexpected delivery [1.5]

A B C D

e. one exception to a series of successes [1.5]

A B C D

f. a time when his interests changed temporarily [1.5]

A B C D

g. a reason for the location of his collection [1.5]

A B C D

h. how he feels when looking through his collection [1.5]

A B C D

i. an explanation of how his collection has changed [1.5]

A B C D

j. the suggestion that what he collects is old-fashioned [1.5]

A B C D

[Total: 15]

[Turn over
 5

Exercise 2

Read the article about a famous footpath in southern Spain called ‘El Caminito del Rey’,
and then complete the notes.

Walking 100 metres up ‘El Caminito del Rey’ translates from Spanish as ‘the King’s little
pathway’. The original footpath was built in 1905, in southern Spain, and over time it became
known as the most dangerous footpath in the world.

It was built along the steep wall of one side of a valley and was 100 metres above a river in an
area of outstanding beauty. The footpath was used by workmen to walk between two
hydroelectric power plants which supplied electricity to the local area.

With the increase in the demand for electricity, a dam was built across the river. The footpath
was extended to include a bridge that reached across to the other side of the valley. In 1921,
the King of Spain walked along the newly extended footpath to put in place the final stone of the
new dam, and gave the footpath its name. Local people then started to use the footpath to walk
to each other’s homes.

The footpath was constructed from concrete and steel. Over time, the fierce sun, wind and rain
made holes in the concrete and large chunks fell into the river below. The steel became rusty
and broke into pieces. Despite the condition of the footpath, local people continued to walk
along it, risking their lives. It also attracted climbers and walkers from all over the world who had
heard about its dangerous reputation. They carefully climbed along the side of the valley,
attached by ropes to the remaining sections of the footpath. Such was the danger that the
footpath was officially closed.

However, even this didn’t stop people. As a result, the local council got together with the people
in the villages that the footpath connected. With the help of the government, a plan for a safer
footpath was produced, and in March 2015 it was opened.

‘The King’s little pathway’ is now a different experience for locals as well as tourists. The new
footpath is just above the original one. It still offers the same spectacular views, but without the
previous danger. However, local advice is not to go on the footpath if you are scared of heights.

“I used to need climbing equipment to walk along the footpath, and wear special sandals so that
I didn’t slip,” said one local man. Now tourists are simply advised to take plenty of water and, of
course, not to forget their cameras. Some tourists want to walk from one end to the other just to
say that they have done it, but this is a shame because it’s best to take time to enjoy the
scenery. It gets very busy in the summer so it’s a good idea to arrive early in the morning to
avoid the queues.

It’s not only tourists who benefit from the new footpath. There are several advantages for local
people too. Tourists now have to pay to walk along the footpath, and the money raised from
ticket sales is used to improve local facilities. There are also more jobs in the area because of
the increase in numbers of tourists. And after many years of being unable to visit their
neighbours on foot, local people can once again walk to each other’s homes along the new
footpath. Let’s hope ‘the King’s little pathway’ continues to be enjoyed for years to come
 5

You are going to give a talk to your class about ‘the King’s little pathway’. Prepare some notes
to use as the basis for your talk.

Make short notes under each heading.

2 Reasons why the original footpath was unsafe:

• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

(6)

3 Recommendations to tourists:

• ………………………………………………………………………………………………….

• …………………………………………………………………………………………………..

• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

(6)

4 How the new footpath has helped local people :

• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

• ……………………………………………………………………………………………………

(3)

[Total: 15]

End of questions