Part One: Reading Comprehension (Score: 24/40)

The following article discusses the effects of Lebanon’s garbage crisis on the inhabitants of Beirut in
particular. Read it carefully, and then answer the questions that follow.
Lebanon’s Garbage Crisis Is a Matter of Life and Death
1. For 86-year-old Adib Nouwar, Lebanon’s garbage crisis is a matter of life and death. Any irritation
induced by the slightest of elements, even the smell of fried food and dust, can be enough to trigger a
respiratory fit as his lungs struggle from years of pollution and stress. Under the weight of thick smoke
that too often invades his home in Dekwaneh, a suburb north of Beirut, Adib suffers as he is moved
from room to room while his family rushes to shut all windows and doors. He manages a frail smile for
a photo from behind an oxygen mask, which has become his constant companion.
2. Dekwaneh, like other lower- and middle-income suburbs around Beirut and Mount Lebanon that
include Dora, Bourj Hammoud, and Jdeideh, has born the burden of the garbage crisis. It began in 2015
when the country’s main landfill was closed and authorities failed to hash out an alternative. Protests
erupted when the streets were filled with trash and the snake of garbage stacks—stocked with tons of
refuse—just kept climbing up on the side pavements.
3. Finally, authorities offered up a “fix” earlier this year which stipulates the opening of two landfills in
Bourj Hammoud and Costa Brava in Choueifat, southeast of Beirut. The move to open the Bourj
Hammoud landfill was controversial from the start. Local parties, together with civil society groups
protested against its opening due to it being an “expensive environmental disaster.” The brief standoff
caused the temporary closure of the Bourj Hammoud. Environmental groups have long been advocating
for better alternatives to the country’s waste disposal, “namely through the decentralization of the waste
sector and the construction of recycling and waste sorting plants.”
4. The result of the growing mistrust between local representatives and the government is simply more
trash on the streets. While filming mounds of trash being burned around the Dora area on September
25, 2016, a friend and I almost had an accident as a waste container was left in the middle of the
highway.
5. “On some mornings it’s a challenge to make it from my home into my car,” Wassim says. “The toxic
fumes make it difficult and sometimes we even see hordes of invasive insects –flies and ticks—in our
neighborhood as the trash remains.”
6. Doctors in Lebanon say they are seeing a spike in severe respiratory diseases tied to the ongoing trash
disaster. The crisis has already taken its toll on many, especially children, the elderly and those with
respiratory illnesses and a weak immunity. In July 56-year-old Bourj Hammoud mother of four Rozine
Moughalian and her family were forced to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars through crowd
funding for a liver transplant, which doctors linked to exposure to toxins in the area. Countless other
cases have also been reported.
7. How much can we really expect from a government whose sole concern throughout the entire crisis has
appeared to be one over profit division and money making, especially since no one seems to be able to
identify the culprits? A question that seems to have no answer.
8. In light of widespread corruption and the lack of transparency, the role of oversight bodies (such as the
largely absent Court of Accounts) and the parliament has not been capitalized on in order to address the
citizenry’s interests. For their part, political parties have also failed their constituents, as they have
 continually refused to work toward a solution which is both sustainable for the country as a whole and
in the best interests of the people they represent.
9. The only solution to counter these schemes is the decentralization of waste management, where every
municipality implements sorting at the source, and commits to waste reduction, recycling, and
treatment of organic waste into compost. This yields the lowest environmental and financial costs, and
reduces the size of the “cake”. In parallel, the institutions of this ruling cartel should be at least
bypassed, if not completely dismantled.

Nadine Mazloum - October 2016

Questions
A. Answer each of the following questions in 1-3 sentences of your own.
1. According to paragraphs 1 and 2, what is Adib Nouwar’s problem? (Score: 02)
2. According to paragraph 3, what was controversial about the authorities’ solution to open up the
Bourj Hammoud and Costa Brava landfills? (Score: 02)
3. According to paragraphs 7 and 8, who does the writer blame for the escalating garbage crisis?
(Score: 02)
4. Based on paragraph 9, what conclusion can be drawn about the possibility of adopting the
proposed solution? (Score: 02)
B.
1. Identify the type of introduction the writer has used in the above selection and state its functions.
(Score: 02)
2. Explain the thematic relationship between paragraphs 2 and 9. (Score: 02)
3. Pick up a figure of speech from paragraph 2. Identify its type and explain it. (Score: 02)
4. The following is a poor version of a one sentence summary of paragraph 8. Rewrite it correctly.
(Score: 02)
Poor version: Because of the prevalent sense of irresponsibility, the political parties have
failed to significantly handle the environmental crisis that the country has been suffering from.

C. The following table shows the numbers of deaths caused by Ozone pollution in some industrial
countries over the past six years. Read the table carefully and then answer the following question.
(Score: 04)
Numbers of Deaths from Ozone Pollution in Some Industrial Countries over the Past Six Years

Year 2010 2013 2016

Country
China 950000 1100000 1350000
USA 700000 850000 970000
Germany 350000 410000 650000
What do the numbers indicate about the effect of Ozone pollution in the mentioned countries
over the past six years?
D. Use contextual clues to figure out the meaning of each word in the box below. Then fill in the blanks
with the correct words to complete the following sentences. Make necessary changes. (Score: 04)

struggle (paragraph 1) invade (paragraph 1) hash out (paragraph 2)

stipulates (paragraph 3) dismantled (paragraph 9)
 1. The government hesitates when attempting to _________________ a solution for the garbage
crisis.
2. Many Lebanese NGOs are working hard to _________________ the harmful radiations
emanating from garbage piles.
3. A draft law adopted today by the government _________________ the transfer of
pollution control equipment.
4. When the piles of trash fill the pavements, flies that feed on garbage _________________ the
nearby houses in large numbers.

Part Two: Writing (Score: 16/40)

Choose ONE of the following prompts:
Prompt (A): Read the following statement taken from an article on the garbage crisis in Lebanon.
Rubbish collection has halted, and rotten trash has piled up in the city streets, causing what
researchers and campaigners now say is a state of emergency.
In light of the above statement, discuss the causes and the consequences of the poor waste
management strategies in Lebanon, and suggest some adequate solutions that should be adopted to
handle such a problem. Provide relevant, specific, and adequate evidence and examples from your
reading, experience or observation in your body paragraphs. Your essay should be between 250-300
words with an appropriate title. Revise and proofread your essay.
Prompt (B): The following is a statement taken from a report about the most efficient ways of waste
management.
Waste management is in the end an individual responsibility.
Take a stand regarding the above opinion. Then, write a persuasive essay in which you try to convince
the reader about why or why not the Lebanese citizens should be solely responsible for the
ongoing garbage crisis. As you develop your essay, support your position by drawing on logical
reasoning and experience. In your supporting paragraphs provide relevant, specific, and adequate
evidence and examples from your reading, experience or observation. Your essay should be between
250-300 words with an appropriate title. Revise and proofread your essay.
Your essay will be evaluated based on content and organization of ideas (Score: 07), language
and style (Score: 07), tidiness and handwriting (Score: 02).
 Answer Key
Second Partial Exam April…., 2017
Questions Answer Score
Adib Nouwar is a senior citizen who is unfortunate enough to live in the Northern
suburb of Beirut (an area that has borne the brunt of the garbage crisis since
A1 2015). He suffers from respiratory ailments that have been exacerbated by the Score: 02
growing pollution around him. Thus, Adib Nouwar’s predicament, if not caused
by the pollution itself, is making his illness worsen.

The suggestion was protested against from the very start due to it being an
A2 expensive solution, not to mention one that is very hazardous to the area’s
environment. Thus, the solution suggested would create another environmental Score: 02
and financial problem rather than solve anything.

Nadine Mazloum does not hide the fact that she perceives the government to be
the sole perpetator for the Lebanese garbage crisis. She believes that the
A3 government’s main concern throughout the crisis was how to make money over Score: 02
profit division. She also believes this government has failed to be transparent
with its citizens, as mounting corruption meant oversight bodies (the court of
Accounts and the parliament) have not been capitalized to have the citizens’ ‘best
interest at heart.

A4 In paragraph 9, the writer states that for his discussed solution to be effective,
“the institutions of this ruling cartel should be at least bypassed.” The proposed Score: 02
solution is unlikely then to be adopted because it goes against the interests of the
politicians who are supposed to ratify and implement it.

The type of introduction the writer has used in the above selection is a brief
anecdote. The writer uses this technique/type to introduce the topic of the
ongoing garbage crisis which has left Lebanon's streets filled with rotting trash.
B1 The introduction captures the reader’s attention by the story of an 86-year-old
Lebanese citizen who suffers from the terrible effects of the pollution around him. Score: 02
The introductory paragraph also provides background knowledge about the
horrific effects of the garbage crisis on the Lebanese in general and Beirut is in
particular.

B2 The thematic relationship between paragraphs 2 and 9 is Problem-Solution. While

paragraph 2 reveals the problems of the mishandled garbage on the pavements of Beirut, Score: 02
paragraph 9 offers a solution to the said problem (decentralization of waste
management).
B3 The writer employs a metaphor in “the streets [which] were filled with trash and
the snake of garbage stacks.” The stretching stacks of the garbage lines are just Score: 02
like the snake’s shape and continuous movement.
B4 Suggested correction:
Because of the prevalent sense of irresponsibility, the governmental surveillance
bodies, the parliament, and the political parties have failed to significantly Score: 02
handle the environmental crisis that the country has been suffering from.
 The findings in the table indicate that numbers of deaths caused by Ozone
pollution have been dangerously increasing over the past six years in the
mentioned countries. From 2013 till 2016, there were 400000 more deaths in
C China, 270000 more deaths in USA, and 300000 more deaths in Germany. Such a Score: 04
hazardous rise in the deaths caused by ozone pollution brings attention to the
threats coming from the air people breathe and the weather they experience.

1. hash out
D 2. dismantle
3. stipulates Score: 04
4. invade
Part Two: Writing

Essays will be evaluated based on content and organization of ideas (Score:

07), language and style (Score: 07), tidiness and handwriting (Score: 02).