The Arabs

PART ONE: Reading and interpreting       (15 pts)
    - Read the text carefully and do the following activities.
    The Arabs had expanded in the seventh and eight centuries having as their center Damascus. A dynasty called Umayyad had established himself in this same city but due to their corrupt behavior they did not last too long in power. Soon later, in 750, came the Abbasid dynasty with a man called Abu al-Abbas, this dynasty brought many changes to the world of Islam such as distinction between Arab and non-Arab Muslims. Later, in 762, the establishment of the capital city was relocated to Baghdad.  The Abbasid dynasty was well reigned throughout the ninth century by  Harun el-Rashed (786-809) and his son, al-Ma'mun (813-833) who founded an astronomical observation and created a foundation for translating classical Greek works.

    Since Arabs conquered many of the rich provinces from the old Roman Empire they themselves were also becoming very wealthy with Baghdad as the trade center for the Middle East and Europe. Unfortunately for the empire there was at some point an awful fight between two brothers for the succession to the caliphate.  Following this dilemma the empire broke apart into separate dynasties, a major one being in southern Spain with a leader named Abd-al-Rahman; this dynasty was probably the last of the Umayyads. Many other independent dynasties came along later such as one in Egypt. Even though the empire actually broke up the bond they still had together was the Quran and the Arabic language.
   The Islamic civilization was the one who introduced Algebra in Mathematics and the one who perfected the astrolabe.They discovered concepts in chemistry and also developed medicine. Furthermore, they translated several works from ancient Greek philosophers and writers into Arabic and introduced it to people in Europe.They achieved great success and introduced new ideas ;and  had a pretty strong impact on countries at before Europe really started to develop.
                                                                                                                                            From the internet
 1.The text is about :a-Main contributions of Islamic civilisation to the world
                                    b-The history of Islamic civilisation
                                    c-The rise and fall of Islamic civilisation
2.Say whether  the following sentences are True or False
a.Umayyad dynasty ruled Damascus for a long period of time.
b.During their expansion ,the Arabs stayed only in one center « Damascus »
c.With the coming of Abbasids many changes occure.
d.Abbasids encouraged science and learning.
3 .Answer the following questions according to the text
a-How did the Arabs become rich ?
b-Why  was the empire split into separate dynasties ?
c-What was common between the broken  dynasties ?
d-What were the achievements of the Islamic civilisation ?
4-What or who do the underlined words refer to :himself(§1)                            who(§1)
5-The text above is :  a.narrative         b.argummentative        C.expositive
Text Exploration :
1.Find in the text words closer in meaning to :removed(§1)               very bad(§2)
2.Find in the text words opposite in meaning to :honest(§1)              minor(§2)
3.Complete the table below with the missing word
 verb                     Noun                adjective
                          Succession   
                          civilisation   
4.Join the following pairs of sentences using the connectors between brackets
a.Some Islamic contributions go unknowledged                   
  They played a major role in the European trasformation .(although )
b.The number zero ( introduced) by Arabs.
   It (make)mathematical tasks  much easier.(after)
5.Reorder rhe following sentences to make a coherent message
a-and Damascus used to have libraries in most of their streets.
b-Knowledge became the mass property of all,
c-In their heyday, Muslim cities like Baghdad, Cordoba
d-numerous libraries were established in every part of the vast Muslim world.
e-Due to this thirst for knowledge among Muslims and their literary taste and spirit of learning,.
f-thanks to the spread of these libraries
6-Classify the words below accordin to the pronunciation of letters ‘ch’
                                                 Character-check-chime-chronic
     /k/    / tʃ/
PART Two:Written Expression (05 pts)                   Choose one topic
Topic one:
According to you, what were the real reasons behind the decline of the Islamic civilization ?
Topic two :   Imagine you have an English friend who asks you to mention the main influences of the Islamic Civilization on the Western Civilizations.
- Expand the following notes to write an essay:
- It is Based on the religion of Islam.
- It contains higher virtues from God.
- Many sciences have been studied and developed by various Arabic scientists .
- It flourished in famous areas such Spain and Andalusia .