PA matriculation exam: “If the people will not understand, we will understand the stone”
Headline: “Questions and answers from the Arab language matriculation exams, form number two”
“Question no. 1: Write about one (out of five) of the following topics…
4. ‘If the people will not understand, we will understand the stone – when nations rise up, they win.’
5. ‘Building up the homeland and deepening national identity and defending our people’s accomplishments – the responsibility of every citizen, everywhere.’
Question no. 4: Read the following text and answer the questions that follow:
‘Peace and security fulfill humanity’s hopes for a more sublime future. Is it possible to hope for the best without them? And can they be fulfilled without implementing the principals of justice and equality? – and therefore, nations began working and sacrificing – each in its own way – and those committed to peace strive to achieve it in order to preserve humanity after it suffered blows, conflicts, wars and tragedies in the past century.’
Question no.10: Circle the correct answers for the following questions:
6. One of the following sentences is a declarative clause (is not subjunctive/ subordinate)
D. Oh Fedayyeen (i.e., self-sacrifice seeker) your dwelling is paradise, Allah willing.
14.2. In which of the following clauses must the subject come before the object?
a. The homeland will be liberated by its heroes.
14.8. What is the vocative noun in the sentence: “Brother, in Jerusalem we have a sister…”
(This is a line from a known poem which begins with the words: “Brother, the oppressors have gone too far…”
The rest of the line quoted in the exam is: “Brother, we have a sister in Jerusalem – the slaughterers have prepared the slaughtering-knife for her.”)
Question no. 15: Read the following text and answer the following questions:
‘How wonderful it is that a man belongs to something. Only the loyal know the status of homeland, those who devote themselves to protecting it and offer their blood to ransom it, so that its flag will be raised. All should know: The homeland is precious and each one of us has a duty that we must fulfill with loyalty and devotion. Indeed, great is the man who has the sense to dedicate himself by deed and by giving, and there is no forgiveness for those who shirk.”
Question no.16: Correct the grammatical errors in the following sentences:
- Two national poems by Mahmoud Darwish (Palestinian poet) were added to the Palestinian curriculum.
Question no.17: Vocalize the words indicated in the following sentences:
- How beautiful is the act of sacrifice.
Oh, Allah lead us to victory over our enemy.”
Mahmoud Darwish is considered the Palestinian national poet. He published over 30 volumes of poetry and 8 books of prose and has won numerous awards. He joined the Israeli Communist Party in 1961 and the terrorist organization PLO in 1973, becoming a member of the PLO Executive Committee in 1987. He left the PLO in 1993 because it signed the Oslo Accords with Israel. Many in Israel see his poetry as inciting hate and violence. One poem he wrote in 1988 at the height of the Palestinian wave of violence and terror against Israel in which approximately 200 Israelis were murdered (the first Intifada, 1987-1993) calls to Israelis: “Take your portion of our blood - and be gone… Live wherever you like, but do not live among us… Die wherever you like, but do not die among us… Leave our country, our land, our sea, our wheat, our salt, our wounds, everything, and leave the memories of memory.” In 1964, he wrote a poem entitled "ID Card" in which he said: "I do not hate people, And I do not steal from anyone, But if I starve I will eat my oppressors' flesh; Beware, beware of my starving, And my rage." He also wrote “Silence for the Sake of Gaza” in 1973, which many see as glorifying terror: “She wraps explosives around her waist and blows herself up. It is not a death, and not a suicide. It is Gaza's way of declaring she is worthy of life.” His defenders have claimed that Israel misinterprets his poetry and that he sought reconciliation with Israel. One wrote in 2017: “Darwish arranged meetings between Palestinian and Israeli intellectuals, and published essays on their discussions. He was optimistic that, through mutual understanding, the two sides could eventually reconcile.” [https://www.bcalnoor.org/]