The document discusses the concept of an agony letter, which is a means for individuals facing dilemmas to seek advice from a knowledgeable source. It outlines the structure of such letters, emphasizes the importance of expressing sympathy and analyzing problems in responses, and includes language exercises related to conditional verbs. Additionally, it touches on the significant contributions of Arab scholars to science during the golden age, particularly in mathematics and astronomy.

1. 2AS: Writing Agony Letter & If type O+1 &
Diphthongs + Text “Arab Science”
By : Mr.Samir Bounab (yellowdaffodil66@gmail.com )
1/  What is an Agony Letter?
When ONE has a problem and no one to help or turn to , one of the
solutions is to write a letter seeking for advice from a wise person working
for a newspaper or magazine.
A seeking advice letter consists of three parts :
1. Part One: An introduction where the person looking for advice
says why he or she is writing this letter.
2. Part Two: The writer introduces himself or herself to the receiver.
3. Part Three: In this third part the writer exposes the problem and
clearly asks for help .
Task: Read this advice seeking letter , then identify the lay out
and three parts of an agony letter
December 25th, 2007.
Dear Dr. Wells,
I’m writing to you to seek advice. My name is Omar and I’m a secondary
School student. I can’t make up my mind about a personal problem.
I’ll sit for the baccalaureate exam soon. I’ll certainly succeed, but my
parents are old and are in need of financial help. I would really like to help
them. However, if I do so, I will have to give up my dream of becoming a
doctor. In short I am in a dilemma. On the one hand, if I decide to help, I will
have to renounce to my registration at the university. On the other hand, if I
don’t, I’ll feel guilty of not helping my family.
I have no one to turn to. What should/can I do?
Sincerely,
Signature:
1) The lay out of the letter :
2) The Three parts of Agony letter :
2/ Now, imagine you are an agony aunt. Read your partner's letter
and reply by suggesting a solution to his/her problem.
 Keep to the following plan:
 Expression of sympathy.
 Analysis of your partner's problem.
 Recommendations / suggestions.
Task: What will happen to Earth if...?
Give the correct form of the verbs in verbs in brackets:
1. Many wildlife habitats will be destroyed if man ________ (keep) polluting
the environment.
2. If we dump all sorts of chemicals into rivers, we ______ (not be able to)
swim in them in the future.
3. If we _________ (not stop) cutting down so many trees, we
___________________ (endanger) our oxygen supply.
4. Soon the Earth’s resources will be exhausted if the human population
______________ (continue) to grow.
5. If everybody continues to use aerosols and CFCs, the hole in the ozone
layer _______________ (get) bigger.
6. If the sun radiation can’t escape into space, Earth’s temperature
______________ (increase) steadily.
7. If the global temperature ________ (rise), sea levels ________ (rise) too.
8. We’ll threaten our own existence if we _________(not cut down) on waste
rapidly.
9. People ____________ (run out of) drinking water one day if they
_____________ (not use) it more rationally.
10. If he ________ (want) to help the planet, then he __________ (have
to) change his habits.
Task : Give the right form of the verbs in brackets .
Hi! My name is Marco. I will tell you some things about myself. Well, let’s
start. I will tell you about the things I love doing. I like to do sports because
if I (do)…………. sports, I (get)………………… bored. I think that if I
(stay)……………… fit, I (not /get)…………………. sick. At school, I like
Science. I know that if I (study)………………. Science, I
(be)………………. a doctor some day! I also love eating Mexican food
and I always say that if I (eat)…………….. “tacos Mexicanos”, I
(be)………………. really happy. I love that dish!
I live with my mother. She is a very healthy woman. She does a lot of sports
and she eats healthy food. She says that if she (eat)
……………….vegetables and fruits every day, she ( be)……………
more than 90 years old. She also drinks a lot of water. She says that if
we (not/ drink)…………… enough water, we (get)………….. ill.
Every summer, my mother and I go to the beach. We really enjoy the sand
and the sun. And if it (not/ rain)………………, we (swim)………….. in the
sea. We love swimming.
=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*==*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*=*
Diphthongs
Definition : a sound formed by the combination of two vowels in a
single syllable, in which the sound begins as one vowel and moves
towards another (as in coin, loud, and side ).
Task: Read and circle the right diphthong sound
Task: MATCH THE WORDS THAT HAVE SAME DIPHTHONG:
1. An old child
2. A loud choice
3. A usual goat
4. Enjoy your hair
5. Near here
6. A kind shout
7. Fair the cake
8. Taste tour
Ways to express
sympathy
Problem analysis Recommendations/advice
Sympathy is feeling for
someone without specifically
understanding what they’re
feeling. When we want to
express our sympathy in
English, we can use the
following phrases
-I’m sorry to hear that.
-I’d like to express my
deepest sympathy
-I’m awfully sorry about
-How terrible/ awfull for
you !
-Oh, how awfull !
-Oh, dear !
-Poor you !
-I know how’s you feeling
-I hope your trouble and
now.
/eɪ/ /aɪ/ /ɔɪ/ /əʊ/ /aʊ/ /eə/ /ɪə/ /əʊ/
ex. cake bike boy Show house where hear tour
/eɪ/ /aɪ/ /ɔɪ/ /əʊ/ /aʊ/ /eə/ /ɪə/ /əʊ/
a. dear
b. chase
b. shy
a. buy
b. cloud
c. mail
a. soap
b. voice
c. wrote
a. about
b. home
c. coin
a. chose
b. how
c. point
a. vowel
b. There
c. plural
a. behind
b. sure
c. here
a. came
b. pure
c. height

2. Level: 2 AS Scientific Streams ENGLISH EXAM
PART ONE: A/Reading Comprehension: (07pts)
Read the text carefully then do the activities.
In the ninth century the Arabs became the chief standard-
bearers of science and philosophy. The golden age of Arab science lasted
for about two centuries. The world owes a great debt of gratitude to the
Muslim caliphs for their support for learning during this period.
The Arabs made important contributions to mathematics. The
most outstanding work in Arabic in this field was probably the Arithmeticof
the Persian Al Khwarizmi. In this treatise the author introduced a striking
innovation _ the number system that we use today and that we call ‘Arabic
numerals’. The Arabs called them gobar numbers. Al-Khwarizmi derived
this system from the Hindus. He also wrote a treatise entitled On Algebra.
It was based to a certain extent on Hindu sources. The name ‘algebra’ is
of Arabic origin ; it comes from ‘al-jebr’, meaning ‘ the union of broken
parts’.The Arabs were greatly interested in astronomy. Caliph Ma’mun
built a splendid observatory in Baghdad in the year 829, and his
astronomers made regular observations of the heavens. One of the
greatest among the Arab astronomers was Al-Battani. He revised many
false notions in Ptolemy’s book Great Composition, which was translated
into the Arabic under the title of the Almagest.
Alchemy had many devotees among the Arabs. The word
alchemy itself is of Arabic origin. The most famous Arab alchemist was
Jabir or Jaber, a Syrian physician who lived in the eighth or ninth century
. Jabir perfected new methods of evaporation, filtration and crystallization
and he was able to prepare a number of chemical substances, such as
alums, alkalis, saltpetre and mercurieoxide.
(The Book of Popular Science v.2, pp.299-301)
1. Choose the right answer.
The text is about: a)Arab Science b) The Arabs c) Popular Science
2. Say whether the following statements are “true” or “false”
according to the text.
a) The Arabs were only great in science during the golden age.
b) The Arabs gave the name gobar numbers to what is called now
“Arabic numerals’.
c) Ma’mun was a famous astronomer in his life.
3. Answer the following questions according to the text.
a) How many years did the golden age last?
b) What did Al-Khwarizmi innovate in Mathematics?
c) Did Jaber bring new methods to Alchemy?
d) Name THREE sciences mentioned in the text.
4. Who or what do the underlined words refer to in the text?
a) their (§1) b) He (§2) c) which(§3) d) itself (§4)
B/ Text Exploration: (08pts)
1. Find in the text words which are closest in meaning to the
following:
a) numbers (§2)= …………b) named(§2) = ………………
Find in the text words which are opposite in meaning to the
following:
a) tiny (§1)≠ …………… b)few (§4)≠ ………………
2. Complete the following table:
Word Adjective
science
origin
value
success
…………………………………
…………………………………
…………………………………
…………………………………
3. Rewrite sentence (b) so that it means the same as sentence (a)
1/ a) The Arabs made important contributions to Mathematics.
b) Important contributions……………………………
2/ a) The students should learn different sciences.
b) Different sciences…………………………………….
4. Put the verbs between brackets in their correct form.
a)The Arabs (not prosper) ………….in future if they (not
develop)………….. their economy.
b) If you (to put)…………….. ice cubes in water, they (to melt)……………
5. Classify the following words according to the number of their
syllables.
mathematics - field - Arabic - physics
One Syllable Two Syllables Three Syllables Four Syllables
6. Fill in the gaps with words from the list:
experimented - works - with - physicist
The most famous Arab ……………… was Alhazen of Basra. His chief
……………… were the Treasury of Optics and On the Burning
Sphere. Alhazen worked out the laws of reflection ; he ………………
with spherical and parabolic mirrors and …………… magnifying
glasses.
PART TWO: Written Expression Choose ONE of the
following topics: (05points)
Topic One:Al Khwarizmi is regarded as one of the most famous
scientists of the Islamic Golden Age.
 Using the following notes, write a short biography about him.
- Persian mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer
- born in Persia around 780
- lived in Baghdad / worked at the “House of Wisdom” (Dār al-
Ḥikma)
- made contributions (mathematics, astronomy, geography…)
- books (On Algebra/Hisâb al-Jabrwa'l-Muqâbala /KitâbSûrat al-
Ard…)
- died in 850
Topic Two: Suppose that you are in a dilemma; write
a letter (to your friend) in which you seek for advice.
By: Mr.Samir Bounab (yellowdaffodil66@gmail.com