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2017 ‫מועד אפריל‬ - 47 - ‫ פרק שני‬- ‫ אנגלית‬

Reading Comprehension

This part consists of two passages, each followed by several related questions. For each
question, choose the most appropriate answer based on the text.

Text I (Questions 13-17)

(1) For more than fifty years, Iraqi journalist Waleed Ibrahim has been collecting
pencils associated with important people and events in his country's history. Known to
his friends and colleagues as Abu Iqlam (Father of Pencils) because of his unusual
hobby, Ibrahim has one of the largest pencil collections in the Middle East. "A pencil is

(5) a simple, cheap writing tool, but it is found everywhere," said Ibrahim in an interview
with the international Arabic-language newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. "I started to collect
pencils when I was young," he explained, "and this hobby grew as I got older."

Today, Ibrahim has thousands of commemorative pencils, some of them quite rare.
The oldest dates from 1918. Some honor past Iraqi leaders, such as King Faisal I and

(10) Prime Minister Abd al-Karim Qasim. Others are souvenirs of major sporting or cultural
events. Ibrahim also has pencils featuring people in traditional Iraqi dress as well as
pencils that have their price marked in fils, a form of money that has not been used in
Iraq for more than forty years.

Ibrahim explained that all pencils sold in Iraq today are imported because the three
(15) factories that once produced them have closed down. However, most of the pencils in

his possession were manufactured locally. Asked in the interview with Asharq Al-Awsat
whether he would ever consider selling his pencils, Ibrahim answered that he has no
intention of parting with them. He pointed out that even though an ordinary pencil costs
very little, his collection is of immeasurable value: "Nobody can put a price on it."

Questions

13. The main purpose of the first paragraph is to -

(1) explain why people collect pencils
(2) describe the work of an Iraqi journalist
(3) discuss one man's hobby
(4) discuss important events in Iraq's history

)‫© כל הזכויות שמורות למרכז ארצי לבחינות ולהערכה (ע"ר‬

.‫ בלא אישור בכתב מהמרכז הארצי לבחינות ולהערכה‬- ‫ כולה או חלקים ממנה‬- ‫ או ללמדה‬,‫אין להעתיק או להפיץ בחינה זו או קטעים ממנה בכל צורה ובכל אמצעי‬