FRESHMEN WST SPEAKING QUESTIONS
1AA AMERICAN STUDIES (J. Scheflen)
1AA AS 1: What are the six geographic regions of the United States? Choose one and
describe it. Also, give details about a particular state in the region. Details should include:
the state capital, the size of the state, and some interesting facts about the state. A good
answer would show knowledge and understanding of the state. Be specific in all
descriptions.
1AA AS 2: What were the causes of the Revolutionary War? Think of events leading up to
the War, specific events/immediate causes, and key people. Be specific and give examples.
1AA AS 3: How has the population of the US changed over time? How did/have settlement
patterns and expansion change the culture? Consider ethnic background, religion,
population increases, and migration. Be specific.
1AA AS 4: Civil rights are an important value in the US. What is a civil right? Discuss the
evolution of civil rights through history, discussing at least two specific groups of people.
Consider legal and societal factors. Be specific.
1AA AS 5: Describe the American form of government. Discussion should include the
Constitution and the 3 branches of government. A good response would include discussing
the powers and responsibilities of each branch. Key words: Legislative, judicial, and
executive branches, The Constitution, System of checks and balances.
1AA LITERATURE AND WRITING (J. Klagová)
Every student will draw out one question and one literary term that he/she will explain and
give an example of.
1AA LW 1. Anne Frank: A DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL
Where does the story take place, who are the characters, what is the story plot?
Describe Anne and her change throughout the book. Use 5 adjectives to tell what Anne was
like. Choose one character from the book and describe what Anne’s relationship with that
character was like.
1AA LW 2. Charles Dickens: A CHRISTMAS CAROL
Who wrote the book and when? How are social classes depicted in the book? What
stereotypes did Dickens use in his book? Describe Scrooge and the change that he goes
through. Describe Victorian England. How did celebrating Christmas change during the 19th
century?
1AA LW 3. STORY ELEMENTS
What is the plot? Using A Christmas Carol as an example, explain the story elements. What is
the setting of the story? Who are the characters? What is the main idea of the story? What
types of conflicts can we find there? What is the message of the book?
1AA LW 4. NON-SENSE LITERATURE
What is a non-sense literature? What is it based on? What is a limerick? What is a pun? Who
were the main representatives of a non-sense literature? Choose one of them and explain
who he was, what he wrote, etc.?
1AA LW 5. THE PROCESS OF WRITING
What should you do before you start to write? What should be checked after finishing
writing? What is a paragraph? Define a topic, supporting and concluding sentence. What
makes a strong topic sentence? How do we structure our ideas in the paragraph to make it
complete and coherent? What is a summarizing paragraph? What are linking or transition
words? Give examples.
1AA CONVERSATION (P. de Lara)
1AA CO 1: What was one of your experiences of travel in an airport? (You must describe it in
depth and use the vocabulary words we covered.)
1AA CO 2: What are some examples of situations in which you should apologize, and how
does one make a proper apology? Include a description of firm purpose of amendment.
1AA CO 3: Are you for or against the death penalty? (Why or why not? You may refer to
examples in history. Make use of the Crime and Punishment vocabulary from Coursebook.)
1AA CO 4: Describe the people in the pictures, their appearance and clothes. Use different
adjectives.
Pictures will be given to students at the test.
1AA CO 5: What is a summary of the personality article from the Coursebook? What is your
critique of that article? With what do you agree or disagree? Describe what you learned
about the spread of personalities within your class which you determined according to the
personality test in the Coursebook. Were the results surprising? Do you think the results
reveal a lot about your class? Do you think personality tests are useful? How do you think
such a personality test could be improved?
1AA INTRO TO HISTORY (P. Nagajová)
1AA ITH 1 – Historical Sources
What is the difference between primary and secondary historical sources?
Choose your own historical event/person. Imagine you are a historian and you want to
write a book
about the event/person. Name 3 primary sources and 2 secondary sources you could use.
Analyze this primary source:
1. What kind of primary source is
it?
2. What does the figure on the
right represent? Give evidence
for your opinion.
3. What is the purpose of the
picture and how is this idea
reinforced?
4. During which historical event was this poster probably created? Give evidence for
your opinion.
1AA ITH 2 – Ancient Egypt – Geography & Unification
Explain the importance of the Nile River and the surrounding desert for the Egyptian
civilization.
Use these words: crops, barley, wheat, fertile, soil, papyrus, red land, black land, barren,
flood, silt
Use the Narmer Palette to explain the Unification of Ancient Egypt.
1AA ITH 3 – The Code of Hammurabi
Which empire was he a king of?
What’s happening in the picture?
Why would such picture help to enforce the laws
in the empire?
What type of writing is used here?
Then Marduk called me, Hammurabi, the
exalted prince, who feared God and
commanded me to bring about the rule of
righteousness in the land.
If a gentleman put out the eye of a gentleman, his eye shall be put out. If he breaks gentleman's
bone, his bone shall be broken. If he put out the eye of a commoner, or break the bone of a
commoner, he shall pay one gold mina. If he put out the eye of a man's slave, or break the bone
of a man's slave, he shall pay one-half of slave’s value.
What was the basic rule for a punishment when a man hurt his equal?
How do we call such a principle?
What was the basic rule for a punishment when a man hurt someone from a lower class?
Do you find such rules fair? Why yes or why no.
1AA ITH 4 – Ancient Egypt – Chronology
Put into chronological order:
The Valley of the Kings
mastaba
canal connecting the Red Sea and the Nile River
Alexandria
Cleopatra
stepped pyramid
Assyrian Rule
Pyramids in Giza
Which period of Egyptian history do they belong to?
Comment on their significance.
Compare the different types of graves which were used in Egypt.
1AA ITH5 – The Standard of Ur
1.
2.
3.
4.
What is a city-state?
Where did the first city-states emerge? Why?
Explain how a city-state looked like.
Using the Standard of Ur describe the life in a city-state.