Pag.
1/5 Sessione ordinaria 2025
Seconda prova scritta
Ministero dell’istruzione e del merito
PL0I - ESAME DI STATO CONCLUSIVO DEL SECONDO CICLO DI ISTRUZIONE
Indirizzo: LICEO LINGUISTICO
(Testo valevole per tutti gli indirizzi del settore LINGUISTICO)
Disciplina: LINGUA E CULTURA STRANIERA (INGLESE)
IL CANDIDATO DEVE SVOLGERE TUTTE LE ATTIVITÀ COMPRESE NELLA PROVA
PART 1 – COMPREHENSION AND INTERPRETATION
Question A
Read the following text
Click, click, click, said the moc crocs(1). They were Mrs Sidney’s shoes. She passed without
mishap along the Avenue with its wickedly raised edge where Mr Tillotson had tripped last
winter and sustained his fracture; they had petitioned the Council. Mrs Sidney’s good legs, the
legs of a woman aged 25, moved like scissors down the street. Her face was white and tired,
5 her scarlet lips spoke of an effort at gaiety. She had carried the colour into a curvaceous bow;
she had once read in a magazine that it could be done. Of what was between the good legs
and the sagging face better not to speak; Mrs Sidney never dwelled on her torso, she had given
it up. She wore the black coat with the mink trim. Arthur had been with her when she had
bought the coat. It was budgeted for; the necessity had been weighed. Arthur had been
10 embarrassed, standing among the garment rails; he had clasped his hands behind his back
like Prince Philip, and with his eyes elsewhere he tried to look like a man deep in thought. She
had not trailed him around the shops, she knew what she wanted. “A good coat”, she said to
him “a good cloth coat is worth every penny you spend on it”.
She had tried on two, and then the black. The salesgirl was sixteen. She was not interested in
15 her job. She stood with one limp arm draped over the rail, her hip jutting out, watching
Mrs Sidney push the laden hangers to and fro. She did not know anything about the cut of a
good cloth coat. Mrs Sidney removed her gloves, and her fingers stroked the little mink collar
appreciatively. She had tried to engage Arthur’s attention, but he was not looking, and for a
moment she was shot through with resentment. Carelessly she tossed her old camel hair coat
20 over a rail; until this morning it had been her best coat but now it seemed shabby and
inconsiderable. She unfastened the buttons carefully and, slipped her arms into the silky lining.
Turning to see the back in the long mirror, she smiled tentatively at the salesgirl, “Do you think
the length ….?”
The girl raised her thin shoulders in a shrug.
25 By now Arthur stood looking at her indulgently, his hands still clasped behind his back. “I will
take it,” Mrs Sidney said. She minced towards Arthur.
“Very nice, dear” Arthur said. “Are you sure you’ve got what you wanted”?
She nodded, smiling. He would have been willing, she knew, to pay twenty pounds more, once
he had agreed on the economy of a good cloth coat. Arthur did not stint. The girl laid it out by
30 the cash register, flapped some tissue paper between its crossed arms and slid it, folded, into
a big bag.
Arthur took out a virgin cheque book and his rolled gold fountain pen. Precisely, he unscrewed
the cap, the ink flowed, smoothly, with care, he replaced the cap and returned the pen to the
inside pocket of his lovat sports jacket. Then with a single neat pull, he removed the cheque
35 and handed it courteously, to the girl. Mrs Sidney was proud of that, proud of the way the
transaction had been carried through; how they did not pay in greasy bundles of notes like
plumbers and housepainters. The carrier bag was heavy with the good cloth coat inside it, and
Pag. 2/5 Sessione ordinaria 2025
Seconda prova scritta
Ministero dell’istruzione e del merito
PL0I - ESAME DI STATO CONCLUSIVO DEL SECONDO CICLO DI ISTRUZIONE
Indirizzo: LICEO LINGUISTICO
(Testo valevole per tutti gli indirizzi del settore LINGUISTICO)
Disciplina: LINGUA E CULTURA STRANIERA (INGLESE)
Arthur reached out without speaking and took it from her. He asked about a hat, so anxious
was he to have everything correct; but she said to him that people did not go in for hats
40 nowadays. To be truthful, millinery departments intimidated her. The assistants looked at you
scornfully, so few of the people who tried on hats ever made a purchase that they had lost faith
in human nature. She was happy. They had a cup of coffee and a cream cake each, and they
went home.
(664 words)
Hilary Mantel “Every Day is Mother’s Day” (1985) Ch. 1
(1) Shoes made of plastic.
Say whether each of the following statements is True (T) or False (F). Put a cross in the correct
box in the table below and quote the first four words of the sentence where the piece of
information is found.
1. Mrs Sidney walked fast and confidently down the street.
2. Mrs Sidney and Arthur had discussed whether the cost of a new coat would be a good
investment before going to the shop.
3. The salesgirl actively helped Mrs Sidney to look for the coat.
4. Mrs Sidney was proud of her new coat.
5. Mrs Sidney did not want a new hat because people no longer wore them.
Statement T F First four words of the sentence
1
2
3
4
5
Answer the following questions. Use complete sentences and your own words.
6. Describe Arthur: his personality and his relationship with Mrs Sidney.
7. What values were important to both Mrs Sidney and to Arthur?
8. What kind of narrator and point of view is used in this passage? Provide examples from
the text.
Pag. 3/5 Sessione ordinaria 2025
Seconda prova scritta
Ministero dell’istruzione e del merito
PL0I - ESAME DI STATO CONCLUSIVO DEL SECONDO CICLO DI ISTRUZIONE
Indirizzo: LICEO LINGUISTICO
(Testo valevole per tutti gli indirizzi del settore LINGUISTICO)
Disciplina: LINGUA E CULTURA STRANIERA (INGLESE)
QUESTION B
Read the following text
The Aftermath of Fast Fashion
How Discarded Clothes Impact Public Health and the Environment
Every year, people in the United States throw out more than 15,500,000,000 kgs of used
textiles.
That’s more than 45 kgs of textile waste per person each year. However, people with higher
incomes generate on average 76% more clothing waste than people with lower incomes.
5 Once textiles are discarded, 66% of them are sent to landfills in the U.S. where they
decompose — over time. While these landfills are designed to capture and contain landfill
gasses and the polluted waters that emerge during the decomposition process, numerous
health concerns have been reported by people living near landfill sites. Landfills are also not
located equitably: they are 2.8 times more likely to be located in areas with a higher percentage
10 of BIPOC(1) residents.
Ultimately, only 15% of used textiles are theoretically ‘recycled,’ and of those, up to half are
simply shipped abroad to other countries, largely in the Global South where they may end up
in landfills or in open-air dumps. These countries often have less advanced municipal waste
systems, meaning that the environmental damage and health impacts of decomposing textiles
15 will be even greater there than they would be in the U.S. Also, much of the clothing sent from
abroad is of too low quality to use, meaning it goes directly into landfills or open-air dumps,
where the gas and chemical leachates(2) that emerge during the decomposition process pollute
the air, soil, and groundwater and damage the environment and health of humans and other
species. This unwanted clothing often clogs the gutters, preventing water from flowing properly
20 and spreading water-borne disease. Also, people often burn unwanted clothing, and the
resulting air pollution affects respiratory and cardiovascular health.
Many people in the Global North (primarily the US and Europe) assume when they donate
clothes to organizations like Salvation Army, Goodwill, or Planet Aid that they will be reused
locally, but this is usually not the case. There is too much, thus their solution is to ship the
25 excess clothing abroad. But this system of shipping unwanted used clothing to other countries
relies on the assumption that these countries ‘want’ it. However, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania,
Uganda, and Burundi have all either banned or attempted to ban used clothing imports.
However, while the issue of shipping clothing abroad often leads to heated debate between
those concerned about its environmental and health impacts and those convinced that it
30 benefits the countries who receive it, the real issue, at the end of the day, is that the amount of
clothing being shipped is far too great and the quality of the textiles sent is too low.
(432 words)
Adapted from: https://www.bu.edu/sph/news/articles/2022/the-aftermath-of-fast-fashion-how-
discarded-clothes-impact-public-health-and-the-environment/
(1) BIPOC stands for: Black, Indigenous, and People of Colour.
(2) The liquid that forms when water percolates through solid waste, extracting dissolved and suspended contaminants, posing a risk to
the environment and human health if not managed properly.
Pag. 4/5 Sessione ordinaria 2025
Seconda prova scritta
Ministero dell’istruzione e del merito
PL0I - ESAME DI STATO CONCLUSIVO DEL SECONDO CICLO DI ISTRUZIONE
Indirizzo: LICEO LINGUISTICO
(Testo valevole per tutti gli indirizzi del settore LINGUISTICO)
Disciplina: LINGUA E CULTURA STRANIERA (INGLESE)
Choose the answer which fits best according to the text. Circle one letter.
1. In the US
a. each person generates about the same amount of textile waste per year.
b. textiles are always poor quality.
c. wealthy people generate more textile waste than those with low incomes.
d. 76% of textile waste is clothing.
2. More than half of the textile waste is sent to landfills in the US which are usually
a. evenly distributed around US territory.
b. able to stop contamination of the environment.
c. always near big cities where they are most needed.
d. almost 3 times as likely to be in socially disadvantaged areas.
3. The textile waste sent to the Global South poses an even greater health risk than in the
US because
a. there are no landfills.
b. waste disposal systems are not as well developed there.
c. it is either buried or left in open dumps.
d. the clothing sent is often of poor quality.
4. People in the US and Europe donate used clothes to various associations because they
a. usually think they will be reused locally.
b. don’t like them anymore.
c. feel guilty about throwing them away.
d. want to help people in poorer nations.
5. The real issue about shipping clothing abroad is
a. between those concerned about the environmental and health impacts and those who
think the countries want it.
b. that no poor country wants it.
c. the poor quality and the amount of clothing sent.
d. over-consumption in the Global North.
Pag. 5/5 Sessione ordinaria 2025
Seconda prova scritta
Ministero dell’istruzione e del merito
PL0I - ESAME DI STATO CONCLUSIVO DEL SECONDO CICLO DI ISTRUZIONE
Indirizzo: LICEO LINGUISTICO
(Testo valevole per tutti gli indirizzi del settore LINGUISTICO)
Disciplina: LINGUA E CULTURA STRANIERA (INGLESE)
Answer the following questions. Use complete sentences and your own words.
6. What are the main problems for public health and the environment posed by Fast Fashion?
7. Why is the environmental impact of textile waste usually greater in the Global South than
in the Global North?
PART 2 – WRITTEN PRODUCTION
Complete both Task A and Task B
TASK A
Kofi Atta Annan, the 7th secretary-general of the UN from 1997 to 2006, and co-recipient, with
the UN, of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize, believed strongly in the importance of education and
said:
“Education is a human right with immense power to transform. On its foundation rest the
cornerstones of freedom, democracy and sustainable human development”.
Discuss this quote supporting your arguments with examples from your reading and personal
experience. (about 300 words)
TASK B
Your friend has written an e-mail to you to tell you about an enjoyable experience he/she has
had recently. It reminds you of something that once happened to you. Write back telling your
friend about your experience, and why you were reminded of it.
(about 300 words)
____________________________
Durata massima della prova: 6 ore.
È consentito l’uso di dizionari bilingue e monolingue.
Non è consentito lasciare l’Istituto prima che siano trascorse 3 ore dall’inizio della prova.
