Nombre total de pages vues

vendredi 16 décembre 2011

Children in Britain

Part one: Reading. [15pts]
Read the text and do the following activities;
A-    Comprehension:     [08pts]
Text:
         Britain is still exploiting children, as a recent survey has revealed. Laura Cliff worked in an old people’s home when she had just turned 14, and her experience reflects the many ways in which employers get around the law: “My parents encouraged it because they thought it was good to get experience of crappy jobs so I didn’t end up as a privileged or spoilt child. I asked in the local shops, and finally got a job washing up for five hours in an old people’s home each Saturday and Sunday.”
         The job in itself is legal for a 14 year old but working after 11 A.M. or for more than two hours on a Sunday is not legal for anyone under 16. “It only took me one and a half hour to do the work

         The owners of the old people’s home were flagrantly disregarding the child employment regulations by allowing a 14 year old to carry out these duties, and Laura remembers their attitude: “The owners knew how old I was and when they received complaints from the employees they said ‘get that little girl to do it’.” and I got bored when I had finished so I used to ask for extra work from the nurses. I began helping them with the residents, in effect I was a nursing assistant, I used to bath old people, undress them ready for bed, lift them, feed them, I even changed dressings for bedsores.”
         Child labour is often used as an underhand way of avoiding paying full wages to adult staff. Laura was receiving 80p an hour as a kitchen assistant.
         In retrospect Laura is horrified that she was allowed to work as an auxiliary at the age of 14 for several reasons: “First I’m worried about the damage I could have done. Secondly, the old people had no choice and I could have been nasty and thirdly, it’s no job for a kid. When I realised that 18 and 19 year olds were trying to get these jobs and failing I felt bad that I had taken someone’s job. It was highly responsible and stupid of the home.”, a wage which increased to 85p when she began working as a nursing auxiliary. The equivalent adult hourly rate would be approximately four times that amount, so it’s easy why an underage employee is the more attractive option.                                                                                  Vuibert (Annales Bac 96)
1.    Choose a title to the text;       (01pt)
a)    A Teen’s Experience in a hospital.
b)    In an Old People’s Home.
c)    Child Labour.
2.    Read the text and say whether the following statements are True or False; (02.5pts)
a)    Laura Cliff worked in a hospital. .
b)    Laura helped the nurses look after the residents.
c)    She did extra work because she was obliged to.
d)    The home owners were very strict with the employees’ laws.
e)    She worked more and was paid less than the others.
3.    Answer the questions according to the text;                             (03pts)
a)    What job was Laura Cliff recruited for?
b)    Mention the duties Laura had to do as a nursing assistant
c)    Laura’s job was partly legal and partly not legal. Can you say what was legal and what wasn’t?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Turn the page;
4.    Which paragraph mentions that the home owners were violating children’s rights?                                                                                      (01.5pt)

B-    Text exploration:     [07pts]
1.    Find in the text words which correspond to these definitions;            (01pt)
a)    Avoid or find a way for dealing with something at one’s advantage.  (§3)
b)    A secret and dishonest manner.    (§4)
2.    Give the opposites of the following words keeping the same roots:   (01pt)
a) easy.       b) encouraged.        c) privileged.       d) legal.
3.    Re-write sentence “b” so that it means the same as sentence “a”.   (02pts)
a)    Britain is still exploiting children
b)    Children .......................................in Britain.
a)    Laura Cliff said: “I’m worried about the damage I could’ve done.”
b)    Laura Cliff said…………………………………………………………….
4.    Put the verbs in brackets in the correct form;       (01pts)
         “I wish I (not/take) someone’s job”, (say) Laura today whenever she (think) about her past experience. “If all managers (be) honest .........!!!
5.    Classify the following words according to their final (-s);            (01pt)
duties – employees – dressings - regulations.
/ s /    / z /    / iz /
       
6.    Match the statements from ‘A’ with the statements from ‘B’;    (01pt)
A   
1.    Don’t you think the owners were greedy and dishonest?
2.    I could’ve made irreversible errors!
3.    My parents thought it could be good for the future.
4.    Today things have changed, laws are stricter. 
B
a)    Exactly! You were too young for such a task.
b)    Yes, but regulations are still abused and people get around.
c)    I couldn’t agree more.
d)    If they had known, they wouldn’t have agreed.

Part two: Writing.       [05pts]
Choose one of the following topics;

Topic 1: You are Laura Cliff. You remember that one day, while helping one of those residents; he/she fell and got injured. The homeowners got furious with you because you failed in your responsibility. Write about the accident: Say what you did, how the other nurses reacted? What the reaction of the home owners was and how it ended.

Topic Two: You paid a visit to someone in an old people’s home and have been horrified to find a 14-year-old girl working as a nursing auxiliary. You decide to write a letter to the Department of Solidarity to denounce the practices of the employers towards under-aged people.

Aucun commentaire:

Enregistrer un commentaire