LANGUE VIVANTE II Epreuve du 1er groupe A N G L A I S The education of women and girls is essential not only to promoting gender equality, but also to addressing the full spectrum of 21st century challenges. Research shows that investing in education is one of the most effective investments in society. Much progress has certainly been made since 2000, when nations around the world committed to Millennium Development Goal (MDG) for the achievement of 5 universal primary education; yet considerable gaps remain, particularly for girls. According to some estimates, 72 million children worldwide do not attend school, and 54 percent of the unschooled are girls. In addition, although gender parity in primary education has increased over the past decade, a parity gap of 6 million still remains – and it is even starker in the developing world. In Yemen, nearly 80 percent of girls out of school are unlikely to enroll, as compared with 36 percent of boys. In sub- 10 Saharan Africa, almost 12 million girls are expected to not enroll. The quality of education is also a serious problem because, even where school enrollment has increased, many children are still leaving school without basic numeracy and literacy skills and are therefore not well prepared to compete and prosper. Improving girls’ access to secondary education is yet another area that needs greater attention. 15 Countries with the lowest standards of living and the highest rates of illiteracy are usually countries that do not educate their girls. If not corrected, these inequalities in education will perpetuate violence, poverty and instability and will keep nations from achieving economic, political and social progress. Educated mothers have more chance to ensure their babies are vaccinated and receive proper nutrition and they tend to have smaller, healthier and better-educated families. Children of educated mothers are 20 more likely to attend school. By Ambassador Mellane Verveer, Educating Women and Girls. E Journal USA Vol. 15 NO 12. I. READING COMPREHENSION (8 marks) A. The most suitable title for this text is: 1…………… (1 mark) a. Unschooled girls and women in Africa: The causes. b. Illiteracy eradication in Africa: A new challenge. c. Educating girls and women: A development investment. B. Find in the indicated paragraphs words similar in meaning to the following. (2 marks) 2. efficacious:…………………………………………. (parag. 1) 3. illiterate: ……………………………………………. (parag. 2) 4. ameliorating: ………………………………………. (parag. 3) 5. go to: ……………………………………………….. (parag. 5) C. Match the ideas expressed in these statements with the corresponding paragraphs of the text. (2 marks) a. Girls still leave school without being able to read or write. 6. Parag. …………………….. b. Efforts are made; however, many girls still do not have access to education. 7. Parag. …………………… c. Uneducated mothers can ultimately cause social troubles. 8. Parag. ……………………. d. The benefits of giving education to girls and women. 9. Parag…………………… D. Complete this sentence by referring to paragraph 4. (1.5 marks) If girls and women are not well-educated, our society may experience 10. ………………………………., 11. ……………………………., and 12. ………………………………… E. What or who do the following words refer to in the text? (1.5 marks) 13. it (parag. 2) : ……………………………………………………… 14. their (parag. 4) : ……………………………………………………………………… 15. they (parag. 5) : ………………………………………………..​LINGUISTIC AND COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCE (6 marks)
F. Fill in the gaps with the suitable form of the words in brackets. (2 marks)
Educating women is a 16. ………………………… (necessary) because they are the pillars of any
society. If they are 17. …………………………… (educated), their children could be easily exposed to
social problems like school abandonment and juvenile delinquency. That’s why governments have to do
more to 18. .…………………… (improvement) girls’ access to education. Unfortunately, in some
communities, it is still 19. .……………… (strong) believed that a woman should stay at home.
G. Complete meaningfully the following dialogue between Anna and Coumba on women and girls’
education with the relevant questions and tags. (2 marks)
Anna: Educating women is crucial today, (20) ……………………….?
Coumba: Of course, it is. A lot of progress has been made by women’s rights activists so far.
Anna: (21) However, ……………………………………………………………….. !
Coumba: Sure, and they know a lot more needs to done. For example, (22) ………………………………
……………………………………… In addition, (23)…………………………………………………………....
H. Mrs Mary Ngom, a women’s rights activist, is giving her opinion about the problems girls and
women are facing. Complete what she says coherently, without copying the text. (2 marks)
24. When girls are educated at a young age, society benefits because ……………………………………
25. Therefore, government must make sure that ……………………………………………………