PAU CHILD EXPLOITATION

CHILD EXPLOITATION

    Dhiraj Kumar, who is 14 years old, works at a tea shop at Delhi's bus station. His 12-hour work shift begins at 9 pm.  He makes tea, washes pots, pans and glasses, and serves the customers. For his work, he is paid 50 rupees (a little  less than one euro) a day. When a glass is stolen from the tea shop, he is held responsible. His family lives 1,000km  away, in the state of Bihar, and the smal  piece of land the family owns is unable to sustain everyone. Dhiraj’s pay is  crucial in the family's battle to survive.

     Children under 14 are vulnerable to physical, mental and even sexual abuse. Their exploitation goes unreported and unnoticed inside the closed confines of homes and food stalls. Parents say poverty forces them to send their children, sometimes as young as five, to work in other people's homes and businesses.

    An Indian government law banning children from working as domestic servants or in roadside food stalls came into  effect on 10 October, 2006. Anyone found exploiting children wil  face penalties, including imprisonment.   

    According to  the  authorities,  the  ban  will   affect  185,000  children  working  as  domestic  help  and  70,000  who  work  in  roadside  food stalls. But many people say the real number of exploited children could be as high as 20 mil ion, and consequently they believe the prohibition wil  not solve the entire problem.

(A)  COMPREHENSION (4 points)

a)  ANSWER QUESTIONS 1-2 ACCORDING TO THE INFORMATION GIVEN IN THE TEXT. USE YOUR OWN

WORDS.

1) Can a child under 12 work legally as a housemaid in India? Why?

2) Why may the Government’s measure not solve the entire problem of child labour?  (1 point per answer)

b)   ARE THESE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE? JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWERS WITH WORDS OR PHRASES

                  FROM THE TEXT. 

3) Dhiraj has to work the whole night.

4) His family does not need the money he earns.

5) In India some children start working when they are five years old.

6) Children cannot work in roadside food stalls.

(B)  USE OF ENGLISH (3 points)

7) Find in the text the word which has the following definition: 

“which can be easily attacked or easily hurt” (adjective)

8) Find in the text one opposite for WEALTH (noun).

9) Give an adjective with the same root as SURVIVE (noun) (l. 5).

10) Find in the text one synonym for FORBID (verb).

11) Join the fol owing sentences using a relative pronoun. Make changes if necessary.

A friend of mine is a famous scientist. He was born in India.

12) Turn the following sentence into the passive voice:

They say he is very young to work.

13) Rewrite the sentence without changing its meaning. Begin as indicated.

Many Indian people are too poor to have their own houses.

Many Indian people aren’t …

14) Turn the fol owing sentences into reported speech:

“I am very sorry for what I have done”, he said.

(C) PRODUCTION (3 points)

15) Write a composition (120 WORDS) Choose ONE of the fol owing options. Specify your option.

a)   What are the problems affecting children in poor countries?

b)   Would you like to travel to an underdeveloped country? Give reasons.