I have been checking your reading exams and I have found out that you have had a lot of problems to understand this `not so-easy text`. It´s very important that you don´t get disappointed at this, the important thing is that you consider the exam as practise for your final exam. It´s not going to be easy because you´re trying to achieve an Intermediate certificate, so you need extra practise to get it. You need to be in contact with the English language as much as possible. It´s not enough to attend the lessons at school.Anyway, you can have a look at the text again as well as the key.
I will try to check your listening exams tomorrow morning and I will tell you something as well.
Students that have not taken the oral exam do not forget to be in time to do it.
Enjoy the end of the weekend!
Too young to be a mother?
A 10-year-old girl giving birth to a baby in Spain has caused outrage. But she and her family seem happy, so why should we be worried? She is called Nicoletta and, undoubtedly, is as delightful as any healthy newborn baby. But her birth 10 days ago in the southern Spanish city of Jerez has provoked a storm – because her mother is just 10 years old.
What has shocked the rest of the world, however, is described as a happy event by the family. "My daughter is well, as is the little girl – who is very fine and pretty. She is very happy with her daughter," the baby's Romanian grandmother, Olimpia, told Spanish journalists. "This is not a drama, it is a cause for happiness. At this age we marry in Romania. It is normal amongst we Gypsies."
The father is said to be another minor, an unnamed Romanian boy aged 13. The relationship is now described as "over" by Olimpia. Under Spanish law, the age for consensual sex with an adult is 13 – one of the world's lowest. And, in a measure apparently maintained for Spain's own Gypsy community, the law allows a 14-year-old to marry if a judge decides there are exceptional circumstances. The United Nations has called on Spain to raise that age.
Little is known of the details of the young mother's journey from pregnancy to childbirth. Some reports say that she arrived in Spain only three weeks ago, apparently to attend a wedding. "The mother of the young girl says they came for a wedding and that she had got pregnant in Romania," explains a town hall spokeswoman in Lebrija, where the family is living. The child's mother herself stepped out of their small apartment on Wednesday to take her baby to the local health clinic. The girl wore a loose pink top and a flowing red dress, and her family placed a cloth over her head to protect her from photographers. "She is scared they will take her baby away," says Maria, a fellow Romanian who lives in the same apartment block. "The family is worried about what might happen, so they have stopped opening the door to people."
Attempts to paint the family as welfare scroungers have failed. "We have money, a home, electricity and water, so we do not need anything from the Spanish government," says Olimpia.
Robert Rustem, of the European Roma and Travellers Forum based in Brussels, says the case is exceptional and does not reflect practices in Romania or anywhere else. "I was aware of some cases of children of 15 giving birth, but it the first time I have heard of a birth to a 10-year-old. This is not an example of what happens in the entire community, though there are cases of early marriages – which we do not support – in certain communities. At the end of the day, it is really a decision of the girl and the parents – who are the guardians. The girl is a minor so her parents are the ones who must take responsibility."But he adds, "It is not acceptable that a girl at the age of 10 is giving birth to a baby. She is still a child and still developing as a person. Early marriage fosters the gap between communities and reinforces the cycle of poverty."
Doctors warn of the physical dangers to children whose own bodies are still growing. "If the mother has not completed her physical development or does not have the right nutrition to cope with the deficiencies caused by her age and condition, the consequences can be grave," gynaecologist De Manuel Alonso told El País. "Even if the body is ready, a young girl is not mentally prepared to become a mother," warned child psychologist Carolina Fernández.
Little Nicoletta's case is by no means unique in Spain, where abortions were performed on two girls aged nine and 10 in 2008. Of the 22 cases, there are five births to nine-year-olds from Brazil, Thailand, China, Singapore and Rwanda over the past decade. Four 10-year-olds from the United States are also on the list, including two in the last four years. "The UK has a history of an increasing number of teenage pregnancies," says Fry. "My view, without having any figures to back it up, is that they are getting earlier and earlier . . ."I would be worried sick if I were a parent of these girls. They are young women at the age of 10. So then it is not impossible to be of child-bearing age at 10." Fry, who is in favour of medical intervention to slow down those who reach puberty too early, adds, "It is a kind of disaster."
The one thing no one outside the family knows is exactly what the young Romanian mother herself thinks of the whole affair. "Now they will have to bring the child up," says her neighbour Maria.
1- Summarize in no more than five lines the content of this text
This text is about a young girl who has been a mother at the age of 10 in Spain. It comments on the details of this case and then it gives different opinions taken from specialists about the risks of having a child so young.
| 2 | 1 | 0 |
2- Which is the aim of the writer when he was writing this text? Where could it be published?
The aim of the writer is to show readers facts and interesting information about a hot topic such as having a child when you are so young. It could be published on a newspaper or perhaps in a magazine for teenagers.
| 2 | 1 | 0 |
3- What does the Spanish law say about the sexual relationships among teens? Is enough for the United Nations?
For the Spanish Law, 13 year-old girls may have sex with an adult but this is not enough for the United Nations which want Spain to take harder measures to avoid cases such as these.
| 1 | 0 |
4- The family of the young mother is well-considered in town. True or false?
False because the text says that they are looking for money and social services.
| 1 | 0 |
5- Who of the speakers support the idea that young girls are not mature enough to decide if they want to have a baby?
a) Manuel Alonso
b) Carolina Fernández
c) Robert Rustem
d) Nicoletta
| 1 | -0,33 | N |
6- “If the mother has not completed her physical development or does not have the right nutrition to cope with the deficiencies ….” Explain the meaning of the expression in bold, give a synonym and use it in a different sentence.
`To cope with` means to be able to overcome any difficult or dangerous situation. Synonyms are: to deal with, to sort out, to manage. Eg. Despite of the fact that this has been a very difficult year because of the economical crisis I have been able to cope with it.
| 2 | 1 | 0 |
7- How many abortions are practiced to girls under ten years old, according to this text?
6
| 1 | 0 |
8- Which is the best antonym for this word in italics: “there are cases of early marriages – which we do not support – in certain communities …”?
a) To criticize
b) To agree with
c) To fight against
d) To contempt
| 1 | -0,33 | N |
9- “So then it is not impossible to be of child-bearing age at 10." Do you agree with this statement? Give reasons to support your argument
Your personal opinion taking into account the criteria number 7 of the mask I gave to you.
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