Pilot School Gabs

School-year: 2008-09

FULL-TERM ENGLISH
PAPER N3

Level: 4th Formers M & Sc.Ex

Duration: 2 Hours

GETTING TOUGH ON BULLYING

Behavior that was once dismissed as kids being kids is now recognized as
bullying. And as mounting research shows the negative effects on both the bully
and the victim, mental health professionals, schools, parents and even, kids
themselves are coming up with new ways to combat this threatening behavior.
Bullying shouldnt be considered as normal part of growing up. Adults need to
take it seriously and try to understand why kids are involved on either end of
bullying, said Richard Gallagher, director of the Parenting Institute at the New
York University Child Study Center. Any form of verbal or physical behavior
that is controlling or threatening is bullying, he said.
According to the federal governments Stop Bullying Now Web Site, bullying
includes:

Any act that physically hurts someone, such as punching, kicking or shoving.
Excluding people from a group.
Teasing people or telling bad rumors about them.
Using someones computer user name and posting lies or rumors.
Sending hurtful instant messages, e-mails or text messages.
Posting mean pictures, lies or rumors about someone on a Web site, such as
Facebook or MySpace.

One of the biggest problems that adults encounter with bullying is silence; its
difficult to get accurate estimates of how pervasive the problem is, because
children just often dont report it, usually because of fear.
Consequences of bullying can affect both the bullies and the victims. Victims
may suffer a loss of self-esteem, and they may miss school, because theyre
afraid of being bullied. Ironically, bullies probably suffer worse long-term
consequences, as theyre more likely to use drugs or end up in jail in the future.
There needs to be a community-based change approach, Tarshis said,
president and medical director of the Bay Area Childrens Association in
Cupertino, Calif. It has to start with the school district, the principals, the
teachers, and support staff. When kids come in with complaints, they cant be
ignored; you also have to involve parents, and you need the innocent bystanders
to intervene and let other kids know that this behavior is not okay.
Many school systems are now taking a zero-tolerance approach to bullying,
and the most effective programs are ones that are designed to help both victims
and bullies. Kids bullying kids may need anger-management training, or they
may need further help because of something thats happening at home. Victims
may need help in learning to be more assertive, and they may need additional
help to recover from intense bullying.
MSN Health & Fitness, Jan. 16th, 2009
1

READING COMPREHENSION: (12 MARKS)

1 Two types of bullying are mentioned in the text, identify them: (2 marks)
Bullying may be: ...
;
..
2 Fill in the table with the right information from the text: (2 marks)
Bullies
Victims
Short-term and long- Use of drugs
-
term effects of bullying
- .
- Miss school
3 Answer the following questions: (2 marks)
a- How was bullying considered?
..
b- What is the bullied childrens usual reaction?
..
4 Find in the text words that mean nearly the same as: (2 marks)
a- Widespread ( 2)
: .
b- Self-confident ( 4) : .
5 What does the underlined word in the text refer to: (1 mark)
a- They ( 3)
:
6 Explain in your own words the following ideas with focus on the expressions in
bold face: (2 marks)
a- There needs to be a community-based approach, Tarshis said.
.
..
b- Many school systems are now taking a zero-tolerance approach to bullying
..
..
7

As a solution to such a problem, many parents opt for distance learning and
home schooling for their children. What do you think? (1 mark)
I think.......................................................................................................................
because

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