ENGLISH TEST DATE:

NAME: CLASS: MARK: /20

COMMENTS:

READING COMPREHENSION
NOTE AUX CANDIDATS
Les candidats traitent le sujet sur la copie qui leur est fournie et veillent à :

- respecter l’ordre des questions ;

- faire toujours suivre les citations du numéro de la ligne ;
- recopier les phrases à compléter en soulignant l’élément introduit ;
- Répondre brièvement en anglais aux questions posées sans mention du nombre de mots imposés.

(Document 1)

What is the nature of the document under study ?

The document is an article with statistics about child soldiers. ( = a statistics article / a
statistical article)
What is the issue which is raised ?
It deals with the issue of war children and child soldiers.
Using elements from the text , give a definition of “Child soldier” .
A child soldier refers to a child who is forced to serve as a soldier in wars.
The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child states that every child has certain rights that should
never be taken
away from them. Using the information listed in the text , pick out 4 rights in the UN Convention on the
Rights of
the Child that are violated in the case of child soldiers.
The right to life / the right to safety / the right to food and shelter / the right to live in society
/ the right to education / the right to play / the right not to be used as a cheap worker/ the
right not to be used as a soldier in wars/ the right not to be hurt/ the right to be protected
from danger / the right to be with their parents
To what extent can child soldiers be seen as victims or slaves. Explain in your own words making
use of passive
forms in your answer. (50 words)
Child soldiers can be seen as victims or slaves as they are abducted (captured /kidnapped)
and forced to serve as soldiers in wars . They are also tempted to become soldiers for food
or safety as they are poor or orphans. Moreover, most of them are tortured and victims of
abuse. They are forced to take drugs by their captors and to kill innocent people. Child
soldiers are not protected by law and they die or are wounded in battle. Also they are not
allowed to go to school. Most of the” Rights of the Child “ are denied in the case of war
children as they are not treated as children.

(Document 2)

 What is the song topic ? Justify your answer by quoting the text .
The song deals with Emmanuel Jal’s personal story as a war child and his fight against child
soldiers.  “I’m a war child “ “I believe I’ve survived for a reason to tell my story to touch
lives .”

 What type of narrative is it ? What does it tell you about the narrator.
Tick 
 the correct box and justify your choice by quoting the text .

 a first-person narrative 

Emmanuel Jal, the singer –songwriter is the narrator .  “I’m” / “my” / ”We”/ “my story”  It’s
a first-person narrative because Emmanuel Jal tells his own story. It’s a personal testimony.

 List all the persons mentioned .

 The persons mentioned are Emmanuel Jal , his father, his mother, his grand-mother, his
brothers . The “people” from Sudan, his home country , the Christians and Muslisms, and the
government are also mentioned.

 What do you learn about the narrator ? (40 words) (name / origin / occupation / religion / childhood /social
background )

The narrator is a Sudanese (from South Sudan) singer-songwriter . He grew up in war time
and he himself became a child soldier as most of his family was killed in the war . He is a
Christian. He came from a middle-class family as his father was a policeman before joining a
rebel movement. His father and his brothers fought in the war. Both his mother and grand-
mother had a mental illness.

 Briefly explain what was going wrong in the narrator’s country .

There was a civil war at the time in Sudan and a lot of tension between the Christians and
the Muslims. (The country was at war)

 List 4 Human Rights that the narrator was denied as a child .

The song is about the right to live in freedom and safety, the right for children to have a
childhood, the right to food and shelter / the right to have a family , the right not to be used
as soldiers in a war / the right to education / the right to be treated fairly.

 RIGHT or WRONG ? Justify your answer by quoting from the text .

a- He was born in a lower- class family . WRONG 

 (l.11) “My father was working for the government as a policeman”

b- His family were deprived of their belongings. RIGHT 

(l.15) “We lost our possession”

c- He has overcome his trauma now . WRONG 

(l.25) “the pain I’m cutting is too much to handle”
(l.27) “Is there anyone to hear my cry ? ”
 Identify the repetitions in the song .

“I’m a war child” X 4 / “child” X 6 / “ I believe I’ve survived for a reason to tell my story to
touch lives …” X6 / “blessed” X 2 / “touch lives” X 15

 What is the effect produced ?

It gives more power, more impact, more strength to the message. The aim is to raise
awareness about the issue of child soldiers. He wants to “touch” the hearts of the listeners.

 What is the overall tone of the song ? Justify your choice by quoting the text .

The overall tone of the song is sadness (sad) and suffering (painful) (l.25) “ The pain I’m
cutting is too much to handle “ /(l.27)” is there anyone to hear my cry ,” as the song deals
with a serious issue, war and child soldiers. It is a very emotional song.

 Read these 2 lines . What does the imagery convey?

 “ The pain I’m cutting is too much to handle. Who’s there to light up my candle”.

On the one hand, the imagery conveys pain and suffering, but on the other hand the words
“light” and “candle” convey some hope.

 Come up with 2 adjectives to describe Emmanuel Jal .

Emmanuel Jal is brave and courageous as he survived the atrocities of the civil war as a child
soldier. He is a committed singer - songwriter who writes songs to tell the world about his
personal story. / he is determined to change things . / he is very inspiring .

 What do you think is the purpose of his song ? What does he hope to achieve ?
Through his own story as a war child, he hopes to raise awareness about the issue of child
soldiers and let the world know that many children’s rights are denied in some countries where
children are forced to serve as soldiers in the war.

 Emmanuel Jal calls himself a “ warchild” . Explain why he may be called so. ( 40 words)

I agree with the fact that he may be called a “war child” as he grew up in wartime . He was
ill-treated as a child and forced to become a child soldier in his home country. He was denied
the right to a family and to live in safety. He must have been tortured by his captors.

(Document 1 and Document 2)

 Match each statement on the left with the appropriate document(s) on the right

1- Giving a personal testimony. a- ONLY Document 1

2- Stating facts based on a study . b- ONLY Document 2
3- Denouncing the situation of Child c- Document 1 AND Document 2
Soldiers.
1 – b / 2- a / 3- c

 Comment on the Power of Words as shown in the documents. Compare and contrast both
documents .
To what extent could (Document 2) have more impact on a reader in a campaign to raise awareness
about Child
Soldiers in the world ? (50 words)
Both documents illustrate the Power of Words in so far as the words used are meaningful and
powerful . They are both are a good illustration of the violation of Human Rights. We are
dealing with 2 documents raising the issue of Child Soldiers and Human Rights abuses. Even
though they are both meant to raise awareness about the issue of Child Soldiers , the protest
song could have more impact on a reader in a campaign to raise awareness. Indeed, contrary
to the article which only states facts, document 2 is a protest song based on a true story
which aims at “touching people’s lives” . It is more emotional and consequently has more
impact. On top of that, the singer tells us about his own story and experiences as a war child
, which gives more power to the message that he wants to deliver. Emmanuel Jal’s protest
song highlights the fact that words can also be used to heal people in pain.

(Document 1)

CHILD SOLDIER STATISTICS

• Approximately 300,000 children under the age of 18 are thought to be fighting in conflicts
around the world.
• Most child soldiers are recruited from the age of 10 upwards.
• Some children are tempted to become soldiers by promises of food or security. Many others are
kidnapped and forced to fight. They do not usually get paid for their work.
• Sometimes their captors force children to take addictive drugs to make them dependent and loyal.
• Many of the children don’t have a strong sense of right and wrong, and will commit atrocities such
as the murder of innocent people.
• Child soldiers, both boys and girls, are often the victims of abuse.
• Most often child soldiers are recruited in long drawn-out civil wars. Many are orphans, or are
recruited after losing their family.
• Many children die or are wounded in battle. Those that survive and gain freedom need years of
support to overcome their trauma and successfully reintegrate into society.
• Most child soldiers have missed out on opportunities for education and play and many have difficulty
finding a place in society.

(Document 2)

WAR CHILD
(lyrics by Emmanuel Jal)

I believe I’ve survived for a reason to tell my story to touch lives

I believe I’ve survived for a reason to tell my story to touch lives

All the people struggling down there

Storms only come for a while
Then after a while they’ll be gone
Blessed, blessed

I’m a war child

I’m a war child
I believe I’ve survived for a reason to tell my story to touch lives (touch lives, touch lives, touch
lives, touch lives, touch lives, touch lives, touch lives)

My father was working for the government as a policeman

Few years later I heard he joined a rebel movement that was formed to fight for freedom
I didn’t understand the politics behind all this ‘cause I was only a child
After a while I saw the tension rising high between the Christian and the Muslim regime
We lost our possession
My mother, my mother’s mother suffered depression and because of this…
I was forced to be a war child

I’m a war child (ane ge kore, kore*)

I’m a war child (ane ge kore, kore*)
I believe I’ve survived for a reason to tell my story to touch lives (touch lives, touch lives, touch
lives, touch lives, touch lives, touch lives, touch lives)

I lost my father in this battle

My brothers too perished in this struggle
All my life I’ve been hiding in the jungle
The pain I’m cutting is too much to handle
Who’s there please to light up my candle
Is there anyone to hear my cry.

* South Sudanese dialect, translation: ‘and I’m crying, crying’