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I
10
1.
Read the following text carefully.

Racial Tension amongst

15 British youth
 One person in twenty in Britain is not white. Britain’s different races generally live
peacefully side by side. However, every day kids in Britain are picked on because of their
skin colour. Earlier this year there were riots in several towns between Asian youths and
20whites. What causes racism amongst young people and how can it be combated?
Britain is a melting pot – a place where a lot of different cultures and races exist together.
Chicken Tikka Masala, an Indian dish adapted for British tastes is officially Britain’s favourite
dish, but in some areas the food is more accepted than the people. Bradford, in the north of
England, has a very large Asian community. Last April after a Hindu wedding, drunken white
25youths started shouting abusive racist comments. Things got out of hand, other groups of Asian
youths joined in and the result was a riot.
Asian youths had decided to fight back instead of simply taking abuse. The Asian kids
believed that the police were doing nothing to stop the racist attacks. Youth leaders say that a few
years ago, young Asians used to put up with the abuse by ignoring it. These days they have
30become angrier and model themselves on rappers. They decide that if the chances of the police
defending them are slim, they will defend themselves. In response to years of abuse towards
blacks and Asians, some areas of Bradford and Manchester now have no-go-areas for whites.
Most racial attacks against Asians are committed by 16-25 year olds. In nine out of ten cases,
the attackers are white.
35 Many schools teach “citizenship” in order to solve the problem. This covers learning more
about different races. Half of Britain’s students also have strict anti-racism rules.
Shazia, a 14 year-old British Muslim, says she isn’t sure, “I think it’s a good idea, especially as
racism is based on ignorance but racists don’t normally put their hand up in class and say,
‘Excuse me Miss, I’m racist’. They hide it more than that!
 40
Club (abridged)

45
2. Find words/phrases in the text that mean the same as the following.

a) bullied → ________________________________
b) violent street conflicts → ____________________
50c) offensive → ______________________________
d) accept an unpleasant situation or person without complaining → ________________________
e) severe → ________________________________

553. Say whether the following sentences are TRUE or FALSE. Quote from the text to support your
answer.

a) In Britain 5% of the population is not white. T □ F □

________________________________________________________________________
60________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
b) There is no cultural diversity in Britain. T □ F □
________________________________________________________________________
65________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
c) Indian people are more accepted than the dish that they brought to Britain. T □ F □
________________________________________________________________________
70________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
d) Nowadays young Asians are willing to defend themselves if they realize the possibilities of the
law enforcement protecting them are slender. T □ F □
75________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

804. Answer the following questions.

a) What does the following expression mean: “… in some areas the food is more accepted than
the people.”?
______________________________________________________________________________
85______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

90b) Are Portuguese schools also teaching “Citizenship”? What’s your opinion on this issue?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
 ______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
95______________________________________________________________________________

c) Do you agree with Shazia when she says that “racism is based on ignorance”? Account for
your answer.
______________________________________________________________________________
100______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

105
5. Match the words on the left with their definition on the right.

a) a belief or idea of what a particular type of person is like, which is often unfair or untrue
1. prejudice
b) unfair treatment of people, or violence against them, because they belong to a different
2. discrimination race from your own
c) the feelings of confusion and anxiety experienced by someone suddenly encountering an
3. intolerance
unfamiliar cultural environment
4. racism d) a small group of people in a country who are different from the rest in race and religion
e) an unreasonable dislike and distrust of people who are different from you in some way,
5. stereotype especially because of their race, sex, religion, etc. – used to show disapproval
6. segregation f) the practice of keeping people of different races or religions apart and making them live,
work or study separately
7. minority g) the practice of treating one person or group differently from another in an unfair way
h) unwillingness to accept ways of thinking or behaving that are different from your own
8. culture shock

110 KEY: 1 → ____ 2 → ____ 3 → ____ 4 → ____ 5 → ____ 6 → ____ 7 → ____ 8 → ____

115
II

1. Write an organized text of about 120 words on ONE of the following topics:
120
Topic A: Comment on the following quotation.
“One day our descendants will think it incredible that we paid so much attention to things like
the amount of melanin in our skin or the shape of our eyes or our gender instead of the unique
125identities of each of us as complex human beings.”
Franklin Thomas
Topic B:
130
There are some areas in the USA where students are required to complete 25 to 40 hours of
voluntary work in order to graduate. The hope is that by forcing teens to give back, they will be
encouraged to be good citizens and volunteers as adults. What is your opinion on this matter?
Should volunteering be part of teenagers’ education or should they be able to decide what they
135want to do?
 My choice: TOPIC _____
140

145

Good work!