Adolescents constitute a nation's core resource for national renewal and growth. Adolescence is a period in life when transition from childhood to adulthood takes place and behaviours and life styles are shaped. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), adolescence is the period which shapes the future of girls' and boys' lives. There are 28 million adolescents in Bangladesh; 13.7 million of them are girls and 14.3 million boys. The situation of adolescent girls in Bangladesh is characterised by inequality and subordination within the family and society. This inequality leads to widespread practice of child marriage, marginalisation or exclusion from health, education and economic opportunities, and vulnerability to violence and sexual abuse. In Bangladesh, the legal age of marriage is 18 for girls and 21 for boys. However, 33 percent of adolescent girls are married before the age of 15 and 60 percent become mothers by the age of 19. Research finds that adolescents with higher level of education and from more affluent families tend to marry at a later age. Boys, however, become ready for marriage only after several years of adolescence and young adulthood.

১.

Choose the best answer from the alternatives.

(a) What does the word 'constitute' mean?
(i) form
(ii) add
(iii) take
(iv) make

(b) The synonym of 'legal' is-
(i) illicit
(ii) banned
(iii) lawful
(iv) prohibited

(c) The phrase 'leads to refers to-
(i) results of
(ii) results in
(iii) results from
(iv) results to

(d) Adolescence is a .......... period from childhood to adulthood.
(i) constant
(ii) rigid
(iii) fixed
(iv) transitional

(e) The word 'economic' can be replaced by--
(i) monetary
(ii) cheap
(iii) fragile
(iv) economical

(f) What could be the closest meaning of the word 'core' in the first sentence?
(i) Alternative
(ii) Subsidiary
(iii) Central
(iv) Minor

(g) The phrase 'take place' stands for--
(i) occur
(ii) go to a place
(iii) remain
(iv) destroy

(h) The synonym of affluent is--
(i) destitute
(ii) poverty
(iii) poor
(iv) solvent

(i) The transition from childhood to adulthood takes place in life--
(i) during childhood
(ii) in adolescence
(iii) before death
(iv) when they get maturity

(j) The word 'marginalisation' refers to-
(i) holding a lot of money
(ii) holding no power
(iii) boldness in decision making
(iv) having empathy

উত্তর

(a) (i) form

(b) (iii) lawful

(c) (ii) results in

(d) (iv) transitional

(e) (i) monetary

(f) (iii) Central

(g) (i) occur

(h) (iv) solvent

(i) (ii) in adolescence

(j) (ii) holding no power

Adolescents constitute a nation's core resource for national renewal and growth. Adolescence is a period in life when transition from childhood to adulthood takes place and behaviours and life styles are shaped. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), adolescence is the period which shapes the future of girls' and boys' lives. There are 28 million adolescents in Bangladesh; 13.7 million of them are girls and 14.3 million boys. The situation of adolescent girls in Bangladesh is characterised by inequality and subordination within the family and society. This inequality leads to widespread practice of child marriage, marginalisation or exclusion from health, education and economic opportunities, and vulnerability to violence and sexual abuse. In Bangladesh, the legal age of marriage is 18 for girls and 21 for boys. However, 33 percent of adolescent girls are married before the age of 15 and 60 percent become mothers by the age of 19. Research finds that adolescents with higher level of education and from more affluent families tend to marry at a later age. Boys, however, become ready for marriage only after several years of adolescence and young adulthood.

২. Answer the following questions:
(a) What do you understand by adolescence?
(b) What is the condition of girls in Bangladesh?
(c) What is gender disparity? What are the consequences of it?
(d) Which factors are responsible for girls' early marriage?
(e) Why is adolescence an important period in life?

উত্তর

(a)Adolescence is the transitional period between childhood and adulthood. This period is critical for establishing behaviours, values and attitudes that will carry into adulthood. It is characterized by significant physical, emotional, psychological and social changes.

(b) The condition of adolescent girls in Bangladesh is very miserable. They are victims of inequality and subordination within the family and society.

(c) Gender disparity is a social phenomenon in which people become victim of unequal treatment on the basis of gender. In our country adolescent girls' situation is characterized by inequality and subordination in the family and society. The consequences of this inequality are widespread practice of child marriage, marginalization or exclusion from health, education and economic opportunities, and vulnerability to violence and sexual abuse.

(d) Inequality and subordination within the family and society are responsible for girls' early marriage. These factors refer to the unequal distribution of power, resources, and opportunities between different members of the family and society. The passage also indicates that girls with more education and from wealthier families tend to marry later.

(e)Adolescence is an important period of life because in this period behaviours and lifestyles get shaped, and this period shapes the future of girls' or boys' lives.

Education gives us knowledge and a set of abilities to function meaningfully in life such as the ability to decide things rationally and make the right choices. As we learn how to read, write and do the basic operations of arithmetic, we gain a degree of self confidence. We learn to think for ourselves and articulate our thoughts; we pick up skills to communicate with others and manage our affairs well. Education helps us think independently and make our own opinions. As we know more about the world, we appreciate the good things it offers us but also become critical of the deviations from the values it imparts and the rise of hatred or conflict that follows.

৩.

Based on the text below write short notes in each of the boxes mentioning the benefits of education to make a flow chart (No. 1 has been done for you):

Box	Content
1	Offering a set of abilities
2	______
3	______
4	______
5	______
6	______

উত্তর

Box	Content
1	Offering a set of abilities
2	Helping us function meaningfully
3	Giving the ability to decide things rationally
4	Helping us make the right choices
5	Helping us gain a degree of self confidence
6	Helping us think independently

Sheikh Kamal knew that there was no shortcut to success. He groomed himself up as a young man who earned success by dint of perseverance and commitment. When the Pakistan military began its genocide in Bangladesh, he joined the Liberation War and received military training at Camp Murtce located in the Himalayan foothills in India. The tall young man who carried himself with dignity and possessed remarkable traits of leadership became the ADC of General Ataul Goni Osmani, the Commander in Chief of Bangladesh Armed Forces during the Liberation War. After Independence, Sheikh Kamal could easily remain in the Bangladesh Army and pass a secure life but he preferred to engage himself in country building and organizing the young forces to that end. Journalist Syed Ishtiaq Reza in one of his columns 'Ekjon Sheikh Kamal' in Bangla Tribune rightly says that the unique qualities of Sheikh Kamal's character, especially his wholehearted involvement in sports and culture are never seen in any son or daughter of any President, Prime Minister or High Officials in Bangladesh.

৪. Write a summary of the following passage:

উত্তর

Sheikh Kamal did not believe in the shortcut to success. Rather, he believed in perseverance and commitment. On returning from the Liberation War he could lead a secure life as an army officer but he engaged himself in nation-building activities especially organizing the young forces. The leadership features and organizing skills he displayed in the sports and cultural arena are truly rare in a family member of the Head of the State in Bangladesh.

ময়মনসিংহ বোর্ড ২০২৪

ময়মনসিংহ বোর্ড ২০২৪ আনলক করো