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.

1. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives: 0.5 x 10 = 5
(a) What could be the closest meaning of the word 'constitute' in the first sentence?
i. Take ii. Form iii. Add iv. Mark
(b) The phrase 'take place' in the second sentence stands for ----------.
i. occur ii. recur iii. go to a place iv. all of them
(c) The synonym of 'affluent' is ----------.
i. destitute ii. poor iii. poverty iv. well off
(d) What could be the closest meaning of the word 'core' in the first sentence?
i. Alternative ii. Subsidiary iii. Central iv. Minor
(e) The phrase 'leads to' in the passage refers to ----------.
i. results of ii. results in iii. results from iv. results to
(f) Adolescence is a ---------- period from childhood to adulthood.
i. constant ii. transitional iii. rigid iv. fixed
(g) The synonym of 'legal' is ----------.
i. illicit ii. banned iii. prohibited iv. lawful
(h) The word 'economic' can be replaced by ----------.
i. monetary ii. economical iii. cheap iv. financed
(i) The word 'widespread' mentioned in the passage means ----------.
i. limited ii. wide-ranging iii. narrow iv. minor
(j) The word 'marginalization' refers to ----------.
i. holding a lot of power ii. underestimation iii. boldness in decision making iv. having sympathy for others

উত্তর

(a) ii. Form
(b) i. occur
(c) iv. well off
(d) iii. Central
(e) ii. results in
(f) ii. transitional
(g) iv. lawful
(h) i. monetary
(i) ii. wide-ranging
(j) ii. underestimation

When adolescent girls are pulled out of school, either for marriage or work, they often lose their mobility, their friends and social status. The lack of mobility among adolescent girls also curtails their economic and non-formal educational opportunities. Moreover, they lack information about health issues. According to a study, only about three in five adolescents have even heard of HIV. It is also reported that more than 50 percent of adolescent girls are undernourished and suffer from anaemia. Adolescent fertility is also high in Bangladesh. The contribution of the adolescent fertility rate to the total fertility rate increased from 20.3% in 1993 to 24.4% in 2007. Moreover, neonatal mortality is another concern for younger mothers. While the situation for adolescent boys is somewhat better, many are vulnerable and lack the power to make decisions about their own lives. Many boys who are unable to go to school, or are unemployed, remain unaware of social or health issues. They are at considerable risk of being drawn into criminal activities. They are also more likely to get exposed to drugs and alcohol causing irreparable damage to their health and life.

2. Answer the following questions: 2 x 4 = 8
(a) Why are adolescent girls pulled out of school?
(b) What happens to a girl when she loses mobility?
(c) Who are more vulnerable to adolescent health problems- boys or girls? Why?
(d) What major problems do boys face during adolescence?

উত্তর

(a) Adolescent girls are pulled out of school either for marriage or for work.

(b) When a girl loses mobility, she loses her friends and social status. Her economic and non-formal educational opportunities are also curtailed.

(c) Girls are more vulnerable to adolescent health problems because many adolescent girls are undernourished, suffer from anaemia, face early marriage and become mothers at an early age.

(d) During adolescence, many boys remain unaware of social and health issues. They may also be drawn into criminal activities and exposed to drugs and alcohol.

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.

3. Write the synonyms or antonyms of the words as directed below. 0.5 x 10 = 5
(a) usually (synonym) (b) illegal (antonym) (c) demand (synonym) (d) majority (antonym) (e) maternal (antonym) (f) mortality (antonym) (g) mobility (antonym) (h) curtail (antonym) (i) unemployed (antonym) (j) expose (antonym)

উত্তর

(a) generally
(b) legal
(c) claim
(d) minority
(e) paternal
(f) immortality
(g) immobility
(h) extend
(i) employed
(j) conceal

In recent years there have been many alarming reports that world's climate is undergoing a significant change. All these reports provide (a) ---------- evidence (b) ---------- world's temperatures are increasing day by day. This increase in global (c) ---------- is caused (d) ---------- increased amounts of carbon dioxide (e) ---------- the earth. Most climatologists (f) ---------- that greenhouse effect is the likely (g) ---------- of this global warming. It may harm human (h) ---------- seriously.

4. Fill in the blanks with an appropriate word in each gap. 0.5 x 8 = 4

উত্তর

(a) clear
(b) that
(c) temperature
(d) by
(e) around
(f) believe
(g) cause
(h) life

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