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TEST YOUR READING SKILLS!

12 YEAR-OLD WRITES SONG TO INSPIRE AND RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT
MALALA YOUSAFZAI

Read the document and answer the questions.

12 year-old writes song to inspire and raise

awareness about Malala Yousafzai

January 11, 2013

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12 year-old Samantha Anne Martin recently heard the story of Malala Yousafzai , the
15 year-old Pakistani female activist who was shot by the Taliban on her way home
from school. Inspired by Malala's courage and fight for women's rights, Samantha
wrote an original song and recorded a music video with the help of her father. Malala
Yousafzai spoke out against the Taliban for their frequent ban of girls attending school,
as well as many other human rights she deserved, yet was denied. She is currently
recovering from the near fatal shot at a hospital located in England.

Martin named her tune Ricochet (Malala's Song) and uploaded the inspirational song
to iTunes. ALL of the money raised from iTunes purchases is donated to the Malala
Fund. The "Malala Fund for Girls' Right to Education" aims at raising billions of dollars
to ensure that all girls go to school by 2015 in line with United Nations Millennium
goals. The video, included at the end of this article, is continuing to gain momentum
and popularity on YouTube. The song was even played in full at the Holiday Bowl, a
nationally televised college football game between Baylor and UCLA.

Halfway across the world, Malala's father got word about the video and watched it
with his daughter. In a recent email to Martin, Malala's father wrote that he could not
control his tears. Martin was beyond excited about the response.
"Her family was so touched that they contacted us to say thank you and told us that it
made them cry," Martin wrote in an email to SunnySkyz. Martin is also trying to earn
Malala a nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. In her video, she asks that you
visit change.org/malala and sign the petition.
PART 1 : General Comprehension
Answer the Wh-Questions or tick the correct answers.

The document is a leaflet an online article a newspaper advertisement

a song an extract from a novel a speech a
diary entry

According to you, what may ( l.17) refer to ?

When was it published?

What is it about ?

Who are the 2 main persons mentioned ?

How are they related ?

What is the Human Right being abused ?

Right abuse

PART 2 : Detailed Comprehension

Answer the questions, fill in the grids or tick the correct answers.

Read carefully and highlight all the passive forms.

About the 2 girls : Fill in the ID Cards with elements from the article.

About the singer-songwriter About her source of inspiration

About the SONG : Fill in the grid :

Song Title
Theme of the song

Purpose of the song

 Adjectives (best describe it)

Focus on PART 1 ( l.1/ l.7 ) .

Explain in your own words (20-30 words) what the article tells us about the girl who has inspired
Samantha Anne to write a song. Make use of the notes taken previously.

Focus on PART 2 ( l.8 / l.14 ) .

What does Malala Fund refer to ? Explain in your own words by quoting elements from the text.

..

Explain what makes Ricochet so special .

Focus on PART 3 ( l.15 / l.21 ) .

Say what the nouns or pronouns refer to .

a. her ( l.18) : .
b. us ( l.18) : .
c. them ( l.19) :
d. Martin ( l.19) :

Say if the statements are Right or Wrong. Justify your answers by quoting the text.

a. The song was written before Malala was shot by Taliban gunmen ? Right Wrong
Justification

b. Malala is a brave and committed young girl. Right Wrong

Justification

c. Samantha wrote the song by herself. Right Wrong

Justification

d. Malala was nearly killed in the shooting . Right Wrong

Justification

e. Malalas crime is to have spoken up for the right of girls to be educated in her country .
Right Wrong

Justification

f. Malala is now recovering from her wounds in Pakistan. Right Wrong

Justification

g. The song was written to raise money for a good cause. Right Wrong
Justification

h. The song doesnt seem to be successful. Right Wrong

Justification
 i. Malala has e-mailed the young singer-songwriter to thank her personally. Right Wrong
Justification

j. According to the article, Malala was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize Right Wrong
Justification

Say who the following adjectives best apply to (Samantha / Malala / Both / Malalas father).
Get ready to justify your choice(s) by quoting the text.

brave/courageous involved touched inspired proud

committed
concerned excited sad moved pleased grateful
enthusiastic
upset thrilled determined

PART 3 : Prepare your ORAL TASK

As a journalist , you compare and contrast the commitment of the 2 girls to

introduce a documentary dedicated to them . To what extent are they
fighting the same battle ?
Can you see any differences?

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