Adolescents seen Passage HSC
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.
A. Choose the correct answer from the alternatives.
(a) What could be the closest meaning of the word ‘constitute’ in the first sentence?
i. take
ii. form
iii. add
iv. make
(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) Adolescence is a ___ period from childhood to adulthood.
i. transition
ii. transitory
iii. transitional
iv. transient
(d) The synonym of affluent is ___.
i. destitute
ii. poor
iii. poverty
iv. well off
(e) The word 'economic' can be replaced by ___.
i. economy
ii. economical
iii. monetary
iv. finance
(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 'leads to' in the passage refers to ___.
i. results of
ii. results in
iii. results from
iv. results to
(h) Adolescence is a ___ period from childhood to adulthood.
i. constant
ii. transitional
iii. rigid
iv. fixed
(i) The synonym of 'legal' is ___.
i. illicit
ii. banned
iii. prohibited
iv. lawful
(j) The word 'economic' can be replaced by ___.
i. monetary
ii. economical
iii. cheap
iv. financed
B. Answer the following questions.
(a) What do you mean by the term 'adolescence'?
(b) Why is adolescence an important period of life?
(c) What do the adolescent girls in Bangladesh usually face?
(d) What are the effects of female inequality in Bangladesh?
(e) How do wealth and education influence a girl’s marriage?
(f) How can you define adolescence?
(g) Why are the adolescents important?
(h) What is the condition of adolescent girls in Bangladesh?
(i) What arc the consequences of gender inequality in Bangladesh?
(j) Which factors influence a girl’s marriage?
Adolescents Passage Answer Sheet
A.
(a) ii. form
(b) i. occur
(c) iii. transitional
(d) iv. well off
(e) iii. monetary
(f) iii. Central
(g) ii. results in
(h) ii. transitional
(i) iv. lawful
(j) i. monetary
B.
(a) Adolescence is a period in a person's life when he or she grows from a child to be an adult. It occurs after childhood and before adulthood.
(b) Adolescence is an important period of life because the behaviours and lifestyles of a person are shaped during this period.
(c) The adolescent girls in Bangladesh usually face inequality and subordination within the
family and even in the society.
(d) The effects of female inequality in Bangladesh are the widespread practice of child
marriage, marginalisation or exclusion from health, education and economic opportunities
and prone to sexual abuse and violence.
(e) Wealth and education play a vital role in a girl's marriage. An educated and wealthy girl
tends to marry at a later age whereas an uneducated and poor girl is married off at an
early age.
(f) Adolescence is a transitional period from childhood to adulthood. Actually, transition from
childhood to adulthood takes place during this period. A person's behaviours and lifestyles
are also shaped in this period.
(g) The adolescents are important as they consist of a nation's core resource for national renewal and growth.
(h) The condition of adolescent girls in Bangladesh is that they are facing inequality, and subordination within the family and society.
(i) The consequences of gender inequality in Bangladesh are widespread practice of child
marriage, marginalization or exclusion from health, education and economic opportunities
and vulnerability to violence and sexual abuse.
(j) Poverty, illiteracy and social insecurity are the factors that influence a girl's marriage.
