L'engagement et la citoyenneté

Document 1. Article from a local newspaper, Leeds.
« Sixteen-year-old Amara Okafor has just been elected to the UK Youth Parliament. She will represent the young people of Leeds for two years. Amara got involved in local politics after her younger brother's school lost its library because of budget cuts. « I was angry, so I wrote to the council, » she explains. « Nobody answered. Then I started a petition, and 3,000 people signed it in a week. » The library reopened in March. Amara now campaigns for free bus travel for under-18s, because many teenagers cannot afford to go to after-school clubs. « Young people can't vote before eighteen, but that doesn't mean we have nothing to say, » she adds. Every Saturday, she also volunteers at a food bank with her mother. « Being a citizen isn't only about rights, » she says. « It's about giving something back. » »

1. Who is Amara, how old is she and what has she just been elected to?
2. What made Amara get involved, and what did she do first?
3. How many people signed her petition, and what was the result?
4. Explain in French what Amara means by « Being a citizen isn't only about rights. It's about giving something back. »

Document 2. Results of a survey in a secondary school in Cardiff: « Have you volunteered in the last twelve months? » (240 pupils, Years 9 to 11).

Note: a pupil could tick several types of action.

1. How many pupils answered the survey, and how many did not volunteer at all? Give this second number as a percentage.
2. Which type of action was the most popular, and which was the least popular?
3. Why can the numbers in the second column add up to more than 240? Answer in English.
4. Write two sentences of your own to comment on the results, one with « because » and one with « however ».

1. Complète avec le connecteur qui convient (because, so, however, for instance) : « Some rights are recent: women in the UK, ___, could not vote before 1918. » / « The council ignored the letter, ___ the pupils started a petition. »
2. Complète avec la préposition : « We are campaigning ___ a new skate park. » / « She protested ___ the closure of the youth club. » / « My brother volunteers ___ an animal shelter. »
3. Mets au prétérit : « The students (go) ___ on strike, (speak) ___ to the press and finally (win) ___ their case. »
4. Réécris correctement la phrase, qui contient trois erreurs : « I am agree with Amara because that teenagers should have the right of vote at sixteen. »

1. Traduis en anglais : « une banque alimentaire », « signer une pétition », « sensibiliser à », « donner de son temps ».
2. Donne le nom (personne) dérivé de : to volunteer, to campaign, to demonstrate, to elect.
3. Explique en anglais la différence entre a right et a duty, avec un exemple de chaque.
4. Trouve l'intrus dans chaque liste et justifie en français : a) petition, strike, march, taxes — b) however, whereas, because, but.

Your school is asking pupils: « Should volunteering be compulsory for all teenagers? » Write your answer for the school magazine (80 words minimum), following the four steps.

1. State your opinion clearly with an opinion phrase (In my opinion, I strongly believe, As far as I'm concerned…).
2. Give a reason with « because » and an example with « for instance » or « such as ».
3. Present the opposite view with « however » or « on the other hand », then answer it.
4. Conclude with « to sum up » and mention one action you did or would do (use at least one verb in the preterite).