Red Line 3, Coursebook

Revision 1 Unit 1 - 3 62 s i xty - two A Reading 1 Read the text and complete the sentences. a Sindhu is from… b Three months ago … c The children work … d Sindhu earns … e Children go to work because … f Ten years ago … g Next month … h In September … Cheap children This is Sindhu. She’s twelve years old and she comes from Tamil Nadu in India. In the photo Sindhu is working. She’s making matches. Millions of children in India have to work and Sindhu is one of them. “My father had a bad accident three months ago and he couldn’t work,” Sindhu explains to our reporter. “So I had to earn some money. Now I come here every day with my mother.” The children have to work in a room without windows for 13 hours every day. Sindhu earns 30 rupees a day. That’s only half a euro. Her mother uses the money to buy food for the family. (Sindhu has four younger brothers and sisters.) “The work is very hard,” Sindhu says as she puts sticks into hot sulphur. “My fingers hurt and I feel tired, but we need the money.” The smell of sulphur in the air is very strong. Suddenly the owner of the factory comes in. He is very angry and shouts at us. We have to leave the building. There is child labour in many factories in India. Children under 14 have to work because their families need the money. The owners know that the children should be at school, but they are cheap, much cheaper than their parents. India is not the only country where there is child labour. More than 200 million children in the world must work to earn money for themselves or their families. Many people are trying to stop this, and the number of children in factories has fallen. Now life is better for many children than it was ten years ago. For Sindhu, too, there is hope. “My father is going back to work next month and we won’t need my money then,” she tells us. “I won’t have to work in the factory. I want to go to school again in September and learn to read and write. Then maybe I’ll find a better job.” 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 2 Answer the questions. a Why did the reporters leave the factory? b Why do factories use child labour? Every week ‘Cool!’ magazine brings you stories from around the world. This week’s report is from India. T Test practice B Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentu des Verlags öbv