Annales gratuites Bac ST2S : Loss of freedom

     I asked my mother yesterday how much freedom she had as a child. "Well," she replied, "I
     walked to my nursery school in Cambridge alone, aged three, and by four I was roaming the
     fields behind my house."
     After that, she explained, came the war¹. "Your grandfather was away and your grandmother
 5   was organising the Women's Voluntary Service; no one knew where the four children were.
     We spent our afternoons canoeing down the Cam without life-jackets, eating sausages out of
     tins and, when it rained, we slipped into the cinema to watch unsuitable love stories. No one
     worried about us, they had more important issues on their minds."
     Her childhood sounded idyllic. My mother explained that it wasn't always perfect. She had
 10  once been accosted by a man while bicycling to her fiend's. "I managed to get away. I
     carried on cycling to my friend's house and ate my tea; it never occurred to me to say
     anything until I went home. The police were called but I was back on my bike the next day."
     My mother took a similar attitude to my childhood. My younger sister and I were allowed to
     take the Tube home from school across London from the age of five. My sister was hit by a
 15  car once when she crossed a busy road to a sweet shop. She broke her leg but, as soon as it
     had mended we were walking home alone again.
     My brothers took the train to my grandmother's in Suffolk on their own from the age of six
     and spent all day without adults in the park playing football.
     Now, according to the Good Childhood Inquiry, children have everything — iPods, computer
 20  games and designer clothes — except the freedom to play outside on their own. Two thirds of
     10-year-olds have never been to a shop or the park by themselves.
     Fewer than one in ten eight-year-olds walk to school alone.
     I'm just as neurotic as other parents. I walk my three-, four- and six-year-olds to school every
     day, clutching their hands. Their every moment in London is supervised, with playdates and
 25  trips to museums. I drive them to football and tennis. No wonder they love going to the
     country where they can spend all day making camps in the garden, pretending to be orphans.
     It isn't just because I fear they may be abducted or run over, it's because I'm also worried
     about being seen as a bad parent. When I let my eldest son go to the loo² on his own on a
     train, less than 20 feet from where I was seated, the guard lectured me on my irresponsibility.
 30  When we go to the park there are signs in the playground saying that parents may be
     prosecuted if they leave their children unsupervised, and at the swimming pool there must be
     an adult for every two children.
     It is insane. My children still end up in the A&E³ department as often as we did. The inside of
     a house can be more dangerous than the street, and sitting at a computer all day, eating crisps,
 35  carries more long-term risks than skateboarding alone to a park.

     Telegraph.co.uk, June 2007.

     ¹ The war : World War II
     ² the loo : the toilet
     ³ A&E : les urgences

I - GENERAL COMPREHENSION

Write down the correct answer.

A- This text is from

1) a magazine.
2) an internet site.
3) a diary.

B- The main subject is

1) childhood memories.
2) the evolution of man.
3) the evolution of parenting.

C~ How many generations are mentioned?

1) two.
2) three.
3) four.

D- The text is set in

1) England.
2) Ireland.
3) Wales.

II - DETAILED COMPREHENSION

A- The following statements are right, Justify by quoting from the text.

1) The writer's mother did not grow up in London.
2) The writer's mother grew up in troubled times.
3) The writer's mother had several brothers and sisters.
4) The writer grew up in a city.

B- Right or Wrong? Answer and justify by quoting the text.

1) The writer's mother always told her parents where she was.
2) After the writer's sister's accident, her parents were more careful.
3) The writer's children are keen on playing without adults.
4) The writer is afraid of what other people think.
5) Children nowadays have fewer accidents.
6) Staying at home may be bad for your health too.

C- Quote the sentence from the text that gives two LEGAL rules concerning parents' obligations today.

D- Who or what do the following pronouns refer to?

1) l.7/8    "...no one worried about us..."
2) l.15      "She broke her leg..."
3) l.26      ".. they can spend all day..."
4) l.31      ".. .if they leave their children..."
5) l.33       "...as often as we did."

E- Find in the text the synonyms for:

1) problems
2) repaired
3) holding tightly
4) short journeys
5) kidnapped
6) reprimanded

I - GENERAL COMPREHENSION

Write down the correct answer.

A- This text is from

1) a magazine.
2) an internet site.
3) a diary.

B- The main subject is

1) childhood memories.
2) the evolution of man.
3) the evolution of parenting.

C- How many generations are mentioned?

1) two.
2) three.
3) four.

D- The text is set in

1) England.
2) Ireland.
3) Wales.

II - DETAILED COMPREHENSION

A- The following statements are right, Justify by quoting from the text.

1) The writer's mother did not grow up in London. - l.1&2 “I walked to my nursery school in Cambridge alone”.
2) The writer's mother grew up in troubled times. - l.4&5 “After that she explained, came the war. “Your grandfather was away and your grandmother was organising the Women’s Voluntary Service”.
3) The writer's mother had several brothers and sisters. - l.5 “No one knew where the four children were”.
4) The writer grew up in a city. - l.13&14 “My younger sister and I were allowed to take the Tube home from school across London”.

B- Right or Wrong? Answer and justify by quoting the text.

1) The writer's mother always told her parents where she was. - Wrong. l.5 “No one knew where the four children were” and l.7-8 “no one worried about us”.
2) After the writer's sister's accident, her parents were more careful. - Wrong. l.15-16 “She broke her leg but, as soon as it had mended we were walking home alone again”.
3) The writer's children are keen on playing without adults. - Right l.25-26 “No wonder they love going to the country where they can spend all day making camps in the garden, pretending to be orphans”.
4) The writer is afraid of what other people think. - Right. l.27-28 “I’m also worried about being seen as a bad parent”.
5) Children nowadays have fewer accidents. - Wrong. l.33 “My children still end up in the A&E department as often as we did”.
6) Staying at home may be bad for your health too. - Right l.33-35 “The inside of a house can be more dangerous than the streets, and sitting at a computer all day, eating crisps, carries more long-term risks than skateboarding alone to a park”.

C- Quote the sentence from the text that gives two LEGAL rules concerning parents' obligations today. - l.30 “When we go to the park there are signs in the playground saying that parents may be prosecuted if they leave their children unsupervised, and at the swimming pool there must be an adult for every two children”.

D- Who or what do the following pronouns refer to?

1) l.7/8    "...no one worried about us..." - “Us” refers to the narrator’s mother and her brothers and sisters.
2) l.15      "She broke her leg..." - “She” refers to the narrator’s younger sister.
3) l.26      ".. they can spend all day..." - “They” refers the narrator’s children.
4) l.31      ".. .if they leave their children..." - “They” refers to parents in general.
5) l.33       ...as often as we did." - “We” - refers to the narrator, her brothers and sisters, and probably children of her generation.

E- Find in the text the synonyms for:

1) problems: "issues" l.8
2) repaired: "mended" l.16
3) holding tightly: "clutching" l.24
4) short journeys: "trips" l.25
5) kidnapped: "abducted" l.27
6) reprimanded: "lectured" l.29