It's a very hot morning in the Punjab village of Wasan Pura.

A carpet master, Sadique, is talking to a thirty-yearold brick worker named Mirza

Nadeem, the carpet weaver

1

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

"I've admired your boy for

several months," Sadique says.
"Nadeem is bright and ambitious.
He will learn more practical skills in
six weeks with me than he would
in six years of school. He will be
taught by experienced craftsmen,
and he will be paid well if he works
well. You can be sure that your son
will be thankful for the opportunity
you have given him."
Sadique has given this speech many times before. Like many
manufacturers, he recruits children for his workshop. He is particularly
interested in boys aged seven to ten. "They make ideal employees," he
says. "Boys at this age have great dexterity and endurance, and they're
wonderfully obedient - they'd work around the clock if they were asked. " He
admits, "I employ them first because they're economical. For what I'd pay
one adult weaver I can get three boys, sometimes four, who can produce
first-class carpets in no time." Sadique finishes by saying: "I wish I had been
given such an opportunity when I was a boy."
Mirza has worked in a brick factory for 15 years to support his family. He
makes bricks by hand for up to eighty hours a week. The work pays poorly
or not at all. He has not paid his rent for months and is in debt to the village
merchants. So he agrees to let Nadeem work for Sadique.
Because of the low cost of
child-labor, Sadique and his
fellow manufacturers have a
significant
advantage:
their
production is much cheaper than
that of the countries where child
labor is prohibited. American and
European
consumers
are
attracted to low-price and highquality products, and more and
more child-made carpets are
imported from Pakistan every
year.
UNICEF
warns
that
between 500.000 and one million
Pakistani children aged four to
fourteen are now employed as
carpet weavers.
Adapted from The Atlantic Monthly, 1999.

Child labour
UNICEF
Life of a little boy in Pakistan
Child labour in a brick factory

1.

This document is mainly about :

2.

Which part of the world is this document about ?

3.

This article concerns rather the past / the present or the future.

4.

Complete the following text with words from the box. There are two extra words.

involved - sale - forced - producing - unacceptable - children - illicit - conflict - drugs - children
8.4 million children are in work that, under any circumstance, is considered for children, including
the and trafficking of into debt bondage, serfdom, and labor. It includes the forced
recruitment of for armed , commercial sexual exploitation, and activities, such as
and trafficking . .

5.

Give as many details about the 3 main characters of the text.

Name

Job

Relationship with others

Situation or Conditions

Nadeem
Sadique

Mirza

Titles
6.

paragraph

Mirza's working conditions

Match the following titles with the paragraphs.

Children' skills
Sadique's speech

7.

Why are children appreciated in the carpet industry?

a.
b.
c.
d.

8 hours a day
12 hours a day
24 hours a day

8.

Does "to work around the clock" mean "to work":

9.

Circle the adjectives that best correspond to Sadique.

10.

Match an element from column A to an element from column B :

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)
k)
l)

brick-worker
bright
skills
craftsman
manufacturer
workshop
employee
dexterity
endurance
obedient
weaver
prohibited

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
b
12.

charitable - inhuman - helpful - irresponsible - immoral - unscrupulous - human

intelligent
ability or technique acquired or developed through training or experience
a person who is hired to work for another or for a business, firm, etc., in return for payment
The act, quality, or power of withstanding difficulty or stress. The state or fact of persevering
Skill and grace in physical movement, especially in the use of the hands
obeying or willing to obey
A room, area, or small establishment where manual or light industrial work is done.
a person that manufactures something
A man who practices a craft with great skill
Someone who makes carpets or rugs
forbidden
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
k
l
someone who makes bricks

11.

12.

Complete the table with the right forms.

Verb

Noun

weave

...................

Adjective
*******

work

...................

...................

admire

...................

...................

...................

teacher

*******

...................

recruiter

*******

employ

.....................

*******

...................

endurance

*******

.....................

obedience

...................

produce

......................

*******

Write a brief article to defend children's rights against exploitation in

manufactories. Consider the following steps.
a. Present the situation (present simple)
Too many children ... (exploit / pay very little / treat badly / inhuman
conditions)
b. Give your opinion (using should)
Hard jobs ... (expect from)
Young people ... (send to school)
c. Consider solutions (using will)
If governments ..., children ... (protect)
If we ..., we can hope that young people ... (send to school instead of
factories)

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Key
4. 8.4 million children are involved in work that, under any circumstance, is considered unacceptable for
children, including the sale and trafficking of children into debt bondage, serfdom, and forced labor. It
includes the forced recruitment of children for armed conflict, commercial sexual exploitation, and illicit
activities, such as producing and trafficking drugs.
5.

Give as many details about the 3 main characters of the text.

Name

Job

Relationship with others

Nadeem

carpet weaver

Sadique

carpet master

Mirza

brick worker

Mirza's son

Situation or Conditions
bright and ambitious
recruits children

Nadeem's father

can't pay his debts and rent

makes bricks by hand
works 80 hours a week

6. Match the following titles with the paragraphs.

Titles

paragraph

Mirza's working conditions

Children' skills
Sadique's speech
Advantages of child labour for employers

3
2
1
4

7.

Why are children appreciated in the carpet industry?

a.
Because of their great dexterity
b.
Because of their endurance
c.
Because they are extremely obedient
d.
They are economical (4 times cheaper than an adult)

8.

Does "to work around the clock" mean "to work": 24 hours a day

9.

Circle the adjectives that best correspond to Sadique.

charitable - inhuman - helpful - irresponsible - immoral - unscrupulous - human

10.
a

12

10

11

11.
Verb

Noun

weave

weaver

Adjective
*******

work

worker

Hard-working

admire

admiration

admirable

teach

teacher

*******

.recruit

recruiter

*******

employ

employer

*******

endure

endurance

*******

obey

obedience

obedient

produce

product

*******