Practise your word building

Exercises =

Level 3 1. Women in charge: prepositions

In “Women taking charge”, on pages 28 to 30, there are many examples of verbs or adjectives followed by a preposition: “connect to”, “focus on”... Here, match the verb or adjective to its preposition or prepositions!

...TO ... OF ... ON

focus

1. A. abandon B. live C. adopt 2. A. it’s worrying B. it’s not important C. it’s enormous 3. A. advancing B. dancing C. believing 4. A. dropping B. discarding C. taking 5. A. occasion B. luck C. decision 6. A. differ from B. wear C. coincide with

... IN

FOCUS

DEPEND AGREE

AWARE INVOLVED

INTERESTED DECIDE

REACT CAPABLE

AFRAID

2. Inspirational speeches:

boost your word power

In the US, guest speakers give commencement speeches to graduating students. Here’s an extract from one by producer Shonda Rhimes. Find a synonym for the words or phrases in bold.

“Ditch1 the dream and be a doer, not a dreamer. Maybe you know exactly what it is you dream of being,

or maybe you’re paralyzed because you have no idea what your passion is. The truth is, it doesn’t matter2 .

You don’t have to know. You just have to keep moving forward3. You just have to keep doing something,

seizing4 the next opportunity5, staying open to trying something new. It doesn’t have to fit6 your vision

of the perfect job or the perfect life. Perfect is boring and dreams are not real.” (Dartmouth, 2014)

EMMA WATSON “HEFORSHE SPEECH”: scanne ce QR code pour écouter son discours et répondre aux questions.

3. Gender equality:

listening comprehension

Listen to Emma Watson’s speech on gender equality, and answer the following questions. The questions concern the fi rst fi ve minutes of the 12-minute clip.

TOP TIP: IMPROVE YOUR LISTENING SKILLS!

Read the transcript of Emma Watson’s speech on unwomen.org (https://tinyurl.com/4th6mp3v) and watch the video again: first, with the script in front of you, then without!

Albin Lohr-Jones/Pacific Press/Abaca 4. When did Emma Watson first start questioning gender-based assumptions? A. at age 8 B. at age 15 C. at age 14

1. What is the central idea of Emma Watson’s HeForShe speech to the United Nations? A. Gender inequality is a subject that should concern both women and men B. Feminism is an unpopular word which is why the campaign is called HeForShe C. Gender inequality is an issue that affects only women

2. True or false? Emma Watson is proud to call herself a feminist. A. true B. false

3. What is Emma Watson’s role for the UN? A. Goodwill ambassador for UN Women B. Secretary General

5. As a child, Emma says that people described her as “bossy”. Were those people… A. congratulating her on dynamism B. criticising her for being too authoritarian

6. For Emma, a feminist is someone who… A. is aggressive, controlling and hates men B. considers that women should have the same rights and opportunites as men do C. thinks women are more intelligent than men

7. Why did some of Emma’s girlfriends give up their sports teams? A. they didn’t want their bodies to change B. they developed other interests C. they weren’t allowed to play

8. True or false? Emma believes that only a few countries have achieved gender equality? A. true B. false