Page 28 - English Expedition Class 6

I can’t stop thinking that these are children my own age; that it makes a tremendous diff erence
where you are born; that I could be one of the children living in the favelas of Rio. I could be a
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child starving in Somalia, or a victim of war in the Middle East or a beggar in India.
I am only a child, yet I know that if all the money spent on war was spent on fi nding environmental
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answers, ending poverty and fi nding treaties , what a wonderful place this Earth would be.
At school, even in kindergarten, you teach us
how to behave in the world. You teach us to not
• Severn implies that some people
fi ght with others. To work things out. To respect
are not as privileged as her because
they were born elsewhere. Cite the others. To clean up our mess. Not to hurt other
examples she gives of such people. creatures. To share, not be greedy.
Th en why do you go out and do the things
• What mood and sentiment are
you tell us not to do? Do not forget why you are
refl ected in the question ‘Are we
even on your list of priorities?’ attending these conferences – who you are doing
this for. We are your own children. You are deciding
what kind of world we are growing up in.
Parents should be able to comfort their children by saying: ‘Everything’s going to be all right.
It’s not the end of the world. And we’re doing the best we can.’ But I don’t think you can say that to
us any more. Are we even on your list of priorities ?
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My dad always says, ‘You are what you do, not what you say.’
Well, what you do makes me cry at night. You grown-ups say you love us, but I challenge you,
please make your actions refl ect your words.
Th ank you.

Severn Cullis-Suzuki (born 1979) is an environmental activist apart from
being a television host and author. She has spoken around the world about
environmental issues and the need to take individual responsibility for a
common cause.

Comprehension

A. Answer the questions with reference to the context.
1. If you don’t know how to fi x it, please stop breaking it.

a. Who are the people being addressed in this line?
b. What has been broken and needs fi xing?

c. Why does Severn say that the listeners don’t know how to fi x it?

9 favela: a Brazilian shanty town or slum 11 priority: something that is more important than others
10 treaty: a formal agreement between two nations
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