Faculty of Legal, Economics and Social Sciences – Souissi Rabat
English studies / S 5 Prof. Laddouli
READING COMPREHENSION
Text 2: Human Rights
The United Nations is an international organization that was established in 1945 to help keep
world peace. It was established shortly after the end of World War II. In 1948 a special United
Nations commission, headed by Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt, the wife of US President Franklin D.
Roosevelt, wrote a special document which stated the rights that all people should have. This
document is called the "Universal Declaration of Human Rights." "Universal" means "of
all the people in the world" whereas a "declaration" is a formal announcement.
"Human rights" are the rights that each person has, simply because he or she is human. The
human rights are there to protect us and help us live in peace. For example, "the right to life"
is a human right. Each and every one of us has the right to life, simply because we are human.
Another example is "the right to freedom of thought."
Studying and knowing our human rights is as important today as it was after World War II.
This is because when people don't know their natural rights things such as injustice,
discrimination, intolerance and slavery can happen. Therefore, the more aware people are to
the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the closer we get to a peaceful,
free and fair world.
There are many advantages of human rights such as stopping discrimination, because they are
for everyone including marginalized groups like children and women, maintain the minimum
standard of living, stopping violence and related crimes like genocide. Human rights also
bring peace and unity in society as well as promoting cultures of different people.
Despite the advantages of human rights, many of them are violated which means individuals
are denied basic rights. A few examples of human rights violation according to the universal
declaration of human rights are; the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda in 1994, the policy
of ‘apartheid’ in South Africa under which the blacks were ill-treated, human trafficking and
child labour.
Vocabulary Activities
Exercise 1: Match each word or phrase in Column A with its correct meaning in Column B.
Column A Column B
1. international a. unfair treatment because of race, religion, gender, etc.
2. declaration b. relating to all nations of the world
3. commission c. an official group of people chosen to do a particular job
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Column A Column B
4. rights d. the act of keeping people apart because of color or race
5. discrimination e. freedoms or benefits that people are entitled to
6. intolerance f. the lack of willingness to accept others’ opinions or beliefs
7. slavery g. treating people as property and forcing them to work without pay
8. genocide h. killing a large group of people from a particular nation or ethnic group
9. marginalized i. kept outside the main group; not given equal rights
10. violation j. an action that breaks or ignores a law or rule
Exercise 2: Fill in the blanks with the words from Exercise 1 to complete the sentences
below.
1. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an official __________ made by the
United Nations in 1948.
2. __________ is when people are not accepted because they are different.
3. For centuries, many Africans suffered from __________, being forced to work without
any freedom.
4. The United Nations is an __________ organization that works to maintain world
peace.
5. The killing of millions of people during the Holocaust is an example of __________.
6. When people’s basic human __________ are not respected, societies cannot live in
peace.
7. In some countries, minority groups are still __________ and excluded from political
life.
8. Destroying someone’s property or attacking them because of their race is a
__________ of human rights.
Exercise 3: Circle the word that has the closest meaning to the word in bold.
1. International a. local b. global c. personal d. domestic
2. Declaration a. announcement b. story c. discovery d. protest
3. Rights a. punishments b. freedoms c. documents d. duties
4. Discrimination a. equality b. tolerance c. unfairness d. celebration
5. Intolerance a. acceptance b. patience c. prejudice d. kindness
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6. Slavery a. employment b. freedom c. forced labour d. partnership
7. Genocide a. mass killing b. debate c. migration d. disease
8. Violation a. respect b. obedience c. breaking d. permission
9. Marginalized a. included b. supported c. excluded d. privileged
10. Commission a. committee b. company c. market d. meeting
Reading Comprehension Activities
Exercise 1: True or False ? Justify your answer with a short sentence.
1. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was written before World War II.
2. Human rights protect people from injustice and slavery.
3. The United Nations was created by only one country.
4. The text says that knowing our human rights helps create a peaceful and fair world.
Exercise 2: Read the text again then answer the following questions
1. Who was Eleanor Roosevelt?
2. What is the purpose of human rights?
3. When was the United Nations established?
4. Where did the genocide against the Tutsi happen in 1994?
5. Why does the text say that human rights help create a peaceful, free and fair world?
6. Which human-rights violations are given as examples in the text?
Exercise 3: (Interactive Dialogue)
Complete the conversation between a teacher and a student by filling in the missing words
from the box.
(rights – 1945 – United Nations – Universal Declaration – peace – discrimination –
genocide – Eleanor Roosevelt)
Teacher: When was the __________ created?
Student: It was established in __________ after World War II to keep world peace.
Teacher: Good! Who led the commission that wrote the __________ of Human ?
Student: It was__________ , the wife of the U.S. President.
Teacher: Excellent. Can you give me an example of a human-rights violation?
Student: Yes, the __________ in Rwanda in 1994 or racial __________ in South Africa.
