READING COMPREHENSION TEST FOR BACCALAUREATE STUDENTS

THE TEXT:

Domestic violence on the rise in Afghanistan

Nasima always knew trouble surrounded her daughter's marriage. The signs of a strained and violent
relationship were apparent, but it wasn't until her phone rang on the morning of December 13 that Nasima
understood the degree to which Setara, her daughter, had been suffering. The voice on the other end of the phone
was Setara's neighbours in Injil district, only a few kilometers from Herat City."Your son-in-law beat your
daughter, come to the hospital."

When Nasima and her son, Mir Agha, arrived at Herat's central hospital they saw her daughter's face bruised,
battered and her arms were covered in white bandages. The perpetrator, her husband and a drug addict, had told
Setara to hand over her jewelry so he could feed his decades-long addiction to heroin. When she refused, he
dragged the 33-year-old woman to another room where he proceeded to beat her with a stone. But he didn't stop
there. When she was in and out of consciousness, Setara's husband took out a knife and stabbed her repeatedly
before cutting off her nose and lips. Hearing the commotion, the couple's four children rushed to surround their
mother."As a man, I never thought he would do this to me. I was always obedient and did good things for him;
therefore, I never imagined he would try to kill me," Setara told Al Jazeera.

According to a recent UN report, which cited a 28 percent increase in violence against Afghan women,
Setara's case is not rare in the Central Asian nation. This was the third incident in a 48 hour period. Though the
reports of violence against women have increased, Setara's case is unique for its international attention and
combination of drug use and spousal abuse.

Like many of the estimated 70,000 drug addicts in Herat, Setara's husband was introduced to drugs while
residing in neighbouring Iran. Laila Haidari, who runs a drug treatment centre in Kabul, said 90 percent of the
addicts she treats first picked up the habit in the Islamic Republic. Haidari said all of the addicts she has treated
turned violent at some point. "When someone is an addict, he has no control over himself. He could have easily
killed his whole family," Haidari told Al Jazeera.
Setara’s husband fled the scene before police arrived. "The government should arrest this man and stone
him to death. He stabbed me in my hands and my chest; he cut my nose, my lips. I want the government to
punish him in the most severe manner possible." Setara told Al Jazeera.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/12/domestic-violence-rise-afghanistan
COMPREHENSION

A- Say whether these sentences are true or false. Justify.

1- Nasima didn’t know about her daughter’s troubled marriage until Decemer13th.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
2- Setara’s case is the only one in Afghanistan.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
3- The police hasn’t arrested Setara’s husband yet.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
B- Answer these questions according to the text.
1- Who informed Setara’s mother about the beating?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2- Why did the husband want Setara’s jewellery?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
3- How many children has Setara got?
………………………………………………………………………………………………………….....
4- Why did Setara’s case gain international attention?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
C- Complete the following sentences according to the text.
1- The husband beat Setara because she………………………………………………………………….

2-Setara never imagined her husband would try to kill her because she…………………………………

3- Most of the drug addicts in Heart picked up the habit while…………………………………………..

4- An addict could kill his family because………………………………………………………………..

D- What do the underlined words in the text refer to?

1- its: ……………………………………….. 2- him:…………………………………………

E- Find in the text words or expressions meaning the same as:

1- the criminal(parag.2):………………………..
2- raised (parag.3):………………………………
3- escaped or run away(parag.5):…………………………………………