Two Articles on Human Rights – English Effective Communication. English ESL Worksheets to improve reading and develop strong language and Speaking skills.
Two Articles on Human Rights – English Effective Communication
Two Articles on Human Rights – English Effective Communication
Procedure
Divide the class into pairs. Give each student a copy of either the A or B reading sheets. The students read the short articles silently by themselves and use a dictionary or consult the teacher if they don’t understand a word or phrase. After the students have read and understood the articles, the teacher takes the articles away. Then student A will communicate what was in A’s article to student B, and student B will communicate what was in B’s article to A. Then all of the students take a test to see how much information they were able to communicate.
| Political and Civil Human Rights Human rights are a controversial issue. Often the advanced nations accuse the developing nations of violating human rights. Western countries feel that civil and political human rights are the most fundamental human rights. For example, Western countries think that freedom of speech is very important. They believe that newspaper editors should be able to say whatever they want. Another right that Western countries think is important is freedom of religion. Western nations feel that governments should not interfere with the religion of people. Many developing nations violate these human rights constantly. Newspapers for example are only allowed to print what the government tells them. Or the government throws people in jails with no proof that they have done any crime. Some advanced nations try to force developing nations to protect human rights. They threaten the developing nations with trade sanctions. But the problem is that often trade sanctions hurt the poorest people the most –the people whose human rights were being violated in the first place. | Economic Human Rights Human rights are a controversial issue. Often the advanced nations accuse the developing nations of violating human rights. However, developing nations such as China argue that political and civil rights are meaningless unless basic economic rights are satisfied. Freedom of speech is useless when you are hungry. The Chinese argue that the right to a job and the right to an education are more fundamentally important. Since the 1980s the Chinese government has made many economic reforms, but has been slow in making political reforms. However, these economic freedoms have lifted millions out of poverty and provided a real increase in the standard of living. But other rights have been ignored. The Falun Gong for example is not allowed to practice its religion. According to one NGO, Amnesty International, at least 77 Falun Gong followers are reported to have died in custody, or shortly after release, in suspicious circumstances since July 1999. As well, many thousands have been arrested. The Chinese government argues that this is necessary for stability and economic growth. |
| Political and Civil Human Rights (1) What is the title of the article? (2) What do advanced nations accuse developing nations of? (3) What do Western countries feel are the most important human rights? (4) What are two civil and political human rights that the article mentions?(a) (b) (5) What is freedom of speech? (6) What is freedom of religion? (7) What two examples of human rights violations does the article mention?(a) (b) (8) How do advanced nations try to force developing nations to protect human rights? (9) What is the problem with trade sanctions? | Economic and Environmental Human Rights (1) What is the title of the article? (2) What do some developing nations such as the Chinese argue? (3) What do the Chinese say about ‘freedom of speech’? (4) According to the article, what two human rights are important to the Chinese?(a)(b) (5) What has the Chinese government done since the 1980s? (6) What have these economic reforms done? (7) What has the government been slow in doing? (8) What religious group does the article mention? (9) What NGO does the article mention? (10) What has happened to at least 77 members since July 1999? (11) Why does the government argue that it is necessary for growth? |
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