Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. activist (n.) [ak-tuh-vist] – a person who takes action to achieve a cause, especially a political or
social cause
Example: Environmental
activists oppose the use of nuclear power.
2. laureate (n.) [lawr-ee-it, lor-] – a person recognized with an award for excelling in a particular field
Example: The
famous author became a writer laureate for his great contribution to
literature.
3. assert (v.) [uh-surt] – to defend or to state strongly
Example: He asserted
his opinion even though everybody was
against it.
4. eradicate (v.) [ih-rad-i-keyt] – to remove
Example: The
political candidate promises to eradicate corruption in the government.
5. suppression (n.) [suh-presh-uhn] – the act of stopping the activities of something or someone
Example: People
faced suppression from the king and could not freely do what they wanted.
Article
Read the text below.
Article
Read the text below.
Three female activists and political leaders were
jointly awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony held in Oslo,
Norway.
The Nobel Peace
Prize Laureates were Liberia's President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf, fellow Liberian Leymah Gbowee, and
Yemen's Tawakkol Karman. They were awarded for
their nonviolent struggle for women's safety and women’s rights.
President
Sirleaf said in her speech that the award gathered together three women who
are committed to promoting justice and democracy in countries torn by animosity. In 2005,
Sirleaf became the first female in modern history to become president of an
African country. Despite her critics, many credit her for restoring peace in Liberia
after its 14-year civil war.
Social worker Gbowee
founded the Women, Peace and Security Network Africa (WIPSEN-Africa) which asserts the participation of women leaders
in keeping peace and security throughout Africa. She earned recognition for
leading women’s mass protest that helped end violence in Liberia.
At 32,
journalist and political activist Karman is the youngest Nobel Peace Prize
laureate ever awarded. Through her organization Women Journalists Without
Chains, Karman promotes women’s rights and freedom of expression. Karman has
been called the “Mother of the Revolution” in Yemen for actively campaigning
for democracy even before the Arab Spring, the series of revolution in Arab
Nations that started in 2010.
The Nobel
committee hopes that the prize will help eradicate
the suppression of women in more countries.
At the end of the ceremony, Nobel committee chairman Thorbjorn Jagland stated
that people who were once forced to hide in the dark refuse to do so anymore.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
●
Do you think awards such as the Nobel Peace Prize are significant? Why or why not?
●
What actions (e.g., charity, rescue operations, etc.) do you think deserve to be recognized?
Discussion B
Discussion B
●
Why do you think gender inequality still exists today?
●
Should gender equality be promoted? Why or why not?