It is dawn. Fatma has just made her fifth trip to the river to fetch water.

With this, the house is cleaned, the clothes, the dishes and the children are washed, and breakfast is prepared. Then she goes down to the valley to harvest vegetables, some for consumption at home, and the rest to sell for very little money at the valley market. Fatmas life is a perpetual struggle. What keeps her going is the desire for a brighter tomorrow for her loved ones. Fatmas husband, who works in a factory, gets a salary. Fatmas work, however, is unpaid. In a world where families roles are changing in order to adjust to new economic realities, the housewifes role as a breadwinner deserves to be recognized and rewarded. The idea of paying housewives a salary for the work they do at home developed about 30 years ago at the first world conference on women in Mexico City. According to a United Nations report in 1995, both men and women work approximately the same hours, but the men are paid for their work while the women are not. This is because womens domestic duties such as child care, cleaning and cooking are not considered to contribute to the countrys national product. If housework were included in national income, the worlds national product would increase by 20 to 30 per cent. The UN report keep repeating what a lot of people have known for years: women work harder than men, but get half their wages. In developing countries, women earn 40% less than men despite growing up to 80% of the food. In Nepal, women work 5% more, in Bangladesh 12% more, and in Kenya 35% more. In fact, nowhere in the world are women paid as well as men. This is a common denominator that unites women in both rich and poor countries. Many women are treated like unpaid servants. As they grow old, they miss out opportunities for education and better jobs. To minimize this, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has set up many programmes for womens primary and secondary. Besides, financial services for women and family planning programmes are being offered to women who live in remote villages, especially on the African continent. Change is coming, but very slowly. The United Nations Organization has made the world take notice of womens labour of love at home. So it is high time women ceased to be second class citizens, and it is time for them to be rewarded. I- Comprehension: (15 marks) A- Answer these questions fully and in your own words: (4 marks) 1- Why is Fatmas work a daily struggle? 2- What helps Fatma bear such hard work? 3- Would paying the housewives be a good solution? Explain. 4- How does the UNIFEM help women? B- Are these statements true or false? Justify: (3 marks) 1- Fatma hasnt got any running water at home. 2- Fatmas husband isnt the only breadwinner in the family. 3- There is womens discrimination all over the world. C- Complete these sentences: (2 marks) 1- The idea of paying the housewifes work isnt new because.. 2- Thanks to the United Nations, the world has started to .. D- Find in the text the opposite of these words: (3 marks) 1- go down (paragraph 2) 2- expenditure(paragraph 3) 3-started to (paragraph 6) E- Find in the text words meaning the same as: (3 marks) 1- endless (paragraph 1) 2- something that is the same for all the members of a group and might bring them together (paragraph 4 ) 3- distant (paragraph 5) II- Grammar: (5 marks) Rewrite the following sentences beginning with the underlined words: 1- The boys were making kites. 2- My cousin drew a beautiful picture yesterday. 3- We will conquer the enemy. 4- Rich countries arent going to do anything to eradicate poverty in the world. Nothing 5-We believe that women are as skilful as men at managing big companies.