Over 28,000 Women Apply to Drive Trains in Saudi Arabia

Exercise 1 : Vocabulary
manage /mænɪdʒ/
Verb to succeed in achieving, dealing with, surviving, etc. something difficult
The pressure of this job is hard to manage.
eligible ˈ/ɛlɪdʒəbəl/
Adjective allowed to do or have something
I will be eligible for retirement next year.
decade /ˈdɛkeɪd/
Noun a period of ten years; a period of ten years that begins with a year ending in zero
They have been married for four decades.

workforce /ˈwərkfoʊrs/
Noun all of the people who work or are available for work in a country, area, business, etc.
About a quarter of the country's workforce could be affected by new tax laws for internet
workers.
set out /set aʊt/
Phrasal Verb to present information in a clear or organized way in speech or writing
The council's plan for a new recreation centre is  set out in its latest budget.
aim /eɪm/
Verb to have as a goal
We're aiming to have the project completed by mid-September.

Exercise 2 : Article
Over 28,000 Women Apply to Drive Trains in Saudi Arabia

A rail company looking for 30 female train drivers in Saudi Arabia says it has received more than 28,000

applications for the jobs.

Spanish train company Renfe says it has managed to reduce the number of eligible applications by around half,

and that it hopes to choose 30 people for the jobs by the middle of March.

The successful applicants will be given one year of paid training, after which they will drive bullet trains between

Mecca and Medina, the two most important cities in Islam, which is the official religion of Saudi Arabia.

Women were not allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia until 2018.

For decades, the country has had one of the world's lowest percentages of women in the workforce. However, in

2016 the Saudi government set out its Saudi Vision 2030 plan, which aims to increase the percentage of women in

its workforce by the year 2030.

According to government data, by late 2021, the percentage of women employed in the country was almost 36%,

up from less than 17% in late 2016. However, by late 2021, almost 80% of men were employed.

Renfe says it hopes to create more jobs for women in its local businesses. It already employs 80 men to drive its

trains in Saudi Arabia, and is training 50 more.

Exercise 3: Questions

 Where will successful applicants drive bullet trains?

 When did Saudi Arabia allow women to drive?
 What percentage of women were employed in Saudi Arabia in 2016?