A — Reading Comprehension:

Read the following text carefully.

JOY AND PAIN

In 2010, when Aggie Ferguson told her boyfriend that she was pregnant, he vowed to
stand by her. He wanted to stay together and have a family, he said. But his
enthusiasm for fatherhood quickly faded after he learned Aggie was expecting a
girl.
“He brought me flowers at the ultrasound”, Aggie now 18. “But when he found out |
was having a girl, he lost interest. He wanted a son. He just tossed the flowers at
me
and told me he'd meet me outside.” Like Aggie, most of the 820,000 teenagers who
get pregnant each yearin the US face motherhood frightened and alone.

“There are many young mothers working hard, struggling, and trying to do right by
their children,” says Bill Albert, spokesperson for the National campaign to
Prevent
Teen Pregnancy. "But the deck is dramatically stacked against them. Most 16-year-

olds are simply not ready for the challenges of being a parent, emotionally and
financially.”

Aggie, who's from Quincy, Massachusetts, wasn't ready. When she leamed she was
pregnant, her mind raced with

questions she didn't have the answer to. “I was devastated,” said Aggie. "I was
thinking, "What am | going to do?
*Howaml going to support the baby?';'How am | going to finish my education?"

Atfirst, Aggie and her boyfriend tried to make their relationship work. She moved
in with him for a month. Butafter
she discovered he was unfaithful, she packed her bags and returned home to live
with her mother.

When her daughter Mia was born in 2011, Aggie's boyfriend didn't bother to show up
at the hospital. Now twenty
months old, Mia has only seen her father a handful of times — mostly in court,
where Aggie has had to go to force him
pay child support. Absentee fathers are hardly uncommon. In fact, nearly 80% of
fathers of children born to teen

mothers do not marry the mothers. Teens moms like Aggie are often forced to take
the role of both mother and
father.

Aggie misses the freedom she once had to ride horses, play basketball, and go to
parties with friends. Even though
Aggie has family to help her, she's reluctant to ask. “It's not my mom's
responsibility to take care of my child,” Aggie
says. "It's mine.”

By Haren Fanning, in CHOICES, February 2013 (abridged and adapted)

1. Complete the summary of this article with only ONE word per gap. (ap)
Aggie Ferguson, aged (a) had a (b) when she was only (c). As a single mother still
attending (d) she had
to struggle with the stress of raising a child (e). In fact, Aggie was too (f) to
becomea (8).

2. TRUE or FALSE? Quote from the text to justify all your answers. (187)
Yiggie was full of self-doubt when she got pregnant.
Her boyfriend didn”t want to help her financially.
c) Despite having a baby now, Aggie still does all the things teenagers normally
do.

3. Choose the most suitable option according to the text. (25P) í

At first, Aggie's boyfriend (1) didnt think she was pregnant. (2) ... promised to
be there for her and
the baby. (3) ... was shocked when he learned she was pregnant.

b) When he found out Aggie was expectinga baby girl he felt really (1) excited. (2)
sad. (3) angry.
€) He has (1) often (2) rarely (3) never visited his daughter.

d) (1) Only a small percentage of teen fathers... (2) Half the teen fathers... (3)
Most teen fathers ...
want to start a family.

E itis to
e) Aggie feels that (1) she has no one to help her. (2)... she doesn't need any
help. (3) ...itis up to her
raise her daughter.

. Answer these questions on the text in complete sentences. (20p)

Why did Aggie's boyfriend change his attitude about her pregnancy? —
b) Although they tried to make things work, why did Aggie end up leaving her
boyfriend?

5. Explain the following from the text in your own words. (10p)
his enthusiasm for fatherhood quickly faded”... (1* paragraph)

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