Solo+Quest+-+Reading+03

 **Solo Quest: Newspaper Article (3)** = Instructions = = Article: Sesame Street goes to Afghanistan  =
 * 1) Read the article below and answer the questions.
 * 2) Email your answers to Mr York at: yorksensei@gmail.com
 * 3) DO NOT FORGET TO EMAIL YOUR STUDENT NUMBER!! ( 学生番号を忘れずに！ )
 * 4) You will get 10XP for completing this quest and a bonus 10XP if you have all the answers correct.


 * 1) Ever since they made their first appearance on US TV in the 1960s, Big Bird and his friends have taught children around the world how to count, read and write.
 * 2) Now the characters from Sesame Street have moved all the way from New York to Afghanistan, with a few changes to make them acceptable to the local audience. For example, they no longer encourage children to sing or dance in front of the TV – or bark like a dog.
 * 3) “We tested a scene where Ernie is barking like a dog and getting Bert to copy him, but we found that parents were against it,” said Tania Farzana the executive producer. “A dog is considered to be unclean, so the parents didn’t understand it.”
 * 4) The 26 new “Baghch-e-Simsim” programmes are a co- production between the Afghan company Moby Media, and the Sesame Workshop.
 * 5) However, the US executives keep tight control over the adaptation of their show. One scene in Afghanistan showing a family car ride was dropped because no one was wearing a seatbelt.
 * 6) Nevertheless, the Sesame Street formula remains intact, with brightly coloured puppets keeping children entertained while the programme delivers educational messages.
 * 7) “In a country with a young population and an education system that is not up to standard, reaching millions of kids through television seems the way to go,” said Saad Mohseni, of Moby Media.
 * 8) Also present in the Afghan version is the social activism at the heart of Sesame Street. For a film about a girl’s first day at school, the Afghan production team chose a student from the disadvantaged Hazara community.
 * 9) Sherrie Westin from Sesame Workshop, said the programme’s mini-documentaries about Afghan children “celebrate diversity and introduce children from Afghanistan’s various provinces to each other”.

= Questions = Read the article and complete these sentences with words from the text.

a The programme first began in ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿. b Afghan parents don’t want their children to make a noise like a＿＿＿＿＿＿＿. c The producers dropped a scene with a family in a＿＿＿＿＿＿＿. d The show still entertains and also gives ＿ __ ＿＿＿＿＿＿ __to the young viewers. e The show is helpful because the system of＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ is poor in Afghanistan. f One film has a disadvantaged girl on her first visit to __ ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿ __.

Complete this summary of the article by putting the verbs in brackets into the **present perfect** or **past simple**.

Ever since Sesame Street first (a) (begin) in 1969 American children (b) (learn) their letters from Big Bird and his friends. Over the years the characters (c) (appear) in different countries around the world. Last year children in Nigeria (d) (see) an adaptation of the show for the first time and (e) (enjoy) meeting the characters. Recently the Sesame Workshop organization (f) (decide) to introduce the show to Afghanistan and it (g) (help) to make 26 programmes for local viewers.