Discrimination

Learn about discrimination and prejudice against disabled people with this reading comprehension practice.

Read the following text and choose the best answers according to it. Most people would be shocked if they were accused of showing discrimination. This is because they assume that discrimination refers only to prejudice against a person for racial or religious reasons. However, without being aware of it, many of us are guilty of another kind of prejudice - discrimination against a person who is disabled.One example of this discrimination is job opportunities. There is often no reason why a person in a wheelchair cannot do a job as well as any other candidate. Yet many employers immediately cross the name of such a person off their list of potential workers, even though they have no logical explanation for such an action.Another common problem is the way we treat disabled people when we first meet them. A person with missing limbs or hearing problems is not mentally handicapped. There is no reason to avoid talking to him or her or to treat the person differently from anyone else; yet many people do.In some countries the situation has greatly improved in recent years, and there are even laws to protect the disabled. However, there is still a long way to go before disabled people are accepted as a natural part of society with the same rights as everyone else. 1. The author of the passage believes that: Religious people discriminate. Handicapped people discriminate. Handicapped people are discriminated against. According to the text: disabled people cannot apply for jobs. employers treat job candidates equally. disabled job applicants are sometimes rejected without a reason. The author believes: you should act differently towards a disabled person. you shouldn't act differently towards a disabled person. disabled people are protected by law. Decide whether the statement is true or false in the context of the passage. Quote from the text the lines that support your answer. (E.g.: False, l.17 1. People do not usually expect to be told that they discriminate. True, l.1 2. Prejudice against disabled people is not a form of discrimination False, l.3 3. Employers sometimes reject suitable candidates for a job because they are handicapped True, l. 5 and 6 4. There are no countries with legal system that protects the disabled False, l.10 Find a word or expression in the passage which means the same as the words given. very surprised (paragraph 1) be shocked arms and legs (paragraph 3) limbs but (paragraph 4) however Find a word in the passage that means the opposite of the words given. innocent (paragraph 1) guilty unusual (paragraph 3) common rejected (paragraph 4) accepted