Name ____________________________________________ Core __________________ Date ________________________
The Only Place To Study
return in groups. After all, the airport lamps could mean
the difference between passing and failing grades.
The students sit by age group. Children ages 7 to
9 sit on a curb in a traffic island. Older students perch on
the concrete pilings outside of the national and
international terminals. There are few cars to disturb their
studies. The children study their notes, covering everything
from history to earth science.
These students are fortunate. Many Guinean
children who live farther from the airport study at gas
stations.
Every bit of light helps in this disadvantaged
CONAKRY, Guinea It's after dark in one of the
nation. Unemployment is widespread. The typical
world's poorest nations, and the floodlights have come on
government worker earns just $60 a month. According to
at G'Bessi International Airport. Soon, the parking lot
the United Nations, the average Guinean uses 89 kilowatt-
begins filling with children. They sit down, take out their
hours per year. That's only enough power to keep a 60-watt
notes, and quietly begin to study.
light bulb burning for two months. The typical American,
It's exam season in Guinea, a country in West
on the other hand, burns about 158 times that much.
Africa. Many schoolchildren are studying at the airport
Michael McGovern is a political anthropologist
every night. They know it's one of the few places with
at Yale University. He says that Guinea's lack of electricity
electricity available to them. Students start heading to the
is "a geological scandal." Guinea has vast natural
airport at dusk, some walking for more than an hour, each
resources, he says. Its rivers could be used to produce
hoping to get a spot under one of a dozen lampposts in the
electricity. The rivers also contain gold, diamonds, and
parking lot.
iron. Yet these resources have remained largely untapped
"I used to study by candlelight at home, but that
under the rule of Lansana Conte. Conte is an army general
hurt my eyes," says 18-year-old Mohamed Sharif. "So I
who took over the government in 1984. He has not worked
prefer to come here. We're used to it." Mohamed sat under
to fix the situation in Guinea.
the glowing beam, memorizing his geography notes.
Mohamed does not take the lamplight for
With no new electricity in sight, it looks as if
students will continue to study at the airport. They won't
granted. Only about 20 percent of Guinea's 10 million
complain, however. Eighteen-year-old Ousman Conde
people have electricity, and even they experience frequent
admits that sitting on the concrete piling is uncomfortable.
power cuts. The lack of electricity led students to discover
To him it's worth it, though, because he knows passing his
the airport.
upcoming exam could open doors for him.
"It hurts," he says, looking up from his notes.
Parents require girls to be chaperoned to the
airport by an older brother or trusted male friend. They
"But we prefer this hurt to the hurt of not doing well in our
allow even their young children to stay late, as long as they
exams."
Name ____________________________________________ Core __________________ Date _____________________
Multiple Choice: Circle the letter of the choice the best completes the statement. (2 points each)
1) Which is the closest synonym for the word
scandal?
a) Outline
b) Outfit
c) Outrage
d) Outrigger
2) What is the cause and effect relationship that
takes place in the article?
a) A lack of gas stations has caused many
children to walk an hour to get to the airport.
b) The lack of electricity has caused the
government to search for new solutions.
c) The lack of electricity has caused Guinea's
children to study in other places.
d) A lack of chaperones for younger kids has
caused many students to study at home.
3) Which is the closest synonym for the word
chaperone?
a) Escort
b) Enchant
d) Employ
4) What is this article mainly about?
a) Kids in Guinea study for upcoming college
entrance exams.
b) Kids in electricity-starved Guinea study
under airport lights.
c) Kids in Guinea study for tests by
memorizing their notes.
d) Kids in electricity-starved Guinea study by
candlelight.
5) Which of these is most important to include in a
summary of this article?
a) The reason why Guinea's lack of electricity
is a scandal
b) The reason why Guinea faces widespread
unemployment
c) The reason why Guinea is led by Lansana
Conte
d) The reason why Guinea's children study at
the airport
c) Expand
Directions: "The average Guinean consumes 89 kilowatt-hours per year... while the typical American
consumes... 158 times that much." How many kilowatt-hours does the typical American use per year? (5 points)