Task 2
Questions 13-18
Read the article about Jimmy Stuart, a former prisoner.
For questions 13-18, choose the correct answer (A, B, C or D).
Mark your answer on the answer sheet.
Jimmy Stuart – Former Prisoner
I often wonder why it was that I ended up in prison. It took me a considerable amount of time to face up to what I had done. Was everything predetermined?
I never knew my Dad, but my Mum did her best. There was always food on the table and she impressed upon me the difference between right and wrong from an early age. The neighbourhood where I grew up is one of the most deprived in Western Europe; when I was a teenager, we had the highest unemployment rate in the UK. Mum still blames this for everything that happened to her only child. Still, I managed to get a job in a factory even though I did poorly at school. However, I wanted more. The problem was that I didn’t want to work for it and there was nothing Mum could do about it.
I quickly fell in with a bad crowd. From small misdemeanours, I graduated to more serious offences. When I look back, sometimes I just break down and weep. The shame is almost too much to bear. Back then I was just a petrified kid totally out of his depth. It seemed like I was this cool young man full of rage against those who had more. Never could appearances have been more deceiving. We thought we were so clever, but we were dumb. I got caught and received ten years in prison.
Prison is simultaneously frightening and boring. I was locked up twenty-three hours a day. On my first day, one of my cellmates tried to convert me to Islam. In fact, many prisoners turn to religion, while others do stuff like painting. I eventually found my salvation in studying, but it took me ages before I was prepared to pick up a book. Initially, I obsessively worked out. I was able to do hundreds of sit-ups.
Critics say that prison doesn’t work and that it is a school for crime. To a certain extent, that’s true. Nevertheless, it gave me a second chance. Seven years in prison allowed me to get the schooling I’d never had as a kid. When I came out, I was able to pursue a successful academic career in psychology. I even got offered a position at a university in the States. I couldn’t take it up because my record prevented me from obtaining a visa, which was a bitter disappointment, even more so than remaining single and having no kids.
I work a lot with young offenders these days. It provides me with the opportunity to pay my debt to the society that I wronged. It’s interesting that a lot of the kids I work with remind me of myself at their age: arrogant and ignorant, but beneath everything, vulnerable. I don’t deceive myself that I can help everyone. The sad truth is that not everyone can be saved or even wants to be. It can sometimes get you down seeing young lives go to ruin, but if I’ve learnt anything in life, it’s that you should never give up on anyone.
Jimmy's mother believes he became a criminal because he
Which word best describes Jimmy's emotional state when he was a criminal?
When Jimmy first went to prison he
What does Jimmy regret most about his criminal past?
Jimmy feels his work
What would Jimmy say about the prison system?