Read the following text:
(1) Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) is now high on the international agenda and ESD is seen as a way to encourage greater sustainable consumption and production, to counter the effects of climate change, address threats to biodiversity and provide more effective disaster risk reduction. Education for Sustainable Development is seen by UN as a lifelong process from early childhood to higher and adult education and goes beyond formal education. As values, lifestyles and attitudes are established from an early age, the role of education is of particular importance for children! ESD has often been associated with curriculum projects linked with recycling; energy and water conservation; pollution reduction and sustainable consumption - all developed to contribute towards achieving a more sustainable future.
(2) Research from developmental psychology, longitudinal studies, social-cultural analysis, and neuroscience have all shown that it is in the early years that children have the greatest capacity to learn, and it is in these years that many of our fundamental attitudes and values are first put into place. Children are already investigating issues related to recycling, energy conservation, waste disposal and changes in their local environment. ESD in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) is of great significance. The development of ESD and ECCE requires more than just curriculum development. It provides the possibility of a transformational reconstruction.
(3) UNICEF reports show that children under the age of eight represent the highest percentage of affected population in today's global emergencies. A UNESCO survey has shown that the ministries of education, environment and sustainable development in 97 UN member states identify poverty as the highest priority area to be addressed in achieving sustainable development. In fact, reductions in poverty and inequality are widely recognised as the priority in efforts to create a more sustainable world. At a global level, millions of children start school carrying the handicap that comes with the experience of malnutrition, ill-health and poverty. Yet, equitable access to high-quality pre-school programmes remain a problem in both rich and poor countries. Sustainable development projects that enable rapid progress in maternal health, child nutrition and survival already exist, even in some of the world's poorest countries. Linking health and education agenda has been recognised as extremely important.
Answer the following questions, based on the passage above:
I. Complete the following with a suitable explanation with reference to paragraph (1). ESD is now high on the international agenda because________.
II. Based on the given passage, How does UN view ESD as a lifelong process? What are the critical areas of emphasis? (Paragraph 1)
III. List two curriculum projects that ESD (Education for Sustainable Development) has been linked with. (Paragraph 1)
IV. Complete the following suitably:
Many of our fundamental attitudes and values are put into plan in the early years as _____. (Paragraph 2)
V. Substitute the underlined word with the correct word from paragraph (2):
ESD in Early Childhood Care and Education provides the possibility of transformational reconstruction.
VI. What do UNICEF reports reveal about the vulnerability of children under the age of eight during global emergencies? (Paragraph 3)
(A) UNICEF reports highlight the resilience of children under the age of eight during global emergencies.
(B) UNICEF reports indicate that children under the age of eight are rarely affected by global emergencies.
(C) UNICEF reports show that children under the age of eight represent the highest percentage of affected population in global emergencies.
(D) UNICEF reports suggest that children under the age of eight are primarily responsible for responding to global-emergencies.
VII. What remains a problem in both rich and poor countries? What has been recognised as crucial? (Paragraph 3)
VIII. Complete the sentence with the correct response: The writer's tone in the passage is __________.
