The exam’s Comprehension Text
[1] Tafsila Khan is a mother of three from Wales. She was born with a hereditary disease called Cone-rod Dystrophy and has been partially blind. Starting from her primary school, Tafsila has faced the challenge of her disability and she has become a successful comedian.
[2] Tafsila realized that comedy was something inherent in her. In 2018, she signed up for See the Funny Side, a two-day course that teaches blind people how to prepare and perform a stand-up comedy routine in front of an audience. In spite of her sense of humor, Tafsila never thought she could go on stage one day to tell jokes. When her friends suggested that she should participate in the course, she signed up with a lot of hesitation. “Despite my worries, I decided to go for it anyway and I’m so glad I did,” says Tafsila.
[3] Though Tafsila was nervous at first, she found that comedy gave her a sense of confidence. With guidance from renowned comedian Georgie Morrell, she wrote and performed her first public laugh-out-loud piece about the relationship between sight loss and motherhood. Talking about the course, Tafsila says: “I felt like I really accomplished something. It has improved my health and wellbeing and opened so many doors for me.” Tafsila has performed funny routines in theaters across the country for her own living and for community service purposes.
[4] Throughout her life, Tafsila has always used her sense of humor to make people talk to her and feel comfortable with her disability. That’s the reason why she found it easy to create and perform her first show. “I have told stories about funny experiences that have happened to me throughout my life to break the ice with new people who have never met someone with sight loss before. It puts them at ease and lets them know that they can talk to me normally and have a hilarious laugh,” says Tafsila.
[5] Today, Tafsila is an arts director who has managed to change the lives of so many people with disability. She’s training blind people on how to overcome disability and get integrated in their community.
Adapted from: www.rnib.org.uk
National exam | Humanities Stream | Catch-up Session 2022 with answers
