The South African authorities have stopped a 15-year-old girl from leaving the country with the intention of joining Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil), the first known case of its kind in the region.

The girl had reportedly taken money from her parents’ safe along with her passport and locked her bedroom door before escaping out of a window at her home in Cape Town’s Kenwyn suburb. Her grandparents reported her missing early on Sunday morning and that afternoon, she was taken off a British Airways flight bound for Johannesburg moments before it took off.

Reports suggested the girl had an onward ticket to Turkey. David Mahlobo, South Africa’s state security minister, said: “We can confirm that she was planning to leave the country with the intention of joining Isil, and had been actively engaged with social media networks.” He called for parents to monitor their children’s activities online. “It is the very same space where the terrorist organization will try to radicalize these young people because they’re vulnerable and can’t make a sense of judgment on other issues,” he said.

The girl had no obvious presence on Facebook and had not used her Twitter account since November 2012. Prior to that date, she had mostly posted complaints about schoolwork and appeals against illegal rhino hunting, but also made several references to the injustice of the Gaza blockade.

Questions are now being asked about how the girl boarded the British Airways flight alone. The airline’s guidelines regulate that tickets must be bought by a “responsible adult” who would also be expected to check in.

US research organization the Pew Research Centre estimates that 13,500 young people from mainly wealthy countries such as the UK, France, Russia and Germany, have pledged loyalty to Isil. 

Anton du Plessis, from South Africa’s Institute for Security Studies, said many Isil recruits did not have particularly strong religious views. “What I think we have here is a situation of an immature, very young person who obviously has some stuff going on in her life and is desperate to belong,” he said.

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1.Why was the girl taken off the British Airways flight before it took off?

A She took her parents’ money from the safe.

B She was a teenager and couldn’t take a plane alone.

C She attempted to leave the country to join Isil.

D She didn’t tell her grandparents before leaving home.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据文章第1段…stopped a 15-year-old girl from leaving the country with the intention of joining Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil)可知，这个15岁的南非女孩企图离开南非加入伊斯兰国，因此才被拦下。

2.Why did David Mahlobo call for parents to monitor their children’s online activities?

A They are actively engaged with social media.

B They might be influenced by terrorist organizations.

C They are vulnerable and can be harmed by terrorists.

D They are so young that they are likely to be cheated.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据文章第3段…where the terrorist organization will try to radicalize these young people because they’re vulnerable and can’t make a sense of judgment on other issues可知，孩子们很脆弱，容易受到恐怖分子的蛊惑，因此家长要监督他们的上网活动。

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A The girl kept a secret that she had the intention to join Isil.

B The girl thought it was unfair that Gaza should be blockade.

C The girl strongly supported wildlife protection.

D The girl wasn’t fond of doing homework at all.

解析：选A。A 推理判断题。根据文章第4段The girl had no obvious presence on Facebook and had not used her Twitter account since November 2012.可知，在企图离开南非之前，这个女孩一点迹象都没有暴露，由此判断，这个女孩严守秘密，任何人都不知道她有这样的企图。

4.What problem did the British Airways have?

A It didn’t stop the teenage girl leaving for Isil.

B It didn’t ask who bought the girl’s ticket.

C It neglected the girl’s intention of leaving the country.

D It was not strict in the practice of its regulations.

解析：选D。D 推理判断题。根据文章第5段The airline’s guidelines regulate that tickets must be bought by a “responsible adult” who…可知，航空公司要求具有责任心的成人买票，并陪同未成年人一起登机，事实是女孩自己顺利登机了。由此判断，航空公司在执行规定方面并不严格，这正是安全漏洞所在。

5.Why do some youngsters join Isil according to Anton du Plessis?

A They are so young that they easily believe what the recruits say.

B What happens in life makes them leave to find a belonging group.

C They are desperate at home and want to find a new family to live with.

D The Isil’s religious views are strong enough to attract them.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据文章第7段very young person who obviously has some stuff going on in her life and is desperate to belong可知，一些年轻人之所以选择投奔Isil，最根本的原因是其生活中发生的变故使其失去了归属感，他们要找到一个值得信赖的可以归属的群体，加之恐怖分子的蛊惑，他们就会义无反顾地加入到这个世人唾弃的罪恶之“国”了。