I. Discuss in groups and end the answers
| It is easy because … | It is not easy because … |
| 1. 2. 3. … |
1. 2. 3. … |
II.
1. Read the text and compare it with your answers
Problems of the Youth
The age between 14 and 17 is considered to be one of the best periods in people’s life. Grown-ups remind it with excitement and tenderness. But most teens wouldn’t agree with this opinion if they were asked because they are overwhelmed with different problems. These problems are quite serious and they can’t be considered trifles.
Teenagers have psychological problems which can be explained by their psychological instability. This is the reason of their strange and sometimes aggressive behavior. Their aggression can be aimed at their friends, teachers, parents and people around them. If these problems aren’t regulated by experienced specialist, psychologist, teachers it can be lead to far more serious problems.
Drinking and taking drugs have become the most actual problems of the modern society. As for drinking, teenagers don’t realize the harm it does to their health. Teenagers are greatly influenced by social problems such as unemployment, dysfunctional families and the stress of getting into new college. They don’t know how to cope with the problems which do not depend on them. They are badly prepared for their solution mentally, spiritually and even physically. If they fail, they can be driven to despair and won’t find the way out if not helped by their families and school.
In fact, teenagers have got a lot of work. They’re busy with their studies, household chores; some of them have a paid job. But there is no time for fun and they want to be entertained at least sometimes. This excessive work leads to an inner conflict which is usually expressed in the form of an open, direct protest against the world of grown-ups. The next step is the conflict with parents which is very difficult to solve. On the other hand, most teens don’t know how to organize their free time for raising their cultural level, enriching their knowledge and improving their physical forms.
2. Answer the questions
- What age is considered to be one of the best periods in people’s life?
- What problems are young people overwhelmed with?
- What psychological problems do they have?
- What is the reason of their strange and sometimes aggressive behavior?
- What problems of young people have become the most actual problems of the modern society?
- What social problem do they have?
- Are all young people prepared for difficulties?
- What are young people busy with?
- What conflicts can the have?
- Do all teens know how to organize their free time for raising their cultural level?
3. Expression for translation
Считаться одним из лучших периодов; вспоминать с восхищением и нежностью; сами подростки; согласиться с мнением; быть переполненным разными проблемами; считаться пустяками; психологические проблемы; психологическая нестабильность; причина странного и агрессивного поведения; регулироваться опытными специалистами; гораздо более серьезные проблемы; наиболее актуальные проблемы; современное общество; осознавать вред; безработица; проблемы в семьях; справиться с проблемами; быть готовым к решению; умственно, духовно и физически; домашнее хозяйство; чрезмерная работа; с целью повышения культурного уровня; улучшение физической формы.
4. Complete the sentences
- The age between 14 and 17 …
- Grown-ups remind it …
- Their aggression can be aimed …
- Drinking and taking drugs …
- Teenagers are greatly influenced …
- They’re badly prepared for …
- They’re busy with …
- This excessive work leads to …
- Most teens don’t know how …
III. The opinions of the pupils of Moscow School No. 697 are presented here. Choose one and say what it is about in 4-5 sentences, use reported speech. Do you agree with the speaker?
I’m Sure We’ll Solve This load of Problems
Young people have as many problems as grown-ups. The main one is to find a good, real friend. I know the proverb “a friend in need is a friend indeed.” I agree with this, that’s why I try to make friends with gay and honest persons. I want to have a friend who understand me. It will be simple and interesting to speak to him or her.
I think that young people have problems with their parents. What are they? Our parents do not always understand us. For example, my parents want me to be a teacher, as they are skilled teachers; but I have a taste for music and my dream is to be a composer.
Where can we go? What can we do if we have free time? My friend Nastya lives in a village. Her village is far from Moscow. It takes her three hours to get to Moscow. She says that there is nowhere to go and nothing to do in her village. There are no clubs, museums, cinemas or parks there. If she wants to go to Moscow it takes her a lot of money. She can’t afford it.
It is a problem to get a good education. It is necessary to pay for good education. I think it is difficult to learn English, for example, without additional classes. I can’t enter an institute without good knowledge of English and to get it is necessary to pay for it and have heavy expenses.
I am sure that all teenagers want to have a lot of money in order to dress well, to go to the theatres, to visit foreign countries, to eat what they want, to buy books… How can they solve all these problems? They have to earn money. I think it is possible to do it. Some boys wash cars, others sell newspapers; some of my friends help elderly people.
We have some problems, but we are sure that we can solve them in a proper way. I think that young people in other countries have many problems too. However, sometimes these problems seem to be incomparably easier than ours. For example, my friend Jack from London thinks that his biggest problem is… his freckles.
By Maria Zhekbakova
Time of Decisions
Everybody says that youth is probably the best time of your life, that being young means romance, love, new discoveries and so on. But it is also the most difficult time, because you have to make some very important decisions which will influence all your future life.
Things are not easy nowadays even for adults, but for teenagers who have to find their own place in society, it’s very difficult. It is necessary not only to adapt to your society, but also to be confident of your position in five, ten or twenty years time.
For your future it is essential to have a good job. And to get a really good job you have to be well-educated. Every girl or boy leaving secondary school should choose an institution of higher education or, if he or she doesn’t want to study any more, choose a job straight away. In planning your future you have to think about the possibility of finding a job after finishing your education.
But even if you are studying, you need some money of your own. Your parents probably will provide you with home, food and necessary clothes; but you will have your own tastes, and your parents won’t pay for them. To pay for extra clothes, tapes, books, and things necessary for your hobbies, you have to work, and in our country it is very difficult for a teenager to find a job without any qualifications. You’re lucky if you can do something that others can’t; for example, if you’re good at math or English, you can give lessons.
Emotional problems for young people can be far more difficult than financial ones. A typical teenager problem is that “nobody understands me”. Parents often continue to treat their teenage children as if they were infants, while they probably consider themselves to be grown up.
Youth is also the time to meet your first love. It is, of course, wonderful; but, as is widely known, that first love often has an unhappy end, which also increases young people’s problems.
Even friends cannot always stay friends. When young people begin to understand themselves a little bit better, old friends sometimes just grow apart.
By Mary Nickolayeva
Looking for Your Own Way
Life used to be fun for teenagers. They used to have money to spend, and spare time to fill. They used to wear teenage clothes, and meet in teenage coffee bars and discos. Some of them still do. But for many young people, life is harder now. Jobs are difficult to find. There’s not so much money around. Things are more expensive, and it’s hard to find a place to live. Teachers say that students work harder than they used to. They know that good exam results may get them better jobs.
Most young people worry more about money than their parents twenty years ago. They try to spend less and save more. They want to be able to get homes of their own one day.
All young people used to be of one kind of teenage fashion, one style, one pop group. Then, the girls all wore mini-skirts. But now an eighteen-year-old might be a punk, with green hair and chains round his legs, or a “rasta”, with long uncombed hair and love of Africa.
When you read newspapers and watch news on TV, it’s easy to get the idea that every young person is unemployed, angry and in trouble. But that’s not true. Three quarters of them do things which are more or less like what their parents did. They do their best at school, find some kind of work in the end, and get married an their early twenties. They get on well with their parents and enjoy family life. But that’s not what they want. I think everyone has a dream to find his or her own way in life.
By Denis Kuznetsov
IV. English in Use
1. Fill the gaps with necessary words given below
Politics, part-time, problems, sports, boring, money, chore, appearance, guy, drugs, grades
I am a teenager so my life isn’t easy. I have many (1) _________. My parents want me to get good (2) ___________ at school. But I have so many subjects at school and some of them are extremely (3) __________. I have to do much homework and to read many foolish books, while some teachers don’t understand that their subjects are not the most important things in my life. Some of my friends worry a lot about their (4) ________ and their teenage (5) __________ which spoil our lives! I must confess that (6) ________, alcohol and AIDS don’t really bother me or my friends. The same I should say about (7) __________. What we really care about is how to impress a cute (8) _________ or an attractive girl. Of course I, like many other teenagers, have problems with (9) _________. Some of my friends found a (10) __________ job in order to have an opportunity to earn some money. But despite all these problems, the life of a teenager today isn’t a (11) _______, it is still fun.
Keys: 1.problems 2. grades 3. boring 4. appearance 5. spots 6. drugs 7. politics 8. guy 9. money 10. part-time 11. chore
2. Read the paragraphs of the article and match them with headings. One heading is extra.
- Teenager’s Interests
- Do teenagers Have Problems?
- Typical American Teenagers.
- Are Teenagers a Problem?
- What is a Teenager?
Officially, a teenager is anyone aged from 13 to 19 inclusively, but most people would probably think first of the younger age group and exclude 18 and 19-year-olds. After all, once you reach 18 you can vote, get married without your parents’ permission, and join the army. On the other hand, children are growing up and developing more quickly, and these days 11 and 12-year-olds would like to include themselves in the ‘teenager’ group.
According to ‘the older generation’, teenagers are lazy, they wear ridiculous clothes, and are appallingly rude to their betters and elders; they find it impossible to be polite, helpful, constructive, caring or hard-working. What’s more, they spend all their time listening to awful music and watching unsuitable films.
Teenagers are human so, of course, they have problems. It is a difficult time for them because it is a period of transformation. It isn’t quite as bad as a chrysalis changing into a butterfly, but it may seem like that. It isn’t easy to grow up, and the dramatic physical and emotional changes are often confusing and worrying.
Typical American teenagers are in fact very ordinary. They think their teachers make them work too hard; they love their parents, but are sure they don’t understand anything; and their friendships are the most important things in their lives. Some of them do have a lot of money to spend, but usually they have earned it themselves.
Keys: 1. -; 2. C; 3. D; 4. B; 5. A.
Литература.
- Материалы газеты English ПС
- Самусенко Я.А. Материалы для подготовки к экзамену по английскому языку учащихся 9 классов гуманитарных подгрупп (учебное пособие) Тамбов, 2007
- Ideas & Issues Pre-Intermediate Титул