6. Youth in modern society

Youth and its place in modern society

What is youth?

This question can be answered in different ways.

Youth is spring. Youth is love. Youth is science revelations in art, roads is joy of fatherhood and motherhood.

Youth is quest, quest for new ways in science, revelations in art, roads in life. Youth is daring and implacability, rejection of everything old and moribund. All this is true.

Generation Gap

1. Pay attention to these words. Pick out sentences with these words from the text and translate them into Russians:

Generation gap — проблема «отцов и детей», разрыв между поколениями;

the awkward age - переходный возраст;

juvenile [´dƷu:vənail] delinquency [di´liŋkwensi] - под­ростковая преступность;

out of sheer boredom - от (всепоглощающей) скуки;

the smart set - законодатели моды;

gilded youth - «золотая» молодёжь;

to live below the poverty line — жить за чертой бедности.

2.Read out the following words and memorize their meaning: (Consult the transcription in the dictionary)

vagary (n) [´veigəri] причуда, каприз, чудачество

coin (v) [kכin] создавать новые слова

insatiable (adj) [in´sei∫əbl] ненасытней, жадный

аре (v) [eip] подражать, обезьянничать

adolescence (n) [´ædə´lesns] подростковый возраст, юность

adolescent (n) [ædə´lesnt] подросток

cool (adj) [ku:l] крутой

clumsy (adj) [´klmzi] неуклюжий, нескладный

elation (n) [i´lei∫n] приподнятое настроение

despair (n) [di´speə] отчаяние, безнадёжность

jealousy (n) [´dƷeləsi] зависть

acute (adj) [ə´kju:t] острый

inhibit (v) [in´hibit] сдерживать, тормозить

impressionable (adj) [im´pre∫ənəbl] впечатлительный, восприимчивый

arrogant (adj) [´ærəgənt] нахальный, самонадеянный

harsh (adg) [ha:∫] жестокий

lenient (adj) [´li:njənt] мягкий, снисходительный

annihilation (n) [əֽnaiə´lei∫n] истребление, уничтожение

shed (v) [∫ed] отбрасывать, оставлять

3. Read out these phrases several times till you remember their meaning:

in a fearful hurry страстно жаждущие;

to grow up повзрослеть

twice their age два раза старше их;

to get through a confusion преодолеть неразбериху, замешательство;

to get into a bad company попасть в плохую компанию;

to become stratified расслаиваться (на классы);

to bring about приводить;

under the constant threat of под постоянной угрозой;

to question the wisdom подвергать сомнению

and sanity of their elders мудрость и здравомыслие старших (старшего поко­ления).

4. Read the text and get ready to speak about the problems of teenagers:    Generation gap

Old people are always saying that the young are not what they were. The same comment is made from generation to generation and is always true. It has never been truer than it is today.

These days grown-ups describe children as «difficult», «rude», «wild» and «irresponsible». Only some people say that they will grow up to make our country a better place.

For kids from 8 to 14 a new term «teens» has recently been coined. They are no longer children nor yet teenagers, just between - teens. They are said to be a generation in a fearful hurry to grow up. Instead of playing with Barbies and Legos they are interested in the vagaries of love on TV serials. Girls wear provocative make-up. At this very age kids start pairing off. Teens have got an insatiable desire for the latest in everything - from jeans with labels so that everyone will know that they've got the latest stuff - to CDs. Kids at their age desperately need to belong and that's why everything comes down to appearance. They think that having the right «stuff» is the quickest way to acceptance. To parents and teachers they can be a nightmare, aping the hairstyle, clothes and make-up of celebrities twice their age. Experts say that the rush to grow up is due to the mass media. Being raised by single-parent families as well as watching TV, which sucks up most of their free time, can also accelerate the desire of children for being independent and creates behaviour problems.

But the most painful part of childhood is the period when they begin to emerge from it: adolescence or the awkward age. There is a complete lack of self-confidence during this time. Adolescents are overconscious of their appearance and the impression they make on others. They feel shy, awkward and clumsy. Feelings are intense and hearts - easily broken. Teenagers experience moments of tremendous elation or black despair. And besides, friends are becoming more and more important these years. At schools there are cliques who decide what is «cool». Adolescents may rebel violently against parental authority, but this causes them great unhappiness. And they are not always helped to get through a confusion of life in a steady, productive way. But even teenagers with sympathetic and supportive parents can fall in with bad company.

Most children don4 belong to any clubs and they just start roaming the street after school out of sheer boredom. A lot of them become addicted to drugs and/or alcohol because their life is hollow and they don't think of life-long goals. They have nothing to fill the emptiness of their souls with. They demand to have all that they see, and regard it as their right to be entertained every waking moment.

And besides our society is becoming more und more stratified. There has appeared a class of rich people and a class of poor people (to be more exact - people leaving below the poverty line). Children of well-off parents consider themselves «the smart set» or «gilded youth». Their parents give them every material benefit, pocket money any time they ask. A lot of these children have their own brand-new cars and personal computers. It goes without saying that it causes jealousy and the desire to possess the same things on the part of children whose parents are poor and cannot afford it. Such feelings can push teenagers to committing a crime and it leads to a wide spread of juvenile delinquency.

Nowadays children start using computers very early. Teens are so fascinated by them that they spend hours and hours at their personal computers or at computer clubs. The electronic universe replaces their contacts with friends and dominates their life completely. Obsession with computers brings about a mechanical, disillusioned mentality and inhibits their emotional development.

The heads of youngsters are also being filled with violent pictures they have seen on TV. Children are very naive and impressionable. And no wonder that they are so aggressive and arrogant in real life. They are thrown into such a harsh world, especially if they live in a city.

These days a lot of parents think that they should be lenient with their children, they should let them find out about life for themselves, they should leave children to develop their own idea of right and wrong. But it's a grave mistake, Parents should try to protect their children from possible bad influences and give them clear guidance about right and wrong.

There is no way to predict how today's children will turn out. Keeping faith in kids is necessary. They are not bad. They are optimistic. They expect to have a better life than their parents'. And grown-ups - if they are prepared to admit it - could learn a thing or two from their children. One of the biggest lessons they could learn is that enjoyment is not «sinful». Enjoyment is a principle you could apply to all aspects of life. It is not wrong to enjoy your work and enjoy your leisure, to shed restricting inhibitions. It is surely not wrong to live in the present rather than in the past or future. This emphasis on the present is only to be expected because the young have grown up under the constant threat of World War Ш, which means complete annihilation. This is their «glorious» heritage. Can we be surprised that they question the wisdom and sanity of their elders?

5. Answer the questions:

1. What comment is usually made about the younger generation? 2. What epithets do grown-ups use speaking about children? 3. Does anyone believe that children will make our country a better place to live in? 4. What term has been coined recently? 5. Are teens interested in playing with dolls and toys? 6. What things do they want to have and why? 7. Why is the awkward age the most painful part of childhood? 8. Do teenagers obey their parents? 9. Teenagers with sympathetic and supportive parents never get in bad company, do they? 10. Why do teenagers become addicted to drugs and alcohol? 11. What do teens regard as their right? 12. What society do we live in? 13. Are there any people who live below the poverty line in this country? 14. Who belongs to the smart set or gilded youth? 15. What can push children from poor families to commit a crime? 16. When do children start using computers nowadays? 17. What does preoccupation with computers bring about? 18. Children are easily influenced by violence on TV, aren't they? 19. How do they behave in real life? 20. What do many parents think about upbringing nowadays? 21. Are they right? 22. What should parents do? 23. Is it possible to predict what people today's children grow up? 24. What sort of life do children expect to have? 25. What could grown-ups learn from their children? 26. Why do young people prefer to live in the present? 27. What does World War III mean? 28. Do young people have a right to question the wisdom and sanity of their elders?

Vocabulary

To relate to относиться к ч-л.

Peer сверстник

Adult взрослый

Overwhelming неодолимый

Breakdown разрыв

To affect оказывать влияние

Drug наркотик

Pregnancy беременность

Delinquency преступление

Complex сложный

Citizen гражданин

To drop out of бросать, уходить

To neglect- пренебрегать, пропускать занятия

Ample обильный

To rebel восставать

Survey исследование, опрос

Barbiturate барбитурат

Overdose передозировка

Grown-up взрослый

Curiosity- любопытство

Deprived лишенный, бедный

Adoption усыновление

Unemployed безработный

Puberty половая зрелость

Anorexia nervosa анорексия

Bulimia nervosa булимия

Promiscuity беспорядочность

Juvenile юношеский

Find synonyms for the words in the frame:

Complex to neglect adult to rebel Juvenile survey to drop out Curiosity ample affect

To disobey, abundant, interest, young, difficult, to disdain, to leave, enquiry, grown-up, influence.

1. Match the words and their definitions:

To drop out, barbiturate, overdose, deprived, unemployed, anorexia, bulimia, peer, adult, to affect, pregnancy.

1. A powerful drug that makes you feel calm and relaxed or puts you to sleep.

2. Too much of a drug taken at one time.

3. To leave school, college without finishing your studies.

4. Without a job although able to work.

5. An emotional disorder leading to dangerous weight loss.

6. Without enough food, education and all the things that are necessary for people to live a happy and comfortable life.

7. An emotional disorder in which a person repeatedly eats too much and then forces himself/herself to vomit.

8. A person who is the same age as you.

9. To produce a change in smb. /smth.

10. A fully grown person who is legally responsible for their actions.

11. The state of being pregnant.

2. Insert the words in the gaps:

Drop out of, unemployed, adult, overwhelming, citizen, ample, rebel, adoption, overdose

1. Children must be accompanied by an______________.

2. She is Italian by birth but now an Australian_________________.

3. There was_________time to get to the airport.

4. She put the baby up for_________________.

5. Most teenagers find something___________against.

6. She had the________desire to tell him the truth.

7. How long have you been_________?

8. He died from an________________ of barbiturate.

9. She started an engineering degree but__________ out of after only a year.

3. Read the text and say what youth problems were not mentioned in it, according to your point of view. Youth Problems

All adolescents have problems from time to time. However, most young people pass through this stage of development without serious difficulty. These young people make new friends, join clubs, and take part in sports and social activities. For these young people, the teen-age years are generally happy and exciting.

Most of the problems that adolescents have are related to schoolwork, finances, peer group and family relationships. The majority of such problems are minor, at least from an adult’s point of view. However, a problem that appears unimportant to an adult may seem overwhelming to an adolescent. This difference in viewpoints may itself cause problems if it leads to a breakdown in communications between parents and their teen-agers. Most personal problems of adolescents do not affect society as a whole. But certain problems are so serious and widespread that they are considered social problems. These problems include attitudes toward schooling, the use of drugs, early pregnancies, food disorders and delinquency.

Attitudes towards schooling. Education is increasingly important in today’s complex industrial societies. More and more jobs in these societies require a high degree of specialized knowledge of technical skill. In addition, democratic societies have traditionally relied on the schools to help produce well-informed, responsible citizens. Nearly every state of the United States requires young people to attend school until they are at least 16 years old or until they graduate from high school.

Many teen-agers who drop out of school or neglect their studies come from homes where learning is not encouraged. But many students do not fully develop their abilities even though they receive ample encouragement at home. In some cases, parents may need to reevaluate the goals they have set for their children. Even able students may rebel if they feel that too much is demanded of them.

The use of drugs. Surveys of U.S. teen-agers indicate that the great majority have at least experimented with such drugs as alcohol, barbiturates, cocaine, LSD, or marijuana. Some have experimented with heroin, morphine or other drugs. Many of these drugs are physically harmful if taken regularly. A single overdose of some drugs, such as heroin or barbiturate, can result in a coma or death.

Adolescents can take drugs for various reasons, including peer group pressure, the desire to appear grown-up, the example of parents, and curiosity. Most teen-agers pas through the experimentation stage without developing a drug abuse problem. Others are not so fortunate. Alcohol is one of the most frequently abused drugs among teen-agers, as it is among adults. About 15 per cent of U.S. high school students may have serious drinking problems.

Early pregnancies. The UK has the highest proportion of teenage pregnancies in Western Europe. Each year in England 90000 girls get pregnant. 2200 of these are under 14, and 7700 are under 16 years old. The British figure for the first, younger group is ten times higher than in Japan, and eight times higher than in Sweden and the Netherlands, where attitudes to sex are more open. According to the United Nations, the dramatic situation with teenage pregnancies in the UK is largely due to the lack of general education and appropriate family support, as most teenage mothers come from poorly educated and deprived families.

Being a teenage mother is not easy. Some pregnant teenage girls decide to have an abortion or give their babies up for adoption. However, some decide to go all the way. Quite often, keeping the baby means never continuing education and ending up unemployed, living on scarce benefits from the state. It seems obvious that prevention of teenage pregnancies lies in better and more open sex education, as demonstrated by Sweden and the Netherlands.

Food disorders. It's common for kids - particularly teens - to be concerned about how they look and to feel self-conscious about their weight. During puberty, kids' bodies are changing dramatically and they are facing new social pressures, like attraction to the opposite sex. Unfortunately, for a growing proportion of kids and teens, that concern grows into an obsession that causes dramatic weight fluctuation, interferes with normal daily life, and damages vital body functions. Up to 10 million teens develop eating disorders, abnormal attitudes and behaviors with foods, which include anorexia nervosa or bulimia nervosa. For most kids, eating disorders begin when they are 11 to 13 years old. While they are more common among girls, boys can experience eating disorders too. Unfortunately, many kids and teens successfully hide these disorders from their families for months or years.

Anorexia may affect a child's growth, bone mass, cause puberty delays, an irregular heartbeat and blood pressure problems, and gastrointestinal problems. Behavioral problems, such as sexual promiscuity, crime (often shoplifting), and drug and alcohol abuse are more common in teens with bulimia.

In anorexia, these signs include: significant weight loss (15% below the normal weight for height), continual dieting (although thin), feelings of fatness, even after weight loss, fear of weight gain, preoccupation with food, calories, nutrition, and/or cooking, preference to eat in isolation, compulsive exercise, binge eating and purging, insomnia, brittle hair or nails, depression with social withdrawal.

The warning signs of bulimia include: uncontrollable eating (binge eating), purging by strict dieting, fasting, vigorous exercise, and/or vomiting, abuse of laxatives or diuretics ("water pills") to lose weight, frequent use of the bathroom after meals, reddened finger(s) (from inducing vomiting), swollen cheeks or glands (from induced vomiting), preoccupation with body weight, depression or mood swings, dental problems, such as tooth decay, heartburn and/or bloating, problems with drugs, alcohol, sexual activity, or crime.

4. Agree or disagree with the following statements:

1. Most of the problems that adolescents have are related to finances and family relationships.

2. Most personal problems of adolescents do not affect society as a whole.

3. A lot of teenagers who neglect their studies receive ample encouragement at home.

4. Surveys of U. S. teenagers show that they have never experimented with drugs.

5. Adolescents can take drugs for various reasons, including parents’ pressure, the desire to appear grown-up and curiosity.

6. Being a teenage mother is quite easy.

7. Quite often, keeping the baby means that the girl will continue education and get a profitable (well-paid) job.

8. Up to 20 million teens develop eating disorders, abnormal attitudes and behaviors with food, which include bulimia.

9. Eating disorders begin when they are 20-23 years old.

10. Many juvenile offences are rather serious.

11. Some juvenile offenders have strong antisocial tendencies and deep-seated psychological problems.

5. Answer the following questions:

1. What youth problems can you name?

2. What are the reasons for taking drugs by adolescents?

3. Why do teenagers usually drop out of schools?

4. Why does England have the highest proportion of teenage pregnancies in Western Europe?

5. How is it possible to prevent teenage pregnancies?

6. What is the difference between these two maladies?

7. What are the signs of anorexia?

8. What are the signs of bulimia?

6. Work in groups:

1. Discuss youth problems in our country.

2. Find out what can decrease the number of teenage pregnancies, alcohol and drugs consumption.

3. What should the youth and adult organizations do to bring up sound generation of young people?