Problems of the Young
- a rule — правило
- strict / kind — строгий / добрый
- fair / unfair — справедливый / несправедливый
- rude / polite — грубый / строгий
- agressive / violent — агрессивный
- indulgent — потворствующий
- to need in — нуждаться в
- necessary for — необходимый
- be responsible for — отвечать за что-то
- private life — личная жизнь
- own business — личное дело
- attitude to — отношение к
- to interfere — вмешиваться
- a permission — разрешение
- ask for permission — спрашивать разрешения
- to allow — разрешать
- I am allowed — Мне разрешают
- to make smb do smth — заставлять (после глагола «make» в значении «заставлять» частица to не ставится)
- to influence smb — влиять
- to depend on — зависеть от
- to face problems — сталкиваться с проблемами
- to cope with problems (= overcome problems)– справляться с проблемами (преодолевать)
- to quarrel with — ссориться с
- to argue with — спорить с
- to agree/ disagree with — (не) соглашаться с
- to contradict — возражать
- to answer back — огрызаться
- to defend one’s opinion — отстаивать свое мнение
- to be on good terms with (= get on well with) — быть в хороших отношениях
- to punish (punishment) — наказывать (наказание)
- reason / cause — причина
- to cause — вызывать
- to lead to — вести к
- to understand — понимать
- to misunderstand — понимать неправильно
- misunderstanding — непонимание
- to behave — вести себя
- behavior — поведение
- to follow parents’ advice — следовать совету родителей
- to consult parents/ friends — советоваться с родителями
- to insist on doing– настаивать на
- to come across the same problem — встречаться с той же проблемой
- to treat as a child — обращаться как с ребенком
- to make fun of — высмеивать
- to respect — уважать
- to rely on — положиться на
- have much in common — иметь много общего
- to trust — доверять
- to betray — предавать
- to envy — завидовать
Words to know: complain, accept, be questioned, generate, dissatisfy, warning, make up, encourage, express their identity — выражать свою индивидуальность
Problems with parents. Personal problems can look silly and unimportant to the eyes of grown-ups, who have already passed this period. These problems are caused by generation gap. Every generation is unique in its experience. It has its own ideals and a system of values. Adults always complain that the young are not always what they were. These words are repeated from generation to generation. That’s correct. In fact today the young are better educated. They grow up more quickly. They have more freedom. At present the young do not blindly accept the ideals of their parents. They don’t believe that they are right only because they are older. But the adults don’t want their values to be questioned. All these differences generate a generation gap when the young and adults don’t understand one another.
As a rule, the adults dissatisfied with their own life, teach the young how to live. Unfortunately they apply old standards to the new way of life. But the young people don’t want to live in the past. They have their own ideas. They want to make their own mistakes rather than to listen to the warnings of the adults and repeat the mistakes of the older generation. They want to overcome their own difficulties. But grown-ups try to keep teenagers away from all the “dangers”, which makes up life.
Problems with teachers. The same misunderstanding we face sometimes from the side of the teachers. They think that youth is given for studying. However, school takes all teenagers’ time but the person who only studies is dull.
Another problem is bad marks. Bad marks don’t encourage weak students, they simply can’t do better. Also bad marks can cause problems with parents as they don’t want to understand that their child does his (her) best.
Young people need to be taken seriously. As long as parents and teachers can’t take teenagers seriously, they form their own social groups. So, many teens belong to different subcultures. The members of these youth groups express their own identity (themselves) through clothes, appearance, behavior and music they listen to. They have their own values and beliefs.
Answer the questions.
- Do you often quarrel with your parents?
- Do you have much in common with your parents?
- Do you always understand your parents? Do they understand you? What are the reasons of misunderstanding?
- Do your parents help you to solve your problems?
The Problem of Communication / Problem with Friends
Words to know: to socialize, entertainment, opportunity, to bully, a bully, hurt, victim, pick on — приставать, avoid — избегать, stand up for — защищать, abuse – жестоко обращаться, threaten — угрожать, tease — дразнить, cause harm – причинять вред
Communication has always been an important part of young people’s life. It is very difficult to be on good terms (get on) with everybody as all people are different. Sometimes teenagers don’t feel comfortable in a group because they are too shy or not very strong. But every human needs to socialize and it is the reason why they prefer different ways of communication.
Today teenagers can choose between traditional and new ways of communication. Traditionally they meet after classes with their school friends, make parties, go to the cinema or disco clubs to have fun, relax and make new friends.
But if the young people do not like noisy clubs and other places of entertainment, they can find friends without leaving their homes – the Internet gives them such an opportunity. They can sit for twenty hours chatting with their friends.
Answer the questions.
- What makes people friends?
- Do you spend much time with your friends? What do you usually talk about?
- Do you know about your friend’s problems? Do you try to help?
- What do you value in your friends?