УРОВЕНЬ. Задание 1. Прочитайте статью из журнала и обсудите ее, опираясь на вопросы

Задание 1. Прочитайте статью из журнала и обсудите ее, опираясь на вопросы

What Makes Young People Do This?

Today it is fashionable to speak about teenagers problems. A few years ago alcohol, fights, killings and other kinds of violencewere more problems for adults than for young people.

But now, as official reports admit, violence, AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), drugs and alcohol are more and more associated with youngsters. For many children from poor families violence, drinking problems and all that is associated with povertybecomes more real than reality.

The Government surveys show that every fifth teenager who was arrested for criminal actions, was younger than 14 and could not be sent to prison.Almost half of teenagers have an experience with drugs, alcohol and sex under age of 16. A lot of teenagers who have drug or alcohol addictionalmost never believe that they are dependent. These things are often combined with family and school problems.

What has gone wrong? Some specialists explain that the changes of our society, the system of our life force young people to choose their own lifestyle. On the one hand, our society agrees that 15-17-year-old people are old enough to be responsible for what they do and give them quite a lot of freedom and rights. On the other hand, most adults think that teenagers are too young to be taken seriously. This misunderstanding produces many problems. Actually, a lot of teenagers say that their parents let them do anything they want and are quite indifferent to their problems. Many teenagers get upset or depressed when they can't solve their problems. As a result, it makes them believe that there is only one way out — to stop living and commit suicide.

No doubt, the teens' problems will increase. And young people should feel that they are cared for.

Вопросы

1. What teens' problems are discussed in this magazine article?

2. What makes young people do these things? How do different people explain the reasons for teenagers' behaviour?

3. How many teenagers have drinking problems?

4. How many American children run away from home every day?

5. How do they explain the reasons?

6. How many children die in America every day?

7. Which problems discussed in the article can be applied to your country?