Students A and B — you have decided to file for a divorce. Give your reasons.
The following words can help you:
· to file for a divorce
· to give a divorce
· to agree to divorce smb
· to be unfaithful
· to find a common language
· to harm the child psychologically
· to have rows/to quarrel/to fall out
· our relationship went wrong
· to be fed up with
· to pay alimony
· the absence of mutual understanding
Role play 6.
Work in a pair.
You’re husband (A) and wife (B). You’ve got two children (3 and 5 years old). A month ago B decided to go to work, and A had to stay at home with children, now he’s a house-husband. Explain your decision.
The following words can help you:
· to carry out duties
· to be responsible for
· to be fed up with staying at home
· lack of communication
· daily routine
· to earn more money
· a bread winner
· to help around the house
Role play 7.
PROBLEM OF ONE-PARENT FAMILY
Work in a pair.
Student A — you’re mother/father who brings her/his daughter/son alone. Describe your experience.
Student B — you are the daughter/son. Tell how you feel in such a situation.
The following words can help you:
· to have no time to look after the child
· to work long hours
· to miss the child/mother
· to lack parents’ attention
· to leave the child to himself
· to control (the lack of control)
· a weak connection between parents and
· children lack of mutual understanding
Role play 8.
LARGE FAMILIES
Work in a group of 4 students.
Students A and B — you are the parents; you’ve got four children. Describe your life, explain why you decided to have many children.
Students C and D — you are the children from this family. Tell about your life.
The following words can help you:
· to cope with problems
· to be friendly
· to look after younger brothers/sisters
· to help around the house
· to support each other
· mutual understanding
· quarrels, conflicts
· common interests
Role play 9.
Stereotypical public schools:
· are for boys only from the age of thirteen onwards, most of whom attended a private ‘prep’ (= preparatory) school beforehand;
· take fee-paying pupils (and some scholarship pupils who have won & place in a competitive entrance exam and whose parents do not pay);
· are boarding schools (the boys live there during term-time);
· are divided into “houses’, each ‘house’ being looked after by a ‘housemaster’;
· make some of the senior boys ‘prefects’, which means that they have authority over the other boys and have their own servants (called “fags’), who are appointed from amongst the youngest boys;
· place great emphasis on team sports;
· enforce their rules with the use of physical punishment;
· have a reputation for a relatively great amount of homosexual activity;
· are not at all luxurious or comfortable.
Public schoolboys from Eton:
Historical background.
However, this traditional image no longer fits the facts. These days, there is not a single public school in the country in which all of the above features apply. There have been a fairly large number of girls’ public schools for the last hundred years, and more recently a few schools have started to admit both boys and girls. Many schools admit day pupils as well as boarders, and some are day-schools only; prefects no longer have so much power or have been abolished altogether; fagging has disappeared; there is less emphasis on team sport and more on academic achievement; life for the pupils is more physically comfortable than it used to be. Among the most famous public schools are Eton, Harrow, Rugby and Winchester.
Ex.1.
Answer the questions.
1. At what age do children in GB usually start and leave school?
2. Describe the education reform in GB.
3. What is “a national school curriculum”?
4. What exams do school-leavers usually take?
5. Describe the system of higher education in GB.
6. Are their any differences between the education system in Britain and Russia?
7. Do you think higher education is really necessary to succeed in life?
Ex.2.
Fill in the gaps with the appropriate word or word-combination.
1. follow up questions
2. ignorance
3. drew a question
4. tutor
5. spot
6. flummoxed
7. doomed to failure
8. failed
9. examiner
10. competition
11. entry exam
12. applicants
This is the third time I’ve failed my (a)............................ to University although my
parents hired a (b) ....... to improve my chances. The (c).............................. was very
stiff: as many as 10 (d)..................... were competing for one (e)............................ During
the exam in Russian history I (f) ...................... that totally (g)....................... me:
I couldn’t remember any dates or names. I realized I was (h)......................................... But
I didn’t want to show my (i)..................... and started chatting about something
irrelevant. The 0) ..... stopped me, asked some (k)......................... and I (1) ..... .’
Ex.3.
Fill in the correct word derived from the word in brackets.
Students who pay for their own....................... (educate) tend to be more.......................
(respond) about studying. They have invested their money and this makes them
more ....... (sense) to (lose). They can’t drop out as
(ease) as those who have everything paid for because they come from
(wealth) families.
TEXT 2.
There is a number of pressing social and economic problems affecting young people in Britain. These include unemployment, homelessness, drug misuse, racial tensions and problems encountered by the young disabled.
Helping young people to find employment has become a major issue during the last decade: there is today a higher percentage of unemployed young people than in other unemployed age groups.
Significant central government funding is provided for special training schemes to develop technical, administrative skills and to prepare young people for long-term employment. The Employment Department is the Government body principally responsible for Youth Training programmes.
The Government guarantees the offer of a suitable training to all young people, under the age of 18, not in full-time education or employment. Young people have the opportunity to achieve a minimum attainment, or other appropriate goals for those with special training needs. There is a strong emphasis on higher level skills, particularly at craft and technician levels.
The Government New Business Scheme, through which money has been provided to support new small business ventures, has helped to establish many young people in self-employment. A number of organizations such as The Prince’s Trust and Young Enterprise also offer financial assistance and advice to young people choosing this route.
Finding accommodation is often one of the first problems young people encounter when they leave home and many, particularly the-unemployed, face housing problems. The unemployed homeless suffer the worst deprivation because employers seldom take young people on without a permanent home address. In the worst cases homelessness leads to a cycle of despair with young people sleeping rough and turning to crime, prostitution and drug misuse. Much of Britain’s homeless population is centered around London and other large mega policies, a population which results from young people being lured by ‘the lights’ of the large cities believing that there are better opportunities but finding none.
The Young Homelessness Group provides a forum for exchange of information about the housing needs of young people and brings together organizations including the National Union of Students, the British Youth Council, Shelter, the National Association for the Care and Settlement of Offenders, CHAR (the Housing Campaign for Single People), the National Youth Agency, the Federation of Black Housing Organizations, and the British Association of Social Workers.
The major national associations in the Youth Service have developed specific programmes aimed at dealing with young people at risk as well as with those already involved with drugs such as heroin or the newer wave of compounds such as ‘crack’ and ‘ecstasy’ which are causing serious concern.
The general movement in society towards equal opportunities for women is reflected in Youth Service efforts to secure greater participation for girls and young women in youth organizations. Boys and young men still take a dominant role in activities and outnumber girls by approximately 3:2. As well as traditional bodies such as the Guides Association, whose numbers are still increasing, new organizations such as the National Organization for Work with Girls and Young Women (NOWGYW) focus on the development of opportunities for girls and particularly on building confidence and self-esteem. Counseling and other activities at youth clubs aim at making both boys and girls consider the status of women in society and challenge ingrained attitudes.
Youth workers and volunteers in the Youth Service are committed to creating an ambience in youth clubs and centers where members from all groups feel welcome. Some youth and community organizations specifically serve the needs of ethnic minority groups helping young people to gain a sense of identity. A large number of self-help ethnic minority youth groups are grant-aided by the Commission for Racial Equality.
All the major national organisations within the Youth Service welcome disabled young people into their clubs and associations to take part in a wide range of activities. Some disabled people require a specialist type of organisation and these have grown in number and sophistication in the last 20 years. Voluntary organizations and local authorities contribute both funds and people to help make this possible.
Provision for mentally handicapped people is made through Gateway Clubs which also have junior club membership for those under 16. They offer leisure-time activities and organize programmes within and outside the club to achieve integration and personal development and to bring mentally handicapped people into daily contact with non-handicapped helpers. The Physically Handicapped and Able Bodied Club (PHAB), like Gateway Clubs, provide opportunities for all kinds of pursuits.
Not least, the Government is committed to addressing problems of unemployment among disabled young people. This involves increasing the awareness among employers of the skills and talents offered by disabled people.
Answer to the following questions:
1. What problems do the young people face in Great Britain?
2. Are these challenges common to Russian youth?
3. Is unemployment of the young a serious problem in Russia?
4. How does our government take care of disabled people?
5. Why there are many homeless teenagers in the twenty first century?
6. What other problems can arouse, what do you think?
7. Does ethic discrimination exist in our community?
8. Is drug addiction of the young is the main threat of nowadays?
9. What is your attitude towards ethic and sex minorities?
Find synonyms to:
problem, mentally handicapped, junior, specialist, wide range of, aid, association, require, create, gain, identity, worker, self-esteem, despair.
Find English equivalents to the following:
“горячие” социальные вопросы, влиять на, проблемы молодежи (2), напряжение, недееспособный, проблема (вопрос), десятилетие, включать в себя, безработица, возрастные группы, важный (существенный), схема подготовки, развивать навыки, программа подготовки (обучения) молодежи, главным образом ответственный за, гарантировать, предлагать, моложе 18 лет, полная занятость, возможность иметь минимальные достижения, достигнуть, подходящие цели, нужды, особый «упор», особенно, технический уровень, поддерживать, обеспечивать, предприятие (2), финансовая поддержка, выбрать этот путь.
Find English equivalents to the following:
бездомные, жилье, страдать, постоянное место жительство (адрес), проводить в отчаяние, ночевать в плохих условиях, заняться (повернуться) преступностью, проституция, употребление наркотиков, население, мегаполис, лететь на «свет» большого города, снабжать информацией, соединять воедино, иметь дело с, быть вовлеченным, новые синтезированные наркотики, “крэк”, “экстази”, вызывать серьезные опасения (заботиться).
Движение за равноправие женщин, отражать, гарантировать (сохранять) места, главенствующая роль, превышать в числе, организация (совет), сосредоточиться на, удовлетворение и самоуважение, положение женщин в обществе, вносить вклад в, недееспособные, широкое разнообразие, умственно отсталый, младший, предоставлять возможность, вовлекать (включать).
TEXT 3.
The majority of young people between the ages of 16 and 19 also remain at, or very close to, home whether they are working, taking part in special employment training schemes or unemployed. During this period young people rely upon their home environment as a place of safety and security and upon their parents as the main providers of money, food and all the necessary amenities for life.
Most young people’s leisure time is spent in their home, shared with other members of the family, watching television or doing domestic chores, or spent in their own rooms where the most popular pursuits tend to be listening to music or reading. Young people also spend considerable time with their friends in other people’s homes.
In recent decades much has been made of the term ‘generation gap’, referring particularly to the gap in age, aspiration and understanding between young teenagers and their parents that often appears to be the cause of friction. However, research indicates that many young people still perceive their parents, rather than their teachers or other adults, as models from whom they draw their main beliefs and attitudes. Parents are also regarded as the main providers of advice about general problems as well as about employment.
Survey findings show that many young people have an ambivalent altitude to the constraints of parental authority. They aspire to the independence to go out where and when they want but they understand the fact that parents are concerned about where they are going and set times for them to return home.
In common with young people all over the world, the young in Britain do not spend the greatest proportion of their time organizing or participating in clearly defined leisure pursuits. Some have hobbies which they will pursue at their leisure but many are more interested in general social interactions and activities that they can pick up and drop with ease and which do not entail particular responsibilities or planning - and particularly which do not cost money. Those at school or unemployed seldom have sufficient income to do what they please and are therefore restricted in the activities they may wish to pursue.
Young men and woman who have started in employment tend to join in pursuits which reaffirm their status as adults such as spending time in pubs, going to dances, concerts, discos and the cinema.