(9/11)
People say
that school years and youth are the happiest time of your life.
Do you agree ?
School years,
that is childhood and youth are generally considered to be the
best periods of a person's lifetime, the happiest time grown-ups
keep looking back to. I'm afraid I can't agree with that
entirely. Generally, it is the time when a person is taken care
of by his or her parents, one doesn't have to earn one's living
and make decisions as important as a grown-up has to and the
duties are not so numerous* Youth is surely the time when you
get to know a lot of new things, and your perception and
emotions are fresh and strong, which can sometimes make you feel
happy.
On the other
hand, a child's or a teenager's life is not as simple as that.
Childhood and youth, particularly, is the period when a young
person is trying to determine his or her place in his peer group
and, later, in the society. He is trying to adjust himself to
the grown-ups' world. In doing so, he faces a lot of problems.
Many of the problems are the same his parents faced when they
were his age. First of all, they face the problem of generation
gap. Secondly, their emotional life changes, and they have to
overcome psychological problems, to get used to their new
emotions, experience first love, learn to respect both
themselves and other people. Thirdly, they have to win the
respect of their peers, have to make them take them seriously,
find their identity. Fourthly, in spite of the fact that many
parents still don't take their children seriously, youths have
to make difficult decisions. In the upper forms of school,
teenagers have to choose their career, a decision which
influences their entire lives. If they fail to enter a college
or university, they face the problem of finding a job to earn
their living.
Many youths may
not be mature enough to cope with these problems, and they rebel
against society and adult authority. This revolt may take
different forms: young people can become aggressive, reject
everything including their parents' standards and beliefs, stop
doing well at school. Or they may go in the direction of crime,
drugs, vandalism, sex, etc. According to official reports,
violence, AIDS, drugs, alcohol are more and more associated with
youngsters.
Youth problems
don't necessarily imply that youth is a period of troubles. It
can be a period of good health and high achievement. In that
respect, much depends on the family and the school the young
person studies at.
I can say my
school years were quite happy. There were really very few things
which I disliked at school. I like studying and have always done
fairly well at school. I like our school, too: it offers a
well-planned curriculum in all the subjects, it is well
equipped, and the staff is highly qualified, which makes
studying a real pleasure. I've got a lot of friends and go on
well with teachers.
What I really
disliked is that there are some subjects on the curriculum of
secondary schools in Russia which are compulsory but not really
necessary for your future life. In my opinion, it is, for
example, Information Science. I believe Information Science is
unnecessary for two reasons. Firstly, very few pupils will need
programming languages for their careers, and they definitely
don't need them to pass the entrance exams to the universities
and colleges they choose. The second reason is that the majority
of the pupils will never need them in their careers and daily
life. If Information Science is at all necessary, the scope of
information taught to pupils of secondary school should be
reduced. Firstly, studying these unnecessary subjects takes a
lot of time and reduces the time left for other subjects.
Secondly, many pupils may take less interest in studies in
general, as they have to study a number of subjects which seem
boring and useless to them.
Translate the
following sentences into English.
1. Школьные годы обычно считаются лучшим периодом в
жизни, на который оглядываются взрослые.
2. Обычно молодые люди находятся под присмотром родителей, им не
нужно зарабатывать на жизнь, их обязанности не так
многочисленны, как у взрослых, а восприятие и эмоции свежи и
сильны.
3. Молодой человек пытается занять свое место в группе,
приспособиться к миру взрослых.
4. Молодые люди сталкиваются с массой проблем, в том числе с
проблемой конфликта поколений, психологическими проблемами
первой любви, дружбы и одиночества, им приходится завоевывать
уважение своих сверстников и искать свою индивидуальность, а
также выбирать профессию и получать образование.
5. Если молодой человек недостаточно зрелый, чтобы справиться с
этими проблемами, он может взбунтоваться против авторитета
взрослых и общества.
6. Этот бунт может принять различные формы: молодые люди могут
стать агрессивными, отвергнуть нормы и убеждения своих
родителей, перестать хорошо учиться в школе иди пойти в
направлении преступлений, наркотиков, вандализма и секса.
7. Насилие, СПИД, наркотики и алкоголь все более и более
ассоциируются с молодыми людьми.
8. Юность может быть периодом, характеризующимся хорошим
здоровьем и успехами.
9. Мне нравится наша школа, так как она предлагает
сбалансированную программу по всем предметам, хорошо
оборудована, а преподаватели имеют высокую квалификацию.
10. Я всегда хорошо учился в школе, и у меня хорошие отношения с
учителями.
11. Объем информации по некоторым школьным предметам следует
сократить.
1. School years
are generally considered to be the best period of one's life
grown-ups keep looking back to.
2. Generally, youngsters are taken care of by their parents,
don't have to earn their living, their duties are not as
numerous as those of grown-ups and their perception and emotions
are fresh and strong.
3. A young person tries to determine his place in his peer
group, to adjust himself to the grown-ups' world.
4. Youngsters face a lot of problems, including the problem of
generation gap, psychological problems of the first love,
friendship and loneliness, they have to win the respect of their
peers and find their identity, as well as to choose a career and
get education.
5. If a youth is not mature enough to cope with these problems,
he can rebel against adult authority and society.
6. This revolt may take different forms: youngsters may become
aggressive, reject their parents' standards and beliefs, stop
doing well at school or go in the direction of crime, drugs,
vandalism and sex.
7. Violence, AIDS, drugs and alcohol are more and more
associated with youngsters.
8. Youth may be a period of good health and high achievement.
9. I like our school as it offers a well-planned curriculum in
all the subjects, it is well-equipped, the staff is highly
qualified.
10. I have always done well at school and go on well with
teachers.
11. The scope of information in some school subjects should be
reduced.
Из пособия "ЕГЭ. Английский язык.
Устные темы" Занина Е.Л. (2010, 272с.) - Part
one. English examination topics. Forms 9/11.
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