Text 2. The younger generation

Knows best

Active vocabulary to remember

Old people are always saying that the young are not what they were. The same comment is made from generation to generation and it is always true. It has never been truer than it is today. The young are better educated. They grow up more quickly and are not so dependent on their parents. They think more for themselves and do not blindly accept the ideals of their elders. Events which the older generation remembers vividly are nothing more than past history. This is as it should be. Every new generation is different from the one that preceded it.

The old always assume that they know best for the simple reason that they have been around a bit longer. They don't like to feel that their values are being questioned or threatened. And this is precisely what the young are doing. They are questioning, they take leave to doubt that the older genera­tion has created the best of all possible worlds. What they reject more than anything is conformity. Office hours, for instance, are nothing more than enforced slavery. Wouldn't people work best if they were given complete freedom and responsibility? And what about clothing? Who said that all the men in the world should wear drab grey suits and convict haircuts? Why have the older generation so often used violence to solve their problems? Why are they so unhappy and guilt-ridden in their personal lives, so ob­sessed with mean ambitions and the desire to amass more and more material possessions? Can anything be right with the retrace? Haven't the old lost touch with all that is important in life?

These are not questions the older generation can shrug off easily. Their record over the past forty years or so hasn't been exactly spotless.

Traditionally, the young have turned to their elders for guidance. Today, the situation might be reserved. The elderly – if they are ready 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 one could apply to all aspects of life. It is surely 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 shadow of the bomb; the constant threat of complete annihilation. This is their glorious heritage.

Practice:

1. Answer the following questions:

1. What comment is made from generation to generation?

2. How are the young differ from previous generation?

3. What do the old always assume?

4. What are the young doing?

5. What do they reject more than anything?

6. What can the old learn from their children?

2. Read the text and find Russian equivalents or explain the following phrases:

Read the text once again and point out the statements you completely agree or disagree. Put them in the table. Give your arguments.

4. Problem discussion “What are the most urgent problems of youth for nowadays?” Organize a group discussion.Use the Language for Agreeing and Disagreeing.