In pairs put down 10 questions to ask your groupmates

Teenager Nightmares

Teenagers

A. I had a problem with a bully at school and I wasn’t doing well in class. I would come home upset and not want to go out with the other kids or do anything with my family. Sometimes I even pretended to be ill so I could skip school – that’s how much I hated going. My parents were worried about me, but I couldn’t tell them the truth because I was ashamed. My teacher suggested meeting with a life coach. Miranda helped me to think about my life and to decide what I wanted out of it. It was a great help. I realized, for example, that I was trying to make friends with all the wrong people – even the girl who was bullying me at school! Miranda helped me to see that I really wanted friends who were kind and honest, so now I spend my time with friends like that. I am much happier, and it’s all thanks to Miranda.

B. I was going through a difficult time, and I was miserable everywhere and with everyone. I started to dress differently as a way to show how angry I was. I dyed my hair red and black, and wore earrings and a nose ring to school. I even made the trousers of my school uniform tighter. That’s what did it for the headteacher. She had warned me about my hair and earrings, but when she saw what I had done to my uniform, she kicked me out of school. The life coach my parents got me to see really helped me. Patricia helped me understand that the main reason for my behavior was that I wasn’t happy about myself. I now realize how I can be who I am without pushing people away, which is what I was doing. I’m much happier and more confident about being myself now, and I really love my new school too.

Parents

C. We didn’t know what Christine was going through because she would never talk to us. We were so pleased when the headteacher at school recommended she see a life coach. It helped Christine see what she wanted in life, and how to deal with her fears and insecurities. She really opened up. We now spend more time doing things together as a family, and Christine now has some close friends that she enjoys spending time with.

D. We stood by Peter, but we didn’t know how to help him. Perhaps we should have done more from the beginning, but we just thought, “It’s a phase, it will pass”. We only realized how serious the situation had become when he was asked to leave the school because of his appearance! The life coach we took him to see helped him a lot. She made him see that he can be who he is and express himself without going to extremes. He now has more friends and is much happier than he was a year ago.

5) Which of the following is the best description of the article these extracts appeared in?

a) what parents can do to be more supportive of their children.

b) a life coach can help teenagers through very difficult times.

c) the problems teenagers have with their parents.

d) bullies and what you can do about them.

Do you think the problems in the article is typical for teenagers? Why?

1) Now you’re going to read a series of articles on going through a stage and the interrelationships between parents and children. Use the English-English dictionary to find the meanings of the words/ word-combinations and explain their reference to the given texts: to go through a stage, beyond one’s control, to work through turbulence, serenity, at the latest, grownuphood, a treatise on reincarnation, in favor of, to crop up, can’t help smth/ doing smth, to look forward to, keep fit, to stay in good shape, to feel at peace with, in the first place, an attitude of mind, enlightened thought, to reject, insufficient to maintain, to extinguish the line, supervising homework, assumption, to dismiss, to be doomed, grievance, to cease, to be at odds with, to lash out, segregation, to be vested.

2) Read the following text and answer the questions: What are the symptoms of the stage of adolescence? What is terrible about being a teenager? What are the most distinguishing features of a grown-up? What has grownuphood to do with marriage? Why is number 35 important to some people? At what conclusion does the author arrive? Why is grownuphood considered by the author to be a static place? How has the author’s attitude to life planning changed with years? Do human values change with age and how?

Дата добавления: 2014-12-29