2. What do these numbers refer to: 1976; 450,000; 6,9mln; 13,5%; 21

3. Discuss the major problems facing American teenagers.

4. Speak on the measures the government should take to help troubled youths in you country.

5. Write a short report or conduct a survey of youth's problems in your country.

Unit 7. LEISURE AND ACTIVITIES

1 .Read the text and answer the following questions:

1. What kind of student activities do students participate in?

2. What are die favorite sports of American youths?

3. What is die favorite music of teenagers?

4. Are America's young people hardworking?

5. What kind of jobs do teens take?

6. What kind of organizations arc popular with teenagers?

Schools provide American students with much more than academic education. Students learn about the world through various school-related activities. More than 80 percent of all students participate in student activities, such as sports, student newspapers, drama clubs, debate teams, choral groups and bands.

What are the favorite sports of American young people? According to the survey "The Mood of American Youth." they prefer football, basketball, baseball, wrestling, tennis, soccer, boxing, hockey, track and golf.

During their leisure time, students spend much time watching television. They also listen to music on the radio and tape players. The average American teenager listens to music on the radio about three horns every day. Without a doubt, rock-and- roll music is the favorite of teenagers in the United States.

America's young people are mostly hardworking. Many have after-school jobs. One poll indicated that nine out of 10 teenagers polled said they either had a job or would like one.

Child labor laws set restrictions on the types of work that youths under 16 years old can do. Many youth work part-time on weekends or after school at fast-food restaurants, babysit for neighbors, hold delivery jobs or work in stores.

Many youths are involved in community service organizations. Some are active in church and religious-group activities. Others belong to youth groups such as Girl Scouts or Boy Scouts. About three million girls aged six to 17 years old belong to Girl Scouts, for example. They learn about citizenship, crafts, arts, camping arid other outdoor activities.

Thousands of young people volunteer to help take care of the elderly, the handicapped and hospital patients. Many help clean up die natural environment.

2. Prove the fact than American young people are involved in different organizations and activities. Supplementary reading text I. Administrative System of the States

Government in the United States can be divided into levels and brunches. The different levels of the government consist of the federal government, 50 state governments, and countless local and regional governments. In the Constitution, different responsibilities are given to each level of government. The federal government is responsible for foreign policy, foreign trade, the infrastructure (the system of railroads and interstate highways that criss-cross the United States), and federal governmental spending on social programs. In contrast, the states have their own state government and control their state educational systems, their police forces, and state taxes. The federal government and other states cannot interfere in state concerns, like education and taxation, but the state must follow all federal laws. Local governments are given power over spending in local schools (with the help of state governments), and provide public services for their communities (cleaning streets, garbage collection, etc.). In this way, everybody's needs are served by one of the levels of government.

As with the federal level of government, the state level of government is divided into the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The executive branch is headed by the governor of each state. Therefore, there are 50 state governors in the United States. The responsibility of these officials is to execute the laws, that is, to make sure that every citizen follows the law. This job is not easy, and many governors have cabinets of secretaries, who advise these officials on the laws and help implement them. The laws themselves, though, are made by the legislative branch, which consists of 50 state congresses. In all but the state of Nebraska, these congresses are broken up into the House of Representatives and the Senate (Nebraska only has one "Congress"). Each state has a State Supreme Court that can decide legal matters within the state. There are also lower courts, both federal and state, that hold trials and decide if the defendant (the person accused of a crime) is guilty or innocent. Therefore, because of these divisions, the different parts of these governments are able to do the difficult job of governing the United States.

Discussion Questions

1. What was the Articles of Confederation and its faults?

2. What is it meant by a system of "checks and balances"?

3. What is the most important part of the Constitution?

4. Why is the Constitution called a "living" document?

5. How is the structure of the state government similar to that of the federal government?

For each level of government (federal, state, and local) please list three things for which it is responsible.