2 Read the confession of the boy and say if you have to deal with the same problem.

I can’t imagine my life without a computer and virtual space now. Like 10% of the Internet users around the world I am dependent on virtual space. I am afraid this addiction is not less harmful than alcohol or drugs. I spend 14 or more hours a week playing computer games on average. I think a computer game for boys helps me to prove I can be strong and courageous and I can give a way out to my inner aggression. It also helps me put on different images and act accordingly. But I hope I can cope with computer addiction if I find an application of my strength and abilities in reality. Do you think sport and social activity are of great assistance in this case?

UNIT 2 MALADIES OF THE 21^st CENTURY

There is no sadder sight than a young pessimist except an old optimist

M. Twain

WORDS TO STUDY

to addict (oneself to) – предаваться чему-л; addict – наркоман; addiction – склонность к чему-л, неистребимая привычка

to abuse – злоупотреблять; оскорблять; abuse – злоупотребление

to adjust – приспосабливать, налаживать

to ban – налагать запрет

to cause – причинять, вызывать; cause – причина

to сonfuse – смущать, приводить в замешательство; запутывать

damage – вред; ущерб; to damage – повреждать, портить

to deal with – иметь дело; бороться с

disease – болезнь

disorder – расстройство

to escape – избегать

esteem – самооценка

habit – привычка

harm – вред; harmful – вредный; пагубный

juvenile – юный; juvenile delinquency – преступность несовершенно-

летних; juvenile offender – малолетний преступник

maturation – созревание

pressure – давление; гнет

to rebel – восставать, протестовать

Lexical exercises

1 Match the words on the left with their synonyms on the right

1 to escape 2 habit 3 harm 4 to rebel 5 disease

a) illness b) damage c) to avoid d) addiction e) to revolt

2 Complete the following sentences using the given words: pressure, habit, cause, banned, addicts

1 There are more young … than ever before.

2 Smoking should be … in all public places like theatres, cinemas and restaurants.

3 Why do so many kids start drinking? The most common reason is peer … .

4 He tried different ways in order to break off smoking … but he couldn’t.

5 She is the … of all our troubles.

3 Translate the following sentences into Russian

1 He is much addicted to drink.

2 I am unable to escape the conviction that he is guilty.

3 If you smoke and you still don’t believe that there’s a definite link between smoking and bronchial troubles, heart diseases and lung cancer, then you are certainly deceiving yourself.

4 Society tries to deal with youthful offenders in a variety of ways.

5 Alcohol is a very common drug abuse among teenagers.

TEXT 1

1 Read the extract carefully and note down the following points:

а the reasons for smoking;

b harmful consequences of smoking;

с the most likely diseases caused by smoking;

d smoking and life-span.

SMOKING

To cease smoking is the easiest thing I ever did; I ought to know because I’ve done it a thousand times.

M. Twain

Smoking is very dangerous. Most young people smoke because their friends pressure them to do so. They may be imitating their parents who smoke, or other adults they respect. In the past it would have been accepted as normal. But in the recent years attitudes towards smoking have changes. Smoking is now banned in many places so that other people don’t have to breathe in smokers’ shocking tobacco smoke.

Passive smoking, when you are breathing someone else’s smoke, can damage your health just like smoking itself can. Smoking becomes addictive very quickly, and it’s one of the hardest habits to break.

Take 1000 young people who smoke 20 cigarettes a day. A quarter of them will die from a disease caused by smoking. That’s 250 lives wasted! Only 6 of those will die in road accidents. So what is it in cigarette smoke that is harmful? A chemical called nicotine is a substance that causes addiction. It is a stimulant that increases the pulse rate and a rise in the blood pressure. Cigarette smoke also contains tar – a major factor for causing cancer.

Chronic bronchitis occurs when tar and mucus damage the air sacks in the lungs. The sufferer has a bad cough which is worse in the mornings, and may get breathless easily.

Gases in cigarette smoke increase your blood pressure and pulse rate. This can contribute to heart diseases. Smokers as twice as non-smokers are likely to have heart troubles.

Smokeless tobacco that is chewed rather than smoked, is also harmful, causing mouth sores, damage to teeth and cancer.

If you’ve ever watched an adult try to give up smoking, you know how hard it can be. It is easier, healthier and cheaper never to start.