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D. React

DIRECTIONS: Answer the following questions and then share your answers with a classmate or with the class.

1. Which three of the following worries do parents have most about their children in your country?

physical danger education drugs

premarital sex loss of religion extreme religions alcohol

102 Contemporary American Society

teenage pregnancy

kidnapping

violence outside the home

violence inside the home

teenage suicide

OTHER PROBLEMS

2.Now decide the three most difficult problems for parents today in the U.S.

3.In the United States, teenagers usually go through a stage that is very difficult as they try to establish their independence from their parents. Is this "rebellious" stage common in your country?

4.Some parents and teenagers get along better than others. What do you think makes the difference?

E.Word Analysis

Part 1

DIRECTIONS: Look at the endings for verbs and adjectives. Are the italicized words in the sentences verbs or adjectives?

1.Ask anyone. Everyone here is very knowledgeable.

2.Her personality changes like the wind.

3.That solution is unthinkable.

4.What do Americans value?

5.He usually has very changeable ideas.

VERB ADJECTIVE

6.Compare the two cars. They are very similar.

7.This is a very strange place; the weather changes almost every hour.

8.Your decision is not workable.

9.Those two cars have comparable en­ gines.

10.I know what you mean. It's understand­ able.

2 Complete the sentences with one of the above words,

с A big problem in some countries is that the well-educated people

. from those countries instead of staying and contributing what they can to the society.

104 Contemporary American Society

f.John Kennedy and Martin Luther King lived at the same time. They were

______________________ (s).

h.You are only supposed to have one wife in the U.S._________________________

is the law. In some cultures you can have more than one wife. is permitted.

section 4

Look Back

A. Vocabulary

DIRECTIONS: Circle the letter of the choice that best completes each sentence.

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В. Matching

DIRECTIONS: Find the word or phrase in column В which has a similar mean­ ing to a word in column A. Write the letter of that word or phrase next to the word in column A.

A B

С Synthesis Questions

DIRECTIONS: Answer the following questions.

1.Discuss the changes in your country's society in the past fifty years. Talk about general changes as well as changes in family life.

2.Choose some aspect of American life (for example, education, bringing up children, crime). Work with a classmate to develop questions about this topic. Interview people and report back to the class.

D.Vocabulary Preview

What shorter words can you find in these words?

Protestant (1) percentage (2) lifestyles (3)

What does the "ees" at the end of the retirees and employees mean? How is employer different from employee? (13)

108 Contemporary American Society

section 1

A First Look

A.Background Building

1.Look at the illustration on the previous page and answer the ques­ tions below.

a.What are these two people doing?

b.Do you think that they are on vacation?

сHow old do you think they are?

d."Retire" means to stop working when you are old. What do you think a "retirement city" is?

2.Complete these sentences about your culture.

a.People usually retire when they are

B. Topic

DIRECTIONS: Before you begin to read, look at these topics. There is one topic for each paragraph. Look quickly at the reading to find these topics. Do not read every word at this point. Write the number of the paragraph next to the topic of that paragraph.

1.the financial problems of retirement

2.the value of work in America

3.answers to some problems

4.the positive side of retirement

5.explanation of retirement

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