UNIT 7: TOURISM

LESSON 1: A DOWNRIGHT SPEECH

Active vocabulary: hang about, adolescent, irresponsible, conjunctions (however, nevertheless, although, yet, moreover, etc.)

Communicative area: discussing, admitting, giving opinion

1. 1. A) Look at the cartoon below. Do you find it funny and true to life? (илл. 7.1.1)

b) Discuss the questions below in pairs.

1. What is the generation gap? How is it illustrated in the cartoon? 2. How is the father portrayed in the cartoon? 3. How does it describe a teenager’s personality? 4. Do you agree that modern teenagers can be described like that?

2. A) You are going to hear a speech by Neilia Pierre, an American High School student. Look at the glossary and decide what her speech is about.

1. bib [bɪb] n - a piece of cloth or plastic worn, esp by babies, to protect their clothes while eating. 2. adolescent [ˌædəˈlɛs^ənt] adj - being of the age 13 through 19. 3. curfew [ˈkɜːfjuː] n an order that after a specific time at night being outside on the streets is prohibited. 4. hang about, around vb (intr) - to waste time doing nothing 5. reluctant [rɪˈlʌktənt] adj - not eager; unwilling to do sth 6. ridiculous [rɪˈdɪkjʊləs] adj - absurd, laughable 7. irresponsible [ˌɪrɪˈspɒnsəb^əl] adj - not showing care for the consequences of one's actions or attitudes; not capable of bearing responsibility

b) Listen to the speech and follow in the book. What was the topic for Neilia’s speech? (илл. 7.1.2)

The principal, the vice principal, teachers and students, I bid you a pleasant good morning. I say to you that in spite of being a teenager, myself, I must agree with the statement “Teenagers are downright careless, lazy and irresponsible”. Teenagers need to be spoon-fed, they need someone to pick up after them, and they need bibs when they eat. This is ridiculous! What they really need is to realize that they are no longer babies.

Firstly, I say that teenagers are careless because they do not think before they act. They need to learn that to every action there is a reaction. We teenagers are forever engaging in activities we know that are wrong. We are careless when it comes to the placement of things. Misplacing our homework, clothes, shoes, and books has become a hobby. We are careless when it comes to choosing our friends. We choose the peers who cause our downfall and not our success. Alcohol, drugs, sex, can we be any more careless than that? Adolescents believe that they are too old to do the things children do, however, not old enough to do the things adults do, so they do things nobody will do, which are most times careless things.

Secondly, I find that teenagers are way too lazy. What happened to the days when the whole family worked together on the weekend to do household chores? Nowadays teenagers do not even want to get off the couch to change the television channel. Clothes are always on the floor, wet towels are always on the bed, and their closet is a bin for everything they have ever owned. Cell phone dialing is the most exercise they do. They are against physical education and want it to be banned, they are even reluctant to walk, they refuse to do their homework and they fall asleep in class. Teenagers are the type of people who let things happen instead of make things happen.

Thirdly, teenagers are not only careless and lazy, but they are irresponsible too. We are aware that our curfew is at ten o’clock, yet we are out at midnight. Moreover, teenagers are irresponsible when it comes to their education. They skip class, they do not complete their home-work and they waste time during important lessons. They are irresponsible when it comes to their own health. Teens need more direction; they make stupid decisions when it comes to sexual activity, drugs and other health choices. Although adolescents are often told off for oversleeping and sleeping in class, they believe they may squeeze in 6 or 7 hours of sleep a night. These are clearly irresponsible actions.

Finally, Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream. I also have a dream that one-day teenagers will be responsible, caring and hardworking individuals. I have the hope that one day my dream will come true.

c) Work in pairs. Find all the examples of teenage behaviour from the speech. Discuss if they are true for you or any of your friends. Do you agree with Nelia in general?