TEXT 3. GENERARATION GAP

Old people are always saying that the young are not what they were. The same comment is made from generation to generation and it is always true. It has never been truer than it is today. The young are better educated; they have a lot more money to spend and enjoy more freedom. They grow up more quickly and are not so dependent on their parents. They think more for themselves and do not blindly accept the ideals of their elders. Events which the older generation remembers vividly are nothing more than past history.

This is as it should be. Every new generation is different from the one that preceded it. Today the difference is very marked indeed. The old always assume that they know best for the simple reason that they have been around a little longer. They don’t like to feel that their values are being questioned or threatened. And this is precisely what the young are doing. They are questioning the assumptions of their elders and disturbing their complacency. They doubt that the older generation has created the best of all possible worlds.

What they reject more than anything is conformity. Office hours, for instance, are nothing more than enforced slavery. Wouldn’t people work best if they were given complete freedom and responsibility? And what about clothing? Who said that all the men in the world should wear drab gray suits and convict haircuts? If we turn our minds to more serious matters, who said that human differences can best be solved through conventional politics or by violent means? Why have the older generation so often used violence to solve their problems? Why are they so unhappy and guilt-ridden in their personal lives, so obsessed with mean ambitions and the desire to amass more and more material possessions! Can anything be right with the rat-race? Haven’t the old lost touch with all that is important in life?

These are not questions the older generation can shrug off lightly. Their record over the past forty years or so hasn’t been exactly spotless. Traditionally, the young have turned to the older for guidance.
Today, the situation might be reversed. The old – if they are prepared to admit it – could learn a thing or two from their children. One of the biggest lessons they could learn is that enjoyment is not sinful. Enjoyment is a principle one could apply to all aspects of life. It is surely not wrong to enjoy your work and enjoy your leisure; to shed restricting inhibitions. It is surely not wrong to live in the present rather than in the past or future. The world is full of uncertainty and tension. This is their glorious heritage. Can we be surprised that they should so often question the sanity of the generation that bequeathed it!

VOCABULARY

generation gap – проблема отцов и детей
generation – поколени
vividly – ярко, отчетливо
marked difference – заметная разница
assumption – притворство, высокомери
complacency – самодовольство
to turn one’s mind to serious matters – думать о важных вещах
violent means – насильственные мер
guilt-ridden – преследуемые чувством вин
mean ambitions – ничтожные амбиции
to amass – накапливать, копит
to lose touch with smth – потерять связь, контакт
to shrug off – не обращать внимания, сбрасывать с счетов
récord – послужной список
to turn for guidance – обращаться за советом
to reverse – ставить с ног на голову
spotless reputation – безупречная репутация
to shed restricted inhibitions – избавляться от строгих запретов
uncertainty and tension – неуверенность и напряженност
heritage – наследи
sanity – умственная полноценност
conformity – подчинение нормам и правилам
rat-race – “мышиная возня”, погоня за богатством и успехом

ASSIGNMENTS

I. Answer the following questions.

l. According to the text, what is the main difference between the two generations? 2. Describe the life priorities of both generations. 3. Do you support the ideas of non-conformity in work? What do you feel are advantages and disadvantages of becoming self-employed? 4. What is more important for you – freedom and more responsibility or necessity to live according to common rules? Do you like corporate ideology in work? 4. How do you regard the idea of being dressed in an uncommon or shocking way to raise interest to your person? 5. Do you think that the problem of generation gap described in Turgenev’s “Fathers and Sons” is now more actual than it used to be? 6. Do you feel much difference in life values and aspirations of yours and your parents/ grandparents?

II. Translate into English.

1. Старики говорят, что молодежь теперь не та, что раньше. 2. Это утверждение никогда не было так актуально, как теперь. 3. Молодежь лучше образована, у нее больше свободного времени и денег. 4. События, которые старшее поколение живо помнит – не более чем прошлое для молодых. 5. Старшее поколение всегда читает, что они лучше знают жизнь на том простом основании, что они жили дольше. 6. Люди старшего поколения часто зависи-мы и несчастливы в личной жизни, они одержимы желанием на-копления материальных ценностей. 7. Неужели они не понимают, что потеряли настоящие жизненные приоритеты? 8. Традиционно молодежь обращалась к старшему поколению за наставничеством, однако и старики могли бы поучиться кое-чему у молодежи. 9. Получать удовольствие от работы и наслаждаться отдыхом – это не грех, так же как и жить настоящим, а не прошлым и не буду-щим. 10. Насильственные меры – это не средство разрешения раз-ногласий. 11. Нельзя сказать, что его послужной список абсолют-но безупречен.

III. Make a project: “What features should an adult require to understand youth?”

IV. Discussion.

1. What are advantages and disadvantages of being a child?

2. What are advantages and disadvantages of being an adult?

3. Would you like to help your parents to discuss and solve any important problems they have?

4. Is it better to leave all arguable questions to adults?

V. Look at the cartoon. What does it illustrate? Create a small story on the subject (p. 57)

VI. Writing.

1. Create 5-7 own laws for youngsters and adults which help them to live in peace.

2. Describe the adult you like and add your suppositions what character he/she had, being young.