Ex 4. Discuss your list with those of other students. Hold a discussion on the major problems facing the young nowadays.

М. В. Афанасьева

Английский язык

Учебное пособие по английскому языку. Мировая экономика.

Часть 1

Москва 2013

УДК 81(075.8)=111

ББК 81.2.Англ.73+65.5

А 94

Рецензенты: Е.В.Пономаренко,д.ф.н.,проф.кафедры английского языка№5 ФГОУ ВПО МГИМО (Университет) МИД РФ;

О.Н.Кабанова, к.э.н. доц. (Финансовый университет)

А 94 Афанасьева М.В., Английский язык: Учебное пособие по английскому языку. Мировая экономика. Часть 1.

М.: Финансовый университет, 2013. 239с.

Данное учебное пособие является частью учебного комплекса, разработанного для базового и профессионального курсов английского языка в бакалавриате по направлению «Экономика», профили «Мировая экономика», «Международные финансы». Может быть использовано также для направления «Экономика без профиля».

Основной целью учебного пособия является формирование языковой, коммуникативной и межкультурной компетенции, необходимой для делового общения в профессиональной сфере. Учебное пособие подчинено единой структуре, и включает аутентичные оригинальные тексты. Все темы соответствуют программе и учебным планам подготовки бакалавров данного профиля.

Основу аппарата упражнений составляют коммуникативные упражнения, направленные на развитие творческого потенциала студентов.

Публикуется в авторской редакции УДК 81(075.8)=111

ББК 81.2.Англ.73+65.5

ПРЕДИСЛОВИЕ

Данное учебное пособие является частью учебного комплекса, разработанного кафедрой «Иностранные языки» Финансового университета при Правительстве РФ для обучения в бакалавриате по направлению «Экономика», профили «Мировая экономика», «Международные финансы», «Экономика без профиля».

Учебное пособие разработано на основе современных методов обучения иностранному языку. Основной целью пособия является обучение практическому владению английским языком и формирование навыков делового и профессионального общения. В учебное пособие включены как тексты социокультурной тематики, так и профессионально-ориентированные тексты; при отборе языкового материала использован функционально-коммуникационный подход.

Пособие также ставит образовательные и воспитательные цели, которые реализуются путем расширения кругозора студентов и формирования коммуникативной и социокультурной компетенции.

Каждый из 10 уроков (Units) пособия состоит из 2-х разделов:

Часть 1:

1. Список слов и словосочетаний тематического характера, составленный на основе текста общеэкономической направленности и подлежащий активному усвоению.

2. Аппарат упражнений, направленных на формирование навыков чтения и коммуникации на основе профессионально-ориентированных текстов. Упражнения предусматривают также активное усвоение лексики, творческие задания для самостоятельной работы, а также задания, направленные на развитие навыков письменной речи.

Часть 2:

Текст социокультурной тематики, снабженный аппаратом упражнений, направленных на развитие творческого потенциала студентов и формирование коммуникативной компетенции.

Пособие включает в себя также три Приложения:

Appendix I Communication Skills

Appendix II Writing Skills

Appendix III Oral Presentation Skills

В приложениях содержится теоретическая информация и методические указания для студентов, необходимые для формирования навыков коммуникации, в том числе социокультурной, письменной речи, а также навыков устной презентации. Приложения также включают упражнения, направленные на активизацию функциональной лексики.

Учебное пособие включает в себя такие темы как экономика США и Евросоюза, предмет экономики, рынок и конкуренция, история и функции денег, инфляция, глобализация, а также темы общеобразовательного характера: проблемы молодежи, важность изучения иностранных языков, образование в странах изучаемого языка и другие.

Функциональная лексика, подлежащая активному усвоению, предполагает следующие темы: знакомства, умение поддержать беседу, вести телефонные переговоры, проводить деловые встречи и т.д. Наряду с этим отрабатывается базовая функциональная лексика, связанная с получением информации, выражением согласия, несогласия, уверенности и т.п.

Текстовый материал пособия подобран на основе аутентичных источников и содержит только современные и актуальные материалы. Коммуникативный характер упражнений позволяет не только формировать у студентов навыки иноязычного общения, но и расширять их знания об окружающем мире и современных тенденциях.

Unit 1

Part 1

A History of the US Economy

economy superpower, recession, expansion, agricultural economy, industrial infrastructure, entrepreneurship, manufacturing, commerce, currency, mass production, “military-industrial complex”, labor union, consumer confidence, dot.com industries, global marketplace, unemployment

Text

A History of the US Economy

Once the world’s leading economic superpower, in the twentieth century America assumed the role of financial capital of the world. As America’s trade deficit continues to increase, much of America’s massive debt is now controlled by China, and a transfer of power seems to be in progress. But even amidst recession, the model of the American Dream still exists. Whether America and her dream can emerge unscathed in the coming years remains to be seen. It is a complex economic question, and one that cannot be separated from the global economy.

I.The Economy of Colonial America (Pre-1776)

Colonial America was a predominately agricultural economy. Even as the economy expanded over the decades of the eighteenth century, the colonies only moved slowly toward industrialization by the year of the Declaration of Independence, in 1776. Dynamic economic expansion occurred with population growth from births and immigration, but colonial Americans had naturally become increasingly self-sufficient.

Northern prosperity from the fur industry and fishing boosted the local economy.

By 1776, the standard of living of free white American society was already high, with abundant food and land supporting a comparatively high income. Officially sanctioned as a sovereign nation with the Treaty of Paris in 1783, the global economy of the United States of America is born.

II.The Constitution and Pre-Civil War Economy (1787 – 1850s)

From the writing of the United States Constitution in 1787, America’s economy saw tremendous growth. The Constitution provided a kind of “economic charter,” laying out regulation of both commerce and money by Congress. Most importantly, it opened the market of the United States territory. Open borders allowed for an internal free flow of goods and ideas. One exception was an unpopular tax on whiskey enacted in 1791 to help pay the national debt established and expanded as a consequence of the Revolutionary War. Thanks to a strong institutional core adopted from the British, America quickly caught up economically to her former ruler

American entrepreneurship was given free reign with the departure of British investments. Regional economic character developed with shipyards in New England, crops and furs in the middle colonies, and the plantation economy of the Old South. The idea of free enterprise has remained for the country’s economic development ever since.

There existed an intense debate over what kind of economy America should be. America’s third president, Thomas Jefferson, was a major proponent of the agrarian society.

America’s first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton and his Federalist Party were proponents of a stronger central government in order to encourage manufacturing and commerce as the core of the new American economy. Hamilton further advocated for a national bank to back a strong currency and push policy that would generate capital to support young American industry.

The first half of the nineteenth century saw a frontier opened by significant developments in transportation. After the 1840s a new mode of transportation, the railroad, picked up the reigns of the American economy, and took it to places and heights it had never before seen. The east was finally and forever linked to the west with the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. The railroads became the driving economic force of America in the second half of the nineteenth century, backed by governmental land grants and multi-national investments. By then, however, the United States economy had been hit by two major forces: the California Gold Rush and the Civil War.

III.The Economics of War

The 1848 discovery of gold in California not only drew hundreds of thousands of people out West; it also shifted the balance of economic attention of the United States. By the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, gold not only backed American currency. Before long, however, both the North and the South resorted to paper currency.

IV.Reconstruction through the Roaring Twenties (1865 – 1929)

By the Civil War, already a third of the national economy was powered by manufacturing, most of which was in the North. Following the war, the American economy was driven by innovation and invention that spurred tremendous growth of the industrial infrastructure. In short, rapid development—and much of it was a result of advances in mass production. Individual business enterprise became the backbone of the United States economy. It was a “Gilded Age” in America, built by entrepreneurs in manufacturing and commerce, which outpaced the economic contribution of agriculture by the beginning of the 20^th century.

In the economic history of the United States, the early twentieth century remains critical for major advancements in technology. The steam- and water-powered economy received a jolt by the spread of modern electricity, and the advent of the automobile. Entering late into World War I, the United States was primed to shift its industry and vast amounts of raw materials to wartime.

At the time, America was sticking to a gold standard to back its currency, so avoiding simply printing additional money was meant to help preserve the standard, while preventing inflation. The war altered the American economy in many ways. The Federal Reserve assumed a more dominant role as New York became the financial center of the world. The federal government, in short, showed it could be a dominant force in the American economy.

V.Great Depression through World War II (1929 – 1945)

The two most influential economic events of the twentieth century in America are the Great Depression and World War II. While the precise causes of the Great Depression are both numerous and challenging to pinpoint, the economic effects were disastrous. At its peak, unemployment was nearly 25 percent of the workforce as hundreds of banks failed (about 40 percent) and hundreds of millions of deposits were lost. In summary, after “increasingly stock speculation, the stock market crash of 1929 wiped out millions of investors and crippled confidence among business executives and consumers”.

Under the watch of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, America launched a vast economic stimulus program called the “New Deal.” The program was designed to rebuild the confidence lost during the Depression and put people back to work through government-sponsored works projects. The New Deal vastly expanded the role of the federal government in the American economy.

A close relationship between the private sector of the economy and the American government was developed as a result of the Great Depression. That relationship would continue into World War II, when the nation’s industrial sector was mobilized and coordinated by the government to contribute products directly to the war effort. The gross national product (GNP) of the United States increased over 50 percent between 1941 and 1945 and unemployment hit its lowest point ever at 1.2 percent. America, meanwhile, was becoming increasingly urban as populations shifted to cities and agriculture became more mechanized and absorbed by big business as a result of wartime technology.

VI.Into the Modern Era (1950s – Present)

The United States continued to grow after the war, both in population and economically. The postwar “baby boom” consumer spending and numbers of consumers increased substantially. The American “middle class” became dominant. By now the United States was the richest nation in the world. As a result, America was developing an extensive infrastructure to match its wealth. The completion of the Interstate Highway System “remains the largest public works project in the history of the world”. Finally, the strong interrelationship between the government and the ever-expanding industrial sector (the “military-industrial complex”) helped establish the United States as the economic superpower of the world.

The middle of the twentieth century saw a brief expansion of labor unions and then labor policy. The Civil Rights movement of the 1960s urged President to further expand and guarantee access to opportunity by minorities in America while Congress helped support new federal spending in the form of programs such as Medicare and Food Stamps. But economic trouble largely resulting from the Vietnam War and high domestic spending plagued the economy in the 1970s. The economy faced inflation and shockwaves from global crises that drove oil prices and consumer discontent high.

As a result of increased expenditures (particular in the military and defense) but decreased taxes there were significant increases in both the budget deficit and the national debt as the U.S. government was forced to borrow heavily from other countries.

A recession of the early 1990s lingering from the stock market crash of 1987 was drawn out by high oil prices, but consumer confidence and spending helped keep the economy afloat. The economy of the 1990s was driven by the rise of technology and the Internet, whose companies made startling gains on the stock market. Personal and business technology alike broadened and streamlined access to the global marketplace. Economic optimism was based upon high-tech “dot.com” industries who built their success from low interest rates and enthusiastic investors during an era of low unemployment and low inflation.

The Federal Reserve closely monitored America’s economic pace and played an active role in the American economy. But it is also because of the Reserve selling billions in bonds to the Chinese that China has gradually assumed role of banker to America. That, in addition to America’s virtual dependence upon cheaply manufactured Chinese goods to sustain America’s consumer-driven economy, had managed to keep inflation, interest rates, and corporate wage costs in America artificially low. Low, even as the economy was taxed by terrorism, military fronts and natural disasters.

VII.Understanding the Recession: Stock Markets, Subprime Lending, and Bursting Bubbles

In all, there have been over thirty cycles of expansions and recessions of the U.S. economy just since 1854. When markets are surging, “bubbles” form out of wild speculation and overvaluation that are based largely upon euphoria and greed. Electronic “herds” of investors are populated with optimistic, or “bull” buyers. In 2000, the dot.com economic boom came to an end as interest rates rose and investments in technology slowed. When an economic bubble bursts, the herd became fearful. A pessimistic “bear” market is a seller’s stock market in decline. Some of these economic forces were the same key factors that caused the “subprime” mortgage bubble that burst in late 2007. However, it was dubious and unregulated lending practices (with encouragement from the U.S. government) that caused this shutter in the economy—with aftershocks felt around the world.

Americans have tried to be cautiously optimistic, embracing the message of “Hope” in the presidential campaign of Barack Obama. Like many presidents who took over in the midst of recession, President Obama faced the task of virtually “remaking America”. Direct effects of smaller government and deregulation under previous administrations, but most recently with the energy and environmental policies of President Bush, were seen in the Gulf of Mexico when as much as 180 million gallons of oil gushed from a self-regulated rig’s blown out wellhead. The question, then, seems virtually the same as that which faced a younger America: how big should the government be? The answer is overwhelmed by the sheer number of complexities that complicate the task facing President and Americans today—the task of remaking another new American economy.

Vocabulary list

1. economic superpower – экономическая сверхдержава

2. to assume a role – взять на себя роль
syn. to take a role

3. recession – спад экономической активности

4. agricultural economy– экономика, ориентированная на сельское хозяйство
n. agriculture

5. to expand – расширяться, увеличиваться, расти
n. expansion

6. income - доход

7. sovereign nation – суверенная нация

8. internal – внутренний
ant. external

9. to lay out regulation – устанавливать законы, правила

10. free flow of… - свободное движение

11. tax – налог

12. core – ядро, центр, суть

13. entrepreneurship – предпринимательство
n. entrepreneur

14. manufacturing – производство, изготовление
n. manufacturer
v. to manufacture

15. commerce – торговля
adj. commercial

16. to back a strong currency – поддерживать «сильную» валюту
hard currency – твердая, конвертируемая валюта
soft currency – неконвертируемая валюта

17. industrial infrastructure – промышленная инфраструктура

18. mass production – массовое производство

19. advancements in technology – достижения в технологиях

20. to launch a program – вводить, претворять в жизнь программу
syn. to introduce
to put into effect

21. military-industrial complex – военно-промышленный комплекс

22. labor (labour) union – профсоюз

23. domestic spending – внутренние затраты, расходы

24. expenditures – расходы (государства)

25. consumer confidence – доверие потребителей

26. global marketplace – мировой рынок

27. dot.com industries – компании, осуществляющие свою деятельность с использованием интернет-технологий

28. unemployment – безработица
ant. employment
v. to employ
n. employer/employee

Notes

1. transfer of power – переход власти

2. self-sufficient – самодостаточный

3. to boost – резко увеличивать(ся)

4. standard of living – уровень жизни

5. the national debt – государственный долг

6. Gold Standard – золотой стандарт

7. The Federal Reserve – Федеральная Резервная Система, государственное финансовое учреждение США

8. the Great Depression – Великая Депрессия

9. the stock market crash – крах фондового рынка

10. to cripple confidence – наносить урон доверию

11. GNP (gross national product) – ВНП (валовый национальный продукт)

12. baby boom – резкий подъем рождаемости

13. middle class – средний класс

14. access to opportunity – зд. возможности

15. budget deficit – дефицит бюджета

16. to borrow heavily – занимать денежные средства в больших количествах

17. herds of investors – зд. толпы инвесторов

18. bull market – рынок быков (при повышении цен)
bear market – рынок медведей (при понижении цен)

19. economic bubble – «экономический пузырь»

20. dubious and unregulated lending practices – ненадежные и нерегулируемые заимствования

Ex 1. Suggest the Russian equivalents:

a transfer of power seems to be in progress; the American Dream still exists; dynamic economic expansion; abundant food and land; a strong institutional core; the driving economic force; the Gold Rush; to resort to paper currency; to be driven by innovation and invention; to outpace; to assume a dominant role; the economic effects were disastrous; government-sponsored work projects; to become increasingly urban; to guarantee access to opportunity by minorities; to keep the economy afloat; to make starting gains; electronic “herds” of investors; with aftershocks felt around the world; the energy and environmental policies.

Ex 2. Fill in the gaps with the words and expressions from the text.

1. Once the world’s leading ……, in the 20^th country America …… of financial capital of the world.

2. Even amidst ……, the model of the …… still exist.

3. By 1776, the …… of free white American society was already high, with …… supporting a comparatively high income.

4. Open borders allowed for an …… of goods and ideas.

5. Thanks to a strong …… adopted from the British, America quickly …… to her former ruler.

6. A. Hamilton and his party were proponents of a stronger central government in order to encourage …… as the …… of the new American economy.

7. After the 1840s a new mode of transportation, the railroad, …… of the American economy.

8. Following the war, the American economy was …… that spurred tremendous growth of the …….

9. In the economic history of the US, the early 20^th century remains …… for major ……

10. Under the watch of president Roosevelt, America …… a vast economic stimulus program called the “……”.

11. In all, there have been over thirty cycles of …… of the US economy since 1854.

12. Americans have tried to be …… embracing the message of “hope” in the …… of Barak Obama.

Ex 3. Find in the text the English equivalents for the following:

ведущая экономическая супердержава; во время экономического спада; в основном сельскохозяйственная экономика; высокий уровень жизни; свободное движение товаров и идей внутри страны; поощрять производство и торговлю как основу экономической системы; прибегнуть к чему-либо; достижения в сфере массового производства; придерживаться золотого стандарта; разрушительные экономические последствия; масштабная программа экономического стимулирования; правительственные проекты создания рабочих мест; вызвать потрясения в экономике; проявлять осторожный оптимизм.

Ex 4. Match each term with the appropriate explanation.

recession, expansion, mass production, free enterprise, agriculture, manufacturing, commerce

1. Growing large, wider; increasing in size and scale.

2. The exchange of goods and services for money or for other goods and services by way of trade and all the various business operations that make such exchange possible.

3. A temporary reduction in business activity.

4. Organized and rapid production of very large quantities of a standard article or commodity.

5. The systematic making of goods from raw materials. Originally it implied the making of something by hand, but now includes making by machinery.

6. The skilled work of cultivating the soil for crops, bringing up animals, planting trees, managing forests, and fishing.

7. An economic system in which private persons are free to own capital and to organize their businesses.

Ex 5. Answer the questions and do the assignments.

1. What are the major stages of the US economy history?

2. How is the economy of colonial America characterized? What boosted the local economy at that time?

3. What is implied in the idea of individual entrepreneurship?

4. How did the departure of British investment influence the American economy?

5. Speak of the two points of view on the development of the US economy. Which one proved the more effective?

6. Why was the development of transport critical for the US economy?

7. What is the role of individual business enterprise in the United States economy?

8. What is the Great Depression? How was it overcome?

9. What are the characteristic features of the US economy of the Modern Era?

10. How did the recent economic crisis affect the country?

Ex 6. Find in the text the words and phrases that refer to the following notions and comment on them:

1) dynamic economic expansion

2) the agrarian society

3) tremendous growth of the industrial infrastructure

4) the Great Depression

5) the economic super power

Writing

Task I. Fill in the table illustrating the major stages of the US economic history. Use external sources if necessary.

Stage	Period	Features	Main events
Stage I Stage II Stage III Stage IV Stage V Stage VI

Task II. Write a Summary and a GIST of the text.

Speaking

Task I. Comment on the table (Task I, Writing)

Task II. Use additional sources of information and prepare reports in the form of presentations on the following issues. Use visual aids.

1) A history of the US economy: from Colonial America to the present-day superpower.

2) The Great Depression (causes, developments, results)

3) The American Dream – what is it?

Part 2

Read the passage below and match each paragraph with the appropriate heading.

a. Materialism

b. Education Disparity

c. Drug/Alcohol Abuse

d. Growing up too fast

e. Erosion of National Pride/Identity

f. Single Parent Households

g. Obesity

h. Poverty

I. Violence in Schools

J. Shifting Economy

Top 10 Issues Facing Our Youth Today
(on the materials of the USA Internet and press resources)

Now that we are well into the new Millennium society has begun to recognize serious concerns with issues that kids have to deal with today. Some issues have always been there but are now coming to the eyes of the public to find solutions. Other issues are new trends as society begins to adapt to a faster pace of life. Below are the top 10 issues facing our youth today.

10. ________________

The problems begin at home. Since the 1950s, the number of single parent homes has consistently increased to the point of catastrophe. Today, 14 million single parents are responsible for 28 million children. Raising a child is difficult enough in a two parent home, especially in tough economic conditions. The situation is even direr when there is only one parent. Economically, a single parent is likely to bring less income home. This equates to fewer opportunities for such vital necessities as education. Trying to make ends meet also takes time – time that is spent away from children who need a parent’s guiding/influence. Absent a parent’s diligent guidance, children become subject to higher dropout rates, higher risk of dangerous sexual behaviors and pregnancies, higher chances of drug and alcohol abuse etc. It truly takes a village to raise a child.

9. __________

There was a time in cinematic history where virtually every actor/actress was portrayed on screen with a cigarette in hand. Smoking, it was implied, was cool. As a result everyone was doing it, including kids. Well, as awareness to the danger of smoking increased, “cool” images of smoking disappeared. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about drugs and alcohol. These vices are staples in everyday media. Simply, drinking and using drugs is shown as being cool. The numbers bear the tale. 21% of high school seniors say they get high and 41% of the same group report drinking alcohol. Our kids are literally moving around in an intoxicated daze. Immature behavior is then amplified due to being under the influence. Drunk driving, poor grades and attendance, anti-social and violent behavior and the list goes on.

8. __________

There was a time when kids enjoyed being kids. Today, even at the earliest of ages, children are partaking in adult activities with serious consequences. Similar to what we see with alcohol and drugs, sex is a very popular and portrayed subject matter. The movies, TV, the internet, essentially everywhere a kid turns he or she is bombarded with sexual suggestions. Music is a culprit as well. Songs have always had sexual innuendos, but at least “back in the day” you had to be old enough to understand them. The concept of childhood is literally being wiped out.

7. __________

A child’s education is the foundation from which he or she will be able to go forth out into the world and build a life. Schools play a major role in this endeavor, and therefore it is reasonable to expect that these places of learning would be safe havens for the children while they are preparing for adulthood. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. In many instances, especially in low income, urban settings, schools can be a war zone. We are not talking about minor bullying, but rather serious violence. Consider that in the last decade 284 kids were murdered due to school violence – these were shootings, stabbings, fighting and suicides. Growing up is tough enough without having to be worried about being killed while going to math class.

6. _________

We live in a society that promotes materialism and so we perpetuate this particular malady by instilling bad habits into our children. We teach our children that the measure of success and happiness in life is how much stuff you have. Kids naturally want things –especially if their friends have something similar. Unfortunately, there seems to be little restraint on accompanying guidance as we go about this. Essentially, we provide our kids with whatever they want that is within our financial ability to do so. The concept of “earning” what you get or the idea that something “you don’t need” seem to have been lost and discarded. Is there really any wonder why the average adult is $15,000 in debt at any given time? We have a mentality of getting what we want and when we want it that has been ingrained in us since childhood. The unfortunate result is that there are devastating consequences for such continued behavior later in life.

5.__________

Our kids are fat and getting fatter. Recent numbers show that 20% of American children are obese. Not chubby –OBESE! Video games, TV, the internet and fast food are partly to blame. Kids are spending more time sitting in front of a TV/computer screen than running around outside. This sedentary lifestyle has consequences. Socially, it’s no secret that overweight kids are going to be subject to ridicule from their peers – it’s sad, but nevertheless true. This can result in such issues as low self-esteem, depression, etc. Then there are the health concerns. High blood pressure, diabetes and other maladies that is associated with obesity. Psychologically and physically, obesity is an issue that can be resolved with a simple increase in activity and awareness.

4. __________

Education is important. Few people would dispute this well regarded fact. A good education (in comparison with a bad one) will provide a child with an increased chance of taking advantage of opportunities to be successful in life. Unfortunately, some people have it better than other. This is not an issue of just one school being better than another school. Rather we are talking about whole classes of American children being denied a proper education that will prepare them to compete in a job market with their peers and have the same access to the American Dream. Disparity in educational quality is delineated by race and financial status. If you live in a poor neighborhood or are a minority, there is a good chance that the schools you attend are lacking many necessities. While Asians and Whites enjoy high graduating rates, African American and Latinos continue to lag behind. Not surprisingly, because job opportunities are lessen for dropouts, these two groups have the highest incarceration rates.

3. __________

America used to sustain itself with making its own products through manufacturing and then turning around and selling those products. The economy is shifting to more of a service industry versus a manufacturing industry. In order to cut costs and keep product prices down companies are forced to outsource manufacturing to other countries. Other countries can produce products at much lower labor costs. Some companies have even begun to outsource call center jobs to keep labor costs down. Not only is America now having lower paying service jobs than the average blue-collar job with a sustainable income but our economy is now a global economy. For example, what happens in Japan or Iraq can drastically alter prices for our stock exchanges, gas/oil, and many other products. What exactly does this mean for our youth? The youth cannot graduate or even dropout of school without going through the pains of a low-income job. The jobs offered with no experience pay very little with very little room for pay increases. In fact, the competition to get a promotion can be fierce. In the past, your high school senior could graduate and go work at the local factory for the rest of his or her life and make a good living. They would not necessarily need to have a college education to survive. In fact, youth today will graduate from college with multiple degrees and still cannot find work that pays enough to sustain a decent lifestyle.

2. __________

The federal poverty level is $22,050 for a family of four. This equates to 21% of all children (15 million children) are considered in poverty. Just to cover basic expenses for a family of four you would need to have a salary of $45,000. This means that nearly 50% of our children are living in poverty. Half of those kids receive no government assistance because their parents earned more than $22,050 that year. According to the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), that poverty is the single greatest threat to children’s well-being. Poverty impedes learning and contributes to social and behavioral problems. And guess what? There is no income to counteract these problems. Mommy cannot afford a tutor or Daddy cannot afford a counselor. There is a huge opportunity for society to stop being so materialistic and in turn poverty wouldn’t be such an issue because most children will all have the same things –things they need instead of what they want. This would decrease violence in schools because fewer kids would be teased.

1. __________

If every year the Olympics were held, this probably wouldn’t be a problem. This list is indicative of the fact that America (like any nation) has problems. The issue at hand is collective though amongst the people affected about how to deal with them. Unfortunately most folks tend to focus on their self and not the whole. We see these problems as affecting “them” and not “me/us” When we hear that America’s children are the fattest among Western nations, this doesn’t sting. When we learn that America’s children lay educationally behind other industrialized nations, we don’t cringe. There is very little sense of collective identity of people, as Americans. This is a result of our children not being properly educated and guided. There was a time when every child would begin the school day by standing and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Children were taught the significance of the 4th of July (besides fireworks). These practices are long gone and so is our sense of common destiny. With so many diverse nationalities, races, and ethnic groups that comprise America, the one common bond we all have with one another is that we are Americans.

Ex 1. Comment on each issue. Do the same problems exist in your life?

Ex 2. Here’s an abstract from an Internet discussion on the above issues.

Read the statements and express your opinion on them. Should you participate in this discussion, what would you say?

Ian says:

July 26, 2011 at 4:13 am

I like this list a lot. I was planning to write a list like this, but you beat me to it.

Things I wish would happen:

1) 2nd Enlightenment Era

2) 2nd Progressive Era

3) Country-wide educational reform

4) Country-wide health reform (including diet)

5) Less Defense spending (China is two generations or so behind us anyways)

6) More Renewable Energy research

7) World-wide Depopulation

FMH says:

July 28, 2011 at 1:20 pm

Yeah and about 40 or fifty years ago, it was perfectly okay to beat your children until they had manners.

Even though this quote is used all the time, I have to repeat it here:

“[...] They have bad manners, contempt for authority, they show disrespect to their elders…. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and are tyrants over their teachers.”- Aristotle, who complained about the youth of today 2300-and-something years ago.

shyanneg says:

July 27, 2011 at 11:41 am

I resent entry 10.

There is no denying that a generalization can be made – two incomes, after all, are better than one– but I know few two parent families who have done a better job raising their children together than my mother did entirely alone!

My mother is my best friend. She is one of the strongest, most brave people that I know. I admire her. She is my hero. If I can be even half the mother that she is to me when I decide to start a family, then I will be thrilled.

Remember that there are exceptions to every “rule”.

Ex 3. What 10 issues facing the Russian youth today would you put on the list? Write them down and comment on them.

Ex 4. Discuss your list with those of other students. Hold a discussion on the major problems facing the young nowadays.

Unit II

Part 1

Дата добавления: 2015-10-29