Ex. 3. Read the text and fill in the blanks with suitable words or word combinations in the correct form from the box below.

increasing rate misguided message teen pregnancy driving force abstinence communication sex education incidence of STDs sexual involvement peer pressure sexual intercourse reproduction premarital and extramarital sex sexual behavior declining family values instill expose cater to overlook dispense frown upon social acceptance troubling trend maturity outnumber outweigh  

Teenage Sex: An Almost Unnoticeable Problem

Teenagers in the US are experimenting with sexual activities more and more, and the alarming thing about this issue is that it is becoming commonplace in our society, because it is not being (1) …. There is no denying that the majority of high school aged boys and girls would have engaged in some sort of sexual activity by the time they graduate from high school. The (2) … of children having (3) … before they are of the age of thirteen is also a (4) ….

A vital factor that contributes to teenagers having early sex is ( 5) ….Both in sexual behavior and in all other areas of, teenagers strive to attain (6) … by their peers, which is common at their stage. The desire to be loved or to love may result in the decision to be sexually intimate. This motivation can be a very strong (7) … that pushes teenagers to start having sex as the notion of “since everyone is doing it” has been (8) … in their heads. Adolescents who have (9) … at this stage often do so out of the need to prove to themselves that they are lovable and acceptable.

Moreover, lack of good (10) … between parents and teenagers is closely related to the problem of teenage sex. Teenagers often turn to their peers for advice on most issues affecting them. And when questions about sex arise, instead of talking to their parents or a trusted adult, they talk to their friends and receive a clear yet terribly (11) …: Sex is an accepted and expected part of any relationship.

One more significant factor that influences teenagers is the media. Adolescents are (12) …to the sexual behavior patterns they may not have observed elsewhere. On prime time TV, the occurrence of (13) … far (14) … sex between spouses, with the rate soaring to 24:1 in soap operas and 32:1 in R-rated movies. By (15) … our basic sexual desires, the media can easily manipulate and adjust the attitudes and actions of its watchers, listeners, and readers.

(16) … is now given in most American schools, public and private, from grades 2 to 12. Teachers are told to give the technical aspects of sex education without telling the students about moral values, how to make the right decisions, and (17) …. After describing the male and female anatomy, and (18) …, the main emphasis is on the prevention of venereal diseases and (19) …. This has now led to some schools having to start (20) … free birth control devices to students who go to the school’s health clinics. Nevertheless, sex education still has not helped decrease (21) … in teenagers or teenage pregnancy. Each year in the US about 750,000 teenage girls become pregnant and three million teens get an STD.

The price teenagers are paying for being sexually active greatly (22) … any advantages, and the consequences of teenage sexuality cannot be (23) … by society. (24) …, peer pressure, and the media play the major part in gearing adolescents to finding out about, knowing, and finally engaging in sexual intercourse before they are both physically and mentally capable of handling the reality that accompanies sexual activities. Input and guidance from parents may help adolescents make healthy and appropriate decisions regarding their (25) …. Understanding that these are decisions that require (26) …and responsibility will increase the chance that they make good choices.

Дата добавления: 2015-12-08