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25 2011 .
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1. I/Part I
TEXT 1. Parents Urged to Talk to Cildren .. 5
TEXT 2. Hooked on the NET .. 6
TEXT 3. How Does It Feel to Be an American Teen? 7
TEXT 4. How To Become Popular? ... 8
TEXT 5. How do teenagers deal with their parents rules? . 9
TEXT 6. Survey Showed Increasing Drug Use Among Youth ..9
TEXT 7. Homeless 10
TEXT 8. Russians Distrust Globalization Which They Don't Understand .. 12
TEXT 9. A Tale of Two Rivals 13
TEXT 10. Inner City Kids Keen to Do Well 14
TEXT 11. Saving Youth From Violence .. 15
TEXT 12. Young Enterpreneurs .. 17
TEXT 13. Mother Teresa of Calcutta .. 19
TEXT 14. The War on Drugs: A Losing Battle? . 22
TEXT 15. How to Live to 120 and Beyond . 24
TEXT 16. Buddy, can you spare a book? . 27
2. II/Part II
TEXT 1. Social Work. A View from the USA
TEXT 2. Social Service
TEXT 3. Family, Elderly and Children Welfare
TEXT 4. Social Work Training and Social Services
TEXT 5. Child Welfare in the USA
TEXT 6. People with Disabilities
TEXT 7. Social Agencies. Red Cross
TEXT 8. Social Agencies. Salvation Army
TEXT 9. Social Agencies. Young Mens Christian Association
TEXT 10. Social Agencies. Médecins Sans Frontières
TEXT 11. Social Workers. Emily Greene Balch
TEXT 12. Social Workers. Martha McChesney Berry
TEXT 13. Hospice
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I. PART I.
TEXT 1. Parents Urged to Talk to Cildren
Too much television and a lack of family meals are damaging children's conversational ability, a report says.
The Basic Skills Agency found many parents did not "see the point" of developing verbal skills, focusing instead on reading and writing. Some four-year- olds threw tantrums in class because they could not communicate in any other way. The BSA wants primary school teachers to work with families to improve children's conversation. Its report Talk to Me says verbal skills are declining "year on year". It says all-day television, parents' long working hours and the "decline of the family meal" are causes of poor communication. It also cites the "splintering" of families into different rooms in the house, with children as young as four watching TV alone in their bedrooms.
The increased use of forward-facing buggies means babies and toddlers have less chance to communicate with parents, the report adds. The "greatest impact" on children's verbal skills was among disadvantaged families.
The report backs US research conducted in the mid-1990s, which found that by the time they started school a child of professional parents had heard about 50 million words. For those of working-class background it was 30 million and for those with parents on income support it was 12 million.
BSA report author Sue Palmer found parents were "wary of schools interfering in their family life and resentful of any suggestion that they don't know what's best for their children".
The gap between homes and classrooms had increased since 1996, when a gunman killed children and their teacher at a school in Dunblane. With greater security in place, primary schools had "struggled to remain the inviting, welcoming places they once were", Ms Palmer found. Her report calls for head teachers to make more use of parent-helpers and to invite parents in more often. It says: "When it comes down to it, it's hope - not objectives, targets or evidence - that motivates people. Hope is what gives us the energy to make time to make connections, and we ignore its immeasurable importance at our peril."
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(1781)
Notes:
to throw a tantrum , ;
forward-facing buggies , ;
disadvantaged families ;
income support ;
immeasurable - , .
Story from BBC NEWS
TEXT 2. Hooked on the NET
The latest addiction to trap thousands of people is the Internet, which has been blamed for broken relationships, job losses, financial ruin and even suicide. Psychologists now recognize Internet Addiction Syndrome (IAS) as a new illness that could cause serious problems and ruin many lives.
IAS is similar to other problems like gambling, smoking and drinking: addicts have dreams about the Internet; they need to use it first thing in the morning; they lie to their parents and partners about how much time they spend online; they wish they could cut down, but are unable to do so.
Many users spend up to 40 hours a week on the Internet. Some of the addicts are teenagers who are already hooked on computer games and who find it very difficult to resist the games on the Internet.
Another problem that is caused by late TV-viewing and Internet surfing, is lack of sleep. The teenagers who are hooked on these activities, usually get from 2 up to 5 hours less sleep than they need. They face difficulties at school because they are irritable, impatient and can't concentrate and follow directions.
What exactly is it that gets us all so excited about the Internet?
As well as being a global network of networks, the Internet is a global network of people, ideas and information. The Net is as interesting and exciting as the people, organisations, companies, governments and weirdoes that are connected to it.
There is another thing that's exciting about the Internet. Like love and life, the Net is what you make it. If you don't like what's happening on one part of the network, you can build yourself a whole new cybercity, appoint yourself as mayor and run it exactly as you want.
The Internet enables you to do a lot of things simultaneously. You can read the latest copy of your favourite newspaper while planning your night's TV viewing and ordering some cheap CDs from an American discount disc store.
You can send e-mail to someone you've never met before... Some people have "met" over the Internet and got married.
The first web browsers only supported simple texts and images, but now a multitude of multimedia plug-ins enables webpages to sing and dance.
The Internet has also brought new opportunities to government, business, and education. Governments use the Internet for internal communication, distribution of information, and automated tax processing. Companies use the Internet for electronic commerce, also called e-commerce, including advertising, selling, buying, distributing products, and providing customer service. Businesses and institutions use the Internet for voice and video conferencing and other forms of communication that enable people to telecommute (work away from the office using a computer). Media and entertainment companies use the Internet for online news and weather services and to broadcast audio and video, including live radio and television programs. Online chat allows people to carry on discussions using written text. Instant messaging enables people to exchange text messages in real time. Scientists and scholars use the Internet to communicate with colleagues, perform research, distribute lecture notes and course materials to students, and publish papers and articles.
From PC banking to online shopping and chats with celebrities, the Internet is already changing our lives. And the future promises even more exciting things.
(2579)
Notes:
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cut down . ;
face ;
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celebrities .
TEXT 3. How Does It Feel to Be an American Teen?
That is what one American teenager says about his peers:
In my opinion, American teenagers have too much freedom. I find that we are too pampered and spoiled. In my high school, lots of my friends had their own cars, telephones and other things too. As my Mom said, "What do they have to look forward to when they are older?" Often the same people were not disciplined.
Too many times I see kids with their own cars are snobby about it. They don't appreciate anything they have, are not grateful at all. That's not the way life should be. I think people should be happy with what they have. Life is too short to be complaining and taking, not giving anything in return. Also teenagers here get bored easily. They can't sit in their rooms for more than eight minutes in peace and quiet. They always have to be out with friends partying. The reason why I am making all these negative comments is because I used to be like that. I didn't stop to think about my Mom supporting me. I was just living for the present, not for the future. Now that I'm on my own, I realize and appreciate, to say the least, what my Mom has done for me.
A nationwide survey of 13-year-olds says, more than half (53%) describe their relationship with parents as being excellent, setter than with their teachers or classmates or siblings. A majority describe their parents as being very involoved in their lives and knowing just about everything that goes on, while fewer than 10% describe their parents as uninvolved and clueless.
In the teenage years, the relationship between parents and children is constantly changing. This is a time when they bicker a lot and parents are caught by surprise. They discover that the tricks they have used in raising their kids stop working. Nowadays, parents work more, so their teenage children are often left unsupervised. In fact, of all the issues that trouble teenagers, loneliness ranks at the top of the list. Many kids say they feel alone and alienated, unable to connect with their parents, teachers and sometimes even classmates. A survey shows that they spend an average of three hours and a half alone every day. Half of them have lived through their parents' divorce.
About 85 % of teens say that Mom cares very much about them; 58 % say the same about Dad. Though teens strive for independence, still they need attention. Practically every kid psychologists talked to, said that they wished they had more adults in their lives, especially their parents. When kids complete high school and leave home, many parents suffer from the empty nest syndrome and young people start missing their parents too.
(2194)
Notes:
peer ;
look forward to ;
sibling .
TEXT 4. How To Become Popular?
At this middle school in Connecticut, Tory rates the highest. One girl explains: "She has the right hair - straight and pretty, and the right eyes - big and brown; and long legs." Another girl adds: "I don't know one person that has ever said she's mean, 'cause she's just, like, a really nice person." It wasn't always Tory. For the first six years of school, Tory kept to herself and she was too self-conscious to talk out loud in class. In fifth grade, Tory decided she was ready for a change. "I just told myself that I wanted to be noticed and I wanted to overcome my shyness," Tory says.
She describes how every morning in homeroom all the popular kids sat together. Each time she gathered up her courage and talked to them.
Then Tory persuaded her mom to let her get contact lenses, layered her long straight hair and spent her last month looking for the perfect outfit. It worked.
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"As soon as attention started coming, it went to my head, and at first I didn't act like myself at all," Tory says. "I started caking on the makeup and making sure that I was always perfect. I just wanted to be whatever everyone wanted me to be." Besides being heavily made up, it meant not to be very smart. "Because I was blond, everyone was automatically like "ditz, stupid," whatever - so I tried to be stupid," Tory explains. She failed tests and pretended not to know basic words in Spanish.
Once, while watching "Hang Time" with some friends, Tory was inspired to change again. "A guy said that one of the reasons he liked a girl on the show so much was because she wasn't afraid to show people how smart she was," Tory says. She decided to ease up on the makeup and put the dumb act to rest.
A couple of weeks ago during lunch, Tory performed an act of kindness that served only to make her more popular.
A couple of kids started pegging basketballs at Jason, an eighth grader with few friends. Jason was cornered, alone and defenseless and reduced to tears, while most of the grade simply didn't look, not wanting to be associated with someone so obviously unpopular.
"I went over and took his hand and walked him to the nurse and then the guidance counselor," Tory says. She was the only one who'd stick up for him.
(1825)
TEXT 5. How do teenagers deal with their parents rules?
Ida, 17: I live in a strict Italian home. Sometimes my parents are really great, but their rules for me are absolutely ridiculous. So I get around them. My friends will tell you I'm a good kid. I don't drink, I don't do drugs. But my parents think that, if I've gone out on a Friday night and I ask to go out on Saturday too, I'm asking for the world. If I'm going to a big party, and I have to get all dressed up they'll say: "Fine.Go." But if I say I'm going to hang out, they don't see the point. So I lie a lot.
Christopher, 18: My parents never make their punishments stick. Like, I'll get my Jeep taken away for a week, but I'll get it back within six hours. Because my parents hate to see kids unhappy. I play right into it. They will punish me by not letting me go out, and after a while they feel bad, and they let me out. In a way, I wish it wasn't like that. I haven't learned my lessons. I've repeatedly done things that should have deserved harsh punishment - not anything like stealing a car, but still... And now that I'm going away to college, I kind of wish my parents had been tougher with me.
Matt, 18, son of a Marine colonel: When my father yells at me - and he doesn't yell, he explains - he does it the same way he will do it to a major in the Marine Corps. Very calmly and coldly, he says what he wants done. But you don't want to pass a line. He and I get along fine. His rules are set rules. You do not break them, or you face the consequences. I do not like to face his consequences. So I abide by the rules. Besides, his rules are fair. They're not overly protective or constrictive.
(1328)
Notes:
to hang out . ;
a Marine colonel .
