Improving Social Tolerance

Correctly or incorrectly, older people are perceived as being less tolerant of races and groups that are different from themselves. Many of the older generation grew up in segregated schools. They may attend traditional churches that are unlikely to have minority members. They may have had only casual contact, through work or neighborhoods, with people belonging to different races and groups. If that is true of you, it's not too late tobroaden your circle of friends. If your children and grandchildren have friends of different races and groups, ask to be introduced to them. The younger generation will appreciate your efforts, and your world may become more interesting.

Find the equivalents in the text:

Терпимость; быть терпимым по отношению к…; школы только для белых или только для черных; меньшинство; случайный контакт; микрорайон; расширить круг друзей; оценить усилия.

Answer the questions:

Do you think you are tolerant to different races and social groups?

Do you think you are more tolerant than your parents and grandparents? Do you discuss this problem with them?

What do you think of tolerance in the modern society?

 

Avoiding Hypocrisy

Older people who pretend to be morally superior may alienate the younger generation, according to one generation gap expert. In a speech in 1969, anthropologist Margaret Mead, who wrote a book about the generation gap, said that "the young feel we're all hypocrites- every one of us. Parents set themselves up as models even if they aren't. It's as true in a New Guinea headhunters' village as here." According to Mead, the older generation probably used to get away with their act, until the modern press came along. The question of how much of our foibles and transgressionsshould be revealed to younger generations is an intriguing one. Reveal too little, and you risk being seen as one of those hypocrites Mead mentions. Tell too much, and you risk losing any moral authority that you possess.

More often than not, however, young people don't need to know that their parents and grandparents have feet of clay. It's not so much a matter of what they want to hear as what they don't want to hear. They don't want to hear that people of the older generation always respected their elders,obeyed authority and were perfect citizens. The younger generation is smart enough to know that that's not true. To avoid being seen as hypocritical, don't paint the older generation as perfect and the younger generation as going to the dogs. The truth is always more complex than that.

Find the equivalents in the text:

Лицемерие; быть нравственнее; оттолкнуть; приводить в качестве примера; охотники за скальпами; выходить сухим из воды; появляться; недостатки; правонарушения; интересный; чаще всего; слабое место; уважать старших; подчиняться властям; быть хорошим гражданином, лететь в тартарары.

Answer the questions:

Do older people often set themselves up as models for you?

Do you sometimes feel the hypocrisy of the older generation? Give the example.

Do you think that in general the older generation is morally superior to the younger?

III. Write a composition on Generation Gap using the information and words from the texts I and II.  Give your own examples. Express your point of view.