Track 33
READING The term generation gap is used to refer to differences in attitudes between younger people and older people. It occurs when they do not understand each other because of their different experiences, opinions, habits and behaviour.
UNIT 8A
THE GENERATION GAP - DOES IT EXIST?
Mark, George and Sheila took part in a panel discussion on How to bridge the generation gap. Here is a part of their discussion.
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Mark: The point is that our parents complain that we spend more time chatting on the net or partying instead of studying. They find the kind of language we are using nowadays disrespectful. But I’d say that old people are the ones who cause the problem. They generally set the rules and always expect their children to follow the same age-old customs and traditions. On the other hand, the young want to do things their own way and not blindly follow what they are told to do.
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George: In order to be objective, I suggest we try to see things from their perspective. On several occasions, my father’s friends said that they didn’t like the way their children lived. They also mentioned that the young didn’t show enough respect for their elders. My aunt told me angrily the other day that the young had no manners at all, because a boy from her neighbourhood didn’t let her go into a shop first.
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Mark: Well, there may be some truth in that, but they don’t realize that the world has changed.
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Sheila: I wouldn’t say that the generation gap is necessarily caused by one side or the other. You can’t have a gap without misunderstandings on both sides. It is more a reflection of the way that society changes. George: Yes. I think we can agree that it is not individuals themselves but overall changes in society, from technology to social norms and fashions that inevitably cause the gap. New ideas, beliefs and values affect the way we live and behave. Nowadays we are brought up in a different way: we are better educated and more broad-minded; we have more money to spend and more opportunities to enjoy life. Sheila: It is true that parents often disapprove of the way we behave and dress, criticize us for getting up late or listening to loud music and complain that we don’t show proper respect. In my
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