Prime Time 7, Coursebook plus Semester Self-checks

0 The Conservatives suggested to introduce a formal ceremony for teenagers when … . they become adults ✔ 1 The increased age limit for the purchase of cigarettes would not be applicable to those who … . 2 With his scheme, David Cameron wanted to prevent teenagers from … . 3 Cameron described Britain’s traditional transition to adulthood as … on a birthday party. 4 A previous idea of a formal ceremony including a vow on loyalty was not … . 5 According to officials participation in the scheme would not be … for young people. 6 It became evident that many teenagers … a change in law concerning the purchase of tobacco products. b) Summarise in your own words: What did the Conservatives criticise about the situation and what did they hope to achieve by changing the law? c) What do you think of the plan of the Conservatives? d) Comment on David Cameron’s statement: “But in most things, it’s not about age, it’s about responsibility.” Young people and politics a) Study the extract from a newspaper article and the statistics below. b) Compare the contradictory information you get in the two sources. c) Brainstorm possible reasons for the obvious indifference of young people towards politics on the one hand and their increasing political involvement on the other hand. 4  Politics? Teenagers don’t know and don’t care Today’s schoolchildren care little about politics and know even less about the subject, according to a recent poll. Only one in four could identify Labour as the party of government, a survey of 14- to 16-year-olds for Ofsted, the education standards watchdog, revealed. And four per cent thought the Conservatives were in power, while two per cent thought the Liberal Democrats were the government of the day. Two-thirds admitted they had no idea. Nearly half said they did not think it was important to know what any of today’s political parties stand for. Civic, political involvement Percentage of +oung people who sa+ the+ participated in these civic or political activities in the last 12 months: 2002 2006 Contacted an official Protested Signed an e-mail petition Signed a paper petition Boycotted From a surve+ of 1,658 15- to 25-+ear-olds, b+ the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement 10% 11 % 7% 11 % 14% 16% 20% 18% 38% 30% 59 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv