选择性必修二 Unit 1 Growing up (1)
Understanding ideas
The Age of Majority
Reading
Learning Objectives
At the end of this class, you will be able to:
1. get the main idea of the passage;
2. find out what expectations Bethany, Lin Ning and Morgan has
or had for turning 18 and what the reality is;
3. share the understanding about reaching the age of majority.
Warm-up
At what age are you allowed to do the following things in China?
l Get a credit card.
l Get a driver’s licence.
l Get a full-time job.
l Get the right to vote.
l Get a bank loan.
l Rent an apartment.
Pre-reading
Predict what the passage is mainly about according to the title and
the pictures.
Reading for main idea
1. Read the passage and get the main idea.
In most countries, turning 18 marks the start of adulthood. But what does
reaching this milestone, the age of majority, really mean? Will you be
completely in charge of your own life and able to express yourself in new
and exciting ways? What responsibilities will this freedom bring? Here,
three young people tell us what turning 18 means, or meant, to them.
Reading for main idea
2. Read the passage again and find out what “the age of
majority” means.
In most countries, turning 18 marks the start of adulthood. But what does
reaching this milestone, the age of majority, really mean? Will you be
completely in charge of your own life and able to express yourself in new
and exciting ways? What responsibilities will this freedom bring?
Choose another suitable title for the passage and give your
reasons.
1 Eighteen — the Age of indecision
2 Teenagers’ Hopes for the Future
3 The Right to Vote — Your Views
4 Turning Eighteen — What Does it Mean?
Possible functions of a title
l predicting the main idea
l showing key information
l reflecting the author’s attitude
l catching reader’s interest
Reading for main idea
In most countries, turning 18 marks the start of adulthood. But what does
reaching this milestone, the age of majority, really mean? Will you be
completely in charge of your own life and able to express yourself in new
and exciting ways? What responsibilities will this freedom bring? Here,
three young people tell us what turning 18 means, or meant, to them.
Reading for information
1. Read the paragraph about Bethany and find out:
Why can’t Bethany wait to be 18?
Why can’t Bethany wait to be 18?
I can’t wait to be 18. One reason is that although I’ve been working ever
since leaving school, I won’t be voting in the next general election. Why?
Because I still won’t be old enough. Surely, if you’re old enough to earn
a wage and pay taxes, you should be allowed to have a say on how the
government spends them!
Reading for information
I’ve also been taking driving lessons, and in fact I will be taking my driving
test on the very day I turn 18. My mum worries about me being behind the
wheel. As an ambulance driver, she’s seen a lot of car accidents involving
teenagers and thinks the legal age for getting a driving licence should be
21. But I think I’m already mature enough to understand that driving a car
also means taking responsibility for my life and the lives of other people.
Reading for information
Reading for information
2. Read the paragraph about Lin Ning and answer the following
questions:
1) What did Lin Ning expect when he turned 18?
2) What is the reality like to him?
3) What change has he experienced after turning 18?
1) What did Lin Ning expect when he turned 18?
I celebrated my 18th birthday just before I went to university. I expected
to feel instantly different, as if I had closed the door on my childhood
and stepped into a whole new world.
Reading for information
2) What is the reality like to him?
But it wasn’t like that. When I woke up the next day, there were still
rules to obey and lessons to attend.
Reading for information
3) What change has he experienced after turning 18?
In fact, the change has been more subtle and gradual than I imagined.
Instead of being the selfish teenager I used to be, I have begun to feel
more aware of other people and develop a stronger sense of social
responsibility.
Reading for information
To give an example, I will be signing an organ donation agreement this
time tomorrow. This was a big decision for me and I made it without asking
my parents (although I knew they would approve).
Reading for information
Turning 18 also changed the way that society viewed me. I was really
surprised when a bank contacted me with a credit card offer. Of course, I
would like to have more freedom with money and no doubt I will be getting
a credit card at some point, but I currently don’t have a steady income, so
getting a credit card might tempt me to spend more money than I have!
Reading for information
Reading for information
3. Read the paragraph about Morgan and answer:
1) How is the reality different from Morgan’s expectations for
turning 18?
2) What is his understanding on turning 18?
1) How is the reality different from Morgan’s expectations of
turning 18?
Reading for information
I assumed I’d already have a well-paid job and that I’d be moving into a
rented apartment as soon as I turned 18, but how wrong I was! My
librarian’s salary means that I’ll be living at home with my parents for a
while longer. Because I contribute to the household bills and my commute
to work is quite expensive, I find it hard to save any money.
2) What is his understanding on turning 18?
I’ll be starting a new job next month, however, so maybe things will get
easier. I know I could get a loan to pay the deposit on my very own
apartment, but I don’t feel ready to make that kind of commitment, and I do
like my mom’s cooking. I guess some responsibilities are more about
attitude than age.
Reading for information
Organising information
Organise information from the passage and complete the table.
I think it’s strange that I can now take
1 yet I still can’t vote — I don’t
think it’s fair, given that 2
. I should have a
say on 3 .
I’m mature enough to 4
.
driving lessons
how the government spends taxes
I’m old enough to
earn a wage and pay taxes
understand that
driving a car also means taking responsibility
for my life and the lives of other people
signing an organ donation agreement
rules to obey and lessons
to attend
At 18, I can do things like getting a credit
card. More importantly, I can act on my
desire to help others, for example by
5 .
But although a lot of doors have opened for
me, there are still 6
.
the household
bills
move into a rented apartment
I thought that once I was 18 and in a full-time job
I’d be able to 7 ,
but my salary is not high enough. I also find it
hard to save money because of 8
and high commuting costs.
Discuss the questions in the lead part of the passage.
l What does the age of majority really mean?
l Will you be completely in charge of your own life and able to express
yourself in new and exciting ways?
l What new responsibilities will this freedom bring?
Sharing your understanding
l What does the age of majority really mean?
“The age of majority” is the age at which a child legally becomes
an adult and is responsible for the majority of his or her actions.
Sharing your understanding
l Will you be completely in charge of your own life and able to
express yourself in new and exciting ways?
No, we can’t be completely in charge of our own lives because
there will still be rules to obey after turning 18. But with the change
brought by adulthood, we may be able to express ourselves in
new and exciting ways.
Sharing your understanding
l What new responsibilities will this freedom bring?
Responsibility and freedom go together. Being adult means taking
responsibility for our own lives and the lives of other people.
Besides, we need to learn to make good decisions on our own.
What’s more, we should remember that some responsibilities are
more about attitude than age.
Sharing your understanding
Post-reading
Read the sentences from the passage and decide if they are facts
(F) or opinions (O).
1. Surely, if you’re old enough to earn a wage and pay taxes, you should be
allowed to have a say on how the government spends them!
2. ... I will be taking my driving test on the very day I turn 18.
O
F
Post-reading
3. When I woke up the next day, there were still rules to obey and lessons to
attend.
4. I guess some responsibilities are more about attitude than age. O
F
fact opinion
a piece of information that
can be proved with concrete
evidence
a view or judgment about
something that can’t be
proved
objective personal and subjective
does not change may differ according to
different people
vs.
l As an ambulance driver, she … thinks the legal age for getting a driving
licence should be 21.
l People say that 18 marks a new chapter in our lives, and that we should
become more independent.
Opinions:
l I will be signing an organ donation agreement this time tomorrow.
l … no doubt I will be getting a credit card at some point, but I currently
don’t have a steady income, …
Facts
Retelling
This passage tells us that the age of majority means the moment when you
turn 18, which is a milestone marking the start of adulthood. In the passage
3 young people tell us what 18 means or meant to them.
Retelling
Bethany is a 16-year-old girl from Victoria, Australia. She can’t wait to be
18 because on one hand she wants the right to vote. She feels unfair since
she is old enough to earn a wage and pay taxes but not allowed to have a
say on how the government spends them. On the other hand, she desires
to get her driving licence. She believes that she’s already mature enough to
take responsibility for her life and the lives of other people.
Retelling
Lin Ning, 19, from Shanghai, China, expected to feel instantly different after
his 18th birthday. However, there were still rules to obey and lessons to
attend. The change he is experiencing has been more subtle and gradual.
Instead of being the selfish teenager he used to be, he has begun to feel
more aware of other people and develop a stronger sense of social
responsibility. Besides, he also found that the society viewed him differently.
Retelling
Morgan, from Florida, the US, is already 20 years old. He expected he
would have a well-paid job and be moving into a rented apartment as soon
as he turned 18. But the reality is that he’ll be living at home with his
parents for a while longer. And it’s hard for him to save any money because
of the household bills and high commuting costs. He thinks some
responsibilities are more about attitude than age.
Think & Share
1) Do you think the minimum age limits in the passage are sensible?
2) What right are you most looking forward to having as an adult?
Why?
3) What do you think it means to be a responsible adult?
4) How can you use the language you have learnt in the passage to
express your ideas clearly?
Think & Share
I think the minimum age limits in the passage are sensible. Take
getting driving licence as an example. The 18-year-olds are usually
more mature both physically and emotionally than the 16-year-olds.
Thus, they will have a better understanding about responsibility than
the younger ones.
1) Do you think the minimum age limits in the passage are
sensible?
Think & Share
I’m most looking forward to making big decisions without asking my
parents. I know it will be difficult but I really want to experience the
feeling of independence. And I have the confidence that I can overcome
all the difficulties.
2) What right are you most looking forward to having as an adult?
Why?
Think & Share
I think being a responsible adult means standing up for yourself and
what you want. You should be brave enough to adapt yourself to the
change and take responsibility positively. Besides, you have to learn
to say “no” when facing temptation.
3) What do you think it means to be a responsible adult?
Think & Share
From the passage I learned that when expressing ideas or
opinions, I can use facts to support and strengthen them. By giving
facts, I can make my opinion stronger and more convincing.
4) How can you use the language you have learnt in the
passage to express your ideas clearly?
Summary
We read a passage about 3 young people telling us what turning 18
means or meant to them. We learned that at the age of majority, the
reality does not always match our expectations. Being 18 doesn’t simply
mean we can vote or get our driving licence. In fact, it means we have to
learn to make good decisions on our own, adapt ourselves to the reality
and refuse temptation sometimes. All in all, we have to be brave enough
to take our responsibility.
Homework
Choose one of the tasks to finish:
1. Summarize the useful expressions and good sentences on your
notebooks and remember them by heart.
2. Write a summary of the passage.
3. Tell your partner what you think it means to be a responsible adult,
using the language you have learnt in the passage to express your ideas
clearly.
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