I. Прежде чем прочитать текст, выучите следующие слова и выражения:

to become a habit - войти в привычку

to take a job - устроиться на работу

taxpayer - налогоплательщик

markedly - заметно

overcrowd - переполнить

crowd - толпа

political issue - вопрос политики, вызвавший много споров

to give rise - послужить началом

decline - упадок

mood - настроение

behaviour - поведение

juvenile crime - преступность среди подростков

to capture - захватить, завладеть

to participate - участвовать

awareness - сознание

II. Прочитайте и переведите текст: Who Reads Newspapers More

Newspaper reading becomes a firm habit when people mature and establish connections and responsibilities in life. This happens when they take jobs, start families, become taxpayers and citizens with multiple links to their communities.

It has therefore always been true that people in the early years of adulthood read newspapers with less regularity than those who are 30 or 40. This discrepancy grew markedly in the 1970s.

This phenomenon may have reflected the fact that those born in the "baby boom"* after World War II reached adulthood. (1952 was the peak year of the boom). This generation overcrowded schools and later the job market. The Vietnam War and the draft created a central political issue and gave rise to the neo-radical movement that began in 1968. A period of political and economic inertia followed. There was a decline in altruism and idealism among the young generation during the 1970s. They developed a growing self-interest**. This tendency developed further among the teenagers that followed.

Political changes were only one aspect of the unique experience of this generation. They were the first to grow up in a society with no legally sanctioned racism. They knew TV since infancy, they saw uncensored films.

Morals changed dramatically. The deep changes in mood and behavior were reflected in the rising use of drugs, the increased rates of juvenile crime, mental illness and suicide. A high degree of skepticism towards established institutions*** prevailed.

Younger people are also more mobile. This fact makes it harder to capture their interests and loyalty for the local newspaper. They are not reading daily newspapers as regularly as their parents did. But they are reading. Sometimes it is the "underground" or the "alternative" press. They buy paperback books and even hard cover books, they read many more magazines than their parents did.

Do they watch more TV? No, they do not. Young people are very different. Like the adults they differ in social class, education, race and type of residence. Statistics show that young people participate less in the political process. This is understandable since political awareness evolves through the period of adolescence.

L. Bogart.

Пояснения к тексту:

* baby boom - повышение рождаемости

** they developed a growing self-interest - их интересы все больше сосредотачивались на себе

*** established institutions - устоявшиеся нормы в обществе