İngilizce 11 Theme 3/46
-----------------------------
Listen to the reading passage

 

                                                                                           PASSING THROUGH TEENAGE PROBLEMS

It’s very normal for teenagers to go through physically and socially hard times. However, you should keep in mind that these challenging times will soon be over.  Let’s take a look at the stories of two bright young people.

Noah’s Story

Noah is a talented basketball player but he had a pretty tough time when he was a teenager. His parents used to compare him with his elder brother who was a brilliant student and a good football player. He felt like they were criticising him whenever possible. Things weren’t easy in his social life, either. It was like a chain reaction, one problem caused another. He was much shorter and less sociable compared to his friends. Some of his friends used to bully him physically and verbally when he was training in the school gym. They used to humiliate him in front of everybody, so he didn’t want to go out at all. He used to spend long hours in front of the computer because in the cyber world no one judges a person for his or her appearance or personality. However, wasting too much time on the Internet caused another big problem. Everybody in his family used to ask him questions about his future plans and career. That made the situation even worse for him because he used to feel a lot of pressure and stress. He wanted to end that depression, so he decided to talk to his parents and get help from his teachers. He finally learned that experiencing ups and downs is quite normal for a teenager. Everything has changed for better now.

Olivia’s Story

Being a teenager can be troublesome for most. For example, Olivia was a little bit overweight girl when she was a high school student. Also, she used to have acne all over her face. She used to think people were talking behind her back. Some of her friends used to make fun of her physical appearance, so she had a low self-esteem in time. As she thought cutting on food could solve that problem, she almost stopped eating. However, things went worse and she became an unhealthy and depressed girl. She couldn’t find the strength and self confidence in herself to participate in social activities. What is more annoying is that her parents used to pressure her to study a lot and be the best student at school. Exams used to be a nightmare as she was afraid to fail and embarrass them. They did not know that future was not a matter for her at that time. She used to think fighting those problems was a real pain in the neck. Fortunately, Mr. Jordan, her school counsellor, realised her situation and she started to visit him in the counsellor’s room several times a week to overcome her problems. Having the right friends around her and sharing her secrets with them made her life even easier and happier.