Review Unit 4

Fluency Strategy: Reading ACTIVEly

Activate Prior Knowledge

Before you read, it's important to think about what you already know about the topic, and what you want to get out of the text.

A Look at the article on the next page. Read only the title and look at the picture. What do you think the article is about? What kinds of things do you. think people can be too young for?

B Now read the. first sentence of the article. What do you know about this topic? In your country, at what ages can a person drink alcohol or ge_t married? Do you agree with these laws? Discuss with a partner.

Cultivate Vocabulary

As you read, you may come across unknown words. Remember, you don't need to understand all the words in a passage to understand the meaning of the whole passage. Skip the unknown words for now, or guess at their meaning and come back to them later. Note useful new vocabulary in your vocabulary notebook-see page 6 for more advice on vocabulary.

A. Now read the first paragraph of the passage. Write any words or phrases you don't know. Can you understand the rest of the paragraph even if you don't understand those items?

B. Write the unknown words here. Without using a dictionary, try to guess their meaning. Use the words around the unknown word and any prefixes, suffixes, or word roots to help you.

Think About Meaning

As you read, think about what you can infer, or read between the lines. Think about the author's intentions, attitudes, and purpose for writing.

Read the opening paragraph again and discuss these questions with a partner.

• Do you think this article was written by an old or young person? Where do you think the person lives?
• Why do you think this writer wrote the article? Where might you find this piece of writing?
• What do you think the author means by should be changed? Do you think the age should be lowered or raised?

Young People Are Adults, Too!

All around the world, there are laws regarding ages where we can or cannot do things. Many countries, like the United States, have minimum ages for drinking alcohol, driving, gambling, and marriage. I disagree with many of these laws and feel they should be changed. Not because I think children should be allowed to do these things, but because many of these laws concerning young people's freedom don't make sense. I also think they are too inconsistent-they really differ from place to place-especially in the U.S.!

In many U.S. states, the legal age for drinking alcohol is 21, since it's seen as the age where young people become adults. But I feel that most of us are already adults by the time we reach 18-after all, that's when we start college and move out of our family homes. Eighteen is also the age when we can get married. Personally, I think they got it the wrong way round! Why are we allowed to get married at 18, but not allowed to drink alcohol? People should wait until after college to get married, since it's a big decision that affects the rest of our lives.

The legal ages for driving and gambling don't make sense to me either because they are different from place to place. For example, in some states, the driving age is 16, but in others, it is 15. In Hawaii, young people will have to wait until they turn 18 before they can take driving lessons. Gambling is the same. In cities like Colorado, you can only gamble when you turn 21, but you only need to be 18 in New York or 16 in Maine. It's confusing! I wish there weren't so many different laws.

However, there are some laws that are becoming better. For instance, the legal voting age in the U.S. used to be 21, but now it's 18. I hope it'll gradually be made even lower. Young people shouldn't be prohibited from choosing their leaders. I think anyone who wants to vote should be allowed to.

Finally, I think us young people have the power to change this situation. Write to your leaders in the government and let them know how you feel!