READING COMPREHENSION TEST
2012
Is that me on TV!
It’s the 21st century – a new era. It’s time for the younger generation to take over the world and show adults what we’re made of.
Older actors in their mid-20s frequently play the roles of teenagers, creating the false image that we are all spot-free, glamorous young adults. It doesn’t help anyone’s self-image to compare themselves to make-believe stars. However, the shows’ producers think that superstar actors help make ‘perfect teenagers’ and help make their programmes big hits. They show lack of interest in how real the teenagers really are.
In many programmes, teenagers lead easy and sometimes wild lifestyles where everyone has a new car and plenty of money to spend. In reality, we don’t always have enough change in our pockets to go and sit in a café or go shopping every day. But, because it’s television, the idealistic lives of these teenagers appear far more interesting than ours.
The way teenagers are portrayed by adults on television can give us an insight into how our elders perceive us. On rare occasions, they can get it horribly wrong and make out that most teens are hooligans who steal and fight just to pass the time. Surprisingly, some of us are actually intelligent individuals, who are fully aware of the world and its fears. As hard as it may be to believe, young adults aren’t defenceless and incompetent. And we are certainly not naive.
So, television companies who assume all young people are loud, unaware and full of hate for the world, take a note. We don’t all hate our parents and the whole world. Amazingly, we have the ability to come up with original concepts and turn those ideas into reality. I personally believe that my generation does have the ability to run the world properly after all, and show it what we’re made of.
Choose the most appropriate option:
1. TV programmes present teenagers as
youngsters who want to take over the world
too weak to take action
totally different among themselves
more or less the same
5. The text says that TV often shows most teenagers
from the adults’ point of view
dreaming about fulfilling their ideals
as hooligans who steal and fight for fun
as stupid
2. According to the text, teenagers
feel proud when TV shows them older than they are
may lose self-confidence because of TV
like to look perfect
wish they could be like movie stars
6. Everyday teenagers
have lots of fears in this world
find it hard to defend themselves
believe they are quite competent
find themselves smarter than actors
3. The author believes that TV producers
help teenagers improve their lives
help lots of teenagers become popular
fail to present the true image of teenagers
use superstars to show the teenager life as it really is
7. Young people
are all truly loud
mostly dislike the world around them
aren’t aware of their own abilities
are often presented as filled with hatred
4. Wild lifestyle
brings young TV stars a lot of money
isn’t the privilege of typical teenagers
is what young people experience in reality when they go shopping
is something that teenagers would gladly change
8. The author of the text wants
to make his own film
to argue with film makers
his generation to be taken more seriously
his generation to rule the world