Practice Reading: Adolescents

The American Academy of Pediatrics identifies three stages of adolescence: early, middle, and late. Each stage comes with its own developmental challenges. Teenagers progress through these stages at varying speeds depending on their physical development and hormonal levels. While these stages are universal, each child navigates them in unique ways.

B

In early adolescence, young people begin to assert independence from their childhood roles, focusing on establishing their individual identities apart from their parents. This period is marked by rapid physical growth and maturation. Adolescents often center their self-concepts around their physical appearance and how they are perceived by others. Conforming to peer norms becomes paramount during this phase, as fitting in and gaining acceptance are crucial.

C

Middle adolescence witnesses the development of advanced cognitive abilities. Teenagers' intellectual horizons expand significantly. They become increasingly concerned with relationships, particularly with peers of the opposite sex. Psychological independence from parents accelerates during this stage, sometimes accompanied by experimentation with delinquent behavior as adolescents challenge parental authority. Despite these challenges, middle adolescence is a time of moral development, as young people strive to understand and adhere to societal norms while learning to manage their impulses.

D

In late adolescence, individuals make final preparations for adult roles. The developmental demands often extend into young adulthood. Late adolescents strive to solidify their career goals and establish a personal identity. They seek less peer approval and achieve significant psychological independence from their parents. The transition to adulthood is nearing completion.

E

Some years ago, Professor Robert Havighurst from the University of Chicago suggested that human development stages are best understood through the developmental tasks of normal transitions. He identified eleven developmental tasks associated with the adolescent phase. One task is for adolescents to adapt to a new physical self-perception. Early adolescence brings about rapid and profound physical changes unlike any other period since birth. Puberty marks sudden growth in height and weight. Additionally, adolescents begin to notice and emphasize the physical characteristics that define them as male or female. These rapid changes often lead young adolescents to focus intensely on their physical appearance.

F

Before adolescence, children predominantly rely on concrete examples to solve problems, constrained by what is tangible and physical. During adolescence, however, young people start to grasp and comprehend abstract concepts. Adolescents must adjust to increased cognitive demands in school. Adults view high school as a preparation for adult roles and responsibilities, as well as for further education. School curricula often include more abstract and challenging content, regardless of whether adolescents have fully developed formal thinking skills. Because not all adolescents transition intellectually at the same pace, the demand for abstract thinking before mastering this ability can be frustrating.

G

Throughout adolescence, as teenagers develop more complex knowledge systems and a stronger sense of self, they also adopt a unified set of values and ethics. During early stages of moral development, parents instill a structured set of rules about what is right and wrong, and what is socially acceptable or unacceptable. Eventually, adolescents must evaluate their parents' values in contrast with values upheld by peers and other societal groups. To reconcile these differences, adolescents reformulate their beliefs into a personal ideology.

H

Adolescents must refine their verbal skills. As they mature intellectually, face increased academic demands, and prepare for adult roles, they must develop enhanced verbal abilities to handle more intricate concepts and tasks. Their limited childhood vocabulary no longer suffices. Adolescents may appear less capable due to their struggle to articulate themselves effectively.

I

Adolescents must achieve emotional and psychological independence from their parents. Childhood is characterized by a strong dependence on parents. Adolescents may desire to maintain that safe, secure, supportive, dependent relationship. However, adulthood entails independence, autonomy, and self-identity. Adolescents may oscillate between their desire for dependence and their need for independence. In asserting their need for independence and individuality, adolescents may exhibit what appears to be hostility and resistance to cooperation.

J

Adolescents do not progress through these multiple developmental tasks in isolation. At any given time, adolescents may be grappling with several tasks simultaneously. Furthermore, the importance of specific developmental tasks varies across early, middle, and late stages of adolescence.

Questions 1-6

Match the following characteristics with the appropriate stages of adolescence.

Write the correct letter, A, B or C, in boxes 1-6 on your answer sheet.

A early adolescence

B middle adolescence

C later adolescence

1 interested in the opposite sex

2 exposure to danger

3 the same as others

4 beginning to form individual thinking without family context

5 less need the approval of friends

6 intellectual booming

Questions 7-10

Complete each sentence with the correct ending, A-F, below.

Write the correct letters, A-F, in boxes 7-10 on your answer sheet.

7 One of Havighurst’s research

8 High School Courses

9 Adolescence is a time when young people

10 The developmental speed of thinking patterns

List of the statements

A   form personal identity with a set of morals and values

B   develops a table and productive peer relationships

C   are designed to be more challenging than some can accept

D   varies from people to people

E   focuses on creating a self-image

F   become an extension of their parents

Questions 11-13

Are the following statements consistent with the information provided in Reading Passage 1?

In boxes 11-13 on your answer sheet, write

TRUE           if the statement is true

FALSE          if the statement is false

NOT GIVEN    if the information is not given in the passage

11  The adolescent lacks the ability to think abstractly.

12 Adolescents may have a deficit in their language ability.

13 The adolescent experiences a transition from reliance on his parents to independence.

Answers:

1. B (Đoạn C, “Their concerns about peers are more directed toward their opposite sexed peers.”)

2. A (Đoạn

3. A (Đoạn B, “The worst possibility, from the view of the early adolescent, is to be seen by peers as ‘different’.”)

4. A (Đoạn B, “…secure role of a child and to establish themselves as unique individuals, independent of their parents.”)

5. C (Đoạn D, “ Their needs for peer approval are diminished and they are largely psychologically independent from their parents.”)

6. B (Đoạn C, “Despite some delinquent behavior, middle adolescence is a period during which young people are oriented toward what is right and proper. They are developing a sense of behavioral maturity and learning to control their impulsiveness.”)

7. E (Đoạn E, “Some years ago, Professor Robert Havighurst…One developmental task an adolescent needs to achieve is to adjust to a new physical sense of self.”)

8. C (Đoạn F, School curricula are frequently dominated by the inclusion of more abstract, demanding material, regardless of whether the adolescents have achieved formal thought. Since not all adolescents make the intellectual transition at the same rate, demands for abstract thinking prior to achievement of that ability may be frustrating.”)

9. A (Đoạn G, “During adolescence, as teens develop increasingly complex knowledge systems and a sense of self, they also adopt an integrated set of values and morals.”)

10. D (Đoạn

11. FALSE (Đoạn F, “During adolescence, young people begin to recognize and understand abstractions.”)