OUT OF SCHOOL AND IN TROUBLE

Abschlussprüfung an Fachoberschulen / Prüfung zum Erwerb der
Fachhochschulreife in beruflichen Bildungsgängen im Schuljahr 2004/2005
Haupttermin:
Nach- bzw. Wiederholtermin:
14.09.2005
Fachrichtung:
alle Fachrichtungen
Fach:
Englisch
Prüfungsdauer: 160 Minuten
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Hilfsmittel:
Zweisprachiges Wörterbuch Englisch - Deutsch
Einsprachiges Wörterbuch Englisch
Wörterbuch der deutschen Rechtschreibung
Aufgabenschwerpunkte:
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1.
Text- und Problemverständnis
20
2.
Übersetzung
20
3.
Textproduktion
35
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75
Bemerkungen:
• Grundlage für die Aufgabe 1 ist der Text in den Zeilen 01 – 22 und 36 – 56.
• Bei Aufgabe 2 ist ein Abschnitt dieses Ausgangstextes, gekennzeichnet durch Î Í
(Zeilen 23 - 35), schriftlich ins Deutsche zu übersetzen.
• Zu Aufgabe 3 bitte die Wortzahl angeben!
• Varianten, die in Klammern beigegeben werden, sowie Bleistiftgeschriebenes bleiben
bei der Korrektur unberücksichtigt.
2
Aufgaben
Lexington - Those young Americans
The debate about the American family is stuck in an ideological morass
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10
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"Thirteen", a controversial new film, starts with a disturbing scene. Two 13year-old girls sit giggling on a bed. Then they take it in turns to slap each
other in the face. Then they thump each other. They are so high on painkilling drugs that they can't feel a thing - and they continue with their merry
prank until one of them is almost knocked unconscious.
The film is based on the experiences of a young Californian. Nikki Reed cowrote the script when she was only 13 and co-starred in the film (made a year
later). And the story it tells is depressingly plausible: how a combination of
peer pressure and loose family ties, rampant consumerism and readily
available drugs can push a normal adolescent over the edge.
"Thirteen" highlights one of the most troubling problems in modern America:
the parlous state of the family. In 1960, 70% of families had at least one
parent who stayed at home. By 2000, in contrast, 70% of families were
headed by either two working parents or a working single parent. American
parents spend 22 fewer hours a week with their children than they did in
1969.
Most children lack access to public education until they are six. Schools have
not yet woken up to the fact that America is no longer an agricultural society:
they finish at 3 pm and close down for almost three months in the summer.
Day care is expensive and uneven. It is harder to qualify as a manicurist than
as a child-minder. After-school services are patchy. One in five 6-12-yearolds with working mothers comes home to an empty house.
Î Why is the land of motherhood and apple pie neglecting its young?
Conservatives blame family breakdown: half of all marriages end in divorce
25 and a third of children are born out of wedlock. They are particularly harsh on
the "1960s culture" and on the welfare system.
For "liberal" Americans the problem is unrestrained capitalism. Most families
can make ends meet only if both parents go out to work, they argue. But the
American workplace is a demanding taskmaster. Americans work longer
30 hours than Europeans and get shorter holidays; now they spend more of their
evenings dealing with work-related e-mails and phone calls. The healthinsurance and pension systems encourage employers to work their full-time
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Aufgaben
staff to the bone, while shunting people who opt for flexible working hours into
dead-end jobs with low wages. More than a third of working parents have no
35 entitlements to holidays or sick leave. Í
One of the many merits of "Thirteen" is that it recognises that these two
arguments are not mutually exclusive. The heroine's mother is an ageing
hippie who hooks up with a never-do-well1 with a taste for drugs. Meanwhile,
her estranged father spends the few moments he has with his daughter
40 answering his cell phone and scheduling meetings. With no steady parental
guidance at home, the young girl is prey to the enticing consumer culture of
Los Angeles.
That might sound like common sense. But in the context of American politics
it is uncommon wisdom. The American political class is so polarised by the
45 culture wars that it cannot admit that the other side might be half-right.
Is there any way out of this impasse? There have been a few encouraging
signs. In 1996, Bill Clinton broke with his party to sign a welfare-reform bill
that reduced the incentives for poor people to have children out of wedlock
(which seems to have had an effect on teenage birth rates). George Bush is
50 trying to tweak the welfare system to encourage marriage.
Yet the overwhelming impression is of a lack of radical ideas. Why not look at
providing public education from the age of four? Why not disentangle healthcare benefits from companies, giving workers more freedom to choose where
and how they work? Why not force the teachers' unions to lengthen the
55 school day? The answer, of course is that these ideas would stir up all sorts
of trouble for politicians. Tell that to the children in "Thirteen".
1 never-do-well: der Taugenichts
[694 words]
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4
Aufgaben
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1. Text- und Problemverständnis:
20
Lesen Sie den Text und beantworten Sie die folgenden Fragen zum
Text (Zeilen 1-22 und 36-56) auf Deutsch in vollständigen Sätzen!
Bei nicht vollständigen Sätzen werden 0,5 Punkte pro Frage abgezogen!
1.1. Fassen Sie die Informationen zur Handlung des Films "Thirteen" zusammen.
5
1.2. Worin besteht die Besonderheit des Films?
3
1.3. Wie unterscheiden sich amerikanische Familien des 21. Jahrhunderts von
denen der 60er Jahre des 20. Jahrhunderts?
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1.4. Wie gestaltet sich der Alltag der Kinder heute?
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1.5. Welcher Gesetzentwurf führte zum Konflikt zwischen Bill Clinton und seiner
Partei?
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1.6. Wie beurteilt der Autor bisherige Problemlösungsversuche und welche
schlägt er selbst vor?
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2. Übersetzung
20
Übersetzen Sie die markierten (Î Í) Zeilen des Textes
(Zeilen 23 bis 35) ins Deutsche!
3. Textproduktion
Choose one of the topics. Write at least 150 words.
3.1. Imagine you are a single parent and have just read this article in the
Economist. Write a letter to the editor and give your opinion on some of the
points made in the text. Support your arguments with (invented) examples
taken from every-day life.
3.2. Discuss some of the chances and risks the recent EU enlargement involves.
3.3. If you had the chance to live on a desert island for half a year, which three
things would be absolutely necessary for you to take with you? Explain how
you would manage this new situation.
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