Explore how generations and youth subcultures differ — and practise the language of comparing and contrasting at B2/C1 level.
Read the text carefully, then answer the comprehension questions using the dropdown menus.
Every generation likes to believe it is different from the one before. Baby boomers were accused of being too idealistic, Generation X of being too cynical, and millennials of being too sensitive. Now it is Generation Z's turn to be criticised — usually by the very generations who once faced exactly the same complaints.
Part of what makes a generation distinct is the subculture it creates for itself. In the 1970s, punks used ripped clothes and loud music to reject mainstream values. In the 1990s, grunge and hip hop offered teenagers new identities and new soundtracks. Today's subcultures are less about a single music genre and more about online communities — gamers, K-pop fans, or climate activists who may never meet in person yet feel a strong sense of belonging.
Technology explains much of the gap. Older generations grew up without smartphones and learned patience the hard way, whereas today's teenagers have never known a world without instant messaging. This does not necessarily make one generation better than another; it simply means each generation solves problems with the tools available to it. Older relatives often assume that less screen time automatically means a more meaningful life, but that comparison is not always fair.
What almost all generations have in common, however, is being underestimated by their elders. The music, fashion and slang of every youth subculture have, at some point, been dismissed as a passing phase — and yet each one has left its mark on culture. Perhaps the most useful skill any generation can learn is not to judge the next one too quickly.
1 Millennials were often accused of being too .
2 Punks used ripped clothes and loud music to mainstream values.
3 Today's subcultures are mostly built around online .
4 Older generations learned patience because they grew up without .
5 Each generation solves problems with the tools to it.
6 Older relatives sometimes assume that less screen time means a more life.
7 Almost all generations have been by their elders.
8 The text suggests the most useful skill is not to the next generation too quickly.
Choose the correct comparative, superlative or contrast structure to complete each sentence.
1 Generation Z is than the baby boomers ever were at the same age. (connected)
2 Smartphones have made communication than it was thirty years ago. (fast)
3 Punk was one of the subcultures of the 1970s. (rebellious)
4 Online communities are not face-to-face friendships, some argue.
5 Millennials grew up online, boomers grew up without the internet at all.
6 earlier subcultures, today's youth movements often exist mainly online.
7 This is example of a generational misunderstanding I have ever read. (good — after "the")
8 grunge and hip hop gave 1990s teenagers a new identity.
Choose the word that best fits the meaning of each sentence.
1 A group of people born and living around the same time is called a .
2 A smaller group within society that has its own values, fashion or music is a .
3 Values, habits and beliefs shared by most of society are described as .
4 The gap in attitudes and habits between older and younger people is often called the .
5 A new style or interest that becomes suddenly popular is a .
6 Judging someone unfairly because of general beliefs about their age group is called a .
7 Customs and beliefs that are passed from parents to children over many years form a .
8 A person's sense of who they are, often shaped by their generation, is their .
Compare your generation with an older generation (for example your parents' or grandparents' generation). Write 6–8 sentences. Say how they are similar and different, and give your opinion. Use at least three comparing / contrasting expressions from the word bank.
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