2. Read and listen to the poem. Do you think its message is optimistic or pessimistic? What do you think the last line is telling us to do?

(Đọc và nghe bài thơ. Bạn nghĩ thông điệp của nó là lạc quan hay bi quan? Bạn nghĩ dòng cuối cùng bảo chúng ta làm gì?)

The lost Generation by Jonathan Reed

I am part of a lost generation.

And I refuse to believe that 

I can change the world. 

I realize this may be a shock, but

‘Happiness comes from within’

ls a lie, and

“Money will make me happy’

So in 30 years, I will tell my children

They are not the most important thing in my life.

My employer will know that

I have my priorities straight because

Work Is more important than

Family

I tell you this:

Once upon atime

Families stayed together

But this will not be true in my era.

This is a quick fix society

Experts tell me

Thirty years from now, I will be celebrating the tenth anniversary of my divorce.

I do not concede that

I will live in a country of my own making.

In the future,

Environmental destruction will be the norm.

No longer can it be said that

My peers and I care about this Earth.

It will be evident that

My generation is apathetic and lethargic.

It is foolish to presume that

There is hope.

And all of this will come true unless we reverse it.

4. Listen to the poem again. How does starting with the last line change the meaning? Which version of the poem do you agree with more?

(Nghe lại bài thơ. Làm thế nào để bắt đầu với dòng cuối cùng thay đổi ý nghĩa? Bạn đồng ý với phiên bản nào của bài thơ hơn?)

6. Listen to four speakers. Match sentences A—E below with the speakers (1—4). There is one extra sentence.

(Nghe bốn loa. Nối các câu A—E dưới đây với người nói (1—4). Có một câu phụ)

This speaker believes that

A. poetry was better in previous eras.

B. men are not as good as women at writing poems.

C. poetry is still popular with young people.

D. young people like poetry more than adults do.

E. good poems tell us about the poet's feelings.