Lesson 5-1 Youth
People are always talking about 'the problem of youth'. If there is one -- which I take leave to doubt -- then it is older people who create it, not the young themselves. Let us get down to fundamentals and agree that the young are after all human beings -- people just like their elders. There is only one difference between an old man and a young one: the young man has a glorious future before him and the old one has a splendid future behind him: and maybe that is where the rub is.
When Iwas a teenager, I felt that I was just young and uncertain -- that I was a new boy in a huge school, and I would have been very pleased to be regarded as something so interesting as a problem. For one thing, being a problem gives you a certain identity, and that is one of the things the young are busily engaged in seeking.
take leave to do sth. 擅自做，冒昧去做
leave 允许
get down to 认真处理，认真研究
fundamentals /ˌfʌndəˈmɛntəlz/ 基本原则
glorious /ˈɡlɔːriəs/ 光辉灿烂的
splendid /ˈsplendɪd/ 壮观的;华丽的;壮丽的;极佳的;非常好的;
rub /rʌb/ 问题;困难
uncertain /ʌnˈsɜːrtn/ 无把握;犹豫;拿不准;多变的;难预料的;
for one thing 首先
