Before you read the article by an anthropologist on the causes of crime below, here is a taste of what he will say. Join the beginnings of these sentences from the article with the ends.

Now read the article and see how well you understand it.

Things can only get worse

If you think there is already too much violence and crime amongst this generation of young people, just wait for the next, argues Franklin F Eagleburger, the distinguished anthropologist, in the final article in this series on the causes of crime.

For the first time in the history of the world, we can see clearly how today's society is preparing for tomorrow's.  In most families both parents work, and many parents get divorced or separate.  Many parents are too busy working to talk to their children or set an example for them, even if they live in the same house.  As a result, there is a generation of children whose main contact with the adult world is through their teachers or through television.  

No wonder then, that there is an steady increase in the rate of juvenile delinquency and violent crime. Teachers have too much work and society does not support their efforts. As a result, they have little influence over the children they teach.  Whereas in the past children's role models might have been their parents or teachers, now their role models are the violent characters they see on television or in their video games.

Television programmes are becoming more and more violent, and video games often consist of killing imaginary enemies.  While these things will not turn responsible young people into criminals, they may encourage some youngsters who are already anti-social to become even more anti-social.  And why are so many young people anti-social?  Because they have already been abandoned by their families, who are too busy to have time for them.  Consequently, they take refuge in television, in video games, and in fantasy, and spend much of their day occupied with these things.

Many young criminals are people who miss the love of their families; they are lonely, or they feel that the world is not treating them as they deserve.  Many young people in prison say that if they had not been so lonely, they would not have tried to gain attention by committing crimes.  They did those things because they felt angry with the world. It is sad to think that television could be partly responsible for these emotions.

There was far less violence in films and on television in the past, and it was never so graphic or so disgusting.  When Indians were killed in Westerns, or robbers were shot in gunfights, there was not much blood.  We were given little idea of the reality of violence and death because it was immediately clear that what we were watching was fantasy.  Moreover, our mothers and fathers were nearby to make us feel that the world was really a safe, warm and loving place.

Nowadays television and films are full of very direct violence, and children are left at home for much of the day to cope with it alone.  This must have an effect on their mental development.  When they get tired of violence on television, they can turn on their Nintendo and do some imaginary killing themselves.  Then, when that no longer satisfies them, they can go out into the streets without having to tell any adult where they are going, and commit a real crime.  They can mug an old lady at the bus stop, burgle their neighbours' houses or vandalise the telephone box on the street corner.

Finally, when the police call their parents to the police station to tell them of their child's wrong-doing, the parents break down in tears, and ask what they did wrong.  They believe that they gave their child everything, but they were unable to stop him from becoming what he is. They may believe that somehow they failed their child, but more importantly, they will be sure that their child failed them.  If he had paid more attention to them, he would not have become the troublemaker that he is now.

Then, you ask, what sort of father will this child become, growing up with absent parents, violent films, aggressive video games and ineffective teachers?  I can tell you:  he will become a person who cannot relate to other people, or give love and help to his children. He will probably continue to live in a world of violent television fantasy, and his children will grow up to be even more lonely and abandoned than he was.

Now check your vocabulary with related words.