7º ano

Teens at work

Nicky Freeman, a student at Easton Area High School in Pennsylvania,works 20 hours each week in a fast

food restaurant. She says now that she is working her grades are not very good anymore. “It’s hard to do the
school work. I am often too tired to do my homework or pay attention to class.” She keeps her job because she likes to have extra money to buy things like CDs and clothes.

Some teens such as Lisa Griffith, a high school junior, have to work. Her family needs her money. Lisa also says she finds it difficult to work and study. “I have to work and, right now, I have to go to school, so I do both, but it is not easy,” she says.

Making good grades and working part-time isn’t a problem for 16-year-old Kimberley Baim. She does her homework on her break or after work. She spends about 12 hours a week selling frozen yoghurt at a Chicago shopping mall. Kim’s first job was in a restaurant when she was 13. “Taking a job is a responsibility,” she says. “Before you get a job, make sure you really have time to work. If you do, working can be fun!”

Carlo Acervida, 14, of Stamford, Connecticut, doesn’t agree with Kimberley. He quit his job as a cashier in a local supermarket because his job took up too much of his time. “I was working after school three days a week and on weekends,” he says. “Now that I don’t work, I have time to study and I have more time to spend with my friends.”
(Adapted from: LLANAS, A. & WILLIAMS, L. Adventures 2. London: Macmillan, 1993, p.74.)

Vocabulary
High School Junior - equivalente ao Ensino Fundamental 2
quit - deixar, desistir 

took up - consumia