golden age
The Golden Age
Vocabulary
| era | yearn | return |
| according | poll | popular |
| decade | century | go back |
| boom | follow | regard |
| consumer | consumerism | conservative |
| Cold War | caution | novel |
| household | appliance | suburbs |
| yet | popular | among |
| place (3) | first place | second place |
| overall | society | upheaval |
| anti- | establishment | protest |
| civil rights | liberation | movement |
| hippie | New Age | conservative |
| liberal | left (3) | lean |
| tend | nostalgic | yearn |
| youth | over (3) | half |
| want | visit | revisit |
| while | long | to long for |
| tear/tore/torn | between | torn between |
The Golden Age
To what era do Americans yearn to return? According to an opinion poll by The Economist magazine and YouGov, the most popular decade was the 1950s. Americans had been asked which decade of the 20th century they would most like to go back to.
The 1950s
The 1950s was a decade of economic boom following the Second World War. It is regarded as a time of consumerism, conservatism, and Cold War caution.
It was an age of stay-at-home wives, novel household appliances and new suburbs — yet was it also the most popular decade among women.
The 1960s
The 1960s came in second place overall. That decade saw social upheavals, anti-war, anti-establishment protests, the civil rights and women liberation movements, hippies, rock music, and New Ageism.
Republicans in particular preferred the morally conservative 1950s under President Eisenhower and the 1980s of Reagan. Democrats tended to be nostalgic for Bill Clinton’s 1990s.
Our Time
In general, people yearn for their youth.
Over half of those over 65 wanted to revisit the 1950s and 1960s, while 45- to 64-year-olds longed for the 1980s. The youngest were torn between the jazz age of the 1920s and the 1990s, their own time.
Questions
1. What decade are Americans most nostalgic for?
2. Why is this decade the most cherished?
3. How did the writer know this information?
4. Is there an irony or paradox between women’s yearnings and the 1950s?
5. Characterize the 1960s.
6. Do Democrats (left-leaning) and Republicans (right-leaning) have different favorites?
7. What is the general conclusion?
A. What decade was the “best” decade for you?
B. What do your parents and grandparents think?
C. In general what is considered the “Golden Age”?
D. If I could live or relive in any decade, I would like to live in the……….because………
