Reading – Unit 1 – Exercise 2

Read the following paragraphs and identify the topic sentence of each paragraph. Reply your answer in the comment section below.

Paragraph 1

The value of grandparents to children should not be underestimated. The report shows the need for the government to address the importance of grandparents in future policy and legislation. It also demonstrates the need to amend the Children Act 1989 to remove the obstacle that requires the biological family to ask permission prior to making an application to the court for contact. Especially when a family is going through difficulties, it is important that the children can turn to someone who is not directly involved and is calm and relaxed, and that person is often a grandparent.

Paragraph 2

To have a society that is family-friendly, anti-discrimination laws will need to be introduced. Parenting would become a school-subject, staircases would be rebuilt so that buggies and prams could access any building and advertising for sweets and non-educational toys would be forbidden. Companies would be forced to only employ people who can travel to work in less than forty minutes and there would also be a thirty-five-hour working week and more holidays. In a world like this, there would be less divorce and crime, but we would be earning and producing less.

Paragraph 3

Almost half of grandparents lose all contact with their grandchildren after a separation or divorce, according to a new report. It found that forty-two percent never see their grandchildren again after the break-up. Even more – sixty-seven percent – are prevented from providing any sort of childcare or taking their grandchildren on outings, even when they had done so regularly in the past.