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JAMB - English Language (1986 - No. 83)

  Delinquency describes actions that would not be crimes if performed by adults. If a young person performs one of such actions then he has committed a crime. Delinquency is one of several status offences- offences that can be committed only by people in particular stations of life as determined by age, profession or a person’s role in society. For young people such offences include drinking, driving and smoking under age usually they are offences only to the extent that they help to preserve some of the good things of life for the exclusive enjoyment of the adult world. Delinquency is therefore a weapon forged in adult pride and intolerance. If the world changed overnight and the responsibility would than certainly refer only to many of the adult actions now freely committed by them.
  Delinquency describes actions that would not be crimes if performed by adults. If a young person performs one of such actions then he has committed a crime. Delinquency is one of several status offences- offences that can be committed only by people in particular stations of life as determined by age, profession or a person’s role in society. For young people such offences include drinking, driving and smoking under age usually they are offences only to the extent that they help to preserve some of the good things of life for the exclusive enjoyment of the adult world. Delinquency is therefore a weapon forged in adult pride and intolerance. If the world changed overnight and the responsibility would than certainly refer only to many of the adult actions now freely committed by them.
  Delinquency describes actions that would not be crimes if performed by adults. If a young person performs one of such actions then he has committed a crime. Delinquency is one of several status offences- offences that can be committed only by people in particular stations of life as determined by age, profession or a person’s role in society. For young people such offences include drinking, driving and smoking under age usually they are offences only to the extent that they help to preserve some of the good things of life for the exclusive enjoyment of the adult world. Delinquency is therefore a weapon forged in adult pride and intolerance. If the world changed overnight and the responsibility would than certainly refer only to many of the adult actions now freely committed by them.
In the view of the writer, drinking under age is an offence because
adults want to have all the to themselves
adults do not want juveniles to get drunk
drunken juveniles can cause disorder in society
adults have a duty to protect young persons

Explanation

The passage argues that delinquency is a concept created by adults to preserve privileges for themselves. It states that offences like underage drinking exist mainly "to preserve some of the good things of life for the exclusive enjoyment of the adult world."

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