本篇阅读材料“美国孩子担心未来工资”选自《时代》（原文标题：Whatteensworryabout: drugs, sexandfuturesalaries? 2012.4.13）。如果大家觉得比较简单，就当作泛读材料了解了解，认识几个新单词或新表达方式也不错。如果大家觉得这些材料理解上有难度，不妨当做挑战自己的拔高训练，希望大家都有进步^^

Youmightthinkteenshaveiteasy. Buttheyworryaboutalot: bullying, gettingintocollege, fittingin, findingadate. Nowaddearningenoughmoneytothelist.

haveiteasy过得舒服；处境很好；放松

fitin融入；适应

Just56% ofteensaged14-18 believetheywillbeaswellofffinanciallyastheirparents, accordingtoaJuniorAchievementandAllstateFoundationsurvey. Somuchfortheoptimismofyouth. That’sdownfrom89% inthesamesurveyoneyearearlier. Inanothermajorshift, thesurveyfoundthatteensarepushingbacktheageatwhichtheyexpecttobefinanciallyindependent; morenowsaytheywillbeatleast25 yearsoldbeforetheyareontheirown, comparedto20 intheearliersample.

welloff手头宽裕；富裕的；处境好的

pushback把……向后推；推迟

Whatgives? AccordingtoUSAToday, thereisacumulativeeffectaftersomanyyearsofrecessionandslowgrowth. Teenshaveseenfamilyandfriendslosejobsandhomes; theycan’thelpbutfeelvulnerable. Thepaperreports:

“Manykidswereshieldedbyparentsduringthedownturn, saysRobCallender, directorofinsightsatyouthresearchfirmTRU. Momsanddadswoulddowithouttoavoidtakingthingsawayfromthekids. Asfinancesdwindled, though, thoseparentshavebeenforcedtolevelwiththekidsabouttheireconomicreality.”

whatgives? 怎么回事？

cumulativeeffect累积效应

vulnerableadj. 易受伤害的；脆弱的

shieldv. 保护；庇护

downturn经济衰退；低迷时期

levelwith对……说实话

Teenshavealsohadtroublefindingsummerjobs, thoughprospectsarebetterthisyear. Andteensreportgettingfewermoneylessonsinschool. AccordingtotheJApoll, just24% sayteachersinstructthemabouthowtomanagemoney, downfrom58% ayearearlier. ThisjibeswithareportfromtheCouncilforEconomicEducation, whichfoundthatfewerstatesarerequiringschoolstotestintheareaofeconomicsandtoofferapersonalfinancecourse.

jibewith与……一致

Teensmayalsobesufferingfromwhatmanyadultsacknowledge: parentsarehorriblerolemodelswhenitcomestothingslikesavingandbudgets. Onlyhalfofparentsregularlysetasidemoneytosave; only43% setfinancialgoals; andonly24% takespecificstepstodiversifytheirinvestments, accordingtoaT. RowePriceParents, KidsandMoneysurvey.

sufferfrom忍受，遭受；受……之苦

setaside留出；把……置于一边

IntheJAsurvey, teensreportedasignificantdropinparentssavingasaresultoftherecession—21% thisyearvs. 59% lastyear. Asyoumightexpect, teensaremodelingthatbehavior. Just56% plantosavesomeoftheirincome, downfrom89% ayearago, accordingtoJA. It’snotjustaplan; it’shappening, accordingtothePewResearchCenter, whichfoundthatyoungadultsaregettingaslowerstartsavingforretirement.

Itshouldcomeasnosurprisethenthatfewerteensarepracticingsoundmoneymanagementskills. JAfoundathree-foldincreaseinteensthatreportnotbudgeting. ThislargelyconfirmsaseparatesurveybySchwab, whichfoundasharpfalloffinteenmoneymanagementability. Accordingtothatsurvey, justaquarterof18-year-oldsknowhowtomanageacreditcard—downfromtwo-thirds. Lessthanhalfknowhowtochecktheaccuracyofabankstatement—downfrom60%.

Thisallrepresentsahugesetbackinthepushforamorefinanciallyliteratepopulation, whichmanyseeasourbesthopeforstavingoffanotherfinancialcrisis. Inthisenvironment, debilitatingteenmoneymythsaresuretopersist.

setbackn. 挫折；退步

staveoff避开；延缓

Questiontime:

1. Whydomoreteensworryaboutfuturesalaries?

2. What'stheauthor'sattitudetoteens'moneymanagementskills?

A. relievedB. anxiousC. angryD. indifferent

【参考答案】

1. Becausethereisacumulativeeffectaftersomanyyearsofrecessionandslowgrowth. Teenshaveseenfamilyandfriendslosejobsandhomes; theycan’thelpbutfeelvulnerable.

2. B. anxious（从最后一段第一句可以看出，作者说因为青少年的理财能力差，我们在推迟下次金融危机退后了一大步。）