[A] Trends   [B] Models   [C] Self-car

恬恬2020-05-20  26

问题 [A] Trends  [B] Models  [C] Self-care  [D] Decisions  [E] Conflicts  [F] Self-preservation  [G] Spell it out  Keith Hewson, a 29-year-old airline pilot, hadn’t planned to live with his in-laws after he got married. But he quickly realized that sharing a three-bedroom Houston townhouse with his wife’s parents, who offered to let them live there rent free, would allow him and his wife, Katy, to pay off their student loans and credit card debt and save for a house of their own.  Hewson is part of a generation that is benefiting from the generosity of its parents, who are approaching retirement or already retired. Almost 4 in 10 adults age 60 or older give money to their adult children, while only about 12 percent get financial help from their kids, according to the Pew Research Center.  1. ____________________  High housing prices, the rising cost of higher education, and the relative affluence of the older generation are among the factors driving the tendency, which experts expect to become more pronounced as more baby boomers enter their golden years over the next two decades. Indeed, the annual cost of a public four-year college has more than doubled over the past 20 years, and housing prices over the same period have more than tripled on average. That has provided more wealth to boomer homeowners while at the same time making it harder for their kids to buy first homes. “It’s just more and more important for kids to get this kind of help,” Coontz says, noting that families unable to give cash often provide non-monetary help, such as offering to baby-sit their grandchildren or allowing adult children to move in with them.  2. ____________________  But depending on retired parents can also create family tension. “It’s embarrassing,” says Sharon Davey, a single mother of two young daughters in Merrimack, N. H. Since her divorce about four years ago, she has been relying on her mother’s help. “It makes me feel like a little kid, and I’m 46 years old ... Obviously, I’m extremely thankful and appreciate that she helped me when I don’t know what I would have done, but it’s a hard pill to swallow.” Eileen Gallo, a psychotherapist and coauthor of The Financially Intelligent Parent, recommends that parents ask themselves if giving money makes an adult child more or less independent. Her husband and coauthor, Jon Gallo, warns that dependence can breed tension: “If you continue to have to be rescued by your parents, you start to resent your parents.”  3. ____________________  When considering making loans or gifts, experts warn that parents should first protect themselves from financial distress. An Ameriprise Financial survey found that many baby boomers didn’t realize how much the help they were providing was cutting into their own retirement savings. About 30 percent of baby boomers said the money they gave to their adult children negatively affected their own retirement savings, but most were unaware of the impact it was having.  4. ____________________  If parents do decide to give money, the Gallos recommend discussing the details in advance, including whether the money comes with any strings attached. For example, if money is earmarked for a car, can it be any type of car? If the money is a loan, when does it need to be repaid, and at what interest rate? New companies, such as Virgin Money, allow family members as well as friends to lend each other money through a more formal arrangement, which includes automatic monthly payments and deposits.  5. ____________________  Parents may want to consider the example they’re setting. Frank Furstenberg, professor of sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, says young adults today may watch their parents providing so much support for so long—and be wary of becoming parents themselves. And that, of course, would be very bad news for boomers who aspire to become grandparents.(此文选自U.S. News & World Report 2007年刊)

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解析1. A 文章前文以事例开头,描述了一种普遍的社会现象即the young generation is benefiting from the generosity of its parents,本段第一句中提到the tendency,下面的句子是对其进行了详细的分析。所以A为答案。本题干扰项为D,因为在文章开头提到的例子中,基斯·休森刚似乎在这一段,休森会要决定,本段的中心不是继续这个例子,而是说明目前的一个的大的趋势,所以排除。2. E 由本段首句But depending on retired parents can also create family tension.可知,下文主要讲这种依赖父母的现象所带来的冲突,后面举了一个莎伦·戴维与其母亲住在一起的实例来加以阐述,后面又引用先关言论,对这种现象产生的结果进行总结分析。而E是对是对后面细节内容的高度概括,故为答案。3. F 本段谈论老年人与成年子女住在一起之后可能会给他们自己的养老储蓄造成负面影响,等等。结合本段首句experts warn that parents should first protect themselves from financial distress可知,本段作者是为这些老年人提建议,小心自己的养老都成问题,虽作者没有明确提出具体的建议,但这里提到的危害可知,老年人应该有自我防范意识,故F为答案。本题干扰项较大的是C,作者在后文主要论述的是让老年人在继续支持下一代的同时在财务上要有自我保护的意识,不要让自己陷入财务危机,并非让他们保护自己,所以排除。4. G 由本段首句If parents do decide to give money可见,该部分讲如果父母决定给子女钱,加利夫妇建议事先同子女讲清楚细节问题,后文For example,给出具体的实例加以说明,前后内容一致,后文是对前文观点的进一步详细解释说明,由此判断选G。5. B 由本段开头Parents may want to consider the example they’re setting 和下文young adults today may be wary of becoming parents themselves可知,作者在本段中主要想表达的是父母给子女树立什么样的榜样问题,B项符合文意,故为答案。
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