More than half of parents in the United States are helping , or have helped their adult children who have been hit by high unemployment and stagnant（无变化的）wages, according to a new survey. It showed that present economic conditions are discouraging young adults from leaving home and forcing those who have already gone, so - called boomerang children, to return.
“Parents are continuing their financial involvement longer than we expected,” said Ted Beck, the president and CEO of National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE).
About 60 percent of parents questioned in the survey said they are helping their adult children who are no longer in school financially, providing housing and living expenses.
For an increasing number of adult children, the situation is bad. Two - thirds of adult children, aged 18 to 39, who are not in school said they faced tougher financial pressures than previous generations, according to the survey. And nearly one - third of parents agreed that it was easier for them to earn money than for their children.
Parents are helping their children out of genuine concern, and because they do not want to see them struggle. But Beck said that parents who make sacrifices to help their adult children should be cautious about their own finances.
“If you are taking on extra debt or delaying retirement to help your adult child, you could be making a mistake and putting your own financial future in danger.” Beck warned.
Boomerang children can also cause other problems for their parents. Thirty percent of parents said they had given up privacy since their adult children moved back home, while more than a quarter have taken on added debt, and ten percent have delayed retirement. But the survey also showed that 42 percent of adult children living at home are helping with the cooking and cleaning.
【小题1】The underlined words “boomerang children” in the first paragraph likely means .A．adult children visiting parents oftenB．married adult childrenC．adult children depending on parents for financial supportD．adult children independent and successful in life【小题2】What is Ted Beck’s suggestion to the parents?A．Asking their children to help with the housework.B．Leaving their children to struggle to live.C．Being careful when helping their children financially.D．Putting off their time of retirement.【小题3】According to the survey, we can know that .A．about 50% of parents give money to their adult children to cover the daily costB．two - thirds of adult children are faced with financial problems in schoolC．one - third of adult children earn money more easily than their parentsD．one in ten parents has delayed retirement【小题4】What is the main idea of the whole text?A．Adult children are less independent.B．Parents help support adult children.C．Bad conditions affect children a lot.D．Adult children like living with parents.C
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(答案→)C
解析：文章大意：受美国经济和高失业率的影响很多已经成年的孩子不能脱离家庭独立生活，仍需家长资助。就此专家进行了调查并提出了由此会引发的一些问题。
【小题1】C词义猜测题。文章第一段是说受美国目前经济的影响已成年孩子都受父母的经济资助，那些已经离开家的孩子们搬回家居住，所以boomerang children 是指离家一段时间后回家与父母同住，依靠父母经济资助的成年孩子，即回巢族，所以C选项正确。
【小题2】C细节题。文章倒数第三段But Beck said that parents who make sacrifices to help their adult children should be cautious about their own finances. Beck说那些为帮助成年孩子做出牺牲的父母们应该当心他们自己的财力状况。所以正确选项为C。
【小题3】D细节题。从文章最后一段Thirty percent of parents said they had …, while more than a quarter have taken on added debt, and ten percent have delayed retirement.可知百分之十的父母延迟了退休，所以D选项正确。
【小题4】B主旨大意题。本文是讲述的一份调查结果，所以开门见山提出了主题More than half of parents in the United States are helping, or have helped their adult children who have been hit by high unemployment and stagnant（无变化的）wages, according to a new survey，一份新的调查表明美国超过一半的父母正在帮助或者帮助过那些已成年的孩子们，所以正确答案为D。