2014職稱英語綜合類新增文章（A級）：補全短文第十四篇

　　Today people often look forward to their middleage as a time when they will be able to take things easier. After theirchildren are grown, they expect to enjoy the life they have worked hard to create.____(1)____. In middle age, many people discover that they have two ongoingresponsibilities1: one is to look after their aging parents,and theother is to help their young adult children deal with the pressures of life.Around the world, there are millions of people who are “sandwiched”in betweenthe older and the younger generations. Sometimes there may be two or threegenerations living in the same household — a situation that is common in manyAsian countries and in some parts of Europe. In other cases, a couple may betaking care of parents and children, but they do not live with them.

　　There are two important reasons for the rise ofthe sandwich generation. First, people are living longer than they used to. Inthe early nineteenth century, the average life expectancy for adults in theUnited States，for example，was about 40，whereas today people live to anaverage ageof 75. ____(2)____. The second reason is that these days, youngadults often live with their parents for a longer time than they did in thepast. This is often for financial reasons. It’s also more common for today’syoung adults to return home during or after college if they need financial oremotional support.2

　　____(3)____. They may have to cover expenses thattheir parents cannot. They may have to manage their parents’ financial andlegal affairs. They may have to prepare for their parents’ future needs, suchas special medical care or a move to a nursing home. This can be a traumaticexperience for everyone.

　　Caring for adult children presents challenges aswell, and caregivers have to resolve important questions; How can financialresponsibilities be shared among members of the household? How can householdchores be shared? What is the best way to ensure everyone’s privacy? ____(4)____.

　　The financial and emotional pressures on thesandwich generation can be overwhelming. However, this time in life also hasits rewards. ____(5)____. It can also provide a valuable opportunity to spendmore time with them. However, in order to survive this difficult period intheir lives, the members of the sandwich generation must remember that theyalso need to pay attention to their own needs and look after the quality oftheir own lives. They can’t be totally selfless.

　　詞匯：

　　sandwich/ ?sænwid? / n.三明治

　　traumatic/ tr?:?mæt?k / adj.使人不快的

　　overwhelming/ ??uv??hwelmi?/ adj.令人難以應對的

　　lifeexpectancy 預期壽命

　　resolve/ ri?z?lv / vt. 解決

　　selfless/?selfl?s / adj. 無私的;不考慮自己的

　　注釋：

　　1.two ongoing responsibilities意為“同時擔負兩項責任”。

　　2.It’s also more common for today’syoung adults to return home during or after college if they need financial oremotional support.：現在，年輕人在上大學期間或畢業(yè)后還會回家，以尋求經濟或情感支持，這種情況也很常見。

　　3.Successfully coping with theseissues can avoid a lot of stress for the whole family.：成功解決這些問題，就可以為整個家庭減輕很大負擔。

　　練習：

　　A.Successfully coping with these issues can avoid a lot of stress forthe whole family.3

　　B.Therefore, children are taking care of their parents over a longerperiod of time.

　　C.People who take care of elderly parents often face difficult issues.

　　D.Young adults feel sandwiched between their financialresponsibilities and their desire to enjoy life.

　　E.However the reality is often very different.

　　F.It can be a time to rediscover the special qualities of one’sparents or children.

　　答案與題解：

　　1.E　根據本空的上一句：孩子們長大了，中年人期望有時間享受努力工作創(chuàng)造的生活，但是現實卻不允許;所以后一句論證為什么會這樣，即中年人因為上有老、下有小，所以不能無憂無慮地享受生活。

　　2.B　依據上一句：19世紀早期，美國人的平均壽命在40歲左右，而現在人們通常能活到75歲。人們壽命延長的結果是：孩子要照顧父母的時間也相應延長了。

　　3.C　該句是本段的主題句。本段其余幾句都在講照顧父母可能要面臨的種種閑難，C是一總括句。

　　4.A　本段都在講照料成人孩子面臨的種種問題。these issues可以是一種提示，就是指上面提到的問題。

　　5.F　依據本空的后一句It can also provide a valuable opportunity to spend more time withthem，可以斷定這兩句是并列句，also一詞是提示詞。