More than half of the parents in the United States are helping, or have helped, support their adult children who have been hit by high unemployment and poor 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 kids, to return. "Parents are continuing their financial involvement longer than we expected," said Ted Beck, president of National Endowment for Financial Education (NEFE). About 60 percent of parents questioned in the survey said they're helping their adult children who are no longer in school financially. Half are providing housing and nearly half are helping with 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 find their financial feet than for their children. Parents are helping their children out of genuine concern because they do not want to see them struggle. But Beck said that parents who make sacrifices to help their adult children should be careful 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 seven percent have delayed retirement. But the survey also showed 42 percent of adult children living at home are helping with the cooking and cleaning. What would be the best title for the 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
B
(Question)
MySpace, the social networking website, is different from other websites which only provide stories about other people. MySpace is a place that allows you to broadcast your own stories and personal information to as many people as you like. Started two years ago, it is a big source of information for and about American kids. Teenagers and their parents feel very differently about it. Teens are rushing to join the site, not sharing their parents' worries. It signals yet another generation gap in the digital era. For teenagers, it is reliable network to keep in touch with their friends. They will often list their surnames, birthdays, afterschool jobs, school clubs, hobbies and other personal information. "MySpace is an easy way to reach just about everyone. I don't have all the phone numbers of all my acquaintances . But if I want to get in touch with one of them, I could just leave them a message on MySpace." said Abby Van Wassen. She is a sixteen year old student at Woodland Hills High of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Parents on the other hand are seriously concerned about the security problems of MySpace. "Every time we hold a parents meeting, the first question is always about MySpace," said Kent Gates, who travels the country doing Internet safety seminars .The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has received at least 288 MySpace related complaints, according to Mary Beth Buchanan, a lawyer in Pittsburgh. "Your profile on MySpace shows all your personal information to anyone on the Web. And MySpace even lists this information by birthplace and age. It's like a free checklist for troublemakers and it endangers children," Buchanan said. From the passage we can learn that MySpace _ . A) brings about the generation gap B) is very careful about people's privacy C) encourages you to list your personal information D) lists the telephone numbers of your friends
(Answer)
C
Ques: In many businesses, computers have largely replaced paperwork, because they are fast, and do not make mistakes. And they are honest. Many banks say that their business is "untouched by human hands" and therefore safe. But they have no thought that the growing number of computer crimes show they can be used to steal. Computer criminals don't use guns. And even if they are caught, it is hard to punish them because there is often no proof. A computer cannot remember who used it. It simply does what it is told. The head teller at a New York City bank used a computer to steal more than one and a half billion dollars in just four years. No one noticed this because he moved the money from one account to another. Each time a customer whose money he had stolen questioned the balance in his account, the teller said it was a computer mistake, then replaced the missing money from someone else's account. This man was caught at last. Some workers use the computer's power to punish their bosses they consider unfair. Recently, a large company fired its computer record assistant for reasons that were connected with her personal life rather than her job. She was given thirty days notice. In those thirty days, she stole all the company's computerized records. Most computer criminals have been common workers. Now police wonder if this is "the tip of iceberg". As one official says, "I have the feeling that there is more crime out there than we are catching. What we are seeing now is all so poorly done. I wonder what the real experts are doing--the ones who really know a computer works." Business in many banks is declared to be safe because _ . A) paperwork is no longer needed B) computers are honest C) people are not allowed to work there D) it is done through computers
Ans: D
Ques: Running like the wind, roaring like thunder, tigers have long been feared and respected as a king of the animal world. But last week a report said that there are no more than 30 wild tigers left in south China. This was the conclusion of a team of scientists from China's State Forestry Administration and the World Nature Fund. The South China tiger, also known as the Chinese tiger, is native to southern China. In the 1950s, there were over 4,000 tigers found in mountain forests in the country. But due to the destruction of their natural habitat and uncontrolled hunting, it has been pushed on to the list of the world's top ten most endangered species. Sixty-six of the big cats can be found in the cages of a dozen zoos around China. But they are nothing like their wild cousins. They have lost their natural skills such as hunting and killing. If they were set free they could not look after themselves. "Breeding has damaged the quality of the species," said Pei Enle, deputy director of the Shanghai Zoo. To reintroduce the species into the wild, the country started a programme to send five to ten young tigers to South Africa. Four of them have already arrived. Progress has been made as two elder tigers have recovered some of their instincts and can hunt wild animals by themselves at the African base. "South Africans are very experienced in reintroducing big animals to the wild. The country has very good natural conditions for the tigers to learn in," said Lu Jun, office director of the National Wildlife Research and Development Centre. "We tried in Fujian Province, but it was not successful as there was not a complete eco-chain and there was a lack of space." The tigers should return to China in 2009 when the reservations in Fujian are ready. What is the main reason for the South China tiger becoming one of the world's top ten most endangered species? A) Because it has lost its natural instincts. B) Because there is not a complete eco-chain. C) Because there is no space for it. D) Because of uncontrolled hunting and destroyed its natural living conditions.
Ans:
D