2024年专四阅读练习：家庭生活

2024-04-24 16:47:20来源：网络

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　　家庭生活

　　Teenagers are spending more money than ever. Justlast year, 31.6 million teens spent 155 billion, according to the North-brook, Illinois-based marketresearch group Teenage Research Unlimited. Much ofthat money, of course, comes from parents.

　　Shocked at how much money kids spend? Maybe you haven't checked the price tags lately onsome of the younger generation's must-haves.

　　To some, such extravagant spending on the notoriously fickle young might seemoutrageous. Why do some parents give in?

　　One factor is surely the sheer power of marketing through mass media. According to thegroup Adbusters, teenagers are exposed to an estimated 3,000 advertisements each day. Combine the ads with programming itself, like the fashion-, music-and skin-filled shows onMTV, and you've got a barrage. of messages telling kids what they should own if they want tofit in.

　　"The pressures on parents today are enormous," says Tom Vogele, a single father of twin 18-year-old girls in Newport Beach, Calif. "I truly believe it is harder today to raise children withoutspoiling them, not because parents are less capable or lazy, but because so many forces areworking against me."

　　Many working parents probably compensate by spending money on their kids, says TimothyMarshall, an associate professor of developmental psychology at Christopher NewportUniversity in Virginia. For some, there is probably some guilt involved in not spending enoughLime at home. But, adds Marshall.spending money is a/so often more convenient in our fast-paced society than going to baseball games or other activities.

　　"It's easier to say let’s go out and spend some money, in terms of finding time in a busyschedule to spend with kids," Marshall said.

　　For many families, of course, keeping up with their children’s costly demands for designerclothing, CDs, and concert tickets is a financial impossibility. Even for those families who canafford such lavish spending, striking a compromise between spoiling the kids and denyingthem is tricky, but possible.

　　Teaching kids how to budget and save is key, Marshall says. Instead of just giving children thetoys or clothing they desire, give them an allowance and show them how they can save up forwhatever they want, he says.

　　And don't be afraid to just say no, Marshall adds. "We need to step up and tell kids where theboundaries are, that's part of our responsibility as parents,"he said.

　　21.In the first paragraph, "Northbrook" is mostprobably_____________.

　　A) a market research company based in Illinois

　　B) a spokesman for the Teenage Research Unlimited

　　C) the base of the Teenage Research Unlimited

　　D) the city where the spending survey was carried out

　　22.Some people find it outrageous that_______________.

　　A) some parents indulge their children in extravagant spending

　　B) some younger generation's must-have;s could cost so much

　　C) some parents are ignorant about their children's spending

　　D) some children disregard their notorious spending habits

　　23.What is the effect of marketing through mass media?

　　A) It fills the market with ads beyond the young's understanding.