发布时间 : 星期四 文章鏂版爣鍑嗗ぇ瀛﹁嫳璇患鍚堟暀绋?璇惧悗绛旀1-4 - 鐧惧害鏂囧簱更新完毕开始阅读
to walk around the streets like a chicken to attract customers to come to the restaurant.
Language points
1 Those memories of forking out thousands of pounds a year so that he could eat well and go to the
odd party, began to fade. Until now. (Para 1) The parents paid a lot of money for their son’s university fees and living expenses (so that he could eat
well) and for occasional social events – at graduation
these memories of money were mostly forgotten because the parents were proud. But now the parents are thinking of money again because the son doesn’t
have a job and doesn’t seem to be actively seeking one. 2 This former scion of Generation Y has morphed overnight into a member of Generation Grunt.
(Para 2)
The distinguished son of Generation X (of the parents’ generation who worked hard, got jobs, and had good careers and expected their son to do the same) has changed into a member of Generation Grunt – he
doesn’t seem to communicate much, lies around and doesn’t get a job (or can only do a low status routing
job).
3 I passed the exams, but at the interviews they accused me of being ?too detached? and talking in
language that was ?too technocratic?, which I didn?t think possible, but obviously it is. (Para 5)
He passed the entrance exams for a government post, but he was criticized in the selection interviews: They said he was detached (not personally involved) and too technocratic (he used the language of a
technical expert or high authority). As a new graduate he probably wanted to show his expertise in his language so he can’t understand this criticism.
4 For the rest it is 9-to-5 “chilling” before heading to the pub. (Para 6)
The others who do not have a routine low status job (like
stacking goods on a supermarket shelf) chill out all day (they spend their time casually relaxing – they
don’t look for work) and go to pub for a drink in the evening.
5 I went to a comprehensive and I worked my backside off to go to a good university …(Para 6)
He went to a school for students of all abilities (not to a special school for academic students) and so he had to work very hard to enter a good university: Your backside means your bottom – the part of your
body that you sit on – to work your backside off is
informal and it means you work very hard indeed. 6 … but having worked full-time since leaving school herself, she and her husband find it tricky to
advise him on how to proceed. (Para 7)
The mother has always had a full-time job (presumably the father is also working full-time), so she does not have relevant personal experience. For her, it is tricky to give advice (difficult to do).
7 Carry on life as normal and don?t allow them to abuse your bank account or sap your reserve of emotional energy. (Para 11)
The advice from Gael Lindenfield here is that parents should live as usual. They should neither let theirchildren spend the parents’ money unnecessarily, nor let the problem take away all their energy and emotions. Sap their reserve means use up their store of
emotional energy.
8 After that the son or daughter needs to be nudged firmly back into the saddle. (Para 12)
Then the parents should gently push their children firmly so that they get back into control of their lives.
Reading and understanding
2 Choose the best answer to the questions. Teaching tips
Go over the correct answers with Ss and ask them to explain why the other answers are wrong (See below).
1 Why hasn’t Jack Goodwin got a job yet? (a) He doesn’t have a very good degree.
(No, he has a 2:1 which is considered a good degree. ) (b) He refuses to apply for jobs with low salaries. (He feels he should get a better job after studying at
university.)
(c) It isn’t easy to get a job in the current financial climate. (This may be true but the passage does not mention this.)
(d) He prefers to stay at home and help his family. (No, he doesn’t seem to be helping his family: he watches TV and talks to friends.)
2 How does he spend a typical day? (a) Doing a temporary job.
(No, some of his friends are working in temporary jobs but he doesn’t want to do this.)
(b) Watching television. (He watches TV a lot.)
(c) Queuing up in the university careers service. (No, he went there once but he didn’t want to queue
so he walked away.)
(d) Preparing for the next job interview. (No, he doesn’t seem to be preparing for interviews.)
3 How do most of his friends spend the day? (a) They do nothing all day and go to the pub in the evening. (All except one of them do nothing except chill, then
they go to the pub.)