疯狂英语阅读：BORNINTHE80S

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2007:05:30 11:23:54
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

They were born at a time when the very culture was shifting to 1)accommodate them - 2)changing tables in restrooms, 3)BABY ON BOARD signs in minivans. Yet, as a group, they led lives that are more 4)”adult-free” than those of previous generations.

When they are not with their friends, many live in a private, adult-free world of the web and video games. Aminah Mckinnie, 16, hopes to work in the computer industry. She doesnt 5) “hang out”, she says. “I shop on the Internet and am looking for a job on the Internet. I do homework, research, e-mail and talk to my friends on the Internet.” She is not unusual. Data released last year found that 6)teens spend nine percent of their waking hours outside school with friends. They spend twenty percent of their waking hours alone. “Teens are isolated to an extent that has never been possible before,” says Stanfords Damon. “There is an 7)ethic among adults that says, Kids want to be 8)autonomous. dont get in their face.”

Meanwhile, this generation is strongly peer-driven. “This is much more a team-playing generation,” says William Strauss, coauthor of the 1997 book “The Fourth Turning. “ 9)Boomers may be bowling alone, but Millennials are playing soccer in teams.” That makes belonging so crucial that it can be a matter of life and death. In Littleton, a year ago, the two teenage shooters stood apart, alienated from the 10)jock culture that infused Columbine High School. Yet in a landmark study of7,000 teens, researchers found that teen social groups are as fluid and hard to pin down as a bead of mercury. “Students often move from one group to another, and friendships change over a period of a few weeks or months.”

As a group, the generation is also infused with an optimism not seen among kids in decades. “I think a lot of adolescents now are being taught that they can make a difference,” says Sophie Mazuroski, 15. “Children of our generation want to. I am very optimistic.”

Coming of age in a time of interracial marriages, many 11)eschew the old notions of race. maturing at Internet speed, they are more connected than any generation. Both may 12)bode well for tolerance.

What do they want out of life? They are found the most occupationally and educationally ambitious generation ever. Most plan to attend college, and many aspire to work as professionals. A majority identify “happiness” as a goal, along with love and a long and enjoyable life. But many doubt that marriage and career will deliver that, so they channel their energies more broadly. About half of teens perform community service once a month by, for instance, delivering meals to the homeless or reading to the elderly.

Some sociologists believe that each generation assumes the 13)societal role of the generation that is dying, as if something in the 14)Zeitgeist whispers to the young what is being lost, what role they can fill. Teens today, with their 15)tattoos and baggy shorts, could not seem more different from their grandparents. But every generation has a chance at greatness. Let this one take its shot!

Meet the most powerful economic force in the retail marketplace. (“These are sorta nerdy.”) The 16)giggly girls at the sale rack.

Girl” I cant help it. I always go shopping.

Armed with 17)debit cards and shopping bags are keeping corporate America up all night. Why? Generation Y. Kids today from preschool to high school make up the largest generation of young people in America ever. And thanks to the Internet, theyre also the most informed. Todays daycare crowd is expected to far out learn and out earn their baby boom parents and already the business world is taking notice.

Retailer: I think that retailers and basically everybody are finally realizing that the teenage market is a very 18)lucrative one. In fact, this current group of teenagers coming up is going to be the largest group of teenagers weve ever had in the history of this country.

30 million teens to be exact out of a generation 79 million strong, but those numbers arent the most impressive. Last year alone those teenagers spent $153 billion on clothing, food, entertainment, and technology. Thats more than the entire national budget of Australia. The younger generation also influences $250 billion worth of purchases made by their parents.

Parent: They have a lot to say 19)in terms of what we buy. Because if they dont like it, you hear it.

And Generation Y is listening to and spending money on things we didnthave growing up: CDs, MP3 players, computers, and electronics.

Retailer: We try to 20)specialize in the latest technology piece and really focus hard on that. They usually know what it is before it comes out, and theyre waiting for it. They seem to have more money to throw around than I had when I was younger.

Go to the shopping 21)mall and youll see the competition for teen dollars is furious. Stores using music, videos and the latest fashion to lure in a crowd some store owners once wanted to ban. The mall rats of yesterday are todays hottest market. (Store Owner: “Check right here your e-mail if you wanted to.” Customer: “Can you?” Store Owner:”Yeah.”)

Retailers are aggressively targeting Generation Ys piggy banks and theyre starting early. Ford now markets cars to kids who are still in car seats. The automakers sponsoring safety ads on the website for Blues Clues, a cartoon popular with three-year-olds.

Retailer: Its a huge market which affords the opportunity for Ford to have a life long relationship with these buyers.

Young buyers whose spending habits show they are very concerned about how they look.

Girl: I like to spend money on clothes and shoes.

Girl: I just like wearing name brand clothes cause I see a lot of other people wear name brand clothes.

Retailer: The driving force behind our business is basically the young people. If they want to look 22)stylish from age 5 now. Its really, really exciting.

To merchants, maybe, but parents worry that their children are constantly being 23)groomed to consume.

Parent: I think its a little overwhelming because myself as a parent, I get pressured into spending a lot more money to keep up with the fashions. As far as my child is concerned because if shes not up with the fashions, then the kids become start to tease her.

Selina: Theyre more 24)sophisticated. Theyre more independent. Theyre more 25)savvy.

In her book, market researcher, Selina Goober says those 26)traits are what make children fiercely brand loyal and retailers so interested.

Selina: I think theyre beginning to realize, “Get them while theyre young.”

Journalist: Do you feel like theres a lot of competition for your money?

Girl: Yeah, cause therere so many stores and so many ads and theres billboards all over the place.

With that attention comes the new found respect that only money can buy.

Girl: They pay attention to you now, because they know that you have money in your pocket just like everybody else does.

New earning power and potential that retailers are hoping to latch on to.

Market researchers estimate that the average teenager spends about $82 of their own money a week on clothing, food, and entertainment. But not all kids have time to go shopping. As a matter of fact, the amount of free time that children have has 0dropped about 16% over the last several years. Many call it the over-scheduled 27)syndrome.

Theres been a real cultural shift in this country in the past few years. It used to be that children could participate in ballet, or 28)gymnastics, or football in a very casual way. Now theres a real emphasis and a real stress on these kids to be experts. The children are expected to become 29)prodigies in whatever 30)extracurricular activity it is that they choose.

Is it all necessary if the goal is simply to get into a 0selective college? Admission officers at Harvard University say, “No.” Only one-third of the students they 0select are academic or extracurricular prodigies. The rest are quote, “well rounded and well grounded”.

What were finding is that many parents now are starting to say “enough is enough”, and theyre cutting back. Weve found parents who are pulling children out of all of their activities. Its just too much stress on the children, too much time away from homework, time away from sleeping, time away from eating and enough, and a lot of parents now are just saying stop!