美文欣赏2

In Hard Economy for All Ages,Older Isn’t Better...It’s Brutal在全民经济萧条的年代,年长不是资本而是残酷的现实A) Young graduates are in debt, out of work and on their parents couches.刚刚毕业的大学生负债累累,失业成为啃老一族。

People in their 30s and 40s can’t afford to buy homes or have children.三四十岁的中青年买不起房子也养不起孩子。

Retirees are earning near-zero interest on their savings.退休的老年人的存款几乎没有利息。

B) In the current-listless(缺乏活力的) economy, every generation has a claim to having been most injured.在当前缺乏活力的经济状况下，每一代人都声称是最受伤害的。

But the Labor Department’s latest jobs reports and other recent data present a strong case for crowning baby boomers (二战后生育高峰期出生的人) as the greatest victims of the recession and its dreadful consequences.但劳工处的最新就业报告以及其他近期的数据提供了强有力的证据，二战后生育高峰期出生的人成为经济萧条以及其后续可怕影响的最大受害者。

C) These Americans in their 50s and early 60s—those near retirement age who do not yet have access to Medicare and Social Security—have lost the most earnings power of any age group, with their householdincomes 10 percent below what they made when the recovery began three years ago, according to Sentier Research, a data analysis company.那些美国人正处于五十来岁或六十出头的年纪，即将退休但还没有获得医疗和社会保险。

他们相比其他年龄段的人们，已经没有了最能挣钱的能力。

根据数据分析公司Sentier Research的分析，这些人群的家庭收入较三年前经济复苏刚开始时他们所获得的家庭收入降低了10%。

Their retirement savings and home values fell sharply at the worst possible time: just before they needed to cash out.他们的退休储蓄和家庭资产在最糟糕的时候严重贬值：就在他们需要结账拿钱回家养老之前。

They are supporting both aged parents and unemployed young adult children, earning them the unlucky nickname “Generation Squeeze.”他们处于上有老下有小的压力时期，因此有了一个不走运的绰号“被压榨的一代”。

D) New research suggests that they may die sooner, because their health, income security and mental well-being were battered(重创) by recession at a crucial time in their lives.新的研究表明，因为他们的健康、收入以及心理状况在人生最关键的时期因经济萧条原因而受到重创，他们的寿命有可能会缩短。

A recent study by economists at Wellesley College found that people who lost their jobs in the few years before becoming qualified for SocialSecurity lost up to three years from their life expectancy(预期寿命), largely because they no longer had access to affordable health care.韦斯利学院的经济师们最近的一个研究表明，那些在即将得到社会保障前失业的人们的寿命比他们的预期寿命要短三年，主要原因是他们不再有机会享受能承担得起的医疗护理。

E) Unemployment rates for Americans nearing retirement are far lower than those for young people, who are recently out of school, with fewer skills and a shorter work history.即将退休的人们的失业率远远低于那些刚刚离开校园、缺乏技术和工作经历的年轻人的失业率。

But once out of a job, older workers have a much harder time finding another one.但是一旦失业，年长的失业者想要找到新的工作要难得多。

Over the last year, the average duration of unemployment for older people was 53 weeks, compared with 19 weeks for teenagers, according to the Labor Department’s jobs report released on Friday.根据劳工处周五发布的就业数据，在过去的一年里，年长者的平均失业时间是53周，而青年的失业期为19周。

F) The lengthy process is partly because older workers are more likely to have been laid off from industries that are downsizing, like manufacturing.年长者较长的失业期一定程度上是因为他们大多数由于类似制造业这样的企业裁员而下岗。

Compared with the rest of the population, older people are also more likely to own their own homes and be less mobile than renters, who can move to new job markets.与其他年龄段的就业者相比，年长者往往有自己的住所，这就限制了他们的流动性，而租房者则可以转战新的就业市场。

G) Older workers are more likely to have a disability of some sort, perhaps limiting the range of jobs that offer realistic choices.年老的就业者从某一方面而言有其身体上的劣势，或许这就限制了那些提供现实选择的工作范围。

They may also be less inclined, at least initially, to take jobs that pay far less than their old positions.他们或许不太喜欢，至少在一开始是这样的，不想接受那些比他们上份工资低的工作。

H) Displaced boomers also believe they are victims of age discrimination, because employers can easily find a young, energetic worker who will accept lower pay and who can potentially stick around for decades rather than a few years.失业的这一类人同时认为，他们是年龄歧视的受害者，因为雇主很容易就可以找到年轻、精力充沛的员工。

他们接受较低的工资而且可以为公司出力几十年而不是几年。

I) In a survey of older workers who were laid off during the recession,just one in six had found another job, and half of that group had accepted pay cuts.一个关于在经济萧条时期下岗的老年人的调查表明，只有六分之一的下岗老年人找到了新的工作。

一半的人已经接受了低工资的工作。

14% of the re-employed said the pay in their new job was less than half what they earned in their previous job.14%的再就业者说，新工作的工资不及以前工作工资的一半。

“I just say to myself:‘Why me? What have I done to deserve this?’”said John Agati, 56, whose last full-time job, as a product developer, ended four years ago when his employer went out of business.56岁的John Agati，四年前曾经有一份产品研发的全职工作，但因为企业破产而失业。

他问自己：“为什么是我？我到底做了什么事情要遭受这样的下场？”That position paid ＄90 000, and his résumélists jobs at companies like American Express, Disney and USA Networks.那个职位的薪水是9万美金。