原文:http://mp.weixin.qq.com/s?__biz=MzA4MDYyMTcxOA==&mid=204588867&idx=4&sn=9f66ecb4f2f40dbcea28584c581599cf&chksm=16641eba211397ac09011f70c4b3e57b8f676e317da1698ad6040f264d9bb8eaebe8f91534f7#rd
The Economist
Time to fly the nest
是什么让更多的年轻人开始啃老?
又是什么使他们决定自立门户?
文章内容清楚, 可以学习一下用到的论据。
In the film “Tiny Furniture”, the heroine, played by Lena Dunham (slumped on the floor in the picture below), moves back in with her mother because, having earned “a useless film-theory degree”, she has no job and no choice. Mother and daughter argue constantly. Ms Dunham’s character drinks all the wine in her mother’s neatly organised cabinets and gets a prison-style tattoo “out of sheer boredom”
和父母合住有啥不好?
In real life, too, it is hard for young adults to live with their parents. It is humiliating, and repels potential romantic partners. For the parents, it is disappointing that junior has failed to launch and annoying that he never empties the dishwasher.
为啥回家啃老?
But cheer up: in 2015 the unshaven slacker in your basement will at last move out. To understand why, it helps to know why he got stuck there in the first place. First, the job market has been dire for several years, so many young people have not been able to rent or buy their own homes. Second, even graduates with useless degrees in film theory have often racked up vast student debts. Living rent-free with their parents has made it easier to service those debts and still have a bit left over for beer, iTunes and tattoos.
In 2012 a whopping 36% of Americans aged 18-31 were living in their parents’ homes, up from 32% in 2007. Several things will prompt them to pack their bags in 2015.
飞吧,少年
First, the job market will improve. Unemployment has tumbled from around 10% after the financial crisis to 6% in 2014, and it will fall further in 2015. Youngsters with jobs are far more likely to find a place of their own.
Second, the cost of housing will remain reasonable in America, except in crazy places like New York and San Francisco. The ratio of house prices to average incomes has crept up recently, but is far below its peak in 2006. Whether you are buying or renting, space is far cheaper in America than in Europe.
Third, many young Americans who live with their parents will no longer be able to stand it any more. They love them, of course. But Dad’s stories about Woodstock and Mom’s enquiries as to when they will meet someone nice and get married are driving them insane.
时不我予
Because of tough economic times, many members of the millennial generation have put their lives on hold. They have spent longer than they planned in college. They have delayed getting married and having children, hoping that if they wait they will be able to afford it. But they cannot wait for ever: for women, the biological clock is unforgiving. If they don’t do it now, they may never be able to.
找到ta,在一起!
Property-developers expect an explosion of pent-up demand for new houses, as the young adults who have put off forming families for so long at last decide that the time is ripe. Several years’ worth of nest-fleeing could be crammed into a much shorter period. Some of the nest-fugitives will shack up with a lover; others will actually tie the knot. Either way, they will be off your sofa and out of your hair.
想的美, 呵呵
Parents in Europe may not be so lucky, alas. Nearly half of European 18- to 30-year-olds still live with their parents, thanks to sky-high youth unemployment in some countries. In Italy four-fifths of young adults live at home. Many young Italian men like having mamma cooking and cleaning for them but cannot persuade a wife to sign up for the same arrangement. Funny, that.
写完这篇文章,读到了一篇相关的新闻,如下图:
↓↓阅读原文查看如何说"啃老族"?
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