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 household incomes 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 Social Security 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 résumé lists jobs at companies like American Express, Disney and USA Networks.

那个职位的薪水是9万美金。 他曾经工作的地方包括全美快递、迪士尼和美国互联网公司等。

Since being laid off, though, he has worked a series of part-time, low wage, temporary positions, including selling shoes at Lord & Taylor and making sales calls for a car company.

尽管如此，自从下岗后，他做了一系列低收入的临时工作，包括在Lord&Taylor 卖鞋和在一个汽车公司打销售电话。

J) The last few years have taken a toll not only on his family’s finances, but also on his feelings of self-worth.

过去的几年不仅仅对他的家庭财务状况带来了巨大的影响， 同时让他对自我价值产生了怀疑。

“You just get sad,” Mr. Agati said. “I see people getting up in the morning, going out to their careers and going home.

Agati先生说：“你变得悲伤起来， 我看到别人早上起床， 出去上班然后回家。

I just wish I was doing that.

我多么想过那样的生活。

Some people don’t like their jobs, or they have problems with their jobs, but at least they’re working. I just wish I was in their shoes.”

一些人不喜欢他们的工作，或是在工作上有些问题，但是至少他们在工作。 即便那样我也乐意。”

He said he cannot afford to go back to school, as many younger people without jobs have done.

他说他已经不能像那些年轻的失业者一样再回到学校读书， 他支付不起。

Even if he could afford it, economists say it is unclear whether older workers like him benefit much from more education.

经济学家们认为， 即使他能支付得起， 像他这样的年长者也不一定能从更多的教育中受益太多。

K) “It just doesn’t make sense to offer retraining for people 55 and older,”said Daniel Hamermesh, an economics professor.

经济学教授Daniel Hamermesh说：“对55岁及以上的人群进行再培训没有太大的意义。

“Discrimination by age, long-term unemployment, and the fact that they’re now at the end of the hiring queue just don’t make it sensible to invest in them.”年龄歧视、长期的失业状态，以及他们已经不被用人单位所看好的事实都使得人们认为对他们进行投资是很不明智的。”

L) Many displaced older workers are taking this message to heart and leaving the labor force entirely.

很多下岗的老职工记住了这些话，彻底离开了职场。

The share of older people applying for Social Security early rose quickly during the recession as people sought whatever income they could find.

在经济萧条期，因为人们力求只要有收入就行，所以提前申请社会保障的年长者人数迅速增多。

The penalty they will pay is permanent, as retirees who take benefits at age 62 will receive as much as 30% less in each month’s check for the rest of their lives than they would if they had waited until full retirement age (66 for those born after 1942). 这样做的后果是永久的。 一个退休的员工，如果在62岁时就开始领取养老金，要比他等到到达退休年龄（对那些1942年以后出生的人来说，退休年龄是66岁）时领取养老金，在有生之年每个月要少领取30%的金额。

M)Those not yet qualified for Social Security are increasingly applying for another, comparable kind of income support that often goes to people who expect never to work again: disability benefits.

越来越多的还没有资格领取社会保障的人们开始申请另一种补助：伤残补助。这是对永远丧失劳动能力的人们的收入补助。

More than one in eight people in their late 50s is now on some form of federal disability insurance program, according to Professor Mark Duggan at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School.

宾夕法尼亚沃顿学院的Mark Duggan教授指出，超过八分之一的处于50岁左右的人们申请了联邦残障保险项目。

N) The very oldest Americans, of course, were battered by some of the same ill winds that tormented(折磨) those now nearing retirement, but at least the most senior were cushioned by a more readily available social safety net.

即将退休的人们所遭受的折磨，当然也影响到了他们的父辈。但是至少老一辈那个时候还有比较完善的社会保障作为缓冲。

More important, in a statistical twist, they may have actually benefited from the financial crisis in the most fundamental way: longer lives.

更重要的是， 一个意想不到的事情出现了。老一辈确实从当前的经济危机中有所获益， 最基本的就是寿命的延长。

O) Death rates for people over 65 have historically fallen during recessions, according to a November 2011 study by economists at the University of California, Davis. Why?

根据加利福尼亚大学戴维斯分校的经济学家们2011年11月份进行的研究，在经济萧条时期，65岁以上的老人的死亡率低于历史水平。 为什么？

The researchers argue that weak job markets push more workers into accepting relatively undesirable work at nursing homes, leading to better care for residents.

研究人员说，那是因为疲软的就业市场迫使更多的从业人员不得不接受不喜欢的养老院里的工作，从而提高了老年人的护理水平。

1、美国学者在______一书中提出了教育要促进学生发展的指标体系。

C、《民主主义与教育》 D、《我们共同的未来》

答案：C

2、将课程改革作为我国基础教育改革的重要内容的是：

A、2000年 B、2001年 C、2006年 D、2007年

答案：A

3、传统社会将人的一生划分为三个部分：上学、工作和：

C、再就业 D、退休

答案：D

4、教育可持续发展的含义包含以下内容：

A、教育机制的动态性 B、教育机制的满足性

C、教育机制的有限性 D、教育素质平等性

E、教育机制的法律性 答案：AD

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