新视野三版读写B2U3TextAJourneythroughtheodysseyyears
1Mostofusknowaboutthephasesoflifewhichwelabeltoparalleldifferentagegroupsandlifestages:childhood,adolescence,adulthood,andoldage.Wethinkofinfancybeforechildhoodandmiddleagebeforeoldage,witheachuniquephasebringingitsownpeculiarsetofchallenges.Thesechallengescanbeovercomebyacquaintingourselveswiththem,suchasthechild'sneedtolearn,theadult'sneedtofindtherightcareerandbuildafamily,andthesenior'sneedforsupportandgoodhealthcare.2Interestingly,ideasaboutthestagesoflifearechanging.
3Inprevioustimes,peopledidn'thaveasolidideaofchildhoodasbeingseparatefromadulthood.Ahundredyearsago,noonethoughtofadolescence.Untilrecentlyitwasunderstoodasanormthattheirinductiontoadulthoodwascompletedassoonastheygraduatedfromcollege.Theywouldnowfindasensiblejobwhichwouldleadtoacareer.Thenduringthiscareertheywouldstartafamily,ideallybeforetheyturned30.
4Todaywehaveanequivalentneedtorecognizeanewphaseoflifethatcomesafterhighschoolgraduation,continuesthroughcollege,andthenleadstostartingafamilyandhavingacareer,theso-calledodysseyyears.Recenttrends
show
radical
changes
as
young
people
are
following
a
differentagenda.Theytakebreaksfromschool,livewithfriendsandoftenreturntolivingwiththeirparents.Similarly,theyfallinandoutoflove,quitonejobandtryanotherorevenshifttoanewcareer.So,weneedtorecognizethisnewstage,theodysseyyears,whichmanynowconsidertobeanunavoidablestageinreachingadulthood.
5Peoplewhowerebornpriortothe60sor70sinthelastcenturytendedtoframetheirconceptofadulthoodbaseduponachievingcertainaccomplishments:movingawayfromhome,becomingfinanciallyindependent,findingtherightspouseandstartingafamily.Butthatemphasisonstabilitydidnotremainstatic.Today,youngpeopleareunlikelytodothesame.Duringtheodysseyyears,ahighproportionofyoungpeoplearedelayingmarriage,childbearing,andevenemployment.
6Theodysseyyearscansaddleyoungpeoplewithenormouspressuretomoveforwardquickly.Asthesoleheirandfocusoftheirparents'expectations,hopesanddreams,somereactwithrebelliousandpridefulattitudesand
behaviortowardtheirparents.Theyoftenresentthepressurethey'refeelingandkeepadistancefromtheirparentsorevenrunawayfromhome.Theirconfusioncomesfromthedifficultiestomakeparentsunderstandthemandthefluidjourneyofdiscoverytheyneedinthisphaseoftheirlives.Togetawayfromthisconfusionandupset,manyyoungpeopleresorttocomputergames,iPods,iPhones,oriPads,tohelpdistractthemfromtheirpainandstress.7
Likewise,
their
parents
are
feeling
more
anxious.
They
may
makeallowancesforatransitionphasefromstudentlifetoadultlife,buttheygetupsetwhentheyseethetransitionoftheirgrownchildren'slivesmovingawayfromtheirexpectationsandstretchingfiveyearstosevenyears,andbeyond.Theparentsdon'tevendetectaclearsenseofdirectionintheirchildren'slives.Theylookatthemandseethethingsthatarebeingdelayed.8It'shardtopredictwhat'snext.Newguidelineshaven'tbeenestablishedyet,andeverythingseemstogivewaytoalesspermanentversionofitself.There'sbeenashiftinthestatusandbalanceofpowerbetweenthegenders,too.Morewomenaregettingdegreesthanmen.Malewageshaveremainedstableoverthepastdecades,whilefemalewageshaveboomed.9
Apart
from
anything
else,
this
has
had
an
implicit
effect
on
courtship.Educatedwomencangetmanyofthethingstheywant,suchassecurity,accomplishment,andidentitywithoutmarriage.However,bothgendersarehavingahardertimefindingsuitablematestobuildtheirliveswith.Consideringallofthis,it'sbeneficialtoknowthateventhoughgraduatesaredelayingmanythingsaftercollege,surveysshowtheystillholdhighlytraditionalaspirations.Forexample,thiscontemporarygenerationratesparenthoodevenmorehighlythanpreviousgenerationsdid!
10Thisnewphasewilllikelygrowmorepronouncedinthecomingyears.Nationsaroundtheworldhavewitnessedsimilartrendstowarddelayingmarriageandspendingmoreyearsthanevershiftingbetweenhighereducationandsettlingdownwithacareerandfamily.
11Nevertheless,graduatesshouldn'tbedeceivedintothinkingtheycanbackoffsimplybecausethingshavebecomemoredifficult.Alargenumberofpeoplechasingrelativelyfeweropportunitiescancreatestrongcompetitivepressure.So,fromtheoutset,keepyourrésuméprofessionalandup-to-date.12Toreinforcethisessentialmessage,successmovingthroughtheodysseyyearswillcometothosewhodon'texpecttoachievetheirgoalsrightawaybutknowthattheymusthavethestrength,capacityandconfidencetoendureoverthelongterm.Ifyou'realittlelatewithyourgoals,don'tfeellikeafailure!Stay
strong,bepositive,andkeepfocused!Somedayyouwilllookbackandwonderatthevastchangesasyoupassedthroughtheodysseyyears.
LanguagePoints:
1Mostofusknowaboutthephasesoflifewhichwelabeltoparalleldifferentagegroupsandlifestages:childhood,adolescence,adulthood,andoldage.(Para.1)Meaning:Mostofusknowaboutthedifferentlifestagesthatwedescribeaccordingtodifferentagegroups:childhood,adolescence,adulthood,andoldage.2Wethinkofinfancybeforechildhoodandmiddleagebeforeoldage,witheachuniquephasebringingitsownpeculiarsetofchallenges.(Para.1)Meaning:Wesequencethelifestagesofinfancy,childhood,middleageandoldageaccordingtotheirnaturalorder,witheachparticularlifestagefacingitsownfeaturedchallenges.Sentencestructurenote:“with＋名词/代词＋现在分词”作独立主格结构“with＋名词/代词＋现在分词”构成独立主格结构，主要用作状语，可以表示伴随、方式、原因、时间等。with之后的名词和其后的现在分词构成主谓关系，其中现在分词表示主动或正在进行的动作。例如：Shesatdownatthetable,witheachdishemittingadelicioussmell.她在餐桌旁坐了下来，每道菜都散发出扑鼻的香味。（状语表示伴随）Thegirlsattherequitesilentwithhereyesfixingonthewall.女孩坐在那里一言不发，目不转睛地盯着墙壁。（状语表示方式）Withourfoodrunningout,wehadtowalktoavillageforhelp.由于我们的食物即将吃完，我们不得不步行到一个村子寻求帮助。（状语表示原因）Withsummercoming,itisbecominghotterandhotter.随着夏季来临，天气变得越来越热。（状语表示时间）Usagenote:peculiar,characteristic,unusualpeculiar,characteristic和unusual都可用作形容词，都含有表示“有特点的；有特色的”等意思，但有细微差别。1从词义上说，peculiar着重“独特性”，强调“与众不同的”特征；characteristic常强调所指性质的典型性,也可以表示这些性质使某一事物区别于其他的事物；unusual强调“少见的”，与通常的情况“截然不同的”或“未曾预料的”特征。例如：Thewinehasapeculiartaste.这种酒有种独特的味道。It’scharacteristicofherthatshenevercomplained.从来不发牢骚是她的个性。