本篇阅读材料“美国孩子担心未来工资”选自《时代》（原文标题：What teens worry about: drugs, sex and future salaries? 2012.4.13）。如果大家觉得比较简单，就当作泛读材料了解了解，认识几个新单词或新表达方式也不错。如果大家觉得这些材料理解上有难度，不妨当做挑战自己的拔高训练，希望大家都有进步^^
You might think teens have it easy. But they worry about a lot: bullying, getting into college, fitting in, finding a date. Now add earning enough money to the list. have it easy 过得舒服；处境很好；放松 fit in 融入；适应 Just 56% of teens aged 14-18 believe they will be as well off financially as their parents, according to a Junior Achievement and Allstate Foundation survey. So much for the optimism of youth. That’s down from 89% in the same survey one year earlier. In another major shift, the survey found that teens are pushing back the age at which they expect to be financially independent; more now say they will be at least 25 years old before they are on their own, compared to 20 in the earlier sample. well off 手头宽裕；富裕的；处境好的 push back 把……向后推；推迟 What gives? According to USA Today, there is a cumulative effect after so many years of recession and slow growth. Teens have seen family and friends lose jobs and homes; they can’t help but feel vulnerable. The paper reports: “Many kids were shielded by parents during the downturn, says Rob Callender, director of insights at youth research firm TRU. Moms and dads would do without to avoid taking things away from the kids. As finances dwindled, though, those parents have been forced to level with the kids about their economic reality.”