Now that members of Generation Z are graduating college this spring — the most commonly-accepted definition says this generation was born after 1995, give or take a year — the attention has been rising steadily in recent weeks. GenZs are about to hit the streets looking for work in a labor market that’s tighter than it’s been in decades. And employers are planning on hiring about 17 percent more new graduates for jobs in the U.S. this year than last, according to a survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Everybody wants to know how the people who will soon inhabit those empty office cubicles will differ from those who came before them.
If “entitled” is the most common adjective, fairly or not, applied to millennials (those born between 1981 and1995), the catchwords for Generation Z are practical and cautious. According to the career counselors and experts who study them, Generation Zs are clear-eyed, economic pragmatists. Despite graduating into the best economy in the past 50 years, Gen Zs know what an economic train wreck looks like. They were impressionable kids during the crash of 2008, when many of their parents lost their jobs or their life savings or both. They aren’t interested in taking any chances. The booming economy seems to have done little to assuage this underlying generational sense of anxious urgency, especially for those who have college debt. College loan balances in the U.S. now stand at a record $1.5 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve.
One survey from Accenture found that 88 percent of graduating seniors this year chose their major with a job in mind. In a 2019 survey of University of Georgia students, meanwhile, the career office found the most desirable trait in a future employer was the ability to offer secure employment (followed by professional development and training, and then inspiring purpose). Job security or stability was the second most important career goal (work-life balance was number one), followed by a sense of being dedicated to a cause or to feel good about serving the greater good.
That's a big change from the previous generation. “Millennials wanted more flexibility in their lives,” notes Tanya Michelsen, Associate Director of YouthSight, a UK-based brand manager that conducts regular 60-day surveys of British youth, in findings that might just as well apply to American youth. “Generation Z are looking for more certainty and stability, because of the rise of the gig economy. They have trouble seeing a financial future and they are quite risk averse.”
（1）Generation Zs graduating college this spring（ ）.
（2）Generation Zs are keenly aware（ ）.
（3）The word “assuage” (line 9, para 2) is closet in meaning to（ ）.
（4）It can be learned from Paragraph 3 that Generation Zs（ ）.
（5）Michelsen thinks that compared with millennials, Generation Zs are（ ）.
问题1选项
A.are recognized for their abilities
B.are in favor of job offers
C.are optimistic about the labor market
D.are drawing growing public attention
问题2选项
A.what a tough economic situation is like
B.what their parents expect of them
C.how they differ from past generations
D.how valuable a counselor’s advice is
问题3选项
A.define
B.relieve
C.maintain
D.deepen
问题4选项
A.care little about their job performance
B.give top priority to professional training
C.think it hard to achieve work-Life balance
D.have a clear idea about their future job
问题5选项
A.less realistic
B.less adventurous
C.more diligent
D.more generous
第1题:D
第2题:A
第3题:B
第4题:D
第5题:B
第1题:
【选项释义】
1. Generation Zs graduating college this spring _____. 今年春天大学毕业的“Z一代”_____。
A. are recognized for their abilities A. 他们的能力得到认可
B. are in favor of job offers B. 支持工作机会
C. are optimistic about the labor market C. 对劳动力市场持乐观态度
D. are drawing growing public attention D. 引起了公众越来越多的关注
【答案】D
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到原文第一段第一句“现在，Z一代是今年春天即将毕业的大学生，最普遍接受的定义是，这一代出生于1995年之后，时隔一年，最近几周，关注度一直在稳步上升（attention has been rising）”，由此可知，选项D符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、C选项原文没有提及，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
2. Generation Zs are keenly aware _____. Z一代敏锐地意识到_____。
A. what a tough economic situation is like A. 艰难的经济形势是怎么样的
B. what their parents expect of them B. 他们的父母对他们的期望是什么
C. how they differ from past generations C. 他们与过去的几代人有何不同
D. how valuable a counselor’s advice is D. 咨询师的建议是多么宝贵
【答案】A
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】定位到第二段第三句“Z一代知道经济列车受挫（economic train wreck）是什么样”，由此可知选项A符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
B、C、D选项原文没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
3. The word “assuage” (line 9, para 2) is closet in meaning to _____. “assuage”一词(第九行，第二段)的含义与_____非常接近。
A. define A. 解释
B. relieve B. 缓解，减轻
C. maintain C. 保持
D. deepen D. 加深，恶化
【答案】B
【考查点】词义推测题。
【解题思路】定位到第二段最后两句“蓬勃发展的经济（booming economy）似乎并没有……这一代人潜在的焦虑紧迫感（anxious urgency），尤其是对那些背负大学债务的人而言”，下文接着举例说到“美国大学贷款余额（College loan balances）目前达到创纪录的1.5万亿美元”，由此可知，蓬勃经济发展并没有“缓解，减轻”这一代人的焦虑，选项B正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、C、D选项不符合词义，属于曲解原文。
第4题:
【选项释义】
4. It can be learned from Paragraph 3 that Generation Zs _____. 从第三段可以了解到，Z一代_____。
A. care little about their job performance A. 不关心他们的工作表现
B. give top priority to professional training B. 把专业培训放在首位
C. think it hard to achieve work-Life balance C. 认为很难实现工作与生活的平衡
D. have a clear idea about their future job D. 对自己未来的工作有明确的想法
【答案】D
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到第三段第一句“按照自己的理想工作选择专业（chose their major with a job in mind）”，由此可知选项D符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“不关心他们的工作表现”，与第三段最后一句“献身于一项事业（dedicated to a cause）”不符，属于曲解原文；
B选项“把专业培训放在首位”，与第三段第二句“最理想的特质是能够提供安全的就业机会，其次是专业发展和培训（followed by professional development and training）”不符，属于曲解原文；
C选项原文没有提及，属于无中生有。
第5题:
【选项释义】
5. Michelsen thinks that compared with millennials, Generation Zs are _____. 米克尔森认为，与千禧一代相比，Z一代是_____。
A. less realistic A. 较不现实
B. less adventurous B. 较不冒险
C. more diligent C. 更勤奋
D. more generous D. 更大方
【答案】B
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到原文第二段第一句“如果‘有权’是最常见的形容词，无论公平与否，适用于千禧一代，那么Z一代的流行语是务实而谨慎的（practical and cautious）”，因此B选项正确。
【干扰项排除】
A、C、D选项与原文不符，属于曲解原文。
【参考译文】
现在，Z世代的成员今年春天就要大学毕业了——最普遍接受的定义是这一代人出生于1995年以后，前后误差一年——最近几周，人们对他们的关注度持续上升。Z世代即将走上街头寻找工作，而劳动力市场的紧张程度是几十年来从未有过的。根据美国大学与雇主协会的一项调查，今年美国雇主计划招聘的应届毕业生人数比去年增加了约17%。每个人都想知道，即将搬进这些空荡荡的办公室隔间里的人与他们的前辈有什么不同。
不管公平与否，如果说“有资格”是最常用于形容千禧一代（1981年至1995年出生的人）的形容词，那么Z世代的关键词则是务实和谨慎。职业顾问和研究Z世代的专家认为，Z世代是目光敏锐的经济实用主义者。尽管Z世代毕业于过去50年来经济形势最好的时代，但他们知道经济列车失事是什么样子。在2008年经济危机中，他们还是容易受影响的孩子，当时他们的许多父母都失去了工作或毕生积蓄，或两者皆失。他们不想冒任何风险。经济的繁荣似乎并没有缓解这一代人潜在的焦虑紧迫感，尤其是那些背负大学债务的人。根据美联储的数据，美国大学贷款余额现已达到创纪录的1.5万亿美元。
埃森哲公司的一项调查发现，今年88%的大四毕业生在选择专业时都考虑到了工作。同时，在2019年对佐治亚大学学生进行的一项调查中，就业办公室发现，未来雇主最需要的特质是能够提供有保障的工作（其次是专业发展和培训，然后是激励人心的目标）。工作保障或稳定性是第二重要的职业目标（工作与生活的平衡是第一位的），其次是对某项事业的奉献感或为更大利益服务的良好感觉。
【出处】《新闻周刊》2019.6.13
