第四部分：阅读理解
# I( X6 ^# Y; z1 y第一篇 2 o3 z" k' V1 X" Q& J: w5 E' ]
Youth Emancipation in Spain
" M. Z& S) k( j* \The Spanish Government is so worried about the number of young adults still living with their parents that it has decided to help them leave the nest.
( V0 |! W% u$ g1 K2 z. d' aAround 55 per cent of people aged 18-34 in Spain still sleep in their parents' homes, says the latest report from the country's state-run Institute of Youth.
: K/ m! v1 v9 y3 s: O+ ?To coax(劝诱)young people from their homes, the institute started a "Youth Emancipation(解放) programme this month. The programme offers guidance in finding rooms and jobs.
9 i6 M3 j: R7 N% D2 X2 l5 bEconomists blame young people's family dependence on the precarious(不稳定的) labour market and increasing housing prices. Housing prices have risen 17 per cent a year since 2000.3 O2 C7 b* o' P
Cultural reasons also contribute to the problem, say sociologists. Family ties in south Europe - Italy, Portugal and Greece - are stronger than those in middle and north Europe, said Spanish sociologist Almudena Moreno Minguez in her report "The Late Emancipation of Spanish Youth: Keys for Understanding".
( h+ U- |' ^& @9 l _' E"In general, young people in Spain firmly believe in the family as the main body around which their private life is organized," said Minguez.+ m$ g$ @8 ~" z7 j; m4 W$ _
In Spain - especially in the countryside, it is not uncommon to find entire groups of aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews(外甥/侄子) all living on the same street. They regularly get together for Sunday dinner.+ {! z$ Q2 k O* }$ ^( A8 R( ]$ S
Parents' tolerance(宽容) is another factor. Spanish parents accept late-night partying and are wary of setting bedtime rules.6 r# X* \& u. u) F$ a- l+ _
"A child can arrive home at whatever time he wants. If parents complain he'll put up a big fight and call the father a Fascist," said Jose Antonio Gomez Yanez, a sociologist at Carlos III University in Madrid.
( r1 z; F. s. J0 F7 D1 f. I6 rMothers' willingness to do children's household chores worsens the problem. Dioni-sio Masso, a 60-year-old in Madrid, has three children in their 20s. The eldest, 28, has a girlfriend and a job. But life with mum is good.
6 }( d; H' v, \"His mum does the wash and cooks for him; in the end, he lives well," Masso said. |
发表于 2012-8-15 23:23:33
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