Part A: Reading Comprehension

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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. Gen Zs 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 and 1995), 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 Zs are looking for more certainty and stability, because of the rise of the gig economy. They have troubles seeing a financial future and they are quite risk averse.”

36. Generation Zs graduating college this spring

[A]

are recognized for their abilities. 

[B]

are optimistic about the labor market. 

[C]

are in favor of office job offers. 

[D]

are drawing growing public attention. 

37. Generation Zs are keenly aware

[A]

what their parents expect of them. 

[B]

how valuable a counselor’s advice is. 

[C]

what a tough economic situation is like. 

[D]

how they differ from past generations. 

38. The word “assuage” (line 7, para. 2) is closet in meaning to

[A]

deepen. 

[B]

define. 

[C]

maintain. 

[D]

relieve. 

39. It can be learned from Paragraph 3 that Generation Zs

[A]

give top priority to professional training. 

[B]

have a clear idea about their future jobs. 

[C]

care little about their job performance. 

[D]

think it hard to achieve work-life balance. 

40. Michelsen thinks that compared with millennials, Generation Zs are

[A]

less realistic. 

[B]

less adventurous. 

[C]

more diligent. 

[D]

more generous. 

答案解析 (Answers & Explanations)

36. [D] are drawing growing public attention.
解析：细节题。第一段首句提到：“既然Z世代的成员要在今年春天大学毕业了……在最近几周里，（公众的）注意力一直在稳定上升（the attention has been rising steadily in recent weeks）”。末句也补充了每个人都想知道他们会是什么样，这对应了选项[D]“正在吸引越来越多的公众关注”。

37. [C] what a tough economic situation is like.
解析：细节推断题。第二段第三句指出：“尽管他们毕业于过去50年来最好的经济环境中，但Z世代的人知道经济崩盘（economic train wreck）看起来是什么样”。后文接着解释因为他们在2008年经济危机时正是敏感的年纪，看着父母失业或失去积蓄。这说明他们深知“艰难的经济形势是什么样的”，对应选项[C]。

38. [D] relieve.
解析：词义猜测题。定位到第二段倒数第二句：“繁荣的经济似乎几乎没有 `assuage` 这种潜在的世代焦虑紧迫感（sense of anxious urgency）”。既然他们从小受到2008年经济危机的创伤，不愿冒任何风险，那么即使现在经济好，也不能缓解/减轻（relieve）他们的焦虑。`assuage` 意为缓解、减轻，选项[D] `relieve` 完美替换。

39. [B] have a clear idea about their future jobs.
解析：细节题。第三段开头指出：“一项调查发现，今年88%的大四毕业生在选择专业时脑子里都有明确的工作目标（chose their major with a job in mind）”。这说明他们在大学时就“对未来的工作有清晰的想法”，对应选项[B]。

40. [B] less adventurous.
解析：细节推断题。最后一段引用 Michelsen 的话对比了两代人：“千禧一代在生活中想要更多的灵活性”，而“Z世代正在寻找更多的确定性和稳定性（certainty and stability）……他们是相当厌恶风险的（quite risk averse）”。“厌恶风险”和“追求稳定”即意味着他们“更不爱冒险的（less adventurous）”，选[B]。

核心长难句精解 (High-Light)

1. Now that 引导原因状语从句与双破折号插入语：
"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."
【解析】`Now that` 意为“既然/由于”，引导原因状语从句。两个破折号之间的内容是对 Generation Z 的插入语解释说明（指出他们的出生年份）。主句是 `the attention has been rising steadily`。

2. If 引导的让步状语从句与对比结构：
"If “entitled” is the most common adjective, fairly or not, applied to millennials (those born between 1981 and 1995), the catchwords for Generation Z are practical and cautious."
【解析】这里的 `If` 表达的不是条件，而是对比/让步，相当于 `While/Whereas`（如果说...那么...）。`applied to` 是过去分词短语作后置定语修饰 `adjective`。这句话生动对比了两代人的标签：千禧一代的“有特权感”与Z世代的“务实、谨慎”。

3. 不定式的完成时表达：
"The booming economy seems to have done little to assuage this underlying generational sense of anxious urgency, especially for those who have college debt."
【解析】`seems to have done` 使用了不定式的完成时，表示“似乎（在过去/到现在为止）几乎没有做什么”。这个时态精准地表达了尽管经济繁荣了一阵子，但依然没能抚平这一代人内心的深层创伤。