单选题
Ah, youth. The time for body piercings, staying out late
and...a portfolio of ultrasecure T-bills? Traditionally, we
associate the early years with risky behavior—but one consequence of the
recession appears to be a shift in the way 18-to 34-year-olds handle money.
Affluent millennials and 30-somethings say their tolerance for risky investments
is much lower than it was a year ago, rivaled only by people over the age of 65,
according to a new study by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management. "It is truly
a generational change," says Dave Geschke, an executive at Ameriprise financial.
"The market got cut in half. Housing got cut in half. People saw their asset
classes get blown up." Avoiding risk may feel sensible to a
generation whose financial coming-of-age has been bookended by the dotcom bubble
and the subprime-mortgage meltdown. In 2010, only 41 percent of 18-to
29-year-olds reported working full time, compared with 50 percent in 2006,
according to the Pew Research Center. Millennials were more likely to report
losing their jobs than workers over the age of 30, and many recent college
graduates have had a hard time finding a toehold in a tight labor market, even
as the national unemployment rate rose Friday to 9.6 percent. If the 18-to
34-year-olds feel more cautious about investing, it's partly because they have
less money to spend and little economic security. In response,
financial firms have begun tweaking their products. Target-date retirement funds
for young investors, managed by mutual-fund giant John Hancock, recently
decreased exposure to stocks by 10 to 15 percent. Anecdotally, financial
planners say young clients are keeping more cash on hand, and online banks such
as ING Direct have rolled out savings accounts with slightly higher interest
rates. "We're seeing people try to put bells and whistles on very conservative
investments," says David Carter, chief investment officer at Lenox
Advisors. But in the long term, is it wise for 18-to
34-year-olds to avoid stocks, load up on bonds, and keep more cash in their bank
accounts? Perhaps not, if they want to live comfortably in retirement. "You need
the growth potential of stocks," says Christine Benz, director of personal
finance for Morningstar: com. "Investors cannot expect the same returns from
bonds and bond funds." One idiosyncrasy (特质) remains this
generation's attitude toward money. The Pew Research Center's findings show that
85 percent of adults under 30 feel optimistic about their financial future,
compared with 45 percent of the 50-and-up crowd. Three quarters of young adults
surveyed by the center say they feel confident they will have enough money to
retire. So, while the twin busts may have diminished their appetite for risk
now, there's reason to believe young adults' faith in the market will eventually
return.
单选题
What is the generational change mentioned in the passage?
A. 18-to 34-year-olds are experiencing recession.
B. 18-to 34-year-olds' asset classes are getting blown up.
C. 18-to 34-year-olds like risky behaviors more.
D. 18-to 34-year-olds tend to avoid risky investments.
【正确答案】
D
【答案解析】事实细节题。第二段中戴夫·格施克说“It is truly a generational change”，其中的it指代的就是前面提到的富裕的千禧年一代和30多岁的人对风险投资的接受度比一年前低多了。另外从第三段也可以得知这些人在回避风险投资，故D正确。正在经历经济衰退是导致generational change的原因，不是改变的内容，故A错误。资产缩水也是导致改变的原因，故B错误。原文说这些年轻人在回避风险投资，C项与原文意思相反，故错误。
单选题
How do financial firms respond to modern young people becoming more
cautious about investing?
A. They have turned to increase more conservative products.
B. They have targeted products of retirement funds for young
investors.
C. They have focused on publicity to inspire young adults to risky
investments.
D. They have decreased the interest rates of savings accounts.