Christina sets aside every penny of profit for the tribe. Sales during last year’s Christmas season yielded $10,000 in profit. She was able to collect enough money to buy the cows, build the dam and even pay the medical bills of a girl who had a brain tumor and a boy badly burned in a fire.
Christina’s enthusiasm is catching. When her friends learned about this, they also wanted to buy a cow. That gave her another idea: people could donate $50 to purchase a cow for the Samburu people. By now 67 people have done so.
Christina adds what she can to the kitty. “I take the money I would spend on CDs or a soda and throw it into a jar for the Samburu.”
Unit 14 Culture
Part C
Test Your Listening
A Passage
Listen to the passage and choose the right answers to the questions. 1. What does the passage mainly discuss?
a. Why young people above 18 in the U.S. prefer to attend local colleges.
b. The reasons why more and more young people in America move back to their parents’ homes rather than live on their own. c. Young people in America should leave home when they reach 18. d. How young people in the U.S. try to cope with the rising costs of housing.
2. What do you know about Sallie?
a. She moved back to her parents’ home mainly because she didn’t have money to buy a new car.
b. She felt miserable when she was away from home. c. She was not satisfied with her job as a teacher. d. She doesn’t want to pay much money for rent. 3. What can you learn from the passage?
a. Most parents in America welcome their children’s return to the nest. b. An away-from-home college education is no longer affordable to middle class people in America.
c. Failure in marriage is an important reason for the return to the nest. d. Young people in America have trouble establishing their own identities.
4. What is one of the reasons why most psychologists disapprove of lengthy homecomings?
a. Because they are resented by the aging parents. b. Because they are against the American tradition.
c. Because they are harmful to the housing industry.
d. Because they are damaging to the growth of the young people. Script:
In America there is a na?ve notion that children grow up and leave home when they’re 18, but the truth is far from that. Today 59% of men and 47% of women between 18 and 24 depend on their parents for housing. Most college students now live at home. Also, 14% of men and 8% of women aged 25 to 34 are dependent on their parents for housing. “This is part of a major shift in the middle class,” declares a sociologist at Northwestern University.
Analysts cite a variety of reasons for this return to the nest. First, the
marriage age is rising. Second, a high divorce rate and a declining remarriage rate are sending economically pressed and emotionally battered survivors back to parental shelters. What’s more, for some, the expense of an away-from-home college education has become so high that many students now attend local schools. Even after graduation, young people tend to stay home because of rising housing costs.
Sallie, 26, moved back to her parents’ home to save enough money to buy a car. Her job as a teacher provided only enough money to cover car payments and an additional loan she had taken out. Once the loan was paid off, she decided to start a modeling career. Living at home, says
Sally, continues to give her security and moral support.
Lucille returned home with her two daughters after a divorce. That was 12 years ago. She is 37 now, and she and her daughters still live with Lucille’s mother, who has welcomed having three generations in the same house.
Just how long should adult children live with their parents before moving on? Most psychologists feel lengthy homecomings are a mistake. Offspring, struggling to establish separate identities, can feel a sense of defeat and failure. And aging parents, who should be enjoying some financial and personal freedom, find themselves burdened with responsibilities.