考研英語閱讀王文軻講義閱A

ReadingComprehensionPartA

2008

Text1

Whilestillcatchinguptomeninsomespheresofmodemlife,womenappeartobewayaheadinatleastone

undesirablecategory."Womenareparticularlysusceptibletodevelopingdepressionandanxietydisordersin

responsetostresscomparedtomen,^^accordingtoDr.Yehuda,chiefpsychiatristatNewYork'sVeteran's

AdministrationHospital.

Studiesofbothanimalsandhumanshaveshownthatsexhormonessomehowaffectthestressresponse,

causingfemalesunderstresstoproducemoreofthetriggerchemicalsthandomalesunderthesameconditions.In

severalofthestudies,whenstressed-outfemaleratshadtheirovaries(thefemalereproductiveorgans)removed,

theirchemicalresponsesbecameequaltothoseofthemales.

Addingtoawoman'sincreaseddoseofstresschemicals,areherincreased“opportunities"forstress."It'snot

necessarilythatwomendon'tcopeaswell.Ifsjustthattheyhavesomuchmoretocopewith,saysDr.Yehuda.

“Theircapacityfortoleratingstressmayevenbegreaterthanmen's,"sheobserves,''ifsjustthatthey'redealing

withsomanymorethingsthattheybecomewornoutfromitmorevisiblyandsooner.^^

Dr.Yehudanotesanotherdifferencebetweenthesexes."Ithinkthatthekindsofthingsthatwomenare

exposedtotendtobeinmoreofachronicorrepeatednature.Mengotowarandareexposedtocombatstress.

Menareexposedtomoreactsofrandomphysicalviolence.Thekindsofinterpersonalviolencethatwomenare

exposedtotendtobeindomesticsituations,by,unfortunately,parentsorotherfamilymembers,andtheytendnot

tobeone-shotdeals.Thewear-and-tearthatcomesfromtheselongerrelationshipscanbequitedevastating.^^

AdelineAlvarezmarriedat18andgavebirthtoason,butwasdeterminedtofinishcollege.ktIstruggledalot

togetthecollegedegree.Iwaslivinginsomuchfrustrationthatthatwasmyescape,togotoschool,andget

aheadanddobetter."Later,hermarriageendedandshebecameasinglemother."It'sthehardestthingtotake

careofateenager,haveajob,paytherent,paythecarpayment,andpaythedebt.Ilivedfrompaycheckto

paycheck.^^

NoteveryoneexperiencesthekindsofseverechronicstressesAlvarezdescribes.Butmostwomentodayare

copingwithalotofobligations,withfewbreaks,andfeelingthestrain.Alvarez'sexperiencedemonstratesthe

importanceoffindingwaystodiffusestressbeforeitthreatensyourhealthandyourabilitytofunction.

21.Whichofthefollowingistrueaccordingtothefirsttwoparagraphs?

A.Womenarebiologicallymorevulnerabletostress.

B.Womenarestillsufferingmuchstresscausedbymen.

C.Womenaremoreexperiencedthanmenincopingwithstress.

D.Menandwomenshowdifferentinclinationswhenfacedwithstress.

22.Dr.Yehuda'sresearchsuggeststhatwomen

A.needextradosesofchemicalstohandlestress.B.havelimitedcapacityfortoleratingstress.

C.aremorecapableofavoidingstress.D.areexposedtomorestress.

23.AccordingtoParagraph4,thestresswomenconfronttendstobe

A.domesticandtemporary.B.irregularandviolent.

C.durableandfrequent.D.trivialandrandom.

24.Thesentence“Ilivedfrompaychecktopaycheck.^^(Line6,Para.5)showsthat

A.Alvarezcaredaboutnothingbutmakingmoney.

B.Alvarez'ssalarybarelycoveredherhouseholdexpenses.

C.Alvarezgotpaychecksfromdifferentjobs.

D.Alvarezpaidpracticallyeverythingbycheck.

25.Whichofthefollowingwouldbethebesttitleforthetext?

A.StrainofStress:NoWayOut?B.ResponsestoStress:GenderDifference

C.StressAnalysis:WhatChemicalsSayD.GenderInequality:WomenUnderStress

Text2

Itusedtobesostraightforward.Ateamofresearchersworkingtogetherinthelaboratorywouldsubmitthe

resultsoftheirresearchtoajournal.Ajournaleditorwouldthenremovetheauthors'namesandaffiliationsfrom

thepaperandsendittotheirpeersforreview.Dependingonthecommentsreceived,theeditorwouldacceptthe

paperforpublicationordeclineit.Copyrightrestedwiththejournalpublisher,andresearchersseekingknowledge

oftheresultswouldhavetosubscribetothejournal.

Nolonger.TheInternet—andpressurefromfundingagencies,whoarequestioningwhycommercial

publishersaremakingmoneyfromgovernment-fundedresearchbyrestrictingaccesstoit-ismakingaccessto

scientificresultsareality.TheOrganizationforEconomicCo-operationandDevelopment(OECD)hasjustissued

areportdescribingthefar-reachingconsequencesofthis.Thereport,byJohnHoughtonofVictoriaUniversityin

AustraliaandGrahamVickeryoftheOECD,makesheavyreadingforpublisherswhohave,sofar,made

handsomeprofits.Butitgoesfurtherthanthat.Itsignalsachangeinwhathas,untilnow,beenakeyelementof

scientificendeavor.

Thevalueofknowledgeandthereturnonthepublicinvestmentinresearchdepends,inpart,uponwide

distributionandreadyaccess.Itisbigbusiness.InAmerica,thecorescientificpublishingmarketisestimatedat

between$7billionand$11billion.TheInternationalAssociationofScientific,TechnicalandMedicalPublishers

saysthattherearemorethan2,000publishersworldwidespecializinginthesesubjects.Theypublishmorethan

1.2millionarticleseachyearinsome16,000journals.

Thisisnowchanging.AccordingtotheOECDreport,some75%ofscholarlyjournalsarenowonline.

Entirelynewbusinessmodelsareemerging;threemainoneswereidentifiedbythereport'sauthors.Thereisthe

so-calledbigdeal,whereinstitutionalsubscriberspayforaccesstoacollectionofonlinejournaltitlesthrough

site-licensingagreements.Thereisopen-accesspublishing,typicallysupportedbyaskingtheauthor(orhis

employer)topayforthepapertobepublished.Finally,thereareopen-accessarchives,whereorganizationssuch

asuniversitiesorinternationallaboratoriessupportinstitutionalrepositories.Othermodelsexistthatarehybridsof

thesethree,suchasdelayedopen-access,wherejournalsallowonlysubscriberstoreadapaperforthefirstsix

months,beforemakingitfreelyavailabletoeveryonewhowishestoseeit.Allthiscouldchangethetraditional

formofthepeer-reviewprocess,atleastforthepublicationofpapers.

26.Inthefirstparagraph,theauthordiscusses

A.thebackgroundinformationofjournalediting.

B.thepublicationroutineoflaboratoryreports.

C.therelationsofauthorswithjournalpublishers.

D.thetraditionalprocessofjournalpublication.

27.WhichofthefollowingistrueoftheOECDreport?

A.Itcriticizesgovernment-fundedresearch.

B.Itintroducesaneffectivemeansofpublication.

C.Itupsetsprofit-makingjournalpublishers.

D.Itbenefitsscientificresearchconsiderably.

28.Accordingtothetext,onlinepublicationissignificantinthat

A.itprovidesaneasieraccesstoscientificresults.

B.itbringshugeprofitstoscientificresearchers.

C.itemphasizesthecrucialroleofscientificknowledge.

D.itfacilitatespublicinvestmentinscientificresearch.

29.Withtheopen-accesspublishingmodel,theauthorofapaperisrequiredto

A.coverthecostofitspublication.

B.subscribetothejournalpublishingit.

C.allowotheronlinejournalstouseitfreely.

D.completethepeer-reviewbeforesubmission.

30.Whichofthefollowingbestsummarizesthetext?

A.TheInternetisposingathreattopublishers.

B.Anewmodeofpublicationisemerging.

C.Authorswelcomethenewchannelforpublication.

D.Publicationisrenderedeasierbyonlineservice.

Text3

Intheearly1960sWiltChamberlainwasoneoftheonlythreeplayersintheNationalBasketballAssociation

(NBA)listedatoversevenfeet.Ifhehadplayedlastseason,however,hewouldhavebeenoneof42.Thebodies

playingmajorprofessionalsportshavechangeddramaticallyovertheyears,andmanagershavebeenmorethan

willingtoadjustteamuniformstofitthegrowingnumbersofbigger,longerframes.

Thetrendinsports,though,maybeobscuringanunrecognizedreality:Americanshavegenerallystopped

growing.Thoughtypicallyabouttwoinchestallernowthan140yearsago,today'speople-especiallythosebom

tofamilieswhohavelivedintheU.S.formanygenerations—apparentlyreachedtheirlimitintheearly1960s.

Andtheyaren'tlikelytogetanytaller."Inthegeneralpopulationtoday,atthisgenetic,environmentallevel,

we'veprettymuchgoneasfaraswecango,“saysanthropologistWilliamCameronChumleaofWrightState

University.InthecaseofNBAplayers,theirincreaseinheightappearstoresultfromtheincreasinglycommon

practiceofrecruitingplayersfromallovertheworld.

Growth,whichrarelycontinuesbeyondtheageof20,demandscaloriesandnutrients—notably,protein—to

feedexpandingtissues.Atthestartofthe20thcentury,under-nutritionandchildhoodinfectionsgotintheway.

Butasdietandhealthimproved,childrenandadolescentshave,onaverage,increasedinheightbyaboutaninch

andahalfevery20years,apatternknownastheseculartrendinheight.YetaccordingtotheCentersforDisease

ControlandPrevention,averageheight—5'9〃formen,54〃forwomen—hasn'treallychangedsince1960.

Geneticallyspeaking,thereareadvantagestoavoidingsubstantialheight.Duringchildbirth,largerbabies

havemoredifficultypassingthroughthebirthcanal.Moreover,eventhoughhumanshavebeenuprightfor

millionsofyears,ourfeetandbackcontinuetostrugglewithbipedalpostureandcannoteasilywithstandrepeated

strainimposedbyoversizelimbs.'Therearesomerealconstraintsthataresetbythegeneticarchitectureofthe

individualorganism,saysanthropologistWilliamLeonardofNorthwesternUniversity.

Geneticmaximumscanchange,butdon'texpectthistohappensoon.ClaireC.Gordon,senioranthropologist

attheArmyResearchCenterinNatick,Mass.,ensuresthat90percentoftheuniformsandworkstationsfitrecruits

withoutalteration.Shesaysthat,unlikethoseforbasketball,thelengthofmilitaryuniformshasnotchangedfor

sometime.Andifyouneedtopredicthumanheightinthenearfuturetodesignapieceofequipment,Gordon

saysthatbyandlarge,<4youcouldusetoday'sdataandfeelfairlyconfident.”

31.WiltChamberlainiscitedasanexampleto

A.illustratethechangeofheightofNBAplayers.

B.showthepopularityofNBAplayersintheU.S..

C.comparedifferentgenerationsofNBAplayers.

D.assesstheachievementsoffamousNBAplayers.

32.Whichofthefollowingplaysakeyroleinbodygrowthaccordingtothetext?

A.Geneticmodification.B.Naturalenvironment.

C.Livingstandards.D.Dailyexercise.

33.Onwhichofthefollowingstatementswouldtheauthormostprobablyagree?

A.Non-Americansaddtotheaverageheightofthenation.

B.Humanheightisconditionedbytheuprightposture.

C.Americansarethetallestonaverageintheworld.

D.Largerbabiestendtobecometallerinadulthood.

34.Welearnfromthelastparagraphthatinthenearfuture

A.thegarmentindustrywillreconsidertheuniformsize.

B.thedesignofmilitaryuniformswillremainunchanged.

C.genetictestingwillbeemployedinselectingsportsmen.

D.theexistingdataofhumanheightwillstillbeapplicable.

35.Thetextintendstotellusthat

A.thechangeofhumanheightfollowsacyclicpattern.

B.humanheightisbecomingevenmorepredictable.

C.Americanshavereachedtheirgeneticgrowthlimit.

D.thegeneticpatternofAmericanshasaltered.

Text4

In1784,fiveyearsbeforehebecamepresidentoftheUnitedStates,GeorgeWashington,52,wasnearly

toothless.Sohehiredadentisttotransplantnineteethintohisjaw-havingextractedthemfromthemouthsofhis

slaves.

That'safardifferentimagefromthecherry-tree-choppingGeorgemostpeoplerememberfromtheirhistory

books.Butrecently,manyhistorianshavebeguntofocusontherolesslaveryplayedinthelivesofthefounding

generation.TheyhavebeenspurredinpartbyDNAevidencemadeavailablein1998,whichalmostcertainly

provedThomasJeffersonhadfatheredatleastonechildwithhisslaveSallyHemings.Andonlyoverthepast30

yearshavescholarsexaminedhistoryfromthebottomup.Worksofseveralhistoriansrevealthemoral

compromisesmadebythenation'searlyleadersandthefragilenatureofthecountry'sinfancy.Moresignificantly,

theyarguethatmanyoftheFoundingFathersknewslaverywaswrong-andyetmostdidlittletofightit.

Morethananything,thehistorianssay,thefounderswerehamperedbythecultureoftheirtime.While

WashingtonandJeffersonprivatelyexpresseddistasteforslavery,theyalsounderstoodthatitwaspartofthe

politicalandeconomicbedrockofthecountrytheyhelpedtocreate.

Foronething,theSouthcouldnotaffordtopartwithitsslaves.Owningslaveswas“l(fā)ikehavingalargebank

account/*saysWiencek,authorofAnImperfectGod:GeorgeWashington,HisSlaves,andtheCreationof

America.ThesouthernstateswouldnothavesignedtheConstitutionwithoutprotectionsforthe"'peculiar

institution,includingaclausethatcountedaslaveasthreefifthsofamanforpurposesofcongressional

representation.

Andthestatesmen'spoliticallivesdependedonslavery.Thethree-fifthsformulahandedJeffersonhisnarrow

victoryinthepresidentialelectionof1800byinflatingthevotesofthesouthernstatesintheElectoralCollege.

Onceinoffice,JeffersonextendedslaverywiththeLouisianaPurchasein1803;thenewlandwascarvedinto13

states,includingthreeslavestates.

Still,JeffersonfreedHemings'schildren—thoughnotHemingsherselforhisapproximately150otherslaves.

Washington,whohadbeguntobelievethatallmenwerecreatedequalafterobservingthebraveryoftheblack

soldiersduringtheRevolutionaryWar,overcamethestrongoppositionofhisrelativestogranthisslavestheir

freedominhiswill.Onlyadecadeearlier,suchanactwouldhaverequiredlegislativeapprovalinVirginia.

36.GeorgeWashington'sdentalsurgeryismentionedto

A.showtheprimitivemedicalpracticeinthepast.

B.demonstratethecrueltyofslaveryinhisdays.

C.stresstheroleofslavesintheU.S.history.

D.revealsomeunknownaspectofhislife.

37.Wemayinferfromthesecondparagraphthat

A.DNAtechnologyhasbeenwidelyappliedtohistoryresearch.

B.initsearlydaystheU.S.wasconfrontedwithdelicatesituations.

C.historiansdeliberatelymadeupsomestoriesofJefferson'slife.

D.politicalcompromisesareeasilyfoundthroughouttheU.S.history.

38.WhatdowelearnaboutThomasJefferson?

A.Hispoliticalviewchangedhisattitudetowardsslavery.

B.Hisstatusasafathermadehimfreethechildslaves.

C.Hisattitudetowardsslaverywascomplex.

D.Hisaffairwithaslavestainedhisprestige.

39.Whichofthefollowingistrueaccordingtothetext?

A.SomeFoundingFathersbenefitpoliticallyfromslavery.

B.Slavesintheolddaysdidnothavetherighttovote.

C.Slaveownersusuallyhadlargesavingsaccounts.

D.Slaverywasregardedasapeculiarinstitution.

40.Washington'sdecisiontofreeslavesoriginatedfromhis

A.moralconsiderations.B.militaryexperience.

C.financialconditions.D.politicalstand.

2007Text1

Ifyouweretoexaminethebirthcertificateofeverysoccerplayerin2006'sWorldCuptournament,you

wouldmostlikelyfindanoteworthyquirk:elitesoccerplayersaremorelikelytohavebeenbornintheearlier

monthsoftheyearthaninthelatermonths.IfyouthenexaminedtheEuropeannationalyouthteamsthatfeedthe

WorldCupandprofessionalranks,youwouldfindthisstrangephenomenontobeevenmorepronounced.

Whatmightaccountforthisstrangephenomenon?Hereareafewguesses:a)certainastrologicalsignsconfer

superiorsoccerskills;b)winter-bornbabiestendtohavehigheroxygencapacity,whichincreasessoccerstamina;

c)soccer-madparentsaremorelikelytoconceivechildreninspringtime,attheannualpeakofsoccermania;d)

noneoftheabove.

AndersEricsson,a58-year-oldpsychologyprofessoratFloridaStateUniversity,sayshebelievesstronglyin

“noneoftheabove.EricssongrewupinSweden,andstudiednuclearengineeringuntilherealizedhewouldhave

moreopportunitytoconducthisownresearchifheswitchedtopsychology.Hisfirstexperiment,nearly30years

ago,involvedmemory:trainingapersontohearandthenrepeatarandomseriesofnumbers."Withthefirst

subject,afterabout20hoursoftraining,hisdigitspanhadrisenfrom7to20,“Ericssonrecalls."Hekept

improving,andafterabout200hoursoftraininghehadrisentoover80numbers.^^

Thissuccess,coupledwithlaterresearchshowingthatmemoryitselfisnotgeneticallydetermined,led

Ericssontoconcludethattheactofmemorizingismoreofacognitiveexercisethananintuitiveone.Inother

words,whateverinborndifferencestwopeoplemayexhibitintheirabilitiestomemorize,thosedifferencesare

swampedbyhowwelleachperson“encodes”theinformation.Andthebestwaytolearnhowtoencode

informationmeaningfully,Ericssondetermined,wasaprocessknownasdeliberatepractice.Deliberatepractice

entailsmorethansimplyrepeatingatask.Rather,itinvolvessettingspecificgoals,obtainingimmediatefeedback

andconcentratingasmuchontechniqueasonoutcome.

Ericssonandhiscolleagueshavethustakentostudyingexpertperformersinawiderangeofpursuits,

includingsoccer.Theygatherallthedatatheycan,notjustperformancestatisticsandbiographicaldetailsbutalso

theresultsoftheirownlaboratoryexperimentswithhighachievers.Theirworkmakesaratherstartlingassertion:

thetraitwecommonlycalltalentishighlyoverrated.Or,putanotherway,expertperformers—whetherinmemory

orsurgery,balletorcomputerprogramming—arenearlyalwaysmade,notbom.

21.Thebirthdayphenomenonfoundamongsoccerplayersismentionedto

A.stresstheimportanceofprofessionaltraining.

B.spotlightthesoccersuperstarsintheWorldCup.

C.introducethetopicofwhatmakesexpertperformance.

D.explainwhysomesoccerteamsplaybetterthanothers.

22.Theword“mania”(Line4,Paragraph2)mostprobablymeans

A.funB.crazeC.hysteriaD.excitement

23.AccordingtoEricsson,goodmemory

A.dependsonmeaningfulprocessingofinformation.

B.resultsfromintuitiveratherthancognitiveexercises.

C.isdeterminedbygeneticratherthanpsychologicalfactors.

D.requiresimmediatefeedbackandahighdegreeofconcentration.

24.Ericssonandhiscolleaguesbelievethat

A.talentisadominatingfactorfbrprofessionalsuccess.

B.biographicaldataprovidethekeytoexcellentperformance.

C.theroleoftalenttendstobeoverlooked.

D.highachieversowetheirsuccessmostlytonurture.

25.Whichofthefollowingproverbsisclosesttothemessagethetexttriestoconvey?

A.”Faithwillmovemountains.^^B.“Onereapswhatonesows.”

C."Practicemakesperfect."D.“Likefather,likeson.^^

Text2

Forthepastseveralyears,theSundaynewspapersupplementParadehasfeaturedacolumncalled“Ask

Marilyn."PeopleareinvitedtoqueryMarilynvosSavant,whoatage10hadtestedatamentallevelofsomeone

about23yearsold;thatgaveheranIQof228—thehighestscoreeverrecorded.IQtestsaskyoutocomplete

verbalandvisualanalogies,toenvisionpaperafterithasbeenfoldedandcut,andtodeducenumericalsequences,

amongothersimilartasks.SoitisabitconfusingwhenvosSavantfieldssuchqueriesfromtheaverageJoe

(whoseIQis1(X))as,What'sthedifferencebetweenloveandfondness?Orwhatisthenatureofluckand

coincidence?It'snotobvioushowthecapacitytovisualizeobjectsandtofigureoutnumericalpatternssuitsoneto

answerquestionsthathaveeludedsomeofthebestpoetsandphilosophers.

Clearly,intelligenceencompassesmorethanascoreonatest.Justwhatdoesitmeantobesmart?Howmuch

ofintelligencecanbespecified,andhowmuchcanwelearnaboutitfromneurology,genetics,computerscience

andotherfields?

ThedefiningtermofintelligenceinhumansstillseemstobetheIQscore,eventhoughIQtestsarenotgiven

asoftenastheyusedtobe.Thetestcomesprimarilyintwoforms:theStanford-BinetIntelligenceScaleandthe

WechslerIntelligenceScales(bothcomeinadultandchildren'sversion).Generallycostingseveralhundred

dollars,theyareusuallygivenonlybypsychologists,althoughvariationsofthempopulatebookstoresandthe

WorldWideWeb.SuperhighscoreslikevosSavant'sarenolongerpossible,becausescoringisnowbasedona

statisticalpopulationdistributionamongagepeers,ratherthansimplydividingthementalagebythe

chronologicalageandmultiplyingby100.Otherstandardizedtests,suchastheScholasticAssessmentTest(SAT)

andtheGraduateRecordExam(GRE),capturethemainaspectsofIQtests.

Suchstandardizedtestsmaynotassessalltheimportantelementsnecessarytosucceedinschoolandinlife,

arguesRobertJ.Sternberg.Inhisarticle“HowIntelligentIsIntelligenceTesting?”，Sternbergnotesthattraditional

testsbestassessanalyticalandverbalskillsbutfailtomeasurecreativityandpracticalknowledge,components

alsocriticaltoproblemsolvingandlifesuccess.Moreover,IQtestsdonotnecessarilypredictsowellonce

populationsorsituationschange.ResearchhasfoundthatIQpredictedleadershipskillswhenthetestsweregiven

underlow-stressconditions,butunderhigh-stressconditions,IQwasnegativelycorrelatedwithleadership-that

is,itpredictedtheopposite.AnyonewhohastoiledthroughSATwilltestifythattest-takingskillalsomatters,

whetherit'sknowingwhentoguessorwhatquestionstoskip.

26.Whichofthefollowingmayberequiredinanintelligencetest?

A.Answeringphilosophicalquestions.

B.Foldingorcuttingpaperintodifferentshapes.

C.Tellingthedifferencesbetweencertainconcepts.

D.Choosingwordsorgraphssimilartothegivenones.

27.WhatcanbeinferredaboutintelligencetestingfromParagraph3?

A.PeoplenolongeruseIQscoresasanindicatorofintelligence.

B.MoreversionsofIQtestsarenowavailableontheInternet.

C.Thetestcontentsandformatsforadultsandchildrenmaybedifferent.

D.Scientistshavedefinedtheimportantelementsofhumanintelligence.

28.PeoplenowadayscannolongerachieveIQscoresashighasvosSavant'sbecause

A.thescoresareobtainedthroughdifferentcomputationalprocedures.

B.creativityratherthananalyticalskillsisemphasizednow.

C.vosSavant'scaseisanextremeonethatwillnotrepeat.

D.thedefiningcharacteristicofIQtestshaschanged.

29.Wecanconcludefromthelastparagraphthat

A.testscoresmaynotbereliableindicatorsofone'sability.

B.IQscoresandSATresultsarehighlycorrelated.

C.testinginvolvesalotofguesswork.

D.traditionaltestsareoutofdate.

30.Whatistheauthor'sattitudetowardsIQtests?

A.SupportiveB.SkepticalC.ImpartialD.Biased

Text3

Duringthepastgeneration,theAmericanmiddle-classfamilythatoncecouldcountonhardworkandfair

playtokeepitselffinanciallysecurehasbeentransformedbyeconomicriskandnewrealities.Nowapinkslip,a

baddiagnosis,oradisappearingspousecanreduceafamilyfromsolidlymiddleclasstonewlypoorinafew

months.

Injustonegeneration,millionsofmothershavegonetowork,transformingbasicfamilyeconomics.

Scholars,policymakers,andcriticsofallstripeshavedebatedthesocialimplicationsofthesechanges,butfew

havelookedattheside-effect:familyriskhasrisenaswell.Today'sfamilieshavebudgetedtothelimitsoftheir

newtwo-paycheckstatus.Asaresult,theyhavelosttheparachutetheyoncehadintimesoffinancialsetbacks-a

back-upearner(usuallyMom)whocouldgointotheworkforceiftheprimaryearnergotlaidofforfellsick.This

“added-workereffect”couldsupportthesafetynetofferedbyunemploymentinsuranceordisabilityinsuranceto

helpfamiliesweatherbadtimes.Buttoday,adisruptiontofamilyfortunescannolongerbemadeupwithextra

incomefromanotherwise-stay-at-homepartne匚

Duringthesameperiod,familieshavebeenaskedtoabsorbmuchmoreriskintheirretirementincome.

Steelworkers,airlineemployees,andnowthoseintheautoindustryarejoiningmillionsoffamilieswhomust

worryaboutinterestrates,stockmarketfluctuation,andtheharshrealitythattheymayoutlivetheirretirement

money.Formuchofthepastyear,PresidentBushcampaignedtomoveSocialSecuritytoasavings-accountmodel,

withretireestradingmuchoralloftheirguaranteedpaymentsforpaymentsdependingoninvestmentreturns.For

youngerfamilies,thepictureisnotanybetter.Boththeabsolutecostofhealthcareandtheshareofitborneby

familieshaverisen—andnewlyfashionablehealth-savingsplansarespreadingfromlegislativehallstoWal-Mart

workers,withmuchhigherdeductiblesandalargenewdoseofinvestmentriskfbrfamilies'futurehealthcare.

Evendemographicsareworkingagainstthemiddleclassfamily,astheoddsofhavingaweakelderlyparent-and

alltheattendantneedforphysicalandfinancialassistance—havejumpedeightfoldinjustonegeneration.

Fromthemiddle-classfamilyperspective,muchofthis,understandably,looksfarlesslikeanopportunityto

exercisemorefinancialresponsibility,andagooddealmorelikeafrighteningaccelerationofthewholesaleshift

offinancialriskontotheiralreadyoverburdenedshoulders.Thefinancialfallouthasbegun,andthepolitical

falloutmaynotbefarbehind.

31.Today'sdouble-incomefamiliesareatgreaterfinancialri