Against a backdrop of drastic changes in economy and population structure, younger Americans are drawing a new 21st-century road map to success, a latest poll has found.

Across generational lines, Americans continue to prize many of the same traditional milestones of a successful life, including getting married, having children, owning a home, and retiring in their sixties. But while young and old mostly agree on what constitutes the finish line of a fulfilling life, they offer strikingly different paths for reaching it.

Young people who are still getting started in life were more likely than older adults to prioritize personal fulfillment in their work, to believe they will advance their careers most by regularly changing jobs, to favor communities with more public services and a faster pace of life, to agree that couples should be financially secure before getting married or having children, and to maintain that children are best served by two parents working outside the home, the survey found.

From career to community and family, these contrasts suggest that in the aftermath of the searing Great Recession, those just starting out in life are defining priorities and expectations that will increasingly spread through virtually all aspects of American life, from consumer preferences to housing patterns to politics.

Young and old converge on one key point: Overwhelming majorities of both groups said they believe it is harder for young people today to get started in life than it was for earlier generations. While younger people are somewhat more optimistic than their elders about the prospects for those starting out today, big majorities in both groups believe those “just getting started in life” face a tougher climb than earlier generations in reaching such signpost achievements as securing a good-paying job, starting a family, managing debt, and finding affordable housing.

Pete Schneider considers the climb tougher today. Schneider, a 27-year-old auto technician from the Chicago suburbs, says he struggled to find a job after graduating from college. Even now that he is working steadily, he said, “I can’t afford to pay my monthly mortgage payments on my own, so I have to rent rooms out to people to make that happen.” Looking back, he is struck that his parents could provide a comfortable life for their children even though neither had completed college when he was young. “I still grew up in an upper middle-class home with parents who didn’t have college degrees,” Schneider said. “I don’t think people are capable of that anymore.”

1.One cross-generation mark of a successful life is _________.

A trying out different lifestyles

B having a family with children

C working beyond retirement age

D setting up a profitable business

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。由a successful life定位到第二段，根据第一句可知跨越几代人，成功的标志都包括结婚生子，故选B。

2.It can be learned from Paragraph 3 that young people tend to _________.

A favor a slower life pace

B hold an occupation longer

C attach importance to pre-marital finance

D give priority to childcare outside the home

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。根据Paragraph 3定位到第三段，根据couples should be financially secure before getting married or having children可知年轻人认为夫妻在结婚前或生小孩前应该经济稳定，故选C。

3.The priorities and expectations defined by the young will _________.

A become increasingly clear

B focus on materialistic issues

C depend largely on political preferences

D reach almost all aspects of American life

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。由priorities and expectations定位到第四段，根据最后一句可知，这些将渗透到美国生活的各个方面，故选D。

4.Both young and old agree that _________.

A good-paying jobs are less available

B the old made more life achievements

C housing loans today are easy to obtain

D getting established is harder for the young

解析：选D。D 细节理解题。由young and old定位到第五段，根据第一句可知与年长者相比，如今的年轻人维持生计更加艰难，故选D。

5.Which of the following is true about Schneider?

A He found a dream job after graduating from college.

B His parents believe working steadily is a must for success.

C His parents’ good life has little to do with a college degree.

D He thinks his job as a technician quite challenging.

解析：选C。C 细节理解题。由Schneider定位到最后一段，根据his parents could provide a comfortable life for their children even though neither had completed college可知即便他的父母没有上过大学，他们仍可以为孩子提供舒适的生活，故选C。