More than a million people are now part of the “sandwich generation” - stuck in the middle while financially supporting their elderly parents and adult children.

Middle-aged parents are forced to balance working full-time while spending an extra 19 hours every week caring for their older relatives, with a third paying towards their care. Meanwhile they are spending nearly £6,500 a year on children aged 22 and over - thousands of pounds more than the cost of raising a younger child.

An ageing population and the burden of children living at home longer has forced more than a million people into the so-called “sandwich generation”. The sandwich generation has pressure to keep earning in order to fund the care and lifestyles of loved ones. Thousands are taking on more hours and even starting second jobs as they struggle to afford the monumental costs. 

Parents are handing out support in all areas, with more than half funding food, household bills and helping to pay off debts. Around a third pay for medical care, just under a quarter help fund home renovations for loved ones and 11 per cent are helping to pay tuition fees. Almost half of the sandwich generation say the financial pressure is “challenging”, while a quarter have had to take out a loan to cope.

Slightly less than half of people in the sandwich generation have to balance working full-time with an average of 19 hours each week caring for a parent. Meanwhile parents can spend up to 39 hours looking after a younger relative.

The changing nature of modern families is placing real financial pressure on those who are having to provide support to more than one generation. This help often lasts for many years longer than people may have originally thought. Nobody wants to think about the possibility of getting ill or being made unemployed however the reality is that some of us will be off work for a period of time at some point in our career.

本时文内容由奇速英语国际教育研究院原创编写，禁止复制和任何商业用途，版权所有，侵权必究！

1.What pressure does the sandwich generation have?

A Earning money to support their loved ones.

B Spending extra time to care for the elderly relatives.

C Doing second jobs to cover the cost of their children.

D Paying household bills and paying off bank loans.

解析：选A。A 细节理解题。根据文章第三段The sandwich generation has pressure to keep earning in order to fund the care and lifestyles of loved ones可知，“三明治一代”的压力是要不断挣钱给老人提供赡养资金，还要支持孩子们的生活。

2.What does the underlined word “monumental”most probably mean?

A Honorary.

B Momentary.

C Massive.

D Important.

解析：选C。C 猜测词义题。根据语境中的more hours及struggle可知，中年夫妇们每天工作很长时间，甚至从事兼职工作，为的是能够支付巨大的开销。此处的monumental意为“巨大的，非常的”，而C选项Massive的意思也是巨大的。故选C。

3.What can we infer from the passage?

A The cost of raising children is higher than it used to be.

B People are often off work because of their health problems.

C Most people have to live on bank loans to make ends meet.

D Middle-aged people are faced with health risks under the pressure.

解析：选D。D 推理判断题。根据文章最后一段Nobody wants to think about the possibility of getting ill or being made unemployed however the reality is that some of us will be off work for a period of time at some point in our career尽管面临着暂时的失业，但是没有人考虑过生病后被解雇的可能性。由此判断，上有老下有小的中年夫妇们冒着损害健康的风险在辛苦工作着。

4.What percentage of the money is used on house decoration?

A Around 11%.

B Under 25%.

C Around 30%.

D More than 50%.

解析：选B。B 细节理解题。根据文章第四段…just under a quarter help fund home renovations for loved ones可知，在家庭的各项支出中，给孩子们的住房装修的支出占四分之一，即25%。

5.What is the attitude of the author toward sandwich generation?

A Negative.

B Concerned.

C Enthusiastic.

D Suspicious.

解析：选B。B 态度推断题。根据文章中使用的forced, burden, pressure, struggle, challenging, getting ill等词语可知，“三明治一代”的生活非常不易，由此判断，他们的生活状况让作者感到非常的担忧。