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1新视野三版读写B2U3TextAJourneythroughtheodysseyyears1Mostofusknowaboutthephasesoflifewhichwelabeltoparalleldifferentagegroupsandlifestages:childhood,adolescence,adulthood,andoldage.Wethinkofinfancybeforechildhoodandmiddleagebeforeoldage,witheachuniquephasebringingitsownpeculiarsetofchallenges.Thesechallengescanbeovercomebyacquaintingourselveswiththem,suchasthechild'sneedtolearn,theadult'sneedtofindtherightcareerandbuildafamily,andthesenior'sneedforsupportandgoodhealthcare.2Interestingly,ideasaboutthestagesoflifearechanging.3Inprevioustimes,peopledidn'thaveasolidideaofchildhoodasbeingseparatefromadulthood.Ahundredyearsago,noonethoughtofadolescence.Untilrecentlyitwasunderstoodasanormthattheirinductiontoadulthoodwascompletedassoonastheygraduatedfromcollege.Theywouldnowfindasensiblejobwhichwouldleadtoacareer.Thenduringthiscareertheywouldstartafamily,idealybeforetheyturned30.4Todaywehaveanequivalentneedtorecognizeanewphaseoflifethatcomesafterhighschoolgraduation,continuesthroughcollege,andthenleadstostartingafamilyandhavingacareer,theso-caledodysseyyears.Recenttrendsshowradicalchangesasyoungpeoplearefolowingadifferentagenda.Theytakebreaksfromschool,livewithfriendsandoftenreturntolivingwiththeirparents.Similarly,theyfallinandoutoflove,quitonejobandtryanotherorevenshifttoanewcareer.So,weneedtorecognizethisnewstage,theodysseyyears,whichmanynowconsidertobeanunavoidablestageinreachingadulthood.5Peoplewhowerebornpriortothe60sor70sinthelastcenturytendedtoframetheirconceptofadulthoodbaseduponachievingcertainaccomplishments:movingawayfromhome,becomingfinancialyindependent,findingtherightspouseandstartingafamily.Butthatemphasisonstabilitydidnotremainstatic.Today,youngpeopleareunlikelytodothesame.Duringtheodysseyyears,ahighproportionofyoungpeoplearedelayingmarriage,childbearing,andevenemployment.6Theodysseyyearscansaddleyoungpeoplewithenormouspressuretomoveforwardquickly.Asthesoleheirandfocusoftheirparents'expectations,hopesanddreams,somereactwithrebelliousandpridefulattitudesand2behaviortowardtheirparents.Theyoftenresentthepressurethey'refeelingandkeepadistancefromtheirparentsorevenrunawayfromhome.Theirconfusioncomesfromthedifficultiestomakeparentsunderstandthemandthefluidjourneyofdiscoverytheyneedinthisphaseoftheirlives.Togetawayfromthisconfusionandupset,manyyoungpeopleresorttocomputergames,iPods,iPhones,oriPads,tohelpdistractthemfromtheirpainandstress.7Likewise,theirparentsarefeelingmoreanxious.Theymaymakeallowancesforatransitionphasefromstudentlifetoadultlife,buttheygetupsetwhentheyseethetransitionoftheirgrownchildren'slivesmovingawayfromtheirexpectationsandstretchingfiveyearstosevenyears,andbeyond.Theparentsdon'tevendetectaclearsenseofdirectionintheirchildren'slives.Theylookatthemandseethethingsthatarebeingdelayed.8It'shardtopredictwhat'snext.Newguidelineshaven'tbeenestablishedyet,andeverythingseemstogivewaytoalesspermanentversionofitself.There'sbeenashiftinthestatusandbalanceofpowerbetweenthegenders,too.Morewomenaregettingdegreesthanmen.Malewageshaveremainedstableoverthepastdecades,whilefemalewageshaveboomed.9Apartfromanythingelse,thishashadanimpliciteffectoncourtship.Educatedwomencangetmanyofthethingstheywant,suchassecurity,accomplishment,andidentitywithoutmarriage.However,bothgendersarehavingahardertimefindingsuitablematestobuildtheirliveswith.Consideringallofthis,it'sbeneficialtoknowthateventhoughgraduatesaredelayingmanythingsaftercollege,surveysshowtheystillholdhighlytraditionalaspirations.Forexample,thiscontemporarygenerationratesparenthoodevenmorehighlythanpreviousgenerationsdid!10Thisnewphasewilllikelygrowmorepronouncedinthecomingyears.Nationsaroundtheworldhavewitnessedsimilartrendstowarddelayingmarriageandspendingmoreyearsthanevershiftingbetweenhighereducationandsettlingdownwithacareerandfamily.11Nevertheless,graduatesshouldn'tbedeceivedintothinkingtheycanbackoffsimplybecausethingshavebecomemoredifficult.Alargenumberofpeoplechasingrelativelyfeweropportunitiescancreatestrongcompetitivepressure.So,fromtheoutset,keepyourresumeprofessionalandup-to-date.12Toreinforcethisessentialmessage,successmovingthroughtheodysseyyearswillcometothosewhodon'texpecttoachievetheirgoalsrightawaybutknowthattheymusthavethestrength,capacityandconfidencetoendureoverthelongterm.Ifyou'realittlelatewithyourgoals,don'tfeellikeafailure!Stay3strong,bepositive,andkeepfocused!Somedayyouwilllookbackandwonderatthevastchangesasyoupassedthroughtheodysseyyears.LanguagePoints:1Mostofusknowaboutthephasesoflifewhichwelabeltoparalleldifferentagegroupsandlifestages:childhood,adolescence,adulthood,andoldage.(Para.1)Meaning:Mostofusknowaboutthedifferentlifestagesthatwedescribeaccordingtodifferentagegroups:childhood,adolescence,adulthood,andoldage.2Wethinkofinfancybeforechildhoodandmiddleagebeforeoldage,witheachuniquephasebringingitsownpeculiarsetofchallenges.(Para.1)Meaning:Wesequencethelifestagesofinfancy,childhood,middleageandoldageaccordingtotheirnaturalorder,witheachparticularlifestagefacingitsownfeaturedchallenges.Sentencestructurenote:“with＋名词/代词＋现在分词”作独立