研究生英语多维教程熟谙Unit5英语summary.doc

The summary of Unit5 Sandwich generationIn the modern society，there are a large group，They are the so-called Sandwich generation，people who are struggling to care for both their children and their elders，often while holding down a job as well.The Sandwich generation are living a hard life. The statistics show that the proportion of seniors living with their children is decreasing，those who do move in with their children enter households profoundly changed from previous generations.Because todays seniors had fewer children than their predecessors，there are fewer family members to share the burden.They not only have some elder-care responsibilities，ranging from occasional help with groceries to fulltime care at home，but also care for their children.In fact，the parents of an average family now work 65 to 80 hours a week，up from 40 to 45 hours a week in the 1950s.To stay in the place they are working twice as hard.It lead to that they have more stress，less job satisfaction and more absence than their colleagues.That change often is overlooked amid increasing public pressure to transfer some of the governments health-care burden to individual families.But families have changed，you cannot make the assumption the people are available. Even when an elderly parent lives independently，responsibilities can weigh heavily on their children，How do they break away from their job to see a sick mother?And then they fell guilty when they leave her alone.Even if their elderly parents are not living with them，there is the stress of juggling obligations at home，to their extended family and their employer.Fortunately，there are many house holds that cope well，especially when the senior is healthy or the younger family members have outside help in times of crisis.But for many families who bear a wide range of new responsibilities，elder care can take a physical，and emotional，sacrifice.To the sandwich generation，all these responsibilities are a trouble to them，their burden will be more heavy than any generations before.