A study involving8,500 teenagers from all social backgrounds found that most of them are ignorant when it comes to money. The findings,the first in a series of reports from NatWest that has started a fiveyear research project into teenagers and money,are particularly worrying as this generation of young people is likely to be burdened with greater debts than any before.

  University tuition fees (学费) are currently capped at £3,000 annually,but this will be reviewed next year and the government is under enormous pressure to raise the ceiling.

  In the research,the teenagers were presented with the terms of four different loans but 76 per cent failed to identify the cheapest. The young people also predicted that they would be earning on average£31,000 by the age of 25,although the average salary for those aged 22 to29 is just£ 17,815. The teenagers were expected to be in debt when they finished university or training,although half said that they assumed the debts would be less than £l0,000. Average debts for graduates are£ 12,363.

  Stephen Moir,head of community investment at the Royal Bank of Scotland Group which owns NatWest,said, "The more exposed young people are to financial is?sues,and the younger they become aware of them,the more likely they are to become responsible,forwardplan?ning adults who manage their finances confidently and ef?fectively."

  Ministers are deeply concerned about the financial pressures on teenagers and young people because of student loans and rising housing costs. They have just in?troduced new lessons in how to manage debts. Nikki Fairweather,aged15,from St Helens,said that she had ben?efited from lessons on personal finance,but admitted that she still had a lot to learn about money.

18. Which of the following can be found from the fiveyear research project?

   A. Students understand personal finances differently.

   B. University tuition fees in England have been ris?ing.

   C. Teenagers tend to overestimate their future earn?ings.

   D. The students' payback ability has become a major issue.

19. The underlined phrase "to raise the ceiling" in Para?graph2 probably means"       ".

   A. to raise the student loans

   B. to improve the school facilities

   C. to increase the upper limit of the tuition

   D. to lift the school building roofs

20. According to Stephen Moir,students      

   A. are too young to be exposed to financial issues

   B. should learn to manage their finances well

   C. should maintain a positive attitude when facing loans

   D. benefit a lot from lessons on personal finance

21. What can we learn from the passage?

   A. Many British teenagers do not know money mat?ters well.

   B. Teenagers in Britain are heavily burdened with debts.

   C. Financial planning is a required course at college.

   D. Young people should become responsible adults.

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