In the past, young people in Japan were expected to take on responsibilities to support their parents and grandparents．Now they expect to be supported well into young adulthood．The “New breed”, born since the 1960s, have never known anything but richness．Youth are seen as resistant to entering society as mature adults, to becoming social citizens．Once the great objective of reconstruction after the Second World War was accomplished, a new generation lost the motivating power that had untied the nation together．

Japan’s birth rate has been falling rapidly, partly because of the recession(衰退), and the job and financial（金融的）insecurity that it has caused．In 1999, the figure was 1．38 children per woman, the lowest ever recorded．At the same time, youth crime, although still especially low by western standards, rose to its highest level since record-keeping began 32 years ago．Likewise, the percentage of students dropping out before graduating, at 2．5% also very low by western standards, has been rising．

Entrepreneurial ( 企业家的) role models are few and far between．Bill Gates is often mentioned, but a foreign model can only have so much influence．The problem is that Japanese culture discourages people from revealing details of personal life, including such ordeal（考验）as starting a company．In the past, successful companies such as Honda or Hitachi provided role models of a sort．But today they have been faded by the downturn, and few others have risen to take their place．

Young people also quite often feel isolated from their fathers, who worked too hard at their jobs to establish much of a relationship with their children．“The one thing they’re sure of is that they don’t want to be like their fathers．And the girls don’t want to be with boys who are like their fathers, so the boys are sure not to be,” says Professor Morishma．

1．According to the passage, former young people were expected to ___________．

　 A．to enter the society before adulthood　　　　

B．to hold together

　 C．to work hard and support their family　　　　

D．to study hard and find a good job

2．The word “it” (Line 2, Para．2) most probably refers to _________．

　 A．economic recession　　　　　　　　　　 B．job unsafety

　 C．birth rate　　　　　　　　　　　　 D．financial unsafety

3．The author takes the two examples of the youth crime and students’ dropping out before graduating to show __________．

　 A．the youth are overburdened　　　　　　　　

　 B．the educational system in Japan is not satisfying

　 C．public security and order in Japan is bad

　 D．the ethnical (道德的) level of youth in Japan is falling

4．Today, entrepreneurial models are rarely found in Japan _________．

　 A．because of the discouragement of Japanese culture　 　　

B．because of the worshipping of western models

　 C．because of the lack of experience of starting a company

D．because the “new breed” don’t want to work hard

   In the past, young people in Japan were expected to take on responsibilities to support their parents and grandparents. Now they expect to be supported well into young adulthood. The “New breed”, born since the 1960s, have never known anything but richness. Youth are seen as resistant to entering society as mature adults, to becoming social citizens. Once the great objective of reconstruction after the Second World War was accomplished, a new generation lost the motivating power that had untied the nation together.

Japan’s birth rate has been falling rapidly, partly because of the recession(衰退), and the job and financial（金融的）insecurity that it has caused. In 1999, the figure was 1. 38 children per woman, the lowest ever recorded. At the same time, youth crime, although still especially low by western standards, rose to its highest level since record-keeping began 32 years ago. Likewise, the percentage of students dropping out before graduating, at 2. 5% also very low by western standards, has been rising.

Entrepreneurial ( 企业家的) role models are few and far between. Bill Gates is often mentioned, but a foreign model can only have so much influence. The problem is that Japanese culture discourages people from revealing details of personal life, including such ordeal（考验）as starting a company. In the past, successful companies such as Honda or Hitachi provided role models of a sort. But today they have been faded by the downturn, and few others have risen to take their place.

Young people also quite often feel isolated from their fathers, who worked too hard at their jobs to establish much of a relationship with their children. “The one thing they’re sure of is that they don’t want to be like their fathers. And the girls don’t want to be with boys who are like their fathers, so the boys are sure not to be,” says Professor Morishma.  

68. According to the passage, former young people were expected to ___________.

     A. to enter the society before adulthood                    

     B. to hold together

     C. to work hard and support their family                   

     D. to study hard and find a good job

69. The word “it” (Line 2, Para. 2) most probably refers to _________.

     A. economic recession                                      B. job unsafety

     C. birth rate                                                     D. financial unsafety

70. The author takes the two examples of the youth crime and students’ dropping out before graduating to show __________.

     A. the youth are overburdened                                 

     B. the educational system in Japan is not satisfying

     C. public security and order in Japan is bad

     D. the ethnical (道德的) level of youth in Japan is falling

71. Today, entrepreneurial models are rarely found in Japan _________.

     A. because of the discouragement of Japanese culture            

     B. because of the worshipping of western models

     C. because of the lack of experience of starting a company

     D. because the “new breed” don’t want to work hard