Never has a generation of young people spent so much money yet understood so little about how tc manage it．Over the past decade，the average credit-card debt of Americans ages 18 t0 24 doubled，tc nearly$3，000．Among high school seniors，4 0ut of 5 have never taken a personal-finance class．but nearly half have an ATM debit card，and more than a quarter have bounced a check。according to a survey of 5，775 teens，released in April by the nonprofit JumpStart Coalition for Financial Literacy．①If those trends continue，declaring bankruptcy could become as common as earning a bachelor’s degree．
The scourge of financial illiteracy is worrisome not only for young debtors but also for their parents， many of whom are facing retirement and can’t keep bailing out their kids forever．o But at least one financial institution has found a way to capitalize on the problem．San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Bank has launched an online role-playing video game aimed at teaching teens and young adults the basics ot financial management--with no strings attached。although Wells Fargo wouldn’t object if users ended up opening accounts at the bank．o The game can be found at stagecoachisland．corn and works only on Windows machines．
The biggest challenge，says Erik Hauser of Swivel Media，who developed the game，was to find a way tc engage kids’attention．“They’re used to instant messagin9，instant gratification and instant puddin9．We had to find an approach that wasn’t dry or static．”Players travel around a fantasy world。plunking down virtual cash at the malt or a car-rental agency，and earn spending money at any of the island’s seven virtual ATMs by taking quizzes(after a brief tutoHal)on such real-world fundamentals as credit，auto loans and online bankin9．④Sample question．Whatt does APR stand for?a)account percentage rate，b)average parcel rate，Anlerican paper route or d)annual percentage rate．For choosing d，you net$15 plus a shockingly generous10％interest each day on your virtual savings account．
But no computer game alone can cure adolescent financial ignorance．Some curriculum experts wonder why high schools are still teaching algebra，trigonometry and calculus but not the financial skills their students will need to survive in the real world，such as how to fill out tax forms。compare interest rates or calculate the return on an investment．“More schools need to offer money-management classes，”says Lewis Mandell，a finance professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo who oversaw the JumpS[art research．“The curriculum has to be made relevant to their lives．”[431 words]
1．The first paragraph is primarily intended to illustrate ______．
A．the life style of young generation
B．the financial state of high school seniors
C．the survey released by a nonprofit agency
D．the serious financial illiteracy among adolescents
2．Financial illiteracy of the youth is likely to lcad to ______．
A．the increase of young debtors
B．the declaration of bankruptcy
C．the worry of most retiring parents
D．the prosperity of a financial institution
3．According to the text，Wells Fargo Bank ______．
A．has heavily invested in financial education
B．is extremely interested in fostering financial literacy
C．makes the best use of young people’s financial illiteracy
D．tries to win more clients by launching an online video game
4．The video game developed by Erik Hauser ______．
A．contributes to the elimination of financial illiteracy
B．offers a brief tutorial to those who are willing to play
C．engages kids’attention by providing instant message
D．gratifies its players instantly by offering cash to them
5．According to some financial experts，adolescents ______．
A．should spend less time playing computer games
B．should attend less mathematics classes at school
C．should cure their financialignorance as soon as possible
D．should be given more opportunity to study financial skills
The scourge of financial illiteracy is worrisome not only for young debtors but also for their parents， many of whom are facing retirement and can’t keep bailing out their kids forever．o But at least one financial institution has found a way to capitalize on the problem．San Francisco-based Wells Fargo Bank has launched an online role-playing video game aimed at teaching teens and young adults the basics ot financial management--with no strings attached。although Wells Fargo wouldn’t object if users ended up opening accounts at the bank．o The game can be found at stagecoachisland．corn and works only on Windows machines．
The biggest challenge，says Erik Hauser of Swivel Media，who developed the game，was to find a way tc engage kids’attention．“They’re used to instant messagin9，instant gratification and instant puddin9．We had to find an approach that wasn’t dry or static．”Players travel around a fantasy world。plunking down virtual cash at the malt or a car-rental agency，and earn spending money at any of the island’s seven virtual ATMs by taking quizzes(after a brief tutoHal)on such real-world fundamentals as credit，auto loans and online bankin9．④Sample question．Whatt does APR stand for?a)account percentage rate，b)average parcel rate，Anlerican paper route or d)annual percentage rate．For choosing d，you net$15 plus a shockingly generous10％interest each day on your virtual savings account．
But no computer game alone can cure adolescent financial ignorance．Some curriculum experts wonder why high schools are still teaching algebra，trigonometry and calculus but not the financial skills their students will need to survive in the real world，such as how to fill out tax forms。compare interest rates or calculate the return on an investment．“More schools need to offer money-management classes，”says Lewis Mandell，a finance professor at the State University of New York at Buffalo who oversaw the JumpS[art research．“The curriculum has to be made relevant to their lives．”[431 words]
1．The first paragraph is primarily intended to illustrate ______．
A．the life style of young generation
B．the financial state of high school seniors
C．the survey released by a nonprofit agency
D．the serious financial illiteracy among adolescents
2．Financial illiteracy of the youth is likely to lcad to ______．
A．the increase of young debtors
B．the declaration of bankruptcy
C．the worry of most retiring parents
D．the prosperity of a financial institution
3．According to the text，Wells Fargo Bank ______．
A．has heavily invested in financial education
B．is extremely interested in fostering financial literacy
C．makes the best use of young people’s financial illiteracy
D．tries to win more clients by launching an online video game
4．The video game developed by Erik Hauser ______．
A．contributes to the elimination of financial illiteracy
B．offers a brief tutorial to those who are willing to play
C．engages kids’attention by providing instant message
D．gratifies its players instantly by offering cash to them
5．According to some financial experts，adolescents ______．
A．should spend less time playing computer games
B．should attend less mathematics classes at school
C．should cure their financialignorance as soon as possible
D．should be given more opportunity to study financial skills