VOA标准英语2012--After 'Gen X', Today's Young Might be ‘Gen E’

After 'Gen X', Today's Young Might be ‘Gen E’

Americans like to give names to generations. We call those who lived through World War II, the “Greatest Generation;” those who came of age reading the beatnik poets of the 1950s, the “Beat Generation;” those for whom the reckless investors¹ in the 1970s were role models, the “Me Generation;” and those who grew up disaffected² and cynical³ at the end of the 20th Century, “Generation X.”

But we can’t seem to agree on a name for the millions of people today - young people, especially - who are flooding the Internet with their own stories, music, films and art.

A survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project found that 44 percent of Internet users are generating creative content and posting it on the web. The survey found that it would be only a slight exaggeration in some cases to say that young people spend most of their free, waking hours on the Internet or using hand-held devices, blogging, texting or posting their original work.

Some people call these do-it-yourselfers “Generation C,” for the creative content they post. Or C for “citizen media,” meaning they’re average people sharing their observations with the world. Another name some have given them is “Generation E” for “entitled,” because these folks feel they have just as much right as established writers or musicians or filmmakers to be heard. 

There are programming packages that enable musicians, including those with scant⁴ musical backgrounds, to make pretty good tunes⁵ in cyberspace⁶. Others help average people create and edit films, which is work that used to require the costly⁷ skills of experts. Critically acclaimed⁸ films have been completed on budgets as low as $218! 

Donnie Deutsch, who hosts a cable-TV show featuring creative Internet wizards, says Generation C or E is not an age group. It’s a mindset. 

“This is the first generation that’s saying, ‘You know what? We count,’ that ‘my opinion is as good as anyone else’s, and my ability to create music is as good as any musician’s,’” he says. “It’s kind of a crazy, brave new world.”

In short, readily accessible and easy-to-use technology is giving a voice to what “Generation E” may really stand for: everyday people. 

1 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

2 disaffected   

adj.（政治上）不满的，叛离的

参考例句：

• He attracts disaffected voters.他吸引了心怀不满的选民们。
• Environmental issues provided a rallying point for people disaffected with the government.环境问题把对政府不满的人们凝聚了起来。

3 cynical   

adj.(对人性或动机)怀疑的，不信世道向善的

参考例句：

• The enormous difficulty makes him cynical about the feasibility of the idea.由于困难很大，他对这个主意是否可行持怀疑态度。
• He was cynical that any good could come of democracy.他不相信民主会带来什么好处。

4 scant   

adj.不充分的，不足的；v.减缩，限制，忽略

参考例句：

• Don't scant the butter when you make a cake.做糕饼时不要吝惜奶油。
• Many mothers pay scant attention to their own needs when their children are small.孩子们小的时候，许多母亲都忽视自己的需求。

5 tunes   

n.曲调，曲子( tune的名词复数 )v.调音( tune的第三人称单数 )；调整；（给收音机、电视等）调谐；使协调

参考例句：

• a potpourri of tunes 乐曲集锦
• When things get a bit too much, she simply tunes out temporarily. 碰到事情太棘手时，她干脆暂时撒手不管。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 cyberspace   

n.虚拟信息空间，网络空间，计算机化世界

参考例句：

• She travels in cyberspace by sending messages to friends around the world.她利用电子空间给世界各地的朋友们发送信件。
• The teens spend more time in cyberspace than in the real world of friends and family.青少年花费在电脑上的时间比他们和真正的朋友及家人在一起的时间要多。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 acclaimed   

adj.受人欢迎的

参考例句：

• They acclaimed him as the best writer of the year. 他们称赞他为当年的最佳作者。
• Confuscius is acclaimed as a great thinker. 孔子被赞誉为伟大的思想家。