美越来越多的人有照顾自家老人一托福阅读机经背景3.docxVIP

智课网TOEFL备考资料 美越来越多的人有偿照顾自家老人一托福阅读机经背景   Millions of Americans are looking after an older family member. A survey a few years ago put the value of family care-giving at $375 billion a year. And while care-giving has traditionally been something family members do for their elders, a growing minority of these caregivers is actually paid to do the job.  在美国，数百万家庭里会有一位老人需要照顾。几年前的一个调查把家庭对老人照顾一年的价值估计为3750亿美元。传统上，家人照顾老人是天经地义的事情，但是现在，有越来越多的人做这件事会得到酬劳。  Since the economic downturn began, elder law attorneys across the country have been drawing up more contracts that deal with how to care for mom or dad, and get compensated for it.  从经济衰退开始起，美国各地的老龄法律师们起草了更多关于如何照顾父母而且得到酬劳的合同。  Paying for family care  David Fowler and his wife, Gloria, take care of his 94-year-old mother Mary Ruth, a retired teacher. She was widowed in the 1960s and lived on her own until a few years ago. But when her eyesight started failing, they moved her from Indianapolis into their home in Ogallala, Nebraska.  戴维·福勒和妻子一起照顾94岁的老母亲玛丽·鲁斯。玛丽是位退休教师，从1960年代开始守寡，直到几年前还独立生活。当玛丽的视力开始衰退时，儿子和儿媳妇把她从印第安纳州接到了他们位于内布拉斯加州的家中。  Mary Ruth is blind now but she’s still pretty self-sufficient. She climbs the stairs and dresses herself, although David and Gloria lay out her clothes. She’s started showing signs of dementia, so they make sure she takes her medication as directed.  玛丽现在已经双目失明，但仍然行动自如。她能够自己爬楼梯，自己穿衣服，当然，戴维和妻子格洛利亚需要帮她把衣服准备好。玛丽开始显现出老年痴呆的症状，因此戴维和妻子把药送到她房间去，确保按时服药。  David says it’s a joy to care for his mom and he’d do it for free, but he doesn’t. Mary Ruth pays her son $1,000 a month as part of an agreement that was initially his brother???s idea.  戴维说，照顾母亲对他来说是一件开心的事情，他愿意无偿地做这件事情，但事实上他是有偿的。根据哥哥的建议，母亲每个月付给戴维1000美元作为照顾费。  At first we were kind of uncomfortable with what he was talking about because…..I don’t want to make a profit off of my mother, says David. That’s just not in our way of thinking.  他说：“一开始哥哥的建议让我