Text l Recently,the Washington Post published a survey conducted with the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University on the U.S.economy.Although black and Hispanic families were hurt by the Great Recession,it was the"non-college whites"who held the darkest view of the country.These men used to be the backbone ofan economy built by brawn and rooted in manufacturing jobs.But now,nostalgic and despondcnt in equal measure,more than half said that America"s best days were past,and 43 percent said"hard work and determination are no_guarantees of success."lf good,steady,well-paying work is the key to any person"s economic satisfaction,there are scveral reasons to be nervous about the upcoming generation.Since 2000,the labor-force participation rate of young men undcr the age of 35 without a college degree has declined more than any other age-and-gender group.Since the turn of the century,the participation rate of 16-to-24-year olds with just a high-school degrce has fallen IO points to about 70 percent.Some of this drop is attributable to rising college attendance.But not all ofit.Nine percent ofAmericans between 20 and 24 are neither in school,work,or training.For the first time since at least the 1940s,young men are more likely to be living with their parents than with romantic partners.It"s not the cost ofcollege or the weight of student loans alone that is forcing young people to stay home.Young adults without a high-school or college degree are far more likely to live with their parents.For young black men,this trend is hardly new;even in 1980s,they were more likely to live with their parents than with a spouse or girlfriend.As for what they"re doing all day,Erik Hurst,an economist at the University of Chicago,is now conducting research that suggests that non-college men who aren"t in the labor market are spending a considerable amount of their time in front of screens.Detached from the labor force,with neither a college degree nor a steady job,these men have little income.But the technological revolution in media and entertainment of the last few decades has made it cheaper than ever to divert oneself on a phone,computer,television,or video-game console.Cheap and abundant entertainment anesthetizes less-skilled and Iess-educated young men in the present.But in the long run,it cuts them off from the same things that provide meaning in middle age,according to psychological and longitudinal studies-a career,a family,and a sense of accomplishment.25.The word"anesthetize"（Para.5）is closest in meaning to

Text l Recently,the Washington Post published a survey conducted with the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University on the U.S.economy.Although black and Hispanic families were hurt by the Great Recession,it was the"non-college whites"who held the darkest view of the country.These men used to be the backbone ofan economy built by brawn and rooted in manufacturing jobs.But now,nostalgic and despondcnt in equal measure,more than half said that America"s best days were past,and 43 percent said"hard work and determination are no_guarantees of success."lf good,steady,well-paying work is the key to any person"s economic satisfaction,there are scveral reasons to be nervous about the upcoming generation.Since 2000,the labor-force participation rate of young men undcr the age of 35 without a college degree has declined more than any other age-and-gender group.Since the turn of the century,the participation rate of 16-to-24-year olds with just a high-school degrce has fallen IO points to about 70 percent.Some of this drop is attributable to rising college attendance.But not all ofit.Nine percent ofAmericans between 20 and 24 are neither in school,work,or training.For the first time since at least the 1940s,young men are more likely to be living with their parents than with romantic partners.It"s not the cost ofcollege or the weight of student loans alone that is forcing young people to stay home.Young adults without a high-school or college degree are far more likely to live with their parents.For young black men,this trend is hardly new;even in 1980s,they were more likely to live with their parents than with a spouse or girlfriend.As for what they"re doing all day,Erik Hurst,an economist at the University of Chicago,is now conducting research that suggests that non-college men who aren"t in the labor market are spending a considerable amount of their time in front of screens.Detached from the labor force,with neither a college degree nor a steady job,these men have little income.But the technological revolution in media and entertainment of the last few decades has made it cheaper than ever to divert oneself on a phone,computer,television,or video-game console.Cheap and abundant entertainment anesthetizes less-skilled and Iess-educated young men in the present.But in the long run,it cuts them off from the same things that provide meaning in middle age,according to psychological and longitudinal studies-a career,a family,and a sense of accomplishment.25.The word"anesthetize"（Para.5）is closest in meaning to