Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of generations. Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves.That’s because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care center, our 13-year-olds in school and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes. Why?
We live away from the old for many reasons: young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears for aging and dying. It is much harder to watch .someone we love disappear before our eyes. Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us most.
Fortunately, .some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.
A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbours and had her children deliver it and visit. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. “My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said.
The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby. She was immediately surrounded. People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep wake up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.
Grandparents are a special case. They give grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it, “my grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end.”
Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents. “My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer, more trusting.
小題1:Now in an American family, people can find that ____.
A．children never live with their parents
B．not all working people live with their parents
C．a(chǎn)ged people are supported by their grandchildren
D．grandchildren are supported by their grandparents
小題2:The reason why old people are left alone may be that ____.
A．the old don’t like to live in a big family
B．the young can’t get enough money to support the old
C．different generations have different lifestyles
D．the old are too weak to live with the young
小題3:The fact that the reporter told us shows that ___.
A．old people in America lead a hard life
B．old people in America enjoy banana bread
C．she had no time to take care of her children
D．old people are easy to get along with
小題4:Seeing a baby, the old people get excited because ____.
A．they had never seen a baby before
B．the baby was clever and beautiful
C．the baby brought them the image of life
D．the baby’s mother would take care of them
小題5:Why do children not get attention from their parents?
A．Because they often make trouble and make their parents disappointed.
B．Because their parents are too busy to take care of them.
C．Because their parents have to take care of their grandparents.
D．Because their parents have been out of work for a long time.

小題1:B
小題2:C
小題3:D
小題4:C
小題5:B 

試題分析：文章介紹孩子們不怎么和父母生活在一起的原因，而實際上和老年人相處很容易，對孩子和老人都很有好處。
小題1:細節(jié)題：從第一段的這一句：Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves.可知孩子們不怎么和父母生活在一起。選B
小題2:推理題;從第一段的句子：That’s because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care center, our 13-year-olds in school and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes. 以及We live away from the old for many reasons: young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears for aging and dying.可以推斷不同年代的人的生活方式不同，是老年人與年輕人不再同住、老年人獨居的原因。選C
小題3:細節(jié)題：從第四段的句子：the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbors and had her children deliver it and visit them. Soon the children had many new friends，說明了我們和老年人相處很容易，選D
小題4:排除題和常識題。選項A顯然有悖起碼的常識，幾十歲的老人怎么可能連嬰兒都沒見過呢？B、D文中均未提到，因而不是正確答案。文章的句子：Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.和生活中的常識，結(jié)合文中描述的情景，便可以判斷C就是答案！我們經(jīng)常看到老人一見到嬰兒就高興得不得了，對一個垂暮之人來說，嬰兒象征著生命和重生。所以選項C是正確答案。
小題5:推理題：從最后一段的句子：Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents. “My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,”可知父母太忙，沒時間關(guān)注孩子。選B 
點評：本文有一定難度，要求考生了解西方的傳統(tǒng)文化。內(nèi)容是關(guān)于年輕人和老人的相處之道，考查較為全面，審題以后再閱讀文章要準確定位考點。特別是猜詞題，要結(jié)合上下文的暗示做題，掌握方法是關(guān)鍵。
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A．on every Thursday in April
B．a(chǎn) holiday for girls of all ages
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A．she learned to use scales
B．she worked as an actress
C．she went to work with her aunt
D．she used toothpicks and Candy to build a bridge
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