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　　Happy birthday! Do birthdays really make people happy? Of course they do. Birthdays celebrate the day we were born. What's more, that extra candle on the cake represents another year of growth and maturity (成熟)—or so we hope. We all like to imagine that we're getting wiser and not just alder. Most of us enjoy observing the miracle of growth in others as well. For instance, seeing our children develop and learn new things makes us feel proud. For Americans, like people in most cultures, growing up is a wonderful process. But growing old? That's a different story. Growing old is not exactly pleasant for people in youth-oriented American . Most Americans like to look young, act young and feel young. As the old saying goes, “You're as young as you feel . ” Older people joke about how many years young they are ,rather than how many years old. People in sane countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom. But Americana seem to favor those that are young, or at least “young at heart”. Many older Americans find the“golden years” to be anything but golden. Economically, “senior citizens”often struggle just to get by. Retirement — typically at age 65—brings a sharp decrease in personal income. Social Security Benefits usually cannot make up the difference. Older people may suffer from poor nutrition(營養(yǎng)) , medical care and housing. Some even experience age discrimination.

　　Ironically, the elderly population in America is expanding fast. Why? People are living longer. Fewer babies ere being born. The middle-aged “baby boomers” are rapidly entering the ranks of the elderly, so America may soon be a place where wrinkles(皺紋) are “in” . Marketing experts are already focusing on this growing group of consumers. And even now the elderly have a great deal of political power.

　　A common stereotype(模式化的形象) of older Americana is that they are usually “put away” in nursing homes and forgotten about. Actually, only about 5 percent live on acme type of institution(慈善機構(gòu)).

　　More than half of those 65 or older live with or near at least one of their children. The vast majority ad the elderly live alone and take care of themselves.

　　In spite of challenges they face, Americans in their “twilight years (暮年)” generally refuse to we up on life. They find a variety of ways to keep themselves active. To help them stay in shape, they may join mall (商業(yè)區(qū)) walkers club, fitness programs and even the “Senior Olympics” .They can enjoy hours of entertainment at senior centers and adult amusement parks. Many enroll in continuing education programs to maintain their mental skills. For Americans, if you're going to grow old, you might as well do it gracefully.

1．Older people in America ________.

[　　]

A．think it sad to enter the golden age

B．a(chǎn)re not popular in the society

C．a(chǎn)re respected by all

D．find it happy to have another year of growth

2．Which of the following is NOT the reason why there are more and more older people in America?

[　　]

A．The birthrate is lower.

B．The older people are taken good care of.

C．There are many more middle-aged people than before.

D．The average life-span becomes longer.

3．The underlined part in Paragraph 2 refers to ________.

[　　]

A．the babies

B．baby-boomers

C．the middle-aged

D．the elderly

4．It can be seen from the passage that older people in America ________ .

[　　]

A．a(chǎn)re content with their life now

B．a(chǎn)re faced with challenges throughout their life

C．have chances to remain active in the society

D．receive continuing education programs to hunt for life

答案：A;B;D;C
解析：

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科目：高中英語 來源：活題巧解巧練·高二英語·下 題型：050

閱讀理解

　　What do those countries in the world have in common? People are killing each other or driving others out of their families. Why is this hap pening? Very simple, really: in each h of these places, and elsewhere in the world, one group of people believes that another group is different from them and dangerous to them. It has been thus throughout history. How different are humans from each other?

　　We come in different colors: red, blank, white, yellow and brown; we have a variety of political systems, social systems, religious views(宗教信仰) or none at all; we are different in mind, have different educational systems, different socio-economic classes. We speak different languages, and have different customs and dresses.

　　If we were to break each of these further, we would have quite a long list of qualities and characteristics that make humans appear to be different from each other. I say they appear to be different , because most of what I have listed stands for what we see or hear, not what is true of human. Man is man everywhere, which is only because where he lives. when he lives there, with whom he lives there, and all have effect on how he lives, that is, what he believes, what he wears, his customs, his gods, his language and so on. These are man-made fact that each group develops over time living together, facing the same problems, needing and desiring the same things. They are his culture. The truth is that we are much more the same than different. If you wear one type of clothing and I wear another, we both wear some kind of clothing. Our culture demands it. If you speak one language and I another, we both speak so that others will understand us. We must communicate with each other. Nothing is gained by giving too many differences, but much lost . If we understood our differences as the ones of culture, then we could make our world more peaceful.

　　Difference doesn't mean better or worse, right or wrong . It means only that differences have been made by society. Differences produce variety of thought, feeling and action, and that can be very helpful to work out human problems peacefully.

1．We've learned from the passage that ________.

[　　]

A．people are different

B．people are the same

C．people are different because of their cultures

D．people are the same in every way except their cultures

2．People in those countries fight each other for ________.

[　　]

A．they have different colors

B．they have different customs and dresses

C．they have different education systems

D．some people think that other people arc different and harmful to them

3．If we pay much attention to differences ________.

[　　]

A．we'll get something

B．we'll produce problems

C．we'll develop

D．nothing will be lost

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