Municipal(市政府) regulations normally ban anything from smoking in public places to parking in certain zones. But officials in the Brazilian town of Biritiba Mirim, 70km (45 miles) east of Sao Paulo, have gone far beyond that. They plan to prohibit residents from dying early because the local cemetery(墓地) has reached full capacity.

There’s no more room to bury the dead, they can’t be cremated(火化) and laws forbid a new cemetery. So the mayor has proposed a strange solution: outlaw death. Mayor Roberto Pereira says the bill is meant as a protest against federal regulations that prohibit new or expanded cemeteries in preservation areas. “They have not taken local demands into consideration”, he claims.

A 2003 decree(法令) by Brazil’s National Environment Council forbids burial grounds in protected areas. Mr. Pereira wants to build a new cemetery, but the project has been stopped because 98% of Biritiba Mirim is considered a preservation area.

Biritiba Mirim, a town of 28,000 inhabitants(居民), not only wants to prohibit residents from passing away. The bill also calls on people to take care of their health in order to avoid death. “I haven’t got a job, nor am I healthy. And now they say I can’t die. That’s ridiculous,” Amarildo do Prado, an unemployed resident said.

The city council is expected to vote on the regulation next week. “Of course the bill is laughable, illegal, and will never be approved,” said Gilson Soares de Campos, an assistant to the mayor. “But can you think of a better resolution to persuade the government to change the environmental decree that is prohibiting us from building a new cemetery?” The bill states that “offenders will be held responsible for their acts”. However, it does not say what the punishment will be.

44. What is the bill to be proposed by the officials in Biritiba Mirim?

A. Ban on smoking in public places.

B. Ban on parking in certain zones.

C. Prohibiting residents from dying early.

D. Forbidding buried grounds in preservation.

45. What can we infer from the phrase “have gone far beyond that”?

A. Officials in Biritiba Mirim have nothing of these regulations.

B. The bill to be proposed by officials in Biritiba Mirim is much too unexpected.

C. Officials in Biritiba Mirim have been to many places around the world.

D. The officials in Biritiba Mirim have built too many cemeteries in their town.

46. What’s the attitude of the mayor of Biritiba Mirim towards the federal regulations?

A. He objects to them.

B. He gives strong backing to them.

C. He asks the residents for advice on them.

D. He remains silent about them.

47. Which of the following is TRUE according to the article?

A. The mayor of the town wants to build a new cemetery against federal regulation.

B. The residents of the town sing the praises of the bill.

C. The government is going to change the environmental decree.

D. No better resolution of the problem has been thought out.

He objects to ________ the students do their homework late at night.

A.
make
B.
making
C.
force
D.
forcing

D

Although women lead healthier, longer lives, the cruel perception that they reach their sell-by date and become “old” sooner than men is widespread in the workplace, research shows.

A survey of more than 2,600 managers and personnel professionals showed that age discrimination is not only common in the workplace, but is full of inconsistencies(矛盾). Six in ten managers thought that they had suffered from age discrimination——usually because they were turned down for a job for being too old or too young. Yet more than a fifth admitted that they used age as a condition when they employ new workers.

Although the survey found widespread agreement that older workers were better than younger colleagues when it came to reliability, commitment, loyalty and customer service, these qualities were not necessarily considered to be worthy of advancement. More than half of respondents believed that workers between 30 and 39 were the most likely to be advanced in their company, with only 2 per cent citing (引证)50-year-olds or above.

Dianah Worman of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development said that there was anecdotal evidence that people were considered old at different ages in different sectors. “We heard of one man working in IT who said he was considered too old by the age of 28,”she said.“There was no evidence to suggest that older workers were less valuable to companies than younger workers, in fact the opposite was often true because older workers often brought experience.” she added.

The findings also suggested that the Government’s ideas on age in the workforce may also be out of step with reality.

68. The text is mainly about ______.

A. the government’s idea on age in workforce

B. age discrimination in the workforce

C. the people who find work

D. the discussion about who is worth promoting

69. The underlined word “sell-by date” in paragraph 1 probably refers to______.

A. the age when they retire

B. the age when they should be promoted

C. the date on which they’re sold

D. the date when they sell goods

70. The writer’s purpose in writing the text is to ______.

A. tell the government to employ older workers

B. criticize managers who treat workers unfairly

C. report the findings of a survey

D. show he objects to age discrimination