When people advise your children to“get an education”, they tell you only half the truth．What they really mean is to get just enough education to give manpower for your society．
Get a high school diploma, at least．Without that, you are occupationally dead, unless your name happens to be George Washingon or Thomas Edison and you can successfully stop study in primary school．
Get a college degree, if possible．With a BA, you should start to find a job．You have to put on the brakes now．If you do go for a master's degree, make sure it is an MBA and only from a first-class university．Otherwise, the famous law of diminishing(报酬递减率)begins to work．
Do you know, for example, that long-distance truck drivers make more money a year than full professors? Yes, each driver was paid ＄28, 000 in 1997 while a full professor managed to get ＄27, 930．
A PhD is the highest degree you can get, but except in a few specialized fields such as physics or chemistry, where the degree can quickly be turned to industrial or commercial aim, you are facing a not very bright future．There are more PhDs unemployed in this country than in any other part of the world by far．
If you became a PhD in English or history or political sience or languages or－in philosophy, you take the risk of becoming over-educated for our national demands．
Thousands of PhDs ars selling shoes, driving taxis, waiting on tables and filling out applications month after month, and then may be taking a job in some high school or college with the pay much less than a door-keeper makes．
(1)
According to the writer, society expects education to turn out people who will ________．
[ ]
A．
raise their payment
B．
get employed
C．
become specialized in some field
D．
meet the demands as a source of manpower
(2)
Long-distance truck driver make more money a year than full professors because ________．
[ ]
A．
the famous law of diminishing functions
B．
long-distance truck drivers only get a high school diploma
C．
full professors are PhDs in English or history
D．
long-distance truck drivers work harder than full professors
(3)
The underlined phrase“put on the brakes”in the 3rd paragraph means “ ________ ”．
[ ]
A．
stop learning for a higher degree
B．
take up a master's degree at once
C．
go on studying in a first-class university
D．
find an interesting job
(4)
What can we know from the passage?
[ ]
A．
The higher education you get, the more money you will earn．
B．
Neither George Washington nor Edison received formal education．
C．
There are more PhDs than the society demands．
D．
If you are specialized in physics, you can't get a good job easily．
She took up skating at age 85, made her first movie appearance at age 114, and held a concert in the neighborhood on her 121st birthday．
Whe n it comes to long life, Jeanne Calment is the world’s recordholder．She lived to the ripe old age of 122．So is 122 the upper limit to the human life span(寿命)?If scientists come up with some sort of pill or diet that would slow aging, could we possibly make it to 150－or beyond?
Researchers don’t entirely agree on the answers．“Calment lived to 122, so it wouldn’t surprise me if someone alive today reaches 130 or 135,”says Jerry Shay at the University of Texas．
Steve Austad at the University of Texas agrees．“People can live much longer than we think,”he says．“Experts used to say that humans couldn’t live past 110．When Calment blew past that age, they raised the number to 120．So why can’t we go higher?”
The trouble with guessing how old people can live to be is that it’s all just guessing．“Anyone can make up a number,”says Rich Miller at the University of Michigan．“Usually the scientist who picks the highest number gets his name in Time magazine．”
Won’t new anti-aging techniques keep us alive for centuries?Any cure, says Miller, for aging would probably keep most of us kicking until about 120．Researchers are working on treatments that lengthen the life span of mice by 50 percent at most．So, if the average human life span is about 80 years, says Miller,“adding another 50 percent would get you to 120．”
So what can we conclude from this little disagreement among the researchers?That life span is flexible(有弹性的)，but there is a limit, says George Martin of the University of Washington．“We can get flies to live 50 percent longer,”he says．“But a fly’s never going to live 150 years．”
“Of course, if you became a new species(物种)，one that ages at a slower speed, that would be a different story,”he adds．
Does Martin really believe that humans could evolve(进化)their way to longer life?“It’s pretty cool to think about it,”he says with a smile．
(1)
What does the story of Jeanne Calment prove to us?
[ ]
A．
People can live to 122．
B．
Old people are creative．
C．
Women are sporty at 85．
D．
Women live longer than men．
(2)
According to Steve Austad at the University of Texas, ________．
[ ]
A．
the average human life span could be 110
B．
scientists cannot find ways to slow aging
C．
few people can expect to live to over 150
D．
researchers are not sure how long people can live
(3)
Who would agree that a scientist will become famous if he makes the wildest guess at longevity?
[ ]
A．
Jerry Shay．
B．
Steve Austad
C．
Rich Miller
D．
George Martin
(4)
What can we infer from the last three paragraphs?
[ ]
A．
Most of us could be good at sports even at 120．
B．
The average human life span cannot be doubled．
C．
Scientists believe mice are aging at a slower speed than before．
D．
New techniques could be used to change flies into a new species．
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