For an increasing number of students at American universities, Old is suddenly in. The reason is obvious: the graying of America means jobs. Coupled with the aging of the baby-boom (生育高峰) generation, a longer life span(寿命) means that the nation’s elderly population is bound to expand significantly over the next 50 years. By 2050, 25 percent of all Americans will be older than 65, up from 14 percent in 1995. The change brings many problems for government and society, of course. But it also creates career opportunities in medicine and health professions,  and in law and business as well. “In addition to the doctors, we’re going to need more sociologists, biologists, urban planners and specialized lawyers,” says Professor Edward Schneider of the University of Southern California’s (USC) School of Gerontology (老年学).www.zxxk.com

   Lawyers can specialize in “elder law” which covers everything from trusts(信托) and estates to nursing-home abuse and age discrimination. Businessmen see huge opportunities in the elder market because the baby boomers, 74 million strong, are likely to be the wealthiest group of retirees(退休者) in human history. “Any student who combines an expert knowledge in gerontology with, say, an MBA or law degree will have a license to print money,” one professor says.

   Margarite Santos is a 21-year-old senior at USC. She began college as a biology major but found she was “really bored with bacteria.” So she took a class in gerontology and discovered that she liked it. She says, “I did volunteer work in retirement homes and it was very satisfying.”

1..“…Old is suddenly in” (Line 1, Para. 1) most probably means “_____”.

A. America has suddenly become a nation of old people

B. more elderly professors are found on American campuses

C. gerontology has suddenly become popular

D. American colleges have realized the need of getting older students

2.Why can businessmen make money in the emerging elder market?

A. The elderly possess an enormous purchasing power

B. They can employ more gerontologists

C. Retirees are more generous in spending money

D. There are more elderly people working than before

3.Who can make big money in the new century according to the passage?

A. Retirees who are business-minded

B. The volunteer workers in retirement homes

C. Professionals with a good knowledge of gerontology

D. College graduates with an MBA or law degree

4..It can be seen from the passage that the expansion of America’s elderly population ______.

A. will provide good job opportunities in many areas

B. will cause a heavy burden on society

C. may lead to nursing home abuse and age discrimination

D. will create new fields of study in universities

 

Here is a true story about a famous man who worked in the White House and a criminal. They once faced the same thing: their mother gave them apples when they were young.

The criminal said: one day, my mother brought some apples and asked my brother and me: “Which do you want?” “The reddest and biggest one,” my little brother said. My mother stared at him and said to him angrily: “You should learn to give the good things to others; you shouldn’t always think of yourself.” Seeing this, I suddenly changed my idea and then said to my mother: “Mum, please give me the smaller one and give the bigger one to my little brother.” Hearing my words, my mother was very happy. She kissed me on my face and gave the reddest and biggest apple to me as a prize. From then on, I learned to tell lies, fight, steal and rob. In order to get what I wanted, I played hard. As a result, I was sent into prison.

The famous man from the White House said: One day, my mother brought some apples. She said to my brother and me: “You all want the reddest and biggest one, right? Well, let’s have a competition. Now I divide the grassland in front of the gate into two and I will give one to each of you and you must shear(修剪) it well. And I will give the reddest and biggest apple to him who does it the most quickly and best.”

After the competition, I won and I got the biggest apple. In our family, as long as you want to get the best things, you must take part in competition. I think it is fair. No matter what you want, you must pay lots of efforts.

1.The criminal got the reddest and biggest apple because      .

A. he told the truth that he wanted a smaller one

B. his mother loved him more than she loved the younger brother

C. elder brother should of course have the bigger one

D. he knew how to make his mother happy from her answer

2.We can conclude from the passage that      .

A. it’s important to make children aware that no matter what they want, they must pay work

B. it’s wrong to ask children to choose apples when they are not old enough

C. it’s wrong to ask children not to always think of themselves

D. it’s always necessary to have a competition when we give children apple

3.The writer tells the story by      .

A. organizing it in the order of time

B. making a comparison between two men

C. providing some scientific information

D. describing it in the order of space

4. It is implied in the passage that      .

A. we should always try to win competitions which can bring us a lot

B. in order to get what we want, we should play hard

C. giving children apples will lead them to become criminals

D. a mother’s educational method has a great influence on a child’s growing

 

With the possible exception of equal rights, perhaps the most heated argument across the United States today is the death penalty (死刑). Many argue that it is an effective deterrent (威慑) to murder(谋杀), while others think there is no enough proof that the death penalty reduces the number of murders. The argument advanced by those who are against the death penalty is that it is cruel and inhuman punishment, that it is a mark of a bad society and finally that it is of questionable effectiveness as a deterrent (威慑物) to crime (罪行) anyway.

In our opinion, the death penalty is a necessary action. Throughout recorded history there have always been those peculiar persons in every society who made terrible crimes such as murder. But some are more dangerous than others. For example, it is one thing to take the life of another in time of blind anger, but quite another to coldly plan and carry out the murder of one or more people in the style of a butcher. Thus, murder, like all other crimes, is a matter of different degree. While it could be argued with some reason that the criminal in the first instance should be merely kept from society, such should not be the fate of the latter type murderer.

The value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime may be open to discussion. But the majority of people believe that the death penalty protects them. Their belief is proved by the fact that the death penalty prevents murder. For example, from 1954 to 1963, when the death penalty was carried out from time to time in California, the murder rate remained between three and four murders for each 100, 000 population. Since 1964 the death penalty has been done only once, and the murder rate has risen to10.4 murders for each 100, 000 population. The sharp climb in the state's murder rate, which began when killings stopped, does not happen by chance. It certainly shows that the death penalty does stop many murderers. If the law about death penalty is vetoed (否决), some people will be murdered----some whose lives may have been saved if the death penalty were in effect. This is really a life or death matter. The lives of thousands of people must be protected.

1.The main purpose of this passage is to _________.

A.speak for the majority

B.argue against the value of the death penalty

C.speak ill of the government

D.argue for the value of the death penalty

2.Which of the following is among the heated arguments across the USA besides death penalty?

A.Air pollution.                           B.The war against Iraq.

C.Equal rights.                           D.Election of president.

3.The numbers in the last paragraph show that ______.

A.if they stick to death penalty, the number of murders will be reduced

B.death penalty almost stopped from 1954 to 1963

C.the population of California has risen

D.death penalty is of little value

4.It can be inferred that the writer thinks that ______.

A.the death penalty is the most important problem in the United States today

B.the second type of murderers (in Paragraph 2) should be sentenced to death

C.the veto of the law about death penalty is of little importance

D.the value of the death penalty as a deterrent to crime is not to be discussed

 

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