题目内容
Happy birthday! Do birthdays really make people happy? Of course they do．Birthdays celebrate the day we were born．Besides, that extra candle on the cake suggests another year of growth and maturity（成熟）—or so we hope．We all like to imagine that we are getting wiser and not just older．Most of us enjoy seeing 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（以年轻人为中心的） American culture．Most Americans like to look young, act young and feel young．As the old saying goes, “You are as young as you feel．” Old people joke about how many years young they are, rather than how many years old．People in some countries value the aged as a source of experience and wisdom．But Americans 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 at age 65 brings a sharp decrease in personal income．Social security （安全） benefits usually cannot make up the difference．Older people may suffer from poor nutrition, medical care and housing．Some even experience age discrimination．In 1987, American sociologist Pat Moore dressed up like an older person and wandered city streets．She was often treated rudely—even cheated and robbed．However, dressed as a young person, she received much more respect．
Unfortunately, the elderly population in America is increasing fast．Why? People are living longer．Fewer babies are being born．And middle-aged “baby boomers” are rapidly entering the group of the elderly．America may soon be a place where wrinkles（皱纹） are “in”．Marketing experts are already noticing this growing group of consumers．
1．People consider growing up a wonderful thing because ________．
A．people can light a candle to celebrate their birthdays
B．people can become more mature and wiser
C．people can enjoy the pleasure of others’ growth
D．growing up is a wonderful process
2．The second paragraph tells us that ____________．
A．Americans hold a negative attitude to growing old
B．American older people often joke about their old age
C．American culture is very young
D．Different countries have different opinions on the old age
3．The underlined sentence in Paragraph 3 suggests that __________．
A．the older Americans care for nothing but gold
B．the older Americans don’t actually live happy lives
C．the old in America have to retire at the age of 65
D．American social security benefits are not good
4．What will the writer most probably talk about following the last paragraph of the text?
A．The living conditions of the older Americans．
B．The problems of growing older Americans．
C．The potential consuming market of the older Americans．
D．Some laws to be passed to restrict older Americans．
BABC
名校课堂系列答案Rescue workers at the San Jose gold and copper mine in northern Chile had reason to sing this week．A small hole drilled into the earth became a passage（通道） to freedom for thirty-three trapped miners．They spent sixty-nine days underground．"Never have people been trapped for so long so deeply," says a doctor at NASA, the American space agency, which helped in the rescue．
But the chief medical officer for the miners said most are in good enough health to leave the hospital within a day or so．The first three were released from the hospital Thursday night．
For much of the day the miners relaxed with Chilean President Sebastian Pinera．The thirty-two Chileans and one Bolivian still wore special sunglasses to protect their eyes．
A partial mine collapse（坍塌） on 5th of August trapped them more than half a kilometer underground．They had to stretch a two-day food supply．For two weeks no one knew if they were alive or dead．
Later, they received supplies（供给） and a video link lowered through drill holes．That link was how Ariel Ticona watched his wife give birth to their daughter．
The miners have apparently agreed to share the money they earn from selling their story．
They have already received gifts of money and travel offers．Edison Pena has been invited to the New York City Marathon and to Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley in Memphis, Tennessee．Mr．Pena described how he ran in the mine tunnels to ease the stress．And he led the miners in singing Elvis songs．
The first miner rescued on Wednesday was Florencio Avalos．The second was Mario Sepulveda, who talked about how the experience tested his faith．He said: "I was with God and I was with the devil, they fought me, but God won．He took me by my best hand, the hand of God．"
The last miner up was Luis Urzua．He was the shift leader when his crew became trapped．
Rescuers used a metal cage to pull the miners to safety in less than twenty-four hours -- faster than expected．The rescue capsule was a half-meter wide and known as the Phoenix．
【小题1】How many miners had been rescued according to the report?
| A．Three | B．Sixty-nine | C．Thirty-three | D．Thirty-two |
| A．sharing money | B．Running to ease stress |
| C．Watching a video showing his wife giving birth | D．Singing songs |
Edison Pena was invited to Graceland probably because ________________．
| A．he ran in the mine tunnel． | B．he prayed to God． |
| C．he led the miners in singing Elvis songs． | D．he was the shift leader． |
From the passage, we can infer the followings EXCEPT that _______________．
| A．Rescue workers were happy about their rescue work． |
| B．People felt surprised to find the miners safe and sound． |
| C．People might have been quite worried about the miners’ safety． |
| D．The trapped miners drilled a small hole themselves to escape． |
| A．A mining accident | B．Miners saved, safe and sound |
| C．A difficult rescue | D．Miners trapped deep underground |