Many of us believe that a person’s mind becomes less active as he grows older．But this is not true，according to Dr．Lissy F．Jarvik，professor of psychiatry(精神病学)at the University of California，Los Angeles，and a board member of the New Center for Aging at the Veterans Hospital．She has studied the mental functioning of aging persons for several years.For example，one of her studies concerns 136 pairs of twins, who were first examined when they were already 60 years old．As Dr．Jarvik continued the study of the twins into their 70s and 80s，their minds did not generally decline(下降)as was expected．

However，there was some decline in their psycho-motor(精神运动的)speed． This means that it took them longer to accomplish mental tasks than it used to．But when speed was not a factor，they lost very little intellectual (智力的) ability over the years.In general，Dr．Jarvik’s studies have shown that there is no decline in knowledge or reasoning ability．This is true not only into the 30s and 40s，but into the 60s and 70s as well．

As for learning new things，and ability to remember，studies by Dr．Jarvik and others show that the old are equal to the young．It is true that older people themselves often complain that their memory is not as good as it once was．However，much of  what we call“loss of memory”is not that at a11．

In the cases where the older person’s mind really seems to decline，it is not necessarilv a sign of a decay due to becoming old or“senility”．Often it is simply a sign of a depressed emotional state．This depression usually can be got rid of by counseling(咨询)with a psychologist，or medicine which fights depression.

In American society，when an older person loses something，we tend to call him or her“senile”．But notice that when a younger person loses something，he does not blame it on senility or loss of memory．He finds some other excuse!

1.A long-term study of 136 pairs of twins showed that the only factor that declined over the years was  .

2.According to Dr．Jarvik’s studies，middle-aged and older persons should expect to     .

3.The word“senility”most likely means       .

4.Both younger and older persons should realize that          .

Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of generations. Now mid-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves.That’s because we group people by age. We put our three-year-olds together in day-care center, our 13-year-olds in school and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes. Why?

We live away from the old for many reasons: young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears for aging and dying. It is much harder to watch .someone we love disappear before our eyes. Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us most.

Fortunately, .some of us have found our way to the old. And we have discovered that they often save the young.

A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people. At first her children were disappointed. But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbours and had her children deliver it and visit. Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects. “My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said.

The young, in turn, save the old. Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby. She was immediately surrounded. People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair. Even those who had seemed asleep wake up to watch the child. Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure.

Grandparents are a special case. They give grandchildren a feeling of security and continuity. As my husband put it, “my grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end.”

Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents. “My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said. A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer, more trusting.

1.Now in an American family, people can find that ____.

A．children never live with their parents

B．not all working people live with their parents

C．aged people are supported by their grandchildren

D．grandchildren are supported by their grandparents

2.The reason why old people are left alone may be that ____.

A．the old don’t like to live in a big family

B．the young can’t get enough money to support the old

C．different generations have different lifestyles

D．the old are too weak to live with the young

3.The fact that the reporter told us shows that ___.

A．old people in America lead a hard life

B．old people in America enjoy banana bread

C．she had no time to take care of her children

D．old people are easy to get along with

4.Seeing a baby, the old people get excited because ____.

A．they had never seen a baby before

B．the baby was clever and beautiful

C．the baby brought them the image of life

D．the baby’s mother would take care of them

5.Why do children not get attention from their parents?

A．Because they often make trouble and make their parents disappointed.

B．Because their parents are too busy to take care of them.

C．Because their parents have to take care of their grandparents.

D．Because their parents have been out of work for a long time.

根据中文提示完成下列句子

1.众所周知，老年人习惯于回顾那些难忘的岁月。

As we all know, the old are used to __________________ those unforgettable years.

2.经常锻炼帮助那位影星强身健体，并保持苗条的身材。

Regular exercise helps the film star ______________________________ and keep a slim figure.

3.他妈妈不准他熬夜看电视.

His mother forbids him __________________ late to watch TV.

4.最终他妈妈意识到她和他爸对他要求太苛刻了。

In the end his mother realized she, along with his father, _____________________ him.

5.专家们警告说，一些地方的房价已经失去了控制。

 Specialists warned that housing prices have gone ____________________ in some areas.

6.他们经常质疑他们是谁，他们如何适应社会。

They often question who they are and how they _________________________

7.好在这些成长的烦恼并不会持久。最终一切都会好起来。

The good news is that these kinds of growing pains do not last. In the end everything __________________ OK.

Happy birthday! Do birthday really make people happy? Of course they do. Birthday celebrate the day when we were born. Besides, that extra candle on the cake suggest another year of growth and maturity—or so we hope. We all like to imagine that we are getting wiser and not just older. Most of us enjoy seeing the wonder 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 is a different story.

Growing old is not exactly for people in youth-oriented(以年轻人为中心) American culture. Most Americans like to look young, act young and feel young. As the old saying goes, “You’re young as you feel.” Older 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 the age of 65 brings a sharp decrease in personal income. Social security benefits usually cannot make up the difference. Older people may suffer from poor nutrition, medical care, and housing. Some even experience age discrimination. American sociologist Pat Moore once 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 ready noticing this growing group of consumer.

Growing up is a wonderful thing because ____________.

A. people can celebrate their birthday              B. people can receive many presents    

C. people can become more mature and wiser      D. people will feel younger at heart

We can infer from the second paragraph that __________.

A. different countries have different opinions on the old age

B. American older people often joke about their old age

C. American culture is very young

D. young people lack experience and wisdom

What does the third paragraph mainly tell us?

A. The golden years can make the old earn lots of money.

B. American social security benefits are not good.

C. The old in America are leading a hard life.

D. The old in America have to retire at the age of 65.

What does the underlined word “in” in the last paragraph mean?

A. serious              B. disappearing slowly                 C. cool                  D. growing fast

According to the text, which of the following is correct?

A. The young are often discriminated in America.

B. The young are more respected than the old in America.

C. Growing old makes people feel proud in America.

D. The old are more respected than the young in America.   

III．阅读（共两节，满分40分）

第一节     阅读理解（共15小题，每小题2分，满分30分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的A、B、C和D项中，选出最佳选项，并在答题卡上将该项涂黑。

Until late in the 20th century, most Americans spent time with people of different generations．Now middle-aged Americans may not keep in touch with old people until they are old themselves．

    That’s because we group people by age．We put our three-year-olds together in day-care centers, our 13-year-olds in schools and sports activities, and our 80-year-olds in senior-citizen homes．Why?

　　We live away from the old for many reasons．Young people sometimes avoid the old to get rid of fears of aging and dying．It is much harder to watch someone we love disappear before our eyes．Sometimes it’s so hard that we stay away from the people who need us the most．

　　Fortunately, some of us have found our way to the old．And we have discovered that they often save the young．

　　A reporter moved her family onto a block filled with old people．At first her children were disappointed．But the reporter baked banana bread for the neighbors and had her children deliver it and visit．Soon the children had many new friends, with whom they shared food, stories and projects．“My children have never been less lonely,” the reporter said．

　　The young, in turn, save the old．Once I was in a rest home when a visitor showed up with a baby, she was immediately surrounded．People who hadn’t gotten out of bed in a week suddenly were ringing for a wheelchair．Even those who had seemed asleep woke up to watch the child．Babies have an astonishing power to comfort and cure．

　　Grandparents are a special case．They give their grandchildren a feeling of security(安全) and continuity．As my husband put it, “My grandparents gave me a deep sense that things would turn out right in the end．” Grandchildren speak of attention they don’t get from worried parents．“My parents were always telling me to hurry up, and my grandparents told me to slow down,” one friend said．A teacher told me she can tell which pupils have relationships with grandparents: they are quieter, calmer and more trusting．

41．Now in an American family, people can find that _____．

　　A．children never live with their parents

　　B．not all working people live with their parents

　　C．aged people are supported by their grandchildren

　　D．grandchildren are supported by their grandparents

42．What may be the reason why old people are left alone?

　　A．The old don’t like to live in a big family

　　B．The young can’t get enough money to support the old

　　C．Different generations have different lifestyles

　　D．The old are too weak to live with the young

43．The fact the reporter told us shows that _____．

　　A．old people in America lead a hard life

　　B．old people in America enjoy banana bread

　　C．she had no time to take care of her children

　　D．old people are easy to get along with

44．Seeing a baby, the old people got excited because _____．

　　A．they had never seen a baby before

　　B．the baby was clever and beautiful

　　C．the baby brought them the image of life

　　D．the baby’s mother would take care of them

45．Why are some children quieter,calmer and more trusting?

         A．Because they have relationships with their grandparents

         B．Because their worried parents ask them to act like that

         C．Because they have nothing to worry about

         D．Because their teachers ask them to act like that