There have been discussions about retire age limit recently. Does it make sense to make people retire at a particular age, say, 55? 60?
Some people work well into their 70s and 80s, running families, countries or corporations while other people, despite being fit and highly talented, are forced to retire in their fifties or even earlier. Here I will examine whether people should be allowed to continue working as long as they want or whether they should be encouraged to retire at a particular stage.
Some people think there are several reasons for allowing older people to continue working. Firstly, older employees are more experienced and their knowledge can be lost to his company or business if they are made to retire. Secondly, older employees are often extremely loyal and more willing to carry out company policies than younger staff. Another point is related to our society’s attitudes to the old. To force someone to retire at 50 or 60 indicates that the society does not value the contribution of these people, which may be regarded as age discrimination.
However, others believe that allowing older people to work indefinitely(无限期) is not a good policy. Age alone is no guarantee of ability. Old people are ambitious workaholics. Many young employees are more skillful than older staff, who may have been stuck in one area or unit for most of their working lives. Having compulsory retirement encourages new ideas in an organization. In addition, without age limits, many people would continue to work purely because they did not have any other plans. Another reason is that older people should be rewarded by society for their life’s labor by being given generous pensions and the freedom to enjoy their leisure. We now have youngsters who can’t find jobs because old people refuse to retire. This new generation of “old people” may think they will never die due to modern advances in medicine.
With many young people unemployed or frustrated in low-level positions, older workers are expected to retire. However, this can affect their right to work. I feel that giving workers more flexibility and choice over their retirement age will benefit both society and the individual.
【小题1】All the following statements are reasons for allowing old people to continue working EXCEPT that _______.

There have been great changes in the lives of women. During the twentieth century ,there was an unusual shortening of the time of a woman’s life spent in caring for children. A woman marrying at the end of the 19th century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have about eight children, of whom about five lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which custom, chance and health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman’s youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has the care of children, her work is lightened by household appliances(家用电器) and convenience(方便) foods.
This important change in women’s way of life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women’s economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school-leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards, return to full or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with both husband and wife accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfaction of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money and running the home, according to the abilities and interest of each them.
【小题1】Women marrying at the end of the 19th century ________.

A．would have fewer children than those today.

B．would have more children than those today.

C．lived as hard as those in the 20th century

D．lived more comfortably than those in the 20th century

There have been discussions about retire age limit recently. Does it make sense to make people retire at a particular age, say, 55? 60?

Some people work well into their 70s and 80s, running families, countries or corporations while other people, despite being fit and highly talented, are forced to retire in their fifties or even earlier. Here I will examine whether people should be allowed to continue working as long as they want or whether they should be encouraged to retire at a particular stage.

Some people think there are several reasons for allowing older people to continue working. Firstly, older employees are more experienced and their knowledge can be lost to his company or business if they are made to retire. Secondly, older employees are often extremely loyal and more willing to carry out company policies than younger staff. Another point is related to our society’s attitudes to the old. To force someone to retire at 50 or 60 indicates that the society does not value the contribution of these people, which may be regarded as age discrimination.

However, others believe that allowing older people to work indefinitely(无限期) is not a good policy. Age alone is no guarantee of ability. Old people are ambitious workaholics. Many young employees are more skillful than older staff, who may have been stuck in one area or unit for most of their working lives. Having compulsory retirement encourages new ideas in an organization. In addition, without age limits, many people would continue to work purely because they did not have any other plans. Another reason is that older people should be rewarded by society for their life’s labor by being given generous pensions and the freedom to enjoy their leisure. We now have youngsters who can’t find jobs because old people refuse to retire. This new generation of “old people” may think they will never die due to modern advances in medicine.

With many young people unemployed or frustrated in low-level positions, older workers are expected to retire. However, this can affect their right to work. I feel that giving workers more flexibility and choice over their retirement age will benefit both society and the individual.

1.All the following statements are reasons for allowing old people to continue working EXCEPT that _______.

A．their contributions should be valued

B．their experience should be appreciated

C．they can be ambitious workaholics

D．they are extremely loyal employees

2.The underlined sentence in the fourth passage suggests that _______.

A．retired people support the young to be creative

B．more fresh employees mean more fresh ideas

C．retired people are unwilling to praise new ideas

D．young employees are forced to be creative

3.The structure of the passage is arranged as __________

4.The author is likely to agree that ________’

A．it’s not wise to suggest lengthening the retirement age

B．it does make sense to set a particular retirement age

C．having different retirement age sounds unreasonable

D．when to retire should depend on the employees themselves

There have been great changes in the lives of women. During the twentieth century ,there was an unusual shortening of the time of a woman’s life spent in caring for children. A woman marrying at the end of the 19th century would probably have been in her middle twenties, and would be likely to have about eight children, of whom about five lived till they were five years old. By the time the youngest was fifteen, the mother would have been in her early fifties and would expect to live a further twenty years, during which custom, chance and health made it unusual for her to get paid work. Today women marry younger and have fewer children. Usually a woman’s youngest child will be fifteen when she is forty-five and is likely to take paid work until retirement at sixty. Even while she has the care of children, her work is lightened by household appliances(家用电器) and convenience(方便) foods.

This important change in women’s way of life has only recently begun to have its full effect on women’s economic position. Even a few years ago most girls left school at the first opportunity and most of them took a full-time job. However, when they married, they usually left work at once and never returned to it. Today the school-leaving age is sixteen, many girls stay at school after that age, and though women tend to marry younger, more married women stay at work at least until shortly before their first child is born. Very many more afterwards, return to full or part-time work. Such changes have led to a new relationship in marriage, with both husband and wife accepting a greater share of the duties and satisfaction of family life, and with both husband and wife sharing more equally in providing the money and running the home, according to the abilities and interest of each them.

1.Women marrying at the end of the 19th century ________.

A. would have fewer children than those today.

B. would have more children than those today.

C. lived as hard as those in the 20th century

D. lived more comfortably than those in the 20th century

2. According to the passage, a woman in the 19th century would likely to have about eight children and _______.

A. only about three of them could live more than five years old.

B. only about three of them could live for five years.

C. about eight children lived to be more than five years.

D. about eight children lived to be less than five years.

3. From the second paragraph, we know _______.

A. women today are not willing to run their home together with their husbands.

B. women today wouldn’t like to do any housework.

C. women today will return to work after they have their babies.

D. were unlikely to find jobs like the mothers before .

4.According to the passage, which of the following is right ?

A. in the past most women often stay at home after leaving school

B. women today like to marry men younger than themselves

C. women today are playing important parts in work and family life.

D. husbands today needn’t do any work at home.

Have you ever run in the rain?

       It was raining outside．We all stood near the door of the 1  , waiting．Suddenly I heard a sweet voice．“Mom, let’s2  the rain,” said a six-year-old girl, with beautiful red hair, who had been shopping with her mum in Wal-mart．

       “What? No, honey．We’ll __3__until it stops raining so hard,” the mother replied．The girl waited about one minute and repeated, “Mom,  let’s run through the rain．”

       “We’ll  4   if we do,” the mother said．“No, we won’t, mom．That’s not what you said this morning,” the young girl said as she   5   out of her mom’s arm．

       “This morning?” “Yes, when you were talking to Daddy about his cancer, you said, ‘If God can get us through this, he can get us through anything!’”

       The whole crowd became   6  ．We couldn’t ear anything but  7  ．We all stood there silently．Her mom__8___ for a moment and said, “Honey, you’re right．Let’s run through the rain．If God lets us get wet, well, maybe we just need __9__．”

       Then off they ran．We all stood there, watching and smiling as they ran through the rain．They held their shopping bags over their __10__just in case．Yes, they got wet．But they were followed by many __11__ who screamed and laughed like children all the way to their cars．

       Memory is a fortune, a precious gift．I believe that somewhere down the road in life, the mother will   12  herself looking back on this moment and she will smile．So Don't forget to make time and take the opportunities to make memories every day and take the time to run through the rain．

1．A．cinema                     B．school                    C．supermarket      D．park

2．A．run through              B．go through              C．look through      D．get through

3．A．leave                        B．wait                        C．imagine          D．jump

4．A．get tired                    B．get confused      C．get paid           D．get wet

5．A．pushed                     B．pulled                     C．carried           D．monitored

6．A．noisy                        B．calm                       C．silent            D．thrilled

7．A．her mum                  B．the girl                    C．laughter          D．the rain

8．A．thought                    B．claimed          C．asked            D．cared

9．A．running                   B．waiting           C．walking          D．washing

10．A．hands                B．backs                    C．heads                     D．coats

11．A．adults                 B．children          C．parents           D．drivers

12．A．stop                      B．find                      C．make             D．impress