第三部分：阅读理解（共20小题，每小题2分，计分40分）

阅读下列短文，从每题所给的四个选项中（A、B、C和D）中，选出最佳选项。

America is growing older. Fifty-eight years ago, only 4 out of every 100 people in the United States were 65 years old or older. Today, 10 out of every 100 Americans are over 65 years old. The aging （老龄化） of the population will affect American society in many ways—education, medicine, and business. Quietly, the graying of America has given us a very different society— one in which people have different ideas of what kind of behavior is suitable at various ages.

A person’s age no longer tells you anything about his / her social position, marriage or health. There’s no longer a particular year in which one goes to school or goes to work or gets married or starts a family. The social clock that keeps us on time and tells us when to go to school, get a job, or stop working isn’t as strong as it used to be. It doesn’t surprise us to hear of a 29-year-old university president or a 35-year-old grandmother, or a 70-year-old man who has become a father for the first time. Public ideas are changing.

Many people say, “I am much younger than my mother or my father when she or he was at my age.” No one says “Act your age” any more. We’ve stopped looking with surprise at older people who act in youthful ways.

56. It can be learnt from the text that the aging of the population in America has _______.

A. made people feel younger  B. changed people’s social position

C. changed people’s understanding of age

D. slowed down the country’s development

57. The underlined word “one” refers to ________.

A. a very different society     B. America     C. a place          D. population

58. “Act your age” means people should ________.

A. be active when they are old      B. do the right things at the right age

C. show respect for their parents

D. take more physical exercise suitable to their age

59. If a 25-year-old man becomes the manager of a big firm, the writer of the text would most probably consider it ________.

A. normal              B. wonderful         C. unbelievable      D. strange

Many of us feel uneasy when someone stands too close to us, talks to us too loudly or makes eye contact(接触) with us for too long. But have you ever wondered why those things make you uncomfortable?
It’s all about personal peace, which means not only an imaginary space around the body, but also the space around all the senses. People feel that their space is being violated(侵犯) when they meet with an unwelcome sound, smell or look. This is probably why a man on a crowded bus shouting into his mobile phone or a woman next to you putting on strong perfume(香水) makes you feel angry.
Whether people have had a stronger wish to protect their personal space in recent times is hard to say. Yet studies of airlines show that people have a strong desire(渴望) to have space to themselves. In a survey （调查）by TripAdvisor, a travel website, people said that if they had to pay more for some extra service, they would rather have larger seats than extra food.
Although people may need their personal space, some hardly realize it. For example, people on a bus who hold newspapers in front of their faces to read in fact keep a distance from strangers.
Go and watch a library table. You will notice that one of the corner seats will usually be taken first, because they are the farthest way. What if someone sits opposite to you? Maybe you will pile up books as if to make a wall.
Preference(偏好) for personal space are different from culture to culture. Scientists have found that Americans generally prefer more personal space than people from other cultures. In Latin(拉丁人的) cultures, however, people are more comfortable standing close to each other

1. 1.

   The writer mainly _________ in this article

   1. A.
      tells us how to achieve personal space
   2. B.
      explains what personal space people need is
   3. C.
      introduces some knowledge about personal space
   4. D.
      argues for the importance of keeping personal space
2. 2.

   Who might feel his personal space is safe according to the passage?

   1. A.
      A person who has to sit next to a lady putting on strong perfume
   2. B.
      A person who has been watched by a stranger for a long time
   3. C.
      A person who hears strange noises when reading at home
   4. D.
      A Latin boy who is chatting with a friend sitting close to him
3. 3.

   What can we know from the survey by TripAdvisor?

   1. A.
      People need a smaller personal space in recent times than before
   2. B.
      People have a strong desire for personal space in recent times
   3. C.
      There are not enough seats on the plane to meet people’s needs
   4. D.
      Food service is better provided than seats on the plane
4. 4.

   Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

   1. A.
      The space around the body is more needed than that around all the senses
   2. B.
      If you hold newspapers on the bus, your personal space won’t be violated
   3. C.
      People usually choose the corner seats first in a library for personal space
   4. D.
      Different cultures share the same preferences for personal space

Many of us feel uneasy when someone stands too close to us, talks to us too loudly or makes eye contact(接触) with us for too long. But have you ever wondered why those things make you uncomfortable?

It’s all about personal peace, which means not only an imaginary space around the body, but also the space around all the senses. People feel that their space is being violated(侵犯) when they meet with an unwelcome sound, smell or look. This is probably why a man on a crowded bus shouting into his mobile phone or a woman next to you putting on strong perfume(香水) makes you feel angry.

Whether people have had a stronger wish to protect their personal space in recent times is hard to say. Yet studies of airlines show that people have a strong desire(渴望) to have space to themselves. In a survey （调查）by TripAdvisor, a travel website, people said that if they had to pay more for some extra service, they would rather have larger seats than extra food.

Although people may need their personal space, some hardly realize it. For example, people on a bus who hold newspapers in front of their faces to read in fact keep a distance from strangers.

Go and watch a library table. You will notice that one of the corner seats will usually be taken first, because they are the farthest way. What if someone sits opposite to you? Maybe you will pile up books as if to make a wall.

Preference(偏好) for personal space are different from culture to culture. Scientists have found that Americans generally prefer more personal space than people from other cultures. In Latin(拉丁人的) cultures, however, people are more comfortable standing close to each other.

1.The writer mainly _________ in this article.

A. tells us how to achieve personal space

B. explains what personal space people need is

C. introduces some knowledge about personal space

D. argues for the importance of keeping personal space

2.Who might feel his personal space is safe according to the passage?

A. A person who has to sit next to a lady putting on strong perfume.

B. A person who has been watched by a stranger for a long time.

C. A person who hears strange noises when reading at home.

D. A Latin boy who is chatting with a friend sitting close to him.

3.What can we know from the survey by TripAdvisor?

A. People need a smaller personal space in recent times than before.

B. People have a strong desire for personal space in recent times.

C. There are not enough seats on the plane to meet people’s needs.

D. Food service is better provided than seats on the plane.

4.Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. The space around the body is more needed than that around all the senses.

B. If you hold newspapers on the bus, your personal space won’t be violated.

C. People usually choose the corner seats first in a library for personal space.

D. Different cultures share the same preferences for personal space.