Question

【题目】 请认真阅读下列短文，并根据所读内容在文章后表格中的空格里填入一个最恰当的单词。

注意：每个空格只填1个单词。

Age has its privileges in America, and one of the more prominent of them is the senior citizen discount. Anyone who has reached a certain age — in some cases as low as 55 — is automatically entitled to dazzling array of price reductions at nearly every level of commercial life. Eligibility is determined not by one’s need but by the date on one’s birth certificate. Practically unheard of a generation ago, the discounts have become a routine part of many businesses — as common as color televisions in motel rooms and free coffee on airliners.

People with gray hair often are given the discounts without even asking for them; yet, millions of Americans above age 60 are healthy and solvent(有支付能力的). Businesses that would never dare offer discounts to college students or anyone under 30 freely offer them to older Americans. The practice is acceptable because of the widespread belief that “elderly” and “needy” are synonymous (同义的). Perhaps that once was true, but today elderly Americans as a group have a lower poverty rate than the rest of the population. To be sure, there is economic diversity within the elderly, and many older Americans are poor. But most of them aren’t.

It is impossible to determine the impact of the discounts on individual companies. For many firms, they are a stimulus to revenue. But in other cases the discounts are given at the expense, directly or indirectly, of younger Americans. Moreover, they are a direct irritant in what some politicians and scholars see as a coming conflict between the generations.

Generational tensions are being fueled by continuing debate over Social Security benefits, which mostly involve a transfer of resources from the young to the old. Employment is another sore point. Buoyed (支持) by laws and court decisions, more and more older Americans are declining the retirement dinner in favor of staying on the job — thereby lessening employment and promotion opportunities for younger workers.

Far from a kind of charity they once were, senior citizen discounts have become a formidable economic privilege to a group with millions of members who don’t need them.

It no longer makes sense to treat the elderly as a single group whose economic needs deserve priority over those of others. Senior citizen discounts only enhance the myth that older people can’t take care of themselves and need special treatment; and they threaten the creation of a new myth, that the elderly are ungrateful and taking for themselves at the expense of children and other age groups. Senior citizen discounts are the essence of the very thing older Americans are fighting against — discrimination by age.

Outline	Details
Introduction	Age determines whether an American can be given a discount, which is a common 【1】________________in American business life today.
Origin of senior citizen discount	●Since the senior citizens are often treated as people who are in 【2】____________, they are given such priority.
【3】__________ situation	●The situation has changed a lot where the majority of the elderly are not poor at all. ●Younger Americans were at a/an 【4】__________ directly or indirectly due to the discounts given to the elderly, thus leading to conflicts between generations. ●The number of older Americans 【5】___________ to work rather than retire is on the increase, which means 【6】__________ opportunities for young workers. ●It is no longer a kind of charity because millions of senior citizens don’t need the priority 【7】__________.
Conclusion	It’s unwise to offer discount priority to the elderly. ●It will mislead people to think they are unable to 【8】_____________ to themselves. ●People may think that they are ungrateful and they’re hurting the 【9】_____________ of other age groups. ●Actually senior citizen discounts, to some extent, 【10】___________against their age.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】practice

【2】need/poverty

【3】Present/Current

【4】disadvantage

【5】preferring

【6】fewer

【7】economically

【8】attend/tend

【9】interest(s)/benefit(s)

【10】discriminate

【解析】本文探讨了美国社会老年人享受商品折扣这一特殊待遇的现象。作者提出很多老年人是拥有支付能力的，他们并不需要享受折扣。让他们享受商品折扣其实是牺牲了青年人的利益，甚至会加剧两代人之间的冲突。老年人所享受折扣实际上是一种年龄歧视。

【1】practice 根据第一段最后一句中the discounts have become a routine part of many businesses（折扣已成为许多企业的常规组成部分）可知，这是个惯例，故填practice。

【2】need/poverty 根据第二段中but today elderly Americans as a group have a lower poverty rate than the rest of the population可知，此处指贫穷的人，故填need/poverty。

【3】Present/Current 根据句意可知，此处指“目前的状况”，故填Present/Current。

【4】disadvantage 根据第三段中in other cases the discounts are given at the expense, directly or indirectly, of younger Americans. Moreover, they are a direct irritant in what some politicians and scholars see as a coming conflict between the generations.可知，优惠对年轻人来说是劣势。故此处填disadvantage。

【5】preferring 根据第四段中Buoyed (支持) by laws and court decisions, more and more older Americans are declining the retirement dinner in favor of staying on the job可知，这里指的是“更喜欢工作的人的数量增长”。故填preferring。

【6】fewer 根据第四段最后一句Buoyed (支持)by laws and court decisions, more and more older Americans are declining the retirement dinner in favor of staying on the job — thereby lessening employment and promotion opportunities for younger workers. 可知，更喜欢工作的人的数量增长，这意味着年轻人工作的机会更少。故填fewer。

【7】economically 根据第五段Far from a kind of charity they once were, senior citizen discounts have become a formidable economic privilege to a group with millions of members who don’t need them.可知，数以百万的老年人不需要经济上的特权。副词修饰动词，故此处填economically。

【8】attend/tend 根据最后一段中Senior citizen discounts only enhance the myth that older people can’t take care of themselves and need special treatment;可知，这误导他们认为他们不能照顾他们自己。根据句意可知此处填attend/tend。

【9】interest(s)/benefit(s) 根据最后一段最后一句they threaten the creation of a new myth, that the elderly are ungrateful and taking for themselves at the expense of children and other age groups.可知，老人是不感恩的，他们伤害了其他年龄组的利益。故填interest(s)/benefit(s)。

【10】discriminate 根据最后一段最后一句Senior citizen discounts are the essence of the very thing older Americans are fighting against — discrimination by age.（老年人折扣的本质正是美国老人所反对的，即年龄歧视。）可知，此空填discriminate。